Chapter 6 - Dying of Embarrassment

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Warnings: Not horrible injuries
Third Person POV

Eliza sat at the table in the front room of the Manhattan Lodge, sipping tea.

Certain boys came in and came out, talking to her in the process.

"Morning, Eliza." Jack greets, entering the room from outside.

Eliza chuckles. "It's the afternoon, Jack." She responds.

"Morning, afternoon." Jack shrugs. "At least I said some sort of greeting?"

Eliza chuckles. "Sure, I'll give you that."

Jack grins, shooting her a thumbs up.

Jack sits across from her at the table. "Why were you and Race sleeping out here this morning?" He asks.

"I've been sworn to secrecy." Eliza shrugs, making a motion that she zipped her lips.

Jack frowns. "Is he at least okay? I mean, I can pull off the bags under my eyes, he can't." He comments.

Jack and Eliza chuckle a bit.

"I'll say this," Eliza starts. "I made him promise that if what was bothering him got worse, he'd either tell you and Albert, or he'd let me tell you two."

Jack nods. "Thank you, Eliza."

Eliza nods.

"Like actually, thank you." Jack starts. "We've known you for barely two days and you've already done so much for us. Thank you."

Eliza smiles, placing her drink down. "You guys took me in when I-" She laughs. "Fell out of the sky." Jack chuckles. "This is nothing compared to what you've done for me."

Jack gets up. "You'd be surprised at what small gestures can do for you." He comments, before leaving the room.

Eliza sits there. Did I just get words of wisdom from a 17-year old, street kid?

Eliza chuckles to herself. I guess I did.

Elmer walks into the room. "Miss Eliza..." he starts.

"Yes, Elmer?" Eliza smiles.

"Do you know where Specs is?" Elmer questions.

"Uh-" Eliza was pretty sure Specs was out with Romeo. "I think he's out with his boyfriend, why?"

"I tripped on the stairs." Elmer cheekily smiles, pulling up his sleeve to show a pretty light bruise, but it was bound to get darker.

Eliza frowns. "Come here." She leads him to the bathroom.

Eliza sits Elmer down, grabbing a cold, wet cloth and bandages.

She quickly cleans the bruise, letting the cold sit on it for a minute, and then wraps it up.

"Eliza!" Blink shouts from the living room. "Do you know if Specs is home?!"

"He's not!" Eliza calls back. "Come to the downstairs bathroom!"

She heard footsteps, then Mush and Blink appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hey El!" Blink exclaims. Elmer waves. "What happened?" He asks.

"Tripped on the stairs." Elmer shrugs nonchalantly.

Blink and Mush chuckle.

Eliza turns to face them, after finishing helping Elmer, and her eyes immediately widen.

Mush's shirt sleeve was bloody, and it looked like he had a bloody nose.

"What happened?!" Eliza exclaims, ushering Mush to sit down on the counter.

I feel like a little kid, Mush thinks to himself. Is this how Race feels?

"Boots' shoe flew off his foot," Blink starts. "Accidentally hit Mush in the face in the process."

Eliza stood there in shock for a moment, before shaking herself out of it.

"You know, I'm not even going to question it." Eliza mumbles. "I'm pretty sure Angie has kicked herself in the face before."

"Hey!" Elmer exclaims, grinning. "Race has done that doing a high-kick!"

"It's not that hard to do!" Race exclaims from somewhere else in the building.

Medda helps Mush clean up his nose, until it stops bleeding, and then gives him ice.

"Now," She starts, turning back to him. "Go put on Blink's shirt. This ones all bloody." She states.

"Okay-" Mush's eyes widen. He turns bright red. "Uh- B-Blink's?" He stutters.

Blink grins.

Eliza chuckles. "Yup, come on now."

Eliza watches as a grinning Blink drags Mush, who was a tomato's twin, out of the room.

She chuckles.

"Heyyy Eliza." Albert starts, walking into the room. "We've been looking all over the house for you."

Eliza chuckles. "Do you need something, Albert?"

"Yeah, um- how do I say this?" Albert chuckles, nervously. "Race sort of- forgot?- to tell us that he has a bad cut from the Delanceys."

Not worrying about who the Delanceys were, Eliza turned to face him, eyes wide.

Race stood next to him and so did another boy, who wore all red. He was slightly taller than Race and slightly shorter than Albert.

"How, I'm not so sure." The boy in red mumbles.

"I didn't think it was that important." Race responds. "And then I forgot it existed until it started hurting."

"No duh, it'd start hurting." The boy mutters, an obvious look on his face.

Eliza makes Race sit on the counter.

"I feel like a child." Race mumbles. "I don't want to be babied."

"Too bad, so sad. You're the youngest, and the most adorable." Albert states. "It's basically fate that we baby you."

Race turns bright red, looking away.

Eliza pulls up Race's sleeve, revealing the cut.

"Oh, yeah," Albert starts. "Eliza, this is Spot. He's the 'King of Brooklyn' in the Newsie world, and sometimes real world, and he's our boyfriend. Spot, this is Eliza."

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am." Spot tips his hat to her.

Eliza smiles. "Nice to meet you too, Spot."

"I can basically hear myself dying from embarrassment right now." Race mumbles, looking at the ceiling.

Eliza chuckles. "And why's that?"

"Cause I'm being babied." Race mumbles. "And Spot likes to flirt with me. And Albert. They both tease me a lot."

Eliza chuckles.

Albert steals Race's cigar. "And it ain't going to change, Racer, so get used to it." Albert winks.

Race turns bright red, trying to take the cigar back.

"See?" Spot asks Eliza. "He's so adorable and easy to tease, since he just reacts and turns bright red."

Eliza chuckles again, shaking her head as she bandaged Race's arm. "I'm sure he is adorable."

"The sound of myself dying from embarrassment is getting louder and louder by the second." Race mumbles, twirling the cigar, that he stole back from Albert, in his hand.

Albert, Eliza, and Spot chuckle.

1022 Words

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