Stories For the Papes -Newsies Imagines and Drabbles (CLOSED!!!)

Mutt of Manhattan

This one was requested by Marina_Stilinski. Thank you for requesting!!

WHACK!!

"Go away, Race!" Ariana groans from her bunk as Racetrack Higgins smacks her over the head with a pillow, "Thought you were taught not to whack a sleeping girl over the head with a pillow by your mother."

"Don't have a mother," Race says playfully and runs off to get ready for the day. Ariana sighs and wanders over to one of the windows of the Lodging House to look out the window. That dog from the night before is still sleeping out on the front steps of the Lodging House.

"Mutt, what's the dog still doing out there? Thought you told it to go home," A sleepy Jack Kelly says as he climbs in the window from sleeping on the fire escape. Crutchie follows him down. The Newsies are slowly moving around and waking up.

"I don't know why it stuck around," Mutt says as she moves away from the window and starts getting ready for her day.

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Later on in the day, Mutt is selling her papers near Sheepshead since Race sells his at the track. Mutt and Race usually walk back to the Lodging House so Mutt doesn't have to walk alone since she hates walking alone. She is in the middle of hawking a headline about some fancy people having a fight when she hears the sound of paws on the street. Ariana turns around and notices the dog from earlier standing there. His coat is littered with all kinds of tree debris and such. Mutt begins to pull it out of his fur.

"What happened to you?" She asks softly and the little dog whimpers and moves closer to her, "You can stay right here with me. No one's going to hurt you." Mutt continues selling her papers until Race walks out of Sheepshead.

"You ready to go home?" He asks her and Ariana gestures to the small stack of papers she has in her hands.

"I still have papes to sell," She says and Race takes three from her.

"I can help with that," He says and the two begin hawking headlines. Race sells out and Ariana gives him one more. Their fingers brush as she hands over the paper and she feels sparks run through her body. The two finish selling their papers and they start to walk back to the Lodging House. Both Race and Mutt look behind them to see the dog following them. Race steps toward the dog but Ariana stops him.

"Wait," She says and Race crosses his arms.

"We can't let this dog follow us home," He says and Mutt sighs.

"He just needs a home and a family, can't we give him that much?" Ariana asks. Race shrugs and keeps walking. Mutt follows him and the dog follows her. He is a Golden Doodle and he is a slightly bigger dog.

"Don't let Jack catch him," Race warns as they walk further into Manhattan. Ariana and Race arrive back at the Lodging House to discover that Jack is out on a date with Katherine. Race wanders off to play poker and Ariana decides to play with the dog outside the Lodging House. The air begins to cool around them as night falls on Manhattan. Mutt continues to play with the dog until it gets dark. She climbs up the fire escape and sits on it with Crutchie. Inside, Ariana hears the boys complaining as Race wins their money off of them in poker. She turns her head and smiles at Race's look of triumph. Crutchie notices her watching,

"You seem to be paying more and more attention to Race lately." Ariana feels her face flush red.

"Crutchie, we're just friends. Race is my best friend, how could I not pay attention to him?" She asks and Crutchie smiles. Tucking a stand of her wavy blonde hair behind her ear, Mutt watches the city streets below. People walk around, hurrying to and from various places in the city. Eventually, a chill runs down her spine and she decides to head in. Crutchie smiles and waves.