It was dark, and cold, and smelled worse than the streets. Not a single ray of light came through the dirty windows. Feister braced herself against the wall, holding her stomach. She had taken a nasty blow and it hurt like no tomorrow. She felt weak, and helpless, and wanted to drop dead.
But didn't because, one: she had to stay strong, two: she couldn't let these slime balls see they got to her, and three: she had to stay even stronger for the boys, her brothers, because if word got out that a girl died in the Refuge then they would give up on the strike in a heartbeat.
"Had enough, girly?" one of the guards taunted. Feister didn't say anything, and only gave a look that could actually kill.
"Ya know girly, once yer little boyfriend gets here then the real fun will being." an evil smile went across his face that sent chills down Feister's spine.
"You'se leave 'im outta this," she spat. The guard laughed. "Bring 'im in," he yelled. Soon enough the door opened and another guard dragged in someone who was handcuffed and covered in bruises. He was trying to fight back, but it was no use. The guard threw him to the ground and the first guard yanked him up by the hair. Revealing a familiar face.
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"No!" Feister shouted as she shot up. After taking a few deep breaths, her breathing slowed down once she realized that she was in her own bed, and in The Lodging House, safe from the Refuge. She laid back down on the bed while taking deep breaths, when she heard the door open. Feister guessed it was one of the boys checking to see if everything's alright. Usually the door would be locked, but the boys made it clear that with her nightmares happening there would be no door locking.
"Stop fakin' it, I's know yer awake," a familiar voice said as the bed sunk down a bit. But Feister kept her eyes shut, this was the last thing she wanted to deal. "C'mon Feisty, just tawk ta me," Mush said quietly. "We's always tawk bout stuff, so why is now any different?"
"Just go back ta yer bunk an' got ta sleep," Feister replied quietly while keeping her eyes shut. All she wanted right now was some sleep, but with her nightmares acting up it was going to be one long night.
"Feisty, just tawk ta me," Mush replied quietly. Feister sighed as she turned to the other side of the bed so now her back was facing Mush. All Feister wanted right now was to be left alone, but by the looks of that, she knew that wasn't going to happen. Mush can be very relentless when he wants to be, and seeing the current circumstance, he wasn't going to give this up.
"Want me ta stay with ya?" he asked. Though there was an unspoken rule about no staying in Feister's room for the night, this would be an exception since she was getting nightmares that were keeping her up at night. Mush knows what that's like first hand, and now that it was happening to Feister, he was going to do whatever it took to make her feel safe again.
"If it makes ya feel better," Feister replied with a sigh after a few moments. She knew he wasn't going to leave this alone, so it was better than trying to fight it. Plus, maybe it did make Feister feel a little better knowing Mush would be there next to her. Mush smiled before going under the warm covers. He turned on his side so now he was facing her back. "Sweet dreams Feisty," Mush said quietly as he snuggled into the bed.
"I sure hope so," Feister thought as she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath as she let her body relax once again. Soon enough Feister was in a deep sleep.
For the next hour or so, Mush tried to stay awake just in case Feister had another nightmare. So far everything seemed to be fine, and Mush was starting to think that maybe there was nothing to worry about. That is until Feister started rolling side to side and mumbling stuff Mush could barely understand. Mush pulled Feister as close as he could and started whispering soothing things into her ear. When that didn't work he started to say her real name, trying to get her to wake her up, it seemed like forever until Feister woke up.
"You ok?" Mush asked, with a ton of concern in his voice as he sat up. But Feister didn't answer, instead she hugged him tightly and buried her head into his chest. "Mush, it-it was awful, the soakings, it was worse than the last. I's think one time I's passed out because it was so bad. That place really is a livin' nightmare." Feister sniffled a bit as she pulled herself closer. She started to shake a little while a few tears slipped down her cheeks.
"It's ok, yer safe now, no one's gonna hurt ya." Mush whispered tenderly while rubbing her back. He could feel her shaking herself cold in his arms. On one hand, Feister had finally come clean, but on the other hand Mush hated seeing her like this. Sure, Feister's a strong girl, but even she had a breaking point.
So Mush just held Feister in his arms as she the tears rolled down her cheeks, and told him about some things that happened in the Refuge. Though Feister didn't want to tell Mush (or anyone for that matter) she couldn't hold it back anymore. The longer she kept it in, Feister would feel like something was eating her stomach from the inside out. But the moment she came clean, it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Though she hated being this vulnerable to her emotions, Feister couldn't hide it any longer.
Every time Feister would stop to take a few deep breaths, Mush would whisper something soft into her ear. Not only was it a soothing sound, but it also made Feister feel a little safe. "Feisty," Mush whispered tenderly. "Can ya look up?" Feister shook her head, not wanting to meet his gaze. She didn't want him to see her tear stained face. It was one of the things Feister hated most in life. Besides change, and that one Brooklyn boy, and...ok so there's a lot of things Feister hates in life, but right now, she hated the fact that she was crying in front of Mush.
"It's ok Feisty, it's only me." after a few seconds Feister slowly lifted her head and was met with a pair of blue eyes looking softly into her brown ones. "See, that wasn't so hard," Mush said as he wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Yer safe now, nothin' is gonna hurt ya, alright."
"Promise?" Feister asked quietly. Mush smiled as he lightly kissed the top of her head, and lingered there for a few moments before pulling away. When Mush pulled back he saw the smallest smile on Feister's face, her eyes were wide, and as the moonlight spilled into the window, it set her dark hair aglow. Mush couldn't help but smile at how pretty Feister looked at the moment. "The nightmares, do they's ever stop?" Feister asked shakily as she hugged Mush tightly.
"Hard ta say for sure," Mush replied while rubbing the her back. "Slow down, definitely, but stop? Heck, I's still get mine sometimes, an' it started back up when you'se was taken cause....that's my nightmare come true. Well, that, an' losin' ya. Cause yer the best thing ta ever happen ta me Feister Johnson."
"Yer the best thing ta ever happen ta me too, Mush Meyers," Feister replied as she looked up at him. A few small tears slipped down Feister's cheeks, which Mush wiped away. "Stop those tears, an' get some rest," he said quietly. Feister nodded her head with a small smile on her face. As soon as they both laid back down Feister hugged Mush tightly as she rested her head on his heart. She snuggled closer as she felt her eyelids become heavier and heavier.
One second her eyes would open, and close. Soon enough Feister closed her eyes one last time, and sighed as she listened to the steady sound of Mush's heartbeat. It was a soothing sound that put her off into a deep (and peaceful) sleep. Mush only smiled as he watched Feister fall asleep in his arms, he kissed the top of her head as she snuggled closer. During a normal day Feister is, without a doubt the wildest person Mush has ever met (and that's saying something in New York) She was the one who kept him on his toes, and he loves that about her. But he also loved the times where she showed her softer side. Like now for instance.
It was almost hard to believe that this, peaceful sleeping girl, is the same girl who yells at him on a daily base. Though Feister is tough, with a hard shell, underneath all that is a soft and gentle girl. Mush was the only one who ever saw Feister's softer side, and it's those moments he probably enjoys the most. Mush lightly pressed one last kiss to Feister's forehead before falling asleep, while remembering the night that changed his life...
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It was his second night as a newsie, and so far things had been ok. He didn't have a nickname (yet) and most of the older boy's called him "kid", or "Blink's boy", seeing as Kid Blink was the one who found him. Other than that, it was a fairly normal night (if you consider a room full of little boys running around causing amuck) That is until Wolf yelled out something in a shocking tone that made everyone stop what they were doing, and stare at what was going on. Since he was the new kid, he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, so he just stood there quietly and watched everything unfold.
Turns out the three oldest boys had found a kid getting beat up by some thug, and they brought her to the Lodge. Yes, the new kid was a she, and she would be staying at the Lodge for a week on a trial base as a newsie. If she could keep up with the boys then she stays, if not then she goes to stay with the nuns. Or something like that.
After this girl (who's name was "Claire") was introduced to the other newsies, she walked up to him, and that's when he notice she was a very tiny girl with soft skin, dark braided hair and big brown eyes. Her clothes were ripped and torn a bit, and her skin was covered with a few bruises and dirt. But her eyes, they were big, and brown and drew him in like a bee to honey.
At first glance, this girl seemed the quiet, sweet, and the innocent type. But boy was he wrong, because after one stupid thing he said, she exploded like a firework on the Fourth of July. She said he at mush for brains, he said she was a feisty little one, they kept going at it until he was at a lost for words. He just stood there like an idiot because this girl he's only known for less than three minutes had him tongue tied.
As impressive that a girl called out the new kid, there wasn't much time to think about that since Wolf broke up the fight before it could get any worse, and after a spit and shake between the two new kids, it was off to bed. Before falling asleep he told her he was sorry for what happened, and she told him she was nervous about being one girl in a million boys. After a little heart felt talk, they both fell asleep.
The following morning the other boys called Blink's kid "Mush", and Claire ."Feister". They were both confused at first, but eventually ended up going with it anyways. And, from that day forth, they were best friends.
Little did he know that as time went by, the feisty little girl would become his partner in crime for whatever life had to throw.