AN:/ This chapter's meme features the nightmare twins. Lol. This one is extremely accurate, probably more accurate than the other memes I've put up. I think I have memes from the 92sies coming eventually too since this book is a cross between the Lives and 92sies. :) Once again, I don't own any random movies, TV shows, books, or any characters that don't belong in this fandom(or in this fandom) but belong in another one. :)

The next day at work is absolutely boring and that's coming from someone who absolutely loves her job. The occasional college student wanders in to do some work for school only to walk back out a few minutes later with whatever they needed checked out and in their hand. A mom and a small child wander into the children's section, which thank goodness that is not my part of the world. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, but they aren't people I want to work with all the time. 

My library also isn't involved in any current research projects and except for the occasional patron asking for help in locating a book, there's literally nothing for me to do.

I could organize the forsaken encyclopedias again. They are starting to get a little messy. That's incredibly boring though. More boring than just sitting here and reading a book. I reach my hand into my purse, searching around for my phone. Finding it, I slip into the inside of my book so it looks like I'm reading. Technically, I am reading. It's just stuff on my phone. I tap on my texting app and my finger hovers over the conversation I had with Mush.

He hasn't texted me since last night and I would be lying if I said I wasn't sad about it. I think it's half the reason I'm so bored right now. He wasn't supposed to have this much of an influence on me. How bad would it be if I texted him? Would it really be that bad? I have completely lost track of time when suddenly I hear a voice say,

"Hi, Selah!" My phone and book fall into my lap as I jump in surprise. I wasn't expecting him to show up, I glance at the time on my phone, thirty minutes before my work break. Heck, I didn't except him to show up at all. Mush raises an eyebrow with a concerned expression on his face.

"Hi," I say quietly and then look back at my phone, "You're early."

"Are you okay?" he asks, "You seem a little more frazzled than you were last night."

"I'm okay. I wasn't expecting you here this early. That's all," I reply, slyly dropping my phone in my purse and closing my book on my lap, desperately trying to forget the fact that I was just about to text him.

"Is it okay that I'm here?" he asks worriedly and I wave off his concerns.

"No, you're fine. I don't get off until 12:30 but feel free to explore. There's a lot of cool stuff in here," I say, opening up my book again. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a pile of books waiting to be shelved on a cart next to one of the aisles. Shelving really isn't my job, but it would give me an excuse to be with Mush and show him around the library. My boss, on the other hand, isn't that far away and is helping another patron out. It would be better to stay put. I cross my legs in my chair, adjusting the short skirt I am wearing over my black leggings and go back to reading my book. Mush wanders off to some other part of the library. I straighten out my skirt nervously as I read my book.

The next half hour drags on at an agonizing pace. I can't focus knowing Mush is somewhere in the same building as I am. It's driving me crazy. I want to be with him and showing him around this amazing place.

Not sure if he would find it amazing but that's okay. He's shown me some of his world now I get to show him some of mine.

I look at my phone and see that the time reads 12:29. Seriously? I look around to see if my boss is nearby. Would it really be that bad if I went off and found Mush a minute early?

Part of me screams that yes it absolutely would be and the other half of me wants to go find him and be with him now. I sneak a glance around and spot Mush in between two shelves looking at some book. My boss isn't nearby and I press the button on my phone just in time to see the 29 flick to a 30. I hurry across the way to Mush, slipping my phone into the pocket in my short black skirt. He looks up when he hears me approaching. I control every instinct inside of me that wants to break into a dead sprint to make it to him faster.

"I'm ready," I say excitedly, "Where did you want to go?"

"There's a cool noodle place not too far from here that the boys and I like to eat," Mush replies.

"Okay," I agree and the two of us hurry out of the library for lunch. We weave our way through the busy streets with Mush leading the way.

"I think you'll like it," Mush continues, "It's kind of busy but I think you'll like it all the same." He holds open the door to a dark sort of pub looking restaurant, not the kind of thing I would normally expect.

"Ummmm, this is....different," I say, thinking of my previous Chinese dining experiences here in Beijing.

"Yeah, it's called Punk Rock Noodles," Mush replies, "It was supposedly opened by a Punk Rock Band."

"I can tell," I reply as I take in the restaurant. We sit down and each order something to eat. Punk rock music plays in the background. It sounds like something from Journey and I nod my head along to the music as I get situated.

"You like this kind of music?" Mush asks me with a twinge of surprise hidden in his voice.

"Yeah. I do. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. I'm not good at it at all but I enjoy it," I respond shyly, "Are you into music?"

"I like listening to it. I like dancing. I was a part of a dance academy for awhile and I did gymnastics before I got serious about hockey. I had always played hockey too until I realized that I was really good at it and that dance was way more competitive to get into than hockey. Manhattan Fire is a great team. Always has been. I quit dancing once I graduated from high school," he recalls, "Now I play hockey."

"The gymnastics..." I start, "Did you go to some kind of school for that too or did you just do that on the side?"

"I did some lessons for gymnastics at one point but after awhile, I was able to kinda figure some of the different things out on my own so my mom took me out of it so I could focus more on hockey," Mush elaborates.

"That's fun," I say, "You have a very well rounded education then." 

"Yeah. It's fun to be able to do a lot of different things," Mush replies as he shyly glances out the window. I take in all of the different punk rock decor from the West and from what I'm assuming is China. I'm not very educated on my Eastern punk rock groups so I have no clue who any of these groups are.

"Pretty cool decor, isn't it?" Mush asks and I nod my head timidly.

"Yeah. I really only know about groups from the West but these Eastern groups seem interesting," I say as I study the various posters displaying flashy Chinese symbols.

"The guys and I come here pretty often. We were here shortly before we...angered that Chinese gangster," Mush trails off.

"How did the rest of that story go?" I ask him. Mush ponders it for a second.

"I don't know if I should tell you," he says, "You kind of experienced the aftermath first hand."

"Oh, it can't be that bad," I say to try and encourage him. Except I don't know how truthful that statement that could have been considering what the gangsters had attempted to do to me after the fact but that was beside the point.

"You remember last night, right?" Mush asks me and I nod.

"I was hoping to ignore that event for the sake of being optimistic but I see that we can't," I say.

"I don't think we can ignore the fact that you had a gun pressed to your head last night," Mush replies with a shrug of his shoulders, "Just a thought."

"I see your point," I agree, "I still have hope though." 

"Well, that's nice of you but umm, you'll learn that it's usually not the greatest situation. It's kind of a miracle no one's had a gun held to their head as of yet. Unless you count the first time we had an incident at the Mexican border," Mush recounts.

"You said the first time...I'm assuming there were more incidents than just once?" I ask with a twinge of disbelief evident in my voice.

"There was another one that occurred a little more recently...." Mush says, "Those are really long stories and aren't really good when you're trying to make a good first impression on someone." 

"You've already made a good first impression on me. You were really sweet to me when the five of you came running into the library. I wouldn't have shown up later at your hockey game if you hadn't," I say matter of factly.

"Well that's reassuring," Mush replies, "You don't seem like someone who goes looking for trouble." 

"I try to stay away from it. But some trouble is worth getting into," I say as a small smirk slides onto my face, "I'm not opposed to stirring the pot if it absolutely needs to be stirred and if someone else starts the stirring. I generally hate starting conflict. I'm not opposed to pranks and stuff either. I'm a huge advocate of being a silent instigator."

"Really?" Mush asks, disbelief tracing his own tone.

"I like starting a problem from a distance and watching it unfold," I say with a slight smirk on my face.

"Do you ever get caught?" Mush asks me, a small smirk sliding onto his own face.

"Yeah because I'm terrible at lying," I say with a small giggle. Mush chuckles at this too.

"I don't even have to do anything to get the rest of the boys to cause trouble. Honestly, we get into enough trouble on our own just by going about our daily business," he explains. I chuckle at that.

"It can't be that bad. Going about your daily business can't be so troublesome that you start trouble just by doing it," I try to reason. Mush thinks for a second.

"You haven't met the rest of the group," he replies.

"I've seen them," I reply, "but we were hiding in the back of the bus so I didn't really get the chance to meet everybody."

"There was a reason for that," Mush says, "They can be kind of.....crazy."

"Okay. I don't really hang around a bunch of guys all the time so, I guess I'll take your word for it," I concede, thinking about how his friends are probably wonderful. I'm not a completely normal person either so I can get along with people that are different than me.

"Good. That saves me a lot of trouble," he says with a grin, "You'll meet them soon, don't worry."

"I wasn't worried and Mush, don't worry about them ruining my friendship with you. Just because they're your friends doesn't really affect the things you do and how I view you," I explain, "So, I'm going to get to know everybody for everybody."

"That's good to know because sometimes I question why my friends do what they do...including people who are typically a little more....mellow," Mush explains.

"Have I met any of the mellow people?" I ask.

"Yeah, all of the guys that were with me are fairly mellow. They do some crazy things sometimes but most of the time they're okay. I do some crazy things too though so, nothing against them," Mush reasons. I raise an eyebrow.

"What kind of crazy things have you done?" I ask.

"I did a back flip once in my hockey gear," Mush says and my eyebrows shoot up in shock.

"You did what?!" I exclaim.

"A back flip....in my hockey gear. I only fell once. I tried to do a whole floor routine on the ice and since I don't have the training of a figure skater, I sprained my wrist pretty good. Crutchie, our coach, wasn't happy about it...at all," he says, "I did a lot of running the bleachers while I was waiting for my wrist to heal."

"Yes, you did and I still have no shame in the fact that you had to do them," a new voice says. I look over to see the blonde haired guy who Mush had pointed out as the coach for Manhattan Fire last night pulling a chair up to our table. Crutchie, as Mush had referred to him as, smiles at me. "Hi," he says amicably, "Saw you briefly last night. I'm Crutchie Morris, gangster fighting extraordinaire and coach to the Manhattan Fire Hockey team. And of course, one of the four parental figures to this big bunch of rowdies that I call friends."

"Four parental figures?" I ask and Crutchie nods his head. I look over to Mush, who merely shrugs.

"They're all great parents and nobody's died yet...which makes them great parents," he explains.

"It takes four to keep everyone in line?" I ask both of the boys. Crutchie smiles and pats me on the shoulder endearingly.

"You have much to learn, my young Padawan," he says and all I can find the energy to do is blink my eyes at him.

"I love Star Wars but I did not see that coming," I say, "Are you sure your name's not Master Yoda?"

"Oh don't worry. The random movie references happen frequently but they never last for very long," Crutchie replies, "Besides, I like to think of myself as Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I can see the resemblance," I say, "Both of you have an incredible amounts of sass."

"Does that make me a sassquatch then?" Crutchie asks. I scrunch up my face in thought before turning to Mush.

"Where's he going with this?" I ask Mush, who merely shrugs.

"Elmer told him he was turning into a grumpy old sassquatch when he made us do a bunch of drills at practice about a week ago. Now Crutchie's concerned about how sassy he actually is to us and whether or not that's going to turn him into a sassquatch," he explains, "He really wants to get the full sassquatch experience."

"Oh," is all I feel is necessary to reply with, "He knows that sassquatches aren't...."

"DO NOT TELL ME THAT MY FELLOW BROTHER AND SISTER SASSQUATCHES DO NOT EXIST!!! THEY ARE REAL!!" Crutchie exclaims and I shoot him a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" I ask him and Crutchie shrugs.

"I like to think that I am the sassiest sassquatch of them all," he says before dramatically taking a sip of his water.

"Okay then," I say turning to Mush.

"And that's something that's more on the normal side of happenings," Mush says casually, "but you get to used it and realize how much fun it is to actually jump in."

"Ummmmm okay," I say.

"You're going to be fun to corrupt," another familiar voice says and Skittery pulls up a chair next to Crutchie. I can see hints of frustration appearing on Mush's face.

"Hi, Skittery," I greet the moody hockey player. He just nods at me.

"Hi, book girl. Long time no see," he says grumpily.

"What's wrong now?" Mush asks, almost exasperated at Skittery's moodiness.

"Crutchie made me take an ice bath. Said it would be good for the muscles. I don't understand how it could be!! How could sitting in something that cold be good for you?" Skittery snaps.

"It's healthy," Crutchie replies, "It's scientifically healthy."

"Something isn't scientifically healthy if you die because of it," Skittery snaps back, "I'd do drills any day over an ice bath."

"It relaxes my muscles after a big day," Mush replies optimistically but Skittery shakes his head irritated.

"How does it? Every time I dip my pinky finger in there, I think it turns blue and I'm not even sure if I have a pinky finger when I'm done," Skittery complains.

"Thankfully, I've never had to experience once," I remark.

"Well good for you, book girl," Skittery says snarkily.

"That's why we call him Dumb and Glum," a voice I recognize as Kid Blink calls out as he loudly places a chair next to the table and sits in it backwards. "So, this is a date or what?"

"What?! No...no no. We're just hanging out, Blink," Mush attempts at casual conversation.

"Riiiiggghhhhhttttt," Blink replies, "So you're just doing lunch then?"

"If that's what you call this, then yes," I say, "Mush and I have just been wanting to get to know each other better."

"That's fair. Just stay away from the shipping couple and you'll be fine," Crutchie says with a pleasant grin on his face.

"The shipping couple?" I start to ask, "Who's the...?"

"We're keeping you and pretty boy over there away from them. Don't worry," Skittery reassures me in his own....Skittery way. Mush flushes at the name "pretty boy". 

"I'm not concerned about them. It can't be that bad," I say quietly.

"Oh, they're pretty bad, book girl. You honestly have no idea how they acted around Kerri and Race," Kid Blink says, "You'll know who they are when you meet them."

"They mean well though," Mush says, "They just get a little....carried away."

"HA! Carried away and they were shipping Kerri with Race," Blink shouts out loudly chuckling at his own joke. Skittery shoots him an annoyed look.

"Blink?" Mush asks.

"Yeah?" Blink asks, taking a healthy swig of the root beer that he has in his hand. Mush sighs and gently scoots it away from him.

"I think we need to get you around some new people," Crutchie says, thumping him on the back hard, causing Blink to blanch at the contact. I scoot away, anticipating him to lose his root beer all over the table. He swallows a huge mouthful of it before shooting a glare at his coach.

"Crutchie! I could have died!" he says before wiping off his mouth with his sleeve, "And I can't meet new people if you're making me practice all the time."

"Ahhh, the trials of being an Olympic athlete," Crutchie says, exuding mock sympathy off his person. Blink reaches for his root beer again and Mush pulls it away.

"No!" he says and Blink starts to complain.

"I want my precious root beer. How else do you think I stay alive?" he complains rather loudly, reaching for the root beer. Mush sighs before shooting a mischievous glance in Skittery's direction. The mug of root beer goes sliding right past Blink and to Skittery, who takes it with pleasure. A smirk graces his normally grim features and I chuckle at the whole situation.

"I didn't expect Blink to have an addiction to root beer," I say and Skittery shrugs his shoulders.

"Our hotel room is full of A&W. He bought a huge pack of it as soon as we got here and you know who's drank most of it?" Skittery asks before nodding his head in Blink's direction. 

"Gimme!!!! I need the precious!!" Kid Blink cries out, leaning over Crutchie, who merely swats him away with his crutch.

"Down, you lowly peasant! You already surround with me your sweat and other disgusting demeanor. Why on earth are you leaning all over me?" he cries out in a fancy voice. I exchange a look of concern with Mush.

"You know...." I say, "I think I really need to get back to work." I notice Mush give an almost visible sigh of relief. Skittery is too busy moving closer to me.

"Sorry for the lack of personal space around here," Skittery says, "That's something Blink's never really been able to understand." Blink keeps reaching for the root beer.

"I neeeeeeeeeedddddd it to survvvvvviiiiiiivvvvvveeeeee!" he howls as he claws at Skittery for it. Crutchie continues to push him back into his seat and takes the root beer from Skittery, relieving him the duty of keeping it from Blink.

"Sit down, young man," he says in a very official voice before nodding to the rest of us, "Horace Greeley, everybody."

"I think he told a young man to go west," I reply timidly and Crutchie dismisses it with a wave of his hand.

"I thought a really intelligent newsboy said he moved west than died but maybe that's less important than we think it is," Mush says, adding to my inquiry. I shrug my shoulders innocently.

"I'm sure it wasn't a big deal," I reassure Mush as the squabble for the root beer continues.

"MINE MINE MINE MINE!" Blink starts shouting, drawing concerned glances from other patrons across the restaurant. Crutchie just merely holds it further away.

"You're not getting it until you calm down, you seagull," he says firmly.

"Seagull?" I ask while Mush facepalms.

"Blink, don't get us thrown out again," Skittery instructs, almost taking on the demeanor of an exhausted parent who's listened to their toddlers squabble for entirely too long, "I want to be able to eat here again later on."

"Well, I do but I want my root beer right now and Sassquatch....I mean Crutchie won't gimmmeeeeeee," Blink whines. 

"You'll keep the rest of us up with another 80s movie marathon if we let you drink the whole thing," Mush responds.

"He has to drink root beer responsibly?" I ask.

"Yeah...I'm afraid to see what happens if he ever tries...stronger things," Mush says.

"Is root beer even caffeinated? If not, then he shouldn't be on a sugar high, right?" I wonder out loud.

"Book Girl, we need to give you a tour of our hotel room with a special exhibit for the bag full of root beer cans that have been downed by one person," Skittery says, "I think saying he has an addiction is putting it mildly."

"I tell him that if he has this much energy, it should make him a better hockey player," Crutchie says while still holding the root beer further away. Blink tries leaning over his shoulder but Crutchie merely throws an elbow to Blink's ribs.

"Yooowwwwwww!!" Blink howls as he sits back down in his own chair.

"That's what you get for making a big fuss. You do realize we have practice later, right?" Crutchie reminds him. Blink rubs his forehead in anguish.

"Yeah....the root beer would really help with that," Blink tries to reason but Crutchie merely rolls his eyes.

"I don't think so," Crutchie says before sliding me the root beer. Blink starts giving me puppy dog eyes and Mush snatches the root beer from right in front of me.

"What was that for?" I ask, almost disappointed that I didn't get to be a part of the chaos. Or rather minor chaos. I don't like to cause too much trouble.

"To spare you from making a difficult decision," Mush replies before turning to Blink, "How about I put this in the fridge in the hotel for after practice?"

"That's not gonna keep him out of it," Skittery denies, "You need to put it in a safe."

"I can leave it alone until after practice," Blink says confidently.

"Can you?" Skittery replies and Blink nods.

"Of course!!" he replies. I check the time on my phone and realize that I REALLY should be heading back to work.

"This has been fun, guys but I have to go back to work," I say sadly. Mush eagerly stands up.

"I'll walk you back," he says and his friends all shoot him excited looks, "So...you don't get lost."

"Uh huh," Blink replies from his spot before snatching his root beer before anyone can stop him and taking a large sip of it.

"Okay," I reply before turning to the other three, "See ya later, guys."

"Bye, book girl. See you tonight. Mush, don't forget to tell her about tonight," Skittery says casually.

"Tonight? What's going on tonight? There's not a hockey game, is there?" I ask and Mush puts a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"I'll explain once we get outside," Mush says as he starts to guide me out the door.

"Crutchie, it was nice meeting you officially. Bye, Skittery and Blink," I call out.

"Bye!!" they call out as Mush and I walk outside.

"So about tonight?" I ask as soon as the door closes. Mush sighs.

"You're asking about this a lot quicker than I thought you would," he says and I chuckle.

"Can't be too predictable, now can I?" I reply and Mush chuckles along with me.

"There's a figure skating match and I was curious if you were interested in going. The hockey guys will be there and some of our friends figure skate so you'll get to see them do their thing," he says with a smile, "Would you want to come?"

"Maybe. Let me see how the rest of the day plays out," I reply, "but I would like to." Mush and I start walking back towards the library. We just chat about lunch, the guys, and Blink's root beer addiction. Once we reach the library, the two of us walk up the steps and are soon facing each other.

"Well, thanks for letting me steal you away from your job for a little while," Mush says.

"Of course!! I enjoy taking a break away from work," I say and Mush smiles at me.

"Will you text me if you're coming tonight? I'll meet you at your subway stop and maybe we can grab dinner or something," he suggests and I smile at him.

"I will definitely text you. Now I really have to go or my boss is going to be really upset with me," I say.

"But there's fresh air out here," Mush protests and I shoot him a look.

"There's fresh air whether I'm out here or not. I'll see you around, okay? I'll make sure to text you tonight either way," I say with a smile as I walk back in the library. 

"Bye," Mush says as he slowly starts to walk down the steps with a sad look on his face.

"See ya," I say, trying to pretend like I'm not tragically sad on the inside that he's leaving me for practice or wherever it is he's going. When I walk back inside to work, I seriously question who was more sad about us having to separate, me or him?

A/N: Who do you think was more sad??

This book is back!!! I feel like it's been forever since I've updated it so I'm glad it's back. This was such a cute one to write with something funny thrown in there just because the Newsies can't stay out of each other's love lives. I'm so happy I'm finally putting something out that isn't a tag though. It feels so good to update one of my true books again. Things are going to get cuter in the next few chapters. She and Mush are still getting to know each other but soon enough, there will be some cuteness going on. :) This book is just so fun to write for. I really enjoy it and am glad that I have written it. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and doing whatever it is you do. It means a lot to me.

Next thing to be written....Newsies in Quarantine Oneshots (one in 1899 and one as a Modern AU) and they are going to be so stinking fun. It's just going to be chaos. I don't know how else to describe it.

War Wonders is also going to becoming out relatively soon so you can be looking for that here soon.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading this one!! Hope you all enjoy it!!

See you around friends,

-Aisling