|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 19:37:34 GMT -5
"It's almost dinner time."
Lacey bit her lip. She wasn't all that hungry, but she hadn't eaten all day, so she figured that it would be a good idea to try eating something anyway. So, she began walking with Spot as he said.
Mrs. Harbour always made good meals for the girls. Even when it wouldn't be anything that she made, she tried extra hard to provide the girls with good food. She was a tough lady, but she cared about the girls.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 19:45:48 GMT -5
The walk back to the lodge was quiet. Maybe too quiet. But what was there to say? He didn't really feel like talking. There was still alot to think about.
He paused as they arrived at the girls' lodge. A few girls passed by them and headed on in. He pursed his lips. "Goodnight, Lacey."
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 19:48:29 GMT -5
Lacey wanted to say something almost the entire way back to the lodge. It felt strange having not spoken to him in so long, even if the silence was comfortable. For now, though, she kept silent, wanting to give Spot as much time as he needed.
"Goodnight, Lacey."
"Goodnight, Spot," She nodded slowly, flashing him another weak smile before stepping back, "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.
She could already tell that she wasn't going to get much sleep that night. Her focus would be entirely on finding something nice to do for Spot.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 19:54:11 GMT -5
"Goodnight, Spot."
Spot returned a small smile.
"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"
He pursed his lips, thinking about what he was thinking about doing tomorrow, and shrugged. "It's possible."
He couldn't guarantee it... there were somethings he really needed to do as leader. He had been slacking a bit, and well, after talking with Jack, he knew he really should start looking to slowly transition from being a newsie. Like Thunder had. Except his older brother had it easier. He hadn't been a leader.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 19:57:13 GMT -5
"It's possible."
Lacey nodded. If she didn't end up seeing him, then she would figure out something to do. Hopefully, she would, but if not... She could deal with.
"Bye, Spot." She bit her lip, carefully stepping back to head into the lodging house. It was going to be a long night.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 20:02:54 GMT -5
"Bye, Spot."
Spot watched her head inside.
"Bye... Lacey."
He sighed softly, then made his way to the boys' lodge, but when he got there, he suddenly wasn't really hungry anymore. So instead of heading inside, he went back to the docks. He still had the papes he hadn't been able to sell and a charcoal stub somewhere. Before it got too dark, he should be able to have a new map of Brooklyn drawn out. But come to think of it... wasn't there something about a map he wanted to look at?
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 20:14:57 GMT -5
It was difficult, trying to think of something that she could do for Spot that could make him happy. Everything that came to mind wasn't good enough or was too expensive, but she didn't know what to do. She had asked a few of the girls, and even Mrs. Harbour, but no one had been able to help her much.
So, Lacey had settled for going out and trying to find a store that had something that Spot needed. But what did Spot need?
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 20:19:16 GMT -5
The next day, Spot had spent his day focusing on selling and watching the boys. Keeping out them out of trouble was one of his top priorities. Also, watching them, getting to know the younger ones a little better. He also kept his Brooklyn map handy, just in case he needed to make any changes to it.
The day was fairly busy considering how slow the previous day had been. He already had to scold a few boys and kick out a few boys from Queens and run off a few borough jumpers. The busier he could be, the better. He needed to stay focused on what was important for Brooklyn for now. He didn't need to be worrying about Lacey... or even thinking about Rip.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 20:41:22 GMT -5
It had been an incredibly long night, and Lacey was still left lagging when it came to selling. She had spent too much time trying to find the perfect present for Spot, although she had been thinking about things to do and coming up empty every time. The last resort when it came to things like that was heading over to Staten to find Thunder... And she was close to just doing that.
However, she had managed to sell a few papers for the day, even through the exhausted haze that she was in on only a few hours of sleep in a few days.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 20:59:14 GMT -5
Spot was standing by the docks, but he wasn't quite at the docks. He had meant to go there to check up with some birds. However, he remembered a few more changes he needed to make to the borough. So now, he was leaning against a nearby lamppost working on drawing out his changes. He had rubbed his face a couple of times and now was marked up with his charcoal bit. Not that he knew he was getting charcoal everywhere.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 21:18:33 GMT -5
As soon as Lacey spotted Spot standing by the docks, she bit her lip. She was contemplating approaching him, but she had no clue what she would say, and it seemed that he was lost in thought. However, it was easy to see even from the distance that she was at that there were marks of black on his face. Slowly, she decided to approach regardless.
"Hey uh, Spot?" She cleared her throat, an amused smile tugging at her lips as soon as she realized what had been happening to cause that.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 1, 2018 21:37:36 GMT -5
"Hey uh, Spot?"
Spot looked up, raising an eyebrow as he noticed the amused look on her face. "Yeah?"
He was frowning a little from his work. The map was beginning to be a little harder than he expected. He was hoping to push more towards Manhattan to avoid Queens alltogether, but that just wasn't working. He just had to see about moving borders into Queens and maybe Queens could push into Harlem? No... that wouldn't work. Maybe with Bronx? And Bronx could share with Manhattan?
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 1, 2018 22:05:51 GMT -5
"Yeah?"
Spot didn't notice. Of course, if he had, she figured that he would have cleaned it off a long time ago, but it was still incredibly amusing to see.
"You've got a little..." Lacey trailed off, gesturing briefly to her own face. Unless he couldn't understand what she was trying to say, she didn't want to risk making him look any more frustrated by cleaning it off of his face herself.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 2, 2018 11:18:52 GMT -5
"You've got a little..."
Spot blinked, not sure what she was speaking about. He reached up to wipe his face when he saw his blackened fingertips. He couldn't help a few Gaelic words slip as he cursed.
"Is it bad?" He felt around his pockets for a possible handkerchief.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 2, 2018 12:16:08 GMT -5
"Is it bad?"
Lacey quirked another, brighter smile. "Not too bad, but definitely... noticeable."
It was still a bit funny to see Spot like that, but Lacey was doing her best not to laugh too noticeably. She didn't want to seem rude. Pulling a handkerchief from her own pocket, she extended it out to him with another small smile. "Here."
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 2, 2018 17:28:31 GMT -5
"Not too bad, but definitely... noticeable."
Spot wasn't pleased. He hoped no one but Lacey had seen him like this. And lucky him... he didn't have a handkerchief in either of his pockets.
"Here."
He was surprised to see a handkerchief being offered to him, but he was grateful. "Thanks..." He was quick to wipe his face, hoping to erase any trace of the charcoal. He probably just smeared it... Well at least he was at the docks. He could just splash his face with water and get it off that way.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 2, 2018 22:33:30 GMT -5
”Thanks...”
Lacey nodded a bit. The handkerchief helped a bit, but not much, but she didn’t say anything about it. She figured that Spot knew.
“Of course.” She cleated her throat. What else could she say? Should she just leave? Or should we stay? “I, uh, should go.” But she didn’t move. She just stood there for a few moments, swallowing thickly.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 2, 2018 23:03:25 GMT -5
”Of course.”
Spot glanced back down at the now dirty handkerchief. “Uh... I’ll get it washed for ya...”
He stuffed the handkerchief in his pocket, mentally noting to talk to Mr. O’Quinn about getting it properly washed. He absentmindedly rubbed his face, blurring the dirty spots on his face but not really making it cleaner but at least it wasn’t making it worse.
”I, uh, should go.”
He pursed his lips, but Lacey seemed glued to the spot. It was still a bit awkward between them it seemed.
Spot sighed and folded up his map and tucked it in handkerchief. “Would you like ta go for a walk?” he offered.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 3, 2018 19:34:16 GMT -5
“Uh... I’ll get it washed for ya...”
Lacey shrugged a bit. She never used it much, especially with the summer coming to a close and the weather becoming less glaringly hot. "If ya want to."
“Would you like ta go for a walk?”
She bit her lip. Would that be a good idea? Or would it still be awkward? But Spot had asked, so surely he didn't mind? Or did he just feel pressured to ask because she was still standing there.
"Sure," She finally managed, a small smile finally gracing her lips once again, "A walk sounds great."
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 3, 2018 19:59:29 GMT -5
"If ya want to."
Spot shrugged. He felt that it was the proper thing to do, that was all.
"Sure. A walk sounds great."
He nodded. He would offer his hand, but it was still a bit black with charcoal stains. "The park shouldn't be too busy."
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 3, 2018 20:03:21 GMT -5
"The park shouldn't be too busy."
Lacey smiled a bit. She was worried that taking his hand would be awkward, but at the same time, she was also worried that not taking it. However, she just left it as it was, nodding and beginning to walk with Spot.
"What were ya makin'?" She asked, referring to the map that Spot had been drawing beforehand.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 3, 2018 20:13:40 GMT -5
"What were ya makin'?"
Spot glanced back at the map in his pocket. "Jus' sorting some things." He didn't feel like going to detail. "Needed ta draw it out."
He might have to ask Mr. O'Quinn for the borough map so he could redraw it and perhaps that would help him figure out how to straighten the borders.
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 3, 2018 20:19:13 GMT -5
"Jus' sorting some things. Needed ta draw it out."
Lacey nodded a bit, figuring that there wasn't really a point in trying to get any more out of Spot. He wasn't going to tell her anything more even if she asked. "Sounds fun." She stated dryly.
Perhaps things between them were more damaged than she thought.
|
|
|
Post by Spot Conlon on Sept 3, 2018 20:22:06 GMT -5
"Sounds fun."
Spot raised an eyebrow, but he decided against commenting on her dry statement. Things were still a bit strained between the two. He just shrugged. "Not everythin' is going to be fun."
It was true. The responsibilities of being leader were not always fun. Actually, it usually meant you would miss most of the fun. Spot hadn't minded really... but part of him wondered what life could have been like if he hadn't become leader of Brooklyn. What if he had just taken the same path as Thunder?
|
|
|
Post by Lacey on Sept 3, 2018 20:23:57 GMT -5
"Not everythin' is going to be fun."
Lacey didn't reply, simply turning to look at Spot once again as they walked. She could tell that things were going to be tough to get back on track, but that didn't mean that she wasn't willing to try regardless.
"Hardly anything is ever fun anymore." She whispered, running her fingers through her auburn tresses.
|
|