Authors notes: The *…* denote thoughts. I forgot to mention that before. Oh and the word is entre-French for enter. Oh, I think I have to warn for the smoking?

Disclaimer: Ignore the disclaimer in the previous chapter. I got a letter from my lawyer informing me that I have lost the ownership of Newsies and the weird guy with mouse ears. Thereby I am renouncing my title of Walt Disney. Therefore I will have to say now with finality that I don’t own it. *sob*sob*. But Christi and me do own the characters of Estha and Christi.

^o^ Natz

9) Entre the Long Day

Skittery sat on the steps outside the Lodging House early the next morning smoking for the first time in months. He only smoked when something was bugging him. The smoke escaped from the end of his cigar, curled up into the morning air, and winded its way up through the pipes that lay at the top of the houses on that block. He took a deep puff, inhaled and then slowly let the smoke escape his lips as he sighed. His mind was full of uncomfortable thoughts.

            This girl, Christi, she reminded him of somebody, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.* She is really pretty though* the thought unconsciously made it’s way into Skittery’s head. He did not really want to think about her like that, but the thoughts kept coming. Those green eyes, the curly hair, and the way she smiled. It suddenly hit him. He knew what was so familiar about her. It was Alex… his Alex. Sure, Alexandria had blonde hair, was taller than Christi, but she had those piercing green eyes, gorgeous smile… and that strong spirit. She had betrayed him and hidden things from him. That had hurt so bad he couldn’t even begin to describe it. He thought that they had meant more to each other than that. But what hurt even more was the fact that she had run off without saying good-bye to him. Skittery looked down at the sidewalk and ran his fingers through his long brown hair. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he ordered himself not to cry. He hadn’t cried over Alex in months… almost a year. Crying was for babies, he had told himself. He had to get over it. It had happened a long time ago. It was time to move on. One thing he knew for sure… he would NEVER fall in love again. Ever.

            Skittery sobered up a bit. *Naw* When he thought about it, that girl Christi was nothing like Alex. Christi was way to cheerful, way too… much, too exuberant. Alex was sweet, sure, but not always happy like Christi seemed to be. Well, that is ignoring what happened earlier, when she broke down crying. Skittery pushed the thoughts of Christi to the back of his mind. He stood up, flicked his cigar away, and walked up the stairs to the Lodging House. As he entered the lobby he ran into someone, someone the tiniest bit shorter than himself. It was someone who he really did not want to see right now. Their eyes met. They stared each other down for a moment, cold and hard eyes. Kid Blink’s expression softened a little first.

            “Listen, I don’t wanna fight no more, all right?” he said sticking his hand out.  Skittery sighed.

            “All right,” he agreed, shaking with Blink. *What the heck, could as wells get along. I don’t like the fact that we are fighting anyways. * Skittery thought resignedly. Blink nodded, smiled a little and walked out through the door. Skittery watched him whistle as he cheerily bounced down the sidewalk, most likely on his way to the distribution center. *Why was he always so happy? Didn’t that guy ever have a bad day? * Skittery pondered He shook his head and plopped onto a chair in the lobby. No one else was awake yet. Skittery was often awake early, never fully asleep. So many things were always on his mind. He leaned back against the wall. He jumped up when he heard someone bouncing down the stairs. He peered around the pole at the bottom of the stairs and saw Christi sort of skipping across the floor.

            “Hiya!” she said plopping down next to him. He looked at her. All that crying she had done last night had apparently taken no toll on her at all. She looked bright as ever.

            “Hi,” he said, looking around the room for something else to focus his attention on. Christi was still looking at him. Maybe she’d take the hint and go find someone else to talk to. Christi set her jaw, determined to get this guy talking.

            “You’re up early today”, she said kicking her feet in her chair.

* Did she ever sit still? * Skittery wondered irritated. “Yeah, I always wake up early,” he said, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall again.

            “Why? I sleep as much as I can. I’m only up early today ‘cuz I had so much sleep yesterday.”

            “Yeah, well…” he trailed off.

Christi stared at him. *Boy, was he no fun to talk to. Why was he always in a bad mood? * she thought briefly.

            “Well. I wonder what I’m gonna do today,” she mused, still trying to make him answer.

            “What do you usually do?” he asked, annoyed by her persistence.

            “Well, I was working for a while, at this factory, but… I….” she looked at her hands. He looked at her.

             “You what?” he asked.

            “My best friend died. We worked at the same factory. I couldn’t pay rent in the building we were in after she died. I got kicked out,” she said all in one breath. He stared at her.

            “Was Shellie your best friend?” he asked, looking away.

            “Yeah,” she said in a small voice.

            “Sorry,” he said, Feeling a little bad for her. *So that was probably why she was crying* he thought

            “Thanks,” she said smiling at him. He nodded.

            “Hey! I got an idea! Let’s go to that one restaurant ya’ll are always talking about. We’ll meet for lunch, okay?” she nodded enthusiastically at him.

            “I dunno, I usually eat alone,” he said shaking his head.

            “Oh Skittery! It’ll be fun!” she said shoving his arm. He looked at his arm and then at her. She had her eyebrows raised and was smiling as big as she could. He rolled his eyes.

            “Fine. We'll eat at Tibby's. Noon?"

            "Okay! Down the street, right? Yeah? See ya!" she rocketed out of her chair and bounced out the door. Whoa. Had he just told her he'd go to eat with her? He sighed. He really shouldn't hang around this girl... it brought back memories. Nevertheless Skittery rose from his chair and walked out after her. *Today is going to be a long day*

~~*~~

8 / Bulma’s Hideout / 10