You Get Hurt, I'll Take Your Pain (c)

[Risk]

"Dammit, Wraith," sighed Risk, gently picking her up and carrying her with his arms under her shoulders and legs.

((LOL. It's the best pattern ever And I'm turning in for the night! Gnight! <3))

[Wraith]

((So will I soon. 'Night! <3))

[Racetrack]

Race was out for a solitary walk and a smoke when, a few blocks from the lodging house, he saw a figure approaching, holding some kind of strange burden. As it drew closer, he did a double-take. "Risk!?" It definitely was...and with that tiny blond girl--Wraith?--in his arms. "Is she all right?"

[Risk]

"She's just passed out from drinking," replied Risk, shifting Wraith in his arms. "She's quite the sad drunk, this one..." He let out a sigh, feeling himself sobering up. "I guess it's my turn to bring people home, right?"

[Racetrack]

"I can take her the rest of the way if you want," Race said, eyeing the girl, who looked like a good wind could carry her away. And then he couldn't resist smirking a little. "So does Macbeth know you're drinking with other girls?"

[Risk]

"What?" snapped Risk, immediately caught off guard by Race's question. "Why should she care, anyway?" He pouted, rolling his eyes. He knew Macbeth didn't like him. At least, not like he did.

[Racetrack]

Race just shook his head, lifting the girl out of Risk's arms and gently slinging her over his shoulder. "You should tell her about it and see if she cares. You must've noticed she only hangs around with two people in the whole lodging house, and I'm pretty sure she ain't mooning over Ershey." Though with some of the rumors he'd been hearing about some of the girls, he couldn't be entirely certain of that.

[Risk]

"She talks to other people! She has... uh, Jo," muttered Risk as he handed Wraith to Racetrack. "Lemme know if you wanna switch."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Macbeth's hard to read... she's not like Ershey who you can guess what she's feelin' off the bat. But Beth... well, if we're movin' in together then that means she musn't hate me, right?"

[Racetrack]

Race almost choked on air. "Moving in together? When did that happen? Didn't you, uh...skip a few stages there?" No one told him anything anymore.

[Risk]

"That came out the wrong way... uh..." muttered Risk, clearing his throat. "What I meant was... since she has Jo and Jo's at the lodging house, it'd be good for her to have a place of her own. Well, uh, sorta."

Crap. How was he going to explain his apartment?

[Racetrack]

And Race asked the one obvious question at this point. "How on earth can you afford that?"

[Risk]

"I, um... have my ways," he muttered, avoiding looking at Race.

[Racetrack]

Race stared at him for a minute, remembering Risk's mysterious 'connections' that were going to get Mush and Ershey out of trouble. "I don't really wanna know, do I?"

[Risk]

"No," answered Risk pointedly. "You really don't wanna know."

[Racetrack]

Race sighed. "Just try not to come knocking on my door one day and telling me someone's gotten stabbed or shot or kidnapped or owes money to scary people." These situations seemed to come up alarmingly often with his friends.