Sing a little sunshine song... (closed)

[Specs]

"Just a little bit," he said, shrugging it off. There was no point in overreacting. She wasn't his girl or anything. He just thought she was pretty. And nice. And smart. That's all. Yup, that's all. Glad for the change of subject, he answered, "I, er, haven't gotten a chance to, actually. It's hard to find alone time in the lodging house..."

[Tag Along]

"Yes, I know what you mean. I was reading in my bunk the other day, and all of a sudden, there were about five people in there!" Tag chuckled a bit, shooting Specs a smile.

[Specs]

Specs laughed, feeling slowly at ease with her once again. "That's the lodging house for you. So, uh, how you likin' the book so far?"

[Tag Along]

"Oh, it's quite interesting. But, I must say, the real pirates aren't as fantastical as the ones in stories."

Of late, Tag had secretly been daydreaming about being captured by a pirate with long, flowing locks who forced her to scrub the deck until, one day, he realized he was madly in love with her. Then, she became the most feared lady pirate in all of the seven seas.

[Specs]

Specs smiled at her, taking seat on the ground near the tree. He was so curious about her and he wanted to know more. Remembering how she reacted about her family, he tried to stray away from that subject altogether.

"So what else interests you other than reading books about pirates?" he asked, playing with the grass.

[Tag Along]

"Animals. Mostly, tending to wounded ones." She replied, setting her book down beside her and hugging her knees to her chest.

"And yourself?"

[Specs]

Specs ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't want to sound weird. Then again, he felt like she wasn't one to judge... too much, at least.

"School," he mumbled. He was a nerd and proud of it, dammit.

[Tag Along]

"Oh, I loved school. I went to school back in London and one here in New York, as well. I miss it sorely." She sighed wistfully, remembering the good old days when she sat at a desk, copying down lessons on her chalkboard. Days when she actually wore dresses and had her hair done up properly.

[Specs]

"You went to school?" said Specs in amazement, looking at her with wonder. This girl was surely full of surprises. "Did you finish? I mean, uh, if you don't mind me askin'."

At least she went to real one, he thought. Her parents would've been proud.

[Tag Along]

Tag rested her chin on her knees, trying to keep the sadness out of her expression.

"No, I... I couldn't."

[Specs]

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to..." stammered Specs. That was stupid, definitely stupid.

"I mean, at least you got to go to one, y'know? Not a lot of newsies get to do that and I'm sure you're really smart if you can read books like these and know about other ones," he said quickly in one breath.

[Tag Along]

"Please, don't apologize." Tag said, lifting her head up and looking him in the eye.

"Everyone has a past, a story. And there's nothing one can do to change it. You know?"

[Specs]

"Yeah, I guess..." muttered Specs, still feeling quite down. He felt as if every question he wanted to ask her was a sore subject. This was tougher than he thought.

"How about you tell me about a happy memory?" he asked, hoping to switch things around.

[Tag Along]

Tag saw right through him.

"Well, most of my happy memories have to do with my family, so I'll just tell you. There was a fire last year." That was all she could say without bursting into tears.

[Specs]

She was crying. Oh crap, she was crying. Specs stared at her. He had never had to deal with this before. Girls are just so unpredictable. Crap. Deciding that his words would probably get him into trouble once again, he simply patted her on the back, searching his brain for the right thing to say.