Ashe frequented the race tracks for the fact her horses often ran in them. It's at one of these tracks where she comes in contact with the boy obsessed with betting on horse races and always carries a cigar in his mouth.
[ the e in ashe is silent ]
...
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—— three hours later
Racetrack helped Ashe down from the latter on the side of the lodging house. Her feet hit the sidewalk with a click, and she held onto his hand for stability before releasing it. The ginger maneuverd to look Racetrack face-to-face; as a consequence, they stared at each other in a comfortable silence.
"So, uh," Ashe started. "Thank you... for today. I really enjoyed hanging out with you."
"Yeah, I had fun." Racetrack responded, finishing his third cigarette. "Guess I'll sees you in a few days?"
"You know where to find me." She winked, saluting him as she walked away.
-
The brunette silently crept up the stairs so as not to alert the other boys that he was coming in later than usual. He was almost to his bed when a voice of one of his friends, Mush, startled him.
"What's got you out so late, Race?" Asked the shirtless teen.
"I was just..." He tried to come up with an excuse, to no avail.
"Just what? Were you with a girl or somethin'?" Mush teased, but he soon realized how true his words were. "You was, wasn't you!"
"Shh! Be quiet." Racetrack harshly shushed the loud boy.
"What's with all this racket? I'm tryna sleep over here." Kid Blink grumbled, sitting up in his bed to look at the two teens.
"Get this. Racetrack over here was out with a girl." Mush told the blonde, the teasing in his voice still evident.
"I'm going to bed." The brunette rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.
-
Ashe hummed while walking into her room, relaxing onto her bed. She looked out of her open window as her curtains whipped in the wind. The cold nights breeze flowed through the teen girls hair while she walked towards the opening to close it. After the ginger heard the satisfying snap, indicating the glasspane was locked, she began to get ready for bed.
The next day came and went without so much as a spectacular event to proclaim, but it was the day after when the world changed. Ashe awoke like normal, went to school like normal, and talked to her friends like normal. Her treck home, though, was as irregular as it could have possibly gotten. There were boys clumped closely together as they chanted about a strike.
She recognized them as newsies, which instantly brought her mind back to Racetrack. Ashe stood on the tips of her feet to get a good look at the crowd, her school bag clutched in her hand while doing so. Because of the number of boys in one space, the ginger was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the boy she was looking for; but he sure saw her.
Racetrack tried to move through the crowd of boys to make it to Ashe before she left. He rushed over to her as she was about to turn a corner, quickly gaining her attention from how loud he was running. The ginger turned around and, once again, found the boy panting in front of her; but not as severely as last time.
"Hey, Racetrack." Ashe happily greeted. "You're looking kinda out of breath there."
"Just had to get in my daily run, is all." Racetrack joked. "I didn' expect to see you so soon, but I'm not complaining."
Ashe chuckled. "What's happening over there?"
"Us newsies is goin' on strike." He answered.
"Like the trolley workers?" She gave a questioning look.
"Yeah." Racetrack nodded.
"Hm." She released a surprised hum. "I hope it goes well for you boys."
"We all's do." Before Ashe could leave, however, Racetrack asked her his final question. "Do you want to meet on the roof again tonight?"
"Another rendezvous with you? I'm always up for that."
