Iris Blue, Am I In Love With You? (Childhood/Teens)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 (Late April 1866)

"Jeremy! Slow down!"

The boy glared back at Stella as she whispered harshly, picking up his pace even more as they slipped through the alleys. Jack was farther ahead, scouting out and watching before running to hide behind each building. The darkness made it easy to slip through London unnoticed, but one could never know when someone else could be sharing the shadows with you.

Jeremy was obviously avoiding Stella now that she dared utter a word to him, which was both a blessing and a curse. The two never seemed to get along, but she also didn't want to get left alone in these dark streets. Even though it wasn't much farther, and she knew the route by heart now. Her ears picked up the music drawing closer and closer, a sure sign that it was just around the corner...

"Boys."

She muttered to herself as she watched the boys wrestling in the narrow alleyway they had finally come to a stop in, the warm light from the tavern streaming out of the windows. It was late at night, and others had also planted themselves outside of the building for various reasons- beggars, commoners who were broke or drunk, and the like. Stella used to be paranoid about such people surrounding them, but she soon learned that the worries for young boys in this century of London were few, especially in groups. She glanced down with a smirk at her patched up pants, an old pair from Jeremy, along with a shirt and suspenders from Jack. The filthy newsboy cap perched on her head finished up her disguise, hiding her long hair well with the aid of a few clips Jeremy found. This way the hat wouldn't fall off in their wrestling matches or running, and no one would discover she was a girl.

"Back for the music, lads?"

A smile crossed Stella's lips as she recognized the old Irish voice, and turned to the beggar sitting near where she was spectating the boys' fight.

"You know it, Pete."

He cackled a little at Stella's response, watching the two boys roll around in the cobblestone, both laughing their heads off between punches.

"The band's lively tonight, youn's will get your fill of melodies. Have you seen the new barmaid? Pheewwwwww, she's pretty as can be!"

Stella raised an eyebrow at this and strolled over to peer into the window, trying to spot the new face. She chuckled to herself a little as she realized how she had all the bar staff memorized by now. John would have a heart attack if he knew. So would any of the teachers, if they knew that they had been sneaking out often to fix Stella's craving for music for the past several weeks. It's amazing how not on-demand music was in 19th century London. No earbuds, no phones, nothing. It made Stella realize what she used to worry about herself- she was quite addicted to music, and it was a nightmare to live without such a luxury.

"Is my redhead here tonight?"

Jack jumped up beside Stella, pressing his face against the glass and peering in. His heavy breathing kept fogging up the glass, much to his annoyance. A frown crossed his face as he didn't spot his favorite, and walked over to sink down beside Pete.

"She ain't here..."

"You didn't hear? She run off with some man last night! Handsome young fella, looked like he was well off, too."

The news nearly brought Jack to tears. His beautiful barmaid was gone, swooped off into the night by some mysterious man, never to been seen again. It had been obvious that Jack was quite smitten with the lovely gal, yet Stella couldn't help but chuckle as she glanced back to the heartbroken young boy.

"Don't be too upset, Jack, the new blondie might be worth your love and affection."

Even Jeremy, who had been laying on his stomach in the cobblestone, stabbing the cracks with his pocketknife that he had pick-pocketed last week, turned and lifted an eyebrow at Stella's comment. Jack nearly sprinted over to the window once more as Jeremy watched his reaction, judging whether it would be worth his effort to get up or not. The blond boy's gasp answered his question.