This one isn't really a one shot so much as an extended drabble, so it's REALLY short, but I needed to post something and I didn't think that this work needed anymore added to it, so voila!
***
Racetrack was okay.
At least that's what he told everyone.
It was his go-to line and his behavior seemed to back it up.
He was all smiles around the boys; wide grins, teasing laughter, and smart remarks. It was one of the benefits to being a gambler: he had mastered his poker face.
He could've continued his life like this and none of the boys would have been the wiser.
None of them, that is, except one.
Jack was the only one who could see the storm brewing in his friend's eyes. He was the only one who could smell the despair in the cigar smoke that clung to Race and trailed after him like a wraith.
Jack was the only one who could hear the boy's silent pleas for help every time the going got a bit tougher than usual. He was the only one to notice Race trembling in the middle of the night while hot tears slid down his cheeks and dripped off the sharp angles of his chin.
He was the only one to see the desperation as Race's senses returned on those nights. To see the boy furiously scrubbing his face dry with fingers clenching as though wanting to pull at his hair.
No. All of that was nothing. It didn't mean anything.
Because Racetrack was okay.
At least that's what he told everyone.
Jack wasn't buying it.
He knew better.
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Fiksi PenggemarBecause I couldn't help myself. I'll do movie or Broadway characters, though I usually see them as their Broadway versions. I'll do just about any character, whatever you want, as long as I feel comfortable writing it! Also, I've got the mind of a c...
