Pieces

Dancing in the Dark

Henry finished his cookie first. Morris ate slower, trying not to make crumbs. He wasn't allowed to make crumbs. When he finished, he held his hands up and opened his mouth, as if to say, "All done!"

Henry smiled. "Do you know what you want to do now? Stay here, talk, sleep, go for a walk...?"

"Hm... Outside!" Morris grabbed Henry's hand and pulled him outside. It had gotten dark. Morris looked up at the sky. He loved the moon and the stars. Looking up made him feel so small. He wished he could go up to the stars and get a better look at them.

He was told that his sister was in the stars. His sister died when he was only five. She was nine, and Oscar was seven. One month later, they abandoned Morris. Their sister, Elizabeth, was the one who cared for Morris, considering their parents didn't do much. He loved her very much. He tried to take care of her when she got sick. Their parents yelled at him for bothering her, but she insisted she wanted him there. She loved him and treated him like her own child. She was tough, she'd soak anyone whoever dared to hurt Morris. She had a gentle side too, she'd comfort Morris whenever he was scared or sad. He missed that.

"Mo?" Henry said. "Wanna sit?" He'd been sitting on the ground for a while, waiting for Morris to join him.

Morris nodded and sat next to Henry. Then he pointed up to the sky. "My sister is there with your grandma and your daddy."

Henry was confused at first, but finally realized what that meant. "Oh... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay." He paused. "Lizzie would've liked you, I think."

Henry smiled. "My dad would've liked you."

"And grandma?"

Henry laughed. "And grandma."

"Yay!" Morris started happy flapping. Henry joined in. He knew that made Morris feel better.

"Hey, Morris?" Henry said quietly.

"Hm?"

"You're very pretty."

Morris laughed. "Thank you! But it's so dark! You can't even see me!"

"I know, but you're always pretty."

"You're always pretty too!"

Henry smiled. How could Morris be so sweet, yet have such a bad image? He knew Oscar was bad, and Morris definitely wasn't perfect, but he was a good kid. The worst thing Morris ever did was take Crutchie's crutch, and Oscar had done so much worse. The newsies would also pick on Morris more. "Hey, Mo?"

"Hm?"

"You know I like you, right?"

"Yes. You're my best friend."

"What if I wanted to be more than best friends?"

Morris tilted his head, confused. What was more than best friends?

"Boyfriends," Henry said.

"Yeah! Is that even possible?"

"It is allowed, but it's our secret. Only our very best friends can know, okay?"

Morris nodded. "What do boyfriends do?"

"What do they do? Um...I think it's just the same as best friends, plus kisses and cuddles."

"They dance!" Morris got up and started twirling. Henry got up as well and joined in. Henry copied whatever Morris did. He eventually switched to his happy dance, then grabbed Henry's hands and happy danced with him, but he called this the boyfriends dance.

"Boyfriends usually slow dance," Henry said. "Do you know how?"

"No."

Henry put one hand on Morris's shoulder and the other on his lower back. "Put your hands like this." Morris did what Henry said. Henry started dancing, and Morris just copied exactly what he did. He was a pretty good dancer. It was enough to impress Henry.

"This is fun!" Morris said, laughing. "Thank you so so much for teaching me! You're the best!"

Henry smiled. "Aww, you're welcome! I'm happy you're having fun! But I'm not the best. You are."

"But you're my best."

"And you're mine."

Morris gave Henry a hug. "Thank you. I'm done dancing now and I want to go inside, please."

"Alright."

"Wanna do something first." He looked up at the sky. "Bye Lizzie. And Henry's dad and grandma." He turned back to Henry. "I'm ready now."

"Okay." Henry took Morris's hand and brought him inside. They sat together for a while. Henry told Morris about his family, and Morris was trying to draw him. Morris's art was amazing. He hadn't been able to show it to anyone since Elizabeth, and he'd gotten much better since then. When he finally finished, he showed Henry.

"This is...this is amazing! I love it!" He smiled and gave Morris a hug. The drawing was definitely one of the best he'd ever seen. He hoped Morris would get recognized for his art someday.

"Thank you." He laid down, curled up in a tiny ball. Henry laid next to him and held him close. "Goodnight, HenHen."

Henry smiled. "Night, Moey."