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Race didn’t sleep much. But no one really knew that. Race’s entire body could be shutting down from exhaustion but his mind would still be going a mile a minute. It wasn’t so bad really. He had learned to live with it. This is why Race can’t have coffee. But he did on Monday. And now it’s Wednesday and he still hadn’t slept! And he had finals tomorrow afternoon! Race just wanted sleep!!Race groaned and opened his eyes. The moonlight illuminated his bedroom, exposing the hoodies, textbooks, and papers on his floor. He checked the time on his phone.“2 am, seriously?” the annoyed boy stood up, the ice cold floor making him cringe. “This is fucking ridiculous, I just want to sleep.” Race moved carefully. His sister, Mari, was sleeping in the next room over. Their parents had kicked her out, and Race was the only relative that let her stay with him. He had no problem with it, he didn’t need the extra room. Quickly, he pulled on a hoodie and some sweatpants. He connected his earbuds to his phone and put his favorite playlist on shuffle. The door opened with a quiet creak. Race remained silent, stepping out of his room. He grabbed a marker and a sticky note from the coffee table. He was gonna leave a note so that Hannah didn’t think he was kidnapped or something. “You’re sick, don't try to go to school today. Les and Sam will tell me if you do. I’ll be home around noon to check on you. I have finals around one, so it’ll be about two or three before I get home. If I’m not back in time to make lunch, there is money on top of the fridge. If something happens call Davey, Jack, Elmer, or Spot, you know their numbers. Don’t leave your hearing aids in all day
See ya later
-Race”Sighing, he stuck the sticky notes to the door, grabbed his keys, and left. He didn’t know where he was going. Albert. He could go to Albert. The ginger lived on campus, and was probably asleep by now, but Race didn’t care. He’d probably sleep better there.It was 16 degrees out, and by the time Race got to Albert’s dorm, his fingers were starting to turn blue. Race didn’t bother to knock, he just walked inside. Albert’s roommate, Oscar maybe... Race thought it was Oscar at least, was making out with his girlfriend. Race kicked the door closed and turned his music up, not in the mood to listen to the couple all night. Oscar didn’t even notice that Race was there. That, or he just didn’t care.
Race walked over to Albert’s bed. The ginger was sleeping peacefully. Laying on his stomach, covers pulled up to his chin, earbuds blasting whatever playlist he was listening to. Peacefully sleeping. Well…. Not for long.Race didn’t say anything at first. He just push Albert onto his side and laid down next to him, stealing the covers from Albert. The ginger groaned and opened his eyes, taking out one earbud and looking at the blonde. “Scoot over, you dick,” Race growled, shifting so that his back was pressed against Albert’s chest. “I’m cold, gimme covers.” Albert rolled his eyes.“Y’know, ya coulda said that you were coming over,” the redhead yawned. “Or you coulda at least been a bit nicer.” Race hummed and closed his eyes, finally feeling tired enough to get some sleep. “That’s gay,” Albert’s roommate said, his girlfriend still sitting on his lap. “Gross.”“Shut the fuck up, Oscar, we weren’t the ones trading spit and moaning each other’s names every five minutes,” Albert groaned, throwing a pencil at Oscar. “Well, it’s not right-” Oscar began. He was probably ranting about gay being sin or whatever, but Race wasn’t listening. He couldn’t care less at the moment. He was warm and tired and sleep was oh so close. “First of all, I’m not gay, I’m bi. So shut the fuck up and get the fuck out,” Race could feel the vibrations of Albert’s voice in his chest. Oscar started to protest, but Albert cut him off. “If you don’t get the hell out or shut the fuck up, I’m reporting you for harassment.” Everything went silent for a moment before Race heard the door open and close. Race smiled and took out his earbuds, stopping his music. Albert took his out too, but he didn’t turn off the music. “We got rid of two problems at once, didn’t we, Red?” Race asked. Albert groaned, lightly pushing Race away. “Call me ‘Red’ again and you’re sleeping on the floor.”“Albort DaSaliva, you would never,” Race said in mock offense. He rolled over and buried his face into Albert’s shoulder. “No, you were mean, you don’t get cuddles,”Albert barely pushed Race away, too tired to actually do anything. “But, Albie,” Race whined looking up and giving Albert his famous puppy eyes. Albert sighed and put an arm around Race’s waist. Race smiled and closed his eyes, finally able to get some sleep.
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Race woke up to a knock on the door. He opened his eyes. The room was bright with the sun shining in. The door slowly creaked open. “Race?” someone poked their head in, looking around. Race looked over to see his sister. Panicking, he shoved himself off the bed, taking the blanket with him in the process. “Race, what are you doing on the floor?”“Uh, sleeping,” Race sat up, rubbing his head. In all the panic, Albert had woken up. The ginger’s hair was all over the place and he didn’t look all that awake. Race smiled at him, slightly shaking his head. “On the floor?” she was in disbelief. A 16 year old was not going to believe their 23 year old brother about this, especially when there is a perfectly good bed on the other side of the room. “Whatever, I don’t care.”“Why are you here anyway?” Albert asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “Don't you know how to knock?” Just then, Spot, Elmer, and Crutchie poked his head through the door. “She has been knocking for the past 20 minutes, just fucking let her in,” Crutchie looked like he wanted to strangle them. Race sighed and threw his head back. “Did you seriously talk Spot and Elmer into bringing you down here?” Race asked in disbelief. “Well yeah,” Mari waltzed into the room and sat herself on Oscar’s bed. “You said you’d be home around noon.” Race looked at the alarm clock. “Ha, it’s 10 am,” Race stuck his tongue out. Mari sighed. “Race that you would be home at noon on Wednesday, and today is Thursday,” she sighed, crossing her arms to her chest. “I missed my final!!” Race jumped up, trying to put his shoes on and find his phone and earbuds, causing him to lose balance and fall. “Don’t worry, I called in and said you were sick, they said you could take it tomorrow,” Elmer grinned, sitting down next to Mari. “As lovely as this visit is, my class doesn’t start for another two hours, and I’d like to sleep,” Albert threw his head back onto his pillow, sighing. “So get out.” Elmer and Spot left, and Mari was about to leave. Race gave Albert a quick kiss on the cheek before quickly standing up to leave. Mari was silent the entire way to their apartment. However, as soon as Race shut the door behind him, she was asking a million questions. She was talking a mile a minute, something that Race did as well. “Woah woah woah, one question at a time, dude, slow down,” Race held his hands out in front of him. Mari stopped and glared at him. “Are you and Albert dating? How long? Why didn’t you tell me? What do you two even do together?” Mari looked confused, betrayed, and a bit hurt that her brother didn’t tell her. Race stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at his little sister. “Mari, what?” was all he could manage. “Albert and I aren’t dating.” “Yeah right,” she scoffed, taking a soda and opening it, sipping as she sat down. “It’s obvious that you two are.”Race sighed, “Mari, we’re not together. I promise. We’re just friends, nothing more.”“Uh huh,” Mari punctuated that a burp. “Sure.”“Very classy,” Race rolled his eyes, trying to cover up the anxiety he had about Mari finding out. “So, if ya just friends, why ya sleepin in the same bed?” Mari asked as if she was onto something. “Same reason you and your friends share a bed when they come over: we’re not letting each other sleep on the floor,” the answer came easy to Race. Damn, an associates degree in theatre really helped improve his ability to lie. Mari was silent, trying to think of something else to question Race over. “Mari, even if I was dating Al, why would I keep it from you? I have no reason to lie about something as big as that,” Race’s expression softened and he sat next to his sister. She stared at the top of the soda can, her stare seemed far off. “‘Honest hearts produce honest actions’,” Mari smiled to herself. That was the same thing Race told her many, many years ago. It was something their mother, a beautiful blonde with a heart of gold, had told him every time he messed up, made a mistake, told a lie. Race was heartbroken that Mari would never hear that from her, but he did the same thing their mother did to him before she left: he said it to her when she messed up, made a mistake, or told a lie. “That’s right, Mari,” grinning, Race pulled Mari into a side hug. “The truth might not always be comforting, but it’s real.” Mari sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. It was then that Race realized that she was crying. “Anthony,” her voice was shaky, breaking. She never called him by his real name. Not unless it was important. “Yeah, Marianne?” He didn’t look at her. It was an unspoken rule they had. If either of them were crying, don’t look unless the other looks first. “What really happened to mama?” that was a question Race didn’t expect. “What’d father tell you happened?” Race knew what he told her. He had told Race the same thing. But Race knew better. He knew their mom better. He was the last one to talk to her before she left. “Said that after she had me, she went crazy. Yellin, screamin, throwing things. Started drinkin and gettin into hard drugs. One day, she started screamin. Then she left, went to the Brooklyn bridge with me ‘n you. Told me she was gonna throw me off and push you in. When someone showed up, gave me to you and she jumped,” Mari wiped tears from her eyes. Race shook his head. “He lied, didn’t he? What really happened?”“After you were born, he lost his job. Said it was you and moms fault. Called you the cursed child and said ya was a mistake. But you weren’t. He started drinkin and he got…. real violent. One day, mama had enough. She packed enough clothes for a few days. We planned on goin to Brooklyn. Took you ‘n me with her. He called the cops, and, because his friend was a cop, they believed him over her. Cops were comin for her and wouldn’t listen to any reason. She was holding you when they pulled a gun on her, thinking she was gonna jump with you. She handed you and the bag to me, told me to run off to Brooklyn,” Race wiped tears from his own eyes. “What happened next? That can’t be all she said,” Mari wanted to know.“She said she’d meet up with us in a day or so. Told us to go to someone named Medda. Actually, it’s Jack’s foster mom,” he hugged a laugh. “Said she’d come back for us. Cops found us before I could even get to Medda.”“So she’s still out there?” Mari looked at Race, her eyes red and tearful. Race nodded, “she is. I don’t know where, but she is. I promise.” Mari took a shaky deep breath and nodded. Neither of them ate that night, opting to watch comedies on Netflix and drinking Yoohoos.
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A few weeks went by. Mari stopped accusing her brother and the ginger of being more than friends. But, she did have her suspicions. Race knew something was wrong with Mari. She wasn’t as talkative as normal, didn’t hang out with friends, seemed upset a lot lately, and seemed to talk to Race about less and less. Now, Race knew that there were some things you don’t wanna tell anyone, not even your brother. But, she almost stopped talking to him completely. Sure, there’d be mood swings days where Mari didn’t wanna hang out because of period pains. But, this wasn’t normal. Race knew something was wrong, and he wanted to find out. So, he did the only thing he could think of: he called Kathrine and Sarah. “Race, is there a reason you want us to talk to your little sister?” Kathrine asked, swinging open the door to Race’s apartment. “I mean, we’re happy to help but shouldn’t you talk to her about this yourself?”“I know, I know!” Race sighed, desperate for answers. “But she won’t talk to me. Barely even tells me what she wants for dinner. She’s been like this a lot lately and I don’t know how to help.” Sarah put down her bag and smiled. “We’re happy to help, Race,” the brunette smiled. “In her room?” Race nodded.“Sweet,” Kathrine smiled, grabbing Sarah’s bag. “Get out, we’ll call you when you can come home.”Grumbling, Race left. Kathrine and Sarah stumbled across the room and knocked on Mari’s door. She opened it and sighed. Over the next hour and a half, they had painted each other’s nails and were now watching Fear Thy Neighbor and eating all the snacks in the house. Suddenly, Sarah paused the tv and turned to Mari. “You haven’t been yourself lately, Marianne,” Sarah said, stating the obvious. Mari sighed.“Race told us you thought that him and Albert were dating,” Kathrine smiled a bit, gently squeezing Mari’s arm. “Would it bother you if they were?”“Yeah. No. I don’t know,” the younger girl looked at her lap, not knowing what to feel. “I don’t know. I think it’s great if they are, but I don’t want…”“Don’t what what, Mari?” Sarah didn’t wanna push, but wanted Mari to say it. “I don’t want things to end badly,” she sighed, crossing her arms. “I’ve lost my mom, my dad hates my guts. Race is the only family I have left. If something happens, whether it’s him and Albert not ending well or Race finding out… Race’s the only family I got.”“That’s not true, Marianne,” Kathrine leaned back. “We’re your family. All of us, as Jack calls us, newsies. We’re your weird, messed up, very not straight, mistake making family.”“I was always told that blood is thicker than water,” Mari stared into empty space.“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,” Sarah nodded. “It means that the bond formed by choice is stronger than the bond formed by birth.”“Hey Mari?” all Kath got was a hum in response. “What is it you don’t want Race finding out?” Mari bit her lip, not quite sure if she’s ready to tell them her secret. Sighing, she made up her mind. “So, I might be, kinda, sorta, maybe..” she took a deep breath, “mightbealesbian!” Kathrine and Sarah looked at her. Kathrine shrugged. “Okay, what’s her name?” she asked, completely unfazed by what Mari said.“Aren’t you upset?” Mari asked, confused. Sarah laughed a bit and shook her head. “No, silly,” she laughed. “For fucks sake, my brothers in a poly relationship. There’s nothin wrong with it. You can’t control who you love, and that’s okay. Nothing is wrong with you. People will say it’s wrong, but as long as you’re happy, who cares?”“And I know for a fact that Race and Albert won’t care,” Kathrine grinned. “No one would, really.”“Yeah,” Sarah nodded. “Tommy Boy, Henry, and and Finch are a thing. And Spot, Elmer, and Buttons. Crutchie, Davey, and Jack, but they’re still not telling anyone about that, don’t tell anyone I told you.”“Wait… how do you know?” Mari huffed a laugh, relaxing. “Because I can hear them,” Sarah groaned. “Davey’s room is next to mine.” Mari burst into laughter. Someone knocked on the door. The door swung open to reveal a redhead and a blonde, both carrying in groceries and Albert carried a box. Sarah and Kathrine gathered their stuff. “Tell them, Mari,” Kathrine whispered on her way out. “You can do this.” The girls left, leaving just Mari, Albert, and Race. “Ready to make dinner, Mari?” Albert asked, grinning like an idiot. Mari grinned, “you mean am I ready for Race to make dinner while you steal food and I read the book you picked up from the library? Hell yes.”“Ooh, such language,” the blonde teased, pulling some kitchen utensils out of a drawer. “Are the girls teaching you bad things?” Mari rolled her eyes and stole some of the chocolate chips her brother bought. “Hey! Those are for dessert, you thief!” Mari laughed and ran out of the room, skidding to a stop when she got to the box on the coffee table. It was the one Albert brought in. She really wanted to open it, she just had to. “Hey, Al? I wanna open it,” pointing to the box, she looked back at the ginger. He looked at Race, who nodded, then Mari. After giving her a nod of approval, Mari tore the tape off the box, ripping the top off like a kid opening a present on Christmas morning. A tiny kitten was inside. Mari gasped, clamping her hand over her mouth. Tears built up in her eyes. The kitten was small, thin. Too thin to be healthy. The poor thing was missing it’s front leg, leaving only three. “Race, I thought we couldn’t have pets,” was all the girl managed to say. She grabbed at her long blonde hair quickly putting it up in a ponytail before picking the kitten up, nuzzling it with her nose. “Oh, we can’t,” Race grinned, coming over to scratch the kitten behind the ears. “But, we are allowed to have emotional support animals. And, lucky for you, I qualify to have one. She’s your kitten, Mari. Hey, why don’t you invite some friends over for dinner? Al and I bought too much food.” Mari laughed and grabbed her phone, taking a picture of the cat before texting Persephone and Willow and telling them to come over for dinner. The girls showed up in record time, climbing through the window. Willow, a small girl with dark skin and chin length hair, slammed into Mari and gave her a hug, being cautious of the kitten. Persephone, a taller girl with skin lighter than Willow’s and wavey black hair walked up behind Mari, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her chin on Mari’s head. “We missed you, Mari,” Willow looked up at Mari with her best puppy dog eyes. Smiling, Mari ruffled her hair and hugged her. “What’s the kittens name?”“I was thinkin Nao,” Mari smiled, petting the purring kitten. Willow and Persephone smiled at Mari. Later, they were all sat around the dinner table, laughing and enjoying the casatiello and carbonara her brother made. Everything was going great. Willow and Persephone got along great with Albert and Race, which was good. Mari took a deep breath. It was time. “Race, devo dirti una cosa,” Mari set down her fork and quickly too a drink. Race raised his eyebrows, giving her the go ahead. “Sono innamorato di qualcuno.” Race dropped his fork and started choking. Albert pounded on Race’s back. “che cosa? con chi?” Race took a drink. Mari sighed and looked at her plate. “Sono innamorato di Willow e Persephone,” Mari braced herself for the worst. She expected screaming, yelling, Race kicking her out. Instead, there was silence. She looked at her brother. “Okay. Thank you for telling me,” Race nodded and went back to eating. “Do you wanna tell Al now or later?”“You tell him please,” Mari smiled to herself, grabbing Willow’s hand under the table. “You’re not mad?” “Marianne, I would never be mad at you for that,” Race sounded sincere. “You can’t control who you love. I understand that.” Mari smiled, “thank you. ‘Honest hearts produce honest actions.’” Race nodded, not saying anything else. After dinner, Persephone had to go home, and Race and Albert went to go to the store to pick some things up for Nao. It was just Willow and Mari. Willow was looking around, going through drawers. “Willow, what are ya doing?” Mari asked, coming to stand beside the shorter girl. “You said you thought that your brother was hiding something from you,” Willow tensed a bit when Mari grabbed her hand, but relaxed. “So, I’m gonna help you find out what it is. Know where he keeps anything important?” Mari glanced up at the ceiling, tryin to think. “First drawer on his dresser, top right. That’s where pretty much everything is from pictures of my mom to my birth certificate. Something’s bound to be there.” The two ran off to Race’s room, slamming the door open and sliding to a stop in front of Race’s dresser. Mari went through the drawer, Willow looking around the room. Mari found a few Polaroid pictures of him and Albert. One was of them kissing at the Christmas party at Romeo’s two years ago. Mari smiled and rolled her eyes, “Anthony “Racetrack” Higgins, you liar.”“Mari!” Willow shouted from under Race’s bed, pulling out a shoebox with her. “I think I found something.” Mari ran over, almost tripping on a shoe. She grabbed the box, throwing the top across the room. More pictures, some money, a few letters. Willow read the letters allowed. They were letters Race and Albert wrote to each other, promising a perfect life. Mari stopped when she saw a box. Small, black, able to fit in the palm of her hand. “Oh my god,” putting a hand over her mouth, Mari picked up the box. “Willow…”
Grabbing the box, Willow opened it. “It’s an engagement ring,” she held it up to the light. It was just a silver band, but that silver band held a lot of meaning.
Then the apartment door opened. Mari and Willow quickly put everything back, shoving the box under the bed and running over to the bookshelf in Race’s room, where they began to fake an argument. “No, Willow! You’re wrong!” Mari shouted as her brother and Albert entered the room.“Woah woah woah, what are we fighting over?” he asked. “Well, your dear sister here thinks that Lord of The Rings is better than The Hobbit,” Willow snarled, crossing her arms to her chest. Albert snorted. “You guys, they’re both as good!” the ginger stepped in. Willow and Albert began to argue about it. Mari stormed off, grabbing Race’s arm and making him come with her. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Mari asked, anger present in her voice. “Why wouldn’t you tell me that you and Albert were together? Why didn’t you-“ she stopped herself before she could ask, not wanting to give away that she was going through his stuff. “Mari, we’re not- I’m sorry,” the blonde boy shrugged, finally giving up. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know how you’d react. I know you’re very protective of what family we have left, and I know you don’t want anything to happen to our small family. But it’s not as small as you think. All the newsies, my friends, the Brooklyn boys, we’re all family. I know you don’t want something to break up our small-““Race it’s not that,” Mari sighed, sitting down on the couch next to her brother. “Race, you’re the only biological family we have that doesn’t hate my guts. You’re my only family that’s been with me through everything. I don’t want anything to break up our family. But… you could have told me. I know that Albert won’t do anything to hurt either of us. For fucks sake, you’ve known him since you were in third grade.”“I’m sorry for not telling you, Marianne. I was just…” Race sighed, “scared, I guess. I lost my courage to tell you.”Mari nodded, “that's okay, we all get a little scared sometimes. But you could have told me. We tell each other everything, no matter how scary or ridiculous it may be. Okay?” Race nodded. “Okay,” he sighed. “From now on, we’re completely honest with each other.” Mari smiled. Willow and Albert came into the room, still arguing. Huffing and crossing her arms to her chest, Willow sat down next to Mari, Albert doing the same. Laughing, Mari rolled her eyes and grabbed the tv remote, choosing to watch some movie Race was watching the other day.
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Race and Albert were hanging out at Jacobi’s. Obviously their friends were there. They took up a little over half the place. That didn’t include the Brooklyn boys Spot occasionally let tag along. They were celebrating their college graduation. Of course, a few graduated a year early. But the ones who did helped the others get enough credits so they could all graduate together. It had been a year since Mari found out about Race and Albert. Nothing really changed since then. Except now Albert was living with them, Race and Albert had a full time job (kinda), and Mari was a year older. That was all that changed. That, and now Albert and Race were engaged. Actually, they had just gotten engaged literally an hour earlier, at their graduation. “So,” Finch smiled, leaning on the table, “have you told Mari yet?” The girl in question was sitting a table away, talking to Sam and Les.“Nope,” Albert smiled a bit, “but we will. Either we tell her, or she’ll notice sooner or later.” Finch nodded and Race stood, kissing Albert on the cheek before leaving for the bathroom. “Aww, gross,” Finch scrunched his nose. Albert groaned and rolled his eyes, “like I haven’t caught you, Tommy Boy, and Henry doing worse.” Finch shrugged and took a drink of his water. “So,” the taller of the two cleared his throat, “how are you two planning on celebrating y’all’s engagement?”“We’re going out to dinner and then I have a surprise for Race and Mari,” the ginger shrugged as if it was no big deal. Finch started ask about the surprise when Race came back. The tall boy shut his mouth and Albert quickly changed the conversation. After a few minutes, the gingers phone rang. “I’ll be back, Racer,” he smiled, walking out of the building before answering the phone. Race frowned and sighed. “What’s wrong?” Finch was genuinely curious. Race wasn’t one to get upset easily. “Albert’s been on the phone a lot lately,” the blonde sighed. “I know that he’s probably waiting on a call back or something, but he’s been acting kinda weird lately.”“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Finch propped his head up with his hand. “Albert’s probably just working on some sort of surprise or something. It’ll be okay, Race.” Race nodded. Albert came back inside, sitting next to Race and smiling. “Hey, Race,” he smiled, whispering into the blonde’s ear. Race perked up and hummed in response. “Wanna go out to dinner tonight? We’ll tell Mari there.” Smiling, Race nodded. The rest of the day couldn't go by quick enough. Sure, it was fun and all, but Race couldn't wait to tell Mari. He was nervous, but she seemed to like Albert well enough, right? So he had nothing to worry about? Yeah, right. Like, yeah, not much would change, but things like that could be weird. “Anthony!” Mari shouted from her room, staring at her closet. “What the hell am I supposed to wear tonight?” Race ran in, skidding to a stop, only one sock on and hair a mess. “Nice clothes, duh,” the older of the two rolled their eyes. Mari raised her eyebrows, glancing at the faded graphic t shirts and skinny jeans and converse she had. “Fuck, okay,” Race ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “I’ll call Kathrine. I don’t know how nice this place is, but definitely nicer than skinny jeans and converse.” “Hurry, Albert says we gotta leave soon to make this reservation,” Mari huffed, sitting back down on her bed. Race ran back out, calling Kathrine as he did. He was excited, to say the least. However, he was also nervous. They were gonna tell Mari tonight. They kinda had to. She wasn’t dumb, she’d figure it out on her own. Not even ten minutes later and Kathrine was barging in with a small bag that looked like it came from somewhere expensive. “Jesus, Kath, what is in that bag?” Race tripped a bit, catching himself on the counter. Kathrine rolled her eyes.“A dress for Mari,” she wasted no time in walking past Race to Mari’s room. “Race, you called me about this like…. Ten minutes ago.” Smiling, Race shook his head and finished tying his shoes. He dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom. The water felt like ice on his hands. He attempted to make himself look presentable by running his hands through his hair a few times, but it didn’t work. There was no fixing his hair. It was a lost cause. “Anthony, get the hell out of the bathroom,” Kathrine’s first hit the door hard, making Race jump. Grumbling, Race opened the door and stepped out, the air a bit warmer in the hall than the bathroom. The brunette was standing in front of his sister, dragging her into the bathroom. Before the door shut, he saw her blonde curls and her blue eyes begging for help. Race smiled, before heading down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Albert. The ginger was sitting on the edge of their bed, finishing up a text. He looked almost ready. Nice jeans, new shoes, and grey button down. Race crossed his arms to his chest and leaned against the doorway. It wasn’t until he cleared his throat did the other boy notice him standing there. Smiling, Albert stood up shuffled over to Race, draping his arms on the taller boys shoulders. “Well you clean up nicely,” the ginger smiled, tugging at the collar of Race’s light blue button up. Rolling his eyes, he playfully shoved the other boy off.“You’re not so bad yourself, DaSilva,” Race put his headphones and phone into his pocket, along with some cash. “Kathrine is almost done with Mari. They’re in the bathroom. I don’t know what they’re doing and at this point I’m afraid to ask.” Race smiled when the ginger laughed, finding the sound to be beautiful. “Yo, lovebirds!” Kathrine shouted from their small living room. “Ya gonna miss your reservation!” Glancing at his phone, Albert cursed and shoved it into his pocket. Albert grabbed Race’s wrist, tight enough to bruise, and raced out into the living room. Mari was sitting on the couch, hair curled and pulled over her shoulders and dressed in a pastel purple dress with a light blue belt….. and light blue converse. “I tried, but she didn’t wanna wear flats,” Kathrine shrugged.“It’s fine,” Albert gave Kathrine a small smile. “Ready? We gotta go.” Mari jumped up and opened the door for the couple, Kathrine right behind them. Race smiled, despite feeling nervous. Stomach turning, heart pounding in his ears, his breathing becoming more and more forced. They had to tell Mari. Race spent the entire car ride trying to calm his rapid breathing and slow his heart rate. He closed his eyes.The engine stopped and Race could hear people unbucking and getting out. Opening his eyes, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, fixing his shirt and sighing. This place was way nicer than anything Race had ever seen before. Fancy tables, people looking extremely nice. Y’know, rich people places. They had to wait a bit before they got their table, which just seemed to make Race more nervous. Albert tried to calm Race down, telling him that it’d be fine. And it would be. Everything would be just fine. But Race was still anxious. He couldn’t help it. They got their drinks, two sweet teas and a water, and breadsticks. They tasted amazing, better than any kind Race ever had. So many things to eat, but Race didn’t know what to have.“Ready to order?” a girl, barely 17, smiled and put her pen to her little notepad. Race glanced over at Mari and Albert, waiting for one of them to respond. “Actually, we’re waiting on one more person to show up,” Albert smiled at the girl as an apology, but she waved him off and skipped back into the kitchen.“Who else is coming?” Mari raised her eyebrows and took a sip of her tea. Grinning, the ginger shook his head and changed the subject, talking to Mari about what she wanted to major in. All Mari was doing was smiling and nodding her head. Race took a bite of a breadstick and looked at his sister. She took her hearing aids out. She had no clue what Albert was saying. Laughing, Race looked at the redhead across the table. “What?” Albert glanced over at Race. Smiling and shaking his head, Race took another bite, “she can’t hear you. She took her hearing aids out.” Albert looked at Mari and pouted. Mari laughed and put them back in, poking fun at Albert as she did so. The two of them continued to mess around, but Race kept thinking. Who were they waiting on? Race hadn’t noticed when an older blonde woman had sat down next to Mari and across from Albert. The two greeted each other like old friends. Mari gave the woman a confused look.“Hi, Miss Higgins,” Albert grinned, “how was the ride over here?” Race froze and looked at the woman. Blonde curls falling past her shoulders, faded pink dress, bright blue eyes and a smile that could catch anyone’s attention.“A bit of traffic, but nothing too bad,” the woman responded. Race knew exactly who that was. And, by the look of disbelief on Mari’s face, she did too. “Mom…” the was Mari said it was careful, cautious, and as if all of this was a dream. She blinked once, twice, three times.“Hi, Marianne,” tears were building up in here eyes. “God, you’re so big. How’s…. everything? Catch me up.”Smiling, Mari told her pretty much their whole lives. Race left as soon as he turned 18, getting an apartment and a job and eventually a scholarship. He tried to get Marianne multiple times, but because Mari was so young, he couldn't. It wasn’t until their father kicked Mari out did she go to live with Race. That was two years ago.“I’m a lesbian and dating Willow and Persephone, and Race and Albert are getting married soon,” Mari shrugged, handing her mother a glass of water. “Mari, who told you that we’re getting married?” Race nearly spit water everywhere. Albert looked very confused. “Oh please,” the girl rolled her eyes. “I found the ring under Race’s bed last year, and I found Al’s in a drawer when we stayed at his dorm for movie night. You weren’t exactly subtle. And, Race isn’t just nervous for no reason.” The couple stared at her in confusion. Mari, thinking it was not a big deal, simply shrugged and bit into her breadsticks. The rest of the day was spent catching up with their mom and discussing some minor details of their lives. For the next year and a half, every Tuesday and Thursday night Race and Mari hung out with their mom, going to all sorts of places. And there was another plate added to the table for Sunday dinner. A year and a half later and Race stood in a small room of a banquet hall, fussing over the sleeves of his button up shirt, his mom trying to smooth out his hair. “Mom, my hairs fine,” the tall boy sighed, rolling his sleeves. His mom rolled her eyes, “I know, I know. It’s your big day, Anthony. I’m so proud of you.” Race smiled. Him and Albert weren’t going to have a big, long ceremony. Their friends couldn’t sit still that long. Hell, they couldn’t sit still that long. It was gonna be short and sweet. And then their friends were gonna cause chaos at the reception. It was, in fact, chaos. After sitting at the ceremony for a maximum of two hours, everyone was restless and antsy. Except for Davey. He was the only one who could sit still for a long period of time. After the ceremony, everyone gathered in one big room and caused as much chaos as possible. Everyone was drinking. Except Les and Sam. Well…. Race wasn’t exactly sure. They were hyper and couldn’t stop shaking and bouncing. “Are they always like this?” Race’s mom asked, walking up to Mari. The blonde nodded, messing with her knee length dress and drinking a soda. “Always. You should see movie nights,” Mari laughed, swatting Sam’s hand away when he tried to take a strawberry from her plate. “It’s wild.”Race huffed a laugh and looked around. Jack was sitting with Davey and Crutchie, all laughing and listening to Jack tell a tale. Kathrine and Sarah were partaking in whatever was happening in the center of the room. Specs, Romeo, Sarah, Kathrine, Mush, Blink, Buttons, and Finch were in the middle of the room, tossing a balloon back and forth. Tommy Boy and Henry watched from the desert table, taking as much food as they can. Tex and JoJo were sitting on tables, laughing as their friends fell and jumped for the balloon. Spot and Elmer had gone off to who knows where. And Mike, Ike, and Romeo’s twin Juliet were acting like civilized people. Albert came up beside Race and slipped his hand into Race’s back pocket. “Hey,” Race smiled, looking up at his husband. He couldn’t believe he could actually call him that now. “Hey, Racer,” the redhead smiled, looking out at their friends. “They’re gonna destroy the place before the nights over.”“Yeah,” Race sighed and smiled, looking out at their friends. “Yeah they are. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”