Seven sat on the roof, thinking of Tony. A November breeze blew, making the air colder than it was already. Seven pulled her coat all the way around her and breathed in her hands. She was only for a few minutes, then she heard footsteps coming up the fire escape. She looked and saw Swifty there.
�Seven, there�s someone here ta see ya.� He said.
He moved to the side and Seven saw Felix. He looked tired, and he slowly made his way to her. Swifty went back to the lodging house and left them alone.
�Felix, what�re you doing here?� Seven asked.
Felix sighed. �It�s about Tony.�
Seven sat down on a box and told Felix to sit down. He sat down and looked at the ground while he spoke.
�Ever since you left Tony�s been fallin� apart. Every other day he sends newsies in ta get ya, and when they come back without ya he gets himself drunk.�
Seven was stunned. �Why? Why does he do that?�
�I dunno. Everyone�s tellin� him ta stop, but he won�t. Sometimes when you doesn�t come back we catch him cryin� his eyes out.�
Seven froze. She had no idea Tony was taking it that hard.
�Tony loves ya, Seven.� Felix continued. �Ya mean everything in the woild to �im an� �e needs ya. Please come back, Seven, if ya don�t come back soon he�ll tear himself apart.�
Seven was quiet. She thought about what Felix had told her for a few minutes. I had no idea, she thought. Five minutes went by, then Seven broke the silence.
�Yer right, Felix. I�ll come back tomorrow.�
Felix smiled. �Good. I want ya to know dat Tony didn�t send me, I came by myself.�
Seven stood up and hugged Felix. �Thank you.� She whispered.
Felix suddenly noticed what he had done. Now that he had this talk with her, she was going to go back to Tony, which meant she�d soon forget about him. She�d never go fer a guy like me, he thought, why can�t I have �er?
He felt like he was going to cry when she hugged him because he believed he was the last boy she�d want. When Seven pulled away, she smiled.
�Thanks again Felix, and don�t tell Tony I�m coming back.�
Felix nodded and went down the fire escape to head back to East Side. Seven was glad that she was going back and stopping Tony�s pain. She was interrupted when she saw Swifty on the fire escape again.
�Chase, can I talk to ya?� he asked.
Seven shrugged. �Fine.�
Swifty walked toward her, but kept his distance because he didn�t want her to slap him again. He knew he had to tell her why he had left her, no matter how hard it was.
�Seven, I know ya don�t wanna hear dis, but I�ve gotta tell ya why I left.�
Seven turned her back to him. �Go ahead, talk, but I won�t guarantee that I�ll be listening.�
Swifty became angry. His hands clenched into fists but didn�t move.
�Chase! Turn around and look at me when I�m talkin� to you!�
Seven, stunned by his tone of voice, turned around and faced him. He was obviously angry, but the look on his face told her that what he was about to say was important.
�The night before I ran away my dad told me to be back from the festival by nine thirty. I was late, and he was drunk, and he was abusing me.�
Seven�s jaw dropped. �Are�are you serious?�
Swifty nodded. �I was pretty beat up when �e stopped, an� �e told me that I wasn�t his son, that my ma was married before she married him. He locked me in my room and I decided I couldn�t live there anymore. I was waiting in the woods to tell you I was leaving, but when I saw you I lost my nerve and I wanted to get away as soon as I could.�
Seven looked at the ground, astonished at what she had just learned.
�I didn�t know.� She stuttered. �If you�d told me earlier I wouldn�t �ave been as mad at you as I was.�
�I tried to tell you, but every time I�d lose my nerve an� couldn�t say it.�
�I�m sorry, Derek. Can you ever forgive me?�
Swifty smiled. �Of course.�
Seven smiled back. Just then, she thought of something. She�d given Swifty a chance, why didn�t she give Tony a second chance? I can�t do it tomorrow, she thought, I�ll do it tonight. She ran up to Swifty, kissed his cheek quickly and headed down the fire escape.
�Hey!� Swifty shouted. �Where�re ya goin�?�
Seven stopped. �I�m goin� back ta East Side. Thanks fer talkin� me inta it.�
She ran down the fire escape and broke into a run. East Side was almost three miles away, but she was so happy that she ran the entire way without getting tired.
When she arrived, she ran toward the saloon because that was the place where Tony would mostly likely be. She peeked inside but he wasn�t there. She ran up and down the street, looking for him. She finally found him in an alley, leaning on a box. His face was hidden in his arms, and Seven could hear him sniffling.
�Tony?�
Tony looked up. His eyes were red, but Seven was sure he was sober. When he saw her, he only looked away.
�She�s not really there, Tony.� He told himself. �She�s not really there.�
Seven walked toward him. �Yes it is me, Tony. I�m back.�
Tony looked at her again. �Are you really here?�
Seven smiled. �Yes.�
Tony ran to her, threw his arms around her and kissed her. Seven held him tightly as if she�d never let go of him again.
�Oh Chase, I�ve been so worried about you!� Tony exclaimed when he stopped kissing her.
Seven nodded. �I know. I�m sorry for running off like I did. Can you forgive me?�
�Yes I do.�
�I have one question, though. Why were you kissing that girl?�
�Because her boyfriend was giving her trouble. When I kissed her, her boyfriend got jealous and took her back.�
�So you were telling the truth after all?�
�Yeah, an� you know what?�
�What?�
�When I kissed her, I decided that I didn�t wanna kiss anyone else in this world except you.�
Seven pulled him closer. �You really mean that?�
�You know I do.�
Seven kissed Tony again. They held onto each other for a few minutes when a gunshot rang through the air. Seven jumped and Tony cried out. Before Seven could ask him what had happened, she felt something on his back that hadn�t been there before and she gasped.
�TONY!� she screamed.
Tony suddenly went limp. Seven set him gently on the ground and looked in a darker part of the alley. She saw a figure with shaggy, dirty-blonde hair running away. Felix. He had done it. Turning her attention back to Tony, Seven took his hands and squeezed them.
�Chase.� He said.
Seven squeezed his hands again. �I�m here Tony. I�m not gonna leave you.�
Tony�s eyes squeezed shut in pain. �I can�t feel my legs.�
�It�s okay, Tony. You�ll be fine as long as I�m here.�
Tony opened his eyes. He wanted to go to sleep so the harsh pain sweeping quickly through his body would cease.
�I hurt so much, Chase.�
�Shh, be quiet Tony. Try not to talk.�
Tony shut his eyes again. Seven gently shook him until his eyes opened again.
�Tony! Stay awake! Please!�
Tony began to tremble. �I feel so weak.�
Seven�s heart began to quiver. �It�s okay, Tony. You�ll be fine. I promise.�
Tony�s breathing was becoming harder now. �Chase, who�s that boy the newsies said that was watching you?�
�Who? Derek?�
�Yes him.� He reached up and put his hand on the side of her face. �Tell him to take care of you for me. If he doesn�t, I�ll rise from my grave and kill him.�
Seven put a finger on his lips. �Don�t talk like that.� Tears fell from her eyes. �You�re not gonna die. Yer gonna live, and nothing�ll come between us.�
�I wish it were so.�
Seven just about panicked. God, she prayed, please don�t let him die! Please, don�t let him die!
It�s his time, Mariah.
But I love him! I can�t live without him!
Tony�s eyes squeezed shut again. He didn�t have much time left, and Seven knew it, but she didn�t want to believe it.
�Tony! Open yer eyes!�
Tony�s eyes popped opened and he stroked her cheek. More tears were falling from her eyes now.
�Chase,� he said quietly, �will you do me a favor?�
Seven nodded. �Anything.�
�Keep all your memories of me treasured in your heart. It would mean so much to me if you did.�
Seven tried to say yes, but she couldn�t; so she nodded. Then, she knew that she had to tell him something she had been meaning to tell him for a long time.
�Tony,� she said, her voice quivering.
�Yes?� he said weakly.
Now or never, she thought.
�I love you.�
Tony closed his eyes and chuckled a little bit. �You picked the perfect time�� his eyelids squeezed and tears began to flow from them. ��to tell me. But for some reason, I�ve always known, and I love you too.�
�I know.�
Seven lifted him to a sitting position and kissed him. When she stopped, a cold, strong wind blew, hard rain began to fall and there was a crash of thunder. Seven looked up toward the sky to see lightning flash across the sky.
At the same time, Tony�s pain grew. His eyes squeezed shut, but this time, they didn�t open. His arms fell off of Seven and he drew his last breath. Seven looked down to see his arms fall.
�Tony?�
Tony didn�t move. Right then, Seven knew he was gone. She hid her face in his shoulder and cried.
�Tony, no. No, no, no, no, no.�
She cried for several minutes, then she laid him gently on the ground. She kissed his lifeless lips and pulled her coat off. She covered his face with her coat, took his hands in hers and kissed them. Tears fell from her eyes and mixed with the rain, which was falling harder now. As she looked at Tony, her sadness suddenly turned to anger.
�Felix.�
She stood up and ran toward the place she last saw him. She found a pistol on the ground. She picked it up and ran down the street, looking for him. She finally found him in an alley, sitting on a box and looking at the ground.
�Felix!� she cried.
Felix�s head jerked up when he heard her voice. He stood up and looked at her.
�Whaddya want?� he asked, his voice full of annoyance and sadness.
Seven breathed. �Why did you kill Tony?�
�It was an accident! I wasn�t aiming for him, I was aiming for you!�
Seven�s heart stopped. �Why?�
�Because I�m in love with you.�
Seven�s eyes grew as wide at the news. �Why? Why would you try to kill me if yer in love with me?�
�Because I knew I could never have you!� he paused. �When I saw you with Tony it would break my heart. When I told you about Tony earlier, I knew I had just blown my chance at having you. I knew that you could never go for a guy like me. And, I decided that if I couldn�t have you, no one could have you.�
�Yes I could! I promised myself that if Tony and I broke up, I would go for you next. I was very fond of you, and now that you�ve killed Tony, you�ll never have me!�
Felix�s eyes grew as wide as saucers. Seven reached into her pocket and pulled out the gun Felix had used to kill Tony.
�How many bullets are left in this?� she asked.
�What? Are you gonna kill me?�
�Not just you.� Seven loaded it and got ready to fire. �I�m gonna kill you, then I�m gonna kill me.�
