"What the hell did you think you were doing you worthless bitch?!" Mr. Andrews screeched, dragging a girl by the arm out of the factory. His grip was tight, and would probably bruise her delicate skin. Rain was pouring down from the heavens, soaking her already stained, raggedy dress. The sky was growing darker and darker, as it was getting later at night. "Trying to steal money from the ground."

"It was mine, Andrews!" She pleaded, trying to break from his grasp. But, he was too strong. The story was that she had seen a quarter on the ground of the factory and took it. She had been hoping to use it to get some extra food.

"You lying whore!" He yelled, slapping her across the face. It stung her cheek, but she kept a straight stare.

"Let go of me!" She said between gritted teeth, kneeing him in the stomach. His grip weakened, giving her a chance to sprint away. As she looked over her shoulder, she could see that he was following closely. Next thing she knew, her small frame was pushed to the ground, her hands and knees scraping against the stone. Andrews kick her multiple times in the stomach, and she screamed in complete pain. Andrews cackled like a maniac.

"I expect you to return to work tomorrow. You're lucky that I'm not firing you. Now get out of my sight before I decide I didn't teach you enough of a lesson." He stated coldly, and walked away. She was usually a tough girl. But this time, the pain got the better of her. Her tears falling freely, she tried to stand up, but fell back in agonizing pain. If the boys from Brooklyn had seen her, they would laugh and jeer. She was glad that Brooklyn was over the bridge. Rain was still falling heavily.

"Are you alright miss?" She heard a voice ask. Looking up with frightened, she was met with a kind face. His hair was blonde and stuck up a little in different places. He had an eyepatch covering his left eye and he was carrying a soaked stack of papers. He was a Manhattan Newsie. Unable to speak through her tears, she shook her head. He kneeled down and touched her shoulder comfortingly, but she moved back in fear, causing her to grimace in pain in the process. "It's okay. You don't need to be afraid. I'm not like that guy. I'm Kid Blink. What's your name?" He asked. She stopped.

"L-Lucy." She replied through chattered teeth. She didn't want to say her last name. That would get her in even more trouble. It was best that no one knew.

"Well Lucy, let's go get you cleaned up. Can you walk?" He asked. Lucy shook her head. Gently, he brought her into his arms, picking her up like a small child. Carrying Lucy down the street, he sighed. "The nerve of that idiot. Hitting a girl."

Kid Blink quickly brought her into a building just as it became pitch black outside. She'd heard of the Manhattan Lodge House before, but had never been inside until now. She had been told stories of poker games, wild parties, and other crazy things that have happened there. The air in the house was slightly warmer, but still cold. Lucy looked around, and saw that boys were strewn everywhere. What she also noticed was that all eyes seemed to be on her.

"Who's the girl, Blink?

"Who are you?"

"Whatcha doing here?"

"What happened to your face?"

Questions were flying like rockets. All Lucy could do was bear her head into Kid Blink's chest to hide from it all. Usually she would fight back, but right now, she was more scared than sassy. He noticed this and glared at all of the boys, holding her closer to him. Suddenly, a loud voice came from the top of the stairs.

"We're you all raised in a barn? Give the little lady some room!" A figure came sliding down the railing, jumping off inches away from Blink.

"Bring her upstairs away from these goons." Jack said authoritatively. Blink nodded and the three of them went up the stairs and into a bunk room. Lucy sighed of relief.

"Thanks." She muttered quietly as Blink laid her down onto one of the bunks. Jack nodded.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Jack asked sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Lucy." She told him, the tears having subsided, and her confidence slowly returning. Jack smirked.

"I'm Jack. Jack Kelly." He stated. Lucy stopped in her tracks. He's Jack Kelly? She thought to herself. I shouldn't be here. The boys would kill me. She made a sudden movement, but coward back in pain. Jack noticed this and sighed. "The guys also call me cowboy, so that's fine too. What happened to you?"

"I found her on the ground in the rain. Some idiot decided to soak her." He bitterly stated. Lucy sighed.

"My boss. He got mad at me, and decided to take it out on me physically." She told them through gritted teeth. Lucy shivered slightly, as the air was cold in the room. Without hesitation, Blink quickly grabbed the blanket from his bed and wrapped it around her. "Thank you."

"No problem." He replied with a smirk. The one eye that she could see glistened in the light. Jack got up.

"Imma gonna get you some bandage. I'll be back." He stated, exiting the room. Lucy still felt a bit shy. Something had just come over her that made her not want to talk. Maybe it was what she had heard about the Manhattan Newsies before, or maybe it was because she was still in shock from the fight. Blink looked at her, and honestly felt terrible.

"So, uh, where you from?" He asked, trying to make some conversation. Lucy froze. Debating whether or not to tell him the truth, she gave him half of an answer.

"I live close by." Was all she said. She twirled a piece of her blonde hair nervously around her pointer finger. Blink nodded, not wanting to pry her for specifics.

Jack came in with a wet washcloth and bandage and quickly began his work. He cleaned her wounds with the washcloth. Lucy wanted to look strong, so she tried not to wince, but she did sometimes shut her eyes tightly. Jack couldn't do much about her cheek, where a bluish bruise was beginning to form, so he just left it. He dressed her wounds with some bandage, and after he was finished, he backed away.

"Now, do you have a place to go?" Jack asked. Lucy looked downwards and shook her head. She couldn't tell them where she lived.

"Don't be ashamed. That's more than okay. You're welcome to stay here. Kloppman won't give you a hard time, I promise." He told her. Lucy was stunned, though it didn't show on her face. He had only just met her, and was offering to let her stay. Picking her up gingerly, Jack carried her across the room to an empty bed. Blink grabbed a spare blanket and put it over her. "You should get some rest, and we'll check in on you in the morning. I'll tell the boys not to be loud when they come upstairs."

Lucy looked at the two of them gratefully. "Thank you."

"Goodnight, Lucy." Jack said. Blink smiled, and the two of them exited the room, shutting the door behind them.

Once again, she couldn't believe how kind they were being to her. Only an hour ago she was washed up on the street with fresh bruises, but now she was warm and bandaged, beginning to heal internally and externally. Maybe what her older brother said to her was wrong. Maybe these guys weren't as bad as she thought. Closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh, she surrendered to sleep.

Downstairs, Jack and Kid Blink approached the rest of the newsies, who had a dozen questions.

"What's her name?" Racetrack asked curiously.

"Lucy." Jack replied. "We don't know her last name though, 'cuz she didn't say."

"What happened to her?" Mush asked worriedly. Blink sighed.

"Her boss soaked her. Got her real bad. She's fine now though, just resting upstairs." He looked in the direction of the bunk room, and then back to the boys. "Our job for now is to look out for her. Got it boys?"

Everyone nodded and headed off to bed.

When Lucy woke in the morning, she looked around and saw a dozen sleeping bodies in the beds around her. Realizing that she needed to get to work or else she'd lose her job, she quickly and carefully got out of bed, her muscles aching and her ribs hurting. It didn't phase her though, she had felt pain like this before, so she just ignored it. The main goal was to get out of there unseen by any of the boys. Folding the blanket into a square shape, she placed it at the edge of the mattress, and grabbed her shoes from the ground, slipping them on. Tip-toeing out of the bunk room, she came face to face with her newest enemy.

The flight of stairs.

Grabbing onto the railing for support, Lucy eased herself down stair after stair, grimacing every now and then because of the pain. Almost to the bottom, and looking towards the door for motivation, her electric green eyes locked with a pair of cerulean blue eyes. He was tall and lean, and his hair was brown and curly.

"Uh, hello." He greeted awkwardly. Lucy paused.

"Hi." She replied quietly with a smile. Silence hung in the air until it was interrupted by a yell from upstairs.

"LUCY?" She heard Jack call. Cursing under her breath, she quickly hobbled down the rest of the stairs. The boy noticed her limp, but didn't ask.

"Sorry. Gotta run- or hobble or whatever." She nimbly stated before attempting to escape the Lodge house. Before she could go far, her hip gave out, and she crumbled. Before she could hit the ground, a strong pair of arms caught her. She looked up into the boy's blue eyes. "T-thanks." She expressed, a bit shocked by his reflexes.

"Lucy where are you?" She could hear Blink yell. Scrambling out of the boy's arms, Lucy exited out the door and onto the sidewalk. Jack and Blink ran down the stairs, seeing the boy standing there.

"Davey, have you seen a girl about this tall with green eyes and blonde hair pass through?" Jack indicted her height. David pointed.

"She hobbled outside. Said she had to go." He told them. Jack sighed, and looked at Blink.

"Stay here." Jack took off to follow her. David looked to Blink.

"Who is that girl?" He asked curiously.

"I found her on the street yesterday after she got soaked by her boss. Brought her here to clean her up and she spent the night. God knows why she's running away." David gasped.

Outside, Jack found Lucy walking slowly away from the Lodge House, limping. "Lucy! Lucy, where you going?" He came up behind her and put her arm around his shoulder to help her balance. She looked at him, trying to pull her arm away.

"I gotta go. If I don't show up for work, I'll get kicked out. I need to go." Lucy pleaded. Jack shook his head.

"You're limping and in pain. You need to rest, Lucy. Come on. Lets go back to the Lodge House. We'll talk about this when we get there." Jack turned them around after Lucy complied. With her arm still around his shoulder, Jack helped her back to the Lodge House. As they walked in, they were met by Blink and David. Lucy and David locked eyes.

"Hello again." She said. David nodded.

"I'm David. Sorry that I didn't introduce myself before." He told her. She smirked. Something about the way he talked made her smile. He sounded much more proper then the rest of the guys.

"It's alright."

"Lucy, why did you leave?" Blink asked worriedly as Jack gently brought her over to him, and Blink took Jack's place in supporting her.

"If I don't go to work today, I'll lose my job." Lucy said, turning to Jack. Blink grunted.

"You'd really go back to that slime-bag who gave you these injuries?" He inquired, motioning to her inability. "If it were up to me, I'd kill him." Lucy nodded.

"I guess you guys are right." She sighed. "But do I have to sit here alone all day?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But we'll be back later, I promise." Blink said looking her in the eye. "Come on, let's get you back upstairs into bed." Lucy looked to David.

"Nice meeting you, David." She said as Blink picked her up and carried her upstairs and away into one of the bunk rooms. David, who had been holding his breath, let out a deep exhale. Jack laughed.

"She's a pretty thing, 'aint she?" He said. David nodded. "Come on Mouth, we've got papes to sell."