Authors note: I wrote this story for my good friend Stagey, newsies belongs to disney and Stagey belongs to Stagey! ok thats all enjoy!!
It was cold and gloomy out one winter day in Manhattan, the snow that winter normally brings had not yet fallen. Outside wondered a small girl, her face tear stained, and her hands covered in blood. Her eyes were empty as she wondered the streets and alleys repeating one word, 'Mama'. Her mother had been shot just an hour before hand, and she had died only twenty minutes ago, this girl's best friend in the world had been murdered, and no one was willing to help her. The killer had left when he heard a fire wagon go by, the killer was a man who was tall and dark...
The girl fell asleep and dreamt of her mother...
Dream
"Belle, come inside, its cold out" A beautiful woman called her daughter from outside.
"Yes mama!" her daughter who resembled her Mother greatly replied.
The girl came inside and sat down by a small fire in the one room apartment. Her mother then was no were to be seen, "Mama?" she asked looking around, trying to spot her mother, "why can I find you?"
Then the girl heard a scream and a gun shot.
End dream
The girl shot up and awoke from her restless sleep, she began to run, she ran halfway past Manhattan and stopped at a building where she heard music, she walked in and fell asleep backstage.
"Toby take the girl to my room, and put her on the couch." A Swedish lady told a man who had a tray full of candy and treats.
"Sure thing Medda." The man answered as he picked up the girl and walked to Medda's dressing room, inside there was already a boy, he was rather tall and about ten years old.
"Here kid, if she wakes up find out her name and make 'er stay Medda wants to talk to her..." Toby said walking out of the room and went back to work.
The boy sat there looking at the girl, wondering why she had blood on her hand yet no cuts. The girl began to stir, her eyes fluttered open.
"Where, am I?" she asked the boy.
"Your at Irving hall." He answered, "Im Jack Kelly."
"I'm, Belle Malone..." she introduced herself.
"Well Belle, I think I'll call you BackStage because that's where Medda found you..." Jack said.
"Uh...ok..." she said drifting off to sleep...
Seven Years later
"Earthquake buries Child and Father in building!!! Read all about it!" A girl called out as a few people bought a paper.
"Hey Stagey! Wanna go to Tiby's later?" a boy called as he ran close to her, his black cowboy hat fell off his head and hung around his neck.
"Sure Jack, I jist have ta finish sellin me papes." BackStage, now known as Stagey amongst most answered.
"OK how much do have you left?" Jack asked, with a smile.
"About all of em..." she says with a laugh.
"Oh..." Jack sighed.
Stagey kept selling her papers and about an hour later she finished enough to stop. They began to walk to Tiby's the local diner there and they sat down with a few other newsies.
"Heya Race, Spot, Bumlets hows it goin?" Jack asked as he ordered a hot dog.
"Pretty good and yerself?" Racetrack said as he spat food out every where.
"RACE!!!" everyone yelled at him as they whipped there faces off.
'What?" Racetrack said once again spitting food out.
"Talk wid yer mouth un-full please!" Bumlets yelled hitting Racetrack in the back of his head.
"God damn! I'll stop already!" Racetrack yelled as he got up and began to chase Bumlets.
"Well Jackey-boy, I have ta git back ta Brooklyn see ya latah," he said spit shaking with Jack, "See ya Stagey,"
"Bye Spot," Jack and Stagey said in unison.
Everything was quiet, Jack and Stagey both didn't say anything, it was one of those awkward silences. See Jack really liked Stagey, and she liked him the same, but they both were too scared to admit it to each other. The time passed and they made a few small conversations, and ate their hot dogs.
"It's getting late I have to go," Stagey said softly "Thanks Jack, I'll see you tomorrow I guess..." she gave him a small smile.
"Can I walk you to the Girls lodging house?" he asked her getting up and leaving fifty cents on the table.
"Sure..." she said.
They began to walk, they crossed the Brooklyn bridge and reached the Brooklyn lodging house for girls. "Well G'night Jack," Stagey said as she walked into the lobby.
Jack left and went to visit Spot.
"Heya Jacky-boy what brings ya heah?" Spot greeted.
"I wanted ta talk to ya... about Stagey," Jack said.
"What ya need kid?"
"How should I ask her out? I really like her but I don't know how to tell her it." Jack said sitting down on a chair.
"Well jist tell 'er, straight out, plain and simple..." Spot replied.
"Uh...OK..." jack said "But when?"
"Whenever you want to tell her Jack. I can't help you there..." Spot said and got up and left.
Jack left and walked around Brooklyn trying to figure out how to tell Stagey that he liked her, truth be told it would have been easy, he just needed to tell her and she would say the same thing to him.
"Stagey... I like you... well you know that but I mean I like you like you... kinda like well you know a bit more then I do really... I mean uh... will you be me goil?" he rehearsed. "That's never going to work... she'll just laugh..."
"Really Jack?" came a voice from behind Jack.
"St-Stagey! Where'd you come from?" Jack looked embarrassed.
Stagey walked up to Jack and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Yes... I'll be your goil..." she said with a huge smile.
"Really?" Jack said and gave her a hug,
"Really..." she answered.
Jack kissed her forehead and held her tight. They staid there for an hour, just in each others embrace. Snow began to fall.
"Lets go back..." Jack said softly.
"Ok..." they began to walk back to the lodging house, at reaching their destination they split to their separate ways, Stagey went in and Jack went back to Manhattan.
Three years later
Jack and Stagey were still together Jack now being twenty, and Stagey nineteen. It was only two days until Christmas.
"Stagey are you home?" jack knocked on the door of Stagey's one room apartment that she had rented.
Stagey came opened the door, "HI Jack!" she gave him a quick kiss.
Jack pulled away and fell to one knee.
"Stagey, I have loved you since the first day I saw you at Medda's and I will always love you, I will always love the way your eyes dance when you laugh, the way you smile when your happy, everything you do, everything you are, I love, and I cant help it... will you marry me Belle Elizabeth Malone?" he pulled out a ring, it wasn't much, but it was all he could afford and slipped it on her finger.
Stagey smiled the same smile that Jack was in love with, "Yes..." was all she could say.
Jack stood up and kissed her.
Just then a man came by and yelled, "Don't move and no one gets hoit!" he pulled out a gun.
Jack and Stagey turned around slowly. A look of fear, and hate came across Stagey's face. It was the same man who had killed her mother.
"OK give me everything you've got!" Jack began to take a few coins out of his pocket, willing to give anything up so that he wouldn't shoot, Jack wasn't scared of getting shot himself he was terrified of Stagey getting hurt.
"You too Missy..." the guy yelled pointing the gun at her, just then something inside Jack's mind triggered, the robber was his father, he had been put in jail along time ago for killing a woman, which was Stagey's mother.
Jack decided to stand up to him, "Dad get out of here now!" Jacks father hit jack upside the head with the gun and knocked him out. A few policemen were walking by, and the man ran away, after shooting Stagey.
An hour had passed, Jack finally came to, but only to find the woman he loved dead on the floor.
"Stagey..." he repeated, as he cried, holding her hand, he brought her inside and laid her on the bed, he stayed there, all night and all day, never leaving her body. Until one day...
'JACK?! Where ya been we've..." Racetrack stopped as he saw Stagey, "What happened?"
"She...was...shot... by my father...." Jack choked out.
"I'm...sorry Jack..." Racetrack said putting his hand on his best friends shoulder...
Two weeks later
"Today we lay to rest next to her Mother a young girl, who had no reason to die, but died without fear, and died in Christ. Though I may walk the valley of death I shall fear no evil..." the pastor said as they lowered a coffin into a grave. The gravestone read "Here lies Belle Elizabeth Malone. 1883-1902"
Jack walked away, and no one ever really was able to get through to him again...
Well what ya think? Leave me a review pleasey!!!!!
Corynn. (Cards)