Reconcile



Part 1

It had been months since anyone had seen or heard from Pyro. Spot had gone into a state of depression. He didn't really show it but it was clear to those around him that he missed Pyro. Squeak had also missed Pyro. Mak was still mad at her and Brooklyn and Manhattan were not on the best of terms.

Where was Pyro? In the Boston Refuge. A tough place, tougher than the Refuge in New York. Pyro had tried to escape many times but it was hard to escape.

Finally, three weeks before Christmas, Pyro had made a successful attempt at escaping. She boarded the next train for Brooklyn and arrived a couple of days later. She stepped off the train and looked around.

"Ahh, my home. It's great to be back. Now, to find my friends." Pyro said to herself. She wandered around Brooklyn, looking for Spot. It was a cold day but she welcomed the cool breeze. She approached the docks and saw Spot looking out into the water. He looked so sad. 'He looks like he's gonna cry. I've never seen him like this before.' Pyro thought. She picked up some snow and made a snowball. Then, she threw it at Spot and it hit him right in the back of the head.

"I wouldn't have done that if I was you." Spot said not even turning around. Pyro made another snowball and threw it at him, hitting him on the left shoulder. Pyro crept closer to Spot and she stood directly behind him. "If you're looking for a fight, you came to the right place. But, if you're looking to win, then you are out of luck." Spot said turning around.

"Yeah, like you can soak me. Just keep telling yourself that." Pyro said grinning.

"Pyro? Where the hell have you been?" Spot said hugging her.

"Boston." Pyro replied.

"Why were you in Boston?" Spot asked.

"It's a long story. But, I'll make it short. After, the big fight, I was dragged back to the Refuge. The lovely warden sent me away to the Refuge in Boston." Pyro explained. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"I've been wondering where you went. I couldn't stop thinking about ya." Spot said.

"Well, here I am." Pyro said.

"There's something I've wanted to do for the past few months." Spot said.

"Then, do it." Pyro said.

"I will." Spot said kissing her.

"I'm glad to be back." Pyro said.

"And, I'm glad to have ya back. Let's go to the lodging house and wait for everyone to return so they can see that you're back." Spot said taking her hand. They walked to the lodging house together.

Pyro entered the bunkroom and smiled. She looked around and nothing had changed. All of her clothes were still spread around on the floor. Pyro was the messy girl of the lodging house.

"Geeze, you guys didn't even clean up after me." She joked. She picked up one of her shirts, which had bloodstains on it. "Why is there blood on my shirt?"

"Because I had to soak Jack so bad, he could barely walk." Spot said.

"You did that just for me?" Pyro asked.

"Pyro, I'd do anything for you." Spot said.

"Aww, and I'd do anything for you." Pyro said sitting on his bunk. She laid back and took in her surroundings.

"Do you remember what we were doing the last time you were in that position?" Spot asked with a smirk.

"Why don't you refresh my memory?" Pyro grinned.

"Gladly." Spot said as he sat next to her.

"No, see, you weren't in that position." Pyro said.

"Was it this position?" He said sitting on top of her.

"Yep, that would be it." Pyro said. She wrapped her arms around Spot's neck. He put his hands on her hips and started kissing her. Just then, Squeak walked into the room.

"Spot! How could you do this to Pyro?! She may not be here but that doesn't mean you can just go around kissing random girls!" Squeak shouted. Spot looked up at Squeak.

"Squeak, what makes you think that I would be kissing anyone other than Pyro?" Spot said.

"Because you are, right now." Squeak said.

"No, he's not. Don't be foolish, Squeak." Pyro said.

"Pyro? You're back?" Squeak said.

"Yeah and this is quite an awkward moment." Pyro laughed. Squeak giggled.

"Well, I can just move." Spot said.

"No, you can stay right here." Pyro said. "Well, maybe you should get up. But, don't leave." Spot smiled and got up. So, did Pyro. They sat next to each other on the bed and Squeak sat on the bed across from them.

"Pyro, where were you?" Squeak asked.

"Boston." Pyro said.

"Why?" Squeak asked.

"Remember the big fight? Well, when I walked out, the warden grabbed me. He took me to the Refuge and then he put me on a train and sent me to the Refuge in Boston." Pyro explained.

"Oh, I see. Well, it's great having you back." Squeak said.

"So? How are things between you and Race?" Pyro asked. Spot and Squeak just looked at each other.

"Manhattan and Brooklyn ain't on the best of terms." Spot said.

"Yeah, Spot soaked Jack so bad that he ordered Manhattan and Brooklyn to stay away from each other." Squeak said.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go down there, right now, and tell Jack where to stick his orders." Pyro said standing up.

"Pyro, don't." Spot said grabbing her arm.

"Things have changed, Pyro. Brooklyn and Manhattan aren't allies anymore." Squeak said.

"Yeah, once you left, we lost our one connection to Manhattan. Everybody there loves ya like a sister, except for Mak and Jack but you were our connection." Spot said.

"Well, if you let me go, I can go reconnect." Pyro said.

"Pyro, if they see you in Manhattan, they're gonna attack you." Squeak said.

"Fine, you guys can come with me." Pyro said.

"I don't think they wanna see me there, either." Spot said.

"Squeak?" Pyro asked.

"Pyro, you know I'm not as strong as you or Spot." Squeak said.

"Look at you guys. I can't believe that the two of you are actually just gonna sit here and let Manhattan run your lives. Especially, you, Spot. You take orders from no one. I take orders from no one. Let's go take orders from no one, together." Pyro said.

"You know what? You're right, Pyro. We're gonna go tell Jack that we ain't gonna take his orders no more." Spot said getting up and dragging Pyro out the door with him.

Spot and Pyro walked through the streets of Brooklyn and over the bridge. They got stares from some of the newsies around them but a lot of the newsies were just surprised to see Pyro back. Pyro saw Race and stopped him.

"Hey Race. Where's Jack?" She asked.

"Uh, he's at the lodging house but you guys better get outta here." Race said.

"No can do. Well, thanks for the information." Pyro said walking off with Spot. "Ok, now how do you wanna make the entrance?" She asked Spot.

"You should go in, first. Make a loud entrance, like ya always do. I'll wait outside, if ya need me." Spot said.

"Why ain't ya coming in?" Pyro asked.

"Because every time I look at Jack, I wanna kill him." Spot said.

"So do I." Pyro said.

"But, you can control yourself better than I can." Spot said.

"Ok, fine." Pyro said as they approached the lodging house.

"Good luck." Spot said pushing her in.

Pyro climbed the stairs and burst through the bunkroom door.

"Well, hello, my lovely Manhattan!" Pyro shouted. "I'm glad to be back!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jack asked turning around.

"I just so happened to have popped out of my mom." Pyro said.

"And, you just so happen to have a reputation like her, too." Mak said coming out of the washroom.

"Bite me." Pyro said.

"You'd just enjoy that, wouldn't ya?" Mak said. "So, why ya here? Come to ruin my life some more?"

"No, I came to tell Jack that Brooklyn don't take orders from him." Pyro said.

"And, you expect me to just go along with this? Come on, Pyro, you just show up out of no where and you think I'm just gonna give up that easily." Jack said.

"Fine, I'll fight ya. I win; Brooklyn and Manhattan are friends again. You win, I walk away pretending like this never even happened." Pyro said.

"No, see, here's the thing, Pyro, I don't wanna play your little games no more." Jack said.

"No one does." Mak said lunging at Pyro. Pyro just moved and Mak landed on the floor. Then, Jack tackled Pyro and started punching her. She tried to push him off of her but he was too heavy. Finally, Jack got up and Pyro just lay there. Then, Mak came over and kicked Pyro in the stomach. Mak and Jack climbed up out onto the roof and left Pyro there alone and beaten.

Pyro slowly got up and stumbled down the stairs and out the door. She barely made it out to where Spot was waiting for her and fell into his arms.

"It didn't go how I planned." Pyro said.

"Who did this?" Spot asked.

"Jack. And, he will pay." Pyro said.

"We can settle this war later. Let's get you back to Brooklyn, first." Spot said.

"Ok." Pyro said. Spot wrapped his arm around her waist and they walked back to Brooklyn together.

When they got back to the lodging house, no one was there. Pyro lay on Spot's bed since she was in a lot of pain.

"Geeze, it's my first day back and trouble has already found me." Pyro said.

"Actually, you went looking for trouble but you did have a good reason." Spot said.

"Yes, I did. Oh, could you please get me my journal? It's under my mattress." Pyro said. Spot handed Pyro her journal and sat next to her. "Oh, hey, my beautiful journal. It's been awhile since I've seen you. We've got a lot of catching up to do." She said to her journal. Spot just looked at her. "What?" She asked.

"You do realize that you're talking to your journal, right?" Spot asked.

"So? And, now I'm gonna be writing in it." Pyro said as she began to write in her journal.

"You really don't let things get to ya, do you?" Spot said.

"Why should I? If I spend my life letting things get to me, then I won't have a life." Pyro replied.

"You are just so… smart." Spot said.

"No, I'm not. If I was smart, none of this stuff that's been going on would have ever happened." Pyro said.

"It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. Blame Jack." Spot said putting his arm around her.

"I know but he just makes me so mad. And, now Mak hates me. It's so horrible. And, Jack's gonna pay. I will not let this go without revenge." Pyro said. "I'm going to settle this by Christmas."

"That's three weeks from now." Spot said.

"Yeah, I know. But, I can do it." Pyro said closing her journal. "In fact, I'm going back to Manhattan, right now." She stood up slowly and found herself in too much pain. "Ok, maybe it can wait till tomorrow." She sat back down.

"That's it. I've had enough of this. Jack can't just do this to you and get away with it. I'm going to Manhattan, Pyro. You stay here. I don't want you getting anymore hurt than you already are." Spot said as he got up and left.

"No! Spot, wait!" Pyro shouted after him. "Now, I'm gonna hafta go after him." She slowly got up and left.

Spot stormed across the Brooklyn Bridge and into Manhattan. He was mad and everyone knew to stay out of his way.

Pyro staggered out into the cold streets of Brooklyn. She managed to make it to the bridge.

Spot stormed into the lodging house, looking for Jack.

"Kelly, where the hell are you?" Spot shouted. Jack stood up.

"I'm right here, Spot." Jack said. Spot said nothing; he jumped on Jack and started punching him.

Pyro was slowly coming to the lodging house when someone grabbed her and threw her into an alley.

"Well, hello, Pyro. Long time, no see." He said.

"Leave me alone, Oscar." Pyro said trying to push him out of her way but the fight with Jack made her weaker.

"I don't think so." Oscar said pushing her up against a brick wall.

"Just leave me the hell alone. I got business to take care of." Pyro said.

"Well, I've got some business to take care of, too. It's business with you." Oscar said kissing her.

"No! Just leave! I can't take this anymore!" Pyro shouted. Oscar punched her, knocking her unconscious and threw her in the snow.

"You ever touch Pyro again, I'll make sure I kill ya." Spot said as he got up and left. Jack was lying there, unconscious.

Oscar stood over Pyro's unconscious body. He snickered.

"The day has finally come, Pyro. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do." Oscar said.

Spot headed back to the Brooklyn lodging house. When he got there, he headed up to the bunkroom to check on Pyro.

"Pyro? You ok?" Spot asked as he entered the bunkroom. He looked around and no one was there. "Great, she left. Now, I gotta go find her. I hope nothing has happened to her." He said to himself as he left the lodging house.

Pyro woke up and saw Oscar standing over her. She could barely move. It hurt her too much and she was shivering.

Mush and Race were walking back to the lodging house when they looked down the alley and saw Oscar standing over a girl.

"Hey Mush. Look, it's Oscar and it looks like he's about to hurt that girl. We better go help her." Race said running down the alley with Mush at his side. "Oscar, leave her alone." He said.

"Race? Mush? Guys, help me." Pyro said in a shaky voice.

"Oh my God. It's Pyro." Mush said as Race cornered Oscar and punched him in the stomach. Oscar hurled over onto the ground. Mush and Race helped Pyro up and took her back to the lodging house.

"Jack ain't gonna be too happy about us bringing ya here, but you're our friend and you're in need. So, I don't care." Race said as he and Mush led Pyro up to the bunkroom.

"Jack ain't here, right now, anyways." Mush said.

"Thanks guys. Now, I gotta add another person to my revenge list." Pyro said trying to joke. They just let out a faint laugh and helped her onto a bed. "Hey Race." She said.

"What?" Race asked.

"You do know that Squeak really likes ya, right?" Pyro said. He grinned.

"The best part about having ya around, you know how to make someone smile." Race said.

"Where have ya been?" Mush asked.

"Do you guys even know the whole story?" Pyro asked.

"All we know is that Brooklyn and Manhattan ain't supposed to be associating with each other." Race said.

"Ahh, well, it's one of those stupid little fights that turns out being a stupid big fight." Pyro said.

"Really? What happened?" Mush asked.

"You guys were here the night of the poker game. It's like that only ten times worse." Pyro said.

"What was that all about, though?" Race asked.

"Whoa, you guys have been living under a rock." Pyro joked.

"All I remember is that we had to hold Spot back because Jack made some stupid comment about Spot and you keeping your pants on." Mush said with a half smile.

"Well, that was just the beginning. I'd tell you the rest but it's not really the stuff I should be telling you guys." Pyro said. Suddenly, Jack came through the door and saw Pyro there. He just stared at her. "Hey Jack. Welcome to this humble place we call the Manhattan lodging house. It's just like old times, huh?" Pyro said.

"Race? Mush? Why the hell is she here?" Jack asked with anger in his voice.

"We found her in an alley. Oscar Delancey had beaten her pretty good." Race said.

"Hey, you look like you've been beaten, too, Jack. I can see that Spot has already been here." Pyro said.

"Well, get her out of here! She's back to making her little stupid remarks, so she's obviously not in that much pain!" Jack shouted.

"Actually, if I move, it really hurts." Pyro said.

"I can make it hurt even more." Jack said as he moved closer to her. Mush and Race held him back.

"Is there just one big, giant conspiracy against me? If there is, I'd like to know." Pyro said.

"Oh, quit your complaining. You got everything in your life." Jack said.

"No, I don't. And, you don't want me to list everything I've lost." Pyro said. "It would take a very long time."

"You got Spot." Jack said.

"Yes, I do. That is the upside of my life, right now. Oh, and speaking of Spot someone should probably tell him that I'm here." Pyro said.

"I'll go tell him." Mush said as he left to go find Spot.

"You guys aren't gonna kill each other, are ya?" Race asked.

"Race, I can't move, so the possibility of me killing him, just ain't there." Pyro said. "And, Jack, I don't hate you. I mean I don't love you or anything but I could never find it in my heart to hate you."

"I don't hate you either. And, I'm not gonna try to kiss you anymore. I was just jealous. I'm sorry for everything I put you through." Jack said.

"Apology accepted." Pyro said.

"Jack, you tried to kiss her?" Race asked.

"No, he did kiss me, more than once. Thus, sending both me and Spot into a rage." Pyro said laughing.

"Yeah, it's pretty funny now that I think about it." Jack said.

"Pyro, are you and Spot, you know, a couple?" Race asked.

"Yep." Pyro said proudly. "So, Jack, Manhattan and Brooklyn are on good terms again, right?"

"Well, yeah, but someone has to talk to Spot. He's probably still mad." Jack said.

"Just leave that up to me. I'll make sure I'll get the whole idea into his head, even if I have to soak him." Pyro said.

"He'll listen to you, he loves you." Jack said.

"Ok, enough with my love life. So, Race, you gonna invite Squeak to go to the tracks with ya, again?" Pyro said grinning.

"Yeah. Why?" Race said.

"Oh, nothing." Pyro said with a smile on her face. "I still gotta talk to Mak and I think Squeak should know where I am."

"Pyro, worry about that stuff later. You've been beat pretty bad." Race said.

"I was not beat. I just haven't overcome the challenge, yet." Pyro said.

"Me either." Spot said entering the room with Mush.

"What are you talking about?" Pyro asked.

"The challenge. Remember? You're my challenge." Spot said. "Are you ok?"

"I've been better." Pyro replied.

"Well, I know how I can make you feel a little better." Spot said smirking.

"Try your best." Pyro said. Spot walked over to her and kissed her. Mush, Jack and Race just looked on at their kiss, which seemed like it lasted forever to them.

"Hey guys, you coming up for air anytime soon?" Race said.

"Go find Squeak, if you're so jealous, Race." Pyro said.

"That was a good one, Pyro." Jack said. Spot turned around and gave Jack an evil glare.

"I'm not done with you, yet." Spot said.

"Spot, calm down. Things are fine, now. I got reconnected. If you wanna go soak someone, go soak Oscar Delancey." Pyro said. "And, Brooklyn and Manhattan are allies again."

"Oscar did this to you? That's it, he's going down." Spot said.

"Don't leave me. You can soak Oscar later." Pyro said.

"I won't leave ya. Hey, Jack, let's put all the fighting we've been through behind us. But, I promise ya, if ya ever touch Pyro again, I'll kill ya." Spot said.

"Alright." Jack said spitting in his hand and sticking it out. Spot did the same.

"Wow, I reconnected Brooklyn and Manhattan. I'm the greatest." Pyro said. "Of course, all it took was me getting injured but it was worth it."

"She never shuts up." Race said.

"That's right and don't you forget that." Pyro said.

"Looks like ya got things back on track, Pyro." Spot said.

"No, not everything. But, I'm almost there." Pyro said.

"Well, apologizing to me ain't gonna work. Ya ruined my life." Mak said walking into the room.

"Ok, so, I'm not even close." Pyro said.

"I'm taking ya back to Brooklyn. I don't want the two of you to get into any violent rages." Spot said helping Pyro up.

"Me? Go into a violent rage? Now, where would you get an idea like that?" Pyro asked jokingly.

"I've been there when you've gone into violent rages. It's not pretty." Spot said. "And, lots of times, I've been the reason why you've gone into the violent rages and that's no fun either."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Pyro said as they left.



Part 2

It was Christmas Eve and all the newsies were getting ready for a big Christmas party at Irving Hall. Pyro had planned to make amends with Mak. But, first she had to get ready for the party.

"Squeak, I can't believe you are doing this to me! You're turning me into a girl!" Pyro complained.

"You are a girl. Now, sit still so I can finish braiding your hair." Squeak said.

"I take orders from no one." Pyro said.

"It's either that or I rip your hair out of your head." Squeak said.

"Ugh, fine. And, I can't believe I'm wearing a dress." Pyro said.

"Don't worry its got pockets for your matches." Squeak said.

"But, it's still a dress." Pyro said.

"Yeah, well, just don't go getting drunk like ya did last year." Squeak said.

"It's not my fault that I got drunk. Spot dared me to drink that much and you know how I don't back down on dares." Pyro said.

"Yeah but afterwards you took off with Spot and God only knows what you guys were doing." Squeak said.

"Now, that I don't remember. But, I'm sure if we did anything I'd remember." Pyro said.

"Yeah, considering you memorized the exact moment that you kissed, down to the second." Squeak said.

"That was a joyous moment." Pyro said staring off into space.

"Ok, I'm done." Squeak said but Pyro was still staring off into space. "Pyro!"

"What?" Pyro said snapping back into reality.

"I said that I was done." Squeak said.

"Oh, sorry, off in space." Pyro said getting up and heading into the washroom to see what Squeak had done to her. "Squeak! I look like a sissy girl!"

"No, you don't. Now, let's go. The guys are waiting for us downstairs." Squeak said grabbing Pyro by the arm.

"You want me to go out in public, looking like this?" Pyro said.

"Let's go. Hurry up." Squeak said grabbing her and Pyro's coats and dragging Pyro down the stairs.

"Squeak! Where did you get this dress? It shows legs and cleavage! I can't go out in public like this!" Pyro yelled as she was being dragged. Spot had heard Pyro yelling from up the stairs and his eyes widened.

"Come on. People are waiting for us." Squeak said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Pyro just hid behind Squeak, which was not the easiest thing to do, considering Pyro was a little taller than Squeak.

"I'm not gonna be seen like this." Pyro said. "It's bad enough, people already think I'm like my mother with the way I normally dress."

"Pyro, stop complaining. If you don't like it, put your coat on." Squeak said.

"Good idea. And, don't expect me to ever take it off." Pyro said putting her coat on. "But, I still feel weird with the fact that I'm wearing a dress and my hair is up. It's uncomfortable."

"Let's just go." Squeak said stepping off the last step of the stairs and going over to where the guys were standing. Pyro turned around and tried heading back up the stairs but she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Pyro shouted turning around.

"Pyro, it's me." Spot said.

"Oh, ok. You can touch me." Pyro said. Spot just laughed. "Get your mind out of the gutter." She rolled her eyes.

"Let's go." Spot said pulling her out the door with him.

A little while later, Squeak, Race, Spot, Pyro and some of the other newsies arrived at Irving Hall. Everyone was taking off their coats and getting ready to go sit down, except for Pyro.

"Pyro, are ya gonna take that coat off, or what?" Spot asked.

"No." Pyro replied.

"Why not?" Spot asked.

"Because I might get sick. There's not much to this dress. I don't even wanna know where Squeak got it." Pyro said sighing.

"I dare ya to…" Spot began.

"No, I'm not even gonna go there." Pyro said cutting him off.

"Fine, I'll just do it myself." Spot said unbuttoning her coat.

"Ok, this is really awkward." Pyro said. Spot took Pyro's coat and hung it up. When he came back, he just stood there, staring at her. Pyro looked over to a table and saw Mak sitting there. "Spot, stay right here. I'll be back. I promise." She said as she headed over to talk to Mak. Pyro sat down across from Mak, but she just ignored her. "Mak, listen to me."

"What do you want?" Mak asked angrily.

"We need to talk." Pyro said.

"There's nothing to talk about." Mak said.

"Look, I know you hate me because Jack kissed me that night. But, I was on the receiving end of that kiss. I didn't kiss him. He kissed me and I backed away. I didn't want it to happen." Pyro explained.

"Well, it did look like you were backing away. So, I forgive ya." Mak said.

"That's great. Merry Christmas!" Pyro said smiling. "Now, go out there and get Jack."

"I will." Mak said getting up and going over to Jack. Pyro jumped out of her seat.

"Yay! I'm totally reconnected!" Pyro shouted. Spot walked over to her.

"Hey Pyro. I dare ya to…" Spot began once again.

"Nope, I'm not gonna go there." Pyro said.

"Aww, come on, it's a good one." Spot said.

"You promise? I won't get killed doing this, will I?" Pyro said.

"Nope. I dare ya to kiss me." Spot said with a smirk.

"Ok." Pyro said kissing Spot.

The party continued on and it was a great party. Everyone was happy. It was Christmas and all of the fighting was over, or was it?