Patches of Green

Disclaimer- I don't own Newsies or any characters in it.

Chapter One

"Hey, Spots! How many papes you got?"

Spot looked up from his newspaper, an interesting article about toxic fish under the Brooklyn Bridge. "One. An' that's faw me."

Racetrack raised an eyebrow. "Ya sold 'em all?"

"Yep." Spot grinned. His eye twitched in that familiar way.

Crutchy hobbled over. "Is tha' right?" he asked. The newsies were beginning to make a circle around the King

"Ya bet?"

"How many did ya start with?" asked Boots.

Spot broke out into an evil smile. "One hundred papes, an' I sold ninety-nine of 'em."

At this time, a whole crowd of Newsies were gathering around this living wonder that was Spot.

Ever since Jack had started going out with Sara after the strike, they saw less and less of their head honcho, so it wasn't a sin to say that Spot had become the leader of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The day after the 'war,' when Racetrack and Spot had been lounging around and doing nothing, he hitched a ride with Teddy Roosevelt so he wouldn't have to walk all the way home.

However, when he returned to the dock, he found nothing. Alas, he had left his friends back in Manhattan. So, without a companion or a ride, he made the long way to the town he was trying to get away from. Someone recalled that he had reached 'hatten again by two in the morning and had slept three days curled up on a park bench, but that was bologna. It was probably four.

"Show us tha dolla,"said Les, puffing his chest out bravely.

There was a silence, and Spot looked around at every single Newsie, eying them just long enough to make them feel uncomfortable. Ever so s l o w l y, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar, not bragging, not saying anything period. The crowd gasped, and he knew he had them in the palm of his hand. Everyone started muttering excitedly.

"Brooky, can I touch it?" asked Racetrack in a high voice, snorting. Spot slapped at him and pulled his hat over his eyes nonchalantly. He leaned against the statue and said, "How 'bout ya sell papes an' make yer own dolla, ya ass?"

The crowd snorted and laughed, and Racetrack got a few playful shoves and tugs on the hat, before pointing and saying, 'Hey, it's Jack!"

Indeed, it was. Jack was strolling up the street, and when he saw his gang, he trotted over to them. Spot pulled the hat out of his face and hopped off the statue. "Jackie boy. I can only guess where ya been, with ya hair all tasseled like that and ya shirt unbuttoned." Racetrack laughed.

He spit into Jack's hand and rubbed it into his hair. "No, really. Where ya been?"

Jack shook his hair and tried to fix it. "One of da Delancey bruddas tried ta take a swing at me. Now he's swimmin' in Brooklyn."

Half of the audience laughed, but half remained silent, knowing what was coming.

Spot crosses his arms and gave him a weird look. "Jackie boy, what you been doin' in Brooklyn? You know dat's mine."

Jack made a gesture and said, "No, no, I wasn't by Sheepshead. Sara asted me ta meet her there in some dinah (diner)."

Spot sat, silent. He had an annoying hunch that Jack was lying, but bit his tongue. "Ah, Jack - be - nimble, I fawgive ya. Just tell me the next time ya goin' so I can go with ya."

He smiled. "I was just tellin' the guys here how I earned me a dolla," he said, and with a flick of the wrist, held it out.

In the blink of an eye, Jack had whipped the dollar from Spot's hand, and Spot snatched it back and shoved it in his frayed pocket with a crumple. Cowboy received a warning clonk on the head with a cane.

"Get yer own," Spot snapped at him.

"Then don't tease me with it."

"I ain't teasing ya. I'm showin' ya. I guess I hafta thank the 'Supanatrill (supernatural) Bein' Seen in Ally."

"What supanatrill bein'?" Crutchy asked, gullibly, and everyone stared at him.

Spot rolled his eyes. "Just faw that, I'm going back ta da Bay." He wanted to check his clubhouse to make sure the Delanceys didn't raid it in his absence, and this was the perfect opportunity to leave.

No one doubted that he'd leave, because Spot got what Spot wanted. So he slapped Jack on the back (no pun intended) and said, "See ya, buddy."

There were a few muttered 'bye's, and he was off.