"Come back here, you dirty scabber!" Flash yelled. Her feet slapping the rough cobblestone streets, she ran after the boy. She could just barely see his hat, bobbing through the crowds. She poured on the speed, pushing through the crowds with a hurried "Sorry!" as she ran past. With a final burst, Flash caught up with the boy. She jumped on his back, bringing them both to the ground. She sat on his stomach, holding down his wrists. "Give it back!" she screamed.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" he shouted back, struggling to get her off.
"Liar! That's all you are! A dirty, rotten LIAR!" Flash shrieked the last word, ignoring the looks from the passersby.
"Get off of me!" with one hard push, the boy sent Flash to the ground. He sat up, brushing off his sleeves and rubbing his neck. The two teens sat on the ground for a full minute, silently glaring at each other.
Finally Flash spoke, "So if you didn't take it, why'd you run?"
"First of all, I have no clue what you're talking about. Secondly, what else was I supposed to do? Some girl comes running at me, accusing me of stealing something, I'm not about to sit around and wait for her to attack me. So I ran," the boy said with a huff.
"Well, most people wouldn't run from a newsie leader, unless they're stupid or something," Flash retorted, arms crossed, a hard look on her face.
He scoffed, "A newsie leader? You really think I'm going to believe that? What borough are you the leader of?"
Flash stood up and glared down at the boy, "Queens leader, at your service." she took a mocking bow and smirked.
At this, the boy stood up abruptly, "You're the 'Queen of Queens'?" he asked incredulously. She nodded cautiously. "Flash is your name, right?" she nodded again. "I can't believe it! I thought I'd never see you again! Wait till Spot hears about this!"
Flash tensed and the glared at the boy, "Don't you ever say that name around here again! You're lucky I don't throw you out of here myself, you coming and saying a name like that, here of all places. But you know what? I'm feeling nice, so I'll let you walk out of here yourself." with that, Flash turned on her heel and walked away.
"Wait! Flash, I'm sorry!" he followed her down the street, placing a hand on her shoulder when he got close enough. She whipped around, hand up as if to slap him. "Whoa, calm down sweet cheeks. I just want to talk to you."
Flash lowered her hand, "I don't know who you think you are, but don't ever call me that again."
"You mean, you don't remember me?" the boy asked incredulously. She shook her head. "Not even a little?" another shake of the head. "It's me, Slick! From Brooklyn? We used to be best friends!"
Her brow furrowed, obviously trying hard to remember. Slick smiled as recognition dawned on her face. "Slick? Is that really you?" he nodded. Flash shook her head, and then grinned, eyes twinkling, "Well of course I don't recognize you! I'm so used to you being shorter than me!"
Slick's jaw dropped in surprise. A second later, he regained his composure and puffed out his chest. "That's right. I'm mister man now," he teased.
"There's the Slick I remember, always the ladies man," Flash grinned.
"That's me," he said, grinning, "Girls can't keep their hands off of me." he nudged Flash, teasing her.
"Oh Slick, you know I'm immune to your…charms," she teased back.
Slick's eyes lit up, "I think I can change that." he said mischievously. Flash raised an eyebrow questioningly as Slick moved closer. Before she could react, he had jumped her, landing them both back on the ground, and began tickling her mercilessly.
"NO! Slick! Stop!" she screamed, tears running down her face. She tried to push him off, but to no avail. She was too weak from laughing so hard, plus over the years he had gotten stronger than her.
Finally, after a minute of her begging for mercy, Slick stopped. Holding her wrists so she couldn't escape, he sat on her, both of them panting hard.
"You…are…such…a…jerk!" Flash panted, struggling against his hands. Slick grinned smugly as she tried her hardest to get away. "Let me go!" she shrieked.
"Oh come on, you know you missed me," he said with a wink.
Sober now, Flash motioned for him to let her go and he did, sliding onto the ground. She sat up next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Of course I missed you Slick, you were one of my best friends," she sighed.
"I missed you too Livi," Slick said quietly, using the nickname he had had for her when they were younger.
An awkward silence ensued until Flash nudged Slick's knee, "So, what are you doing in Queens anyways?"
To her great surprise, Slick's face flushed a deep red. "Umm…well…you see…I'm not sure she would want me to tell you…" he mumbled, trailing off at the end.
Flash's jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed. "She? Thomas Jones, are you seeing one of my girls?" she asked, using his full name, knowing he hated it.
Slick flinched. "Sorry?" he replied cautiously.
She shook her head. "Which one?" Flash asked, arms crossed.
"Bluebird," he answered, head hung in shame. "I really am sorry for keeping it a secret."
Flash waved him off, her face turning thoughtful before her eyes lit up. "Wait a minute," she said slowly. "You're telling me that you, Slick, ladies man extraordinaire, have your own girl? Just one?" the disbelief was evident on Flash's face as she asked.
Slick looked up in surprise before smiling sheepishly, "Yeah, no one else could believe it either."
They both laughed at his statement before Flash asked, "May I ask how it happened?"
Slick ran a hand over his mouth, evidently trying to figure out how to start his story.
Finally, he took a deep breath, "Well, we've only been seeing each other for about a month now. But if you really want to know how it started, we're going to have to go way back, back when you first left Brooklyn." Slick looked at her expectantly, waiting for her permission to go on. She flinched slightly, knowing at least part of what was coming, but she nodded anyways.
Slick took another deep breath and began, "After you left, you know Spot became leader, right?" Flash glared at the mention of the name. Slick winced and started over. "Okay, sorry, you-know-who became leader after you left." she smirked at the name change and nodded. "Now, I'm not saying I know what happened between you two, but it must have been real bad. Cuz you left and I remember hearing, a few months later, that you had become the new leader of Queens. Shortly after that, you-know-who called an all borough leader meeting." Slick paused and Flash gestured that she was listening and that he should continue. He sighed and picked up where he had left off, "Well, I heard that and got excited. Real excited. I mean, my best friend leaves with no warning and now I've got a chance to see her? She was gonna be coming back to Brooklyn? I begged Sp-you-know-who to let me sit in and he finally agreed. I couldn't wait, so imagine my disappointment when you didn't show. We waited an hour for you, but instead you send some blond girl in your place. Normally I wouldn't mind, cuz she was a cutie, but I was so put out by the fact that you weren't there that I didn't even look at her. In fact, I got up and left before the meeting had even started." here Slick paused to take a breath and Flash took the opportunity to speak.
"Slick? Come on Slick, look at me," he kept his head turned away. Flash sighed and continued anyways. "I wanted to come, really I did. I mean, it would have been my first official business as a leader. But I couldn't do it; I couldn't go back to Brooklyn, back to him that soon, no matter how much I wanted to. I realize now how big of a mistake that was and I'm sorry. You got that? I'm sorry Tommy." she said quietly, ending with his nickname from all those years ago.
He looked over at her and smiled gently, taking hold of her hand and squeezing. She returned the smile before nodding that he should go on.
"As you know," Slick began again, "that that may have been the first time you sent the blondie, but certainly not the last. You know, you got quite the reputation for being a coward over in Brooklyn, never showing your face." at this Flash's face flushed. Slick grinned and continued. "Anyways, after seeing the girl around all the time, I finally got to know her. And she was sweet and caring and boy could she carry a tune! Bottom line is, I liked her and she liked me. I guess you know what happened after that." Slick finished, face slightly red.
Flash was quiet for a moment, trying to process Slick's story. Finally she spoke, a grin on her face and tears in her eyes, "Well then, you're welcome Tommy."
Confusion flashed across Slick's face, "What are you talking about?"
A tear rolled down her cheek as she explained, "You should be thanking me for leaving. If I hadn't, you never would have met Bluebird."
"Oh no Livi, don't you ever think like that! I would give anything, even Bluebird, to have you back in Brooklyn! You're more than my best friend, you're like my sister and I would love to have you back, no matter what," he said quickly, pulling her into a tight hug.
Slowly, Flash brought her arms around Slick's waist, tears falling. She had forgotten how much she had missed her life in Brooklyn, especially her friends. The moment was ruined though by a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back away from the embrace.
"What do you think you're doing with my boyfriend?" a voice said menacingly. Both Flash and Slick looked up simultaneously, Flash wiping the tears off her cheeks. Above them was another newsie, one they both knew very well.
"Hey Bluebird," Flash said, breaking the silence. The other girl's jaw dropped, realizing who she had been yelling at.
"Flash?" she squeaked. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize it was you! Although I would like to know why you were hugging my boyfriend."
By this time, Slick had stood as well, brushing off the seat of his pants. "Hi Birdie," he greeted the newcomer with a quick hug. "I think I can answer your question actually. This is my best friend from way back when we were kids." he smiled at the two girls.
Flash was embarrassed, an emotion she wasn't used to feeling. She could feel her face flushing as she stood there, Bluebird's eyes drilling into her, as her boyfriend wrapped an arm around Flash's waist. She knew she should say something, but she had missed this, this closeness.
Bluebird's mouth opened, closed, then opened again as she tried to process this. "So…" she began slowly, "you two know each other?" The other two nodded. "For how long?"
Slick cleared his throat and turned to Flash. "How old are we know?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.
Flash raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" she asked incredulously.
"What?" he replied, hands raised, "I don't keep track of those things."
Flash laughed, both at his statement, and Bluebird's face as she was listening to their exchange. "Oh Slick, what are we going to do with you?" he sneered in response. Flash smiled and answered, "Seventeen. And since you're probably going to ask this next, we were ten when we met."
Slick stuck his tongue out at her, before turning to Bluebird, "There you go, we've known each other for seven years.
"Technically only four," Flash said, causing the other two to look at her, confused. "Well, I left Brooklyn when we were fourteen. And this is the first time we've talked since then, which means there were three years where we didn't really know what was going on in the other's lives. Hence, four years." she explained.
Bluebird frowned, "You lived in Brooklyn?"
Slick's eyes widened as he bit his lip, looking at Flash to see how she would react. Flash sighed heavily, as if knowing the question was coming, "Yes Bluebird, I lived in Brooklyn for about five years." she sighed again, bracing herself for the next question.
"Well, what happened then?" Bluebird asked curiously, not knowing the pain she was causing her leader.
Slick opened his mouth to say something, but Flash raised a hand, and he closed it again, "It's alright Slick, I don't mind answering her," she said to him, although she wasn't telling him the truth. To her, Flash replied, "One of my other friends and I got in a huge fight. Things were said that shouldn't have been said. I was so mad that I left."
After Flash was done, all three newsies stood in silence, absorbing the story. Slick gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze around her shoulders before breaking the silence. "Well," he started, clearing his throat, "I hate to say it, but Birdie and I should probably get going."
Flash sighed, "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry for keeping you."
Slick turned to face her, planting his hands on her shoulders. "Don't be," he said seriously. Then he pulled into a tight hug, whispering in her ear, "Remember what I said: I would love to have you back in Brooklyn." he looked her in the eye. "And I know I'm not the only one," he finished with another hug and a quick "see you later."
Flash waved to the couple as they walked away, her mind reeling.