A/N: This idea came to me when I was watching Newsies. In it, Kid Blink wishes for "a Saturday night with the mayor's daughter", and I automatically thought of Madge Undersee. So, this is basically a one-shot taking place in District 12 based on that one line. Enjoy and tell me what you think please?
Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or The Hunger Games.
A Saturday Night with the Mayor's Daughter
Ryan Farrow, better known as Kid Blink, was attempting to sneak out of his house to the party that was going to be held in the clearing. It had been organized by other kids in the Seam, but word had spread and he'd heard rumors that kids from town would be attending as well. Most people thought that Kid Blink was from town, since he had the traditional blond hair and blue eyes. Well, now it was one blue eye, but nonetheless, it was blue. His parents had disgraced themselves when he was 10, so they had relocated to this part of District 12, and had found they appreciated this life though it was a constant struggle.
Kid went out the back door as quietly as he could, and slipped away into the shadows where his friends were waiting. "About time you got here!" whispered his friend Bern.
"Sorry, had to wait for my parents to fall asleep." Kid whispered back with a grin.
"Well, c'mon. We gotta go now or we're gonna miss all the fun!"
The two teenage boys ran towards the meadow, racing and calling out taunts as others joined in along side them. Kid stopped short when he saw the roaring bonfire and the dark silhouettes of people running around, dancing, and sitting on the grass. Letting out a woop of joy, Kid Blink, Bern, and the others ran into the stretch of grass, leaping over people and calling out to friends. The two ran into Gale Hawthorne, hunter extraodinaire. He was one year older than Ryan and Bern, but they were all semi-good friends.
"Hey Gale, didn't think you'd be here." Bern greeted him with a smile as they clasped hands.
Gale shrugged and said, "I needed a small break, I was actually just about to leave," He gave them a weary smile and continued, "Gotta get up early tomorrow and all." They all shared a grin and then Gale bade them farewell before walking off into the shadows.
About half an hour later, the party was in full swing, kids from the Seam and a few from town all dancing to the fast beat set by the small band. Kid laughed as he watched Bern grabbed a random girl's hand and take off to the designated dancing area. He walked around the huge fire, talking to people he knew, and exchanging terse greetings with the kids from town. Sitting down on a log that was set near the fire, Kid enjoyed watching people mingle, dance, and stretch out on the grass. Sensing someone was next to him, Kid turned his head to the right and saw a girl sitting alone. Obviously from town, with her long blond hair, blue eyes, and dress that was free of loose thread and patches. As they made eye contact, he inwardly sighed when her eyes visibly widened at his eye patch. Deciding to go ahead and get it over with, Kid Blink pointed at his eye patch and said, "I got in a fight a couple months back. This eye was blinded, and partially cut out. Figured I'd get less attention with a patch but.." he trailed off and went back to watching his friends.
...
Madge hadn't meant to stare at the boy's eye patch, she had just turned to see who it was that had decided to sit next to her. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and said, "I think I heard about that at school. It must've been terrible."
She saw him blink in surprise at his statement. When the boy turned to face her again, Madge got a better look at him. She frowned in confusion as she realized that his features marked him as a kid from town, but his clothes said he was from the Seam.
"What's your name?" The town/Seam boy asked her.
"My name's Madge Undersee.." she trailed off, knowing that he would automatically identify her as the mayor's daughter.
Surprisingly, he just nodded and stuck out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Ryan Farrow, but now everyone calls me Kid Blink."
"Cos of your patch, right?" Madge asked as she shook his warm hand. He nodded and grinned a bit, so she assumed that he was fine with the nickname.
Madge was wondering why this boy didn't act like the others, shutting her out because of her status. Still, she wanted to try and make a friend she could talk to. "So what should I call you? Ryan, or Kid Blink?"
"Whatever you want, I don't care much. Long as it isn't something rude." She smiled a bit, finding his own grin contagious.
After thinking for a moment, Madge said, "I'll call you Ryan, I like that better."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Ryan scooted closer to Madge and asked, "You wanna dance?"
"Uh..I don't know how to dance to these songs." Madge blushed, she'd never been talked to like this, let alone asked to dance.
Ryan grinned again and said, "It's easy, I'll show you the steps." as he reached down to take her hand. Madge shook her head but allowed herself to be pulled along to the dancing area.
The music was lively and joyful, different to the slow monotonous music Madge was used to hearing. "Just follow my move, okay?" Ryan said into her ear over the music and laughing. Madge nodded in reply and felt her dance partner place one hand on her waist while the other kept its grip on her hand as he raised it. She glanced down to see how his feet were moving, then looked around at the other couples, noticing that this song must have had a certain dance for it because all the other boys were holding girls in a similar fashion.
Madge was soon swept up in a blur of movement. She could only distinguish the sound of music and feet pounding the ground as Ryan guided her through other dancers with a merry grin on his face. Madge found herself smiling and let out a laugh of joy, she'd never had fun like this, not since she was a little girl. She twirled in dizzyingly fast circles and had to clutch Ryan's shoulder so she wouldn't fall over or run into someone. They twirled around faster and faster, moving in some sort of sped-up waltz. Finally, the music gradually slowed to a stop, leaving everyone breathless and slightly disoriented. Madge closed her eyes and squeezed them for a few seconds before opening them and facing her dance partner. They shared a grin and Ryan asked, "See, that wasn't so bad was it?"
Shaking her head, Madge laughed lightly, "No, I had fun!"
"Good, I did too. Wanna go sit down or are you up for another dance?" Ryan asked as they saw the band start to pick up their instruments again.
"Let's go sit for a while, my head needs to stop spinning." The pair walked to the log they had previously been sitting on, but saw it was occupied. Madge hadn't noticed until now, but Ryan was still clutching her hand as he led her to a small space of grass in front of the fire. They sat down and Madge decided to lay back and look at the stars. Ryan laid back next to her, his hand still clasping hers.
"So, how'd you hear about the party?" Ryan asked as they looked up at the night sky and listened to the sounds around them.
Madge shifted a bit, so her free hand was a pillow. "Like everyone else, it was going around at school. Only no one directly told me about it."
"Ahh, and your parents let you wander around here by yourself? I figured you'd have Peacekeepers following your every step!" After a beat of silence, Ryan hastily said, "Shit, I'm sorry. Didn't mean it that way.."
She turned towards Ryan and met his eye, giving him a weak smile. "Don't worry about it..it's okay, I'm used to it. And no, the Peacekeepers don't, I'm sure they have better things to do than babysit me." she laughed a bit.
The two lay in silence after that, both wrapped up in the sounds around them and their own thoughts. Madge had lost track of time, all she knew was that she had left her house at around 7 pm. She turned towards Ryan and said, "I think I should be getting home now, I have no idea what time it is."
"Alright, well I'll walk you home, Madge. Where do you live again?"
Ryan laughed at the look Madge gave him and said, "I'm just kidding, everyone knows where you live!" He laughed again and this time Madge couldn't help but join in.
They got up, brushed themselves off, and headed towards the Seam. It was amazingly dark out, with the Seam not having street lights to guide them, Madge trusted Ryan to guide them through without harm. She could feel him walking close to her, and was comforted by the fact that every now and then their arms would brush. It let Madge know that he was there and wouldn't leave her in the dark, alone.
...
Kid Blink couldn't help himself when he offered to walk Madge home. Of course it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but it also gave him an excuse to spend more time with her. In the short time they'd spent together, he found that Madge was an interesting girl, and he wanted to get to know her. On an impulse, Kid took Madge's hand again, this time cautiously intertwining their fingers.
He cleared his throat and said softly, "Sorry if I seem a bit forward, but I like holding your hand."
"Oh..um. It's alright. This is..nice."
"I think so too." he smiled, not caring that Madge couldn't see him.
"Do you mind if I ask you something? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Madge asked.
Kid Blink shrugged and answered, "Sure. What's this question?"
"Um.." Madge sounded nervous, and Kid had to strain his ears as she quietly asked, "Why is it you're from the Seam, but look like you're from town?"
There was silence as Kid tried to think of the best way to answer her. He heaved a sigh and said, "It was a long time ago, couple years back. My parents..they did something that they weren't supposed to. But because my father used to be your father's secretary, we weren't taken away. We were allowed to live and stay here, but we had to move out of town."
He wasn't telling Madge the total truth, but he didn't want to scare her off. It was better she know his version of what had happened, so that she wouldn't be afraid. In the distance, Kid could see the street lamps in town glowing, and knew that Mayor Undersee's mansion wasn't too far now. Madge didn't say anything, so the two walked on in silence, until they reached the soft glow of town. Suddenly, they heard footsteps behind them. Kid Blink froze and pulled Madge close to him, releasing her hand and wrapping an arm around her waist. He pulled her out of the dim light and into the shadows, backing into the stretch of trees that lined the path.
Kid glanced around rapidly, trying to find the source of the noise. The heavy sound continued until they recognized the standard black leather boots Peacekeepers wore as they entered the light. With a curse, Kid maneuvered himself so he was right behind Madge, one hand lightly on her waist and whispered, "C'mon. Maybe we can get around them if we go through the trees."
At Madge's nod of agreement, Kid walked backwards, guiding Madge through the darkness. Things seemed to be going fine for the moment, until Kid tripped over a tree root and pulled Madge down with him. He landed on his back with a thump, and groaned as pain shot up his back. Just a few seconds later he heard a sharp yelp and felt Madge land on top of him. This time they both groaned in pain, though Blink's was muffled because of Madge's hair.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Madge whispered as she got up off of him. "Are you okay?"
Blink heaved himself into a sitting position, then stood up. "I'm fine, I just hope the Peacekeepers didn't hear that."
A deep voice sneered, "Don't worry kids, we heard."
Kid felt a hand land on his shoulder and then pull him into the light of the street lamps. He looked over to see the other guard had Madge in his grasp as well. Kid Blink hung his head in both fear and shame. "What're your names, kids?" one of the men asked.
"I'm Ryan Farrow, but 'm called Kid Blink." he mumbled and looked at Madge. She shifted as close to him as she could get and grabbed his hand. The Peacekeepers examined him, taking in his one blue eye, eye patch, blond hair and ratty clothes. They were about to do the same to Madge when one of them gasped.
"Miss Undersee! Is that you?"
Next to Ryan, Madge held her head up and looked at the Peacekeepers angrily. "Of course it's me. Who else in this district is named Madge?"
One of them actually looked frightened as he said, "My apologies, Miss Undersee. You know that it isn't safe to be out at night all alone though..if your father were to find out..."
Kid looked on in surprise as Madge replied, "Did I look like I was alone? Or did you not see Ryan here?" she waved her hand towards him.
"Uhh..I was just walking her home, since it's late and all.." Kid sheepishly tried to interject.
Madge smiled at him before turning back to the Peacekeepers with a frown. "See? He was being a gentleman and doing the right thing, there's no harm in that."
As two Peacekeepers moved away from them for a few moments, Kid and Madge shared a small smile. Coming back, one of them said, "Alright. You can continue to walk Miss Undersee home, but we'll be behind you. Let's get a move one now."
Sending Kid a triumphant smile, Madge grabbed his hand and pulled him ahead of the two guards so there was about 10 feet between them. Kid glanced back at the Peacekeepers and whispered, "I don't think it's such a good idea to hold my hand, Madge."
"Don't be silly, I like it." Kid couldn't help but return the smile Madge sent him.
...
Madge slowed down as they reached her front porch. She turned to Ryan and said in a shy voice, "Thanks for everything, Ryan. I had a lot of fun, the dancing was my favorite part."
Ryan smiled and replied, "I'm glad you had fun, Madge. Want to know what my favorite part was?"
She nodded and froze as he stepped closer and whispered into her ear, "Getting to meet you." before placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Um, can I change my answer to match yours?" Madge whispered back as she tried not to blush.
"Sure." Ryan answered as he chuckled at her embarrassment.
Madge smiled softly and said, "Then my absolute favorite part was meeting you, Ryan."
She wanted to return his kiss on the cheek with one of her own, but just as she was about to, one of the Peacekeepers cleared his throat. Stepping back, Madge smiled again at Ryan, whispering, "Goodnight." before going up the front steps and disappearing behind the front door.
A/N: Thank you guys for reading this! Review if you want. I would really like it if you wanted to review.. Please?