(NOTE: Sarah does not exist in this story. NOTE TO ANY SARAH FANS: deal with it! Nobody likes her!)

(ANOTHER NOTE: DISCLAIMER: I don't own newsies. I wish owned those hot boys though!)

(ONE MORE NOTE: I do own Alley. {That includes all forms of her. Back-Alley, Al, Side-Alley, Side, Alley-Girl, Alleyway, Alley Cat.} I also own Rust. There's only one form of him. And Tape.)

(Oh, darn, NOTE: This is the first fan fic I EVER wrote. I wrote it...last year sometimes. Please be nice. Thank you!)

-Start-

Chapter 1: Snoddy and Back-Alley

I stayed crouched in the corner of that dark alley. I felt the bruises and open sores. Suddenly, a boy crouched down in front of me. He looked about 16 or 17 years old and had dashing good looks.

"Hi," he whispered. "I'm Snoddy. Are you okay?" He seemed gentle enough. All I need was a god night's sleep and some food. I shook my head. "Are you in pain?" I nodded. He had no idea. It hurt to blink and the nodding and shaking my head was killing me. "Come with me to the lodge house. We can set you up with a place to stay."

I nodded, and asked, "We?"

He laughed; he had a great smile. "The other newsies. You'll meet them soon enough." He slowly and gently pulled me up by the hands. I limped as I followed him to the lodge. It was just another block over. He grabbed my hand softly and helped me over the curb. We entered the lodge house and the group of chattering boys quieted at the sight of me.

"Whoa," one said.

"Ouch," another commented.

"What happened to her," another asked.

"Kloppman," Snoody said. "This is---" He stopped and turned towards me. "Sorry, I never got to ask you your name."

"Just giver her a nickname," Kloppman said impatiently.

"All right," Snoddy said. "How about 'Back-Alley'?"

"Why 'Back-Alley'?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I found you in an alley."

I nodded. "Okay then."

One of the Newsies came up to me. He was wearing cutoffs and dark suspenders. "I'm Mush." He said, he stuck his hand out and I shook it.

"I guess I'm…Back-Alley," I said.

He smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," I said with a smile.

"Name's Racetrack Higgins," Another one said. He was a little on the shorter side, but he was still pretty cute. He had a dark newsie cap on and a plaid vest. He was also smoking a fat cigar. "What happened to you," He asked.

"Umm," Snoddy said, cutting him off. "I'll take you to get settled, Alley."

I nodded and followed Snoddy up the stairs. He came to a closed door and said, "This is where you will stay. The rest of us our in the next room, the one to your left." He lead me into the small, dark bunk room.

I walked over to the window on the opposite side of the room. I looked at the window onto the crowded streets of New York City.

He came to stand next to me. "Do you like it here? So far, I mean," He said.

I nodded with a smile. "I like it so far."

He smiled. "I'm glad." He paused. "Now, come on. I want to get you cleaned up." He led me to big bathroom. He washed my face and covered my cuts with a thick orange paste that stung. He washed it off and said, "Nothings too serious. Are you sure you don't have any cuts on your legs or stomach?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure."

He helped me take care of the rest of the cuts. He took my face in his hands. "Not too bad. You'll live."

I nodded. "Thank you, Snoddy."

"You're welcome, Alley." He said with a smile. He took my back into my room. He put the tube of orange paste for my cuts on the nightstand. "In case you need it tonight."

I nodded. "Okay."

It was awkward for a second. Suddenly he asked, "Will you tell me what happened?"

I sighed and said, "I'm not really sure. It happened in the alley that you found me in. Two teenage boys, they were-"

"Who were they?" Snoddy said suddenly.

"I don't know." I said. "That was the first time I had ever seen them."

"What did they look like?" he asked.

"Like brothers," I said. "Kinda ugly. With slick black hair."

"Can you be more specific?" Snoddy asked, but I think he already knew who the boys were.

"Well, one had a mustache. And they were both wearing hats." I said with a shrug, "But that's all I remember."

"Them damn Delancy's." He muttered.

"Them who?" I asked.

"Them bums," He muttered. "I'll soak 'em."

"What?" I said.

"Nothin'." He shook his head. "Come downstairs. So, the guys can meet you."

I nodded and followed him back down to the lobby. "All right, guys, listen up." Snoddy yelled over the chatting Newsies. Nobody shut up and I fought the urge to laugh.

"Hey, hey!" One yelled. "Shut up!"

"That's Jack Kelly." Snoddy said. "He's leader. We do what he says." I noticed; everybody had shut up.

"All right," Snoddy said, addressing the whole group. "This is Back-Alley, Alleyway, Side-Alley, or just Alley. Call her what you please." He took a deep breath. How did I get so many nicknames? "She'll be staying with us for awhile."

"How'd she get all busted up?" Race asked.

"She's a victim of the Delancy's." Snoddy said. Uproar suddenly occurred. They all had the same reaction that Snoddy had had. I heard comments like, "We'll soak 'em!" (Racetrack) "Dem bums!" (Jack) "What finks!" (Bumlets) "They beat up a girl?" (Mush)

"All right, all right," Snoddy said. "Calm down."

"Don't worry, Alley," Jack said. "I'll soak 'em tomorrow." I smiled and nodded.

"All right, guys," Snoddy said. "Get back to your stupid poker games."

The boys turned back to whatever they were doing and Snoddy began to lead me around to the different table, introducing me to the different boys. "This is Racetrack, Mush, and Jack Kelly," Snoddy informed me.

They all shook my hand and Jack said, "You can call me Cowboy, if you want."

I nodded. "Okay."

Snoddy led me over to the next table. "All right," he said to the boys at the table. "Introduce yourselves!"

"Crutchy," A boy with red, curly hair said immediately. I noticed he had a wooden crutch leaning on the table next to him. I nodded my head and shook his hand.

"Well, you already meant me." Mush said standing up to shake my hand.

"Are you still Mush?" I asked.

He nodded and laughed. He sat back down and the boy the right of him stood up. "I'm Jake," he said.

I shook his hand and said, "Nice to meet you."

We moved on to the next table and three more boys were ready to introduce themselves. "I'm Bumlets," the first one said. He had dark skin and dark eyes. "It's nice to meet you," he added.

"You too," I said. I didn't feel like shaking his hand.

The next one said, "I'm Racetrack." He wore a plaid vest, as I said before. And he was still smoking a fat, now-shorter cigar.

"Why do you smoke?" I asked him.

"Why not?" He asked. I shrugged; I didn't really have an answer. We all stood or sat around in silence for a couple of seconds, looking at the only boy left at the table who had not introduced himself yet. Racetrack nudged him. "You gonna say hello, Kid?"

The boy was wearing an eye patch. I had noticed that first thing. The next thing I noticed was that he had red/brown-ish hair. The next thing I noticed is that he was kinda cute. "Yeah," he said. He stood up and avoided my eye contact. "I'm Kid-Blink," he said.

I shook his hand and searched for his eye contact. "I'm Alley," I said. I wanted him to look at me! He didn't.

Kloppman came in and started barking orders for us to go to bed. "You kids need to go to bed! I'm waking you up at dawn tomorrow! To sell the papes! Go to bed! Dream of papes!" He was so annoying.

Snoddy led me upstairs and into my room. "So," he said. I nodded and we stood in silence. "What do you think of the guys?"

I thought for a moment. "Crutchy's voice is kinda annoying. But not too bad. Racetrack seems like a total smart ass. Bumlets seems swell. So does Jack." I paused. "But…Kid-Blink is…" I trailed off. I didn't want to tell Snoddy I thought Kid was a totally cute jackass.

"He was kinda shy today, huh?" Snoddy said thoughtfully, as if it had just occurred to him.

"Shy?" I asked. "More like snotty." Snoddy shot me a look. "I said snotty, not Snoddy," I said defensively.

"Are you gonna be okay tonight?" Snoddy asked, changing the subject.

I sat down on the bed. "I think I'll be okay."

Snoddy nodded. "You know that I'm in the next room. You can come and get any of us if you need something."

I nodded and he started to leave. "Snoddy?" I called out to him before he was at the door.

"Alley?" He asked back, turning around to face me.

I walked over to him and he took my hand. "Thank you for everything you've done today," I said.

"You're welcome." He said. He squeezed my hand. "Good night."

He let my hand go. "Good night," I replied. He shut the door and I turned to look at the empty room.

I was so tired. It had been a long.

I gazed longingly at the empty bed in front of me. I threw myself into it and fell into a deep sleep.

***

"S'cuse me, sweetface," one of the teenage boys had said as the other one cut me off from behind.

"Stop it!" I yelled. "Leave me alone!" I ran into a nearby alley. Bad move.

"Stay there, sweetie, this won't hurt," the ugliest one said.

"Stop!" I yelled as I felt his fist hit me in the stomach.

"Alley!" Snoddy yelled, shaking me by the shoulders. "Al!"

I woke up panting. "Snoddy," I breathed quietly. I threw my arms around his neck, continuing to pant. "Snoddy," I repeated in a whisper. My face was wet with tears. "Did I wake you up?" I asked.

"I came in to open your window. But, you were crying pretty loudly." Snoddy informed me.

"I'm sorry," I cried.

"It's fine," Snoddy said as we pulled out of the hug at the same time. "It's okay. Don't cry. Please, doll face." He wiped the single tear that was running down my face. I threw myself back onto the bed with exhaustion. "What's wrong, Al," Snoddy said. "Talk to me."

I sighed and sat up. "Maybe I should just leave," I said, voicing my biggest fear.

"What?" Snoddy asked. "Why?"

"I don't have any clothes." I said, looking down at my ragged outfit. "I have no money."

Snoddy sat in the bed next to me. "The money thing is no problem," he told me. "What about rent?" I said. "And I need a job!"

"You can sell papes with us!" Snoddy said. "I'll teach you the ropes. And, I paid your rent already."

My jaw dropped open. "But, the end of the month is coming up."

"I paid for two months. You don't have to worry about that. And I'll pay for your first couple of day's worth of papers, too." Snoddy said. "And you can borrow some clothes. I'll get you some in the morning."

"Thank you, Snoddy." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're welcome," He said. He gave me a long hug and I held all my tears back. "Good night," he said again.

"'Night," I echoed. I laid back in my bed and feel into a pleasant, dream-less sleep.