A/N: This is a sequel to A Newsgirls Story. It's not necessary to have read that story to read this one. But since I wrote it, I would love if it you read the first one.

Disclaimer: I owns nothing you recognize from the movie.

Winter in New York was the absolute worst time to sell papes. There were never enough layers to bundle up in to keep out the ever pervasive cold. No one really wanted to buy a pape because it would mean stopping and being out in the bitter cold for longer than necessary. Newsies were buying less papes and spending even longer trying to sell them. Then there was the constant howling of the wind whipping between the buildings that drove to distraction. Owl absolutely loathed selling papes in winter.

Snaps was doing even worse than she was. At least customers felt sorry for Owl and would eventually buy a pape from her because she was a girl. When Owl finally sold the last of her papes, she turned to Snaps and sadly realized he still had half of his. The young black man was shivering visibly as he held his papes. "Do you want help?" she asked. As much as the idea of standing out in the cold even longer made her want to cry, she couldn't just leave her friend outside alone.

"No," Snaps said through his chattering teeth. "Go back to the lodging house. Spot'll kill me if I let you stay out here any longer."

Spot, the leader of the Brooklyn newsies and Owl's boyfriend, probably would throw a fit if she stayed outside longer than necessary, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "So just don't tell him," Owl said as she grabbed part of his papes.

An hour later they had finally sold the last of his papes. Owl grabbed his arm, pulling him closer for warmth. "Let's go." As they trudged back to the lodging house, Owl vowed to herself that she would invest in a pair of good shoes. The shoes she currently owned had been in her possession since she was 15. Four years these shoes had kept her feet warm during the winter. Until now. Owl could barely feel her feet because the multiple holes in her shoes seeped freezing watery snow which quickly soaked her thick socks.

Half-way home, Owl spied a petite girl with flaming red hair flaring carelessly from under a recklessly placed wool cap and smiled. "Sparks! Wait up!" she called, waving her free arm to get her attention.

Her best friend paused and turned with a smile, instantly recognizing Owl's voice. "Hey Owl, Sparks. You partners today?" Spot had a policy that every female newsie had to sell with one of his male newsies for their own protection. While some of the girls loved this policy, Owl personally thought that the girls would do just fine selling by themselves. And if they couldn't handle that, then they probably weren't cut out to be newsies.

Snaps nodded in response to Sparks' question. "I couldn't even sell my papes without her. I hate winter."

Owl slipped her other arm through one of Sparks' so she had one friend on each side. Their combined heat warmed her fingers enough that she could actually feel them when she wiggled them. "I can't wait for Christmas," she said miserably.

A peal of laughter came from Sparks and Owl turned to her, eyebrows raised in bewilderment. "What if Spot dressed up as Santa for Christmas? Can you even imagine?" Owl merely shook her head at her best friend's antics while Snaps laughed along with her.

They conversed amicably until they reached the lodging house. As soon as they pushed open the door, warmth engulfed them. It wasn't that the lodging house had heat, it was the fact that there were so many bodies crammed into the place.

Owl glanced around and quickly found who she was looking for. Spot was in the corner, deep in conversation with Flips, his right hand man and the best of Brooklyn's muscle. Neither one of them looked too happy so Owl decided it would be best to leave them be. She made her way up the stairs and to her bunk to take off her coat and rest a little before returning downstairs. As much as she loved her life in Brooklyn, she would never get used to the constant chatter and excitement that had never been around in the Bronx.

Her light coat was soaked through so she hung it on the bed post of the bunk she shared with Sparks. Exhausted, she fell into her bed with a sigh. She'd promised Sparks that she would join her for a poker game but all she wanted to do was curl up and take a nap. Her mind drifted to the last time Sparks played poker without her. It had ended with her jumping across the table trying to attack a newsie she suspected of cheating. It was her Irish temper. Spot had yelled for hours about the incident.

There was no way that Owl was willing to deal with that again. With a groan, she got up and headed down to where Sparks had already started the game. They were gathered at a table in the corner. Owl pulled up a chair next to Sparks, waiting to be dealt in the game. Sparks flashed her a wicked smile as she showed Owl her hand, a full house. Owl knew she would win, as usual. Sparks was the Racetrack Higgins of Brooklyn.

"So are you going to the poker game tomorrow?" Ice asked.

Owl and Sparks perked up and exchanged a glance; they hadn't heard of a poker game and if there was any poker game within walking distance, Sparks would know about it. "What poker game?" Owl asked casually. She would love to go to a poker game. During the winter, the Brooklyn newsies rarely left the lodging house except to sell papes.

Ice looked at them curiously, aware how rare it was for Sparks not to have heard of a poker game. "The one in Manhattan. It'll be huge. They invited the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens."

The two girls exchanged another look. How had they not heard about that? Owl had a suspicious feeling that someone had made sure that neither of them heard about it. Sparks shrugged, "Yea, I guess we'll be there."

"No, you won't," a steely voice barked from behind them.

Owl recognized her boyfriend's voice and turned around with a frown. Sparks openly glared at him and asked, "What?"

Spot noticed the look Sparks was giving him and narrowed his eyes. After a moment Sparks looked away, acknowledging his leadership. Spot turned back to Owl. "The girls ain't going tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Owl asked incredulously. Spot knew just as well that she did how desperately they needed to get out of the lodging house and have some fun.

He gave her a don't-go-there look as he said, "The decision's been made." With that, he walked away.

Sparks turned back to Owl and hotly exclaimed, "Can you believe that?" Her pale Irish cheeks flushed red with anger. The one thing that Sparks really cared about was poker and the fact that Spot was keeping her from it was not settling well with her.

Kicker, another of Brooklyn's female newsies, came up behind Owl, her face showing equal signs of discontent. "Owl, you can't let him do that. Do you know the last time I talked to someone other than a Brooklyn newsie? I'm going crazy."

One glance around the room showed that nearly every female newsie in the place was looking at her with similar pleading faces. Somehow she had become the spokesperson for the female half of the Brooklyn newsies, something that was slowly becoming a point of contention between Owl and Spot. After a moment, she sighed as she stood up. "Fine, I'll take care of it."

Flips gave her a knowing look. He was well aware of the fact that the one thing about Owl that really bothered Spot was the fact that during the war with the Bronx, Owl had managed to split the Brooklyn newsies and half of them would have easily followed her.

She shrugged at him as she headed up the stairs to the bunkroom. Owl knew that Spot spent the nights up in his room and would be found there. She knocked on the door softly and called, "Spot?" When heard nothing, she opened the door and walked in.

Spot glanced up from what he was doing, smiling widely, and walked over to her. He leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her lips sending shivers of pleasure down Owl's spine. After a moment, he pulled away with a smile, knowing exactly what his kisses did to her. "Hey," he said softly.

Owl couldn't help but smile. When they were alone, Spot would be the sweetest, most considerate man she had ever met. Like now. After a moment of smiling happily at him, she remembered why she had come up to see him. "Spot, I wanna talk about the poker game," she said, hoping that it wouldn't cause more friction between them.

He sighed and shook his head. "The girls ain't going."

"But why?" she asked simply.

"Owl, do you have any idea how many newsies are going to be there? I can't watch you all."

Owl scoffed irritably. Typical Spot. As much as he claimed that he didn't give his girls special treatment, it was apparent to everyone that he did and it drove Owl absolutely crazy. She took a deep breath to control her irritation with Spot. "The girls don't always need to be watched. We can handle ourselves," she said slowly and calmly.

Her comment brought a cocky laugh from Spot. "Remember when you told me you could handle yourself? And then I found you caught in an alley with Ends and I had to save you."

An embarrassed blush crept up her cheeks as she remembered the incident. "I was handling it," she mumbled crankily.

"Sure you were," Spot said arrogantly, his eyes sparkly with confidence.

As the incident replayed in her head, she suddenly remembered that the offending newsie had disappeared soon after and that whenever she questioned Spot about it, he became visibly uncomfortable. "You never told me what happened to him," she said innocently, her sky blue eyes wide on her face.

"To who?" Spot questioned nervously.

Owl smiled and said simply, "Ends."

Spot looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. After a moment, in an attempt to change the subject, he said, "I was wrong. The girls can go; they deserve to get out every once in awhile. I'll just have to keep a close eye on them."

Owl smiled prettily, knowing she won. Spot saw and realizing what Owl did, shook his head with a cocky smirk. "You know, that wasn't fair."

"No, that was fair," she said with an equally cocky smile. "It wouldn't be fair if I did this." Owl pressed her body against him and caressed his face softly with her hand. She leaned up and captured Spot's lips with hers, aware that he wouldn't resist. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her even closer to him.

Spot broke away from their kiss for a moment and his icy grey blue eyes danced happily. "That ain't fair," he said huskily.

Owl shut the door to his room with a smirk. "No, it most definitely is not."