Disclaimer: I do not own Newsies or any of the characters and in no way have any rights to be using them in a story. I do however own Angel, Titan, and any other characters who may show up in my story that don't show up in the movie. Oh, and the lyrics belong to The Killers' "When You Were Young."
The Devil's Water
They say the Devil's water, it ain't so sweet.
You don't have to drink right now,
But you can dip your feet, every once and a little while.
Hop one foot. Hop two feet. Skip. Hop. Jump. Bend over. Pick up stone. The young girl, only about eight years old, giggled triumphantly as she once again beat herself at hopscotch. Perched close by on a pile of crates, a boy sat watching the girl as her tiny feet fell in between crude chalk outlines of misshapen squares etched across the boardwalk.
"How ya doing, Angel?" he called out to the little girl. She froze in place, and cast a glance over her shoulder.
"Fine," she replied, and resumed her game.
"You getting tired yet?" he asked. She stopped again, this time turning her full body in his direction, hands on her hips and an exasperated look on her face.
"Titan, you are ruining my game." He laughed.
"Well, excuse me, ma'dam, my sincerest apologies," he replied with a flourished bow. "I shan't disturb you any further." Angel giggled.
"You're silly," she informed him, and went back to playing. Titan sighed and stretched out his limbs. The sun was just beginning to set, and the peaceful beauty of the scene put him on edge. Any other day, this evening would have been as close to perfection as someone like him could hope for, but after the events which had unfolded only hours before, it seemed foreboding.
He heard someone grunt behind him and spun around, whipping out his switchblade in the process, and crouched in a ready position. A moment later, a boy clambered over the crates just above where Titan stood. The boy caught sight of him and stopped. He was stood atop the crate, a slingshot hanging out of his back pocket and a cane that looked more suited for a gentleman than a scrappy street rat strapped to his hip.
"What you got that thing out for?" the boy asked, seemingly unconcerned for his own safety.
"Uh, nothing. Just a reflex," Titan replied, closing the blade and slipping it into his pocket. The boy nodded understandingly.
"I gotcha. Lucky it wasn't me sitting down here, and you climbing over these boxes. Woulda had you out cold before I even realized I was aiming at you," the boy said with a laugh, tapping his slingshot appreciatively. "Names Spot Conlon. From Brooklyn."
"Titan. Brooklyn, huh? If you don't mind my asking, what brings you all the way out here?"
"Just got bored. Wanted to take a walk over the water. Manahattan's getting kinda tiresome so I thought I'd try Staten Island for a change of scene."
"Be careful around these parts at night, kid," Titan warned. Spot's eyes narrowed and turned an icy cold grey.
"Who you callin' a kid? I'm thirteen years old. I oughta soak ya," the boy snapped. Titan held up his hands apologetically, which seemed to satisfy the offended boy, and Spot's eyes faded back to their original wide-eyed warm blue. An awkward silence ensued, which was interrupted by the sound of a girl clearing her throat rather loudly. Both boys turned around. Angel was standing just below them at the bottom of the crates, glaring up at them, hands on her hips, looking most annoyed.
"Titan, I wanna meet you're new friend. I hate when you leave me out." she whined, pushing out her bottom lip in a long since perfected pout.
"Oh, uh, this here's Spot," he said, gesturing towards the boy. Spot jumped down from the crates and extended a hand towards Angel.
"Pleased to meet ya. What's your name?" he asked.
"Angel," she replied, rocking back and forth with a smile on her face, clearly happy to be the center of attention. "And that's my brother, Titan." She pointed to Titan, who had just climbed down from the crates.
"Bet he looks out for you." She nodded and gestured for Spot to come closer. He obliged.
"Sometimes he's annoying though, and doesn't let me do stuff cause he says I'll get hurt," she whispered, cupping her hands over his ear as she did to make sure Titan didn't hear her secret. "But I do it anyway when he's not around." Spot laughed.
"I like the way you think," he said, winking at her.
"Hey! What's that for?" she asked, pointing to a key hung around his neck on a string.
"I don't know, but someday, I'm gonna find out."
"I'll help you," she told him, eager for a puzzle to solve.
"No, you won't," said Titan firmly, stepping into the conversation. She pouted and crossed her arms.
"You never let me have any fun." Surveying the scene, Spot decided it was a good time to go.
"Well, it was nice meeting you two. I guess I'll be going now." He tipped his hat and grabbed onto the first crate in the pile, preparing to climb back the way he came.
"Wait!" cried Angel. She ran over to him and reached into the pocket of her dress. She pulled out a shiny pebble that was a pretty shade of blue and handed it to him, all smiles. "For good luck. It'll help you find where your key goes." Spot couldn't help but smile in return. He accepted the gift and stuck it into his trouser pocket.
"Thanks." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, then took off in a flash over the crates and out of sight.
Angel turned to face her brother, a blushing pink spreading across her cheeks. Titan's fists were clenched at his side and his eyes narrowed as he stood glowering at the place where the boy, Spot, had vanished over the crates.
AN: So, I just whipped up this story yesterday. It's inspired by The Killers' song "When You Were Young" which is an amazing song, and I'm pretty confident that this is gonna be amazing too. I like this because its going to have some darker undertones and questionable going-ons and what not, which is my absolute favorite kind of stuff to write. I probably won't update this too frequently, but I'm gonna try for at least once a week. I gotta make sure this is good! Let me know what you think :)