Disclaimer: Nada. Not me. But think of the fun I could I have if I did own Newsies…mua ha ha :cough:choke:gasp:cough:

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Rose felt sick. She watched as Jack Kelly smiled and hugged Sarah Jacobs. Rose wished she was Sarah, in the arms of Jack. But she wasn't. She was Rose Caine. And to her, that's all she'd ever be.

Five months later

"Rose!" a voice called from the bottom of the staircase. "Rose get ya butt down here!" Rose rolled her eyes and opened the door.

"Geeze Spot. If ya want ta talk ta me so bad, ya could'da just come and gotten me," Rose smiled as she walked down the stairs. She met Spot Conlon, King of Brooklyn, at the bottom.

"Well maybe I don't like goin' up the stairs unless I'se haf ta," Spot smirked.

"And maybe I don't like people yellin' at me." The two smiled and embraced. "And who put ya in charge of me, anyway?"

"Ya brother," Spot reminded her. Spot let her go.

"Oh right," she looked at her shoes.

Spot changed the subject. "What'd ya to taday?"

"Cleaned up, mostly," she recalled. "How was sellin'?"

"Been bettah. Been worse." Spot shrugged. "Race's comin' over fah card tonight." Rose nodded. Then he continued with the routine. "Lemmie see ya arms." Rose groaned, but obliged. She knew the drill. She rolled up her sleeves. Spot examined then. A couple cuts that were still healing from last week, and a scar. Nothin' new.

"See?" Rose said. Spot nodded.

"Ya fine." Spot walked up stairs. Rose walked into the bathroom and washed her face. She hated lying to Spot.

Spot fell on his bed. He hated having to keep telling Rose that her brother would come back. Spot knew as well as anything her brother was dead. But Rose didn't. Spot rolled over on the bed. He reached under his bed to pull out the book he borrowed from Rose. Yes, Spot Conlon read. But he only read books with a lot of fighting, and that Rose suggested to him. Instead of the book, he felt something pointy. He pulled it out. It was a broken piece of glass that fit in his palm. On the sharpest edge was blood. Spot touched it, and it smeared on his finger.

"Rose!" he yelled as he jumped off his bed and stormed down the stairs. He found her in the bathroom, she was rinsing her face. "Rose!"

"Yeah, Spot," she looked up. He was shaking the glass in front of her face.

"What's this?" he yelled. Rose became panicked.

"Spot, lemmie explain-!"

"Explain what! Ya lied ta me!"

"Spot, please-!"

"If it's not ya wrists now, where!" Spot demanded. Rose was silent. "WHERE!" Tears rolled down her checks. She rolled up her pant leg, revealing a slice three inches or so under her knee. "Why, Rose? Why?" Instead of answering, she ran upstairs and threw herself on the floor. Tears silently rolled down her checks. Spot followed her, regretting having been so harsh. He saw Rose lying on the floor, shaking.

"Why?" he asked quietly.

"I hate this!" Rose sobbed, pounding her fist against the floor. "I've lost my life cause all I ever do is sit 'round here! I've hardly ever been outside, away from here! Do ya know how it feels, Spot? Do ya?"

"I guess not." He knelt down next to her. "But it's fer ya own good. I don't want nuttin' ta happen ta ya. I promised-"

"You'd keep my safe," she finished. "But safe from what? Now I'm just in danger of myself." Rose looked up at Spot. His face was hard, thinking. "I just wanna be free."

"I'se not gonna let ya be free in Brooklyn. Ya'd die in a day…But what would ya think 'bout Manhattan?"

"Manhattan! With Jack!" Rose bolted up.

"Yeah, that's da one," Spot groaned. He forgot about Rose's growing obsession with Jack. "Race'll take ya when he leaves tanight."

"Then I should pack," Rose smiled.

"Yeah. Go. Pack," Spot almost ordered her. She ran over to her spot on the floor and threw together what she had, which wasn't much. A couple of books, which she threw in her pillow case. Spot rummaged threw his stuff and pulled out a handful of change and a cap that had grown too small last year. He handed the money to her and put the newsboy cap on her head.

"These're fer ya," Spot said. "Though ya might like 'em."

"Hey Conlon, ya up there?" Racetrack called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on up, Race," Spot yelled back. When Racetrack reached the top of the stairs, Spot said, "You'll be takin' an extra home wit ya tanight." Spot put the hat on her head.

"Thanks, Spotty," Rose threw her arm around him.

"Don't call me Spotty, Rosie." Rose let go of him, and punched his shoulder.

"So, Conlon, ya let goils beat ya up in ya spare time?" Racetrack smiled.

"Shut up, Race." Spot's face grew hard and he became serious. He always seemed this way to people. Rose knew he was only tough when he wanted to be. "Ya takin' Rose wit ya tonight."

"Ya sendin' her wit me?" Race asked. Spot nodded. "So ya finally trust me wit a goil?"

"No, but what other choice do I have? She wants ta go."

"We'll talk ovah cards."

"And I," Rose put the pillow case back down, "will let ya two do that." She walked down the stairs.

"So what's dat all 'bout?" Race slipped down into a chair.

"She's goin' wit cha. Be nice ta her." Racetrack started dealing. "Oh, and ya have to keep a special eye on her…"

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"Ya can take that bed there." Race pointed to a bottom bunk. Rose put her pillowcase there. She wasn't sure what she felt. All she knew was that she was happy to be on her own. It exhilarated her.

"Race, why'd ya bring a goil home?" someone laughed from across the room.

"Cause Spot tol' me ta." Then there was silence. Everyone realized it was Rose. Rose hated the silence all the sudden. It made her feel like she didn't fit. More than she already didn't.

"Hi," she turned around and waved. That was followed by a chorus of "hi!" and "how's it goin'?". Then someone walked in.

"God, sellin' was torture taday!" a newsies who Rose was pretty sure was Kid Blink said. "Oh, heya Rose."

"Hi."

"She's staying with us now. Spot sent her wit me." Race explained.

"Ya back early from cards." Blink observed.

"I had da goil wit me," Racetrack replied. "Take it easy, Rose," he told her. She nodded and sat on her bed. Kid Blink walked over and sat on the bunk across from her. Racetrack had gone off and was talking to some other newsies Rose vaguely recognized.

"Hiya," Blink smiled.

"Hey," Rose's voice was quite and weak. She was suddenly nervous.

"Spot finally letin' ya see da woild for yaself?"

"Yeah." Kid Blink nodded.

"I sleep here, in case ya didn't figure it out," he gestured to the bed he was sitting on. Rose nodded. "Ya okay?" Rose nodded her head. The shook it, and broke into tears.

"I've never been on my own. I'm scared. Spot has always been there. I don't think I fit in. I-I-…I'm rambling."

"It's okay ta be nervous." Kid Blink re-sat himself next to her and rubbed her back. "This is all new ta ya." Rose leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm so scared," she whimpered.

"Everthin's gonna be okay," Blink reassured her. He wrapped his arms around her. "Why'd ya leave, anyway?"

"I-I-," and then the whole story came out.