A/N - Okay so I said I wasn't going to do another Spot/Riot story so soon, but I lied. I also have a story about Misery out there now, and there is an open casting call for this one so give me your profiles, or if you already have and still want to be in my story, go ahead and let me know that too, and tell me your character's name so I can give you props. Thanks kids, hope you read and review! -A/N
PS - I don't own Newsies or any of their characters. I do own Cinder, Ghost, and Riot. I also don't own Emotions, Duck, or Bookworm but they've been in my stories all along so I hope they don't mind? :)
I waved good-bye to Cinder, and headed back to Brooklyn, patting my little swell of a stomach. It had been three months since Declan had gone back to Ireland, and I had told Spot. He was of course still having a hard time with the idea. I had a hard time believing him when he said this was his first, but c'est la vie. I had started going to Cinder's in Harlem to talk to her about motherhood, since she had just recently gone through birth and all that jazz.
I got to be honest with you, I was scared to death, and so not ready. I was only eighteen, having finally celebrated my birthday four months ago. I was technically too old to be a newsie, but I still sold on my corner near the old market place where Seamus still watched out for me.
But things had subtly changed. Hide and Seek were no longer allowed to jump on me, and Spot treated me like I was an egg that might break. I too had slowed things down, only selling four days out of the week, and the other three cleaning around the lodging house, doing the laundry, and cooking for the kids.
This slower pace was killing me. I wasn't used to it and didn't think that I could hold onto it for six more months. I just wanted to run away sometimes now, when I saw Spot watching me worriedly, and counting the money he made during the day, always shaking his head over the pile. He had finally booted the non-existant O'Malley the old lodging house keeper out and had taken over the position himself, which meant the kid's rent money went to him as well.
Pulling the shawl I wore to hide the bump in my belly, I tucked my cap close to my head as a cool breeze swept down the narrow roadway. It was September now, and starting to slowly get colder. I was due to have whatever this little monkey inside of me was going to be in March. I dreaded getting huge and having Spot not want me anymore. I worried about that constantly, so much so that the stress was really starting to get me.
Hearing footsteps behind me, I didn't really think about it until they seemed to be gaining on me. When I swung around, I came face to face with Ghost who grinned sheepishly at me.
"Well aren't you the lucky lad having to follow me around?" Ghost shrugged and just smiled a little again. We walked alongside each other for awhile, not speaking. I was thinking so hard about things and the future that I didn't notice the cart coming down the street I was walking across until Ghost grabbed me by the collar and the cart thundered by, inches away.
Shaken, I thanked Ghost and made it to the other side of the street where I stopped to lean against a brick wall, my face breaking out in a cold sweat. Honestly I had to be more careful especially now.
Ghost just stood beside me, waiting for me to catch my breath. I pressed a hand to my chest and took a couple of deep breaths. Then after a few moments, we started walking again, this time with me trying to pay better attention to what I was doing.
At one point, tired of the not talking, I asked Ghost what his background story was. He basically shrugged, swiped a lock of his pale yellow hair off of his forehead, and said simply, "I was at the lodging house with Spot before he became leader. My family didn't want me, too many mouths to feed."
I swallowed hard and put a hand on my stomach. Was it fair that I was bringing this child into a life of poverty? It wouldn't go hungry, Spot or I would go hungry first, that we had already vowed, but was it really fair?
I also wasn't sure I still wanted to live at the lodging house. I loved it there, and would love for my child to grow up there, but was it fair to the hardworking newsies to have a screaming baby keeping them up at night? There was so much to think about, while having to deal with life in the present.
Plus I shouldn't have talked to Cinder so much. She described how bad the pain was while giving birth, and while God knows I'm not a wuss, I didn't think I was ready to deal with that kind of pain.
As Ghost and I walked along all those thoughts kept running through my head, and must have shown on my face, because Ghost paused me by putting a hand out in front of me. I looked at him questioningly and he gave me another slight smile.
"Everything will work out Riot. People have babies all the time." I looked into his gray eyes and gave him the first real smile I'd made since waking up next to Spot. He winked at me and took my arm.
"Now let's get the Boss's lady and baby home safely shall we?" and with that, he stopped a passing cart and offered them money to take us over the Brooklyn Bridge. The man readily agreed and I was touched by Ghost's kindness. I had never been very friendly with him, he kept to himself. Spot had told me a tiny bit of his past history, how all the kids in the neighborhood he grew up in Green Point made fun of him for his such pale coloring. He also told me about the day he had gone with the Brooklyn leader at the time to talk to the leader of Green Point about some infraction, and had seen Ghost standing on the sidewalk, trying to sell papers but being ignored.
He saw the kids ragging on him, and it made him angry, so he had gone over and asked the kid if he wanted to come be a lookout for them. At the time he had been second-in-command, at thirteen and didn't really have the authority to do that, but Ghost had smiled, and spit-shook with Spot and that had sealed the deal. Of course Spot had to do some fast talking to make his leader agree, but in the end he got what he wanted.
He had been right of course, Ghost was better as a lookout then a newsie. He became chief lookout in no time.
Together we sat on the back of the coal carriage, holding on as it clattered over the cobblestones. We bumped into each other from time to time, and it made me laugh, which made Ghost smile his little secret smile. Once we got over the bridge, we thanked the man, paid him, and went on our way to the lodging house. I was glad Spot had sent Ghost after me. If there was anyone who was the best at what he did, and one of the fastest runners in case something went south, it was Ghost.
When we got to the lodging house, there was a group of kids sitting on the front stoop, all with scowls on their faces, Spot foremost amongst them. He jumped up and ran to me, running his hands all over me, and putting one hand on my little baby bump.
"Are you okay? Did anything happen?" He directed his questions to Ghost while I attempted to shove him away.
"She almost got run over by a carriage," Ghost reported steadily. Spot's face turned crimson and he looked to me, shaking a warning finger at me. I held my hands up and gave him a sheepish smile.
"I've had a lot on my mind, I'm sorry Spot." Spot angrily thrust his cane into his belt loop and poked my chest with his finger, his jaw muscles working rapidly.
"No more going to Harlem. You're Brooklyn bound from now on. Shit I don't even want you to sell anymore." I pushed his finger away, and took a step closer, getting into his face.
"Fuck...You...I am NOT as breakable as you seem to think I am. I'm not made of china or some shit. I don't want to go to Cinder's anymore anyways, all she does is talk about how much it hurts." We stayed nose to nose for a few moments and then he backed off, taking a deep breath and holding his hands out. A stray breeze ruffled his hair since he wasn't wearing his gray cap, but had it tucked in the back pocket of his black pants. His suspenders hung at his sides, and I loved the dark blue shirt he was wearing, because it brought out the color of his eyes.
"Okay, Okay...We just need to relax. I know you're fit to be tied about all this and so am I. Come here." I almost didn't for he said it so arrogantly and confidently that I wanted to defy him. But I went, and he took of my cap and smoothed my black hair that had now grown to the middle of my back. I was wearing it loose today. Then he put the cap back onto my head, slapped the brim just like in the old days before we were together, and kissed me soundly.
There was hooting and hollering from the group of three girls sitting on the front stoop and I gave them all the finger as Spot pulled away and patted my bell awkwardly. Then he looked me in the eyes, smiled, and said he had borough business in Manhattan. I pressed my lips together and searched his eyes throughly, looking for any hint of a lie but I couldn't find one. Maybe he was just that good. Shrugging, I went to sit on the front stoop with Emotions, Duck, and Bookworm.
Spot looked at me hard, then shrugged himself, and went off with Action. Emotions slapped me upside the head and I could see her crude tattoo of an overlapping N and Y, as her sleeve pushed back when she reached towards me. I swung around and glared into her angry hazel eyes. She wore a brown cap over her auburn hair and was playing with a switchblade at the same time.
"What the Hell was that for?" I cried angrily. Emotions pointed at me with the knife and I drew back a little.
"That was for almost getting run over by a carriage you dummy." I made a face and she snickered. Duck was giving me a sort of glower as well as Bookworm which was unusual for either of them. Duck's reddish brown hair was piled on top of her head in a thick braid like she usually wore it, her dark gray cap sitting next to her on the stoop. Her green eyes searched mine like I had searched Spot's and I gave her a questioning look.
"You think he's going to cheat on you right now, don't you?" 'Damn Duck, she was too smart for her own good' I thought bitterly as I played with a piece of the shawl that was still wrapped around me. Duck pulled on one of her slightly pointed ears and then shook her head at me.
"How could you think that?" This time it was Bookworm, with her dark brown hair in it's usual ponytail and hidden underneath a handkerchief tied over her head. Her hooped earrings swung and glinted in the late autumn sun. Her blue eyes were full of disbelief and I finally stood up and pointed my dirty finger at all of them, my hand on my belly the whole time.
"You don't understand. I am going to get HUGE. He's not going to want anything to do with me then. Besides we all know his old habits, what's to say he's not going off to a pub to find some girl to fuck?" Duck and Bookworm winced at my language, while Emotions calmly cleaned her nails with her knife. She pointed it at me once more and I shoved it away, like I had done with Spot's finger.
"You can't prove anything yet. We'll keep an eye on him, won't we girls? All you had to do was ask for help, dummy." I felt tears spring to my eyes and cursed my wayward emotions. Apparently according to Cinder that was another condition I would have to deal with being pregnant.
"Thanks guys. I would appreciate that, immensely thank you." Emotions folded her knife and spit-shook into her hand to which I did the same, as did Bookworm and Duck. Then we went inside, for it was time to feed the army of hungry newsies. I let my thoughts go to that instead of Spot out on the town with Action. What was I going to do?
A/N - Okay for the casting call, I need physical appearance, mannerisms, some background, and what you want to do for a job and which boy you want to be with. If any of the above three girls mentioned have an issue with me putting them in my story, let me know and I'll change it, I promise. Okay thats it I hope you guys read this, as well as my other new one Misery's Company. Thanks! -A/N