Disclaimer: all characters from the movie are Disney's, damn them. *smirks* please read and review.
Sunlight streamed through an upstairs window of the Brooklyn Lodging House illuminating the pale, smooth face of a girl about the age of sixteen. Her eyelids fluttered open to reveal a pair of green eyes, clouded over with sleepiness. If one were to look closer, they'd see a deep scar running down her cheek and certain toughness to her young facial features. Her eyebrows curved into a sarcastic frown as someone nudged her. Her lips curved into a wicked smile as she turned around and shoved the girl off her bed.
"G'mornin' ta you too," BC Tate muttered from her spot on the ground. She was already dressed in her normal attire and her straight brown hair shined, showing that it had already been brushed. Her hazel eyes were already sparkling, not a trace of sleepiness in them. Her pale face was flustered as she got up from the floor, dusting herself off.
"I'se told ya time an' again ta leave me alone in de mornin', especially when I'se in me bunk," Bitter said, rolling out of bed. She pulled a light blue shirt over her white tank and pulled on the baggy pants she had stolen from Spot last night. She held them up with one hand as she went to grab her black suspenders with the other. BC smirked when she could not find them.
"I wouldn't 'ave woken ya up without a reason," she said snidely. "Estrella's out in de hall if ya don't want yer pants fallin' down all day. Although I'se suah Spot wouldn't mind," she said, snickering. The other girls quickly joined in on the laughing as Bitter turned bright red. They shouted their own comments at her as she glared at BC.
"Damn me fer being de only goil heah wid a guy," she muttered to herself as she pushed her way through the girls and to the door leading to the hall.
Estrella's slim body was leaning against the wall, her bright blue eyes attached to looking at the guy in front of her. She ran a hand through her curly blonde hair, obviously flirting with one of the Brooklyn newsies again. Her other hand held a cigarette and when she moved it up to her lips, Bitter could see her black suspenders hanging out of the pocket of Estrella's pants.
In one quick step, Bitter grabbed her suspenders from the pocket, snatched the cigarette from her mouth and slapped her across the face, not too hard, but not at all lightly. She smirked at the bewildered boy and took a long drag of the cigarette. "Yer lucky I ain't grumpy, or you'd be in fer an ass-beating," Bitter said, grabbing her pants as they began to fall again. She ignored the glare Estrella was sending her way and took a last drag of the cigarette and then tossed it lightly at the boy. She laughed as he actually tried to catch it and winked at Estrella, who smirked in return. Bitter turned on her heel and pushed past the girls again, who had gathered by the door, shutting the door before they could come back in. BC didn't even look up as she entered.
Bitter put on her suspenders and then grabbed the nearest brush, pulling it through her short blonde hair. She grabbed her gray cap and put it on, stuffing her hair up into it. She then threw on her only pair of shoes and made towards the window. BC got up and followed her without even muttering a sound. She climbed through the open window, onto the fire escape and slid down the railing of it.
BC was taking her time like usual, and Bitter tapped her foot impatiently. She smirked as BC almost fell down the stairs. She finally made it without falling on her face and smiled crazily at Bitter. "Ready ta sell papes?" Bitter asked.
Buttercup smiled, "Yeah, an' jist remember dat ya promised ta sell with me taday," she said, knowing that if she didn't act now, Bitter would probably get persuaded by Spot to sell with him again.
Bitter nodded, "Hey I hoid we'se gettin' a new goil latah taday, from Manhattan," she said.
BC smiled, "Must be too tough fer Jack's likin'," she said with a smirk. Both girls cracked up, remembering how he likes his "soft goils" and tries to steer all the troublemakers to Brooklyn.
"Hoid he's got a different goil now," Bitter said with a smirk.
BC laughed, "He goes through a lotta dem, don't he? Shows how stupid of a guy he really is," she said with a laugh. Bitter joined in laughing and the two girls didn't stop cracking jokes about him until they got to the Distribution Center.
* * *
Spot smiled when he saw Bitter walking towards him with Buttercup. He slung his arm around her waist and pulled her into a hug. She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "G'mornin'," she said.
BC rolled her eyes and went to go grab her papers. Spot smirked as he looked her up and down. "My pants look much bettah on you," he said, seeing the khaki's that hung at her curvy hips.
Bitter hit him lightly on the shoulder, "De other goils are watchin'. I gotta keep up my rep of bein' tough," she said with a smirk.
Spot smiled, "Yeah, yeah," he said, releasing his hold on her. "So we sellin' tagether taday?" he asked.
BC shoved half of her newspapers at Bitter, "I called 'er fer taday loverboy," she said with a smirk plastered on her face. She grabbed Bitter's arm and pulled her away from Spot. Bitter waved good-bye and then turned her attention towards the papers in her hand.
"Anything good taday?" Bitter asked, trying to walk and read at the same time, bumping into various people as she went.
BC shook her head, "De headline writer sux dis week, but he'll probably be fired before de weekend edition," she said.
Bitter nodded, "I guess we'll jist hafta actually think of our own until den, won't we?" she replied. BC smirked as they reached their selling spot and hollered one "improved" headline.
Selling went pretty smooth that day and they were easily done by lunchtime. Bitter jingled the change in her hand and smiled at BC. "Hungry?" she asked.
BC smiled as her stomach grumbled in reply. "I guess so, de deli taday?" she asked Bitter who was laughing. She nodded, "Suah," she replied.
The Deli was only a few blocks down, so they got there in no time. As they entered the place wonderful aromas filled their noses and only made them more anxious to get their food. They bought some sandwiches and took them outside.
"I'se gonna go ta de bridge," BC said, between bites of her sandwich. Buttercup had a strange obsession with the Brooklyn Bridge. Bitter never asked her about it and neither did anyone else.
Bitter nodded, "Want some company?" she asked.
BC shook her head, "I got some thinkin' ta do, plus dat new goil may be back at de lodgin' house already," she said.
Bitter smiled, always excited to get more girls in the lodging house. Their bunkroom was pretty big and it never seemed full with only the six of them, but Spot only allowed tough girls in his lodging house, saying that Brooklyn was too dangerous for girlie girls. She said a quick good-bye and practically ran back to the lh after quickly swallowing the rest of her sandwich.
Bitter slowed as she neared it, seeing Spot talking to some girl. She went up behind him and blew in his ear. He smiled, knowing it was her. "Hey Bittah, I'd like ya ta met our newest edition to the girls' bunkroom. Dis heah is Whiskey," he said, nodding towards the girl in front of him. Her dark brown, wavy hair was in her face and only when she pushed the strands away could you see her light green eyes, as clear as crystal and full of emotions. Her agile body leaned against the door in a nervous sort of way. She pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, looking Bitter up and down and then just as quickly, slipped them off and pushed them into the pocket of her pants.
Bitter smiled slightly as she saw a look of respect crossed the girls face. Whiskey stuck out her hand and spit on it. Bitter followed suit, nodding. "Nice ta meet ya Bittah, hoid 'bout ya in Manhattan," she said, a rough tone to her voice.
Bitter had a feeling she would like this girl and smiled at Spot, "I'll take it from heah," she said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She smirked when she saw the uncomfortable look on Whiskey's face. She pulled the door open and pushed Whiskey through and then followed.
"Dis is it," Bitter said with a smirk. "Ya sign in ovah dere, I'm suah Spot's told ya how much lodgin' is, so I don't hafta go into dat," she continued.
She started up the stairs and waited for Whiskey to follow. "Now, ya don't have a Manhattan boy do ya?" she asked.
Whiskey shook her head, "No," she said, with a certain snideness to the answer.
Bitter smiled, "Good, 'cause all de goils heah are single 'cept me," she said, "an' I'll soak ya if ya get in me face about it."
Whiskey smirked, "Are all de goils like you?" she asked.
Bitter laughed, "Ya could say dat dey're as tough as me," she replied. She stopped at the top of the stairs and in front of the door.
"Now, dis is de girls' bunkroom, I wouldn't suggest evah even tryin' ta get into de boys' bunkroom, it's a pigsty in dere," she said with a laugh.
She pushed the door open screaming, "Everyone decent?" Whiskey smirked as a few voices called back. "Airight, we got a new goil taday, dis is Whiskey, she's from Manhattan," she said. A few of the girls made some snide remarks about Manhattan. Bitter just rolled her eyes and pulled Whiskey over to the first girl she saw.
A skinny girl with her hair in hundreds of small braids, with little dagger-looking pieces sticking out of her hair stood up. Her green eyes shined with depth as she looked Whiskey over. She smirked slightly and nodded at Bitter. "Dis is Wintah, if ya evah get in a squeeze during a fight, she's always de one ta pull ya out, ya don't wanna be her enemy, trust me," she said. "She's also what I would call the mom of dis place, makes everyone stay in line an' she's a sweet thing, she jist takes a while ta warm up to, don't cha Wintah?" Bittah asked with a grin.
Winter laughed, "Oh yeah, may as well throw me in de oven," she said with a sparkle in her eye.
Whiskey smiled and muttered a nice to meet you. Bitter dragged her over to three girls playing poker. "De girl in de blue bandana's Estrella," she said, making the other two girls look up. One had intense brown eyes and brown hair that fell below her shoulders. She had an athletic build but was still quite busty. "Den dat's Mix an' Gambler, in order," Bitter said.
Gambler waved slightly and then went back to concentrating on the game. Her emerald eyes flickered between her hand and the two girls and she tossed her red curly hair over her shoulders as she waited for the Mix to put down her cards. She had scattered freckles covering her face and had a skinny, almost athletic body.
Bitter then pointed to a bed where a thin girl was sleeping. Her brown hair was everywhere and she was holding onto her slingshot as she slept. The sunlight caught the silver ring she wore on her right hand and Whiskey flinched. "Dat's Peeps, she's sleepin' off what she drank last night," she said quietly.
Whiskey nodded, "I thought dere was one more girl," she said. Bitter nodded, "Buttercup Tate ain't heah, she should show up soon hopefully though," she said. She showed Whiskey to her bunk and let her arrange her few things. She took a seat by the poker game and watched it for quite some time. Her thoughts drifted all over the place, remembering the first day she had gotten here herself.
Her head snapped up as the door opened and a very bloody girl fell through. "BC?" she said, shocked. She ran over to her friend and carefully, her and Winter picked her up and carried her over to a bunk. "Get Spot," she told Winter. Winter disappeared at once.
Bitter held onto her friend's hand tightly. "BC, what happened?" she asked.
BC closed her eyes and then opened them, staring straight at Bitter. "I was jumped by three guys, dey wanted to know . . ." she faded off, wincing in pain.
"Ta know what BC?" Bitter asked, holding her hand tightly, looking at the door, waiting for help to come.
"Dey asked after Melody," she said, looking sorrowfully at Bitter. Bitter's face turned pale as she said that. "I didn't tell dem anything Bittah, I thought dey might be trouble . . ." she said fading off again. Bitter pushed hard on her friends' hand. "Stay awake, you can't close yer eyes, look at me BC, look at me," she said.
BC's eyes fluttered open and the whole room seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Spot ran through the door. "Jesus Christ," he said, seeing Buttercup's condition.
He looked at Bitter, who was close to tears. "We got trouble," she said.
Bitter sat down solemnly on her bunk. Why now, aftah all dese years? she asked herself over and over again. Spot ordered people around, getting water, bandages and someone who knew what they were doing. A small boy a little over twelve was hard at work, cleaning BC's wounds. There was a scar over his left eyebrow that twitched while he worked silently.
"Thank Gawd we have ya around Needle," Spot said, patting the boy on the back. The boy nodded, he never seemed to talk and no one minded at all. Bitter remembered the boy for only being good at helping knife cuts and this only made her worry worse. When she had gotten in her first fight in Brooklyn, he had sown her wounds and had barely hurt her doing it. No one knew how he accomplished this skill, and no one ever asked.
Spot sat down next to her. "Bittah, tell me what's goin' on," he said gently, putting his arm around her.
She sighed deeply and looked into his deep blue eyes. "It's the Shadows, the damn Shadows from me past," she said.
His eyes widened, "Wait, you mean dat pickpocket gang you were in," he asked, already knowing the answer.
She nodded her head sadly, "Yes, dat's dem," she said.
"You suah?" he asked.
She breathed in deeply, "Well, I was afraid ta ask what he looks like, but I'se pretty suah," she said. "Stay heah," she said. She got up and kneeled down next to BC. Buttercup looked up at her, smiling as much as she could, "Hey Bittah, I'se gonna be airight," she said, seeing tears form in her friend's eyes.
Bitter nodded. "Hey BC, I gotta ask ya something. De boys who did dis, what did dey look like?" she asked.
BC closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them a minute later, a frown on her face. "Ya remembah when ya told me dat story when I was sick, about the golden boy with fire red eyes dat nevah gave up?" she asked quietly. Bitter nodded, her deepest fear already confirmed. "Dat's who de leadah was," she said.
Bitter let out a deep breath. "What about de others?" she asked. BC's eyes flickered, "One had reddish hair, called Rusty by de other two," she said, "an' den one a' dem came aftah dey had almost finished me off, called Jaws, de other one, I think, brownish hair an' kinda quiet, I think Ben, yeah, dat's what dey called 'im."
Bitter's stomach tightened into a painful clot and she gulped. "Thanks BC, dat really helped," she said, giving BC's hand a tight squeeze before getting up to go back to Spot, who was shooting worried looks over at her.
BC smiled, "We won't let 'em find ya Bittah, we won't," she said, trying to sound tough through the tears that were now streaming down her face.
Bitter nodded, "I know BC, I know, ya rest, airight?" she said, stepping away reluctantly. She nodded and closed her eyes.
Bitter walked back to Spot slowly and sat down heavily, like an extra weight was just set upon her shoulders.
Spot looked at her caringly and gave her a quick hug. She forced a smile and then sighed, realizing how much trouble she was in.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"Real bad," she said quietly. "Dey got de usual guys, de toughest of 'em," she said. "I was expectin' someone else ta be wid dem tho," Bittah said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Spot looked at her a bit confused, "What does dat mean?" he asked.
She sighed and tried to gather her thoughts into words. "De only oldah guy dat treated me airight, de one I used ta think of as an oldah brother, he should be wid dem, but he ain't. Gloves, he ain't wid dem," she said quietly.
"And . . ." Spot said, helping her out.
"Dat means dey're gonna use any means ta get me back ta Chicago," she replied, her voice hoarse with worry.
Spot shook his head in dismay, "We ain't gonna let 'em," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. She forced a smile, "I know you won't," she said, becoming quiet.