The Wolf in Newsie Clothing
Espada, Ebony, and Libros wrote this story. With the assistance of CCSBandGeek, who was first in reviewing one of our stories.
We don't own The Newsies, so don't sue, we'll return them in their original packaging.
Christy looked around at the people of New York City in wonder.
"Isn't it magnificent Maria?" She asked, and Maria rolled her eyes in response.
"Christy, as your friend, I have to say I think you've made a mistake by leaving..." Maria began, but Christy cut her off with a pointed glare at the 26 year old.
"Don't bring that up again, I couldn't have stayed there. Don't forget how he treated you." Christy replied, grabbing Maria's arm as she was jostled by someone behind her. "He always yelled at you and told you were doing things wrong and you'd never amount to anything."
"I know, but he wasn't the first one to tell me things like that." Maria said, and Christy could tell she wanted to say more.
"We'll have to find somewhere to spend the night, he might send people out to look for us, so it can't be anything to fancy." Christy said to prevent the inevitable arguing that would result from their decision.
"I think it would be a . . ." Maria began to suggest, but glancing to look at Christy's face revealed her absence. In a panic, Maria turned around just in time to see Christy being swallowed up in a group of dirty looking children who worked in the factories of New York City. Maria sighed and walked over to where Christy was kneeling next to a red haired girl who looked like just skin and bones. Maria watched as the girl was handed a coin and a small piece of bread. The girl said something and then walked away, Christy stood up as she left and then caught sight of Maria.
"She needs a meal and she hasn't eaten since she got half an already eaten apple this morning." Christy whispered.
"If you keep giving away our money away like that, we'll end up on the street." Maria warned, but her heart wasn't in scolding the fifteen year old. "Why do you do it anyway? You certainly didn't learn it from your father."
"I could have ended up like her, if my mother wasn't less of a spit fire." Christy said quietly, and Maria regretted asking instantly, she knew talking about her past was painful for Christy. "Once, when I was four..."
Before she could say anything else, someone knocked her over as they ran along, and she fell, right into the path of an oncoming horse and buggy. She didn't even have time to scream, her only thought was,
"Well, this is sort of anticlimactic."
Suddenly she was being cradled in someone's arms and being held against a firm body.
"Are you okay?" A boys voice asked, and she blushed a brilliant red, she'd never been this close to a guy before.
"I think I'm fine." Christy decided, and he let her down slowly. The instant she was standing on her own, she began to collapse, but he grabbed onto her arm and supported her. "Okay, maybe I'm not so fine."
"You must have twisted your ankle as you fell down." The boy said, and Christy suddenly realized that she had yet to thank him for saving her, and she didn't even know his name.
"Thanks for saving me from being trampled." Christy said, looking up into his blue eyes. Instantly she forgot what she was about to say. Relief flooded her as Maria came running at them yelling,
"Christy, are you all right? That horse was not even a foot's length away from squashing your pretty little black haired head!"
"I'm fine Maria, thanks to my knight in shining armor." Christy responded as Maria reached them. Then, gesturing, she said, "Knight in shining armor, this is Maria, my closest friend in the whole world, Maria, this is my knight in shining armor, he saved me from being killed."
"As anyone who was as close as I was would have done, but I fear, my damsel, that I do not know your name." The boy said, playing along good-naturedly.
"And I fear I do not know your name, Sir Knight. My name is Christy."
"And mine, fair maiden, is David." He smiled down at her, and her heart began to pound very loudly. "We had better get your ankle looked at, luckily, I know just the place to go."
He helped Christy hobble down the street, into a building, and up a few flights of stairs, Maria giving them advice from just a few steps behind them the entire time.
"I'm home, and I brought friends!" David said enthusiastically, and an older woman, a young boy, and a young woman about a little older than Christy entered into the main room of the obviously small house.
"Who's with you David?" The boy asked brazenly.
"The girl on my arm is Christy, and the woman behind us is Maria. Christy hurt her ankle and I thought I'd bring her here, so she could get it wrapped." David replied, and apparently that wasn't enough to entertain the boy, because he went running off into another room.
"Well, set her down in one of the chairs and I'll fix it up." The older woman said.
"Christy, this kind woman fixing your ankle is my mother, and the girl standing in the corner watching her is my sister Sarah." David said quietly. "My father is in the other room, he's sick."
"I'm sorry about your father, but it's nice to meet your family." Christy said a little uncertainly in response.
"So, where do you live Christy?" Sarah said, sitting down and seeming to pull a pair of pants with a hole in them out of nowhere and she began to put a patch on them.
"At the moment, nowhere." Christy said, trying to sound cheerful and careless.
"If you don't have anywhere to stay, you could stay here." David's mother suggested as she pinned the fabric onto her leg.
"It's alright. We have money to pay for a place to stay, and both her and I intend to get jobs." Christy said, and anyone listening could tell her pride had been bruised.
"Don't you have to go to school?" David's mother asked. By this point she was used to meeting David's Newsie friends, and they didn't normally respond well to questions about their parents, so she avoided the obvious questions like, 'won't your parents be worried about you,' and 'how are you two related?'
"I never have, but I was taught to read and write at home." Christy muttered. "I just need a place to stay."
"Well, I know the perfect place for you to stay!" David exclaimed after a few awkward seconds of silence. "You could stay with the Newsies! They have a spare room and you could work with them!"
Suddenly, Christy's face was bright, and she smiled up at him from her position in the chair.
"I would love that! Do you think anyone would mind?" Christy exclaimed, excitement about finally meeting the Newsies flooded her body. "Can we go right now?"
"Sure, have you heard about us? You seem pretty excited." David said, raising his eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, I have." Christy said, suddenly a little bashful and so she stared at her feet.
"So, where is this place where we're going to be sleeping?" Maria asked, trying to spare Christy from admitting the truth.
"I'll take you right now if mother doesn't mind." David said, looking at his mother for permission and she nodded.
"Say hello to Jack for me!" Sarah yelled from behind them.
"They're courting." David informed Christy as they walked. "I caught them kissing on the roof yesterday. It was disgusting."
Christy smiled at him and then began chatting about something unimportant with Maria as they walked to meet the Newsies. They entered a slightly rundown building, and walked right past the empty reception desk. They entered a room full of boys running around, talking, arguing, and of course showing off.
"What took you so long to get here?" One boy questioned.
"Who's that girl with you?" Another asked, and his question caused an eruption of questions, none of which David even attempted to answer.
"You boys have to stop bringing girls here." One boy said in way of greeting. 'Jack' Christy muttered, taking one look at his cocky form and crossed arms. Luckily no one noticed, since their attention was now on the boy who could only be their leader. "First Snipeshooter, and now you David. This can't become a habit."
"More like an epidemic." One of the boys called out.
"What's so wrong about having girls around?" Another boy called, and a girl elbowed him, and he fell silent. Christy stared at them for a second, expecting that no one would notice her staring. 'I recognize the boy, but the girl's a mystery to me. I don't recognize her.'
"Well, I believe you were the first one to bring a girl here. In fact, I believe she told me to say hello to you for her." David retorted, a smile spreading across his face. Jack unfolded his arms and laughed.
"If that's the best you can do in the way of insults, then Mouth, I'm not too worried." Jack said.
"Ha ha, you're hilarious." David said, then continued, pointing at Maria and Christy, while talking to the girl who Christy had not recognized. "Hey Marcie, meet our newest member to the Newsie family. She's gonna be a real Newsie!"
"What?!" The boys chorused. "No way! She's a girl!"
Christy bit her lip nervously and wished suddenly that she was anywhere but standing there. David looked up fronted, and the girl named Marcie looked shocked. Somehow, Christy got angry enough at the casual way they dismissed her because she was a girl, that she spoke up,
"What does being a girl have to do with anything. I can be just as good a Newsies as a boy!"
The boys were obviously surprised that she had spoken up, and the fire in her golden eyes kept them from arguing further. She would be a Newsie and that was that.
"What's going on up here?" An old man asked as he walked into the room.
"These two are looking for a room to stay in for a while." Jack said quickly. "We's was wonderin' wheres they was gonna sleep."
"We only have one room open boys, and it only has one bed." The man replied.
"Then I'll sleep on one of these bunks." Christy spoke up, and then added quickly, "If you don't mind of course."
"Sounds all right to me." The old man said. "You can pay me at the end of the week."
With that, he was gone, walking out the door. The boys were now taking a new interest in Christy, she didn't notice, but David and Maria sure did.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to turn in early. Thanks for getting me here David." Christy said quietly waving goodbye at everyone before climbing into the bed she had claimed as her own. Everyone watched in surprise as she seemed to fall asleep right away.
"You'll have to get used to that, she's pretty strange sometimes." Maria said quietly, looking at the girl with affection, then she turned her eyes on the Newsies, and her voice turned dark. "So you all had better stay away from her while I'm asleep."
With one last warning glare at them, she swept out of the room. David turned towards them as soon as she had exited and said in the same manner,
"If you come anywhere near her while she's sleeping, I'll knot your sheets so many times you'll be lucky if you could fit your foot in."
"No need David, I'll make sure your girl is taken care of." Jack said loudly, and Christy turned over in her sleep.
"Sh, she's sleeping, and she's not my girl!" David whispered and then walked out saying, "See you tomorrow!"
"Sure she isn't, sure." Jack called after him.
Espada: Libros, isn't it a little soon to be meeting the parents, they haven't even announced the engagement yet!
Libros: Espada, I don't think even our characters know about it yet:)
Ebony: Sorry if they seem out of character, this is our first time doing a Newsie fanfiction.