A/N: Hey! I'm Laura, the autor of this fanfic. This is my first "Newsies"
based fanfic, however I've written several Harry Potter ficlets on numerous
other sites. I really hope that you enjoy this story. I'll try to post a
new chapter every week, or week and a half at the latest. I'm estimating
that this story will have no more than 10 chapters.
Disclaimer: I own none of the Newsies characters from The Disney movie of "Newsies". I only hold the rights to my own original characters. I am not and have no intention of making a profit off of this story.
---------------------------------------------*CHAPTER 1*-------------------- ---------------------------
Sometimes you don't know why things happen...they just do, you know? People say things they don't mean, and it hurts. But what hurts even more is a bruise on your side the size of Delaware and bleeding cuts with nothing to dress them with. All that matters then is gettin tha hell away from the person who did it to you, But sometimes it seems impossible.
I left the house after 11, not a safe thing to do for a girl my age. Tha only others on the street were those who were so poor that they had to sell their bodies. That was not what I was about. Not at all. I got the hell away from that building. I ran as fast and as far as I could, till I didn't recognise anything. It was so dark I couldn't see the rats at my feet, nibbling at my shoestrings. I stopped to rest at a corner with a light. I had to think about what the hell I was doing, was it really worth it to run this far? Could I handle a new world all by myself? Even if I had decided I couldn't, there was no way I could go back home. Not ever.
Then I felt a tugging at the hem of my dress. Whatever it was that was tugging started to climb up. I stood up, screaming, making the biggest fuss I ever had. People poked their heads out of the teniment windows and stared at me. Must have looked pretty strange, a screaming girl, running in circles round a lightpost, flinging her skirts up over her head. A group of scrawny looking boys gathered to gawk. I turned and stared at them. "Don't just stand there with your gobs hanging open! Help me!" Not a single one of them moved. One on the smaller boys began to laugh as I angered.
"Aww, look at the princess. What's wrong? Can't handle a rat?" He snickered and wiped his snotty nose on his shirtsleeve.
It had never occured to me that what was scratching around could've been a rat. I could feel my face pale, and I got cold all of a sudden, like someone had thrown me into a basin of icewater.
"A...r-r-rat-t?" I could barely get the words out before I felt myself getting dizzy. I stumbled, about to hit the pavement when something caught me...or should I say, someone. I don't remember much. I try to block out of my mind what happened next. Surely if you had a boy stick his hand up your skirt and pull out a rodent you would too.
"You're lucky he didn't bite you. Nasty things... got 'em crawlin' all over the docks. You get used to 'em after a while. Let me tell you, the rats in these parts are feistier than Brookly boys after a night out drinkin'. Climbed right up there...bet he didn't even bother to ask if they could have a peek or nothin'."
I looked up at the boy who had helped me. He was on his knees, cradling one of my feet in his hand, rubbing his jaw gingerly with the other.I must have kicked him amidst the chaos.
"Did I hurt you?" I sat up and pushed the folds of my skirt down. The boy backed away slightly. "Let me see it."
"No goil ever hurt a newsie, 'specially me." He stood up and adjusted his cap. Standing in the light I could now see him more clearly. He was tall and sort of thin, in an appealing way. One eye was brown, and the other was hidden behind an eyepatch. His chestnut hair stuck out from under his cap in an unruly way, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"Oh, of course not..." I muttered. I started to stand up when I felt his hand at my elbow. I smiled slightly, but he gave no reply to it.
"Hey, Blink... you turnin' soft on us?" hollered the newsie who had spoke before. His laugh resembled the squeak of a rat getting it's tail stepped on. I stood up completely and marched over to him.
"If you think soft is helping a lady up, then you need to learn some manners." he simply laughed louder, making a bigger display of himself.
"Well, it's the least he could do after feelin' you up!" He spat in my face in between chuckles. That was it. Before I knew what happened, I was on top of him, yanking at his hair and pulling at his limbs like some sort of maniac. I looked down at him and his expression shocked me...he was actually afraid. His eyes were helpless. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he reminded me of someone I knew. I abruptly stopped, knowing where I had seen a face like that before. That face was my face. That look of fear was what I had painted on my own as my father had cornered me earlier. I gasped and burried my face in my hands. All around were silent as I wept.
It was only a few seconds before I felt two hands at my waist, pulling me. "C'mon, you're suffocatin' the kid..." I tugged at the hands as hard as I could, but they wouldn't let go.
"Get off of me...please..." I whimpered. I looked at the boys around me. Most were avoiding eye contact, but the runty one that I had attacked was staring at me in awe. He held his right shoulder with his left arm and rubbed it gently.
"I'se... I'se is sorry, lady... I didn't mean nothin' by it, honest." He spit in his hand and offered it to me, which caused me to let out a tiny wail and scoot away. "Alright then..." he drew his hand back and stood up.
"Let's go, boys." said the boy with the patch, he seemed to be the oldest and in charge at the time, "We's had to be home an hour ago." they started to walk away. I thought for a second. Where was I supposed to sleep tonight? I couldn't stay on the street, not unless I wanted to be eaten alive by more rats. I then made boldest decision of my life, with the exception of running away from home.
"Wait! Please... don't leave. I have no place to stay," I hesistated,"c-c-can... can I stay with you?" I spoke those last words with some hint of doubt in my voice. I could see the the oldest newsie eyeing me. I rubbed my upper arms with my hands to warm myself from the bitter autumn air. It must have been at least three minutes before he responded.
"Come on. We's gots to hurry if we wants to get beds tonight."
Disclaimer: I own none of the Newsies characters from The Disney movie of "Newsies". I only hold the rights to my own original characters. I am not and have no intention of making a profit off of this story.
---------------------------------------------*CHAPTER 1*-------------------- ---------------------------
Sometimes you don't know why things happen...they just do, you know? People say things they don't mean, and it hurts. But what hurts even more is a bruise on your side the size of Delaware and bleeding cuts with nothing to dress them with. All that matters then is gettin tha hell away from the person who did it to you, But sometimes it seems impossible.
I left the house after 11, not a safe thing to do for a girl my age. Tha only others on the street were those who were so poor that they had to sell their bodies. That was not what I was about. Not at all. I got the hell away from that building. I ran as fast and as far as I could, till I didn't recognise anything. It was so dark I couldn't see the rats at my feet, nibbling at my shoestrings. I stopped to rest at a corner with a light. I had to think about what the hell I was doing, was it really worth it to run this far? Could I handle a new world all by myself? Even if I had decided I couldn't, there was no way I could go back home. Not ever.
Then I felt a tugging at the hem of my dress. Whatever it was that was tugging started to climb up. I stood up, screaming, making the biggest fuss I ever had. People poked their heads out of the teniment windows and stared at me. Must have looked pretty strange, a screaming girl, running in circles round a lightpost, flinging her skirts up over her head. A group of scrawny looking boys gathered to gawk. I turned and stared at them. "Don't just stand there with your gobs hanging open! Help me!" Not a single one of them moved. One on the smaller boys began to laugh as I angered.
"Aww, look at the princess. What's wrong? Can't handle a rat?" He snickered and wiped his snotty nose on his shirtsleeve.
It had never occured to me that what was scratching around could've been a rat. I could feel my face pale, and I got cold all of a sudden, like someone had thrown me into a basin of icewater.
"A...r-r-rat-t?" I could barely get the words out before I felt myself getting dizzy. I stumbled, about to hit the pavement when something caught me...or should I say, someone. I don't remember much. I try to block out of my mind what happened next. Surely if you had a boy stick his hand up your skirt and pull out a rodent you would too.
"You're lucky he didn't bite you. Nasty things... got 'em crawlin' all over the docks. You get used to 'em after a while. Let me tell you, the rats in these parts are feistier than Brookly boys after a night out drinkin'. Climbed right up there...bet he didn't even bother to ask if they could have a peek or nothin'."
I looked up at the boy who had helped me. He was on his knees, cradling one of my feet in his hand, rubbing his jaw gingerly with the other.I must have kicked him amidst the chaos.
"Did I hurt you?" I sat up and pushed the folds of my skirt down. The boy backed away slightly. "Let me see it."
"No goil ever hurt a newsie, 'specially me." He stood up and adjusted his cap. Standing in the light I could now see him more clearly. He was tall and sort of thin, in an appealing way. One eye was brown, and the other was hidden behind an eyepatch. His chestnut hair stuck out from under his cap in an unruly way, but it didn't seem to bother him.
"Oh, of course not..." I muttered. I started to stand up when I felt his hand at my elbow. I smiled slightly, but he gave no reply to it.
"Hey, Blink... you turnin' soft on us?" hollered the newsie who had spoke before. His laugh resembled the squeak of a rat getting it's tail stepped on. I stood up completely and marched over to him.
"If you think soft is helping a lady up, then you need to learn some manners." he simply laughed louder, making a bigger display of himself.
"Well, it's the least he could do after feelin' you up!" He spat in my face in between chuckles. That was it. Before I knew what happened, I was on top of him, yanking at his hair and pulling at his limbs like some sort of maniac. I looked down at him and his expression shocked me...he was actually afraid. His eyes were helpless. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he reminded me of someone I knew. I abruptly stopped, knowing where I had seen a face like that before. That face was my face. That look of fear was what I had painted on my own as my father had cornered me earlier. I gasped and burried my face in my hands. All around were silent as I wept.
It was only a few seconds before I felt two hands at my waist, pulling me. "C'mon, you're suffocatin' the kid..." I tugged at the hands as hard as I could, but they wouldn't let go.
"Get off of me...please..." I whimpered. I looked at the boys around me. Most were avoiding eye contact, but the runty one that I had attacked was staring at me in awe. He held his right shoulder with his left arm and rubbed it gently.
"I'se... I'se is sorry, lady... I didn't mean nothin' by it, honest." He spit in his hand and offered it to me, which caused me to let out a tiny wail and scoot away. "Alright then..." he drew his hand back and stood up.
"Let's go, boys." said the boy with the patch, he seemed to be the oldest and in charge at the time, "We's had to be home an hour ago." they started to walk away. I thought for a second. Where was I supposed to sleep tonight? I couldn't stay on the street, not unless I wanted to be eaten alive by more rats. I then made boldest decision of my life, with the exception of running away from home.
"Wait! Please... don't leave. I have no place to stay," I hesistated,"c-c-can... can I stay with you?" I spoke those last words with some hint of doubt in my voice. I could see the the oldest newsie eyeing me. I rubbed my upper arms with my hands to warm myself from the bitter autumn air. It must have been at least three minutes before he responded.
"Come on. We's gots to hurry if we wants to get beds tonight."