Chapter 2: Cute Boy, Pretty Girl

Bliss rubbed her eyes once more as she stood in line to get her papes. Bliss had been woken up by Kloppan and the other newsies at the crack of dawn. Way to early for an East Side newsie.

"Hey, David," Bumlest called to the teenage newsie who had just shown up with his younger brother. Bliss raised her head to see who Bumlets was talking to. She saw the cute teenage newsie with the golden curly locks and blue eyes and smiled. He was really cute.

She turned her back on Bumlets and David as she bought her papes. 70 papes.

She turned away from the cirriculation window to run right into Jack. "Sorry," She muttered, moving to the right to walk around him, but Jack slung one arm around her shoulder and led her in the direction of Bumlets and looked up at him with wide eyes. Why was he doing this to her?

"David," Jack said in his thick New York street accent. "This is Bliss-"

"My younger sister," Bumlets added.

David looked into Bliss's blue eyes. Pretty girl, he decided. Sure her hair was a little too long for his liking, but she could easily be mistaken as a lady instead of just another teenage orphan selling papes. Unless, of course, she was wear THOSE selling clothes.

"She'll sell with you today," Jack finished simply, in that no-questions-shall-be-asked tone of his.

"What?" David studdered. "But-"

"You'll sell with Bliss at our Wednesday selling spot." Jack clarified further.

"And you and Les?" David asked.

"Will sell at our Sunday selling spot," Jack finished.

"But-" David started to argue. But why was he argueing? He wanted to spend more time to get to know her. But, David had a knack for saying the wrong things to girls. Why do you think he never got a date?

"So, it's settled," Jack said simply. He took his arm back from around Bliss and gave her a slight blink-and-miss-it nugde towards David.

Bliss felt the need to sigh, but she didn't. She may as well make the best of these few hours with such a cute boy. She smiled sweetly at David and spit on her hand, David did the same, and they shared a spit shake. "I'm Bliss," She said.

"I'm David," David replied. Even though they both already knew each other's names.

"You go by you're REAL name?" Bliss asked. That unuasul for any newsie- East Side or Manhattan.

"Well, yeah," David said with a shrug. He knew it was unusual for a newsie. "Me and my brother both."

"Why?" Bliss asked.

"We became newsies around the time of the strike," David explained. "Everyone was too busy to name us."

Bliss nodded. "Makes sence."

David smiled her. She shifted her papes higher onto her shoulder. "Who named you 'Bliss'?" David asked.

"Jack did," Bliss answered.

"When?" David asked, he hadn't thought that she had known Jack for too long.

"Last night," Bliss answered.

"Last night?" David repeated. "And everyone already calls you 'Bliss'?"

Bliss nodded with a shrug. "Yeah."

The question turned out to be a real conversation stopper. David began to lead her towards their selling destination.

After a few moments of silence, Bliss asked, "So, where are we selling today?"

"Ah," David stutured, even though the answer was right on the tipe of her tongue. "The wrestling rink."

"Wrestling rink?" Bliss echoed.

"Yeah," David said with a slight nod. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Bliss said, pushing any thoughts of hestitation our of her mind. Why had she been skeptical in the first place? "Of course it's okay. Why wouldn't it?"

David looked at her skeptically. "Is something bothering you?"

"No," Bliss said qucikly, thrown off guard by the question. "Of course not."

"Okay," David said, temperorarly satisfied with the answer she had given him.

David and Bliss laughed together as they walked towards Tibby's for a lunch. David had promised her that Bumlets would be there.

Bliss was a wreck. Everytime she saw a young man with any feature similar to those that the boys who had annoyed her in the East Side, and she would jump.

David didn't actaully notice that Bliss was paraniod with many of the young men on the streets. He noticed that she had a tenency to look around a lot- but he figured it was just curiosity to being in Mahatann for the first time.

The two newsies entered Tibby's while David explained how he meant Jack and Bliss laughed at their first almost-spit-shake. David was in the middle of explaining how scared he was when he first meant Spot, when Bliss put a hand on his shoulder and laughed.

Jack smirked triuphantly as David and Bliss walked into Tibby's together. Bliss put a hand on David's shoulder and lauhged.

Jack glanced over at Bumlets and saw that he was studying the two, too.

Jack nudged Bumlets in the ribs. "Ya know," Jack said, "I thought David would like her," he paused, "But I never did imagine she would like him, too!"

Bumlets remained simlent.

"Maybe out little Davey-Boy will get his first girl!" Jack continued excitlingly.

Bumlets shifted his gaze to glare at Jack. "She's TOO young," Bumlets said simply, trying to copy Jack's no-questions-asked tone. It didn't work.

"She's 15," Jack reminded him.

"David's TOO old for her."

"He's only a year older!" Jack exclaimed.

"A year and a half," Bumlets corrected.

Jack sighed and shook his head, but did not give up. "You know David will take good care of her."

"I don't trust anyone but me to take good care of her," Bumlets said.

"But, you've got to!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, I don't!"Bumlets said, raising his voice and slapping the table. He stood up and hurried a way.

Bumlets crashed through Bliss and David as he stormed towards the door. Bliss and David sat down at the same table as Jack.

"What was that all about?" David asked Jack.
Jack shook his head his don't-ask-won't-tell way.

Les skipped up to their table just then. "Jack! David!" he called.

"Hey, kid," Jack said.

"Hi, Les," David greeted his younger brother.

"This is Les?" Bliss asked, with a smile. "You didn't tell me he was so young and cute!"

David nodded and swallowed hard. So, Les was the type of boy Bliss liked. Cute and playful looking. Not teenage and adolesent looking.

"Who's this?" Les asked David, his eyebrows high with curiosity.

"Bliss," David choked out- still healling from the sudden let down.

"Oh," Les said, obviously still curios.

"Les," Jack spoke up. "Why don't you go and introduce Bliss to all the newsies."

"Okay!" Les cheerped, happy to do his hero a favor.

"So," Les said as he led Bliss towards the other newsies. "What do you think of my brother?"

Bliss blushed. She didn't really want to admit that she REALLY liked David. "He's a nice guy."

"But do you LIKE him," Les asked.

Bliss blushed again. "What do you mean by LIKE?"

"Are you smitten to him?" Les asked. SMITTEN was a word his brother had said about Jack and Sarah.

Bliss blushed once more. "I mean, Les, he's cute. And he's a real sweet guy. And he's very smart."

"Is that yes?" Les asked. He could tell that David liked Bliss, and if Bliss liked David- Les would be a hero! Imagine, little ole Les responcible for his brother's first girlfriend!

Bliss didn't say anything, but ducked her head to blush once again.

Les smirked triumphantly. She SO liked him.

"So, Davey," Jack said, unable to hide his grin as Les walked away with Bliss. "How was your day?"

"Get to the point, Jack," David said simply

"You like Bliss!" Jack blurted out excitingly.

"She likes Les," David said simply. Why had he fallen for her?

Jack paused. "David?" David looked at Jack. "Listen to yourself."
"What?" David asked.

"Bliss is 15," Jack infromed him. "Les is 9."

David processed this. "Oh," he said, realizing that there was NO way Bliss liked Les. "Well, that still doesn't mean that she likes me!"

"I know that," Jack said simply. "But, I have a plan. I say, we invite her to dinner at your house tonight- and then we can ask Sarah if she likes you!"

David nodded slowly, thinking over the plan. "Brillant, Jack!" he finally excalimed.

"Thank you, thank you." Jack said, baosting.

"Come on," Les said to Bliss. "Let me intoroduce you to the newsies." Bliss nodded as Les started on the first table. "This is my best friend, Boots. And my best friend, Skittery. And my best friend, Snipshotter." Les paused. "And my best friend, Specs." The two moved to the next table. "And this is Snoddy. He's my best friend. And my best friend, Mush. And Racetrack- He's my best friend."

They moved to the next table. "Pie Eater- my best friend. And my best friend, Dutchy. And Crtuchy. Did I tell you he is my best friend? Because he is! And this is Kid-Blink, my best friend."

He paused and the two moved onto the next table. "And this is Itey. He's my best friend, ya know."

About ten minutes later Les and Bliss had been through meant all the newsies. Les lead her back to the first table and told Snipeshooter, "This is Bliss. Show her all YOUR best friends."

Bliss watched as Les ran over to David and Jack, then she truned her attention to Snipeshooter and his best friend. ("This is Boots, my best friend. And my best friend…" They were ALL his best friends too.)