A/N I don't own Newsies. Sigh.
Now that that's out of the way, I want to thank my lovely reviewers. Thanks for reviewing Smiley94 and Allie. You made my day! Now, on with the story!
I was walking around Manhattan. I didn't know where I was going. I had no idea where to look for Mush. Wait, that's a lie. I did know one place to look for Mush, and that was the Newsboys Lodging House. He had loved watching the newsies on the street corners, and always told me he was going to be a newsie one day. I was walking to one of the lodging houses when I heard a fight in an alley. After living with an abusive father, the one thing I can't stand is people getting beat up, especially when the odds aren't fair. I looked down the alley, and assessed the situation. I'd call two boys easily in their 20s beating up a kid who looked near ten unfair. I stood at the mouth of the alley, and tried to figure out what was going on. One of the big boys said, "Looke here Morris, we'se gots ourselves a shrimp!" The other boy, Morris I think, said "Its awful fun to soak little shrimpies". He laughed evilly as he picked the little boy off the ground. "Lemme go you thugs!" the small boy cried, "Davey'll get you for this!" "Good thing we'se already fixed Davey up sos he can't walk." one of them said. What the other boy said next chilled me to the bone. "After we gets done with you, we're gonna go find Sarah. Who knowsmaybe we can convince her to be my goil." That's when I knew I had to do something. I stepped deeper into the alley, but none of the boys saw me. "Hello boys." I called out, moving closer to all three of them, "I hopes I'm intrudin'!" The thug holding the kid let the boy go, and then turned to the other thug. It was clear to me now that the thugs were brothers. And they were strong. And they wouldn't fight fair. Darn. The boys looked at each other and grinned. They both walked towards me. "Lets fix 'im sos he can't walk too," the bigger thug said. Absent mindedly, I noted that my disguise as a boy was working. As I punched him, I hoped my guise would hold. Before the second thug could do anything, the little kid threw a rock at him. Now we each had one thug. It still wasn't the fairest fight, but it was better than before. Thug one and I exchanged blows for a little while, before I landed a lucky punch and knocked him out. I was glad, for the first and only time, that my Pa abused me. I could take lots of punches without getting hurt, or at least without feeling much pain. I ran over to the kid and took his thug out too.
The kid didn't look so good. He was bleeding and not moving too much. I picked him up, helped him stand and asked "What's your name, kid? Do you need some help getting home?" Before the kid could answer me, a man, no wait, a boy, appeared at the mouth of the alley. "Get behind me" I whispered to the kid. "Les, is that you down there?" the guy at the mouth of the alley asked. "Davey!" the kid, Les, exclaimed. He got around me and limped to his brother. "Are you alright Les?" Davey asked. Even though I could just barely hear what those two were saying, I noticed concern in Davey's voice. "I'm fine, I guess. You're not hurt." Les noted, relieved, before continuing. "Where were you?" Les asked, almost accusingly. "I was getting my papes, like I told you I would be doing. Who's that at the end of the alley?" Davey had seen me, and didn't like the looks of me, apparently. "Oh!" Les said. He must have forgotten I was here. "Come meet him Davey. He's the reason I'm fine!" Les was dragging Davey down the alley. I bit back laughter. Les reminded me of Mush when he was younger. "So Les," I asked, "Who were dose guys? Dey don' seem to like you'se or your family too much." "Those were the Delancy brothers." I jumped. I hadn't been expecting Davey to answer me. Much less have him standing right next to me. "They're nothing but trouble. When Jack and I led the strike, we managed to get the Delancy's uncle, Weasel, outta a job. They don't like me or Jack too much. They decided to go after my family to get to me and Jack. They already tried to take Sarah. She's my older sister, and Jack's goil."
While Davey talked about the Delancy's and all the trouble they caused, I got a good look at him. He was tall-ish, and had a sturdy frame. Broad shoulders, big hands, bigger feet. His clothes weren't of the best quality, but they were obviously well cared for. His hair was short, dark brown and curly. He had a nice face that was easy to read. I saw fear, concern and wariness playing across his facial features. He had a bold, square, stubborn chin, a square, average-sized nose and full lips that seemed rather pale. When I saw his eyes, I was shocked. I was expecting dark, chocolate brown eyes, twinkling with mischief and excitement, like his brother's. What I saw was a pair of warm blue eyes. They were serious, and every emotion that played across his face was amplified in his eyes. They were filled with concern, and looked older than the 17 years I guessed he had. "How did you, such a small boy, beat two huge Delancys?" Davey's question brought me back to the conversation. "Well," I said slowly, "I'm used to fighten boys a lot bigger den me. Besides, Les kept one of 'em busy sos I could knock the lights outta da odder one." Les blushed and smiled at the praise I gave him. We began to walk out of the alley. A battle was raging in my head as Les and Davey chattered. 'I should tell 'em I'm a goil.' I thought. 'I need someone who knows sos I can talk to 'em. I need someone who knows who I am, who can help me.' The rational part of me was screaming 'You only just met these guys! Whose to say they aren't just like Pa?!' I told my rational side to shut up. I trusted Les and Davey. I had no idea why, but I trusted them both enough to tell them my biggest secret. Still a little unsure, I made my decision. I stopped walking, and both boys looked at me. I studied both of them for a minute, then whispered, "Can you'se two keep a secret?" The boys looked at each other, and after a short pause they nodded. I took a deep breath, and then pulled off my hat.
As my hair tumbled down around my face, I saw Davey and Les's eyes grow larger. It was easy to see they were both shocked "You're a goil!" Davey said. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again. "You're not dreamin'." I said exasperated, "Come back in three hours, and I'll still be a goil." Davey suddenly stopped walking. "What!?" I said. Maybe my rational half was right. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell them. Davey looked dumbstruck, and poor little Les looked like he didn't know what to think. "You ain't ever seen a goil who can fight before?" I said, fuming. Davey was silent for a minute before saying, "I think..." "A dangerous pastime." I muttered, interrupting him. Davey gave me a funny look and continued, "I think... I want you to teach me to fight." I was shocked for a moment, then I grinned and said "Sure, why not." I stuck out my hand and he took it. We gripped hands just a little too hard, a little too long. I pulled my hand back, embarrassed. "Well," I said, slightly flustered, "I'll be seein' you two tomorrow." I ruffled Les's hair, turning around to leave. I was about six feet away when Davey called after me. "Wait!" he said "Why don't you join us for dinner, um...?" "Lucky." I supplied. "Yeah, Lucky, join us for dinner!" Les called out as he ran to me and grabbed my hand. He started pulling me down the street towards houses and apartments. "Well," I said, "I wouldn't wanna intrude..." "Trust me. You'll be doing all of us a favor. Les has a wild imagination, and likes to tell stories. He would turn you into some crazy strong giant who walked all over the Delancys." Davey said with a twinkle in his eye. Les scowled at Davey, then scowled at me as I said, "The last part is true, but I like being small for my age. I'll join you for dinner, if only to keep myself from becoming a giant." Davey laughed, and Les looked like he couldn't decide if he was happy that I was coming to dinner, or mad at me. I smiled at the boy, and he decided to run ahead of Davey and me, solving his emotional dilemma by not having to choose if he was happy or mad. Davey and I watched Les run ahead, while we walked in companionable silence. "So," I started, breaking the silence, "What's your name? I gathered Davey from Les, but that seems like a nickname." "You're right. My name is David Jacobs. Les likes to call me Davey, as you gathered." David said. Before David could say anything else, Les doubled back and said "Hurry up slow pokes! I'm hungry!" I laughed, and all three of us hurried to the Jacob's house. As we walked up the stairs I said "So, David, I hope your family takes kindly to bloody strangers." "Don' worry," he said with a grin "they'll love you." "I hope so" I muttered as Les opened the door to an apartment. I took a deep breath, and walked in after Les and David.
A/N Sorry if that was confusing. Let me know what you think by reviewing!
