1899

"C'mon, I wanna hear the rest of the story!" Smalls complained as Elmer purposely stayed silent.

"Alright, alright... I'll tell you the rest. Where did I leave off?" He finally said.

"The part after you found me and you got a pillow thrown at you!"

"Right..."

Twelve years previous

Three years had passed since Smalls had come to the orphanage. Elmer was now nine and she was five. He was dying to leave. Of course, he had nowhere to go, but that didn't matter. He just wanted to leave.

But at the same time, he couldn't possibly leave Smalls. The poor kid needed him and he needed her. Neither of them really had any other friends. But he decided to leave anyways. Maybe he could find some sort of job and make a little money. So that's what he did.

A few nights later, once everyone fell asleep, he made his escape. He didn't tell Smalls where he was going. But he left her a note. Not like she'd be able to read it, but he left it anyways. Soon enough, Elmer somehow made it to the lodging house for the newsboys. All seemed well.

But really it wasn't. Elmer knew that Smalls was still at the orphanage. But why did he care? He had escaped. He was safe. He didn't think there was a way he could find her. He still looked for her during the day, but for a few months, he never saw her. Until the snow storm, though.

That winter was especially snowy. The winds were racing, the snowflakes causing what looked to be a white sheet that no one could see through. You'd think the newsies would have the sense to stay inside. They did, but no one said the Delancy brothers and Pulitzer didn't make them go outside on errands. One of these errands, Elmer had to go and get something for Pulitzer. So off he went. On his way back, he was almost at the lodging house when he heard a soft cry, similar to the one he had heard three years previously.

He pushed through the wind and climbed over a few snowbanks.

"Who's there?" He tried to call out, but the wind seemed to rip his voice from his throat. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Who's out there?" He called. The response he got was faint or even possibly just an echo of his own voice. Nevertheless, he was sure he'd heard something. Elmer moved in the direction towards the small voice.

Soon, he found her. There she was, half covered in snow.

"Smalls!" He said and ran over to dig her out of the snow. He pulled her close to warm up the little girl he knew so well. She whimpered softly. Clearly, she had been out there too long.

"I'm going to take you to my new home, okay?" He assured her. Without waiting for a response, he slowly picked her up and started walking.

Slowly but surely, he made it to the lodging house and knocked on the door. The door was opened slightly by Buttons, another newsie.

"Elmer! Youse back! What ya got with ya?" He asked. Elmer sighed.

"Let me in and I'll explain."

"But-"

"C'mon, quick. It's cold out here and I think she's already sick."

"She? Whaddaya mean 'she'?" Buttons asked, letting them inside. Elmer gave no response at first and immediately placed Smalls gently on one of the spare beds. A few of the other boys gathered around curiously to see what was going on.

"I found her while I was on my way back. I remember her from the orphanage. She's my best friend." Elmer explained.

"What's her name?" asked Romeo.

"I dunno, I just call her Smalls." He replied. The others looked at him.

"Ya know Jack ain't gonna like this." Finch commented. They all looked at each other. Finch was right. While Jack was a year younger than Elmer, he had still managed to take the leadership position.

"What is it I ain't gonna like?" Came Jack's voice as he squeezed past Buttons. There was silence. Suddenly, someone blurted out, "Elmer brought a girl!" Jack looked at Elmer.

"What'd ya do that for?" He asked.

"Because she was lying in the snow. She's sick, I think." Elmer replied. Jack looked at Smalls for a moment.

"Anything we can do for her?" He asked.

"I dunno..."

Eventually, the managed to make sure she was okay and get her back to health. As the years went on, Smalls became leader of the Bronx newsies.

1899

Smalls stared at her friend. For a long time, she didn't say anything. Eventually, she found her voice.

"You... You're the one who used to sing to me at night? And the one from the storm..."

"I'm also the one you used to call 'brother' until you learned my name."

She looked at him, a realization finally coming over her. Without saying anything, she ran over and hugged him.

"Thank you… We ain't related by blood, but you really are a brother to me." she whispered.

"And youse like a sister to me." he replied softly. After a minute or so of silence, Elmer spoke up.

"If you still want to head to the orphanage and learn a bit about your past, we can go tomorrow after we finish sellin' papes."

Smalls looked up at him with a grin. "Really? You mean it?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, I think we're both ready to learn about it." he told her. They went to sleep soon after, knowing that the next day held a lot in store for them both.