Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine ...

Author's Notes: I needed a story about snow, lol, sorry, but I love it. And living in Chicago, sometimes you'll have a Christmas where it's sixty degrees, and sometimes you get two feet of snow. This year is shaping up to be one of those snow-less Christmases, and I'm rather depressed. So here is a story about snow to fill the void, lol, and since this is a pretty generic plot, I could have used any newsie. My newsie of choice: Skittery. It's set in 1899, and Skittery is the same age as in the movie. I hope you like this, it's another happy-ish chapter. And review, cause I love those!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen,
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry and bright,
And may all your Christmases be white.

-I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas-

Skittery was sitting at the windowsill, watching the sky. The clouds had rolled in, and the air was heavy. And yet, not a single snow flake had fallen, not yet this year. In Skittery's own personal opinion, the snow was the only part of the season he enjoyed. He'd never had any use for Santa Clause, merely because the jolly old man was not someone that often wasted his time on newsboys. And in the winter the day's got shorter, meaning less daylight to sell in. In the winter was when the most orphans flocked to the lodging house, begging Kloppman for a place to sleep, so there were never enough bunks for those who actually called the place home. All in all, Skittery thought, winter sucked.

Except for the snow. Obviously. The snow was just … well, perfect. Literally.

Just then a few tiny wisps floated past the window and Skittery perked ever so slightly. He pressed both hands against the windowpane, his breath fogging it all up.

"Damnit …" he muttered, using his sleeve to wipe away a circle of visibility.

But once he could see again, sure enough, there it was, the snow. Falling down and beginning to settle in between blades of grass, soon to be a full, soft blanket. Skittery smiled, watching as nature transformed itself. He could remember when he was a kid, being so excited about the snow. And come to think of it, he couldn't even really remember why. It was only snow, after all. Just like rain … colder, maybe. But nothing to get too excited about.

Perhaps it was the fact that his memories of snow coincided with his memories of when his mother was still alive, and they would spend their Christmases together in their tiny apartment in Queens. They were even poorer then than Skittery was now, and so there was never any tree, and never any presents. But there was always snow – that was the one thing that the bill collectors couldn't take from them. His mother would tell him that the snow was the only perfection left in the world. Before smiling and patting his head and saying, "Besides my little boy of course …"

Skittery pulled the blinds back down and ran outside, forgetting even his coat and grabbing only his boots. By the time he'd gotten out the door, the fall of snow had picked up threefold. The flakes were fat and round now, the size of dimes, and they were falling thick and fast. Skittery let it all fall around him, gathering in his hair. He shook it out like a dog and practically giggled.

"Whoa," said a voice nearby, "What didja smoke fah lunch Skitts?"

Skittery swiveled to find Racetrack trudging home after a long Saturday afternoon at the tracks. "Race!" he yelled, "Ain'tcha excited? Dis is da most snow we've got all year!"

Race rolled his eyes, but as he turned to go back inside, Skittery gathered a bit of snow between his two frost bitten hands and packed it tight, then proceeded to whip it at Race's retreating back.

Race tensed as the snow melted at the back of his neck and slid its way under his collar and down his spine, freezing each vertebra as it went.

"God damn you, Skittery!" Race swore, turning back around, dropping his satchel and lunging at his friend. Skittery yelled in excitement and ran for his life.

It wasn't long before Mush poked his head out the door and saw the pair wrestling in the snow, which had accumulated by now to a good amount. He called to the rest of the boys, and Race and Skittery's snow scuffle soon became a snow war.

Skittery gasped as Blink snuck up on him from behind and jammed a handful of snow down the back of his shirt. He laughed excitedly, but stood for just a moment before running after to retaliate. He let the snow fall onto his eyelashes as he looked up towards the stormy sky. Memories of his mother flashed across his vision. And sure, maybe those loving moments in their old apartment while the snow fell outside the windows were really gone. But there would always be these moments, like now, with his friends all around, when all you could hear was laughter. And if there was snow, then everything would be alright. As long as he had this little bit of perfection each year, this white Christmas, then he could be happy again.

A/N: Short, I know. But I hope I caught the feeling of those careless snow-days we all loved as children and seem to still love, even as we grow up, though we don't know quite why. So if you love snow, you should review! LoL, there's logic there, I promise.