Thanks so much to Spots1Newsiesgirl, Twitchy, and Follow Those Owls for reviewing Chapter Three. Also thanks to all those who read and reviewed the previous two chapters. I hope you enjoy Chapter Four. Please tell me what you would like to see in the next chapter, or possibly what you liked or didn't like in the previous three. Wanna send in some suggestions, just review. Criticism is always appreciated; I promise you won't hurt my feelings :)

I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever! Anyway, thanks to all those who favorited and followed this story. I will probably be updating soon. Keep Carryin' the Banner and all that good stuff! ;)


It was late when Finn climbed up the iron fire escape that led to a window in his private room. He opened it with ease and jumped in quietly. He knew Benson must've already checked on the others to see if they were asleep. It hasn't been the first time he'd been late, and he knew Benson always quietly reprimanded him the next morning.

He quickly changed into a simple undershirt and pants for bed. Finally settling in, he closed his weary eyes. It wasn't five minutes before he felt himself being shaken by an outside force. His eyes opened slightly and he could barely make out the blurred image of a blonde haired boy with desperate eyes, shaking him awake.

Finn sighed. "What is it, Apollo?" he grumbled in a sleepy voice.

"Finn, come quick," His voice was urgent and wide-awake.

"Can't it wait till mornin'?"

Apollo shook his head vigorously. He pulled on his leader's arm. "C'mon, ya gotta get to the bunkroom. The kid's cryin' and ain't none of us knows what to do."

Finn squinted his eyes, trying to figure out what that meant. Then his eyes widened and he threw back the sheets, hurrying after Apollo. They crept past the creaky stairs and towards the bunkroom, for though he slept downstairs in a separate room near the kitchen, Benson was a light sleeper and somehow heard everything.

Once they reached the bunkroom, Finn instinctively looked around the room to make sure everyone was okay. Half of the boys were awake and sitting up in their bunks staring at where Charlie was lying in his bunk. They turned when Apollo returned with Finn.

"What's goin' on?" Finn asked to no one in particular.

Frostbite, Finn's second in command, spoke from his place in his bunk, propped up on his elbows. "Kid's been moanin' and cryin' somethin' awful for the past five minutes."

Finn stepped curiously over to Charlie's bunk. Crew was sitting on his bunk, staring at Charlie. "Think he's havin' a nightmare, Finn?" He asked, his eyes filled with worry. "He just started tossin' and turnin' and whisperin' to himself. Then he started cryin' and screamin'."

Sure enough, Charlie groaned and kicked his legs, tangling himself up in his sheets. "No, no, no, no," he muttered obsessively.

Finn looked around the faces of half-concerned, half-annoyed boys. He sighed and knelt next to Charlie's bunk. "Hey, hey kid, wake up. C'mon, wake up,"

Charlie only struggled more. Finn grabbed his arms softly and tried shaking him awake. Charlie screamed and shot up in his bed, wringing his hands out of the older boy's grip. "No, please! I'll be good!" Charlie screamed, his eyes still squeezed shut as he struggled.

Finn ignored this and grabbed Charlie by his shoulders, holding him in place. "Hey! Hey! C'mon, kid, youse is safe! That's enough!"

Charlie opened his eyes in a flutter. He was panting hard and sweating buckets.

Finn looked at him with concern. "Youse safe, kid,"

Charlie felt his lip quivering, tears streaming down his face. Finn groaned internally. He knew water-works would be next. Feeling like he'd never live this down, he sat up on the bunk and brought the frightened child to his chest, rocking him back and forth. "Shh, shh," He said, remembering how he had done that with his younger brother before he was taken away from him. "Youse okay, youse okay,"

Charlie seemed to calm down after that. Then realizing what happened, his face turned scarlet with embarrassment. His heart sank when he realized the other boys would probably think he was a crybaby or weak or something. And yet he didn't want to leave the comfort of the older boy's arms. It was like being in his father's arms. The father he knew before his mama died.

Finn looked at the other boys while still rocking the child, signaling for them to get back to bed. Frostbite directed them all back to their bunks. Crew gave one last worried glance at his young comrade before retreating back to his bunk.

Finn waited until all the newsies were back in their bunks. Finally, he let go of Charlie and let him lay back down. He pulled the covers back up on him. He could take a few guesses on what the nightmare was about, but he didn't want to push the issue. Instead, he allowed the small boy to get settled back in. "I ain't gonna make ya talk about this now. But kid, ya know if ya needa talk, ya got me. Okay?"

Charlie nodded silently, still embarrassed.

Finn nodded to himself and breathed out through his nose. He wiped his tired eyes and waited until Charlie fell back asleep.

Instead of leaving back to his own room, Finn sat on the ground, leaning up against Charlie's bunkbed post, just in case the nightmare came back. He finally dozed off, knowing his neck would hate him in the morning.

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A swift knock to the door of the boys' bunkroom door and a loud yell made Charlie open his eyes in an instant. His heart pounded and his first thought was to find out where he was. He looked around frantically after sitting up, only to realize that he was in the Newsboy's Lodging House. The events from yesterday began to sink in and he flopped back on his mattress, pulling up the covers. His eyes felt dry from lack of sleep and it stung to open them. His head pounded and his neck screamed in pain from sleeping with one pillow. Then he remembered last night. Oh no. The boys hated him now for sure. He didn't know how he could face any of them without feeling like a weakling.

Benson, the Lodging House caretaker from yesterday, poked his head in the bunkroom and looked around. He finally opened the door completely and stepped in, clapping his hands loudly and nudging every boy in each bunk. The light streamed in from the window at the end of the room. Finn, who had gotten up last night to comfort Charlie, had woken up earlier and retreated back to his room before anyone noticed.

"Alright boys, you know the routine! It's six o'clock and the presses are rolling! Come on, up, up!" He called and kept calling other words of motivation as he crossed each row of bunks. "Come on, get up. Help me help you."

The boys groaned and offered complaints but Benson was obviously used to dealing with non-early-risers. The dark-haired thirteen-year-old from the bunk above Charlie hopped down first and scuttled to be the first in the washroom. Charlie struggled to remember his name. He thought it started with an F or an S or something. Charlie finally heard footsteps next to him and felt as if someone was standing near him. He opened his eyes tiredly and found himself staring back into the sharp emerald eyes of Benson. Benson gave a small grin and nodded his head. "And how was your first night at Newsboy Manor?" He asked, his eyes full of worry. Charlie felt surprised. Benson knew what happened last night? Did Finn or one of the other boys tell him? Or was he that much of a light sleeper?

Charlie shrugged, feeling a bit nervous.

Benson raised an eyebrow. "Finn paid for your rent, but just know it's five cents every Friday by five o'clock." When Charlie said nothing again, Benson nodded. "And in order to pay that rent, you have to get up and sell papers. So get your lazy bum up, boy." Though he seemed stern, the reassuring smile he gave to Charlie before he walked away made him relax a bit.

Charlie sighed and pushed back the welcoming blankets and swung his legs over the side. Finally he stood and he immediately felt the cold air hit him. He shivered slightly and watched as the other boys swarmed the washroom in a rush to get ready. Charlie realized his advantage of sleeping in his clothes but knew he couldn't sleep in them forever. He laced up his boots and used his fingers to comb his unruly hair before putting on his cap.

Feeling a bit lost, he searched for Crew in the crowd of boys in the bunkroom. Finally, he saw him at last. He was tying his boots and laughing with the boy with the sun-blonde hair. Charlie scrunched his eyebrows, trying to remember his name. Something to do with his hair? Charlie thought and thought. Apocalypse? Appetite? Then he got it: Apollo. Sheepishly, Charlie walked over to them.

Crew looked up and grinned. "Mornin', kid. You okay?"

Charlie mumbled a yes and stood there awkwardly. Crew stood and Apollo stared curiously down at Charlie. "Name's Apollo. And you're Charlie right?" Apollo asked, spitting in his hand and offering it to the small boy.

Charlie smiled slightly and pretended to spit in his own hand before offering it back to the boy, for he still found the handshake disgusting. Apollo turned to Crew. "This the kid Finn found?"

Crew smirked and looked back at Charlie. "Kid's gonna be a strong newsie. I can tell ya that much," he said, winking at him. Charlie felt his chest swell up with pride. He was glad that Crew saw some kind of potential in him.

Apollo chuckled. "I'm sure he will be. Now come on, we're gonna be last in line for the papes." He said nudging Crew. Crew nodded and turned to Charlie, motioning for him to follow. Charlie was glad to see they weren't mentioning anything that happened last night.

Charlie scampered after them, nearly tripping down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs he saw Finn. Finn noticed him and smiled slightly. "Feelin' better?"

The others were coming down the stairs behind him, so Charlie had to stand to the side as to not block the traffic. "Yeah," he answered. He noticed Benson standing behind his desk, silently counting each newsie that came down the steps.

"Charlie!" A voice from the top of the stairs called. It was young and high-pitched and familiar. Charlie turned towards the voice. Alison skipped down the steps quickly and crashed into her older brother's arms. "Good morning!"

Charlie smiled down at his little sister. Finn nodded and leaned back against the banister. "Rain and the others take good care of ya?"

Alison smiled and nodded excitedly. She turned back to her older brother. "They're so nice, Charlie. I got my own nightgown and bed and everything."

Rain came down the stairs in a hurry, trying to find the little girl. "Allie, c'mon we gotta go sell papes," Rain said, scooping up the small child, making her giggle.

Charlie scrunched his eyebrows. Did she call his little sister Allie? As if reading his mind, Alison smiled. "That's my name now, Charlie."

Charlie looked at Finn in confusion. "Don't worry, Charlie. She'll always still be Alison. But here sometimes it's nice to have a nickname. Like when the cops are after ya and ya need a name the newsies can call ya so ya won't be recognized." Finn explained.

At this, Charlie nodded understandingly. Alison pulled on Rain's arm and tried to drag her towards the door. Rain laughed and hurried after her. Before heading out the door, she turned and smiled at Finn. Charlie saw Finn wink back at her. It was as if they were exchanging some kind of unspoken words. Charlie didn't quite understand, so he said nothing. The other girls in the house waved goodbye to Benson and hurried out the door.

Finn took Crew aside and began talking to him in a quiet, low voice. Charlie watched them speak. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but he could tell by the way Finn was talking that he wasn't happy. Finn was doing most of the talking and Crew was nodding. Finn looked over at Charlie, and so did Crew. They both turned back to each other and Finn said one final thing before walking back over to the others.

He smiled down at Charlie. "Crew's gonna take ya to go get your papers and then ya can sell with him. Sound good?" Finn didn't wait for Charlie to respond. Instead, he just walked out the door and quickly down the street.

Without another word or explanation, Crew headed out of the Lodging House, gesturing for Charlie to follow. The streets were a little chilly. Charlie watched as the other newsies flooded the street, all heading in one direction. Reaching the distribution office on Newspaper Row, he realized just how many newsies he didn't know. Many didn't even stay in the Lodging House. Charlie craned his neck around the crowd, but no sign of Finn. Crew slammed some change on the counter and was handed fifty or sixty. He gave some to Charlie. "Don't worry kid. Youse can pay me back later,"

Charlie nodded and took the papers under his arm. He had seen newsies sell papers before and it didn't look hard at all. He didn't know if he had the confidence though. Crew brought him to a spot on a street corner near a bookstore and shoe shop. "It's all about improvin' the truth, if ya know what I mean. Watch and learn, kid," he winked.

"EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it! Body found by railroad tracks! Police suspect foul play!" He hollered at the top of his lungs. Five people bought a paper, four of them business men in a rush to work.

Charlie frowned and looked at his own paper. Where was that headline? Not wanting to sound like a fool, he tried his own luck, coming up with something just as unusual as Crew's. "EXTRA, EXTRA! Expecting mother killed in boating accident on Hudson River! Tragic Accident or Insidious Sabotage?!"

Crew's mouth dropped open as seven people bought at paper. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and raised his eyebrows. "Gosh, kid. How'd ya do that?"

The small child gazed up at him. "I just improved the truth..."

Crew laughed in astonishment. "Well, I do too, but shit, youse a natural."

Charlie smiled a little. "Ya either got it or ya don't."

The older boy smacked his head with his newspapers teasingly. "You might just give the rest of us a run for our money yet, kid."