This chapter is one of the edited ones. After it was published, I realized that part of it had been erased. So this one is longer than it had previously been. Yay!
For so many nights I'd pray for a better life, a better day
But I never thought that it'd come true
It's finally here and I don't know what to do
And I'm trying not to cry
This must be how it feels
To have a home
~Darren Criss , A Very Potter Sequel "To Have A Home"
One morning, Emma found herself alone once more on the top of the roof where she had her conversation with Spot two weeks prior. She had come to realize that this was her favorite spot to come to in order to get away from everything and think. At that moment, she was the only one awake in the lodging house, and it was strange when she had grown accustomed to the noise to listen to the silence and the occasional loud snore that carried all of the way up to the roof.
Her gaze was focused on the lone tree that sprouted out among the weeds and dirt in the lot beside the lodging house. It was a strange phenomenon that something that gorgeous could grow in such a barren, foreign land. It stood proud and tall, its top branches almost reaching the roof she was sitting on, and somehow she felt reassured despite her conflicting thoughts.
She was ruminating on two thoughts, the first being her brother. It had been at least a month since he had dropped her off, and she had yet to hear back from him, making her anxious. Had he just abandoned her? Was he worried about his safety around her?
No, surely he wouldn't have stayed around her that long if that was the case; he could've just left her to burn in that house. But no. He stuck by her side and comforted her when she was feeling doubtful. Reader reminded her a lot of her brother.
So where was he now? Surely he would be back soon. That was it. He probably just ran into some delay on the way back to Brooklyn, which made him take that long. He would be back soon, and really, what was she worried about? Staying with the newsies wasn't that bad. She had become very close with Reader; close enough to consider him to be a friend and confidante that she could talk to about anything. He was patient and kind to her, and he always found a way to keep her grounded. Even a few of the newsies acknowledged her presence, but still kept their distance. She still wasn't someone they could trust.
She had also got to know a few of the younger boys who were still so innocent, though they wouldn't dare admit it. Each morning, they'd play some sort of game before they went out to sell papers, and one particular boy had grown attached to her: Mud. Mud was seven (near eight, he would claim) and was a spunky kid that always seemed to be smiling. He took it upon himself to protect Emma from the other kid newsies, even though they weren't exactly a threat to her seeing as they were at the most half her height.
And then there was Spot. Spot was another person who seemed to frequently enter into her thoughts. Her relationship with him was confusing and irritating, but at the same time, intriguing. Ever since Emma's conversation with him, they seemed to have come to an understanding, and he seemed to look at her like another person and not someone who was invading his turf.
However, despite their understanding, Emma was currently infuriated with Spot. In fact, they weren't even on speaking terms at the moment. In Emma's opinion, he was being too protective of her just because she was a girl. He had recently restricted her to Brooklyn and Manhattan due to the fact she was, in Spot's opinion, being too reckless in the other boroughs. Sure she had found herself in a couple of scrapes and close calls, and more than once had put her life in danger, but she could hold her own. She didn't need anyone looking out for her. He apparently thought otherwise, and it irked Emma to no end.
So why exactly was she sitting there thinking about him if that was the case? If she was furious at him, why was he the major component of her thoughts? Emma mentally scolded herself. What was Spot to her but some haughty, egotistical, self-absorbed kid that ruled over his newsies kingdom with an iron fist?
Angrily, she threw a rock at the wall opposite to her current sitting position and decided to head back inside where she could hear a few of the boys stirring. She snuck back down the fire escape and down to her separate room- that was actually more like a broom closest- that Spot had insisted she stay in. Turning and glancing back once more at the blazing ball of fire just peaking over the horizon, she went through her open window and into the room.
Emma quickly dressed in her usual ill-fitting shirt, pants that seemed to swallow the entire lower half of her body, and her tan newsboys cap that concealed her dark mane. By now, she was a pro at hiding the fact she was a girl. The fact that she lacked the curves girls her age seemed to have definitely helped, but she had the boyish mannerisms down to a t.
Deciding that it was time to head out, Emma opened the old, worn down door only to come face to face with a grinning Reader, who stood about a foot taller than she was.
"Good morning, sunshine!" he announced a bit to cheerfully for Emma's taste. Something was definitely going on.
"You're certainly wide awake and happy this morning," she replied, eyeing Reader suspiciously. "What's the occas-"
Her train of thought was instantly forgotten as she looked at the scene playing out behind Reader's back. A girl about her age was exiting out of Spot's room, followed by the leader of Brooklyn himself, who grabbed the girl by her arm and whispered something in her ear, causing her to blush.
Something about the girl's body language made Emma's heart drop a little, despite the fact she didn't really understand what was going on. Why was she in his room? Spot never let anyone in his room. Reader, picking up on the fact that she wasn't listening to his excuses anymore, turned to see what had caught her attention.
There he saw Spot's newest girl hanging onto him like some monkey, looking at him like he was the king of the world or something, and then there was Spot, looking rather annoyed by her presence. Reader then focused his gaze back on Emma, who stood in front of him with her delicate features scrunched up in a confused expression, and her head tilted slightly to the side.
As if he read her mind, Reader explained, "That's Spot's latest girl. Can't imagine she'll last too long by the looks of it. He goes through girls like fishermen go through beer."
Emma looked back at him, still appearing perplexed. "What does that mean?" Her thoughts were already tangled in disorder, and what Reader had just said didn't exactly help to unknot them.
How could he put this politely so as not to upset her? After all, it was his understanding that women didn't really talk about such things. "Well, uh, Spot get what he wants out of girls, and then throws them out."
The thoughtful expression on Emma's face made him realize she hadn't the slightest idea of what he was talking about, and suddenly Reader became slightly uncomfortable. Of course it made sense she hadn't experience or learned about that part of life- that didn't seem to be the sort of thing she was around while she grew up.
Still, Reader didn't want to be the one to explain it to her, but deep down he knew he had to. Anyone else would more than likely take advantage of her, and he'd be damned if anyone upset her. That thought alone made him feel uneasy. She was like a younger sister to him, despite the fact they were the same age, and that seemed to be the sort of thing brothers and sisters didn't really talk about.
Reader nervously scratched the back of his head, debating on whether or not he should explain it to her or not. "Uh… I'll explain it to you later… I've got papers to sell."
Emma shrugged, and just like that, the subject was dropped. Reader figured she wasn't the type of person to dwell on things too long. "Alright, I guess I should head out too. Heaven forbid Spot doesn't know what's going down in Manhattan." Nothing there happens anyways she thought about adding, but decided against it.
He nodded, and with that, Emma took off down the stairs, not bothering to even glance over at Spot.
"Oh, and Emma," Reader called out after her. "Let's meet down by the docks, it looks like it's going to be a nice day." A grin graced his face. Emma had no idea what was in store for the evening.
Emma finished her walk over the Brooklyn Bridge after completing a morning and afternoon in Manhattan, keeping an eye on everything going on. Surprisingly enough, things had been strangely quiet, which is saying something for Manhattan. She had barely seen the older newsies out and about their usual selling spots, raising some questions in her mind. Would Spot find this as weird as she did if she reported it?
Maybe quiet was good, right? Maybe they had just taken a day off from selling. That was probably it. After all, she did hear that yesterday had a good headline, so maybe they had enough money to take the day off.
Emma took a bite out of the apple she had procured along her stroll through Central Park. It had been easy to steal. The vendor hadn't even noticed her, let alone that one of the many apples was missing. She smiled gleefully to herself. Boy, the look on Spot's face would be priceless if he ever found out, which she was sure it wouldn't happen. None of his little birdies were around. She had made sure of that before hand.
She tossed the apple before turning the corner that lead to the Navy Yard. As she reached the suspiciously empty docks, her body sensed what was about to happen before her brain registered it, and she was picked up by multiple sets of hands and tossed into the frigid cold water of the East River.
She remained still for a few moments, and let the cool summer water overtake her. She should've expected this was something. Her father always said to never get to comfortable with places and people; when you let your guard down, they attack. Reader never changed the spot on her, so to do so now made sense, but why?
She broke the surface and wiped her eyes clear from the water in order to see. Before her stood Reader along with the rest of the Brooklyn newsies, a few of the older Manhattan newsies, and Spot, who stood off to the side off to the side with his signature smirk playing on his face.
"What-t-t… was that f-f-f-for?" she managed to sputter out through shivering teeth. A Manhattan newsie offered out a hand to help her up, but she paid no mind to it and hoisted herself up on the dock, coughing up water as she did so.
"We never truly welcomed you into Brooklyn," came Spot's answer as he stepped forwards toward the soaking wet girl glaring up at him.
Emma pulled her chestnut hair to one side and rung it out, but never broke her eye contact with Spot, refusing to be the one who looked away first. "So you tossed me in the river as a welcoming?" she asked in disbelief.
"Think of it as a sort of initiation," came another response belonging to the Manhattan newsie with a red bandana tied around his neck. He gave Emma a dazzling smile, and somehow Emma's annoyance seemed to dissipate. "It's not exactly the way I would welcome youse, but Spotty here isn't exactly the greatest-"
"Hey, Jackie-boy, Ise would watch it if I were you," came Spot's warning as he turned his attention back to Emma. "But yeah, welcome to Brooklyn, Sparrow. Now who's ready to lose in poker?"
A boy with a cigar hanging out of his mouth began shuffling cards as he made his way down to Spot. "Well, it sounds like you are, Spot," he replied. "but it's alright, you're playing against the best."
With that, the newsies scattered into their different groups, playing cards, joking around, and jumping off the docks. Reader, who had come to her side when she wasn't paying attention, clapped her on the back.
"Well," he said, "Looks like you're officially one of us, Sparrow."
She rolled her eyes at her newly acquired nickname and smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad I got tossed in the river for that lovely welcome…" she replied sarcastically before she noticed the newsie with the cigar waving her over.
"Looks like Race wants you to join them," Reader explained as he followed her gaze, noticing it stop on Spot for a moment.
"I don't exactly want to be around Spot toni-"
"Hey now," Reader scolded as he took hold of her shoulders to get her to look at him, "don't let Spot keep you from having fun. As much as I like and respect him, he can be a bit hard to take sometimes. You'll get use to it eventually. Now, go on and join them."
And with that, he gave her a gentle push forward and sent her over to the table. She gave Race a quick, shy smile as she took the only seat available in between Spot, who had a pretty blonde sitting on his lap, and a Manhattan newsie wearing a pink shirt and a glum expression, but managed to nod a hello as she sat down.
"Hey guys, looks like a wet dog decided to join us," Spot quipped, gaining a few chuckles from those around the table.
Emma shot him a glare and suppressed the urge to kick him under the table but retorted in the same fashion as Spot, "Hey guys, do you hear something? It sort of sounds like a half-pint egotistical fly, only more annoying." She wasn't going down without a fight, and pride swelled within her as the guys around the table burst out in 'oh's and laughter.
The fact that Spot shot them all glares was rewarding as well, and the guys all tried to stifle their laughter. Even the guy beside her who seemed to be sulking when she first arrived tried his best not to laugh, though a genuine smile was on his face.
"Spot, I'm already liking this new addition," Race commented as he passed out the cards, purposefully hitting the girl on Spot's lap with a couple of cards, which he claimed to be an accident. His body language, on the other hand, told Emma it wasn't. Race had now earned a spot on Emma's good list.
A cold breeze hit Emma, and reminded her that she was still soaking wet as shivers racked her entire body. She wrapped her arms around the front of her waist in an attempt to get warm, but failed as shivers consumed her entire body.
"Do you want my coat?" asked the newsie beside her, who was still smiling. He obviously noticed that she was shivering as well. She nodded slowly, and as he wrapped the coat around her shoulders, she felt light and happy. She was finally being accepted; the one thing she had wanted ever since she had been handed over to the care of the Brooklyn newsies.
Hey Skittery, stop ya flirting and let's get on with the game," Race commented as he looked at the cards in his hand. "Do you know how ta play, Sparrow?"
Spot eyed Emma as everyone around the table waited for her response.
A faint blush appeared on her tan cheeks as she meekly shook her head. "No, I never learned how to."
Spot noticed a jacket wrapped around her small frame and then glanced over at Skittery, who had managed to scoot closer to her. Anger rose within Spot, but quickly died down as the blonde- he couldn't really recall her name- snuggled closer to him and snuck in a kiss to the nape of his neck. He saw Emma glance his way and screw up her face in confusion before looking back down at her cards.
"Dat's okay," Racetrack replied. "Skittery there can help youse out."
She looked over at her new partner and nodded as Spot heard her whisper to Skittery, "Sorry about this."
Skittery moved even closer to her so that this time they were sitting shoulder to shoulder, and he took a look at her cards while explaining to her the rules of the game. His right leg was bouncing up and down as a nervous tick, but there was an uncharacteristically small smile on his face that irritated Spot to no end, though he couldn't exactly pin point why that was.
Emma tossed in a coin as the buy-in price and listened intently as her partner instructed her on what to do. Occasionally, she would laugh at something he said or call people out on their bluffs- something she could do as easily as breathing. Spot hand to hand it to her, she was doing well for it being her first time, but she was continually loosing money. However, it didn't seem to bug her that much, and for the first time since she arrived, she felt right at home.
Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Life has been absolutely crazy, and I've had writer's block for the longest time. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it! It had been a bit longer, but I decided to break it into two chapters, and hopefully that second chapter should be out soon. Please, please, please, with a cherry on top, review! I love getting reviews since they inspire me to write more. I'm kind of a needy writer I guess. On a last note, please excuse the grammatical errors in this, it's super late and I'm too tired to go back and look over it. I'll go back and fix it later.