A/N: SORRY EVERYONE! I WAS SUPER SICK AND THEN I HAD TO CATCH UP WITH SCHOOL CAUSE THE TEACHES DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT WHEN YOURE THROWING UP YOU CAN'T DO MATH HOMEWORK

sorry.

anyway, in response to your reviews...

Joker is Poker with a J: Sorry about the whole notification thing... i don't really know whats up with that... BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FOLLOWING THE STORY THUS FAR! ILY! Sorry about Rois, but I'm glad you missed her a bit :) means I must be doing something at least a little bit right. I'm glad you liked Eoghan's into to being a Brooklynite! They'll be more of that in this chapter and more of Red. :) Tell me what you think and if you've got any suggestions, predictions, or ideas, or just plain musings. Thanks for sticking with me!

Jean-Moddalle: Thanks for the review, every little bit helps and I'm glad you liked it. Lemme know what you think of this chapter?


~Unfair soakings resulted in a soaking from Spot himself, and nobody wanted that. Nobody.~

It was safe to say Eoghan liked Spot, even if they didn't talk much. At all, really, so it was a bit of a surprise when Spot strode up to the he table he sat at with the younger Newsies- Legs, Bones, and Bait. Legs was a small boy with a tousled mess of brown hair and a weird sense of humor, but wasn't usually around much. He ran messages to the other boroughs for Spot. Bones was quiet. The boy was tall and extremely lanky, with straight black hair and blue eyes. He looked angry most of the time, but he was exceptionally kind. Bait on the other hand was loud-mouthed and unafraid though exceptionally tiny. He was the youngest newsie in Brooklyn, but he might've been the loudest. Eoghan had noticed the kid idolized the Brooklyn leader. Bait looked up to Spot in a way Eoghan didn't quite understand. The boy shut his trap immediately when Spot showed up, giving his full attention to the brooklyn leader.

"Boys," Spot had said simply in greeting.

"Hey Spot," Legs had grinned, completely at ease. He and Bait seemed to be the only ones. Spot had smirked at the boys, a twinkle of something close to amusement in his piercing blue eyes.

"Hi," Bait had squeaked embarrassedly as Bones gave a small wave.

Eoghan had simply looked at the older boy.

Spot looked at him. "C'mon Kid, we've got somethin' to talk abou'," he said motioning for Eoghan to follow him.

"A'ight," Eoghan said, slipping out of the booth and following him.

Once out of Ray's, Spot turned to the left and stood just inside the mouth of the alley there.

Eoghan burst, "What is it? Is it Rois? Is- is she okay?"

Spot held up a hand, his blond eyebrows raising, signalling Eoghan stop. He did, with a small struggle.

"Rois is fine for righ' now Ise think," Spot had said in a very business-like manner. "Ise got a birdie keepin' an eye on de fights for me" Spot didn't mention how that birdie had told him she'd gotten the shit beat outta her in her last fight, ending up pinned to the ground underneath a man at least three times her size and weight, or how she'd been getting into increasingly harder fights with increasingly bigger men who landed more and more hits on her each time since. He didn't say a word about the end of her winning streak. Spot also didn't say anything about the few times he'd been to visit the girl who thanked him with glassy eyes and a truly grateful tired smile for taking care of Eoghan even when her eyes were black, and her body bruised, broken, and swelling. "Ise just wanted ta know how youse gettin' along 'ere. Da boys seem ta like ya, a' least."

Eoghan grinned a little bit. "I like it 'ere. I like it a lot…"


A/N: Eoghan's gonna need a newsie, ain't he? Any suggestions? :)