I'm so so glad that the few reviews I received responded so well to Spot's new kindling relationship with Notes!! She's a fun character and the two of them together have such a strong personality mix that will be a joy to write about. (Notice how I'm raving about you, candyk8, and didn't receive a review. Humph)

So now we go further and further into the political world of the newsies, and poor little Bat Ears is sadly caught up in it all. I do pity the boy. Which is I since I created him. But hey, sometimes characters take on their own persona in your mind.

And so, without further ado, I give you the next chapter of Brooklyn's Secrets.

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Bells looked impatiently up at the Brooklyn Bridge, framed by the setting sun. Her leg bounced up and down as she sat on a crate by the water's edge, with a clear view to the base of the bridge where her sister should have appeared a long while before now.

She sighed and directed her gaze to the noisy boys running around, jumping in and out of the river, sending cascades of water onto the dock. Spot sat on his usual perch looking of his boys, which was usual, but the unusual was that he was silent. Pockets, behind him, realized he was not going to be conversing with Spot tonight and was teaching some of the younger newsies the art of poker. Bells eyes little Bat Ears next to her brother. He looked equally quiet as well. And pale. Bells wondered if he could be getting ill.

She turned her head back to the bridge and saw her sister's form walking toward her. She stood u p and ran over to meet her.

"Hey," she greeted, coming to a stop and looking behind her to make sure they were shielded from the view of any prying Brooklynite eyes as she handed her sister her trousers. "How was it?"

Twirls didn't respond, merely took the pants and pulled them on under she skirt. Her face showed a look of uplifted emotion and if Bells hadn't known her sister would never touch them, she would have assumed Twirls was high on something. She looked so happy.

"So, how was it?" Bells pestered again. "Worth da trip ova?"

Twirls nodded and said, "'Mazin'. Goin' back soon."

"Yah are, are yah?" Bells raised an eyebrow. "An' who's coverin' foah yah?"

Twirls' look of pure bliss fades slightly as she turned to give her sister a pleading glance.

"Kina hopin' yah would," she said sheepishly. "Please?"

Bells rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Don' have much of a choice, do I?" she remarked. "Yoah gonna guilt me inta dis."

Twirls smiled broadly and sat down on the same crate her sister had previously occupied.

"So tell me wha' went on," Bells said, taking a seat on the damp riverbank. "He's woith it?"

"Bells, he's amazin'!" Twirls gushed. "I met 'em out front o' dis bakery wheah I foist bumped inta him"-she smiled inwardly at the memory- "an' he got me some breakfast and we bumped hands an' I just felt somethin'! An' then we sold foah a while-"

"Yah sold?" Bells asked, shocked. "As in papes?"

"Nah, fish," Twirls said with a roll of her eyes. "Yes, papes. He jus' thought I was so good 'cause I was a goil an' all. No big deal."

"An' afta dat?" Bells prodded.

"We went tah Tibby's and had lunch wit some o' da boys- Race asked 'bout yah." Bells' heart leaped.

"He did?" she asked. "But he knows I'm from Brooklyn."

"So does Mush now," Twirls said quietly. Bells' eyes bugged at her.

"Yoah not serious." She said it more like a statement, unable to believe her sister could be so stupid. That was her job.

"I had to, Bells!" Twirls said. When her sister tried to protest, she went on. "No! Let me explain. I feel so weird 'cause a whole part o' my life I haveta keep secret and I like him to much tah not be somewhat honest. So, I told 'em. No biggie. He jus' thinks I'm anudda goil. It kinda makes more sense 'bout how we know each odda and all."

Bells took a few deep breaths and grimaced.

"It could be worse," she agreed. "It could be way worse."

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A ways away from where his baby sisters were talking to their heart's content about boys, Spot appeared to be looking out at his boys being the hooligans they were. But in reality, his mind was occupied with other thoughts, thoughts that no one knew Spot was capable of having.

Notes' face kept swimming into his mind's eye, her laugh and smile, especially after he had shot the spit ball at the waiter in the restaurant the two had eaten lunch at. And the way she looked dripping wet, after he had pushed her into the fountain unknowingly as he dropped her off...

"Spot. Spot. SPOT!"

Spot jumped as little Bat Ears called his name. He turned, trying to hid his anger, but he still managed to come off frightening. Bat Ears looked at him, trembling.

"What?" he snapped.

"Um, jus' wanted tah know if you'se seen yoah sistas," Bat Ears said in a little voice. "Cause I haven't an' I jus' thought yah might want tah know dey still aren't heah."

Spot snapped his head back around to scan the crowd of kids running below him, not seeing the figures of his sisters anywhere in the mass.

"Nah, I don' know wheah dey are," he said, somewhat grateful to Bat Ears, because for a moment he had fogotten the fact that he even knew other girls besides Notes. Which was bad considering he did have sisters. "But dey betta show up soon or dey're in foah it."

"I think I saw dem over closer tah da bridge," Pockets put in. Spot's head instantly turned in that direction and saw two figures walking toward the crowd of boys. Although they were dressed as boys, they walked with a hint more grace than say, Pockets did.

When the girls had climbled onto the bulkhead, leaning against the rail next to Spot, he looked down at them on either side and asked, "So wha' were yah two up tah taday? Yah took off dis mornin'."

"Yeah, I sold ova on da odda side o' town," Twirls lied quickly, but not showing that this was indeed the furthest thing from the truth. Although, she was on the other side of town...

"Yah went down dere?!" Spot said, the protective brother in him coming out. "Don' do dat again. If someone down there found out who yah really were, dey might take advantage of yah."

"Someone already is," Bells mumbled. Twirls kicked her. "Ow!"

Spot gave the younger twin a look.

"Why in hell did yah do dat?"

"Nuttin'." It was just Twirls' day to tell lies, it seemed.

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In Queens, dusk was starting to fall, along with the cool summer air. Many of the girls began to make their way back to the boarding house in clumps, but Notes stayed behind, sitting in her usual 'alone' spot- against the trunk and under the protective branches of a large, droopy willow. She gazed dreamily into the leafy umbrella above her, thinking about her day, running a finger over her swollen lips.

Spot. That was the one word that kept running through her mind. Spot, Spot, Spot, Spot. She would never get tired of him. And hopefully- she thought with worry- he wouldn't tire of her. She shuddered and put the thought from her mind, trying to instead focus on her day.

He had shown up so unexpectedly but like an answered prayer- Notes couldn't stop thinking about him ever since their first encounter. And he had said the same.

They had wandered around Queens for some time, no one really recognizing Spot, which he confided he found nice. Passerbys just thought they were another couple out for a stroll. She had shown him all of Queens' sights that were worth seeing and he in turn gave her the rundown of Brooklyn.

By mid-afternoon, the duo was starving and Notes had led them back to the restaurant that was the meeting place for the girls. Thankfully, none were there, having either been out selling the afternood editon or working the 12-8 shift at the factory. This was where Spot had tormented their waiter, causing Notes to nearly throw up from laughing so hard. And then...

That evening, they had returned to the park and Notes showed Spot her tree. This was where he had left her, after the pair had spent a considerable amount of time in high nonverbal activity unitl Gambler gave a loud cough from outside the curtain of leaves and told Spot it was time to leave.

"What are you, me mudda?" Notes had asked darkly, causing Gambler to roll her eyes and take the youngest girls home. That was why Notes now found herself under the tree, wondering when she would see Spot again. She knew it was to risky for her to venture to Brooklyn and she knew Spot had a territory to run, so him coming every day was simply out of question. But Notes could hope.

"Notes?"

It was Gambler. "Can I come, um, in?"

Notes rolled her eyes at Gambler's choice of wording and called, "Yeah, why not?"

The Queen entered and sat down beside Notes, leaning her back up against the trunk.

After a few moments of silence came, "Yah like him," spoken softly from Gambler. "I can tell. A lot. Yah've been with odda boys, but I can see yah feel different 'bout him."

"I've been wit him twice," Notes reminded.

"Still," Gambler said with a shrug. "Sometimes that's enough."

As an afterthought, she added, "I jus' find it funny his names not David."

Notes looked at her.

"Why's dat?"

"I dunno, yah jus' dated two Davids. Da scrawny one and who was da odda? Oh yeah. Da one who liked tah cook."

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Corny jab at the end to candyk8, but if any of you know who I meant, review and tell me. I'll give you a comeo in the next chapter, which you should expect by next week. I've decided to post weekly. It makes it so much easier, just writing tidbits each night. Usually they'll be up Friday, but since I've got a party tomorrow...

So yeah. Oh, and tell me the newsie name you want to be featured as.

Lots of love!

-iheartron547