A/N Unfortunately my prediction came true about how this chapter would take me a bit longer to write. I was stuck on how to begin but thankfully I finally got this part written. I'm really excited about the next few chapters because they are going to be full of drama and awesomeness so hopefully I can write and post those faster than this one!

The next few days were a blur of excitement for everyone except me. The boys were all thrilled beyond belief about this party coming up. They kept on raving about how Medda was making sure that everything was going to be decorated and how they had gotten Queens to agree to come. I had smiled and nodded and acted like I cared, but to tell the truth, I wasn't really looking forward to the party. I guess some of it had to do with the fact that normally on my birthday some of my friends in the Black Kings would go with me to a bar in the south side of Manhattan and have a small party. It was always nice and I found myself wishing that I would be able to spend my birthday that way again.

It was the day of the party and I was lounging on a bench in the middle of a random park near Fleet Street. It was getting close to sunset and I knew that I should be getting back to the Lodging House but I couldn't bring myself to move. There was nothing I wanted to avoid more right now than a loud, crazy party. Sighing, I remembered what Night had told me about watching out for Queens. Even on my birthday I couldn't relax.

"Hey, Actor!"

I turned my head at the sound of someone calling my name and saw Mush and Race walking towards me. Grinning, I called out to them in greeting,

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"I think the better question is what are you doing here," Race replied, "It's going to be time for the party soon, you should be back at the Lodging House"

"Sorry, I guess I lost track of time," I said, reluctantly standing up.

"You shouldn't be spending time alone on your birthday. Come on, let's go back," Mush said, putting his arm around my shoulders.

Race also swung his arm around my shoulders and the two of them proceeded to lead me out of the park.

"Ok," I replied, following them.

The three of us walked through Manhattan quickly since both Race and Mush were eager to get back to the Lodging House so that all of us could meet up with everyone and go to the party. According to them, the party started at sunset so most of the guys would try to get there then. After all, it wouldn't be good if some other borough showed up before us. I would probably get there a little later with some of the other girls who wanted to spend some time getting ready. None of us wore skirts to parties because we didn't want to and couldn't really afford them. Instead, the girls concentrated on making their faces and hair look extra pretty.

We reached the Lodging House and opened the door to find most of the boys milling about in the downstairs area. Mush and Race broke off to join the crowd and I made my way past the many boys up the staircase. It was relatively quiet on the second floor except for the loud commotion coming from the girls' room at the end of the hall. As I walked down the hallway I braced myself for the insanity I would have to deal with when I walked into the room. Reaching the door, I slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open. There was a slight pause in the craziness as the five girls in the room turned to see who entered but that quickly ended when Rose (A/N Another girl Newsie! I know I already introduced three girls in a previous chapter but I thought I would add in two more just to make things more fun) practically shrieked as a greeting and dragged me into the room. I was promptly forced to sit down at an empty seat in front of a vanity with my back facing a mirror. We had three "vanities" in the room, although they were really just wooden tables with chairs and mirrors that Kloppman had managed to scrounge up for us a.k.a. steal from the boys' washroom.

"What took you so long to get back here Actor?" Match said, sitting on the edge of her bed and braiding her hair.

"Sorry I lost track of time while I was selling," I replied, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly.

"I can't believe you lost track of your time on your birthday," Glasses said, taking her glasses on and off in front of a mirror, trying to decide whether or not to wear them.

"It happens," I shrugged.

"Unfortunately it means we have less time to get you ready," Rose sighed.

"Oh you don't have to do anything to me, I'm fine with going the way I look right now," I said, holding up my hands in protest.

"Of course we have to get you ready! It's your birthday so you have to look your best for all those cute boys from Brooklyn and Queens," Firelight said, walking over with some makeup in her hands that Medda had given us.

"Fine, do whatever you want, as long as you promise not to make it too over the top," I said in defeat.

"We promise!" Rose and Firelight said in unison.

I sat still and let the two girls have their fun with my hair and face. Rose took my hair out of the French braid I had put it in and started to brush it while Firelight was applying god-knows-what to my face. While they were doing that I took the chance to study the other girls. Match had her hair in a beautiful side braid and had darkened her lashes and outlined her eyes with something to make them pop. Glasses had her hair in a messy bun and had decided to wear her glasses but was trying to make up for it by applying more eye shadow. Tear had decided against doing anything more than just brushing out her hair. Firelight had also darkened her lashes and applied eye shadow and had thrown her hair into a low ponytail. Rose looked the best out of all of us though. She had curled her hair and pinned it up beautifully. How she had done all that in the time she had dumbfounded me. She had also darkened her lashes, used eye shadow, put blush on, and made her lips look a lovely rose shade. To tell the truth I was kind of jealous of these beautiful girls. Being a Black King, I always had my face covered with a bandanna and my hair stuffed under a hat. Appearance was often the least of my worries and it showed through my lack of knowledge of beauty and makeup stuff.

"All done!"

Rose's voice shook me out of my thoughts and I glanced up at her.

"Turn around and look at yourself!" she said, her hands clasped together in delight.

I spun around on the chair and was shocked by what I saw in the mirror. I looked… well, pretty. The French braid had made my hair soft and wavy and Rose had parted it on the side which, in my opinion, made me look older. My cheeks were a light pink and my eyes had been lightly outlined in brown and my lashes were darkened and lengthened.

"We put on eyeliner, mascara, powder, and blush. We didn't do anything to your lips cause they're a beautiful natural red," Firelight explained, tapping me lightly on my lips.

"Thank you," I said slowly, still admiring my appearance.

"Yay she likes it!" Rose squealed, clearly pleased with her work.

"Well girls, I think we should go. Queens has probably gotten there by now," Match said, glancing at her pocket watch.

"What about Brooklyn?" Tear asked.

"Oh you know Spot he won't get there until the party is well underway," Glasses replied, laughing.

I stood up and followed the other girls out of the room and down the stairs. I was at the back of the group and as I made my way to the bottom of the stairs I saw that Race, Blink, and Horseshoe (A/N Random character of mine) had stayed behind to walk with us and were now complimenting the other girls on how beautiful they looked. I awkwardly stood on the bottom step unnoticed, wanting to get to the party and get this night over with. Race glanced up from his conversation with Rose and saw me standing there. He stared at me for a second before breaking out into a huge smile.

"Wow Actor, you look beautiful," Race said.

Blink and Horseshoe looked up from the other girls and also grinned when they saw me.

"Yeah Actor you're stunning," Blink added.

"Absolutely breathtaking," Horseshoe chimed in.

I blushed from all their compliments. I wasn't used to ever being complimented on how I looked before. I mean, Break had told me once that every guy in New York would think I was pretty if they saw my face, but I had just thought he was being a good friend. It actually felt really nice to be getting all of this attention.

"Will you allow me the pleasure of being your escort for this evening?" Race asked formally, holding out his hand to me.

"The pleasure will be all mine," I replied smoothly, walking over to him and gracefully linking my arm through his.

Rose took Race's other arm, while Match and Tear went with Blink and Firelight and Glasses went with Horseshoe.

"C'mon guys, there's a party we're missing!" Race exclaimed, leading the way out of the Lodging House.

We had gotten lucky with the weather tonight. It had been hot this afternoon but the temperature had dropped once the sun went down. It was pleasant now and the walk was illuminated by the street lamps and moonlight. The entire time we were all laughing and joking around about the day's events and how Jack had once again outsmarted the Delancy brothers.

The walk seemed shorter than normal, however, and the theatre was soon within sight. It was all lit-up and we could all hear the muffled sound of a party inside. I fell quiet and observed the theatre as we approached, growing uneasy again at the thought of the party. Race noticed this almost immediately and turned his head towards me.

"You okay?" he asked, eyeing me carefully.

I hesitated for a moment before replying.

"I guess so…" I replied.

"You're nervous about being the center of attention at such a big party and about being around so many Newsies and people you've never even seen before," Rose stated smoothly.

I nodded my head, not saying anything.

We had almost reached the doors to the theatre when Race suddenly stopped both of us. The others stopped as well next to us but Race told them to go ahead inside. He waited until the door had closed behind them before turning to face me.

"Look Actor, I know you've only been here less than a month but you're a part of the Newsie family. The other boroughs are going to like you just as much as we do. And if for some reason they're crazy and don't, well, that's their loss. You need to walk in there with your head held high cause you have every right to be proud of yourself. It's your night girlie. Have some fun," Race said, squeezing my hand.

I stood there for a moment, taking in what he had said. It was touching and a great confidence booster, but it also reminded me of something. I am a member of the Black Kings. I am better than any other person in that theatre. To hell with the Newsies. I needed to get my act together and remember why I was here.

"You're the best Race. Thanks," I said finally, giving him a hug.

He hugged me back and when we parted he offered his arms to Rose and me again.

"Shall we? I can't wait to walk in there with the two most beautiful girls in all of Manhattan," Race said, winking at me.

I grinned back and linked arms with him. We all turned and made our way to the door. Race pushed it open with his foot and I took a deep breath as the three of us entered the theatre.

A/N So I know there was a random point where I was describing what all of the girls had done to their hair and faces which may have seemed tedious but it had a point. I really wanted to emphasize Actor's powers of observation and her feeling of jealously about not knowing how to do hair or makeup because that will show up in a later chapter. Thanks for reading! And lots of thanks to the many people who have written reviews for this story!