AN: Another day, another chapter. I own nothing of Newsies so don't sue.

The Party

It had been three days since Sand had been out. Ashlaya had picked out the dress that Sand wore now. Sara was doing her hair in loose curls. Sand looked and studied the dress one more time. It had sleeves that hugged her upper arm but then flared out to her elbows. It had a floral print on the upper half of the dress. The lower half was much simpler with a few crossing lines of embroidery. When the embroidery stopped there was some light lace and a small layer that would hang off the dress giving it a longer look. The whole thing was white.

Ashlaya was wearing a simple dress that cut in the middle about halfway down to reveal a layer of a different fabric. Sand heard a knock on the door followed by her father's voice say, "Gabriella are you ready darling? The party starts shortly. We should be leaving soon."

"Almost father." Sand said not wanting to leave the room in the giant wad of lace she had on. As much as she hated dresses this one was one of her favorites.

Sand opened the door and headed for the coach that was outside. She sat in uncomfortable silence in the coach. Ashlaya wasn't talking and neither was her father. It took only ten minutes to get to the mayor's house, but it was the longest ten minutes Sand was forced to go through during that day. Sand felt the coach come to a halt and started to get out.

With Ashlaya by her side she walked into the party. Sand did a quick scan and noticed people were chatting and there were presents.

"Why didn't we bring a gift?" Sand asked Ashlaya.

"I know about as much as you do." Ashlaya replied not looking into Sands eyes the whole time.

Sand looked around again but her eyes fell on her father who was shaking the mayor's hand. He whispered something to him and turned toward the crowd. They were about to do something but Sand didn't know what. Her father reached for a glass of champagne and cleared his throat loudly. This caused the whole room to go silent.

"The Mayor and I would like to announce something." Sand's father started. "You can tell them Charles."

The mayor stood a few inches short of Sand's father but straightened his back to seem taller. "We have arranged that our children get married. My son, Charles Whitley Jr. is going to marry Gabriella Conlon."

Sand's jaw dropped. She couldn't hold what came out next. "What?" Sand noticed that someone else had the same response. She looked around to see the mayor's son. She sold a paper to him once. His face had the same shocked look. Sand looked passed him to see a girl about his age crying next to him. The girl he truly wanted to marry.

"Come the papers want a picture of the newly engaged." The mayor piped in.

Sand used the most sarcastic tone she knew. "What else do I have to do? Oh I know I have to go play a game of Russian Rule."

Her father gave her a stare and she knew she'd pay for that remark. Sand and an unwilling Jr. walked over to their fathers for the picture. Sand's father pushed her closer to Jr. The picture captured Jr. and Sand's disgust and their father's faces of joy.

"This is front page news!" the reporter said after he got the picture.

Sand's world she had just started to get a hold of was shattered. She couldn't be anywhere near here. She looked around for Ashlaya. She found her but what she found on her face wasn't shock but guilt. Sand was shocked to see that Ashlaya had betrayed her like that. She ran from the stairs to the coach that was waiting outside. She told the driver to take her home. She was holding back her tears for when she got to her room at the refuge, but she couldn't hold all of them a few streamed down her cheeks. The coach stopped and she ran to the safety of her room. She pushed the huge vanity in front of the door as well as locked it. No one could get in.

After she secured her room she collapsed on the floor. She started crying and couldn't stop. She heard the banging and yells that came from the other side of the door but she wasn't listening. Her only thoughts were that she would never see Spot and Skittery and everybody else again. Once she started to calm down she would break down again. She didn't realize it but she had cried through the night and into the morning. Sand nodded in and out of sleep for about an hour and right once she was just about completely asleep there was a large bang on the door.

"Gabriella, get out of there now." Her father screamed from the other side.

"No! I won't let you think you're in control anymore!" Sand yelled back.

"Young lady don't yell at me like that! Remember I can send any of those dirty brats you call friends to jail!" Sand filled with angry. She moved the vanity and unlocked the door. "Now darling don't you feel better out of that room. Sands angry showed in her face. Her fists clenched and she punched her father.

"You threaten them anymore and you'll have to send me to prison." Sand looks up from her father who had fallen to the ground to see Ashlaya. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"He threatened my family. Kind of like how he's threatening your family." Ashlaya said quickly.

"He is quite the manipulator. Come on. I think we need to have a talk with the mayor."

Sand quickly changed out of the dress she had on and walked down stairs. She waited for Ashlaya at the bottom. Once Ashlaya made it to where Sand was they walked out the door heading to the Mayor's home. They were in the house waiting for the mayor. Sand her a loud bang and yelling coming from upstairs.

"Are they fighting up there?" Sand asked the maid who let them in.

"Yes, I believe it has something to do with your wedding." The maid replied.

"Can you tell them to bring their argument down here. I have a few complaints that I would like to have spoken."

"Yes ma'ma." The maid said right before she walked off and up the stairs.

The fighting stopped almost immediately and footsteps took its place. In no time the father and son pair were with them.

"Hello my dear. Margret here says you have an opinion you want us to hear." The mayor said.

"Yeah I do. I don't want to marry Jr. I'm in love with someone else and I can guess Jr. is too." Sand said quickly.

"See I told you she felt the same way!" Jr. said with a laugh.

"Who is this young man you're in love with?" The mayor asked.

"You wouldn't know him. He's a newsie." Sand said.

"A what?"

"He sells papers"

"Ahh. Well take me to meet him. I would like to see who my son lost such a fine young lady too."

"Um…ok…let's go than I guess…"

Sand headed out the door with Ashlaya on her heels and the Whitley's following her. She walked a few blocks over to Skittery's usual selling spot. He was there but Sand could tell he was upset. Then she remembered that the papers took a picture at the party and the photographer saying it was a front page story. She walked over to him.

"Skittery." Sand's voice was tinted with concern.

He turned at his name but once he saw who it was he went back to selling papers. She walked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Skittery, what's wrong?"

He gave a small laugh. "What's wrong? What's wrong is the goil I fell in love wit' is going to marry some stuck up mayors son."

"Skittery, listen to me. I worked it out." Skittery cut her off before she could finish it all.

"No Sand. Don't work anything out. Yous isn't the same old Sand. Hell I don't even think yous is Sand anymore. You're Gabriella the lawyer's perfect daughter. The girl I'm still in love wit' was kidnapped."

Skittery saw the hurt in Sand's eyes. Her face showed it for only seconds but it was soon masked by the emotionless mask Spot wore when he had a strong emotion he didn't want to show.

"Fine." She gritted through her teeth. "You sell your papers. And the girl you knew isn't completely gone." Then Sand kneed him in the stomach. "Now she is."

Skittery bent over in pain looked to see the mayor and his son watching the whole argument. Ashlaya had walked over to Sand after she kneed him. She didn't look back at Skittery.

"Where are we going?" Ashlaya asked Sand.

"We're going to Brooklyn." Sand replied.

"What's in Brooklyn?" Jr. asked.

"Spot." Ashlaya replied for Sand.

"What's a Spot? Is that her dog?"

"No Spot is Brooklyn." Sand snapped sounding angry. "I'm sorry right now I think I'm a little on edge. Spot's my brother."

"You have a brother?" Jr. asked as they were reaching the edge of the bridge.

"Yeah, she has a brudder. And it just so happens ta be me." Spot said right in front of them.

"Hey Spot. We need to talk." Sand said smiling for the first time all day.

"Yeah. Any time Sand." Spot said as he started making his way towards the dock.

Sand told Ashlaya to be sure the Whitley's don't fall in the dock. She climbed up to Spot's throne.

"What's wrong?" Spot asked quietly.

"I'm sure you saw the paper about me suppose to marry the mayor's son." Sand replied softly.

"Yeah." Spot's voice seemed empty just then.

"I worked it out and I don't have to marry him."

"He let you do that?"

"Well he was a bit busy thinking of a way to send me to jail after I gave him a black eye."

"You hit him!"

"Hell yes. I can only go so far with that man. He just let the beast out." Sand's voice had a laugh in it.

"Well…yous might wants to get on wit' your story."

"They wanted to meet Skittery and he was a complete ass. I got angry and…" Sand stopped pushing the tears back. "He said I wasn't the girl he fell in love and I kneed him and I walked away. He just…he just made me so angry. He didn't even bother to consider what I was going through." Sand started to slowly cry into Spot's shoulder.

"Yous know dis is why I can't understand goils." Sand looked up at him. "Goils have all dis emotion and they some ho' hold it all in till the time is right. Guys we just hold it in or take it o't on uders. Yous is jus' amazin'. Skittery doesn't know what he's losin'."

"How do you always make me feel better?"

"I'm your brudder. Ain't I suppose ta do that?"

Sand sat with Spot on his throne for what seemed like forever. Now they could be a family. No matter what happens they would always have each other. No one could stop them. Not their father, Skittery, or anyone who came in their way.