I do not own Newsies

Here is a bit of a longer chapter for you guys. Don't forget to review!

Don't forget to vote on the poll!

I listened to "Brooklyn's Here" from the Original Broadway cast of Newsies whilst writing this.

Also thank you to dukesofhazzard for pointing out that Jack and Mattie's relationship fit into the song "Say Something" by Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera. I listen to it and was seriously fan girling!

Chapter 10

Mattie could see her friends headed toward her. Ellie tried to wave but Mattie grabbed her and headed down a nearby alley. She pushed Ellie into the brick wall and hid them in the slight shadows still cascading. The boys passed by in their big group, ever obnoxious and loud. Mattie's heart lurched when she saw Jack, who looked just as miserable as she felt. He had no idea how much she wanted to just grab him and make things better. She missed him. This whole party thing and the ever leering eyes of their new enemy had possessed her.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked once she ripped Mattie's hand from her mouth. Mattie hushed her for one more second before she was sure the boys had passed. She poked her head into the light and saw they were all walking away, their backs to them. With that she grabbed Ellie's hand and headed the way they had just come.

Ellie tried her best to keep up with Mattie, struggling in her low heeled shoes. She didn't understand why they were headed to the boarding house but she promised she would follow Mattie's instructions. She didn't know what she had just signed up for but she would rather go and be of a little help than Mattie go by herself and get herself killed.

"David said that you have an alliance with Brooklyn." Ellie said. Mattie still pulled her, almost running into people on the street. "Will that make us safe?"

"We have an alliance with the Brooklyn newsies." Mattie replied. "Not all of the other people."

Ellie nodded even though Mattie could not see her. They reached the boarding house and Mattie released Ellie. But instead of going to the front door Mattie headed for a fire escape that led right to the bunk room. Ellie stood there confused as Mattie started to scale the building. She looked back down to the ground to Ellie.

"Are you coming?" Mattie barked. Ellie didn't say anything, holding the questions buzzing around in her head. She wasn't supposed to ask questions or annoy Mattie, and she was going to try her best. Maybe it would have been better for Ellie to just stay home, but Ellie had to be stronger than that. If she was going to befriend news boys and be able to keep up with them she had to be versatile.

Ellie followed carefully as Mattie climbed the ladder and then up the metal staircases. Ellie was very worried about falling, especially with her shoe choice. She hiked up her dress so she wouldn't trip. Mattie climbed through an open window and Ellie right behind her. She didn't hesitate to grab a vest from a bed along with a shirt that hung from Jack's bunk. Ellie followed close behind and into the Mattie's bedroom. Silently, Mattie shuffled around her room until she unearthed a pair of tattered trousers and old scuffed boots. She set the items on the bed and then looked to Ellie, who looked more than confused.

"Put these on." Mattie ordered and pointed to the clothes. Ellie looked from her to the clothes and gawked. Never in her life had she wore pants or clothes of this sort. She was used to fancy dresses and clean girl clothes.

"You cannot be serious." Ellie squeaked. She could only imagine the scolding she would get from her mother if she had seen in such garb. Mattie rolled her eyes before passing Ellie.

"As a heart attack." She said and closed the door behind her. Ellie stood there for about a minute and a half debating what to do. She didn't think she would have to change genders for this expedition. Why would she have to? Ellie was not one for being comfortable in such clothing. It suited Mattie and her personality better. But if Ellie wanted to help she guessed she would have to do something.

She stripped of her dress and began putting on the clothes. The trousers were a bit big but not too bad. They were faded grey and had a tear in the knee. The shirt was very large, but she assumed that was because it was Jack's. She tucked it into the pants and then slipped on the vest. None of these clothes gave her any feminine shape, which she guessed was the point.

"Here." Mattie said when she returned and handed her a cap. "It's one of the smaller boys. It will do."

Ellie stared at it like she had never seen such an article. She never wore a hat of this sort. She was used to large sun hats that were used to keep the sun off of her face. This was a tweed hat that would barely keep the sun from her eyes let alone her whole face. With a huff Mattie took the cap and placed it on Ellie's head. She then stuffed any stray hairs into the hat until there was barely any hair showing.

"Why are we dressing like this?" Ellie asked as she watched Mattie do the same thing to her hair. She stuffed her chocolate brown locks into the cap until she looked very much like a male. If Ellie didn't know any better she would have believed Mattie was a boy.

"We're less likely to get into trouble as boys." Mattie replied looking Ellie over. She looked convincing enough. With a nod Mattie headed back out into the bunkroom. Ellie hurried after her, hearing Kloppman humming from the lobby downstairs. Mattie ducked out the window and down the stairs, Ellie following.

"Why couldn't we use the front door?" Ellie asked. Mattie rolled her eyes even though she knew Ellie couldn't see. Ellie's boots were clunking and were unesicarily loud. Mattie was beginning to wonder if she should have just ditched the younger girl earlier. But then she knew Ellie would probably get herself into trouble and Mattie couldn't deal with that.

"Kloppman already saw me leave. Can't have him saying anything to Jack." Mattie replied as she jumped down from the ladder. Ellie did the same and kept up to Mattie's speed. Mattie was impressed with how hard Ellie was trying to keep up with her. She was trying, Mattie had to give her that.

"But what-" Ellie started but was stopped when Mattie gave her a look.

"What did I tell you about asking questions?" Mattie asked. Ellie shut her mouth then and continued walking. They travelled in beautiful silence for a while, avoiding the distribution center all together. Ellie was looking around, having never been to these parts of town.

"I've been in Manhattan my whole life." Ellie commented. "And I've never been around here."

"You should get out more." Mattie muttered. Ellie giggled and Mattie rolled her eyes. She hoped that Ellie didn't do that in Brooklyn. Boys didn't giggle and especially not newsie boys.

They travelled through Manhattan, Ellie asking question after question. It wasn't until the Brooklyn Bridge was in sight did Mattie stop and turned to her. Ellie shut up then, ever curious and confused. Mattie looked around making sure no one had followed them before she turned back to Ellie.

"Ok now you have to listen to me." Mattie said sternly. This wasn't just a fun trip to go on. This was business and it was also one of the roughest boroughs in New York. Brooklyn was not a game and even though she knew that the newsies there wouldn't dare hurt them, or face the wrath of Spot, she worried about the people that lived there. They weren't like the citizens of Manhattan, although Manhattan wasn't much of a prize either. Brooklyn had rough and tough people. Scum of the street and men who couldn't take no for an answer. Mattie could navigate just fine, but she worried about Ellie. She would be fresh meat, a vulnerable subject. She could be preyed upon quickly.

"Do not speak to anyone. Do not look at anyone. If you give one person the wrong look we are toast." Mattie began her instructions. Ellie nodded, and Mattie hoped that she fully understood. Ellie wasn't very good at taking directions seeing that Mattie asked her to stop asking questions and annoying her and Ellie did no such thing. Ellie could not blow this today.

"Why is this so serious? We just get in, give the newsies the invitation and get out." Ellie shrugged. Although she had made a big deal earlier, she didn't understand why this was more like a life or death situation instead of just a party invite. She had never been to Brooklyn and she knew it was a rough place. However, she assumed that travelling in twos they would be fine.

"Brooklyn's not a game Ellie." Mattie replied seriously. "There are people there that would want to hurt you, that would want to hurt me. You can't just travel there for the fun of it. They can spot outsiders in a second and then you are in trouble. Got it?"

"But why-" Ellie began.

"You trust me right?" Mattie interrupted. Ellie stopped, only pausing for a second. Ellie's father had always said that Ellie trusted too easily. That she had such a good heart, she couldn't gouge a dangerous situation from a good one. She liked Mattie she knew that. She cared about Mattie and the other newsies. They weren't the enemy, and their low social standing did not bother her. She knew in her heart that if they were in a dangerous situation, Mattie would handle it. Mattie was strong, tough, everything Ellie was not. She was quick with her mouth and quick to exit a bad scene. She was smart, calculated and she would protect Ellie with her life.

"Of course." Ellie replied. Mattie nodded and the two girls started the long trek of the bridge. Into unfamiliar and dangerous territory. They were headed to Brooklyn.

The bridge was longer that Ellie originally thought. It was fun to see and she saw many people crossing. They looked stern and some of them scary. They were on business and didn't bother to notice the two girls who were dressed as newsies. She guessed they assumed they were boys and just kept walking. She wondered what would happen if she still wore her dress. Would they treat her differently? What would they say? What would they do? Would she be in danger? From the way Mattie spoke Ellie assumed she would be. Some of the men she saw passing screamed danger to her with scars on their faces and evil scowls in their mouths. She couldn't judge, maybe they just looked that way but she guessed that those scars had been from fights and she didn't want any part of that.

Ellie barely spoke, speaking in hushed whispers. Mattie would quickly answer her questions or give her reply in a short and quiet tone. They didn't want to bring attention to themselves or the fact that they were really girls. Ellie felt an odd sense of guilt. She had told her parents that she was meeting some girl friends for tea and shopping. She was running out of excuses to come and meet her new friends. But this guilt was overshadowed by the sense of adventure she had. Her whole life had been sheltered, safe.

Although she loved her mother and adored her father, she couldn't help but rebel from her prim and proper life style. Even through the grand balls and beautiful parties she had gone to, she couldn't help but think that those weren't her style. She would rather be running around with friends, joking and laughing. She wondered what life would have been like if her childhood had been full of scrapped knees and scabs. Maybe then people wouldn't think she was so fussy and boring.

"My parents would like to meet you." Ellie said out of nowhere. Mattie seemed shocked and confused by this. She looked at Ellie who was now blushing madly at her sudden outburst but did not take the statement back. It wasn't a lie. She had said something to her parents about the new girlfriend she had met recently and had been spending a lot of time with. She just failed to mention that said girl was a newsie who lived with a bunch of boys, one that Mattie was courting, and that Ellie had been hanging around newsies for the last almost two weeks. Her mother would have a heart attack if she knew those details.

"Why?" Mattie asked, still keeping her voice low enough not to distinguish her gender. Ellie shrugged, not knowing what to say. Her father insisted that he bring Mattie over one night for dinner so that they could meet her. He had asked questions about this girl, asking what he parents did and where she was from. But Ellie didn't know the answers to those questions. She said that she simply did not know but she knew that if Mattie came over that she would be bombarded with questions that she didn't know if Mattie would answer. As far as Ellie could tell Mattie had no parents. Whether that was because of death or she ran away Ellie did not know. But she couldn't ask her, because that would put Mattie on the offensive and she didn't want to take one step forward and two steps back with Mattie. They were becoming friends, whether Mattie wanted to admit it or not, and Ellie couldn't ruin that.

"I've been talking about you and well… they want to meet you." Ellie said awkwardly. Mattie said no more about the subject and neither did Ellie. Why would Ellie's parents want to meet her? She wasn't anything special, or that's what she believed. It felt weird. Usually girls let their parents meet the boy they liked, not the girl that they were trying to be friends with. Mattie had to admit that she was falling for Ellie's charm and her determination. She kind of reminded Mattie of a younger her. They looked alike physically, but they had the dominant traits and Ellie said she was Italian so both girls would have similar dark hair and dark eyes. But they had similar traits too. Both were determined and knew what they wanted.

It wasn't long before they were officially in Brooklyn territory. So far no trouble had come their way, they barely even got a second look. That was a good sign. Mattie knew her way around even though she never really came over to Brooklyn. It was around lunch time and Mattie knew that Spot was probably out at the docks. She hadn't seen any Brooklyn newsies around so there was no one to tell her.

"This place is quite… rough." Ellie said. Mattie did not respond as she kept walking. Ellie looked at all the rundown buildings, graffiti on the walls, and the dirty, starving people who walked the streets. She felt for the ones she saw. That was no way to live. She couldn't imagine the feeling. She wondered why her parents had kept her so sheltered in her life. She had heard the stories but she had never seen it. Her heart lurched when she saw a mother and two children looking through dumpsters for scraps. There was a little boy who could be no more than ten and the little girl was about five or six. They were caked in dirt and the mother's dress was torn and tattered. How could someone get to that state? And why did no one help them?

She wanted to desperately, but Mattie didn't give the family a second look. She was probably used to seeing things like that, as terrible as they were. Ellie just swallowed her tears and continued to follow alongside Mattie. She didn't want to get lost, especially not here. She wondered if anyone could tell that she was a girl in this garb. So far no one had, but she still worried. Ellie tried her best to walk like a boy, following Mattie's every move. It was harder than it looked. Mattie had probably had years of practice. She slouched slightly and swung her arms in an unladylike manner. Her mother would die of embarrassment if she could see her now.

"We're almost there." Mattie whispered, lower voiced than normal. She was keeping up appearances, just in case someone heard. Although she had bigger things to worry about, all she could think about was her fight with Jack. Keeping secrets from him was a lot harder than originally planned. Jack wasn't stupid and he could read her like a good headline. She wasn't fooling him in the slightest. It made her heart ache that he thought that she was keeping things from him, even if it was just a simple party. She wanted to tell him, get it over with, and let things to back to normal. But normal for them wasn't so normal. And now that their relationship wasn't so new, things had changed. They were still crazy for one another that was for sure. But both had things to do and people to see. They weren't constantly together anymore. They weren't kids anymore. Jack was about to be eighteen and Mattie not far behind him. They couldn't keep living in a fantasy world. Things were different, and that scared Mattie more than she would like to admit.

"Well, what do we have here?" A deep voice said from behind them. Both Mattie and Ellie turned to see a quite buff and scary looking boy behind them. He had to be around Mattie's age, maybe older. But he had a deep running scar down his face that scared the life out of Ellie. She swallowed and took a step back from the boy. Mattie stood her ground, not looking scared in the slightest. There were two smaller boys flanking him, looking almost as terrifying as the one in the middle.

"Never seen you two 'round." The smallest said. His voice hadn't even gotten low but his biceps and sneer made him scary. Ellie had to stop herself from wanting to run away. She wasn't going to speak, or do anything stupid. Like Mattie had asked, she would let Mattie handle it.

"We need to talk to Spot." Mattie replied in a surprisingly accurate boy voice. Ellie wouldn't have known the difference if she didn't know any better. She wondered how many times she had had to do this.

The boys broke out into loud laughter. Ellie felt very self-conscious when their laughter began but Mattie stayed stoic. She did not speak as they laughed, and Ellie followed suit. It took everything in her power not to yell at the laughing boys, but she didn't want to make situations worse. Mattie waited until their laughter died down before she spoke.

"Take me to Spot." Mattie ordered. She kept up the boy façade very well, Ellie was impressed. She had to remind herself to slouch and not put her hands on her hips. Being a boy was harder than it looked, especially when you were raised to be a "proper lady."

"Now why in the hell would I do that?" The bigger one asked. "You could be one of Ace's boys trying to infiltrate."

Ellie was surprised this boy knew such a word. She had seen these boys as under educated and not knowing proper vocabulary. She didn't blame them of course. It wasn't their fault. They had to survive and an education wasn't going to feed them. She wondered if he had just picked up the word somewhere.

"Right. Or you are spies from the Bronx." One of the smaller boys said. Ellie felt her stomach drop. She had heard that the newsies had spies, why they were spying she didn't know. But she knew that if a spy was caught outside of their territory and in someone else's it could be disastrous.

"Take me to Spot." Mattie demanded again. She sounded dangerous, like she could break their neck in a quick second. Ellie knew that Mattie was tough, strong for a young female. However, there was no way she could take on three boys and still keep Ellie safe. Mattie was quick and clever but she did not have the brute strength they did.

Then before Ellie could even think the large one grabbed Mattie by the arm and twisted it around her back painfully. Ellie let out a very unmanly shriek but it went unnoticed. Mattie's face screwed up in pain for a second but her emotionless face came back in a second. The large newsie was right by her ear.

"Who are you to be bossing me around?" He said in her ear, bending her arm up higher. Mattie winced. "Not so tough now are we?"

With that comment Mattie used her other arm to elbow his ribs. He "oo'fed" at the contact and released Mattie's arm. The other two jumped in then, grabbing Mattie as she struggled to get out of their grip. Using her knee she jerked it up into one of their guts. She looked over her shoulder to a scared and confused Ellie.

"Run." Was her response. Ellie stood frozen for a second. "Run dammit!"

Ellie didn't need any more than that. She took off in the way they were headed, past the boys who were doing God knows what to Mattie. She wondered if she should turn back but her fear made her run faster. She had never run this fast in her life, she never had to before. But apparently her legs didn't meet up to the standards of the boys because in a quick second she was tackled down to the ground.

She groaned as her knee met the cobblestone and she knew she would have a huge bruise tomorrow. She didn't have the will to move but she didn't have to. As soon as the boy who tackled her got up he pulled her with him. Ellie didn't fight, she didn't protest. She was out of breath and her knee was killing her. Maybe she should have stayed in Manhattan.

"You two wanna see Spot so bad?" The large one said as he approached a struggling Mattie trapped in his hands. "We'll see what he will do with you spies."

Neither spoke as the boys led them toward the dock. Ellie could smell the burning scent of fish as they approached the water. It wasn't clean water, nothing like Ellie had seen in pictures. But she didn't focus on that. She was more worried about the screaming pain of her knee. She didn't believe she broke anything, for then she would not even be able to hobble like she was. She looked over at Mattie who had the large and one of the small boys holding her. She didn't fight and she didn't look injured. Ellie didn't know if that was just a façade or if she had not been wounded while fighting with them.

It wasn't long before they could see several other news boys, old and young, jumping off the docks and into the water or just horsing around. Ellie held in a squeal when one splashed her. Her eyes fell on Mattie again who looked as stoic as ever. Except when she started to smirk. She must have known something Ellie did not.

"Get ova there." The smaller boy holding Ellie said as he tossed her. She fell to the ground, catching herself on her knee. She tried not to cry at the pain. That was not very boyish. She picked herself up and was grateful when Mattie grabbed her elbow and positioned Ellie behind her in a protective stance. Mattie was all business, but she was still protecting Ellie.

"Aye Spot!" The large one called. That was when Ellie saw him for the first time.

Spot Conlon wasn't very big. He was short only a few inches taller than she. He wasn't particularly muscular, lean with nice biceps. If Ellie was betting she would say that he would not win in a fight, but that's when she noticed his eyes. Cold, like ice, filled with danger and amusement. If looks could kill, Ellie would be dead. She had heard the boys speak of Spot. He was tough and never backed down from a fight. She figured his advantage was he was quick and mean. If he had nothing to lose, she bet he would stop at nothing to get the upper hand.

"Who are these two?" He asked as he approached. His voice was nice, it didn't fit his rugged physique. He looked both of them up and down, lingering on Ellie far longer than she would like. It was as if he was sizing them up, measuring what he would do to them. It frightened Ellie and she couldn't stop herself from gripping the back of Mattie's vest for dear life.

"Found them snooping around. Think they are from Bronx or Harlem." The large one said. He crossed his beefy arms over his chest, looking proud at his find. Spot came closer and closer. Ellie could feel her heart pounding. Mattie did nothing as Spot was practically nose to nose with her. Everything was silent as both Mattie and Spot stared at one another. Ellie held her breath and she thought she would turn blue and faint right there if nothing was said soon.

Without a warning Spot's mean scowl turned into a sly grin. He wasted no time in gripping Mattie's hat and tearing it off. With it fell Mattie's chocolate locks and Spot seemed to smile even wider. From Ellie's position she could not tell if Mattie was smiling back or not. She didn't know if it was a good thing Spot recognized her or if it was bad.

"Well, well." Spot said as he looked Mattie up and down. It was as if he was undressing her right in front of her. "If it isn't the ever beautiful, Mattie Conrad."

"Hey there Spot." Mattie replied. Ellie was betting now that Spot recognizing her was a good thing. If it was bad then both of them would be floating down the river by now. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not bad." Spot replied politely. However, his face turned stony when he looked back at the three boys who brought them there. "My boys didn't rough you up too bad huh?"

"Not terrible." Mattie shrugged but she winced at the pain. Ellie stood behind her with her mouth agape. She knew her knee was bad. Why would she not tell their leader that they had beat up on them?

"Mattie are you kidding?" Ellie called out. Everyone's eyes shifted to her. Mattie turned slowly with wide eyes. She was telling her to shut her mouth. Ellie slapped her mouth closed, but it was too late. Mattie stood there frozen as Spot made his way over to Ellie. Ellie didn't think she could breathe correctly anymore. He was so close, too close for her comfort. She wished she could jump off the dock or run. But her knee would not allow her to get far.

"And who do we have here?" Spot asked as he looked her over. Like with Mattie, he was practically undressing her. It made Ellie feel very uncomfortable. She had never been looked at like a piece of meat before. It was like predator and prey and you could guess who she was.

"I'm-" Ellie began.

"Lady." Mattie cut her off. "This is Lady. She's new."

Like with Mattie, Spot grabbed her hat and pulled it off. With long hair she once again looked like a girl and Spot seemed to enjoy that. His icy eyes held hers and she could only guess how terrified she looked. He probably enjoyed it.

"A nice name for a uh… nice lady." Spot purred. Ellie swallowed, trying to calm down. Who knew what this Spot was capable of. Ellie heard he was dangerous and she didn't want to find out why they called him that.

"Alright Spot. " Mattie said pulling his attention away from her. "I didn't come here for you to make eyes at her."

"I would be much obliged if you did." Spot replied looking Ellie over once more. He then turned his eyes to Mattie and took several steps back. Ellie could feel a weight come off her shoulders at the distance between her and the Brooklyn leader.

"What did you come here for Dimples?" Spot asked. He was leading on a crate and with a flash he pulled a knife from his trouser pocket. He started picking his finger nails with it. She wondered if that was an intimidation ploy he was trying to sell them.

"I came to invite you to Jack's birthday party." Mattie replied. Spot looked up with an all knowing grin. "Your boys are invited too."

"I heard about this little get together." Spot said. "Was wondering when I was going to get an invitation."

"Well you have it." Mattie said. Ellie swallowed again. Ellie could never have the guts to say that the way Mattie did. She wondered if that was because Mattie knew Spot or if the girl really was fearless.

"We will be there." Spot replied. "Have to keep things good between 'Hattan and I."

"Things are still good." Mattie told him. Spot nodded and he put the knife away. He stepped back to Mattie with a grin.

"Are things with Jack still good?" He asked. Mattie nodded, although she didn't seem convincing. Spot didn't believe it either but he didn't comment. "Been hearing things."

"You hear everything don't you?" Mattie replied. Spot chuckled. "Things are fine Spot."

"Just trying to take care of my favorite girl." Spot told her.

"I'm only your favorite because you can't have me." Mattie replied Spot grinned.

"Never say never." He told her. Then he quickly turned serious. He leaned in to Mattie's ear. "Did they hurt you?"

Mattie said nothing, and did not change her face. The two newsies stared at one another for a long while before Spot nodded. It was then that Ellie saw the underlying protective nature that Spot had. He was still as scary as ever but he obviously was concerned if Mattie was hurt or not by his boys. Ellie was worried about what he would do.

"I'll take care of it." Spot said. Mattie nodded once in understanding. She wasn't going to say anything to him. She wasn't on her territory, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't intervene. This was all out of her hands.

"Bye Spot." Mattie said quickly. She grabbed Ellie's hand then and pulled her towards the end of the dock. No one stopped them, and the three who brought them were scowling at them. They had no idea what was in store for them once the girls were gone.

"See you Dimples." He called back. "It was nice meeting you, Lady."

Ellie turned back and he winked at her, sending a chill up her spine. She forced a smile and let Mattie tug her along. Once they were far enougn away Ellie spoke up.

"What is he going to do?" Ellie asked. Mattie didn't look at her, just tried to hurry away from the scene. Ellie was struggling to keep up with Mattie's hastened pace, especially with her sore knee. Mattie did not slow down as she tugged her along.

"Just don't look back." Mattie replied as she pulled her hair back into her cap. Ellie followed suit and gasped when she heard a loud scream of pain and a splash following.