Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies. I own everything else.

Walking down the streets of Brooklyn with Spot Conlon reminded Riley how powerful he really was. With his head held high and a cold look in his eyes, children watched his every move with awe, and whispers were heard from all the girls they would pass. It confused Riley why this boy had such a reputation. Why would wealthy men in tailored suits stop all conversation to stare at a newsboy? Why would these perfectly respectable people they would walk past suck-up to a street kid?

With her hands fidgeting nervously infront of her, Riley took in her surroundings as they walked through Brooklyn. She bit her lip everytime a jealous girl would stare her down, probably assuming she was another one of his many 'one night' girlfriends. She felt like all of Brooklyn was studying her; seeing who the infamous Spot Conlon would spend his time with.

The dirt streets of Brooklyn were hot and crowded, and Riley felt dirty despite the bath she took before they left. Maybe she'd feel prettier once she got some of her clothes back to the lodging house.

Riley glanced up quickly at Spot before pointing her eyes back to the ground. He hadn't spoken to her once since they left once he was done selling.

"How do you know Bonnie is in Manhattan right now?" Riley asked cautiously, struggling to keep up with his long strides.

Spot rolled his eyes. "When ya gonna learn, Cardoni? I know everything."

"Right, I forgot…" Riley mumbled sarcastically, squinting her eyes at the strong sunlight once they reached the apartment building. "What about a key, huh?" She asked, remembering she no longer had one.

"Jack slipped the extra one under the mat."

Riley furrowed her eyebrows. "He got a key!"

"Listen, dollface… Let's just say that my pal Jacky-boy has his way with the ladies." Spot replied, a smug look on his face.

Ignoring him completely, Riley walked ahead of him and up the steps to the top floor, Spot following closely behind her. She kneeled down and swiped the key out from underneath the mat and fumbled to unlock the door.

"Ah, the memories." Spot spoke up, leaning against the wall and smirking suggestively at Riley.

She took her hand off the key and looked around, then back at him, thoroughly confused. "What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking outloud. Ya know, about the last time I was here."

Riley scoffed and turned back to unlocking the door. The last time they were in that hallway she got kicked out… Not to mention, Spot was drunk and tried kissing her…

"Don't even get me started on that." She replied, finally hearing the lock click.

Once the door was open they walked in and Riley immediately went into her room and towards the closet, while Spot went into the kitchen.

"That bitch!" Riley exclaimed, examining her closet and noticing that some of her dresses were missing.

Spot clicked his tongue. "Ladies shouldn't use that language, Cardoni." He said, walking into the room with an apple in his hand.

"Fuck off, Conlon." Riley replied sweetly and turned back to her wardrobe.

"You know, you can't strut around my boys in those shiny girl dresses." Spot said matter-of-factly, leaning casually against the wall and looking down at the gold tip of his cane.

Riley turned from her wardrobe to face him. "Shiny girl dresses?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at his choice of words. He shot her a look that showed he wasn't the least bit amused.

Riley noticed the look, wiped the smile off her face, and snapped back around to examine her clothes.

"…And I don't strut." She mumbled quietly, taking out a few simple dresses that were hanging up.

"What?" He asked with a mouthful of apple.

"Nothing, pass me that bag?"

Spot looked at a small piece of luggage in the corner of her room and impatiently shoved it onto the bed.

"I don't have time for you to look through all your clothes. Just go out and buy stuff later, let's go!" Spot demanded, shutting the doors of her wardrobe and throwing the apple into a trashcan.

Riley gasped, noticing a dress sprawled out on the floor beside her dresser. "She wore my green dress!" She exclaimed, picking up the silk dress with white lace trim from the ground. "This is my favorite dress, how could she! I'm going to strangle her!"

Spot let out a frustrated sigh and ripped the dress from her hands, throwing it onto the edge of the bed. "I don't have a lot of patience right now, prettyface. Don't test me." He seethed, his face practically inches from her own.

"Okay, okay, I think I'm done." Riley replied, side-stepping him and putting some things in a bag. "Besides, I can't go out and buy clothes. I don't have the money."

"Don't have the money?" Spot turned towards her, not at all convinced. "That dress costs more than the fucking apartment!" He argued, pointing to the pile of silk and lace on the bed.

"Hey!" Riley said defensively. "I needed that dress!"

"Did you need the other ten dresses in your closet?"

Riley crossed her arms childishly. "Yeah!" She lied.

Spot rolled his eyes.

"My parents will send me money eventually, it's just not here yet, I need to come back in a few weeks." Riley explained. "Besides, it's not like I've been working a lot lately… oh, wait. That's funny, I forgot! I got fired."

Spot glared at her impatiently. "Are you done yet?" He asked, switching his gaze back to his cane, which made Riley angrier.

"No, I'm not done yet, Mr. Conlon. I'll take all the time I want." She said patiently, even though her cheeks were flustered.

"Bonnie is probably going to be back soon."

"You're the God damn fearless leader of Brooklyn, Conlon. Either suck it up, or stop calling yourself that."

Spot's head snapped up from looking at his cane and he glared at her.

"Sorry." Riley blurted out, mentally kicking herself for forgetting who she was dealing with. She turned away from him, threw some hair pins in the bag, and shut it. "Now I'm done."

Much to Riley's surprise, Spot grabbed the bag off the bed and walked towards the door. "You're a real class act. Cardoni. You're walking on thin ice, but you're a class act."

"Thanks." She replied sarcastically, taking a deep breath and preparing for another walk in public with the boy everybody feared.

That night, Riley sat at the windowsill in the large common room of the lodging house. A couple of tables on the other side of the room were occupied by loud Brooklynites playing poker and drinking beer. She took another bath and changed into a dark green skirt and small white blouse. Her long hair was pinned messily on the top of her head to keep her neck cool from the heat, and her small black boots felt heavy on her sore feet from the long walk to the apartment.

She was lonely, and had no one to talk to because Spot kept a look out to see if anybody disobeyed his command. Riley didn't understand why Spot wouldn't let anyone speak to her… Being in Spot Conlon's territory was not good when Spot Conlon himself wanted you to be miserable.

The window was open all the way to allow the cool night air to fill the room. Riley pressed the side of her forehead against the glass and kept her eyes on the dock a short distance away. The number of people outside became less and less. Her stomach wasn't satisfied with the meal of bread and soup she had for dinner and she felt weak.

Another cool breeze brushed passed by her from the open window. Riley suddenly spotted a group of people off in the distance. They appeared to be approaching the pier and toward the lodging house. She turned her head to glance at Spot (who was sitting at a table with a beer in one hand, cigarette in the other), then looked back outside.

Riley squinted her eyes. "What the…" She knew who that was.

And then, in all his glory, Jack Kelly of Manhattan came into view as he walked out of the shadows and into the light of a streetlamp. He was leading a small group of people, but Riley only looked at Jack. Finally, a familiar face.

Jack and his gang entered the loud common room, immediately getting a drunken welcome of yells and cheers from Spot's boys.

Despite her current mood, Riley crossed her arms and smiled. Jack noticed her standing by the window and returned the smile, pulling himself away from the ruckus and walking over to her.

"There she is." He said smoothly, his smile growing wider.

Riley surveyed the room around her. "Yup, here I am…" She replied, motioning around the room with her arms. "Big difference from when we first met, Mr. Kelly, I must say."

Jack let out a laugh. "Yeah, just a little change of scene for a girl like you." He commented sarcastically.

"Right. Just a little." Riley smirked, crossing her arms again.

Jack just smiled and looked at his feet, absent-mindedly tugging on the red bandana around his neck.

"So, how are things going?" Riley asked, tucking the loose pieces of hair that were in her face behind her ear.

Jack pursed his lips together and shrugged. "Well, you know…" He replied in a nonchalant manner. "Same as always." He averted his eyes from her to glance around the room. "Some bad headlines, a few fights. Bonnie's been down lately, too. And I've been low on money, lost a few bets to my pal Racetrack the other night…"

Riley nodded as Jack spoke, repeatedly tucking her loose hair behind her ear. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to throw up her hair so quickly.

"And how's life treating you, Miss Cardoni?" Jack asked casually, taking a few steps and leaning his back against the wall next to the window.

"You know, same as always," Riley imitated his answer. "Lost my first job ever, got stuck living here, and now Bonnie hates me." She cast her eyes up to the ceiling in thought as she listed off everything with her fingers. "I live in a storage room, no one is allowed to talk to me here, my only friend is 9-years-old, and Mr. King of Brooklyn is out to make my life absolutely miserable." She finished.

Jack smirked. "You win."

"Thought so."

"Definitely."

"Hey, Cowboy! Get over here, ya bum!"

Riley looked over at Spot in annoyance, and Jack dismissed Spot with a lazy wave of the hand.

"Does Bonnie know I'm here?" Riley asked, leaning up against the window next to him.

"Well, you didn't see her come with me, right?" Jack asked obviously, a knowing smirk on his face. "Ofcourse she knows."

"So, she would've came if I wasn't here. That's what you're saying, right?"

"Right."

Riley stepped away from the window and faced him. "What the hell! If she's allowed to be around Spot, then why can't I be!"

Jack put up his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, wait a minute. I don't understand you ladies and your problems so don't even ask."

Riley rolled her eyes at the thought of Bonnie, mumbled 'bitch' under her breath, and suddenly noticed the people Jack showed up with across the room.

A short Italian, a boy with an eyepatch, a tall one with a pink undershirt and suspenders, and a boy with a darker complexion and curly hair.

"Those are a few of my boys from Manhattan." Jack informed her, noticing her looking. "I'll allow them to talk to you, don't worry, I ain't Spot. I probably wouldn't be able to stop them anyway." He said with a smile.

They were playing poker and drinking beer with some Brooklynites. Their table was next to the table Spot was sitting at.

All of the sudden, Riley's breath caught in her throat.

Her jaw fell open, and her mouth went dry.

"…And those are some of the girls from Manhattan."

Riley barely registered what Jack said. All she saw was a bunch of girls at Spot's table. One was on his lap, touching his chest and giggling as he rubbed her leg. Two more were on either side of him, beers in their hands, laughing with everyone else.

And there he was, the overconfident Brooklyn leader, surrounded by beautiful girls and staring straight at Riley. Her face turned hot with anger. Her eyes finally connected with his, and he kept his gaze, taunting her, his eyes laughing at her… Never looking away once.

The whole time a smug and satisfied smirk was tugging at the corner of his lips.

These reviews are awesome. Seriously, read my reviews! Everyone is amazing, and I really appreciate you guys giving me feedback and letting me know that you're reading! I hope this chapter didn't seem stupid – I'm setting everything up, and as you can tell things are going to stir up a bit! Review or E-mail me if you have any criticism, I won't cry, I promise. I just want you all to be happy with what you're reading! I hope I replied to everyones signed reviews, I think I got all of them. THANKS SO MUCH! Please keep it up!