Hey guys, I am so sorry for the really longggg wait…but I honestly have an excuse. I got in a car accident with my boyfriend about two months ago. I broke my right wrist, collar bone, and got bruised up pretty bad. He is okay as well, just feels terrible. Once again, I apologize for the wait.

Chapter 25: We Can't Back Down

"Don't close your eyes

We're all in this together

Wherever we draw the line

We're not gonna straddle across it

Or lose it."

Spot's P.O.V.

"God, I can't believe her!" David yelled as we entered the lodging house. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Racetrack roll his eyes. I patted him on his back and pointed to a table in the far corner. We walked over and sat down.

"She just left us!" Blink yelled throwing himself down on the couch next to Angel and Blitz. All the others grabbed a seat around the room, complaining about Caroline.

"She is so damn selfish! Leavin us to do this strike thing all on our own just so she can dress all fancy and shit. I'm done with this stupid strike," Boots yelled. I clenched my fists hard. Why are they judging her like this when they know they would have done the same thing put in her situation?

"I always thought Caroline was better than that," Blitz whispered.

Flame stood up from his chair in the far corner and yelled, "Really now, did ya?" he spat at the floor. "I always knew she was a good for nothing, little…" Before he could finish what he was saying, my fist made contact with his nose. We all heard a small little crack and Flames nose began gushing out blood. "What the hell Spot?"

"You just don't know when to shut up now do you?" I spat out. "You don't even know Caroline, you sick bastard." The room was silent. Now I looked up and addressed the whole room. "None of you know the real Caroline. There only about three people in this room who know her well enough to judge her. So you all just need to shut the hell up." I looked down at Flame again, who had tears running down his cheeks. "Get oughtta my sight."

He stood up quickly and ran away just as fast. Flame had always seemed hard core but really he was a big baby that couldn't stand being in pain. I rolled my eyes, "Anyone else?" I asked the now quiet crowd. No one said a word and I began to head back to my seat when a chair scratched against the floor. I spun around on my heels, prepping myself for a fight. But standing in front of me was David, his face soft but stern.

"None of knew Caroline because she never let any of us in," he said with power behind his voice. He took a small step toward me and continued in a quieter voice that I'm sure only I could hear. "She lied to me about everything in her life. All I want in the moment is to know what she did tell me that was the truth."

I bit my lip and look to Angel. She gave a small nod as if to give me approval to share all of her best friend's secrets. I looked back at Race who gave the same nod but then pointed upstairs. It was my turn to nod. "Okay," I said turning back to David. "But we have to go upstairs." I added in a small voice.

David headed for the doorway and I motioned for Angel and Racetrack to join us. Blitz stood up as well. "Would you mind if I joined?" he asked. I looked back once more for Race's and Angel's approval, but they were already up the stairs.

"Yeah, common." I mumbled. "We'll be right back fellas!" I yelled to all of the boys in the main sitting area. They gave nods and mumbles but honestly now, I think they were more interested in their poker game then Caroline.

I walked up the stairs and down the hall to an open door at the end. Blitz was just entering the room when I stopped about half way down the hall. It was Caroline's room, the one sacred place she could go to and not have to be someone she wasn't. And now, it was the place that all her secrets were going to be told.

I began walking towards it a little more slowly, taking small breaths as I did. My hand went to my pocket to hold her half of the locket when I entered the room. This was the first time I had been in here since her birthday. And even though it was just four days ago, I feel like years have gone by. But nothing had changed since the last time I was in here, it still smelled like lavender and the newspaper clippings still hung proudly on the wall.

And yet, it didn't feel right being in here without her.

David and Blitz were sitting on the bed while Race and Angel stood against the opposite wall. I decided I should take some place in the middle. It was quiet for a few minutes and all you could hear was the sound of my pacing. Eventually, I decided to break the silence.

"Alright, what do you wanna know?" I asked.

"Well," David said first. "I wanna know why she lied to me about her name?"

I stopped pacing and looked at David, "She didn't lie to you about her name, well not in a way you should be hurt by it. Yes, Celestina is her real name but Caroline, much like Spot or Racetrack, is her newsie name." His eyes widened as I said the last part.

"But why would she use a real name like that?" Blitz asked his eyes filled with wonder.

Race laughed in the back. "She didn't pick it," he said coming up beside me.

"But I thought the leaders always picked the names," David asked.

"Yes, that's true but Caroline wasn't always the leader of Manhattan." Angel said, but unlike Race, she stayed on the wall.

"You see, when Caroline and I first came here, she was about ten years old," Race continued. "And the leader at the time, well his name was Jack Kelley." He paused for a minute. "He kinda took her under his wing, said she reminded him of his little sista or somethin," he gave a small shrug. "But anyway, she went on a few months without a name. He said that with a name like Celestina, she would be okay without a newsie name…that is until the first time she got sent to the refuge."

He drops his head a little bit, so I decide it's time to take over. "So when she escaped, he said that now that she was known by the cops, she needed a new name for her. So he gave her the name Caroline…"

"But why?" David interrupted.

"I was just about to explain that." I said through gritted teeth. Angel put a tender hand on my shoulder. I went over to the window, which was open, and sat down. My hand tried to go down to my pocket to grab a smoke but I decided that I couldn't smoke in her room. I pinched the bridge of my nose as Angel continued.

"He gave her the name because it meant 'beautiful woman'," she muttered. "Caroline had always been thought to be one of the most beautiful people Jack Kelley had ever seen…but then again she was the only goil newsie at the time. A lot more goils have joined since then. I wasn't even in America when this happened."

"But yeah, that's the story behind the name..." Racetrack said in a small voice. "Next question?" David still seemed awed but he scratched his chin.

"Why was she in the refuge?" he asked next.

Race and Angel both looked back at me, "Spot's gonna have to answer that one." Race said in almost a whisper. I shook my head. No, not that one, he doesn't need to know that one. But Race, reading my mind, nodded his head.

I let out a small sigh, silently praying that she would forgive me eventually for saying all her secrets. "I was twelve going on thirteen when I made my first visit to Manhattan…I remember it like it was yesterday…" I looked out the window, remembering all the events of that trip.

I crossed over the bridge with a huge satisfied grin on my face. It was first time I had ever been out of Brooklyn and I was going as our leaders, Wiggly, second in command. Being almost thirteen, that's a rather large accomplishment.

When we reached the edge of the bridge, I expected to see streets of gold, free food, and good, kind people. Caroline had always talked highly of Manhattan, saying it was so much better than Brooklyn. I believed her too. Only when I was on the edge of the bridge, staring at Manhattan, I realized how right she was. It wasn't what I imagined but it still looked nicer than Brooklyn.

"Common Conlon," Wiggly yelled from a few feet in front of me. I stumbled over my feet to try and catch up with him. We walked swiftly through the dark alleys, pushing our way through the mass amount of people that filled the streets. My eyes never once left the back of Wiggly's head, knowing if I lost him, I'd be totally alone. That is what I was afraid of in those days, to be alone.

As we rounded a corner, something caught my attention down the road. It was a long, auburn curl sticking out of a young kid selling newspapers. Although I couldn't see the front half of the person, I knew it's a twelve year old girl. I stopped walking and continued to stare at the single curl. It was sticking out of the hat like a small pig's tail. "Spot?" I heard Wiggly say in a panic.

"I'm here Wig, but I'll catch up in a few, there's somethin' I need to check." He rolled his eyes but spun on his heels and went back on his way to the lodging house.

When I lost his back in the crowd, I turned back to look at the newsie. She looked to be on her last paper so I went up behind her, getting so close, I could smell lavender soap that she must have used earlier that morning. I longed to reach out and touch the curl but I dared not to, knowing it would end well for my lower extremities. Instead, I put on a thick smirk and took my hat off and fanned myself with it.

"Ya know," her shoulders tensed up as I let the words come out as arrogantly as possible, "it aint very often you see an angelic figure, like yourself, out sellin papes." Her free hand resting down by her side clenched into a fist.

"Go away, I don't have time to deal with an arrogant jerk who wants to offer me money to…" her voice trailed off as turned to face me. Her green eyes met my deep blue ones and her jaw dropped. "James?" she said in an almost whisper.

"Hey Celestina," I responded, making my smirk a little softer. Before I knew what was happening, I was on the ground with Caroline, who was Celestina at the time, on top of me. I silently thanked God that we were in a part of the road that there weren't many people. Her arms were tightly around my neck, gripping me so hard, that I was having trouble breathing.

"Whatareyoudoinhere? Icantbelieveit,ImeanIthoughtIwouldntseeyou…" she was talking so fast, it all came out as one word.

"Celeste," I said trying to breath, but she continued to talk. "Celestina!"

"What?" she asked.

"Would you mind loosenin' your grip? I kinda can't breathe."

Her arms immediately loosened. "Yeah, sorry." She jumped off of me and held her arm out to help me. I smirked as slid my large hand into her petite one and she pulled me up. Her hands were soft and were a little bit slippery from ink from the papers. We stood hand in hand for a few moments, but she pulled back, biting her lip.

My stomach let out a small growl, which caused her to giggle. "Hungry much?" I gave a small nod and she grabbed my wrist and started pulling me down the streets, leaving her last paper on the street. We turned around corners and down long narrow alleys, until she stopped abruptly in front of me. I ran into her with a small oomf.

" 'Ey, what's the big deal…" she waved her hand back at me, trying to silent me.

"Do you hear that?" she asked in a small whisper. At first, I didn't hear anything other than the commotion of the people on the street.

"I don't hear…" I was cut off by a large cry. It could only be heard if you were listening for it, which is why we heard it. We exchanged small glances and started running closer to the cry. We passed three alleys until we found the one were the sound was coming from.

Caroline stopped again, and this time I stopped with her. She was staring down the alley and her fists clenched. My glance joined her and what I saw; well it's an image you can never get rid of. A young boy was on the ground with blood dripping from his face. But that wasn't the part that shocked us, "Somebody help!" he cried. A tall figure, dressed in a navy blue uniform punched him.

"I said shut the hell up!" The tall figure hissed. The young boy whimpered in pain. Before I could reach out and grab her, Caroline raced for the alley. I ran after her to try and get ahold of her but it was too late, her first punch flew. The figured groaned in surprise and she took a kick to where it hurts.

"James, get him outta here!" She yelled back to me. I grabbed the boy on the ground and dragged him away from the fight. He was near passed out and was bleeding a good amount. The fight continued in the background.

"Thanksssss….." the boy whispered.

"What's your name?" I asked leaning him against a wall.

"Michael, but…they all call…me Mush…" that was all he said before he blacked out. I looked over at Caroline. She was against the wall and he held back his arm as if getting ready to throw a punch. I ran and jumped the guy, knocking him to the ground. I punched him in the face back and forth, until blood streamed from his nose and mouth. Caroline joined and eventually broke his nose.

"The cops showed up a few seconds later, "I whispered. "And the rest you can say is history…" The room was silent. No one spoke, no one moved. David sat with his jaw opened slightly, Blitz just sat with a wondering look. My eyes were a little watery from recalling the memory and my cheeks were hot. My legs got a little shaky so I went back over the window and sat down once more.

"Damn…" was the first word spoken. It had come from David's mouth. He clenched his fists in his lap, "I can't believe she…she would do that."

"I can." Blitz said sticking a cigarette in his mouth.

Angel wiped tears from her eyes, "That's the way she is. She believes everyone is equal and fair. And no one should ever be hurt."

"The worst part of that whole story, is that the bull got away with the entire thing while Caroline and Spot spent time in prison." Racetrack mumbled.

"That's not fair!" David said standing up and stomping the ground.

"Nothing is ever fair for us," Angel said.

Racetrack looked forward with an intense passion in his eyes, "That's why we started this damn strike, to get equal rights. We owe it to Caroline and all the other kids who have been accused of crimes and not getting their fair share."

"Which is why we can't give up…" I mumbled. "We have to win this thing, for Caroline." I stood up, sharing Racetracks passion. "We have to win this for everyone. We can't back down."