Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies, but I own the other characters.

"That has got to be the biggest crock of bullshit you have ever told me in our 5 years of friendship. No shit, Ref. The biggest crock of bullshit."

Reffy rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I'm dead serious, Race. That's how it happened - why would I lie about it?"

"So you're saying that right there, in the middle of the street, Jack confessed his love to you all romantic-like." Racetrack explained dramatically, using his hands for emphasis. He shook his head, "I don't believe you. Jack ain't the romantic type."

Racetrack and Reffy had been arguing for fifteen minutes about what happened the night before. The morning sun was hot as they walked down the dusty streets with their papers.

"I'm not saying he's romantic," Reffy shrugged and adjusted the papers under her arm. "But he was sweet… and spontaneous."

"And a wuss." Racetrack finished, laughing when he had to dodge Reffy's fist.

"I just told you that story in confidence, so don't even think about telling the fellas. I love ya, but I'll still drown ya." Reffy threatened, nodding to the dirty water of the East River. They had finally reached their destination; Reffy's usual selling spot at the harbor.

Although Racetrack wanted to make some bets at the tracks today, he agreed to sell with Reffy when she begged him that morning.

"You're getting really girly on me, Ref." Racetrack commented. "You gonna start wearing that dress you were wearing when you came back from Boston or something?"

Reffy scrunched up her nose. "We threw that hideous dress in the fire a couple weeks ago, remember?"

He pursed his lips together in thought. "We did?"

"The night you were hanging off the railing of the stairs."

"Oh!" Racetrack exclaimed, suddenly remembering. "Whiskey night."

"Yeah."

"That explains why I don't remember." He gave her a toothy grin and walked away, putting distance between them so they could begin selling.

Reffy put her hat back on her head, throwing her long, wavy hair over her shoulder. It was going to be a hot day; and although the air was dry, she had to keep wiping the sweat off her forehead in between shouting.

The last thing she remembered last night was getting into an argument with Jack about Spot. She woke up to Kloppman tugging on her hair, yelling at her to get up and sell. She was in her own bed, and Jack was on the top bunk. It was funny to see him blocking his ears when Kloppman began yelling at him, but she went to the washroom to get ready and ask Racetrack to sell with her. She had a lot to talk to him about.

So with a kiss on the cheek, Jack bought his papers and went off selling while Reffy waited for Racetrack. Now here she was; sweating and shouting the headlines, squinting her eyes in the sun when she had a moment to breathe.

Spot's words were still haunting her, but she quickly pushed them to the back of her mind.

"It's hot as hell," Racetrack complained. "This heat sucks." He had finally approached her a while later with no papers left.

"Yeah." Reffy replied weakly, picking her hair off her neck. She still had 4 or 5 papers left, and had no intention of shouting another headline. Racetrack noticed this, and grabbed the papers from her hands.

"EXTRA! SCORCHING HEAT CAUSING DEATHS ALL AROUND THE CITY! DON'T BE THE NEXT VICTIM – READ ALL ABOUT IT!"

Racetrack's fake headline quickly sold the rest of Reffy's papers, and they began walking back to the lodging house.

On the way, Racetrack noticed an uneasy look on her face. He pulled out his cigarettes and offered her one, but she took one look at it and shook her head. That was when he knew something definitely wasn't right.

"What is it?" He asked in a knowing voice.

Reffy looked up at him as they walked, raising her eyebrows. "What is what?"

Racetrack rolled his eyes as he lit his cigarette. "Something's wrong and I want to know what it is."

"Nothing's wrong…" Reffy trailed off for a moment. Racetrack didn't say anything, so she glanced up at him and shrugged. "It's just some stuff Spot said to me last night…"

Racetrack furrowed his eyebrows. "What'd he say?"

They turned a corner to see the Horace Greeley statue a short distance ahead of them. The newsies were crowded around the area as they waited for the next edition to come out. Reffy noticed this and pulled Racetrack down the street to the lodging house, wanting privacy so no one else could hear.

"Listen… I didn't tell you the whole story this morning." Reffy started, taking a seat on the front steps of the lodging house.

Racetrack threw his cigarette onto the street and sat beside her. "If something else happened then you should tell me," He explained. "You tell me everything."

"I know, I'm just…" Reffy sighed and looked at her feet. "I don't know what to do."

Racetrack gave her a concerned look. "What happened with Conlon, Ref?"

She looked up at Racetrack, then looked out onto the street as she began to tell him the other part of the story. "Spot tried coming onto me at the lodging house once you all left to go to Medda's."

Racetrack's jaw dropped. "What the hell did he do!" He asked angrily.

Reffy quickly shushed him and continued. "I don't know how to explain it," She said, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "He told me I was different. He wants me because I don't throw myself all over him like every other girl in the city. I'm a 'challenge' to him, and he told me he never backed down from a challenge."

"I'll break that cane over the bastard's face!" Racetrack fumed as he stood up.

"Racetrack, wait! I'm not done – just listen!" Reffy demanded, pulling him back down next to her. She waited a moment for Racetrack to take a few breaths, and continued. "Look, he didn't do anything after that. Jack walked in and made him leave."

After letting the story process through his head, Racetrack wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Don't worry about it, Ref." He said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Spot knows to stay away now – you're Jack's girl. They both have a borough they're in charge of, and there's an unwritten rule about staying away from a leaders girl."

"I'm not done."

"Shit." Racetrack mumbled, knowing the story was going to get worse.

"Spot brought up Gracie when I talked to him at Medda's." Reffy said, her eyes set on the street before her. "Jack was going a little too far last night when we got back from the show, and I brought her up."

Racetrack laughed in disbelief. "When did you get so stupid?" He asked, shaking his head in disappointment.

"I don't know." Reffy whined. "But I couldn't get Spot's voice out of my head, and I wasn't ready to go any further with Jack. You guys do so much with all those girls you know, but I'm not like them. I'm not ready, and I got nervous."

Racetrack took his arm off her shoulder and squeezed her hand. "There's nothing to worry about, Ref." He assured her. "It's not a big deal. You have every right to be worried about Jack hurting you."

"No, Race. It is a big deal. Jack knows Spot put those thoughts in my head."

Racetrack ripped his hand away in surprise. "You told him!"

"He just knew! I didn't tell him anything, I swear. Jack's smart, he knows Spot must've said something."

Reffy stopped talking for a moment, and Racetrack rubbed the corner of his hat as he thought things through. She bit her lip, knowing this was a pretty bad situation. Spot and Jack were friends, Manhattan and Brooklyn were allies, and both leaders had the same stubborn pride that could ruin it all.

"Look, the only thing you can do is wait it out, you know?" Racetrack startled her as he broke her train of thought.

Reffy raised her eyebrows. "Wait it out?"

"Yeah. Wait and see if Spot will back off or not. We're having poker night in Manhattan this weekend. We'll see if there's a problem on poker night, you know? Spot will be here. Until then, don't worry about it."

Reffy thought it over and nodded. She looked up at Racetrack and gave him a weak half-smirk. He playfully put her in a headlock and pulled her up.

"Come on, we gotta sell the next edition, and you're supposed to meet Jack at the gates."

Reffy nodded again after Racetrack let her go, and they began walking to the distribution center. Talking to Racetrack helped ease her mind, but she couldn't shake the bad feeling she had in her stomach. Jack trusted her, she knew that, and he trusted Spot too. Spot was respected, and the bond between him and Jack seemed unbreakable.

Biting her lip, Reffy played with a lock of her hair as they turned the corner and saw the other newsies waiting around. She knew Spot was a trustworthy leader, but there was one thing he could not be trusted with – girls.

It was his reputation. Spot Conlon got what he wanted. If he wanted a girl, he'll do everything in his power to get her. Even if he has to break a few 'unwritten' rules.

Yeahhh I updated! I also have the next chapter written. It takes place on the same day, and something happens while Reffy is selling the next edition. I'll update once I get some reviews in! The chapter after that will be the poker game, and it's going to be one of the most important chapters in the whole story. I'm in the middle of writing that one, so review! I want to put it up! Thanks so much for the reviews – I'm so happy this story is still getting some support so I have the motivation to finish it. You're all amazing and it means a lot to me! )