Panda Bear-Yeah, he's just a little too feisty. I like to think he's a gentleman though. Well, he's going to be in my stories. If he wasn't in real like, I think I'd cry. But yeah, I'm going to make him a gentleman because he's awesome and I love him. That sucks that you lost your voice but it's still cool the way things worked out. Who knows, maybe it'll still lead to you being discovered. When you do, can I get an autograph and say I knew you way back when? Oh, and maybe a picture to go with that autograph?

So I made a list of ideas for one-shots a few weeks ago and one of them was how Spot got his nickname. I decided to try writing it and somehow was just inspired so...here it is. Hope you like it. I don't own Spot (Disney people are being scabbers and bums and won't let me own him. =P) but I do own Laura and Runner and King.

8-year-old Torin Conlon was tired and hungry. He had just spent his day in Brooklyn trying to sell newspapers, except that the headlines had been so bad that day he had only managed to sell a few. He headed back towards the docks where most of the Brooklyn newsies hung out in hopes that he could maybe sell a few more before meeting his best friend Laura Mae.
"Hey kid!" The voice of King stopped Torin in his tracks. King wasn't the other boy's real name; it was Yosef, but he hated that name and insisted on being called King, because it thought he was the king of the Brooklyn newsies. Torin called him scary when talking to Laura Mae, who had nicknamed him Bully-not that either of them would have the guts to say that to his face. "Git over here."
Torin shuffled over, looking at the ground the whole time. "Yes, King?"
"Youse look at me when Ise talkin ta ya." A rough hand jerked Torin's head up. "My buddy Runner here says youse stole his sellin spot taday."
Torin shook his head quickly. "No! Ise wasn't nowhere near his sellin spot."
Runner, King's second, picked Torin up and gave him a rough shake. "I says you was. Dat makes me mad. Youse know wat Ise do ta kids dat make me mad." With that, Runner threw Torin head first into the water, kicking the younger boy's papers after him. Torin climbed out to the sound of laughter. Dripping wet and shaking in anger, he stood at the top of the ladder and glared at the older boys. A few of the more sympathetic boys patted his back as they went past.
"Dat's why youse stay away from me sellin spot, kid," Runner smirked. Torin saw red at being called a kid and without giving it a second thought, he darted forward, snatched the older boy's papers and tossed them in the water. He gave a satisfied smirk before realizing Runner looked ready to kill him. Torin started running as fast as he could towards Manhattan. Being small and fast, he had something of an advantage. He also had the element of surprise going for him and he quickly reached St Mary of Margaret's-the orphanage where Laura Mae lived. Thankfully for Torin, Laura was just stepping outside with a basket of laundry.
"Laura, youse have ta help me! Ise got in a spot of trouble and Ise need ya ta help me hide! Quick! Dey're comin!"
Laura looked confused at the rush of words coming out of his mouth. "Slow down. I can't understand."
"I'm in a spot of trouble. I need to hide. I'll explain later."
Laura gave him a look of exasperation and shoved him inside the door. She pointed towards a sitting room to the left, where Torin could see a strawberry-blond haired girl sitting on a couch. The girl waved him over and Torin walked over, hearing the door slam behind him. He watched from a window as Laura walked down the steps and headed in the direction he had come.

Laura kept her eye on the boys running towards her, but pretended not to see them. Just as she had hoped, she managed to run into the boy in front. Her basket of laundry fell on the ground and she tumbled after it. She sat up and looked around, pretending to see what had happened. She looked at the boy who had run into her and frowned.
"Sorry, sweetface," he said, reaching a hand towards her. She took it and he pulled her up. One of the other boys handed Laura the basket and a sheet. She took them with a smile and started gathering the rest of them. A tap on her shoulder brought her attention back to the boys, who now looked angry. "Hey sweetface, Ise was askin youse a question."
For once Laura was glad she was deaf. She could only imagine how angry the boy sounded. Her hands too full to sign, she just lifted her shoulders and put on an apologetic expression. Shifting her basket to her left side and turning her ear toward him, she put her hand to her ear again. She did that several more times, until the boys figured out that she couldn't hear them. They glanced at each other before looking back at her. A smile crept over Laura's face as she watched them try to explain that they were looking for a boy that had played a joke on them. When a rather large crowd of passers-by had gathered around, Laura decided it was finally time to put the older boys out of their misery. She brightened, lifting a finger in the air and nodding. The boys looked relived and eager. Laura pointed towards the Brooklyn Bridge. The boy who had run into Laura took off as the other boys threw their hands in the air before following their friend. Laura watched them run, smiling to herself. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turned to see Torin standing there. She could feel his shoulders shaking in laughter.
"Thank you, Laura. I owe you."
Laura nodded, setting down her now-soiled laundry. "What was this spot you got yourself into?"
"I threw his papers in the water."
Laura looked incredulous. "What for?"
"He threw me in first."
This time Laura looked angry first, then amused. "So you picked a fight with him?"
Torin nodded. "He started it."
"You're always getting into spots because of that temper." Laura suddenly let out a giggle and Torin looked at her.
"Wat?"
"I have a new nickname for you." Torin tipped his head in curiosity. "Spot!"

So when I first started writing this I was going to have King be a lot nicer, but it didn't seem to work. Anyway, read and review!