That evening, Spot remained in Manhattan. He stayed in with Miranda and Skittery to help watch the younger Newsies. Most of the older Newsies had gone to see Medda's show at Irving Hall. Medda loved the Newsies and let them come see her perform as often as they liked. What Miranda and Skittery didn't know was that this evening was the first attempt in the Newsies' scheme to get Miranda and Skittery together.
Spot and Miranda were sitting on the floor playing Rummy 500, Miranda's favorite game. Skittery was trying rather unsuccessfully to teach Peter how to play war on the floor across the bunkroom. Boots and Snipeshooter were looking over their younger friend's shoulders and giving their two cents.
After her turn, Miranda felt Spot's eyes on her. She looked up and found him staring at her with a sly grin on his face. She looked right back into his mesmerizing silvery-blue eyes and promptly got lost in their depths. This made Spot's grin grow even wider. But Miranda quickly gathered herself.
"Excuse me, Mr. Conlon. What's so amusing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nuttin' much," he responded, turning back to his cards.
"Sure. Wrong, try again," Miranda returned.
Spot glanced up at Miranda again. "So I guess a guy can't get nuttin' past ya, Mirandy,"
"Nope, not a chance."
"Ah-hah. A poisson after me own heart. I knew we had a lot in common, Mirandy." Spot grinned.
Miranda looked Spot right in the eye. "Tell me," she commanded.
Not taking his eyes from hers, Spot said slowly, "Your eyes is real beautiful."
"Come on, Spot. Just tell-" Miranda stopped short when she processed what Spot had just said.
"Uh... what'd you say, Spot?" She asked in disbelief.
"You's got poity eyes, dat's all. Ain't nobody evah told ya dat before?" Spot asked innocently.
"Well, uh, no, I guess not."
"Well, I just did. An' I'd do it again."
"What're you getting at, Spot?" Miranda asked slowly, still unsure of the situation.
"We's really got a lot in common, Mirandy. You's beautiful, an' smart, an' coitenly a smart ass," Spot paused. "Jest like me. An' we's both available, too." Spot grinned mischievously.
"But--- but you... I... we... um... that... that could never work out... I..." Miranda mumbled, completely thrown off by Spot's suggestion.
"Why? Do ya got someone else in mind?" Spot asked nonchalantly.
Miranda looked at Spot, confused even more by his out of the blue comment. Without realizing what was happening, Miranda glanced across the room at Skittery. She quickly looked back to Spot, whose signature smirk played upon his face.
"Ah-hah. Caught ya," he declared triumphantly.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Ya obviously like 'im as more dan--" Spot was cut short by Miranda's hand clamping down on his mouth.
Staring into his eyes, Miranda said quietly but quickly, "Okay. Fine. I have been feeling a little, well, differently, about him lately. But I'm not sure what it all means. I'm so confused," Miranda's hand dropped from Spot's mouth. She sighed.
"When you look into his eyes, do ya feel kinda warm 'n fuzzy?" Spot asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah,"
"An' does 'e make ya smile, even when no one else can?"
"Yes,"
"An' do ya want ta spend every second wid 'im?"
"Uh-huh."
"An' if anythin' bad evah happened ta 'im, would ya die?"
"Yeah."
"Well, Mirandy, I'm afraid I know what yer problem is." Spot smirked.
"You do?"
"Sure do."
"What are you waiting for? Christmas? Tell me already!"
"Okay, okay. Are you sure you really wanna know?"
"YES!" Miranda said impatiently.
Spot looked at Miranda, over to Skittery, and back to Miranda.
"Yer in love, Mirandy."
Miranda's mouth fell open as she began to understand what Spot was saying. She looked over to Skittery as she thought. She was speechless. But she could find no flaw in Spot's diagnosis.
Spot watched Miranda. His plan to win her over had worked perfectly. It had caused her to realize that she was in love with Skittery. Spot smiled to himself in self-satisfaction. When Miranda raised her blue eyes to his, a concerned look appeared on her face.
"What about you? Do you really feel that way about me?" She asked with uncertainty.
Spot's eyes twinkled. "Nah, don't worry 'bout me fer anothah second. I ain't takin' no offense. I only wanted ta see if me suspicions were correct 'bout you and Skit. I was right, by da way." He smirked.
Miranda slapped his arm. "I should have known this was one of your games, Conlon. Thanks, I think," Miranda smiled. "But you can't tell him. Promise?"
"Well, I dunno"
"Spot!" Miranda gave him a Look. Spot immediately saw just how serious she was.
"Okay. Okay. I promise." He held up his hands in defeat.
Miranda sighed in relief.
**************
The next morning, Miranda and Peter were first in line to buy their papers. Miranda was all smiles; she had had a pleasant dream about a walk in Central Park with Skittery that had ended with a sweet kiss.
Skittery stood toward the back of the line, next to Specs and behind Racetrack. He was looking around aimlessly until his eyes fell on Miranda, who was laughing pleasantly at Weasel as she bought her papers. Her long dark brown hair was braided down her back and the reddish brown highlights shone in the early morning sunlight. A strange feeling hit Skittery as he stared at her. He couldn't take his eyes off her. The cheerfulness exuded from her. Her smile was contagious.
Specs tapped Racetrack on the shoulder unobtrusively and gestured to Skittery, grinning. Glancing at Skittery, Racetrack laughed. He waved his hand in front of Skittery's face. "Hey, Skit, whatcha doin'? Catchin' flies?"
Skittery was knocked back from his daydream, only to realize that his mouth had been hanging open the whole time. He snapped his mouth shut, blushing violently.
"Aw, ain't dat cute. Skit's toinin' a poity shade a pink," Specs teased, playfully punching Skittery's arm.
Skittery punched him back and stole another glance in Miranda's direction.
"Oh! So dat's what you're starin' at... or should I say 'who'?" Race observed.
Skittery looked back at Race. "No, no way. It's not what you're thinkin' at all," he said defensively.
Specs and Racetrack exchanged a knowing glance. Racetrack raised an eyebrow at Skittery. "Aw, get off it, Skittery. You can't hide anythin' from us. We's yer best pals," he said.
"What're ya talkin' about, Race? I ain't hidin' nothin'."
"Uh-huh. Sure. It's plain as day dat you're feelin' differently now 'bout a coiten goyl Newsie we's got heyah in Manhattan, Skit. We's known ya fer eight yeahs. Ya can't get anythin' past us," Specs said, grinning.
Skittery's brown eyes widened as he glanced back and forth between Specs and Racetrack. He sighed. "Well, I guess yer right. But don't tell nobody bout it, okay?"
"Sure, no prob. We's jest surprised it took ya so long ta notice," Racetrack added, smiling.
Specs continued curiously, "So whatcha gonna do about it?"
"I dunno." Skittery paused, thinking.
Racetrack grinned mischievously. "Well, I could sell wid Andy taday an' see what I can figure out."
"Oh, no! No way. Ya'd tell 'er or she'd figure it out. I don't want dat happening. It'd be ruined," Skittery said worriedly.
"Yer lucky I won't take offense at dat, old buddy. I know dis is important fer ya. So why don'tcha jest take 'er fer a walk?" Racetrack suggested.
"Yeah, dat's a good idea, Race. Go ta Central Park sellin' wid 'er today," Specs added thoughtfully.
Skittery glanced again toward Miranda. Looking back at his friends, he sighed and said, "I guess it's worth a try."
"Hey! Andy! Over heyah!" Specs shouted over the Newsies' noise, flailing his arms above his head in an attempt to get her attention. Miranda had just bought her papers and was leaning against the platform, skimming a newspaper. She looked up, and, upon seeing who was calling her name, gathered her things and headed in their direction with Peter at her heels.
Skittery became very nervous on seeing her approach. He wrung his hands anxiously. Racetrack patted Skittery's shoulder. "Hey, Skit, calm down. She's still Andy, remembah?"
"Yeah, I know dat. But--"
"'Mornin', guys! How's it going?" Miranda asked, smiling cheerfully as she reached her friends.
"Hi Andy! We's good, an' how're you doin' dis fine mornin'?" Racetrack said, grinning.
Miranda looked at Race and then at Specs, who was also smiling slyly. However, she noticed, upon stealing a glance at Skittery, that he was staring at the ground. He almost seemed to be blushing, which surprised Miranda.
"I'm great this morning. But what's going on, Specs? What do you need?" She asked curiously.
"Well, we jest wanna make sure dat you don't sell wid anyone else taday. Skit wanted ta bring you an' Petey ta Central Park ta sell," Specs responded, smirking.
Miranda was caught off guard by the mention of Central Park so randomly after having a dream about it, but she gathered herself. "Sure, Skit. That sounds like fun."
"Yeah! Can we play hide and seek in the park? Please?" Peter asked excitedly.
Skittery smiled sheepishly. "Sure, kid. Dat sounds like fun," he said, ruffling Peter's hair.
*******
"Okay. So I'm gonna go hide, and you guys count to 20 and then come find me," Peter instructed.
"Okay, Petey," Miranda responded.
"Yeah, we got it, kid," Skittery assured him.
The two friends hid their eyes as Peter bounded down the path away from them. Miranda uncovered her eyes and began walking slowly down the path. Skittery followed her. She then stopped to pick a flower growing at the side of the path. It was a beautiful red tulip, her favorite. She closed her eyes as she took in its beautiful scent. She then held it up to Skittery. "Smell it, Skit. Doesn't it smell lovely?"
Skittery took the flower from Miranda's hand. As he smelled it, he gazed into Miranda's crystal blue eyes. He suddenly felt a surprisingly strong urge to kiss her. Lowering the flower from his nose, he reached out with his other hand and softly stroked Miranda's cheek. Miranda felt a shiver run up and down her spine at his touch. Her heartbeat began to quicken as she looked back into Skittery's velvety brown eyes. The whole world stood still as Skittery leaned in to kiss Miranda.
"Hey! I thought you guys were gonna come find me!!!" Peter's shouts shattered the blissful and expectant silence, and Skittery and Miranda jumped apart, both blushing a deep shade of red.
"Oh, uh... sorry Petey... We...uh..." Miranda stumbled, very embarrassed.
She was saved by Skittery's quickness on his feet. "We was jest pickin' some flowers fer Kloppman," Skittery held out the tulip to show the angry little boy in front of them. "An' den I was thinkin', 'Hey, wouldn't it be nice ta take Petey fer some ice cream at Tibby's?' " Skittery grinned wickedly.
Peter's eyes grew large with surprise. "Before lunch?" He asked in disbelief.
"You bet, kid. Before lunch."
"Wow!" Skittery lifted Peter up and put him on his shoulders and began the walk to the small Manhattan restaurant.
**************
Miranda sat on the stairs to the Lodging House in the warm early summer air, reading a book. It was a collection of fairy tales that Kloppman had lent to her. As she finished the part of Sleeping Beauty where the prince awakens the princess with a kiss, she closed the book and sighed dreamily. She was very disappointed at the ending of her morning. She thought it was extremely odd that it came so close to her dream, minus that she hadn't actually kissed Skittery. But she had wanted to, very much. She was ecstatic that Skittery seemed to feel the same way about her. The moment had been so perfect.
Their lunch at Tibby's had been very awkward, though. They didn't talk to each other, only to Peter. Then, Peter and Skittery had left to go sell more papers, and Miranda had returned to the Lodging House to do her chores. She was anxiously awaiting Skittery's return, yet dreading it at the same time. All the emotions running through her caused Miranda to be very on edge and slightly giddy at the same time. She sighed again wistfully and turned back to her book. She began the story of Cinderella.
Skittery walked slowly back to the Lodging House. As he rounded the corner of Duane Street, he saw Miranda sitting on the steps reading. He was glad that he had let Peter go with Racetrack for a little while, but mostly that he had caught her alone. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no idea where to start. He sighed uncomfortably and approached the steps, sitting down next to Miranda.
"Hey, Andy," he said very quietly.
Miranda looked up quickly from her book and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Skittery sitting next to her. She hadn't seen him approach or heard him sit down. She laughed nervously. "Oh, hi, Skit. You scared me."
"Oh. Sorry," Skittery said, finding his shoelaces very interesting.
Miranda studied her best friend. His brown hair was messy and stuck out all over the place, which made it even more charming. She laughed to herself as she noticed him fiddling nervously with his hat.
"Skit, about-" She began nervously.
"Um, Andy..." He mumbled simultaneously.
Their eyes met as they both stopped short.
"You go foist, Andy."
"No, you, Skit."
"Andy, you started foist."
"No, I want you to go first."
"Andy."
"Skittery."
They paused for a couple of seconds, looking into each other's eyes.
"And heyah we come to anodda of me marvelous propositions," He said, grinning.
"What are you talkin---" Miranda was cut off by Skittery's lips upon hers. It was a short kiss, but it was enough to ignite a spark between them. Skittery pulled slightly away to study her face. She was smiling softly.
"I like this proposition the best," She whispered. Her blue eyes twinkled with pleasure as she gazed into Skittery's brown ones.
"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Skittery said quietly.
"Really?"
"Well, yeah."
"You know what?"
"What, Andy?"
"Me too."
Skittery smiled warmly. His smile soon transformed into a mischievous grin and he spontaneously began to tickle Miranda. Skittery grabbed her by the waist with one arm, using the other to tickle her. Miranda redoubled her efforts to tickle him back. It was a merciless war that lasted several minutes and ended with both laughing extremely hard and having trouble breathing. As they both tried to catch their breath and stop giggling, Miranda turned herself around in Skittery's arms to face him. Her breath caught in her throat when their eyes met, and her heart again began to beat rapidly. Skittery again felt the now-familiar urge to kiss her. The only sounds they could hear were the beating of their hearts.
Skittery reached his hand out and tilted her chin toward him, leaning closer. Miranda closed her eyes and, a moment later, Skittery's lips met hers as he kissed her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. His arms encircled her waist naturally. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Miranda and Skittery never could have imagined the chemistry between them.
When they finally parted, they looked into each other's eyes with pleasure. They both had satisfied smiles on their faces and dreamy looks in their eyes. Skittery was the first to break the contented silence.
"I love you, Andy," he said tentatively, studying her face.
Miranda looked at Skittery in wonder, but then her face broke out in a wide grin. "I love you, too, Skit," she replied genuinely, kissing him again.
"Ya know, da guy's 'll be wondrin' where we are by now. Dey're prob'ly all back at da Lodgin' House now," Skittery observed.
"Yeah, you're right. What are we going to tell them?"
"Oh, nothin'. We can jest surprise 'em a liddle. Play a liddle game wid 'em," he replied, smirking.
"I get your drift. After all, I have a feeling they've been trying to set us up the past couple of days."
**************
Miranda entered the Lodging House alone. She trudged up the stairs to the bunkroom, which was filled with her friends. She smiled at them, plunking herself down on a bunk near where Spot, Racetrack, Jack, Specs, Mush and Blink were all playing poker. They had all sent Skittery to the Lodging House earlier with the intention of them being alone. When she entered without him, the Newsies began to fear that their plan had failed.
"Hey, Andy. Where's Skittery? You two have been spendin' a lot of time togethah lately," Mush said.
"Oh, I don't know," Miranda replied absentmindedly.
Mush looked nervously at the others, who wore identical worried expressions on their faces.
"Uh... did ya talk ta him eoilier taday, Andy?" Jack asked hesitantly.
"Well, actually, I did," she responded.
"And, uh... where is Skit now?" Spot inquired nervously.
Right on cue, Skittery entered the bunkroom. "He's right there, Spot," Miranda said.
Skittery made his way over to the group and sat down on the bunk next to Miranda. "Hey, guys," he said.
"Oh, hi, Skit. How's it goin'?" Racetrack asked cautiously.
"Oh, it's good. Actually, bettah dan dat. It's marvelous," he responded, smiling widely. Only Miranda comprehended his happiness, and she smiled warmly; he was so cute when he smiled like that.
Racetrack glanced at Spot, who shrugged. The Newsies sat in silence for a while, all observing the game intently. To the Newsies, nothing was unusual about Miranda or Skittery, except for Skittery's unusually cheery mood. After several hands of cards, Miranda elbowed Skittery unobtrusively. He glanced at her briefly and grinned mischievously before he swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately. She entwined her arms around his neck and kissed him back, much to the shock of the Newsies in the room, who could only look on with their mouths hanging open.
When they pulled apart several moments later, both were slightly flushed but smiling happily. Racetrack broke the stunned silence, "Took ya long enough!"
Miranda replied, smirking, "Yeah, well, let's just say, this is my favorite of Skittery's propositions."
The Newsies all laughed. Then, Jack added, "Well, I'm jest glad dat whole charade is ovah."
"Yeah, it's a load off me back," Spot said, grinning.
"Sorry fer da trouble," Skittery said, pretending to be insulted.
"Hey, we's glad ta help any time, Skit," Blink interjected.
"Well, I'm happy fer ya guys," Mush said.
"Thanks, Mush. I am too," Skittery returned honestly. At that, he grabbed Miranda's hand and squeezed it. He whispered in her ear, "I love you."
She squeezed his hand back and whispered, "I love you, too."