"Just to Love"
By: Laney Sanchez
==============
Notes:
Okay...no thank yous on this chapter because I started it late night. I'll resume with the thank yous on Chapter 17. :D
Plus I worked ahead on titles and putting my ideas for this story in line. The SpotxReina stuff won't happen until Chapter 23. Not long so hang in there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 17 ~ A Dark Plot Gone Terribly Wrong
The next day had begun, however gloomily.
The sky was gray and cloudy and the wind was bitter.
"...Froggy..."
"Mm?" Reina snapped out of her thoughts. She slipped her cap on tightly on top of her head, preparing for work anyway. Weather or not there were papers to be sold.
"It's froggy lookin'" Butters muttered and looked away from the window and over to Reina. "We's really gotta do this?" he asked, a faint begging in his voice.
Reina turned to face him. "You know his highness..."
"Yeah..." Butters moped, his scraggly blonde hair falling in various directions. "'Ey wait...what if da rain comes and den da ink washes out of da papes and den da papes have nuttin on dem, an den da peoples dun buy 'em, den we dun make any money...er..." he listed off the atrocities on his fingers.
"What den Kitty?" he prodded, his blue childlike gaze turning to her. Many by now had heard Spot frequently call Reina "Kitty." So naturally, it had stuck. Reina didn't mind though. She preferred it over Rei rei, that was for sure.
Reina stared at Butters with a blank expression, then shook her head. "Hey...don't worry about it...you'll be okay" she tried to reassure him.
"...Aren't we just the pep talker" Reina mentally cursed herself.
"Yeah...yeah uh...okay" Butters agreed contentedly then went about his business. Apparently, as lame as her attempt was at reassuring Butters had been, it had worked.
Reina glanced to the window. The day DID look scary and uninviting. It looked like the sky would burst into tears of rain at any minute. Reina shuddered. The last thing she needed was to stand out in the rain and get sick...
"Yous ready ta go?" a cold voice interjected her thoughts.
Reina turned slowly to face Spot.
Spot Conlon stood before her. She half expected to see his usual smirk, but that was not the case today.
Spot looked troubled. His brow was furrowed and his gray eyes were on the ground. He wouldn't look at her.
Reina shook her head. "...What's wrong with-"
"I said are yous ready?" Spot snapped, his eyes only briefly darting up to her. Reina was rarely ever taken aback but this had done it. She had seen Spot become so filled with rage it was a little scary...but she had never really heard him snap like that.
He struck her more as the silent "I'll-get-you-back-later-so-watch-your-back" type...
Not the type to yell.
But apparently she had been wrong.
"...Yeah I'm ready"
"Good." Spot answered shortly. He turned and headed to the doorway. "I'm goin' with yous" he said. Spot was making direct attempts to keep the conversation short and to the point.
Reina narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to ask why, but she decided against it.
*
Spot and Reina walked along the street casually.
They both held their stacks of papers under their arms. No words were exchanged at all.
It was an odd sort of silence.
"Spot...what is going on...?" Reina asked quietly. She kept her eyes ahead. She was in no mood to fight with him but she was certainly in no mood to be kept in the dark either.
She wasn't going to put on a dumb face and just walk into whatever trap he had set up.
"What do yous mean?" he asked coldly. He had not given her one single look once.
"...Well just the fact alone that you won't look at me seems to say something" she said simply.
Spot snorted. "Who'd wanna lookit yous?"
Reina glared but bit her lip. She refused to fight.
Suddenly Reina veered off to the left.
"'Ey where are yous going?!" Spot shouted suddenly in alarm.
Reina glared at the distance in front of her. "I'm not hanging around with you if you refuse to tell me what nasty little trick you're planning now!!" she shouted back in response.
The crowds closed the space between Spot and Reina. Spot was rapidly losing Reina in the crowded streets.
"Kitty! Wait!" He hollered and shoved people out of the way desperately. In his desperation to reach Reina he held up one arm. "Kitty!"
That was the cue.
Somewhere nearby firecrackers fizzled in the street. A horse drawn carriage was in the way, as if perfectly positioned.
"NO!" Spot yelled.
Though he seriously doubted his pack of boys had heard him.
Utter chaos ensued. The horses reared up, neighing in utter fear and trampled their hooves back into the ground. People scattered everywhere. It was like an angry storm had fallen upon them.
Spot shoved more people aside. One such person hit the wall hard. "Sorrys!" Spot hollered back but continued to move in Kitty's direction. He didn't know why he was pursuing her. This was how the plan was supposed to work.
But a wave of panic had risen up inside him.
"Yeah...now yous decide to develop a conscience..." his mind bellowed at him.
There was a faint scream from an alley, followed by cursing and protests.
"Aww...geeze. I didn't tell 'em to hoit her..." Spot muttered and ran into the alley way not even thinking twice.
However what Spot saw, made him go pale. His three newsies lay scattered on the ground. All of them were badly injured and a small pool of blood had formed near his feet. He just arrived to see a greasy, black haired man glare daggers at him. He held Kitty in his arms. Kitty screamed against a black gloved hand that was pressed to her lips. Her arms were yanked roughly behind her back. She was strong but no matter how she struggled, the man was stronger.
The man sneered at Spot and grinned. His teeth were yellow and scummy. Thin and crooked. His nose was sharp and a bit pointed, and his skin itself glistened with grease.
Kitty's eyes pleaded with Spot, but Spot stood frozen.
"Aw...what happened sonny? ...Your little plan backfire?" he then let out a cruel cackle. "We've had our eyes on this one for a long time..." he said with an icily cold voice. It chilled Spot more than his appearance.
"...Yes...she is a pretty flower isn't she?" the man cooed, stroking the top of Reina's hair. he brought his grimy lips close to her cheek. Reina snapped her head away but made no other form of struggle.
Spot glared and whipped out his cane lightning fast. But the damage had been done, and it wasn't to the greasy man. Kitty's eyes were closed. She wasn't hurt...at least not physically. Rather, she was in despair.
The man leapt off without another word and hurried away. "'EY!!!!" Spot screamed and ran after him as fast as he could. He ran to the end of the alley and turned the corner. He thought his lungs would burst when he finally did stop. But it was no use. The man was gone...
And so was Kitty.
Things had backfired terribly...
By: Laney Sanchez
==============
Notes:
Okay...no thank yous on this chapter because I started it late night. I'll resume with the thank yous on Chapter 17. :D
Plus I worked ahead on titles and putting my ideas for this story in line. The SpotxReina stuff won't happen until Chapter 23. Not long so hang in there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 17 ~ A Dark Plot Gone Terribly Wrong
The next day had begun, however gloomily.
The sky was gray and cloudy and the wind was bitter.
"...Froggy..."
"Mm?" Reina snapped out of her thoughts. She slipped her cap on tightly on top of her head, preparing for work anyway. Weather or not there were papers to be sold.
"It's froggy lookin'" Butters muttered and looked away from the window and over to Reina. "We's really gotta do this?" he asked, a faint begging in his voice.
Reina turned to face him. "You know his highness..."
"Yeah..." Butters moped, his scraggly blonde hair falling in various directions. "'Ey wait...what if da rain comes and den da ink washes out of da papes and den da papes have nuttin on dem, an den da peoples dun buy 'em, den we dun make any money...er..." he listed off the atrocities on his fingers.
"What den Kitty?" he prodded, his blue childlike gaze turning to her. Many by now had heard Spot frequently call Reina "Kitty." So naturally, it had stuck. Reina didn't mind though. She preferred it over Rei rei, that was for sure.
Reina stared at Butters with a blank expression, then shook her head. "Hey...don't worry about it...you'll be okay" she tried to reassure him.
"...Aren't we just the pep talker" Reina mentally cursed herself.
"Yeah...yeah uh...okay" Butters agreed contentedly then went about his business. Apparently, as lame as her attempt was at reassuring Butters had been, it had worked.
Reina glanced to the window. The day DID look scary and uninviting. It looked like the sky would burst into tears of rain at any minute. Reina shuddered. The last thing she needed was to stand out in the rain and get sick...
"Yous ready ta go?" a cold voice interjected her thoughts.
Reina turned slowly to face Spot.
Spot Conlon stood before her. She half expected to see his usual smirk, but that was not the case today.
Spot looked troubled. His brow was furrowed and his gray eyes were on the ground. He wouldn't look at her.
Reina shook her head. "...What's wrong with-"
"I said are yous ready?" Spot snapped, his eyes only briefly darting up to her. Reina was rarely ever taken aback but this had done it. She had seen Spot become so filled with rage it was a little scary...but she had never really heard him snap like that.
He struck her more as the silent "I'll-get-you-back-later-so-watch-your-back" type...
Not the type to yell.
But apparently she had been wrong.
"...Yeah I'm ready"
"Good." Spot answered shortly. He turned and headed to the doorway. "I'm goin' with yous" he said. Spot was making direct attempts to keep the conversation short and to the point.
Reina narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to ask why, but she decided against it.
*
Spot and Reina walked along the street casually.
They both held their stacks of papers under their arms. No words were exchanged at all.
It was an odd sort of silence.
"Spot...what is going on...?" Reina asked quietly. She kept her eyes ahead. She was in no mood to fight with him but she was certainly in no mood to be kept in the dark either.
She wasn't going to put on a dumb face and just walk into whatever trap he had set up.
"What do yous mean?" he asked coldly. He had not given her one single look once.
"...Well just the fact alone that you won't look at me seems to say something" she said simply.
Spot snorted. "Who'd wanna lookit yous?"
Reina glared but bit her lip. She refused to fight.
Suddenly Reina veered off to the left.
"'Ey where are yous going?!" Spot shouted suddenly in alarm.
Reina glared at the distance in front of her. "I'm not hanging around with you if you refuse to tell me what nasty little trick you're planning now!!" she shouted back in response.
The crowds closed the space between Spot and Reina. Spot was rapidly losing Reina in the crowded streets.
"Kitty! Wait!" He hollered and shoved people out of the way desperately. In his desperation to reach Reina he held up one arm. "Kitty!"
That was the cue.
Somewhere nearby firecrackers fizzled in the street. A horse drawn carriage was in the way, as if perfectly positioned.
"NO!" Spot yelled.
Though he seriously doubted his pack of boys had heard him.
Utter chaos ensued. The horses reared up, neighing in utter fear and trampled their hooves back into the ground. People scattered everywhere. It was like an angry storm had fallen upon them.
Spot shoved more people aside. One such person hit the wall hard. "Sorrys!" Spot hollered back but continued to move in Kitty's direction. He didn't know why he was pursuing her. This was how the plan was supposed to work.
But a wave of panic had risen up inside him.
"Yeah...now yous decide to develop a conscience..." his mind bellowed at him.
There was a faint scream from an alley, followed by cursing and protests.
"Aww...geeze. I didn't tell 'em to hoit her..." Spot muttered and ran into the alley way not even thinking twice.
However what Spot saw, made him go pale. His three newsies lay scattered on the ground. All of them were badly injured and a small pool of blood had formed near his feet. He just arrived to see a greasy, black haired man glare daggers at him. He held Kitty in his arms. Kitty screamed against a black gloved hand that was pressed to her lips. Her arms were yanked roughly behind her back. She was strong but no matter how she struggled, the man was stronger.
The man sneered at Spot and grinned. His teeth were yellow and scummy. Thin and crooked. His nose was sharp and a bit pointed, and his skin itself glistened with grease.
Kitty's eyes pleaded with Spot, but Spot stood frozen.
"Aw...what happened sonny? ...Your little plan backfire?" he then let out a cruel cackle. "We've had our eyes on this one for a long time..." he said with an icily cold voice. It chilled Spot more than his appearance.
"...Yes...she is a pretty flower isn't she?" the man cooed, stroking the top of Reina's hair. he brought his grimy lips close to her cheek. Reina snapped her head away but made no other form of struggle.
Spot glared and whipped out his cane lightning fast. But the damage had been done, and it wasn't to the greasy man. Kitty's eyes were closed. She wasn't hurt...at least not physically. Rather, she was in despair.
The man leapt off without another word and hurried away. "'EY!!!!" Spot screamed and ran after him as fast as he could. He ran to the end of the alley and turned the corner. He thought his lungs would burst when he finally did stop. But it was no use. The man was gone...
And so was Kitty.
Things had backfired terribly...