DISCALIMER: Yada, yada, yada. Newsies belong to Disney. Phoenix, Salsa, and
Clue belong to me, though! Muah ha!
A.N. Awww, I'm so touched you guys liked the last two chapters so much. Your reviews make my hobby of writing worthwhile! So here's another chapter, this one dedicated to the 'Clue & Jack' fans. Enjoy!
Sugar and Spice and A Little Bit of Vice
Clue noticed that Spot did not seem too enthused as they walked around Manhattan hand in hand. She wondered whether he was having a bad day, and wished that he would return to his usual charmful self. This was the first time they were alone since he had spoken to her in Brooklyn, and she had thought it would be filled with memorable moments. Instead, the two friends barely exchanged any words, and when Clue tried to initiate a conversation, Spot would only answer her with one-word replies. The girl sighed quietly and thought about the dreams she had envisioned last night. They all had to do with Jack, but she did not know why.
Jack was only a best friend to her, or so she had thought. When she awoke this morning to see Jack talking with Salsa in the girls' bunkroom, she smiled absentmindedly and began to have thoughts about how handsome he was. By the time she realized what she was doing, Jack was staring at her with an amused expression on his face.
"Clue, youse okay?" he had asked.
She snapped out of the daze instantly and shook away her morning grogginess. "Uh, yea. I'se was just thinkin of how, uh, how, oh I don't knows!" She shrugged and gave him her best innocent look as she walked off to the washroom.
What had she been doing? She couldn't daydream about Jack like that! They were only friends, and he probably didn't even like her as anything more than that. Besides, she was already involved with Spot. Or was she? "Wheah's we goin?"
"I'se not really shoah, all right?" the Brooklyn leader snapped. The girl flinched at his anger and he regretted taking his current mood out on her. "I'se sorry, Clue. I'se just not feelin too well today. Forgive me?"
Clue nodded and let her grip on Spot's hand loosen. No matter how mad Jack was, he would never raise his voice at her. He was calm like that, always able to maintain his tranquility. She found that she rather be in Jack's presence than in anyone else's. Well if that's so, what are youse doin wid Spot? she asked herself with a frown. It hurt to remind herself that Jack was not the one who wanted her as his girl. "So, why is youse so down, Spot? Did ya have a fight wid a friend of yers?"
"Yea," he mumbled. "Phoenix totally blew up on me last night, not to say I blame her. I guess I'se been actin like a real joik tah her lately. The thing is, she left Brooklyn and I don't know wheah she is. I'se afraid she left tah another borough."
"Oh, that's so sad! You two made good friends too," Clue sympathized.
"Well, we'se more than friends, sweety. I like her a lot, and I thought she liked me back."
The girl was confused. "Wait, youse like Phoenix?"
"Of coise." Where had Clue been this whole time? Could it be any more obvious that Phoenix and Spot had something going for each other?
"Well if youse like her, than why are ya hangin out wid me?"
Spot realized his mistake. "Aw, Clue, I like ya too! Don't get me wrong! It's just that I'se known Phoenix forever, and only you fer some days. That doesn't mean that I feel any less about youse, though! Please don't get sad, I'se sorry I even brought this up. Heah I is worryin about some goil when I'se have youse right at me side." He pulled her close for a hug and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, but she turned her face so that his lips landed on her cheek instead.
Clue's heart felt shattered. How could she be so terribly blind! Spot wasn't singling her out as a special girl he was interested in. He was choosing her along with two other girls to see which personality complimented his own arrogance the best. She had come to this same conclusion at Tibby's the day of the party, but all doubts had been washed away when Spot came up to her later in the night with an apology in his mouth. Why had she been so willing to forgive him? She should have known things were going to turn out the same way as they had before. She could feel Spot rubbing her back with his hands and was suddenly disgusted. Why was she letting him comfort her like this? She stepped back from him with tears streaming down her face haphazardly.
"Clue, don't cry!" Spot reached out a hand to grab her, but she took another step away from him.
"I hate ya!" She sobbed. "Ya made me think youse cared about me!" She wished she had not worn her hair back in a ponytail so that her brown locks could fall over her face and hide her from the world. She didn't want people to see her like this; in pathetic vulnerability.
"I do care about youse!"
She shook firmly shook her head and glared at the Brooklyn leader. "Yea, shoah ya did." She took a deep breath to make the tears stop. "I'se can't see ya anymore, Spot. Goodbye." She casually turned around and walked away from him, but when she had turned a street corner, she ran with all speed to the Manhattan lodging house, where the only person she could confide in would surely be.
* * * * *
Jack smiled triumphantly as both Blink and Mush folded. Now the only people left to defeat in this round of poker were Race and Princess-the only girl who ever played poker with the guys.
"I'll raise ya both two bits," he said, throwing that amount of money at the center of the table where they sat.
Princess scowled. "Ah, Jack, ya know I aint got that much money! I only sell thoity papes each day, and I like tah have lunch too!"
"I guess youse is gonna have tah fold then, yer highness." He laughed when she threw her cards face down at the table and flicked him off. She left the table and joined a group of girls nearby to gossip. "Alright, Race. It's just youse and me now." Jack knew how good of a bluffer Race was, and tried to put his own poker face on.
At that moment, someone quietly entered the lodging house with their face in their hands. Without acknowledging any of the newsies present, they rushed up the stairs and only let out a loud sob when they thought they were out of hearing distance. Jack groaned; he recognized the person as Clue. She looked liked she needed someone to talk to, but he had a really good hand!
"Shoah, I'll take yer two bits and I'll raise ya two more," Race shot back.
Jack could no longer concentrate on the game. What had happened to Clue? Had Spot blurted out his lack of feelings for her? He glanced at his hand of cards; he was sure he could have won this round and all the money that smiled at him from the center of the table. But Clue needed him; how could he deny that? "I'se gunna fold, Race. That's too rich for me blood." The Manhattan leader rose from the table and hurried up the stairs to talk to the girl.
Race was surprised and laughed with joy as he collected his winnings. Mush and Blink glared at him. Then, out of curiosity, Blink reached for Jack's cards and turned them over. "Heya Race, what was yer hand?"
"Three of a kind, why?"
"Cowboy had a full house! He would've beaten ya!" The three friends gathered around the turned over cards and burst into laughter. They quickly reshuffled the cards and ran out of the lodging house to spend their new money.
* * * * *
As Jack walked through the hallways of his lodging house, he could already hear the cries Clue was letting out. He pushed open the door to the girls' bunkroom gently and stepped inside. The girl was lying on her bed, her faced buried into her pillow.
"Clue? What's the matter, hun?"
Clue mumbled something into her pillow.
Jack sat down at the corner of her bed and rested a hand on her arm. "Clue, talk tah me. Why are youse so sad?"
Clue turned over so that she was on her back. When she looked at Jack, it only made her cry more. He looked so concerned and distressed. Did she really mean that much to him? She wiped her face dry and sat up beside Jack. "I was wid Spot today and it was terrible. He told me that he likes Phoenix, and then tried tah say that he likes me at the same time. But I didn't stay tah listen tah his excuses. I'se had it wid him!"
"I'se sorry ya didn't see it sooner," Jack said. "I wanted tah tell ya, but youse were so infatuated wid him; I thought you'd hate me fer makin stuff up."
She smiled sadly. "I would've believed ya Jack. Youse me best friend!" She looked down at her hands, coming to grips with the feelings she had for Jack as they began to surface. Should she tell him about the dreams? She looked up at him and was struck dumb when their eyes met. He was so gorgeous that she wanted to do something outgoing! "Jack, I'se gotta tell ya something, but yer gonna think I'se an idiot."
"No I won't, sweety," Jack assured her. "Tell me."
She turned on the bed so that she was facing him. "I'se like ya. I'se like ya a lot, and I understand that ya may not feel the same way because I'se like a sistah tah most of youse and all, and I'se aint exactly anyone's type of goil, and-"
Jack made her stop short in the best way he knew how. He bent forward and pressed his lips against hers in a warm kiss.
* * * * *
Three days later, Phoenix was once again on the move. The night she and Spot had fought, she had met up with a friend of hers in the Bronx lodging house where she stayed until she was filled with homesickness. She missed Brooklyn too much! And she especially missed selling papers with the boys there. She was used to their toughness, whereas in the Bronx, the newsies were somewhat more like those of Manhattan. So she did what any logical girl would do. She went to the races!
She sat amongst a crowd of loud men making vain shouts at horses that could not understand the human language and scanned the throngs of people for Race. He comes heah almost every day, she pouted. Wheah is he now that I'se needs him? Her question was soon answered. A young man with black hair caught her eye and she recognized him as the newsie she sought. She ran up behind him and then shouted his name into his ear, "HEYA RACE!"
Race literally jumped up, throwing all forty of his papers in the air. He spun around and looked at Phoenix as if she were crazy. "Damn, goil! Youse tryin tah give me a heart attack!?"
"I'se sorry!" Phoenix squeezed his cheeks with one hand. "Poor baby, he got scared."
"Yea, don't do it again, huh." He dropped to his knees to pick up his fallen papers and the girl joined him. "So what brings ya tah these parts?"
"Uhm, I'se needs a place tah stay, Race. Do youse think I can stay wid youse in Manhattan?" She gathered ten papers and organized them into a pile.
"Shoah," he said with a grin.
"Great! But Spot can't know that I'se there. So can ya get the woid out that I'se in Queens er sumthin in case he comes looking fer me?"
Race arched an eyebrow at her. He didn't want to get involved with things that concerned Spot. The Brooklyn leader had never soaked him, and he wanted to keep things like that.
Phoenix knew why he was so hesitant and sighed. "I'll explain everything once we'se in the lodging house. Don't worry, Spot won't lay a finger on youse."
Race agreed and when he had combined his pile of papers with Phoenix's, he got to his feet and held out a hand to help the girl to hers. "So how bout we'se go out fer lunch when I'se done sellin."
Phoenix grinned. "Sounds like fun!"
More to come. WOOHOO!!! REVIEW TIME!!! Please keep those reviews rolling in! They encourage me to keep writing! So C'mon, goils, SUBMIT THEM REVIEWS!!! No, it has nothing to do with a low self-esteem, mind you! *bites fingernail and tries to avoid their stares* I just really really really like REVIEWS! So PLEASE REVIEW! Muahahaha! Love ya all!
A.N. Awww, I'm so touched you guys liked the last two chapters so much. Your reviews make my hobby of writing worthwhile! So here's another chapter, this one dedicated to the 'Clue & Jack' fans. Enjoy!
Sugar and Spice and A Little Bit of Vice
Clue noticed that Spot did not seem too enthused as they walked around Manhattan hand in hand. She wondered whether he was having a bad day, and wished that he would return to his usual charmful self. This was the first time they were alone since he had spoken to her in Brooklyn, and she had thought it would be filled with memorable moments. Instead, the two friends barely exchanged any words, and when Clue tried to initiate a conversation, Spot would only answer her with one-word replies. The girl sighed quietly and thought about the dreams she had envisioned last night. They all had to do with Jack, but she did not know why.
Jack was only a best friend to her, or so she had thought. When she awoke this morning to see Jack talking with Salsa in the girls' bunkroom, she smiled absentmindedly and began to have thoughts about how handsome he was. By the time she realized what she was doing, Jack was staring at her with an amused expression on his face.
"Clue, youse okay?" he had asked.
She snapped out of the daze instantly and shook away her morning grogginess. "Uh, yea. I'se was just thinkin of how, uh, how, oh I don't knows!" She shrugged and gave him her best innocent look as she walked off to the washroom.
What had she been doing? She couldn't daydream about Jack like that! They were only friends, and he probably didn't even like her as anything more than that. Besides, she was already involved with Spot. Or was she? "Wheah's we goin?"
"I'se not really shoah, all right?" the Brooklyn leader snapped. The girl flinched at his anger and he regretted taking his current mood out on her. "I'se sorry, Clue. I'se just not feelin too well today. Forgive me?"
Clue nodded and let her grip on Spot's hand loosen. No matter how mad Jack was, he would never raise his voice at her. He was calm like that, always able to maintain his tranquility. She found that she rather be in Jack's presence than in anyone else's. Well if that's so, what are youse doin wid Spot? she asked herself with a frown. It hurt to remind herself that Jack was not the one who wanted her as his girl. "So, why is youse so down, Spot? Did ya have a fight wid a friend of yers?"
"Yea," he mumbled. "Phoenix totally blew up on me last night, not to say I blame her. I guess I'se been actin like a real joik tah her lately. The thing is, she left Brooklyn and I don't know wheah she is. I'se afraid she left tah another borough."
"Oh, that's so sad! You two made good friends too," Clue sympathized.
"Well, we'se more than friends, sweety. I like her a lot, and I thought she liked me back."
The girl was confused. "Wait, youse like Phoenix?"
"Of coise." Where had Clue been this whole time? Could it be any more obvious that Phoenix and Spot had something going for each other?
"Well if youse like her, than why are ya hangin out wid me?"
Spot realized his mistake. "Aw, Clue, I like ya too! Don't get me wrong! It's just that I'se known Phoenix forever, and only you fer some days. That doesn't mean that I feel any less about youse, though! Please don't get sad, I'se sorry I even brought this up. Heah I is worryin about some goil when I'se have youse right at me side." He pulled her close for a hug and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, but she turned her face so that his lips landed on her cheek instead.
Clue's heart felt shattered. How could she be so terribly blind! Spot wasn't singling her out as a special girl he was interested in. He was choosing her along with two other girls to see which personality complimented his own arrogance the best. She had come to this same conclusion at Tibby's the day of the party, but all doubts had been washed away when Spot came up to her later in the night with an apology in his mouth. Why had she been so willing to forgive him? She should have known things were going to turn out the same way as they had before. She could feel Spot rubbing her back with his hands and was suddenly disgusted. Why was she letting him comfort her like this? She stepped back from him with tears streaming down her face haphazardly.
"Clue, don't cry!" Spot reached out a hand to grab her, but she took another step away from him.
"I hate ya!" She sobbed. "Ya made me think youse cared about me!" She wished she had not worn her hair back in a ponytail so that her brown locks could fall over her face and hide her from the world. She didn't want people to see her like this; in pathetic vulnerability.
"I do care about youse!"
She shook firmly shook her head and glared at the Brooklyn leader. "Yea, shoah ya did." She took a deep breath to make the tears stop. "I'se can't see ya anymore, Spot. Goodbye." She casually turned around and walked away from him, but when she had turned a street corner, she ran with all speed to the Manhattan lodging house, where the only person she could confide in would surely be.
* * * * *
Jack smiled triumphantly as both Blink and Mush folded. Now the only people left to defeat in this round of poker were Race and Princess-the only girl who ever played poker with the guys.
"I'll raise ya both two bits," he said, throwing that amount of money at the center of the table where they sat.
Princess scowled. "Ah, Jack, ya know I aint got that much money! I only sell thoity papes each day, and I like tah have lunch too!"
"I guess youse is gonna have tah fold then, yer highness." He laughed when she threw her cards face down at the table and flicked him off. She left the table and joined a group of girls nearby to gossip. "Alright, Race. It's just youse and me now." Jack knew how good of a bluffer Race was, and tried to put his own poker face on.
At that moment, someone quietly entered the lodging house with their face in their hands. Without acknowledging any of the newsies present, they rushed up the stairs and only let out a loud sob when they thought they were out of hearing distance. Jack groaned; he recognized the person as Clue. She looked liked she needed someone to talk to, but he had a really good hand!
"Shoah, I'll take yer two bits and I'll raise ya two more," Race shot back.
Jack could no longer concentrate on the game. What had happened to Clue? Had Spot blurted out his lack of feelings for her? He glanced at his hand of cards; he was sure he could have won this round and all the money that smiled at him from the center of the table. But Clue needed him; how could he deny that? "I'se gunna fold, Race. That's too rich for me blood." The Manhattan leader rose from the table and hurried up the stairs to talk to the girl.
Race was surprised and laughed with joy as he collected his winnings. Mush and Blink glared at him. Then, out of curiosity, Blink reached for Jack's cards and turned them over. "Heya Race, what was yer hand?"
"Three of a kind, why?"
"Cowboy had a full house! He would've beaten ya!" The three friends gathered around the turned over cards and burst into laughter. They quickly reshuffled the cards and ran out of the lodging house to spend their new money.
* * * * *
As Jack walked through the hallways of his lodging house, he could already hear the cries Clue was letting out. He pushed open the door to the girls' bunkroom gently and stepped inside. The girl was lying on her bed, her faced buried into her pillow.
"Clue? What's the matter, hun?"
Clue mumbled something into her pillow.
Jack sat down at the corner of her bed and rested a hand on her arm. "Clue, talk tah me. Why are youse so sad?"
Clue turned over so that she was on her back. When she looked at Jack, it only made her cry more. He looked so concerned and distressed. Did she really mean that much to him? She wiped her face dry and sat up beside Jack. "I was wid Spot today and it was terrible. He told me that he likes Phoenix, and then tried tah say that he likes me at the same time. But I didn't stay tah listen tah his excuses. I'se had it wid him!"
"I'se sorry ya didn't see it sooner," Jack said. "I wanted tah tell ya, but youse were so infatuated wid him; I thought you'd hate me fer makin stuff up."
She smiled sadly. "I would've believed ya Jack. Youse me best friend!" She looked down at her hands, coming to grips with the feelings she had for Jack as they began to surface. Should she tell him about the dreams? She looked up at him and was struck dumb when their eyes met. He was so gorgeous that she wanted to do something outgoing! "Jack, I'se gotta tell ya something, but yer gonna think I'se an idiot."
"No I won't, sweety," Jack assured her. "Tell me."
She turned on the bed so that she was facing him. "I'se like ya. I'se like ya a lot, and I understand that ya may not feel the same way because I'se like a sistah tah most of youse and all, and I'se aint exactly anyone's type of goil, and-"
Jack made her stop short in the best way he knew how. He bent forward and pressed his lips against hers in a warm kiss.
* * * * *
Three days later, Phoenix was once again on the move. The night she and Spot had fought, she had met up with a friend of hers in the Bronx lodging house where she stayed until she was filled with homesickness. She missed Brooklyn too much! And she especially missed selling papers with the boys there. She was used to their toughness, whereas in the Bronx, the newsies were somewhat more like those of Manhattan. So she did what any logical girl would do. She went to the races!
She sat amongst a crowd of loud men making vain shouts at horses that could not understand the human language and scanned the throngs of people for Race. He comes heah almost every day, she pouted. Wheah is he now that I'se needs him? Her question was soon answered. A young man with black hair caught her eye and she recognized him as the newsie she sought. She ran up behind him and then shouted his name into his ear, "HEYA RACE!"
Race literally jumped up, throwing all forty of his papers in the air. He spun around and looked at Phoenix as if she were crazy. "Damn, goil! Youse tryin tah give me a heart attack!?"
"I'se sorry!" Phoenix squeezed his cheeks with one hand. "Poor baby, he got scared."
"Yea, don't do it again, huh." He dropped to his knees to pick up his fallen papers and the girl joined him. "So what brings ya tah these parts?"
"Uhm, I'se needs a place tah stay, Race. Do youse think I can stay wid youse in Manhattan?" She gathered ten papers and organized them into a pile.
"Shoah," he said with a grin.
"Great! But Spot can't know that I'se there. So can ya get the woid out that I'se in Queens er sumthin in case he comes looking fer me?"
Race arched an eyebrow at her. He didn't want to get involved with things that concerned Spot. The Brooklyn leader had never soaked him, and he wanted to keep things like that.
Phoenix knew why he was so hesitant and sighed. "I'll explain everything once we'se in the lodging house. Don't worry, Spot won't lay a finger on youse."
Race agreed and when he had combined his pile of papers with Phoenix's, he got to his feet and held out a hand to help the girl to hers. "So how bout we'se go out fer lunch when I'se done sellin."
Phoenix grinned. "Sounds like fun!"
More to come. WOOHOO!!! REVIEW TIME!!! Please keep those reviews rolling in! They encourage me to keep writing! So C'mon, goils, SUBMIT THEM REVIEWS!!! No, it has nothing to do with a low self-esteem, mind you! *bites fingernail and tries to avoid their stares* I just really really really like REVIEWS! So PLEASE REVIEW! Muahahaha! Love ya all!