Disclaimer: Gem, Eyes, Four Leaf (sorta) are mine. Spot isn't, much to my completely upsetness. It would be really great if he was though.
Brooklyn's Mist
by Randomness

Spot's POV

Welcome to Brooklyn, the name's Spot Conlon, maybe you've heard of me. I'm the most famous Newsie in all of New York, some people say in the whole world which is possible but since I've never been out of Brooklyn before, I couldn't tell yah. As you can tell, I'm a Newsie, I sell Papes for people like Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst. Penny a Pape. I love being a Newsie, currently I can't think of being anything else but the leader of Brooklyn, not for the fame or all the stuff it gets me though. I like being the leader of Brooklyn because I like taking care of people. Sounds girly don't it? Well, I like knowing that because of me, some little Newsies are happier, Even if it does sound girly. Only problem with being a Newsie is it can get dull. Every Newsie in Brooklyn does the same thing everyday. We wake up before dawn and jump off the docks. Yeah, you heard me right. We jump off the docks. It's how we wake up in the morning. Could be worse; I hear in Manhattan, they dance around and do flips and sing all the way to the Distribution Centre. We get our papes and just start selling. We sell all day, go back to the Newsboys Lodging House and eat whatever we didn't sell. As you can see, life can get downright tedious sometimes. Yep, I said Tedious, I know what it means too. Surprised? You should be, I'm full of surprises.
Today was different then most days though. For one thing, I slept in, that has NEVER happened. I don't like Mr. Modo, the guy who runs the lodging house, well I don't like him coming in my room because there's usually a girl that I don't want to be found, so I get up before he comes to wake everyone up. Luckily, my 'guest' for the night had left last night after we were done so I didn't have any trouble when he came in to get me. I did miss my morning jump off the docks though, I was drowsy all day because of that. I was also late getting my papes this morning so I just barely was able to get my usual hundred. All in all, it was a bad day. That was probably why I didn't react the way I usually do when a problem arose.
It was about Lunch Time and I went to the Newsie's usual Lunch restaurant, the Golden Dragon. At night the joint was a bar but during the day, it was a restaurant that served pretty good food for a really cheap price. The guy who owned the Joint, William, AKA Billy the Bar Keep used ta be a Newsie so he cuts us real good deals. Wow, I get side tracked a lot don't I? Anyway, it was there that I ran into Four leaf. He's one of my Newsies, about 12 or 13, he was also waiting for me.
"Spot, I got a problem. Some guy came and took my selling spot. I've never seen him around before and he's got this cut little kid with him, they're stealing all my business and I can't move cause all the good spots are taken. What do I do?" He asked.
Four Leaf had this Hero worship thing going for me and usually I would have reacted entirely different, I would have gone to help him myself but I was tired and hungry, quite frankly I was downright grumpy. "Four Leaf, How old is this guy?" I asked sounding more annoyed then I actually felt.
"Bout 14 I think" He answered looking ashamed.
"Go and talk to the kid, tell him it's your selling spot, if he refuses to leave, soak him." I answered. I couldn't help it, I was sick of solving everyone's problems for them. Afer that, I went and got myself some food. Figured I'd take a swim after finishing my selling and then maybe I'd feel like a normal human being. Forgot all about Four Leaf.
Later that night, everyone was in and accounted for. I wasn't grumpy anymore and therefore (yeah, I said therefore. I know what that means too), I was back to being my good leader self. Hey, everyone has a bad day. That's when I noticed Four Leaf, he had a black eye.
"Hey kid, what happened?"
"You know the person that stole my spot? Well I tried soaking him like you said and he said he didn't want to fight. I said 'too bad' and I tried to punch him but he dodged and I ended up punching a wall. Then I tried again and I ended up knocking my face up on a pole." Four Leaf answered.
That was when I realized three things. One, I was going to have to teach the younger Newsies how to fight because they obviously couldn't. Two, I was either going to have to find Four Leaf another selling spot or take care of his problem for him. Three, no matter what, I had to either get this new Newsie into my group or get him out of Brooklyn. Looked like I wasn't gonna be selling the next day.

Third Person POV

"Hey Eyes, who was that guy that was trying to hurt you?" Asked a little girl who seemed to be eight or nine. She had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She was in a washtub while her guardian was scrubbing her hair, trying to get the filth from their trip and day of selling out.
"I don't know, Gem. Some Newsie, we apparently took his spot." Eyes answered. This individual was dressed in trousers and a baggy shirt that used to be blue before it got dirty beyond recognition. He had blond hair that would have stopped halfway down his ears if it wasn't slicked back with water and if he was out selling, the outfit would have been topped off with a Newsie hat. His Eyes were was gave him his name. They were his most noticeable quality. One was Dark Pine Green, the other was a dark Sapphire blue and bother were speckled with gray making it look like a forest and an ocean covered in Mist.
"Didn't Dawg tell us not to get the Newsies here mad?" Gem asked, closing her eyes while Eyes dumped a cup of water over her head.
"Yeah, Dawg did tell us that, but Dawg isn't here. Besides, Brooklyn could use a little shaking up." Eyes answered, lifting Ge out of the tub and wrapping her in a towel. "Now get ready for bed Gem" He said, lightly pushing her towards where her bed clothes were.

***Eyes' Flash Back***

"I mean it Eyes, don't piss off Brooklyn." The one named Dawg almost shouted in frustration. He had plain brown hair and blue eyes and was dressed like a Newsie, had he been younger he probably could have easily passed as one, but he looked 22.
"Don't shout, you're going to wake Gem up" Eyes said gesturing at the child Dawg was carrying, who was indeed fast asleep.
"Eyes, remember, you aren't in Brooklyn to piss anyone off or to draw attention to yourself, you're here to hide. I still think you should tell Spot you're here, he can hide you better then anyone else in New York and no one will question it." Dawg said in a whisper.
"I can take care of myself, oh ye of little faith. Now go back to Chicago before the bulls realize you're in New York and try to arrest you again." Eyes said casually. "And take twiddle dee and twiddle dum with you." He said gesturing at the two tough looking guys that were standing just out of earshot.
"Eyes, we had a deal. Until you tell Spot you're here and give him the letter from me, Bark and Bite stay." Dawg answered in frustration. "I don't want you getting hurt, besides you have Gem to look after. So, if you don't want them following you, why don't you just take the easy way out and tell Spot you're here."
"Alright, Dumb and Glum can stay but they don't talk to me, follow me or associate with me. They only come and lend a hand if it's someone from SharkTooth's gang, if I'm in a fight with anyone from New York they aren't allowed to interfere unless I'm down and whoever it is goes after Gem. Agreed?" Eyes asked, getting just as annoyed with him as he was.
"Deal, take care of yourself, Eyes. You're like family to me. You know that right?" Dawg asked, in a rare display of emotion.
"Of course, you're like a big brother to me too." Eyes answered.
They both stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure what to say or do. Both weren't very good at Goodbyes.
"Well, I better be going if I'm going to catch that train back to Chicago...." Dawg said, handing Gem over to Eyes.
"Yeah, and I gotta find a place to stay, I'll probably end up in 'Sanctuary' If it's still in any good condition." Eyes said.
Dawg spit in his hand and extended it. "If you see my brother, call him a troll for me."
Eyes rested Gem on his hip and spit shook. "I will, See Yah..."
Dawg nodded his head and walked away into an Alley leaving Eyes and Gem looking after him.

***End Flash Back***

Sanctuary, that's where Eyes and Gem were. Sanctuary was commonly thought to be a myth. Every run away who found his way to Brooklyn heard about Sanctuary, the home for the homeless, and the hopeless. Everyone knew about it but very few people actually could find it. There were almost like caves, underground caverns. The size of a normal room. There were blankets and some food in Sanctuary and though there were almost 10 sanctuaries in Brooklyn, people always just referred to them as Sanctuary. The reason these places were considered myth was because they were incredibly hard to get into. The few people who got in, knew exactly how to get in and normally were told where to find them by the people who built them. It was in one of these caverns that Gem and Eyes were staying. There was a bunk bed with some blankets, a washtub, a water punk and a lantern. The way they got in was a hole in the bottom of a dumpster that had a piece of wood covering it. They jump in the dumpster, move the wood and slide into Sanctuary. Even the bulls heard about Sanctuary, though unlike most orphans, they knew it was true because kids they chased would run down one way alleys and vanish into Sanctuary.
"Eyes, I don't like the top bunk, why do I have to be up here again?" Gem whined while Eyes tucked her into bed.
"Because you're lighter then me, so if the bed falls through and you land on me, little to know damage will occur, if I'm on top and the bed falls we'll be in deep trouble." Eyes answered patiently. "Now go to sleep, little monster. We have a hard day tomorrow."
"Tell me a story" Gem demanded smiling cutely.
"Why should I?" Eyes asked in a faux snob voice.
"Because I'm the monster and I said so."
"Alright, as long as you promise not to eat me. Promise?" Eyes asked grinning.
"I promise" Gem answered solemnly. "Tell me about Prince Daniel"
"Alright, Prince Daniel was Prince. He was born into power and he got everything he wanted. One day, his parents were killed and he got banished, he ran away and ended up in another kingdom ruled by a tyrant. He killed the tyrant and was proclaimed king of that land. He stayed there and lived happily ever after, the end" Eyes said in a rush. He quickly kissed Gem on the cheek, turned out the light and was in bed before Gem yelled:
"Hey! That wasn't the story!"
Eyes laughed. "Go to Sleep!" He exclaimed but he received no answer, Gem was already fast asleep.

"Extra, extra Stock Market crashed all businesses going under!!" Eyes yelled at the top of his lungs. It wasn't a complete lie. The paper said that stocks were down a little and that sold 20 papes.
"That was a lie, Eyes" Gem said disapprovingly as they hurried to their selling spot from where that headline was used.
"A person who honestly believes a Newsie word for word is either incredibly naive or just doesn't have brains and besides, I was only improving it a bit. The headlines suck. Here's 10 papers, go sell them to that group of ladies. Do the cute thing." Eyes told her, shooing her away.
Gem certainly did look cute today. She was dressed in a pick dress and she had her hair in too braids fastened with pink ribbon. Sure the dress was stained and the ribbon was extremely ratty and faded but the overall effect was still cute. Almost instantly, all the women were buying papers from Gem.
Eyes watched her go to work. "Sometimes it's almost too easy..." He muttered to himself. As he walked towards the corner. "Pipes blown in Manhattan, Central Park completely under water!" He yelled, selling another two papes.
Gem walked back. "I'm out of papers, here's the money" She said handing Eyes the pennies.
"Good Job Kid, Here's ten more, work the crowd see what you can get." Eyes answered handing her more papers.

"Alright Four Leaf, I'll take care of your spot stealer for yah" Spot said as he walked away from the Distribution office.
"Really??" Four Leaf asked really hopefully.
"Of Course, I can't have other Newsies stealing a spot from one of my boys now can I?" Spot answers, ruffling Four Leafs hair.
"Nope. You gonna soak him?" Four Leaf asked, following Spot along the sidewalk.
"First I'll try to talk to him, maybe he's new and doesn't realize the rules." Spot said calmly. "And if he don't listen then I'll teach him a lesson he'll NEVER forget!"
"Yeah!" Four Leaf yelled. He was running to keep up with Spot's fast pace.

"Gem, you are a great Newsie, always stay this cute." Eyes exclaimed after they finished selling seventy-five papers in their first hour.
"Thank You!" Gem answered smiling. She loved compliments.
"You're welcome. Who else can we sell too?" Eyes asked looking around.
Gem looked the other way and suddenly got a worried expression on her face. "Um...Eyes, remember when Dawg told us not to get the Brooklyn Newsies mad at us?" She asked with a quiver in her voice.
"Yeah" Eyes answered, looking at Gem curiously.
"Well, two of them are coming this way and they're looking pretty mad!" Gem answered, she was near hysteria.
Eyes whirled around. "Oh My God! That's Spot Conlon, the kid ratted us out to Spot Conlon!" She grabbed Gem's hand and started walking away. "Gem, we casually walk in the opposite direction and hope he doesn't notice us leaving."
Gem hastily nodded her head and quickly started following Eyes.

"That's them Spot! They're leaving!" Four Leaf yelled angrily.
"I know, let's catch up to them, shall we?" Spot said before taking off after Eyes and Gem.

"Keep walking, Gem and don't look back." Eyes whispered when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"May I have a word with you please?" Spot said coldly from behind him.
"Um, we're kinda busy aren't we Gem? Lots of papers to sell" Eyes said without turning around.
"Yeah, lots of papers!" Gem answered nodding her head emphatically.
"I believe I'll have to insist. You see, you're selling in one of my boys selling spots and you need to stop." Spot said with authority.
Eyes' eyes filled with pride and he said "I didn't see his name on it"
"When he tried to tell you it was his spot, he ended up with a black eye and a bruised hand-" Spot started before being cut off.
"Caused by his own stupidity. He can find a different spot, Spot, because me and Gem are quite comfortable there, aren't we Gem." He answered.
Gem looked at Eyes as if he was insane. "Not so comfortable that we can't move." She answered quickly.
Eyes shook Spot's hand off his shoulder and continued walking, only then realized what the heck he did. From his expression you could almost see him berating himself, not from any actual fear of Spot but because he had been trying to avoid the Brooklyn leader. Eyes almost feared meeting up with him.
"Just keep walking and maybe he'll think we gave up the spot." He murmured to Gem as they continued to walk.

"You're just gonna let him talk to you like that?!" Four Leaf demanded of Spot.
Spot watched the retreating back. If that Newsie hadn't made it a matter of pride Spot probably would have let it go. Now, however, that wasn't an option. "No, I'm not."
He chased after this new Newsie and tackled him to the pavement. Spot turned Eyes over and pulled back his hand to punch only to freeze.
Eyes looked at Spot with this sheepish expression on his face that was almost as funny as Spot's shocked one. Eyes looked reassuringly at Gem who was screaming in fear.
Gem quickly quieted down. She knew that look, it meant everything was going to be fine.
Eyes looked back at Spot, who had lowered his fist and was sitting on Eyes' stomach looking shocked senseless. Had the situation been less awkward for Eyes, he probably would have laughed, but it was awkward so all he could manage was a small awkward smile and managed to squeak out "Hi Spot."
All Spot could say was "Oh my God!"

Author's Note: Okay, so it's a bit of a cliff hanger, but hey, at least it wasn't too horrible. I found our recently that my writing style stinks so I need a lot of GOOD criticism to counteract the bad. Spot is my absolutely favourite Newsie, and I've been trying to figure out how to write this story for a very long time. I also have these things that I like to surprise people so you will find out very soon that some things aren't as they appear. This story is for my absolutely best buddies Nat and Nikki, as well as my really close friend Anya who badgered me to let her read the various attempts at this story and I was so embarrassed that I never actually let her read it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!