Shoutouts! Thanks, you guys. 69 reviews! ((And get those minds out of the gutters…))

littlewitch1899 )( Hey, I'm really sorry, but I didn't even CC this story… :( I just wrote it using some of my favey-davey people on ff.net. If I had CC'd it, I'd be MORE than happy to include you. But I actually have a plot laid out, and anyhow it's too late now to make another vampy minion boy for you. :( I hope you still keep reading!

Falco The Lazy Bum )( **Mush grabs a waffle iron and starts melting crayons in it** **Mondie giggles, thinking of Falco's part in Keeeeeeeeeezah's Writer's Block** Don't worry, the story isn't even HALF over yet… EEEE! We haven't figured out who Mush's "Girl" is, that he was having those flashforwards to when he was making his minions… and this chapter marks the 1920s! Whoo whoo! Thanks for the review chica!

Broadway )( Whoohoo you changed your name! That excites me. NO, it's not near the 80s yet! LOL! But sure, Spot can wear skintight pants… **Mondie suddenly imagines Spot dancing to coolie coolie COOLIE 80s moves and she falls over laughing**

The Omniscient Bookseller )( Ahhh! Don't hate me! I just think that Race and Mis would be a funny and great couple. That's all. It's nothing against you personally! LOL! Gah… I wish Blink still walked into stuff in this story… that made me giggle. And I'm the author. Which is sad and pathetic all at the same time. Hehehe! **Mondie wrestles Omni to the ground and steals Spot's razor** NO KILLING YOURSELF! YOU HEAR ME???

Slick o' Brooklyn )( Hey thanks! LOL sorry, but like I just told littlewitch1899, I didn't CC this story and so I don't think I'll be adding random peeps into this… :( If I didn't have a plot line and the minions already made, though, I'd add you all! Sorry! :( Thanks for the two reviews in one! :D I'm glad you like the story so much.

asp )( Vampire Bumlets… for some reason, I have a horrible time writing Bumlets' parts. I've started like twenty fics with him in them, but not one is good enough to post… I find it sad. Poor Bummy. Anyhow. **Mushy nods seriously at your advice to get the swirly crayon thingy and adds it to his Christmas List.**

Hottie5Star )( Thanks! I think last chapter was the best so far, indefinitely. Blink makes me laugh. He's awesome crazy cool. I'm so glad you love it!!! :D Thanks for all the reviews.

rumor )( I hate Banks in Mighty Ducks. I don't know why, but I do. He aggravates me. I hate his polo shirts. Anyhow. Kimi just got me Mighty Ducks 2 on DVD yesterday for my Christmas present and it is fantabuloso! I reread/rewatch things a lot as well… especially when I get a favey-davey thing. Once I fall in love with a book or a movie, I never stop reading it… it's sad. LOL. I must have read the HP books about three million times each… Oh, don't worry, Spot whines a lot in this chappy and is now totally in denial about Mush's banishment and orders. THAT IS THE BEST LINE IN SWING KIDS! Of course, Kimi and I watched it after we'd become obsessed with Newsies and so when he yelled that he was a cowboy, we couldn't contain ourselves and just CRACKED UP. Hey, weird fact I just thought of… there's this boy at work, Casey, and he looks and sounds exactly like Dwayne (Duane?) does in Mighty Ducks 2 and 3… it's pathetic… LOL. Well, can't you just imagine old, senile newsies (kinda like Kloppman) who enjoy frightening their grandchildren with stories of SCARY GHOSTS while the kids are like, "Yeah, yeah, shaddup, lemme play with my toys". I can, at least. And it makes me laugh.

Mist )( Yay! Thanks for reading SD!!!!!! :D :D :D I love French Pie Eater… I'm gonna miss the kid. I was vying to make him a vampy, but I didn't have anyone who could be his vampire mistress… (This was before I realized just how much Keza loves him) So there ya go. He might show up again though, everyone else is going to be… You do not suck at reviewing! I luffle your review. So there. **Mush sticks out his tongue and then runs away giggling, drawing a picture of Mist looking insulted with his crayons**

bittersweet (the ever lazy) )( I don't know why I made him have red hair, I just … did. LOL. Now it's intriguing me that I wrote it, because everytime I think of the kid now, he's got this pure white skin and deep red hair… I find it sexy. So there. :P Who are you getting married to, if not Jack?? Mush and I will GLADLY come to your wedding. And he says THANK YOU!!!!!! for the crayon. **Mush nods emphatically, a bright smile lighting up his face** I'm obsessed with coloring now. Dang my creativeness with my newsies' activities.

Rosa Lee )( **Mush draws Aki another picture, this one of himself complete with FAR too much curly hair and lopsided ears** AWWWWWWWWWWW! HE'S SO CUTE! **Mondie kisses Mushy's nose** **Pie Eater sticks head in shoutout to assure Aki that he'd be happy to teach her French** Shh, don't tell Keza, she'll get mad. Heh. Mush says THANK YOU!!!!!!! for the crayon. He's getting quite a collection.

misprint )( **Mush stares at mondie-colored crayons in amazement** He's never seen crayons so beautiful before… LOLOL j/j! You'd say you were the Incredible Hulk? What are you, green-skinned? I hadn't noticed from those pics of you on your site… I have a really cool part in my story that's added in just for me. I don't think anyone else will get it. I stuck it in all sneaky-like, as if I were J.K. Rowling with the insertion of Rita Skeeter throughout the 4th book. But the thing is, I'm not gonna reveal it later what I'm talking about, like she does with Rita… it's just for me. And it makes me happy that it's a secret I have with myself. ((Now watch, you're gonna figure it out as you read. Dang you.)) I'm getting slow at updating too. Well, less slow, more STUCK. On everything but this. Kimi's really getting on my case to update Spotty Whore. Yes, Racey is *so* cute in this. I heart him muchly-mushly. I wish I knew how to tap-dance… :( Unfortunately, my mother stuck me in gymnastics instead of dance when I was younger. And I SUCKED at gymnastics, too, so I quit them. Heh. Oh, I'm from Ohio. In fact, I didn't even know where Iowa WAS in the US (I knew it was farther west than Ohio, but that was about it) until today, when I thought about how you confused OH and IA and me and so when I was in government class I looked on the map to see where IA is. LOL. Is it bad when I don't even know the geography of the country I live in??? I loved that line about what state CA is in, and you said LA… HAHAHAHAHA! That's soooooooo funny! You crack me up, Mis. Hopefully you *are* a girl… LOL! Or else Race's in for ONE heck of a surprise… LOL you need to read my review for Omni's "Untitled," the chapter with creepy Race in it… the whole review, I'm like, "Mis is gonna KEEL you for this." Heh. Thanks for the review! I heart you Mis! Bloodflame?

Shade of Temair )( How sad that you don't want to be lusty over Overly sexy Mushy Darling. He's hurt. Anyhow. You have to luffle Blinky-182. Yup, yup, yup you do. Heh heh that rhymed. In my mind, at least.

A/N :: Hey, Gem, sorry 'bout this, but I can't find your "real" name anywhere… I just made up one during the chapter. If you let me know what it is or what you'd LIKE Character Gemini's first name to be, I'll be happy to come and upload the chappy with the new name. Just let me know!!!!! :D :D :D

[[The song at the end of the chapter is from the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Very enjoyable.]]

GUESS WHAT!!!! I just got accepted into Wooster, my first choice college! I'm *so* excited that I'm liable to burst into flames or something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH! SHOUT HURRAY AND HALLELU! **I think I've been listening to Thoroughly Modern Millie far too much.** **Mush draws a picture of an elated Mondie for all of you to look upon**

NDBT Chapter 7

New York City, 1923

            The jazz music seemed to electrify the air of the vast room, as the twirling notes reverberated off the walls. This particular song was mournful, and the saxophone sang its verse of woe. Mush sat at a table way in the back with Kid Blink and Spot. They were inconspicuously pretending to sip their Coca-Cola while in fact trying to contain their boredom. Well, to be honest, Mush was bored. Spot and Blink had their eyes continuously roaming about, usually landing on the easily accessible necks of the lovely playthings who romped about in their short, fringed skirts. Of course, the group had already fed earlier in the night, on a group of five mobsters Mush had been scouting during the long, lonely days of the past week. It would have been impossible for them to be resting here now, if they hadn't drank already; the blood of their victims brought heat to their bodies and a flush to their cheeks, so that they could blend in, and the touch of their hands didn't frighten people into thinking the hand of death was gripping their exposed shoulders.

            Misprint and Racetrack weren't far away; though the beat was lagging, they took it in double-time, their limbs gesticulating enough to keep fellow dancers, however exuberant themselves, at a twenty foot radius in all directions from the wild duo.

            Jack was a different story entirely. He wasn't bored, or pining over the unobtainable fancies of the glamorous nightcreatures, or dancing while looking so out-of-place that his fellow vampires wondered if they'd get kicked out. Where his lanky youthfulness had hindered him throughout the late 1890s, it proved an effortless, sublime tool in this, the 1920s. He finally looked as though he belonged somewhere, and it seemed to bring relief to his soul. The dances, which he knew all too well, were performed flawlessly by him. The unrestrainable cowboy they'd all known blended in here, amongst the flappers and zoot suits, with a natural ease. Mush watched Jack, lifting a beautiful redhead into the air with a fluid movement. It was amazing, how exquisitely he matched the flow, so that he didn't stick out at all. Rather, his partner did, for the vivacious light yellow of her dress only enhanced her beauty, causing her to look like a burst of lively flame. Jack's own light green suit made the pair look like spring itself, like a tree just bursting into bloom in the radiant glow of a celestial sun. Mush leaned back in his chair, studying the elegant couple interpreting the jazz music to their own bodies. Jack didn't even look like a vampire. Well, then again, Mush supposed, when he was with these people, he wasn't a vampire. The instant he stepped through the doors, he became one of them. He was them. He was the embodiment of their lives. He was the underlying essence of their souls.

            It was for Jack that the group came here every night, and Jack alone. Though the evenings were tedious for those who didn't share his flair for the wailing instruments of jazz, it seemed all Jack cared about. The jazz song changed to a more upbeat tone, and the spirits about the room lifted with the tempo. Soon girls were kicking up their legs in promiscuous, insinuating manners, and the boys were enjoying it far too much to complain.

            "Mu-ush," complained Spot, shifting restlessly in his seat. He always had so much energy. Mush wished that he'd just go dance and get all the vibes out of his body, but one night when he'd suggested it, Spot had flung back a retort so harsh that it made Mush's ears turn red to think about it. Quite apparently, Spot Conlon did not dance. Spot continued his persistent whimpering. "Jus' one. One goil… I sweah I won' hoit 'er." He alone still carried the whine of his adolescence. Though every other person in their group had seemed to grow intellectually, at least with their thoughts growing more complex every day, Spot seemed to be stuck eternally in the same arrogant, bull-headed mood as when he'd been fifteen. Mush thought to himself that this most likely derived from the fact that Spot refused to learn anything new, even with all the resources now open to his white, effervescent fingertips.

            Mush merely glanced at him, then spoke languidly, dully into the air, as lazy as the smoke curling from Kid Blink's lit, but not smoked, cigarette. "Spot," Mush said cruelly, his eyes lilting toward heaven as he considered the boys' plea to let him go 'persuade,' and not 'harm', a girl. "D'ya remembeh what happened in 1913?"

            Spot groaned, recalling the moment when, under the same pretenses, he'd almost broken Mush's hold on him, and had gotten nearly out of his own control. He'd almost drank the blood of an innocent, half-unaware of what he was doing. Luckily, Kid Blink had happened upon him just in time, and had led Spot, in a mumbling trance, away. It had been practically unexplainable, and Mush rarely let Spot out of his sight now. Spot, of course, hated this with a passion. Ten years of constant surveillance had a way or wearing thin on the stubborn boy's spirits.

            A lounge singer stepped out onto the makeshift stage. Mush had to squirm around in his seat to see around three girls sitting at the table in front of them, who were wearing dresses of dark blues and black and chattering excitedly. Their hair had all been bobbed, and looked virtually the same, although in different hues of brown and brownish-red. He smiled vaguely to himself. Ah, the individuality of the 20s, he grinned inwardly. Then he again tried to catch a glimpse of the singer. Finally she came into view, wearing a fantastically decorated flapper dress and high heels. Applause was ringing out from all corners of the room, and she nodded her appreciation to the exuberant crowd. They loved her, and she loved them, too. With a shake of her shiny, lemon-colored hair, the band struck up a jolting little ditty. As the stylish, stylized singer strutted around the stage, honey words dripping from her satin lips, Jack kept a perfect pace with his dramatically redheaded partner. It was an abnormality, even Jack noted, for him to stay with any one girl past one song. After all, he couldn't exactly become attached. Yet this girl was just… different. The rhythm God had put in her exactly matched his, and as they seamlessly glided from step to step in unison, it seemed to those surrounding them that they'd been practicing for years. No one would believe they'd never met before this night.

            She did look familiar to Jack, though he couldn't figure out why. Neither her first nor family name jogged his memory, so he ignored the feeling, settling instead for the sweet fragrance of her sweat as she danced closer to him. They fell back into perfect syncopation, with their arms moving high in the air simultaneously, and their legs kicking up and backwards in a manner to bring a grimace to the faces of the less-bodied. The girl wore a long string of pearls, which swung heavily in time to the music. Giggling, she pulled his face closer to her able body, and he silkily kissed her collarbone. She kissed his forehead in elation, in a mixture of high spirits and high music. Stepping away from him for a moment, she gave him an insinuating smile. She began slowly moving from foot to foot, the shimmy crescendoing and running up her entire body. The eight strategically placed rows of fringe shook with her body, and Jack's face burst into a full grin at the sight.

            "By jingo!" Racetrack exclaimed. He had taken up the effort of picking up key phrases of the times they were in. It was rather handy that he did so; many of the terms acceptable in 1899 were out of use currently. "Jack's still wit' dat broad?" he questioned, more lazily after his lingo outburst, as he joined the table. He was exhausted by his and Misprint's exuberant excursions thus far.

            "Wheah's Mis?" Mush replied, ignoring Racetrack's obvious question.

            "Oveh dere," Race answered, vaguely waving his arms to the other side of the room, then turning back to Jack and the girl again. "Why does dat goil look so familiah?"

            "Maybe Jack's danced wit' 'er befoah," Blink answered slowly.

            "Or maybe she's da daughtah a' one a' ours frien's from da olden times or somethin'," Race suggested.

            "Humph," Spot sniffed. "Well, whoeva she is, she should not weah yella wit' dat red hair a' hers." The other boys gave him skeptical looks, as if suddenly doubting his manhood. "What?" he yelled indignantly. "She shouldn'!"

            "Hey, Mush, use dat t'ought-speak a' yers an' call oveh Jack. Tell 'im ta bring da dame," Blink suggested. "We'll see if we's kin figger out who it is."

            Mush shrugged, and did just that. Jack looked a bit unhappy as he pulled the girl away from the dancing throng and toward the back of the room, where his friends sat, but Mush figured he'd get over it soon enough.

            "Guys, dis is Mary," Jack said lightly, touching the elbow of the redheaded girl, who smiled prettily at them.

            "Ya know, you look really familiah," Racetrack told her, tilting his head.

            "Ta you, too?" she asked, looking a bit surprised while at the same time preoccupied, since Jack was kissing her neck in sweet, fluttering kisses, like the wings of angels' beating carelessly against her soft skin. "Jack said da same t'ing oileh."

            Misprint came dancing up to the table, swinging her legs carelessly about her. She had started over with a full glass of Coca-Cola, but it had sloshed out as she completed her prancing routine across the floor to the table, and now she was left with less than a quarter of a glass. She fell down onto Racetrack's lap with a bit of a giggle, and then held the remains of her drink to her lips as if about to drink it. Not needing normal human food or even drink, it wasn't even possible that she would drink it, but she thought it looked very elegant to sip daintily from the glasses.

            "Mis, d'ya recognize Mary heah?" Race asked sweetly, rubbing her shoulders.

            Misprint looked over the rim of the thick cup appraisingly, and threw her glass of soda at Jack in surprise. Her mouth gaped open gracefully. "GEMINI?" she asked incredulously. "Is dat you?"

            The girl looked politely bewildered. "Uh…"

            But Misprint was babbling by now, as Jack tried to tactfully blot the light green material of his suit. "A' course you're Gemini!" she said, jumping up and grabbing ahold of the girl's thin arm. "Ya mus' be! But how is it possible? Ya died like twenny yeahs ago…"

            The girl now seemed to be studying Misprint. "But… how did ya know…"

            "Know what?" Misprint asked, still looking extremely excited.

            "Dat I'm gonna call myself Gemini. When I become a Broadway actress. I mean, who ever heard of a deliciously rapturous beauty named after a virgin mother?" she hurriedly explained to the boys. She turned back to Misprint. "I on'y decided las' week ta call meself dat," she murmured. "How da hell didja know?"

            "Because!" Misprint answered, a charming smile crossing her features. "We'se used ta be great friends, Gem!"

            It was indeed Gemini. The name had jogged the boys' memories. While none of them had been particularly close to the newsgirls, who preferred to stay away from newsies, it was never hard to recognize one of them. (The exception of the straying newsgirl had of course been Misprint, who had, on the contrary, made positively sure that every single newsboy knew her name, where her lodging house was, and could point out her four best friends.) However, they were less sure of how they could explain to her just what Misprint meant by "we'se used ta be great friends," and even less sure of how to tell her that she had lived with them in a previous life until burning to death.

            Luckily, Mush got an idea. He turned to her and said calmly, "We's gonna show ya somet'in. It's gonna look weihd, an' you's gonna be skeered a liddle. But don' woirry. Dere's a reason we found ya tanight… maybe it's so you's can join us."

            Misprint clapped her hands. "Oh, Mush, kin we really?" she squealed.

            Mush smiled. He then put into use a power he'd discovered in 1904, that he could slow time down. "Ev'rybody, touch da table," he commanded. Everybody did so, Gemini still looking about a bit uneasily. Then Mush focused on his mission, and time slowed for everyone but those touching the tabletop.

            The dancing couples on the floor were strangely and grotesquely contorted, looking the part more so in time so slow it seemed almost to stop. This would give Mush and the others the chance to explain their vampiricism without alerting any overhearing ears. Gemini looked about her in amazement and awe. "Wow," she breathed. "How'dja do that?"

            Mush sent a silent thought to everyone but Gemini, and slowly, one by one, around the table, they bared their fangs at her. Now she looked as though she was quite sure she had gone crazy at some point during the night. She mouthed the word "vampires," but no sound actually escaped.

            Mush stood and walked over to her, taking her hand. She flinched a bit at his touch, but only stared up at him, apparently in too much shock and fear to move away. He began to tell her how they existed, and explained their lives previously, hers included. He couldn't be sure that she was actually understanding all that he was telling her, and so he made his voice go into her head. She watched him, with his lips unmoving, and only the passion in his eyes revealing that he was the one conveying the thoughts to her. Her eyes were impossibly wide.

            "Yer tellin' da truth," she whispered.

            "'Fraid so," he answered, out loud.

            Then Jack stepped forward, and put his arms lightly upon her waist. He sucked gently at her neck for a moment, then whispered into her ear  that it would only hurt for a bit. She nodded, looking deeply into his eyes and showing him that she truly trusted him, even though she wasn't quite sure why she did. Her arms went around his chest and her hands clenched together on his back. He lowered his head and bit into her flesh. Her hands unclasped and instead seized at his back; he could feel the frigid quality her muscles took over, and she whimpered softly. A drop of blood escaped and stained the thin strap of her yellow dress. Jack finished drinking, and then looked at Mush. Mush nodded, and Jack made a gash in the left side of his own neck, tilting it towards her mouth.

            A few more minutes, and Gemini looked around the room as though in amazement. The corners of her mouth lifted in a smile, and it seemed nearly a sin for such a beautiful girl to have the slivers of fangs nestled among her teeth.

            Spot snorted. "Ain' dis jus' dandy," he snarled. "I'se still don' get ta drink da blood a' no innocent, but Jackie Boy gets ta make vampiahs outta whoeva da hell he wants." Racetrack chuckled in laughter and held up his unlit cigar as if in a toast. Mush too smirked, and Misprint let out an excited sound as she embraced her long-lost friend. Jack took to punching Spot on the shoulder playfully, while Spot scowled, and Kid Blink had taken advantage of the slow pace and singing of the song to begin a contorted dance, almost puppet-like, much to the amusement of his comrades.

            Mush had everyone touch the table again, and sped up the time to normal again.

            Then the slow words of the singer became understandable again, and as Gemini looked about herself at the band of vampires she already felt she knew, the words being sung took on a whole new meaning.

The wonders of the world are said to stop at seven
But truth to tell, my figures don't agree
I number them at eight, with one so close to heaven
The others pale, their magic stale, just take a look and see

Step right up to Treasure Isle
Ev'ry inch of it, a sky-high mile
Fairytale land, only in New York
Hey castle-builder, want the moon, and nothing less?
Work for years, then overnight success!
I know first-hand, only in New York

Each day it's free admission to those who dream
You set your sights all the way upstream
Off you go, for you know that cream will rise

Make that wish, seek that thrill
Come and get it, 'cause you always will
Strike up the band, only in New York

Each day it's free admission to those who dream
You set your sights all the way upstream
Off you go, 'cause you know that cream will rise… rise!

New, improved and rearranged
It's ever-changing, yet it's never changed.
Life on command!
Hear what I'm saying, oh, but it's grand!
That's why I'm staying right here as planned
Only in New York, only in New York
Only in New York!