I sat huddled on the fire escape listening to Racetrack plead to Jack and Spot. "But she's safah wit' us den wit' da people left heah!"

"Ya just sayin' dat 'cause ya want ta sleep wit' her," Spot spat. I couldn't believe my own brother was talking about me that way! But I had to stay concealed, or a lot of people would get in trouble, namely Sli and Patch who helped get me there.

"For ya information, Spot, I treat ya sistah bettah then ya treat da goils ya been wit', namely Sli," Racetrack said. He continued, "I tried it once, shuh, but anyone would've. She said she wadn't ready and I stopped. Didn' try again aftah dat, an' I don' plan on it."

"Shuh ya didn'," Spot said unbelievingly. "An' pigs can fly. But anywho," he commented, trying to change the subject. "What are we gonna do 'bout dis, Jacky-boy?"

"Well, I'se thinkin' we gotta take her wit' us. I don' know dat its dat great for her ta come, but I don' think we got a choice. I mean, she's safah if she's wit' da two of us, an' neither of us can stay back from da meetin'." With a meaningful glance and Spot, he sternly reprimended, "Don' even think 'bout sayin' Higgins heah just wants a night a pleasure. He's me boy, I ain't gonna let ya cut 'im down like dat."

Spot tilted his head down in defeat. "All right, we'll take her," he announced. It was all I could do to keep from bursting through the window when I heard footsteps walking towards me.

Jack opened the window for me however. "Okay, Spark, ya can come out heah now."

"Ya knew I was out there?" I asked innocently.

He laughed. "We all did. No offense, but ya ain't da quietest. Jus' hope ya nevah have ta hide from da bulls."

I didn't take offense at all from this comment, in fact I laughed, but Spot did. "Ya sayin' me sistah is gonna get involved in somethin' wit' da coppahs?"

"Dat was jus' a joke!" Jack exclaimed defensively.

I restrained my brother. "It was all in good fun. I think ya jus' had a little too much ta drink. Jack, can he stay ovah at ya place tanight?"

"Shuh thing," he answered before chuckling again.

"What," I demanded, "is so funny?"

He pulled his hat onto his head and started walking out the door. "Ya are so ya bruddah's sistah. You'll be a great leadah someday, Spark. Jus' wait an' see."

"Don' forget Spot heah," I told him before he was fully over the threshold. He turned on his heel and grabbed my brother by the arm, carting him upstairs to the bunks. I sighed and plopped down into a chair looking at Racetrack. "Do you think Kloppman would notice if I just stayed here tonight?" I asked, once again using my true accent.

"Yeah, ya bettah get goin'." As I walked out into the street he called after me, "Alex, use ya real accent more often, its how I like ya. Jus' da way I met ya."

I smiled in the darkness, knowing that I was going to Queens was great on its own, but having Racetrack defend me, well, that was priceless.

~*~*~*~

"Wake up ya lazy bum!" was how I was greeted by Patch the next morning.

"Ain't ya supposed ta be da reserved one?"

"Dat what dey told ya? Prepare ta be surprised," she said with a snicker.

"What I'd like to hear right now is 'Surprise, surprise, you get to sleep an extra hour'," I informed her, only halfway joking.

"No can do," Sli said from across the room. "We's leavin' for Queens taday. You, Jack, Spot, an' I are goin'. An' I think Race an' Roman are taggin' along."

I sighed, not that I minded going, but I wanted my sleep. Knowing that Racetrack would be there lifted my moral to a higher peak however. "All right, all right, I'll get ready," I groaned sleepily, dragging myself into the washroom. Quickly I splashed my face with the cold water in the clay basin. Now I understood why Spot always said he wanted a porcelain tub with boiling water.

"Are ya leavin'?" I heard a young voice ask. I felt tugging on my skirt and looked down only to find my niece.

"Hi, Devy. Yeah, I have to leave for a couple of days. Grown-up stuff. I'll tell you all about it when I'm back," I told her, hugging her close. I didn't care what Spot said about having children, she was so sweet I wanted one of my own. I kissed her cheek and hoisted her onto my hip.

"I guess its too dangerous ta bring da girl?" I asked, still not having perfected the "oi" sound of my accent.

Slider looked thoughtful at my question. "I guess ya can bring her. But ya gonna be in charge 'a watchin' her. Ya up ta dat?"

"Ya kiddin'? She's me niece, I ain't gonna forget her any time soon."

"Ya nevah know," she said with a sigh. It was times like these when I wondered about the pasts of the people that I had come to know as my second family. But that was one of the rules among the newsies, don't ask about people's pasts, and don't tell. Most people became newsies to escape their past, and you didn't want to delve into their personal business.

"Earth ta Spark." Slider waved her hand in front of my face, shocking me out of my thoughts. "We'se leavin' now. Whatcha doin'?"

"Sorry, sorry, jus' thinkin'."

"'Bout what?"

"Stuff," I answered shortly.

I heard Jack holler from downstairs and, grabbing the little bag containing an extra days clothing, I ran down the stairs, Slider trailing directly behind me.

"What took ya so long?" Jack teased when we reached the three boys. "Gettin' dressed up for us studs?"

I walked up to Jack, pushing myself close to him. His lips were only inches away from mine as I spoke. "Oh, I was dressin' up for a stud all right." I pulled away and walked to Race. "An' dis would be him."

Racetrack and Slider were laughing along with me as Jack tried to hide his embarrassment. "Dat's ya problem, boy. Ya get embarrassed too easily."

"An' what makes you da expert on dis?" he questioned.

"I know enough cocky, highfalutin boys ta know ya all have ya faults, ya just hide 'em bettah than uddahs," I said. Again, color ran up to Jack's cheeks. "Calm yaself, boy. C'mon take ya best shot," I offered.

"Let's just get going," Jack stated impatiently. Noticing Dev he asked, "Ya bringin' da demon child?" Knowing it would frustrate him, and not being able to resist the urge to get a rise out of him, I nodded.

"Do ya gotta use me goil ta agitate people?" Slider asked when we started walking.

"Sorry," I apologized briefly.

She grinned. "Not dat I don' enjoy watchin' Jack get flustered every once in a while." This caused both of us to laugh despite the graveness of all of the events around us.

Racetrack pulled back as we were giggling. "What's so funny?" he asked. He made sure Spot wasn't looking and kissed my forehead sweetly.

"Jack," both of us said at the same time.

Race was examining Devy, who was still swinging from my waist. Lovingly, he lifted her tiny frame from my skirt.

"Can we have one?" he begged, sounding like a little boy in a pet store.

I thought for a minute, what was the worst that could happen? Spot would be entirely hypocritical to say anything, and children were so cute. And Racetrack was a born father. Even so, Spot's words loomed overhead. In the end, it was a sense of rebelliousness that made me whisper "Yes" in his ear.

~*~*~*~

"Dammit!" Racetrack shouted at the Harlem newsies. I covered Devy's ears to block out some of the vulgarities being exchanged. "Ya can't stay outta it! It'll spread and affect Harlem soon 'nough. Chant an' his army ain't playin' around, dey out for blood."

"Ya just on dat side 'cause ya screwin' Spot's sistah!" a boy retaliated.

Race stood up quickly, his chair knocked out from under him. "Don' ya evah talk 'bout Spark like dat!" he yelled. "I'll fight each an' every one of ya dat insults her again. Ya wanna take me on?"

I heard another chair scrape the ground. "What, dat rich, pompous whore? So, how is she? Innocent? Though I figah she's experienced by now," a tall boy answered the challenge crudely.

"Don' ya evah!" Raced shouted as he lunged at the boy. The crowded room made the fight awkward as Racetrack punched in blind rage. The other boy was more capable, even I knew that, but Racetrack had the passion. My heart stopped for a minute as I realized that the passion he was fighting with was passion for me. I couldn't divisions to happen on account of me. I had to do something.

"Race, it ain't worth it. It really ain't," I told him, setting Dev down and grabbing his arms, pinning them behind his back. Some of the Harlem boys did the same to their man and the fighting ceased. "Now we don' need any more difficulty on account 'a me. I can take care of meself."

"Did ya not heah da shit he was sayin' 'bout youse?" Racetrack protested.

"I hoid each an' every woid dat has been said in dis room since noon," I stated.

Racetrack just stood at me open-mouthed until I asked him what the problem was. "Ya said it. Ya fully got da accent, ya fully a newsie."

"Said what?" I asked confused.

"Hoid. Woid. Woik. Dat sound, ya know?" Just then I realized how much that had been important. I smiled slightly as Jack called out to break for dinner.

"Foist," I said, using my newly acquired ability to make the sound, "We gotta smooth t'ings ovah wit' Harlem. We need their assistance in dis."

I led Racetrack over to the table of the borough he'd fought. He walked straight up to the boy he'd fought. "Bright," he acknowledged the boy. Without another word, he spit in his hand, offering it to the boy, who repeated the action and shook. From the cheering that went up I could tell that the problems had been solved.

I noticed Slider talking animatedly to a boy at the table, and approached her. "Who's dis?" I asked.

"Me bruddah, Karth. 'Membah?"

I thought back to the day she had taken me to buy the clothes that I was wearing right then. "'Course I do. Nice ta meet ya, Karth," I said, offering my hand.

I cringed slightly – at least what I thought was unnoticeable – as I saw him putting his hand up to his mouth to spit. "Don' like da spittin' tradition?"

"Not particularly," I said, blushing slightly. I had always had a problem with people noticing that I was uncomfortable with their normal conduct. Fortunately, Racetrack grabbed me at that moment, his apology done and over with, and saved me from more potential embarrassment.

"Let's go eat wit' our table now," he suggested and I followed him towards the table where a few Manhattan and Brooklyn newsies sat scattered amongst the table. I greeted everyone and sat down in the chair beside Racetrack.

Racetrack was eating his small serving of soup slowly, savoring the taste. I did the same with my salad. After all, this was probably the last meal either of us would eat for at least another day. Relishing in the taste of the nutrients was just one of the things I had learned staying with the newsies. I'd actually complied of a list.

Headlines don't sell papes; newsies sell papes. Be wary of your enemies; be even more wary of your enemies. Eating every meal is not a guaranteed concept; savor what you can get. Live life to the fullest for you never know when it will end.

That last one was the one that impacted me the most. Previously I had watched life pass me by, now I had a new outlook on it. When you don't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, it's a lot easier to just sit and laze the day away. Here you earned your way every day, you couldn't ignore the clock ticking in the center of town. It was almost an adrenaline rush to have to make your own living day after day.

And, of course, there was always Racetrack to fall back on. Speaking of Race, just that moment he leaned over to me, whispering in my ear. "Ya plannin' on stayin' in 'Hattan tanight. I know a coitain Italian gambler who would be really happy if ya did. He'd even be willin' ta share his bunk." He raised an eyebrow suggestively at my nod.

Well, why the hell not? I was a seventeen-year-old girl, and he was my soulmate. Opportunities like this don't always come knocking at your door, after all.

A/N: So you all know what the next scene is about. But just a note: it's not gonna be graphic or in detail, I'm not into that sorta stuff.

Shoutouts:

Mouth- Hehe, I'se ready. You asked when I would be, and now I am. Haha.

Soaker- She got the accent! LOL It took me forever to perfect speaking in a NY accent, but now I'm close to perfect. Funny that the first sound I did get was the "oi" but whatever. I know, Racetrack is cute, isn't he? I want him to give me gifts. Whoa that sounded perverted, sorry. Yep, plot is going to thicken soon. Well, keep reading! Byya!