Chapter 2

I woke up to the sound of Kloppman's boots storming up the steps. I rolled over onto my stomach and slid my head under the pillow. I didn't want to get up, not today, not ever. Maybe if I stayed still Kloppman would think I died and leave me alone. Then I would sleep so long I'd miss lunch and then I wouldn't have to deal with Liz. No such luck.

"C'mon, Cowboy! Up with yourself!" He yelled throwing my pillow to the floor.

"Nooo..." I groaned pulling my blankets up over my head to protect my eyes from the sunlight blaring through the windows.

"Not again! I won't be so nice all the time, Cowboy! Get up!" Kloppman commanded smacking my head lightly. I didn't move. I heard Kloppman growl angrily before my blankets were torn away from my body. I curled up feeling defenseless, covering my head with my arms and hands.

"C'mon, c'mon," He said angrily poking me in the side with his cane.

"Fine!" I screamed suddenly sitting up, grabbing his cane, and javelin-throwing it out the bunkroom door.

"Watch yourself boy or you'll be sleeping on the streets," Kloppman warned walking away to wake up the next victim. The others were just looking at me in shock.

"Sleep good there, Cowboy?" Race asked tossing me my pillow and blankets.

"Yeah, just didn't get enough of it," I pouted grabbing my pants and slipping them on. As I got ready nobody really talked to me. They don't seem to like my morning moods. I washed up, shaved, and finished getting dressed. I stuffed fifty cents into my pocket before heading down the stairs. When I stepped outside the Lodging House doors a bitter wind swept over the city, stinging my face. Our nightmare was on the way: winter. We still had to go on with our jobs, freezing or not. Heading towards the Distribution Center a couple of the guys crowded around me. They were all looking at me anxiously.

"What?" I snapped starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Ya gonna go see Spot today, right?" Mush asked ignoring my grumpiness.

"For what?"

"Remember? He wanted to speak with ya about something and ya said ya'd stop by this afternoon?" Race reminded me.

"Yeah, so tell us what he's says," Blink said excitedly.

"Wait, no. I can't today," I realized thinking about today's plans.

"But Spot's expecting ya at one o'clock," Mush whined. A few words of agreement for the others followed Mush's comment.

"I'm suppose to meet a friend at Tibby's at noon, how am I gonna get to Spot's by one?" I asked myself, but the other's heard my out loud thinking.

"From Tibby's to Brooklyn, walking, it's almost two hours on foot," Crutchy piped up from behind me.

"But, Jack's a fast runner. He could get there in about an hour sprinting," Skittery pointed out.

I thought for a moment, "So, if I go to Tibby's a little early and she gets there early, I can eat real fast and run over to Brooklyn still making it on time."

"If ya wanna hurl on the way," Mush mumbled.

"So, ya meeting a girl, Cowboy?" Race asked with a smile on his face.

"I with Sarah, this girl is just a friend," I explained getting all thoughts out of his head.

"What's her name? Is she available?" Blink asked quickly.

"Her name's Elizabeth and I don't know," I answered frustrated. I swear, if David's pop saw how much was going on in my life he would know that be a Newsie does NOT mean you're a bum. I bet us Newsies are busier than he is.

"How bout I go to Tibby's for ya and tell her ya couldn't come," Blink offered with a mischievous grin.

"Ah, no thanks. I'll do that myself," I said raising an eyebrow.

"Suit yaself," Blink said raising his hands in defense. We got to the gates and waited for them to open as usual.

I noticed Race looking around confused, "What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Where's Dave?" He asked squinting around.

"Oh, he ain't coming anymore," I informed sadly.

"What?"

"Why?"

"How come?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"His pop put him back in school. He didn't want to quit," I explained not wanting them to hate David. They all grumbled what they thought of it. Our complaining was interrupted by the gates opening. I knew something was wrong with me when I didn't feel like hassling Weasel. When he opened his booth I simply put my fifty cents down on the counter.

"What? No chipper hello from the wiseguy?" Weasel asked sarcastically.

"Just give me my papes," I said looking to Morris, who counted out my papes and handed them to me.

"Some one's moody, huh?" I heard Weasel say to Racetrack as I went down the ramp. I didn't bother to look over all the headlines. I found myself waiting a minute for David out of habit. I looked over my shoulder to confirm to myself that he wasn't there anymore. I looked at the dirt street in front of me for a moment and decided I had to go on anyway. It might be lonely, but I'm use to being lonley, right? I stalled for a moment then headed out to do the job I came to do. I tried to at least look happy, I was only driving people away with my attitude. I hardly have to do anything anymore to sell my papes. People see me and come to me for a pape. I hated it, I couldn't even yell out my improved headline. I had one pape left and was determined to sell it how I always did.

As a lifted the paper above my head a man walked up to me, "I'd like to buy that paper, please."

"Could you hold on a sec?" I asked coldly before turning away from him and holding the paper above my head, "Extra! Ext--"

The guy tapped my shoulder, "No, you see, I want to buy your paper."

"Yeah, I realize that. Now could you please shut up and hold on a second?" I said raising my voice and turning away from him. Once again I held the paper above my head, "Extra! Extra! Murderer disgui--"

"Do you want me to buy the paper or not, kid?" the guy said pulling on my shoulder to make me look at him.

"If you would give me a ONE SECOND, all right!?" I yelled my face turning hot from anger. I turned away and repeated the process of holding the paper above my head, but the guy tapped my shoulder roughly. I whipped around belting the guy in the face. He fell the street with a thud. I turned around and held up the paper, "Extra! Extra! Murderer disguised as police officer! Still not uncovered!" The cold air showed off my breath as I yelled it at the top of my lungs. I calmly turned to the guy on the ground, "That'll be one cent, Sir." I dropped the paper on the unconscious body and bent down to take the penny he already held in his hand. I began to walk off before any bulls came around and saw the scene. I felt satisfied, I actually got to yell out a headline. Though, it wasn't the same with out David standing there to level out my head before I did that.

"Hey! Kid!" I looked over my shoulder and saw the man running at me top speed. I took off not wanting a confrontation with the what looked like a strong man. The frosty air felt like a thousand knives pricking me all over as I ran through it. I started panicking when I saw that the guy was a fast runner and gaining on me. I picked up my speed taking as many corners as I possibly could. The cities clock chimed noon. I needed to get to Tibby's fast, but I could with this guy on my tail. I turned a corner and stalled for a moment not knowing where to run next. Just as I was taking off again someone put a hand over my mouth and pulled me into an ally way. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or scared. I couldn't tell who pulled me into the ally since my back was to them. All I knew was they had gloves on and were shorter than me. I thought I was going to pass out for a moment. I was breathing hard from running and couldn't catch my breath with someone's hand over my mouth. As soon as the guy passed the ally the person let me go.

I gasped for air before turning to see Liz smirking at me, "And you said selling papers would be boring.."

"How did you know I was running from him?" I asked gaining my normal breathing back.

"Well, I was headed to Tibby's and saw what you did to him. Then you basically ran around the block you know. I saw you coming and figured I would help you out," She shrugged.

"Oh, well, thanks for doing that."

"Anytime. Are you ready for lunch?" Liz asked smiling. Was I? I was starving!

"Yeah!" Then I remembered Spot, "Oh, look I can't today. I told a friend I would come see him at one o'clock, so I really have to go. I'm sorry. Some other time, though?" I falsely offered.

She looked at me sadly, "I guess."

"Great! I'll see ya around!" I said leaving the ally. I took a deep breath not looking forward to the long sprint ahead of me, especially with this kind of temperature lingering around. Why couldn't I remember it being this cold yesterday? It was going to take a miracle to get there on time. I took off sprinting as fast as I could towards Brooklyn. Luckily, my past of running from the law improved my endurance and I didn't have to break that often. By the time I got to the Brooklyn docks I was starving, tired, cold, and once again, out of breath. I had almost no energy, but I at least jogged down the docks to where Spot was sitting on a crate. How the Brooklyn Newsies could sit around outside in this weather was beyond me.

He stood up when he saw me coming, "Jacky-Boy, so nice of you to finally grace us with your presence."

"Sorry, Spot," I heaved bending over and leaning on my knees to catch my breath. I could hardly talk at all with out feeling like I was going to pass out.

"It's all right. Just go ahead and take a seat there," Spot said. I looked up and was surprised to actually see a look of sincere concern on his face. He pulled me over to another crate. I inhaled deeply and exhaled just as deep.

"So, what's the deal, Spot?" I asked trying to calm my breathing.

Spot snapped his fingers at one of the other Newsies there before turning to me, "It's about the Crib, Jacky-Boy."

"Thanks," I said as I took the water the Newsie had gotten me. I was surprise the water wasn't frozen.

I turned my attention back to Spot and he went on, "They ain't too happy about you winning the strike, don't know why, but they are. Now they're looking for ya, heard they wanted to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

I swallowed some water, "They never liked me in the first place. They're just using the strike as an excuse to beat the tar outta me. That's why they ain't happy about the strike, I led it."

"I guess, but they think you've been hiding from them. Since they haven't seen you in a while, they figure you found out about there plan to soak ya and are afraid," Spot snapped again and the Newsie took my empty glass.

"I haven't been hiding, I've been busy," I explained.

Spot rolled his eyes, "They don't know that. And they're getting tired of looking for ya. Been soaking fellow Newsies to find out your whereabouts. I'm getting tired of it, Jacky-Boy."

"What do you want me to do, Spot?" I asked clueless to where he's getting at.

He pointed his cane at me, "I want you to put an end to this."

"How do you propose I do that?" I asked raising my eyebrows. The only solution I could think of was to let them soak me, but I was not about to do that.

"Personally, I don't care how you do it. I can't afford to have my Newsies being soaked a dozen a day. They're taking your beatings. I'm not saying I want you to get soaked, that's the last thing I want, to be honest. Just end it," Spot demanded.

"Yeah, I understand that, Spot. I just don't know how you expect me to make them stop soaking your Newsies. They aren't real fond of talking things out," I pointed out to him.

"They ain't just soaking my Newsies. They soaking any Newsie they see whether they're from the Battery, Queens, Harlem, it don't matter to them. Don't you see what they're trying to do? If they soak enough Newsies attempting to get you, they think the Newsies will turn against you and basically hand you over to them," Spot explained beginning to pace.

"So, got any ideas? Or am I on my own?" I asked prepared to once again take care of myself.

"Well, it's not like we like the Crib. So I figure if we just sell in groups and stand up for ourselves. When they attempt to soak us, they'll be the ones learning the lesson," Spot explained clenching his fists.

"You just said you wanted me to end this. How am I a part of that plan?"

"The Crib think they're stronger, that they own us. If we soak them good they're going to want to prove to us that they're still superior--"

"And suggest a rumble," I finished for him.

"Either that or a one on one brawl. One of them against one of us," Spot hinted eyeing me through his peripheral vision.

"Meaning I'd be the one to fight for us, right?"

"Exactly, I mean all of this is your fault. So who better to fight for us? Besides you're our best fighter," Spot said sitting down again.

"Next to you, you mean," I corrected cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course," He smirked leaning back triumphantly. I shook my head at his arrogance and stood up stretching out my arms.

"Jacky-Boy, do me a favor and stay out of the Crib's sight until my plan works, will ya?" He asked putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Aw, ya concerned about me, Spot?" I asked putting my hand on his shoulder in return.

"Don't push it," Spot ordered shoving my hand off him.

"You just can't admit ya care about me can ya?" I joked clasping my hands together in a hearty way.

" Look, If ya want to get killed, go ahead and see if I really do care," He demanded getting aggravated.

I raised my eyebrows, "I'll steer clear of them."

"That would be the wise choice, Jacky-Boy," He paused for a moment than looked around, "Hey, I noticed The Mouth isn't with you what's with that?"

"He's at school," I said with a bitter tone.

"What a waste," Spot sneered, "Gotta spend all that prime time to....study and.....learn. He could be selling papes, it would benefit him more than education ever would."

"Yeah," I laughed, but stopped when I realized he was being serious. Spot was never one to enjoy learning and I think that's because he doesn't like being told what to do. That's Spot Conlon for you, always telling people what to do, never being told what to do.

Spot stepped toward me and spit-shook, "I'll see ya around, Jacky-Boy."

"Yeah, carrin' the banner," I said before turning and walking down the docks. I didn't have to run, which I was very relieved to notice. I did have to meet David and Les at Tibby's to go shopping for Sarah's gift, but that wasn't until four o'clock. I had to always be watching over my back and around me for the Crib, and I didn't like it. The last time I had to watch myself that closely was when Snider was on the watch for me. only this time the threat of going to jail wasn't the problem, getting killed was the problem. Plus, knowing the Crib, they would make my death slow and painful. I can't even imagine it, don't really want to either. I didn't let the fear in the back of my mind affect me. I was so tired, even with the possibility of being jumped on the way home, I didn't pick up my pace. It was a very slow walk, if you could even call it walking. My feet dragged slightly behind me as I made my way through the icy wind across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was exhausted, but I still had things to do today. It took what seemed like eternity to get to Tibby's, but in actuality it was about two and a half hours.

I was greeted by Les running over and hugging me around the waist, "Cowboy!"

"Hey, Les. How was school?" I asked genuinely curious.

"Boring," He paused letting go of me, "David's here."

"Yeah, I see that," I said walking up to Dave. Based on Les' answer I decide not to ask David about school.

He looked worried, "You look terrible."

"Nice to see you too, David," I furrowed my brow.

He put a hand on my shoulder, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, just tired," I said pushing his hand away.

"Do you want to wait until tomorrow, then?" Dave asked.

I sighed, "Once again, Davey, I'm fine," I paused and saw the look on his face, "But thanks," I added gripping his shoulder.

"Forget it," He smiled, "You ready to go then? Mama gave me money to buy Sarah a gift, but I don't know what to get her. Any ideas?"

"Hey, you're the one that lives with her. You tell me," I said raising my hands up in innocents.

"Yeah, but you're her boyfriend, I'm just her brother."

"Just her brother?" I asked, "You've lived with her forever, you should know what she likes better than me."

He shrugged, "I'll know what to get her when I see it."

"I have to get her something, too," Les said holding out what little money he had stashed in his pockets.

David knelt down and looked at the coins in Les' hand, "I don't know if that will be enough, buddy."

"It has to be, it's all I got," Les looked down at his hand sadly.

"Look, why don't you add that to my gift money and we'll buy a gift for her together?" Dave offered standing up.

"Yeah, I guess," Les dumped his money into David's hand.

"Where should we start?" David asked putting Les' money in his pocket. I checked out the surrounding stores and spotted Tiffany's. I had thought about proposing to Sarah a lot lately, but I never had the money to buy her an engagement ring. Maybe now was my chance to finally do that. I had to jump at the opportunity.

I pointed towards Tiffany's, "Let's start there."

"Jack, do you realize what store that is? All it has is expensive jewlery," David said taking a few steps towards me.

"Yeah, and?" I asked hoping he would just go along with this easily. I should have known that is just not David.

"What would you get in there?" He asked.

"Uh, jewlery," I answered in a mock stupidity tone.

"Jack, come on," David urged tilting his head to one side.

"Actually, I'm serious. I want to get her a .......ring," I replied making the last word not even audible.

"A what?" David took one more step towards me, pulling Les along with him.

"A ring," I confessed a little louder.

"What kind of ring?" David asked his eye's widening.

"An engagement ring?" Les asked from behind David excitedly.

I scratched the back of my head, "Uh..." I turned towards Tiffany's, "Yeah," I answered quickly before heading to Tiffany's.

"What!?" David yelled, "Jack, wait!" I didn't. I kept right on walking. David's hand caught my shoulder and spun me around, "Stop and think about this Jack." I held in my laughter, having heard him say that to me before.

I became serious, "I have thought about it, I want to marry Sarah."

"We'll be brothers!" Les exclaimed jumping up and down.

"Yeah," I smiled.

"No, Jack. Come on you haven't been even going out for a reasonable amount of time!" David pointed out.

"I don't care, I love her. She really cares about me and I don't want to let her go," I said beginning to walk to tiffany's again.

"If you get married where are you going to live? How are you going to support her when you can barely support yourself? You have to think about these things, Jack!"

"Those are minor details, Dave," I said entering the store.

"Have you--" David started to say entering the store, but stopped and lowered his voice, "Have you ever even told Sarah you love her?"

"Well, not exactly," I confessed pretending to be busy looking at rings, "But I'm sure she knows it."

"Jack, love is the first step. You can't get married with out love," David said over my shoulder.

I turned quickly to face him, "We do love each other!"

David looked around, embarrassed by my loud outburst, shaking his head, "Not us." When every one went back to there own business, David moved next to me. We just looked at each other intensely for a moment. I knew David wouldn't be all for it, but I expected him to be at least a little more supportive. "How do you know that when neither of you have said that?"

"Are you saying you don't think she loves me?" I asked leaning on the showcase and looking at the rings. I immediately noticed a ring that a silver band with three small jewels. The two outside ones were crystal-looking, while the middle one was a deep wine-red. I quickly turned my attention back to Dave.

"No, I don't know. I'm just trying to help you think this through before you do anything you're not ready for," David explained calmly.

"No, if you want to help me, help me pick a ring," I said sternly.

"You don't give up do you?" David asked cracking a small grin.

"Nope."

"There's no way I can get you to think about this anymore?" He asked looking down at the showcase.

"Nope."

"Then," He took a deep breath, "Get that one right there." He said pointing to a ring. I looked at it and it was the one I has previously picked out.

"Ya, read my mind, Davey," I smiled admiring the ring.

"Do you have enough for it?" David asked also admiring it.

"Let me see," Les ordered pushing between me and David. I had almost forgotten he was there, he stayed so quiet during our little argument.

"Not quite," I said answering David's question, "I will by tomorrow."

"If you want to spend all your money that's up to you," David commented softly.

"Thank you," I said thankful David didn't pester me about it. I looked around for a worker, "Excuse me!?" I called waving the guy down.

He came over to us giving us a superior look, "Can I help you?"

"Can you hold that ring for me until tomorrow?" I asked pointing to it.

"You're going to buy that ring?" The guy asked in disbelief.

I curled a lip at him in disgust, "If you don't want my business that's fine, I'll spend my money else where."

"We need some down payment. You can pay us the rest tomorrow when you pick it up," He informed taking the ring out of the showcase. I dug in my pocket and brought out the dollar I made today selling papes.

I handed him the money, "Here."

He took the money, "Thank you. Can I see your ID?"

"Well, I-I don't--"

"Oh, I see," He cut me off smugly, "Then can you please sign this?" He asked sliding a paper in front of me. The guy gave me a pen and pointed to a dotted line. I wrote my name as neat as I could, though I never did have very good hand writing. The guy took it back and looked at it before sliding it back to me, "Please print your name beneath your signature." I did as he said.

"Is that all? I just come back tomorrow with the rest of the money and get the ring?" I asked giving him the pen back.

He nodded, "Have a good day, sir," The guy recited probably like he's supposed to. The three of us walked out of the store only to get attacked by the killer wind.

"I heard we're supposed to get snow tomorrow," David commented pulling his over coat tighter. I envied his clothes at that moment. All I had on at the moment was my usual outfit, no coat or anything. Plus, I forgot to put on my vest this morning, so the wind blew freely through my shirt.

"Just what we need," I scowled hugging myself to keep from freezing.

"Where are we going next? I'm cold," Les asked standing in front of me to use my body as a shield against the wind.

"Where to Dave?" I asked trying to control my teeth from chattering. He gestured towards a shop not far away. We briskly walked over and took shelter inside the doors.

"Let's start looking," David suggested.

"What are you looking for?" I asked thinking I could be of some help.

"I'm not quite sure," David answered, "Hey Les why don't you go look over there."

"Okay," He agreed and ran off. I figured I might just look around, it would be better then just standing there aimlessly. The stores looks were deceiving. From outside I thought it was just a small shop, but once inside it was much, much larger. I went over to the men's section and was just admiring all the nice and, more importantly, warm-looking coats hanging on a perch. My eyes drifted from the coats to my own clothes. They were a pretty sorry-excuse for winter clothing. The thought crossed my mind to just lift one, it's not like the store would notice it's gone there are a million of them. I resisted the urge and looked around. My eye caught some belts. They were definitely nicer looking than my old rope I used, but I got by with it for years. Why stop now? I found looking at all these nice things were depressing. So, I tried not to look around too much longer. In the next few seconds it wasn't that hard not to look around.

Some one put there hands over my eyes, "Guess who?" I tensed up recognizing the voice, Liz. I took her wrists and brought them away from my face.

I turned to her, "What are you doing here?"

"No, hello?" She pouted then smiled again, "Shopping for Sarah, what else?" She said picking up a bag at her feet.

I nodded, "David and Les are here too," I added looking in their direction.

"Yeah, I know. I already talked to them," She blew off the subject, "So, do you want to go to dinner in a bit?"

"Sure, I bet David and Les are starving," I answered starting to walk over to them.

She caught my arm, "I meant just you and me," She paused and pulled me out of their sight, "You know, alone?"

I could feel myself starting to get nervous, but kept my appearance calm, "Well, then can join us, can't they?"

She casually cornered me up against a near by shelf, "You know what they say: Two's romantic, Four's a distraction."

"That's not how it goes," I defended slightly plastering myself against the shelf to give me some breathing room.

She smiled evilly, "It is now."

"Well, you can't just change it," I exploded off the shelf and moved so she couldn't corner me, "You have to send it in to some one and see if you can make it a national....saying or whatever."

She laughed, "You're cute when you're flustered."

"Flustered?" I crossed my arms, "I am not flustered."

She started walking towards me, "Please, Jack?"

"Well, if four's a disturbance I'm sure Sarah would come then it would be five of us," I offered.

She shook her head, "I don't think so." I had to do something.

I opened my mouth pretending like I was going to say something and looked slightly over her shoulder, "Oh, hi, Les." I greeted to an invisible Les. Liz snapped her head behind her and I took that moment to slip away.

I ran up to David and the real Les, "You guys want to go to Tibby's for dinner?"

David looked t Les before answering, "Sure, I told Sarah I would go there anyway."

"Oh, great! So there will be five of us," I commented excitedly.

David looked at me oddly before glancing over my shoulder, "Elizabeth, we're all going to Tibby's for dinner. Why don't you come?"

She came to stand next to me, "Oh, thank you, David. I think I will."

"Did you get something?" I asked referring to Sarah's gift.

"Yup," Les confirmed lifting up a bag.

"Yeah, so why don't I go put this gift in the house and get Sarah. We'll meet you at Tibby's," David offered taking Les' hand.

"No," I snapped a little too quickly, "I'll go get Sarah and meet you guys there."

"What about this?" David asked grabbing the bag.

"Well, Liz has to drop hers off at her apartment anyway, so why don't you keep it at her place until later. That way Sarah won't suspect anything," I explained logically. They all nodded and we split up. David and Les went to Tibby's, Liz went to her apartment, and I went to go get Sarah. I couldn't figure out what the deal was with Liz. All I knew was she definitely was not just being friendly.

I walked up the fire escape, my favorite route, and tapped on Sarah's window. She appeared a few minutes later, a smile spreading across her face when she saw me.

I stuck my head in as Sarah opened the window, "Jack!" She greeted kissing me lightly. We just smiled at each other for a few moments.

"Ain't ya wondering why I'm here?" I asked breaking the short silence.

"Not really. I'm just glad that you are here," She smiled.

I smiled back, "Thanks, but Dave and Les are waiting for me at Tibby's. We want you to come."

"Oh, Davey did mention something about going there for dinner."

I nodded, "Come on." I said pulling her hand through the window.

"Down the fire escape?" She laughed.

"Why not?" I asked.

She shrugged and pulled her hand away, "Okay, but I got to get my coat. Just a second." She ran into the main room and returned shortly wearing a wine red coat. I couldn't help but thinking how the ring would match it. "Ready." I helped her out the window.

"Ya hungry?" I asked going down the steps.

"A little," She replied holding my hand, "You're hands our freezing!"

"Oh? They are?" I said trying to pretend like I didn't noticed. The warmth of her hand was like a sauna, I didn't want to let go. I did when I hopped down the last part of the fire escape to help her down. Then our hands were intwined again.

"We should invite, Liz."

I jumped at the mention of the name, but calmed down instantly, "Oh, she's already coming. And probably already there."

"Oh, good," She smiled oblivious as to what her best friend was up to. I wanted so bad to tell Sarah what Liz was acting like towards me, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It was her best friend after all. Besides, it would probably subside. We walked into Tibby's to get a few hoots and hollers from the Newsies that were there. I was use to it, but Sarah still blushed every time.

"Jack! Sarah!" Les called waving us over to a booth. Sarah and I walked over and sat across from David and Les.

"Did you order yet?" Sarah asked taking off her coat. I smacked myself in my thoughts for not helping her take it off. I didn't forget to pull out her chair for her, though, and maybe that's because I didn't have to.

"No, we wanted to wait for you guys," Dave answered. As they looked over their menus it hit me that I didn't have any money with me. Since, I was against charity I decided to just play it out as though I wasn't hungry.

"Where's Liz?" Sarah asked not taking her eyes off her menu.

"She's not here yet," David answered not looking up either. I was relieved to realize that I was in the window seat, meaning Liz couldn't sit next to me.

"What are you getting, Cowboy?" Les asked obviously done deciding on his own meal.

"Oh, I'm not hungry," I said in a nonchalant tone.

David's head shot up, "Not hungry? Since when are you not hungry?" Sarah also looked at me waiting for my answer,

"Look, I'm just not hungry. Is that a crime?" I asked as Liz came and slid in next to David. We all greeted her before getting back to the conversation.

"In your case, yes," David said letting out a little laugh.

"You should eat something Jack," Sarah said.

"No, I'm fine, really," I replied in a softer tone than I had used for David.

"What you're not eating?" Liz asked finally catching on to the conversation.

"No," I confirmed trying to stop my stomach from growling.

"If he doesn't want to eat, that's fine. Don't pester him," She defended giving me a little smile afterwards. I hoped Sarah or even David would have seen that, but no such luck. Not long after they called the waitress and ordered they're food. I had to stop from drooling at just the mention of the foods.

"So, how was selling today?" David asked smiling, but his eyes were full of sadness.

"It was..." I paused to think of the right word to describe it, "Unusual?"

"What?" David asked in confusion.

"He beat a customer up," Liz piped looking at me while she spoke. I'm guessing she was thanking me for not going to dinner alone with her.

"You what!?" David exclaimed.

"What!?" Sarah asked at the same time.

"Okay, wait. First of all, I did not beat the guy up," I defended bitterly.

"Then what did you do?" David asked.

"I just punched him."

"Why?" Sarah asked taking a sip of her water.

"He was making me mad!" I exclaimed almost scaring the waitress the was delivering every one's orders.

"Yeah, I mean the guy wanted to buy his paper, heaven forbid!" Liz blurted out with a sly smile.

"Jack?" David asked wanting an explanation.

"He wouldn't let me yell out my improved headline," I pouted. I could hear Sarah trying not to giggle since she had food in her mouth.

"So you punched him?" David smirked after swallowing his bite. I shrugged and they all snickered as they ate their food. They rest of the evening was just light small talk, nothing of importance.

David pulled out his trusty-old-pocket watch and sighed, "We better be getting home, it's late." Les and Sarah nodded. After paying their bill they got up.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Liz," Sarah said before turning to put her forehead against mine, "And you. Behave tomorrow. I'll see you later," She kissed me and walked towards the doors holding Les' hand.

"Bye, Cowboy!" Les waved going through the doors.

"Yeah, I'll see ya, Jack, Liz," David ran to catch up to his siblings. Thinking ahead I got up before Liz could sit down next to me.

"I better be going, too," I sighed.

"Do you mind if I walk with you?" She asked seeming calmer than usual. I couldn't reply with what I was thinking, so I went with the easy response.

"No, of course you can," I walked out of Tibby's with her behind me. The air was colder than ever and now was when I wished I had lifted that coat. I couldn't wait to get to the Lodging House. I was tired, freezing, and starving.

"Thanks, this city is still kind of scary," She smiled looking at the street.

"It's not a problem, you know that," I said suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable around her. I assumed it was because she wasn't as high-strung as before. Maybe she was drunk earlier or something. The whole walk to our places was silent with an occasional glance at one another. I once again walked her to her door.

"Goodnight," I said through chattered teeth. A large gust of wind blew sending my hair into my eyes. I ran my hand through my hair to keep it back, but I didn't even realize what was happening before it was too late. I felt her lips graze over mine. I was too stunned to do anything. She moved her arms around my neck. It was like a reality slap hit me and I pulled away.

"Goodnight," She smiled before heading inside. As I walked towards the Lodging House I rubbed my lips furiously hoping there was no lipstick on them. I signed in with Kloppman and went to the bunkroom.

"Hey, Cowboy!"

"Jack!"

"Where you've been!?"

I nodded them all a hello and headed to my bunk.

"What did Spot want?" Race asked following me to my bunk.

I groaned to myself not wanting to explain the situation, "Just some stuff about the Crib."

"What did he say?" Skittery asked joining me at my bunk along with a crowd of other Newsies.

I hoisted myself onto my bunk, "Basically that we need to soak any Crib members you see, just like they are doing to us. Well, not us yet, but other Newsies."

"All right!" Blink yelled from somewhere.

"Yeah, so you guys have got to sell in groups. Remember, they don't fight a fair fist fight. They use chains, clubs, anything," I pointed out.

"Sure, sure. We get to soak the bums and that's all that matters," Race agreed excitedly.

"What's the point in all of this?" Boots asked skeptically.

"Well, we're basically fighting for power. So, we want to get them to do a one on one fight and show them we got the power," I explained. They all cheered at the mention of us having power. It reminded me of the strike. "Are you guys clear? No one sells alone, you'll get soaked that way."

"Yeah!"

"We got it!"

"No problem, Cowboy!"

"Good, now get to bed ya bums, we might have some soaking to do tomorrow!" I yelled shooing them away from my bed as I leaned back. They were exploding wit excitement, I could tell by the conversations I was hearing around the bunk room. Every one was setting up groups and practicing there fighting moves. I felt a tap on my leg.

I looked over the edge of my bunk to see Race and Blink, "What do you guys want?" I smiled at their explosive expressions.

"You want to sell with us tomorrow?" Race asked. I nodded and smirked as their eyes grew wider at my acceptation. I got comfortable and was thankful I finally got to sleep. It wasn't long before I gave into it in a nice peaceful slumber.