*Chapter 2*

"Hey, Bottle Cap!" Tipsy laughed when Katie answered the phone the next afternoon. The house was silent, everyone away at work but herself and the animals.

"Hey, Tip." Was the unusually glum reply. Katie sat in a chair at the kitchen table, her head was numb with thoughts, decisions that needed to be made.

"What's wrong?" Tipsy, Jessica, asked, sensing that something was out of whack with her best friend. Katie was silent, something that she tried not to be around friends so that they wouldn't wonder. She was considered to be out-going, fun-loving, never a dull moment with her. But they had no idea what happened behind closed doors. "Caps?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just...thinking." Katie went by Bottle Cap among friends, another way to have a separate life. It was a "newsie name", all because of her obsession with the movie, "Newsies."

"You want to talk about it?" She asked sincerely. Katie opened her mouth to speak but her lips wouldn't form the words.

"Kind of...but I'll email it to you in a post later." She decided, rather nervously to be speaking to her best friend.

"Why? Is someone in the room with you?" Tipsy pondered out loud, suddenly very afraid that this was a huge problem, not just a boy thing or a sleepy-spell.

"No, I just...I just can't say it out loud. I'll send it to you, I promise." Katie assured her. She posted everyday, to all her friends that shared her Newsies addiction. She was new to the mailing list but still she felt close to them, even though most lived thousands of miles away. She knew she could trust everyone on that list.

"Okay. Want to talk about something else?" Tipsy gave up, looking forward to the post in dread. They talked for a long time after that, about everything. Everything except the problem. Jessica knew something was drastically wrong. Katie never liked to show anger or hurt to anybody, even her. This was serious, she could sense it.

* * *

Later that night, after she finally got her computer to work, she sent a very serious post. She told Tipsy, and everyone else who was on the list that read it, about Erin's fight with her parents. She still couldn't tell anymore. It was enough, though. She could breathe easier knowing that she had told some body.

Somebody that wouldn't tell people that knew her, somebody who couldn't see the hurt behind her eyes.

Even after she clicked send, Katie kept up her act of happiness. She never let her guard down, except when she spoke to newsies, and sometimes, not even then. The next day, however, she received replies from friends on the list. Her eyes clouded with tears as she read. She never thought anyone would care, she never thought it would matter.

One reply stuck out, though all were much appreciated. "...why don't you and Erin jist run away from home? Do what so many people's fanfics talk about..." Silver Fists had written. Why not? It was a good idea, but not for Katie.

She loved her family, her dad, her mom, her sisters, no matter how distorted her life had become. Besides, the girls in the fanfics had newsies to run to, what about Katie? Who did she have? Where could she go? No one, no where. Still, her friend's suggestion lingered inside her tiny head like the pain that splintered her heart.