Part 8

"Guys, this is really starting to worry me."  Books' tone of voice caused the other three girls to stop what they were doing and look at her.

"What do you mean?" asked Luna.  She was lying on one of the beds in their room, staring out the window.

"I mean, we've been here for, what, almost a month, and it doesn't look like we're getting home anytime soon.  And also, doesn't it seem kind of suspicious that we all got our jobs rather easily?"  The small blonde stood with her hands in the air, gesturing as she talked.

Ivy's forehead wrinkled in thought.  "Yeah, it does seem kinds weird, but is there anything we can really do about it?"

Books sighed.  "I don't think so.  It bothers me though."  Jill looked up from the floor where she was writing.

"I know what you mean.  It's unsettling."  An almost ominous silence settled over the girls as they thought about someplace they hadn't for a little while: home.

**************

Stain was an old member of the Brooklyn Newsies.  He was there when Spot took power, and he helped in the Strike.  However, in all his years there, he'd never heard quite the racket as had inhabited the warehouse this past month.  That Heather girl was getting on Spot's last nerves, and while it was interesting to see his leader in such a fix, it wasn't boding well for the boys.  Spot being irritable meant they had to keep a decently wide berth of him.

Stain sighed and continued his selling, contemplating the recent changes in their lifestyle.

*****************

For the fifth time that morning, Books sneezed.  Someone must be talking about me, she thought, then realized that the Japanese superstition was rather silly.  Still, she normally didn't sneeze this much, and she'd never had allergies.  She wiped her face on her shirtsleeve (borrowed from one of the guys) and set about helping Snitch sell his papes.

Snitch, meanwhile, had been keeping a close watch on her.  Books looked pretty awful, as if she were sick.  Her voice sounded thick, her face was paler than normal, and she kept sneezing.  He had a desperate urge to take her back to the Lodging House and put her to bed, but he knew she would never let herself.  She worked too hard.  Sighing, Snitch called out his headline, keeping an eye on his partner and friend.

*****************

Itey watched from the back of Irving Hall as Ivy performed a short dance number for the crowd.  He knew there was no way he'd ever have a chance with her.  She was so outgoing, and he preferred to stay in the background.  She was so talented, and he was a mere newsboy.  The frustration of it all nearly drove him crazy, though he held onto a calm exterior.

He was always watching her, whenever he could.  She was a thing of beauty, while he…he was an orphan, a nobody…  A hand touched his shoulder, bringing him out of his downward-spiraling thoughts.  He turned, and the subject of his thoughts was standing there, looking at him curiously.

"Itey, are you okay?  What are you doing here?"  He recovered from his shock enough to answer.

"Watchin' da show.  I'se foine, don' worry 'bout me."  He waved off her concern.

"You sure?"

"Yeah yeah, I'se foine.  I'se headin back ta da Lodgin' House, I'll see ya theah."  He walked out the doors of the theater before she could muster a response.  What he didn't see what Ivy staring almost longingly after him.  If only he knew…but he didn't, and from the looks of things, he would never gather enough courage to ask her.

****************

Jack gulped as he felt the burning stare on his back.  Ever since that night outside the girls' window, he'd been careful about what he did around Luna, but it wasn't helping.  She seemed almost determined to hate him.

However, whatever their feelings about each other, they made a good selling team.  Luna didn't have to fake the waddle in her stride, and if she emphasized it some, she was more likely to sell papes to the sympathetic older types.  She was hit on by the younger types, and that made her even more irritable.  She took it out on Jack, who, though he felt he was being treated unfairly, was wise enough not to bring it up with her.

Jack, meanwhile, found the good headlines and exploited them.  They ran a good business, that couldn't be denied, though the work relationship could have used a bit of tweaking.

******************

Jill sat in the park, trying to write her story for the next paper.  Mush was somewhere nearby, trying to sell the last of his papers.  Try as she might, Jill couldn't concentrate on her article.  Her thoughts kept slipping back to Mush.

Now that she'd talked Ivy out of flirting with the poor kid, she couldn't seem to muster the courage to talk to him herself.  A lot of their conversations could actually be qualified as "silences."  Both became very shy around the other, and the ground became a very popular place to look.

It was driving Jill nuts.  She knew she did better in one-on-one conversations than with groups, so this shouldn't be a problem, but it was. She sighed and resumed her writing just as said newsboy sat on the bench next to her.  While they didn't say much (read: anything at all), it was late when they returned to the Lodging House and they received some teasing about it.  The pair turned quite red, and as they parted ways, they could hear Books yelling.

"No!  I'm not sick!  No-  You-  Put me down!  I'm not going to bed right now, I'm not sick!  I-!"  There was a slight crashing noise, and Jill, Ivy, and Luna raced to their room in time to see Snitch lying on top of Books.  It looked as though he had been trying to force her to go to sleep but in the process had tripped over Books' bag and landed on top of her on her bed.  The three girls burst out laughing as Snitch and Books' faces burst into flaming red.

A/N:  God, Gryffin, I'm going to kill you.  For anyone interested, I wasn't planning on continuing this story.  I'm actually in the process of rewriting it completely, and with a whole new (and planned) storyline.  Then Gryffin, dear friend of mine that she is, comes along, reads it, and says I should keep writing it.  Also, Ivy and Luna have been bugging me to write this. _  I'm outnumbered here, and it's no fun.  Yes, I know it's short, but I'm not really in a writing mood, and yet I'm cranking this out…

Shout-outs!

Rain and Hail:  Yay for the Fourth of July!  I wrote a cute little Fourth!fic, which I enjoyed immensely.  Thanks for reviewing guys, and sorry this took so long!

Kristan:  Sorry about not really reviewing your stuff hon.  And no, the insane!Spot story died in the planning, so it's not gonna happen.  Love ya, though!

Dreamer:  Thanks!  I know, and Jill really is amusingly angry during her time of the month.  Yes, Luna has actually threatened to castrate several guys I know, including the one that broke my heart.  I would take her seriously if I were Jack. ^_~  Thanks for the review!

Gryffin:  I really do hate you, you know that?  I mean, if it weren't for you, I'd have given up on this already.  But no, now I'm sitting here, writing this out just so you have something to check when you get back. _  I was actually, once I ended up selling the boys, planning on incorporating some staff into this, but now I don't know if I want to.  Just to be mean to you. ^_~  I'm thinking about it hon, really, though.  Love you too, and I'll send you a chocolate-covered Blink.

Thanks for reading what is almost a dead story.  If you really want me to keep working on it, you might want to review. ^_^  No, it's not a threat, just a suggestion that I'm incredibly lazy. ^_^;;