S'WONDERFUL

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the past chapter there was a misprint of Midnight's real name. It is not Alice Hocker, but Jillian Hocker. Thanks to those who've commented!)

::Chapter Three::

Midnight slept well that night, which is quite unusual. For the past few months the newsgirl made frequent trips to sit on the sill of the large window in the bunkroom she shared with Kicks and 10 other newsgirls. A floor below them were where the boys bunked. It was about 5:30 in the morning when Midnight was awakened by the all-too-familiar sound of Mr. Johnson's deep throaty voice shouting out:

"Come on girls, the presses are rolling, it's time to wake up! Free coffee and eggs for the first ones down!"

It had always been his tradition to serve free breakfast to the first few newsies who woke up. Mr. Johnson always thought that an early newsie was a good newsie and therefore deserved to be well fed. There were several moans and yawns in response to his call, but pretty soon the girls had all risen out of their beds and began their morning routine. Midnight hopped down from her top bunk feeling quite fresh and ready for the day, also an unusual thing for her. She grabbed her shabby dark green skirt from the inside of her small cubby and slipped it on over her bloomers, followed by a thick pair of grey socks and then two heavy brown boots. After lacing them up, Midnight proceeded to pull a loose red blouse made of cotton and slipped it over her head.

"I swear it's true. And then this big shot performer Ace Jazzhands actually started flirting with her, can you believe it girls? Girls?"

Midnight  laughed slightly as Kick's question was greeted with nothing but a stampede of girls wanting free coffee and…a few loud coughs from a bed over in the corner of the room. Quickly, Midnight grabbed her worn brown coat and threw it over her shoulders, then hurried over to the coughing sound. In the bottom bunk lay a very petite girl by the name of Fairy.

"Fairy…you alright there, dear?" Midnight said looking sincerely worried. Kicks hurried over to the bunk.

"I…I'm fine. J-just a little coughing spell, that's all," Fairy replied. Her voice was quite hoarse. Midnight placed a hand on the girl's sweating forehead, then slipped off her coat and placed it over her. Kicks then began  speaking in a flurry to Fairy about how she should stay in bed and it will all be fine. It was too quick for Midnight to understand though, so she left the room and headed out to the street, skipping breakfast.

Midnight sighed and took in a breath of fresh air. She immediately wished she hadn't left her coat with Fairy, as a heavy wind seemed to be picking up all around her. But Fairy needed it…for now…even though Midnight knew that it would just be a matter of days probably before Fairy wouldn't need anything at all. She had seen that look of sickness on another person's face before…her mother, just before she died of Consumption. Of course it was a bit different this time, because it is much harder to look in to the face of a dying 10 year old than one of a woman who's 32.

"God, I wish I had another coat…" she muttered, hugging her arms close to her chest as she stepped off the stoop of the Lodging House to head down to the Distribution Office. Just then, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"You're wish is my command, my lady."

She laughed cynically at Ace who had began the process of taking off his heavy overcoat and laying it gentle on her shoulders. "Aren't you a bit early for lunch?"

"I should ask the same of you, Midnight," he replied with a grin.

"I, for one, am on my way to work from my lodging house. Now if you would please get out of my way, I have papers to sell."

"A newsgirl? Fascinating!" Ace stepped in front of her putting a hand on her shoulder. His green eyes were calling for her to stare into them, but she resisted.

"Yes…yes, fascinating, whatever." Midnight replied with a slightly annoyed tone to her voice. "What are YOU doing here anyway? I don't see any cheap Jazz Club on this street."

"What am I doing here? I, for one, am on my way to rehearsal from MY hotel, which just so happens to be right next to YOUR lodging house."

Midnight turned her head around to examine the building. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that there was some what of an Artist's hotel next to the lodging house where traveling performers stayed. There was a sudden rush of wind and Midnight turned around to avoid it from hitting her face. She came in immediate contact with his eyes, and the two simply stood there, gazing at each other. A strange, tingly feeling arouse in both their stomach's. Something neither of them had felt before…

"Well, Midnight, it's almost 6:00. I called an early morning rehearsal with the boys, they need all the work hey can get. I on the other hand…well, I'm just going to oversee the whole thing. I'll see you at noon, babe," Ace said nervously at first, then regaining confidence, suddenly breaking the sweet silence. Midnight opened her mouth as if she were to beg him to stay, but he quickly rushed off in the opposite direction.

'What was that feeling…' she thought as she stood in line to buy her daily papers. 'It was as if…as if I were falling for him. But that can't be it, I hardly even know him, it's just physical attraction, nothing else.' Yet…Midnight couldn't help but wonder if there had been something deeper connecting them…something like love.  

As the hours passed, Midnight grew more and more nervous. What if he forgot to meet her there? What if he arrived there with another girl? What if she forgot where O'Malley's Pub even WAS?! But of course, she knew she was just being silly. Maybe she actually was falling for him…and, why was that such a bad thing in the first place?

Sure enough, when Midnight arrived at the pub at noon, there, sitting at the bar was none other than…

"Ace! Hi, sorry I'm a bit late…I got caught up with a customer who tried to pay me with a dollar- didn't have enough change, but we sorted it out."

Ace smiled to himself as he watched the blonde haired beauty rush in from the outside street, several newspapers tucked under her arm, slide onto the stool next to him and smile one of the sweetest smiles he had ever seen. No…it was a normal, everyday smile. The same he had seen on every girl in every city he'd been in. It wasn't the smile that was different, it was the way he felt. Like he wanted more than anything else in the world to touch those lips…not out of lust, but out of something greater than that. Weird. He didn't like that feeling, it made him quite uncomfortable.

"…something wrong, Ace? You haven't said anything yet…" Midnight questioned, quite worried that she might have done something wrong.

"Oh no, babe, just thinking about how much I would like to…" he wanted to say his usual line, taste those beautiful lips of yours, but for some reason all that came out was "…Buy you a sandwich."

Midnight laughed a bit. "That would be quite nice of you, I haven't eaten a thing since last night and I'm a bit short on money…"

"No problem."

The two sat at the bar and ordered their food and drinks, exchanging several innocent smiles and engaging in the normal conversation of two people just getting to know each other. Midnight thought it was wonderful. Ace thought it was crazy. What was he doing, sitting here with a beautiful girl talking about her family and how she grew up? By this time with most other girls, he already had them back at his hotel in bed. He still couldn't quite place why this one was so different.

"Well, Ace, I really enjoyed lunch with you…you make a great friend." Midnight said, starting to stand from her stool. It was already 1:25, and the time had gone by so fast.

"A friend?" Ace asked, standing beside her and grabbing her hand gently. "A friend, or maybe something more?"

For the next minute, the two stood in silence. It was quite awkward. But quite beautiful all the same. Finally, Ace took a small step towards her, now only a few short inches from her face. He could feel her breath.

"Maybe…I think…maybe….something more" he said.