The Name Game
By Aguachica
Rated: PG
Summary: A boy comes to the Lodging House, and the newsies help him find a Newsie name.
Disclaimer: I do not own the newsies. I do own the character John and the name that he decides on. If someone would like to buy Blink for me, my birthday is November 2nd. Blink would make a lovely 16th birthday present, don't you think? BTW, my Skitts!muse of violence is making his appearance this story! He hasn't had much of a chance to be violent, so he might be a little out of touch. . .
Skitts!muse: Oh sure, blame everything on your poor, neglected muse.
Special note: I would like to thank my editor and best friend, Dacia! She found all my mistakes, and told me when I needed to add more detail and when I was getting too boring. Then she had to put up with me when I actually posted it. Thanks, girlie! You're the best! Many luffles and huggles to you! And, of course, I need to thank John (the present day John, who I based the story John on), for being a great friend and letting me abuse him and mutilate his character in the story. Talk about friendship! More luffles and huggles! And you'll need them after you've been in this story past the second chapter. . . *innocent look*
~~~Begin Story!~~~
Prologue: Introduction
John had been in New York City for three whole hours now, and already he hated it. They had promised him wealth, a job, a future. Instead, he was cold, lost, and very scared. They had meant jobs, wealth, and futures for those who already had them. To those who were prodigies in intelligence, strength, and looks. John was a normal 15-year-old boy. He was fairly tall, 5'9", and he had tan skin and dark hair.
It was growing dark, and the streets were obviously no place for a teenage boy. At least, no place for a respectable one. The sun had almost disappeared, and shadowy sirens stared at him from alleyways, perhaps looking at his potential as their next customer.
He looked over his shoulder and he saw two figures, dressed in dark clothes, following him. Panicking slightly, he sped up, but there was no sign of a friendly building. There were only closed restaurants and bars, which would be no better than the streets at night.
One of the figures grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against a wall. John's breath was knocked from him, and he tried to shrink back as far as possible from the two menacing figures.
The taller figure sneered openly before spitting out, "Well, lookit heah, Oscar, what do we have heah?"
The smaller one-Oscar-laughed unpleasantly. "It looks like we have a stranger to these parts, Morris. And I think we know what we do with strangers: soak 'em before they can spend all their dough."
They dragged John into an alley. He struggled but, after numerous hits to the head, was subdued. He wondered frantically what would happen when they found out he had no money left. The train ticket to New York had cost more than he had expected.
As John wasn't a fighter-he had never had cause to learn until now-he proved to be little challenge for the two men. They quickly searched him for money and, finding none, began to get a little annoyed.
Morris tried to console his brother. "Well, at least we can soak 'im now."
Oscar brightened up considerably. "Yeah, there is that!"
John jerked away. "Wait! What'd I do to you?" He yelped indignantly.
Morris smirked evilly. "Lets see. You was born, you came hear, and you ain't got any money for us. Is that enough reasons?"
Than Oscar grabbed John's arms and held him still while Morris pounded on his face for what seemed like eternity. Than, they switched places and Oscar beat him for what seemed the rest of eternity. John couldn't overpower them; he was forced to stand there helplessly. H tasted blood; his lip must have been split open by a fist.
The beating continued and then, just as John felt his vision darkening into the now welcome grips of unconsciousness, he heard drunken singing coming towards the alleyway.
A blonde boy with one blue eye and an eye patch covering the other wobbled into the alley, still singing and grinning insanely. "'Ello, Oshcar, Morrish. Who ish you'sh friend, heah?"
Oscar gave John one last punch to the stomach and threw him to the ground and sauntered over to tower over the boy. Morris spat at him. "One of Cowboys lot. What is you doin' round heah at this time? This is our territory, and you are in it and outnumbered."
While Morris had been talking, Oscar had circled around and was about to attack the boy from behind. John mustered his energy and yelled "Behind you!"
That earned him a hard kick in the ribs, but it worked. The boy spun around and sunk both fists into Oscar's stomach with remarkable accuracy for a drunk.
Morris leapt forward, but John managed to trip him. He fell to the ground where the blonde boy quickly knocked him out with a blow to the head. John risked a glance over to the other man, Oscar, and saw he was also unconscious. He looked up at his savior.
"Wow."
The blonde grinned again, but now it was more a cheerful grin instead of an insane one. "I saw you was havin' a bit of trouble with the scabs, so I'se here. I'se Blink, by the way. Kid Blink."
John held out his hand but jumped back, horrified, when Blink spat on his own before reaching out.
Blink noticed his expression and laughed. "Yep, you'se new around here alright! But I likes your attitude. Tellin' me that scabbah was behind me and trippin' Delancey heah even though you'se ain't exactly in fightin' shape, you'se a good kid. Er, what's your name?"
Careful not to offer his hand this time, John replied, "I am John. You're right; I just got here today. I don't have very much money, though. Do you know where I can find a job?"
Blink shrugged. "The money part's easy." He reached over and cut the purse strings from Morris' belt. He poured the money out and handed it to John.
John backed away from the money. "I'm not a thief. That doesn't belong to you or me."
Blink sighed, becoming impatient. "Look at it this way: they stoled this money offa some other poor bum in the streets who wasn't lucky enough to get rescued like you was. He's probably lying in some alley by now. But dis money, they stoled it from someone else, even though they gots jobs and can live easy. But if they keep this money, they'se being rewarded for hoitin' that poor bum and they don't learn nothin'. But if you takes the money, you'se helpin' to teach them a lesson."
John, after listening intently to Blink's lecture, slowly reached for the money and, after counting it out, handed exactly half to Blink. Blink looked very impressed. "That was fast. You'se went to school?"
John blushed and mumbled, "Yeah, a bit."
Blink grin widened. "Tell you what, I'se gonna take you back to the Lodging House with me. I'se a Newsie, see. I'll teach ya how to sell papes with the best of them. Me and Mush will make you a real Newsie!"
"Who's Mush?"
"Mush's me best friend. You remind me of him a lot. You'se both as decent as they come. Honest, too."
John staggered to keep pace the Blink. Blink, seeing his difficulty walking, slowed down. "You'se hoit much?" Blink asked worriedly.
John shook his head. "Nothing much. Only a few bruises and cuts."
Blink rolled his eye. "And a bloody nose, and, I'se guessin' some bruised ribs. Never mind, though, we'se almost there.
John held his breath against the pain in his ribs as Blink half-carried, half-dragged him up the stairs to the lodging house. As Blink started to a door at the end of the hall, John stopped him nervously.
"It's kind of late. Are you sure we won't disturb anyone?"
Blink laughed loudly and Kloppman, the owner of the Lodging House, threw a shoe up the stairs in Blink's general direction. John winced, but Blink shrugged it off. "Disturb anyone? We won't disturb no one if Racetrack Higgins is in there doin' it for us!"
With that he threw the door open and strolled in. John followed, slinking as far behind Blink as possible to escape notice. Like that was going to work.
The Muses Speak:
Blink!Muse: Awww! I LIKE this! I'm a hero!
Mush!muse: *hyperventilates* OMG! This is a chapter fic so we actually get to do Shoutouts! For the first time! OMG! *passes out*
Blink!muse: You are pathetic. But what can you expect from the Fluff!muse? As he was saying, this is Aguachica's first chapter fic, so she is looking forward to the Shoutouts to reviewers.
Skitts!muse: If there are any. . .
Blink!muse: Of course there will be! I am the hero! Everyone wants to read a story about me, right?
Skitts!muse: *laughs*
Aguachica: Hey! Don't make fun of Blink! I need him to be cooperative for the rest of this story, you know.
Skitts!muse: Sorry.
Blink!muse: It's okay, I guess. But I feel used, somehow.
Skitts!muse: I'm sure there will be plenty of reviews, Blink. Remember? Aguachica already paid all her friends to read and review this.
*silence*
Skitts!muse: Oops?
Aguachica: Okay. . . We are going to have a very, VERY long talk after this chapter, young newsie.
Skitts!muse: EEP! *runs*
Aguachica: I'll deal with him later. Now for my note. I technically have the rest of the story written, so I am not accepting any requests for names, but if anyone has any suggestions about a humorous event or situation that could happen to liven up the story, tell me and I will be more than happy to consider adding it in! I can't promise that it will be exactly how you told it to me, but I promise that, if you help me, I will give you credit for it. This is my first chapter fanfiction, as Blink!muse said, and I am not used to carrying a plot for so many chapters!. Reviewers: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY, PLEASE!
A special notice/ad: For any neopet members out there, there is a new neopet guild for Newsie fans! It is very active, and we have trivia and polls and such. With prizes!
We desperately need members! There are only two of us there! We are getting lonely! It is called "Carryin' the Banner". Please go and join! The girl in charge is "pixie-Gav24601", who wrote that nice story called "A Midsummer Night Delirium", where Snipeshooter learns how to pick up girls. She is known as _navet_ on Neopets. Please go check out our guild!
By Aguachica
Rated: PG
Summary: A boy comes to the Lodging House, and the newsies help him find a Newsie name.
Disclaimer: I do not own the newsies. I do own the character John and the name that he decides on. If someone would like to buy Blink for me, my birthday is November 2nd. Blink would make a lovely 16th birthday present, don't you think? BTW, my Skitts!muse of violence is making his appearance this story! He hasn't had much of a chance to be violent, so he might be a little out of touch. . .
Skitts!muse: Oh sure, blame everything on your poor, neglected muse.
Special note: I would like to thank my editor and best friend, Dacia! She found all my mistakes, and told me when I needed to add more detail and when I was getting too boring. Then she had to put up with me when I actually posted it. Thanks, girlie! You're the best! Many luffles and huggles to you! And, of course, I need to thank John (the present day John, who I based the story John on), for being a great friend and letting me abuse him and mutilate his character in the story. Talk about friendship! More luffles and huggles! And you'll need them after you've been in this story past the second chapter. . . *innocent look*
~~~Begin Story!~~~
Prologue: Introduction
John had been in New York City for three whole hours now, and already he hated it. They had promised him wealth, a job, a future. Instead, he was cold, lost, and very scared. They had meant jobs, wealth, and futures for those who already had them. To those who were prodigies in intelligence, strength, and looks. John was a normal 15-year-old boy. He was fairly tall, 5'9", and he had tan skin and dark hair.
It was growing dark, and the streets were obviously no place for a teenage boy. At least, no place for a respectable one. The sun had almost disappeared, and shadowy sirens stared at him from alleyways, perhaps looking at his potential as their next customer.
He looked over his shoulder and he saw two figures, dressed in dark clothes, following him. Panicking slightly, he sped up, but there was no sign of a friendly building. There were only closed restaurants and bars, which would be no better than the streets at night.
One of the figures grabbed his shoulder and slammed him against a wall. John's breath was knocked from him, and he tried to shrink back as far as possible from the two menacing figures.
The taller figure sneered openly before spitting out, "Well, lookit heah, Oscar, what do we have heah?"
The smaller one-Oscar-laughed unpleasantly. "It looks like we have a stranger to these parts, Morris. And I think we know what we do with strangers: soak 'em before they can spend all their dough."
They dragged John into an alley. He struggled but, after numerous hits to the head, was subdued. He wondered frantically what would happen when they found out he had no money left. The train ticket to New York had cost more than he had expected.
As John wasn't a fighter-he had never had cause to learn until now-he proved to be little challenge for the two men. They quickly searched him for money and, finding none, began to get a little annoyed.
Morris tried to console his brother. "Well, at least we can soak 'im now."
Oscar brightened up considerably. "Yeah, there is that!"
John jerked away. "Wait! What'd I do to you?" He yelped indignantly.
Morris smirked evilly. "Lets see. You was born, you came hear, and you ain't got any money for us. Is that enough reasons?"
Than Oscar grabbed John's arms and held him still while Morris pounded on his face for what seemed like eternity. Than, they switched places and Oscar beat him for what seemed the rest of eternity. John couldn't overpower them; he was forced to stand there helplessly. H tasted blood; his lip must have been split open by a fist.
The beating continued and then, just as John felt his vision darkening into the now welcome grips of unconsciousness, he heard drunken singing coming towards the alleyway.
A blonde boy with one blue eye and an eye patch covering the other wobbled into the alley, still singing and grinning insanely. "'Ello, Oshcar, Morrish. Who ish you'sh friend, heah?"
Oscar gave John one last punch to the stomach and threw him to the ground and sauntered over to tower over the boy. Morris spat at him. "One of Cowboys lot. What is you doin' round heah at this time? This is our territory, and you are in it and outnumbered."
While Morris had been talking, Oscar had circled around and was about to attack the boy from behind. John mustered his energy and yelled "Behind you!"
That earned him a hard kick in the ribs, but it worked. The boy spun around and sunk both fists into Oscar's stomach with remarkable accuracy for a drunk.
Morris leapt forward, but John managed to trip him. He fell to the ground where the blonde boy quickly knocked him out with a blow to the head. John risked a glance over to the other man, Oscar, and saw he was also unconscious. He looked up at his savior.
"Wow."
The blonde grinned again, but now it was more a cheerful grin instead of an insane one. "I saw you was havin' a bit of trouble with the scabs, so I'se here. I'se Blink, by the way. Kid Blink."
John held out his hand but jumped back, horrified, when Blink spat on his own before reaching out.
Blink noticed his expression and laughed. "Yep, you'se new around here alright! But I likes your attitude. Tellin' me that scabbah was behind me and trippin' Delancey heah even though you'se ain't exactly in fightin' shape, you'se a good kid. Er, what's your name?"
Careful not to offer his hand this time, John replied, "I am John. You're right; I just got here today. I don't have very much money, though. Do you know where I can find a job?"
Blink shrugged. "The money part's easy." He reached over and cut the purse strings from Morris' belt. He poured the money out and handed it to John.
John backed away from the money. "I'm not a thief. That doesn't belong to you or me."
Blink sighed, becoming impatient. "Look at it this way: they stoled this money offa some other poor bum in the streets who wasn't lucky enough to get rescued like you was. He's probably lying in some alley by now. But dis money, they stoled it from someone else, even though they gots jobs and can live easy. But if they keep this money, they'se being rewarded for hoitin' that poor bum and they don't learn nothin'. But if you takes the money, you'se helpin' to teach them a lesson."
John, after listening intently to Blink's lecture, slowly reached for the money and, after counting it out, handed exactly half to Blink. Blink looked very impressed. "That was fast. You'se went to school?"
John blushed and mumbled, "Yeah, a bit."
Blink grin widened. "Tell you what, I'se gonna take you back to the Lodging House with me. I'se a Newsie, see. I'll teach ya how to sell papes with the best of them. Me and Mush will make you a real Newsie!"
"Who's Mush?"
"Mush's me best friend. You remind me of him a lot. You'se both as decent as they come. Honest, too."
John staggered to keep pace the Blink. Blink, seeing his difficulty walking, slowed down. "You'se hoit much?" Blink asked worriedly.
John shook his head. "Nothing much. Only a few bruises and cuts."
Blink rolled his eye. "And a bloody nose, and, I'se guessin' some bruised ribs. Never mind, though, we'se almost there.
John held his breath against the pain in his ribs as Blink half-carried, half-dragged him up the stairs to the lodging house. As Blink started to a door at the end of the hall, John stopped him nervously.
"It's kind of late. Are you sure we won't disturb anyone?"
Blink laughed loudly and Kloppman, the owner of the Lodging House, threw a shoe up the stairs in Blink's general direction. John winced, but Blink shrugged it off. "Disturb anyone? We won't disturb no one if Racetrack Higgins is in there doin' it for us!"
With that he threw the door open and strolled in. John followed, slinking as far behind Blink as possible to escape notice. Like that was going to work.
The Muses Speak:
Blink!Muse: Awww! I LIKE this! I'm a hero!
Mush!muse: *hyperventilates* OMG! This is a chapter fic so we actually get to do Shoutouts! For the first time! OMG! *passes out*
Blink!muse: You are pathetic. But what can you expect from the Fluff!muse? As he was saying, this is Aguachica's first chapter fic, so she is looking forward to the Shoutouts to reviewers.
Skitts!muse: If there are any. . .
Blink!muse: Of course there will be! I am the hero! Everyone wants to read a story about me, right?
Skitts!muse: *laughs*
Aguachica: Hey! Don't make fun of Blink! I need him to be cooperative for the rest of this story, you know.
Skitts!muse: Sorry.
Blink!muse: It's okay, I guess. But I feel used, somehow.
Skitts!muse: I'm sure there will be plenty of reviews, Blink. Remember? Aguachica already paid all her friends to read and review this.
*silence*
Skitts!muse: Oops?
Aguachica: Okay. . . We are going to have a very, VERY long talk after this chapter, young newsie.
Skitts!muse: EEP! *runs*
Aguachica: I'll deal with him later. Now for my note. I technically have the rest of the story written, so I am not accepting any requests for names, but if anyone has any suggestions about a humorous event or situation that could happen to liven up the story, tell me and I will be more than happy to consider adding it in! I can't promise that it will be exactly how you told it to me, but I promise that, if you help me, I will give you credit for it. This is my first chapter fanfiction, as Blink!muse said, and I am not used to carrying a plot for so many chapters!. Reviewers: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ONLY, PLEASE!
A special notice/ad: For any neopet members out there, there is a new neopet guild for Newsie fans! It is very active, and we have trivia and polls and such. With prizes!
We desperately need members! There are only two of us there! We are getting lonely! It is called "Carryin' the Banner". Please go and join! The girl in charge is "pixie-Gav24601", who wrote that nice story called "A Midsummer Night Delirium", where Snipeshooter learns how to pick up girls. She is known as _navet_ on Neopets. Please go check out our guild!