Chapter Thirteen

Anthony stared out at the black midnight sky as the stars twinkled back at him, their brightness illuminating the night. There had been no moon that night, just like always. The sky seemed empty… hollow. Something was missing. Anthony glanced down at his hands as he shuffled his worn-out deck of cards that he had received from Mr. Jones at the racetrack. Over the past few days, his time had been usually spent at the races, watching and betting on any horse he would see with potential. But the races weren't on his mind that night. So much had happened, so much had changed since he had left a part of his life and came to what he has become. Sure, he had only stayed with the newsies for at least more than a week, but there were things that he couldn't turn back from anymore. Memories, thoughts, and events that couldn't be easily pushed away.

Anthony sighed once again, taking in the peace and quiet of the rooftop of the Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House. He was glad that he had found at least a piece of sanctuary from the happenings occurring about him. Everybody turned into a different state from what they had been. Tony stepped up from his position, becoming the next Manhattan leader. He constantly talked with the older newsies, along with Jack, making plans about the state of the newsies. Strider, however, didn't keep with her normal self. Unknowingly, she would suddenly burst out crying, stopping whatever she had doing. But what concerned everyone was Sapphy, her mood had changed and the atmosphere around her was different. The glint in her eyes and the stare that she had gave her reason to have everybody leave her alone. She wasn't like this before. She was far and distant from everyone else. Apart from this, Tony and Roach did their best to keep everything under control, talking to everyone and making sure that they were all safe. But no matter what they did, everybody felt empty. Boxer was gone.

Anthony remembered that day, the sun was coming out and Boxer and Spike were arguing and fighting right on the Brooklyn Bridge. Nobody had thought that Spike was going to do that. Nobody thought that Boxer was going to fall down in the river. It had all been a sudden shock. He remembered having a mass of people run towards Spike, fists in air, ready to pounce. Nobody knew why they hadn't done anything before. They all thought that this was a fight between the two leaders, something that they needed to do for so long. They predicted, they thought, no, they knew, that Boxer was going to succeed. But little did they know.

There was no parade that night when Boxer had gone. There was no banquet made in favor of him. To all from the outside world it was just another street rat falling into New York's deathly traps. Another person gone. People died here and there from the going-ons about in Manhattan. But to the newsies, it was much more. This was their home and family. There wasn't anything you would change for that. The boys held in their feelings, doing their best to show their manliness, but the anger and tears flooded out that night. No one could do anything about it for it was how they felt. They all hung their heads low and looked solemnly down on the ground as a kindly Father had done a small ceremony for them at the edge of the Brooklyn river. Although none of them had been very religious, they needed to do something special. Something for Boxer.

Anthony remembered looking down at the small mound that they had made for him. His eyes stayed on the small, crooked and bent shape of the wooden cross placed upon the rocks, dirt, and mud that was made as the mound. That was it. He was gone. And there was nothing they could do about it.

~*~

"Are you okay, now?" asked Anthony as he rubbed his hand back and forth against the Strider's back. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders as she held her face in her hands and looked down on the ground. It was mid-morning and it was another one of those days that Strider chose to break down. Strider replied with a sniffle and a small gulp as she wiped her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Just give me a minute…" answered Strider. Anthony nodded and looked about his surroundings. He wasn't even halfway done selling his papers, but having Strider with him sometimes helped, considering her sudden crying here and there caused people to take notice of them. She had needed to be with at least one newsie each day because of her condition. Today it was Anthony's turn. He couldn't help but think that he was going to spend time with her. Although he only knew her for a while, he grew accustomed to her smile and her laugh. The way she would move and spent her time talking to the boys. He couldn't help it. She was infectious.

"Okay," said Strider as she took in a breath of air and stood up from her position. "I'm fine, now."

"You sure?" asked Anthony as he placed his newsie hat back on his black hair and held the stack of newspapers in his hand.

Strider nodded. "But I'd like to be on my own for a while… is that alright?" asked Strider meekly. Skittery had been keeping such a tight hold on her that she felt as if was about to choke.

"You know I couldn't…" started Anthony. But his eyes took in what he saw. Her feelings were hurt and obviously, who wouldn't want space? "You know Skittery's gonna have my ass for this if he finds out…" said Anthony as he smiled at her and shook his head.

A small smile crept upon Strider's face as she looked back at him. She gave him an understanding nod and wave as she turned around and walked away.

~*~

"Now, is everyone here?" asked Tony as he looked about the group. Roach and Slammer stood at his sides, their expression dauntless. It was already night, and the boys had done their best to fill their stomachs with food with the money they had earned that day. The room was stuffy and hot compared to cool breeze that the night had given outside. But they needed to meet back at the Lodging House. They couldn't risk meeting at Tibby's for fear of their reactions of the news that was about to come.

Jack looked around, wiping the sweat off his forehead, seeing that they were only missing one. "Sapphy… she's not here yet."

"She'll be here…" said Mush as he took a seat next to Anthony. "I told her about it at Tibby's."

Anthony sighed as he looked around. She had been spending less and less time with others since Boxer had passed away. He could see her trying to keep her face expressionless, showing that she was strong. The look in her eyes held anger, resentment, and sadness altogether. He couldn't help but worry about her. He remembered when they proved their friendship that night he helped her escaped her date. Although Strider was still his friend, Anthony felt much closer to Sapphy. But this time she was distant. She was too far away.

"Stop dawdling, I'm here," said Sapphy as she stepped in the room and closed the door behind her. She crossed her arms across her chest as she leaned on the wall. "So what's going on?"

"I'm about to tell ya…" said Tony as he shifted his weight from either foot. "I… us older newsies…" He paused once more and looked at the sea of faces before him. "You know that we ain't gonna stay here forever. Not too long from now, one of you is gonna be the new leader."

"Yeah, we know that…" said Blink thoughtfully. "But that ain't gonna be for long, right?"

"I've already got a job at one of those fancy hotels. All I'm doing is the dirty work, but at least I've got something to hold on to. I even got an small apartment already… it ain't perfect, but its fine," said Roach as he dug his hands in his pockets. "I'm not the only one who's gonna be working with the big boys… Tony's gonna start working with The Sun and Slammer's gonna be working with one of those arguing people…"

"Lawyers," said Slammer as he rolled his eyes and looked at Roach. "I ain't exactly working with them. He's going to be teaching me as long as I stay at his house and do errands for him. Mostly cleaning stuff… he said he was still looking for somebody to do that so I just went ahead and took it."

There was a sudden silence as the newsies at looked at Tony, Roach, and Slammer. Their world was falling upside down. They didn't expect this to happen too soon. Sure, they knew that their leaders were going to leave eventually and go on about their lives. But at such a crucial time, a time when everybody was so vulnerable, they just had to choose to leave.

"So, that's it? All of you'se are just gonna leave us like this?" exclaimed Sapphy as she let her hands fell down on her sides and stepped up from her position.

"Sapphy, we gotta… if we don't go now, opportunity just might slip away… it ain't easy to find what you want. All of you know that," replied Tony.

"But…" said Sapphy as she took a breath and glared at the threesome. "YOU CAN'T! Do you know how hard this is on us? Things aren't even back to normal yet!" shouted Sapphy as she stood across the door, keeping her body between their way out and the threesome. "I'm not letting you."

"Sapphy…" said Tony as he moved across the room, making his way to where Sapphy was standing. Her blue eyes glared back at Tony as he tried to figure out the words to say. But upon reaching her, she couldn't hold it in anymore. There was just too much going on and too much to take. She had been keeping it in, hidden from everybody else, what she had felt. She closed her hand into a fist, strength running through her body, she raised her arm and took a hit at Tony.

"Whoa! Sapphy!" Mush quickly stood up and ran towards the two with Anthony, Skittery, and Blink behind him as Sapphy swung another punch. Mush and Blink quickly grabbed a hold of Sapphy's waist as she kicked and flailed her arms around. Her blue eyes shone with fiery and anger. She moved about, finally escaping from Mush and Blink's grasp, but Anthony hurriedly ran in front of Sapphy and gave her the best cold stare he could muster.

"Sapphy, don't," said Anthony sternly as Sapphy breathed heavily and curled her hands into fists. Anthony thought that he could see her eyes water as she blinked at him. But he quickly pushed his thoughts away. She was mad. She couldn't be like this.

She took a step forward, still blocking the door, but to Sapphy's surprise Anthony rapidly held both of her hands, opened the door and dragged her upstairs to the roof.

"Italy!" retorted Sapphy as she tried her best to pull away from Anthony's grasp. "What are you doing?!"

For once, the rooftop was empty, considering that all of the Manhattan newsies were downstairs talking to Tony, Roach, and Slammer. And that was a good thing. He needed to talk to her. To figure things out. He couldn't just let her act like this. She was his friend, and for that they did drastic measures for each other.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down the small bench placed alongside the entrance of the rooftop. He stood above her, his black hair falling sloppily on his face and his firm gaze piercing into her eyes.

"What did you think you were doing?!" said Anthony as he looked down at Sapphy, her blonde hair tousled beyond belief.

"What did you think?" replied Sapphy. "I was saying what I was feeling… what I was thinking. There's nothing wrong with that!"

"You could've knocked him out!"

"WHO CARES?" shouted Sapphy as she stood up to face Anthony. "He's going to leave anyway! He won't care… we're just a bunch of kids trying to survive. Who do you think cares for us?" Sapphy pushed her face into Anthony, hoping that he would understand. For once her feelings were to get ahead of her. She felt all of her emotions go through her body as her chest swelled up with heavy breathing. Her vision suddenly began to blur as she looked at Anthony and slowly felt her eyes began to water.

"Everything was just fine… FINE! But then Boxer…" whispered Sapphy as she sat back on the bench and looked down on the ground. She couldn't stop her eyes from releasing the tears that came out and fell down her face. She tried her best to brush it away, but it stayed and flowed constantly. She looked back up at Anthony, sympathy written on his face, and continued.

"I just don't understand! Why did he have to die? He was just there and now he's not… I can't help but think that he's never going to have the feeling of waking up with the sun on his face, not knowing how the breeze feels when fall comes, and not feeling… just not feeling at all…" Sapphy glanced at Anthony, who was now calmly sitting down next to her, taking in her every word.

"I mean… I've never had to deal with this before… I just don't… I don't understand…" Her eyes became clouded as fresh tears started forming and fell down her cheeks. She looked at Anthony, his face full of compassion and understanding. His unclean white blouse clung to his skin and his black suspenders hung from his shoulders to hold his dark brown pants. She had never acted with anyone like this before. Everyone, except Spot, considering their somewhat sister-brother bond. But even she couldn't break down in front of him like that. She saw something different about him, something that could last with friendship.

Anthony stood up and started pacing back and forth, glancing at Sapphy occasionally. There was so much going on and it was too much to take. He'd understand where Sapphy was coming from… they were all going to break down eventually. Anthony turned to face the wooden wall behind Sapphy. With all his strength, he curled his hand into a fist and thrust it into the wooden wall.

"Italy!" shouted Sapphy as she stood from her seat and turned to face Anthony, his fist halfway across the wall. "What did you do?!"

"I couldn't help it!" retorted Anthony as he looked at his arm. Wooden blisters pierced his skin as few bits of blood fell down his hand.

"Oh geez, Italy… you're bleeding!"

"I am? I didn't feel anything… you know, they did a REALLY bad job of making this…"

"Did it feel better?" asked Sapphy softly.

Anthony chuckled. "A little…"

"So, um…"

"Sapphy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm stuck."

~*~

Spot sat down on a wooden barrel as he surveyed the part of Brooklyn before him. The waves lapped against each other as everything else about him stood still. It had been days since Boxer had been gone and change had already drifted about in the air, both in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He didn't think that Spike was going to do that. He knew that he should've told the others about that shadow he saw come out of the Alaster house. He could've avoided it by then. Anger filled him as he thought of how differently it could've turned out.

From his discussions with Jack, Strider wouldn't be constantly breaking down and Sapphy wouldn't be keeping herself away from the other newsies. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Those two girls and Jack were the closest he had to a family. They were the ones who knew about his past, who knew about how he grew up and become to what he was.

He still remembered that day right after they had done the raid. Spike and Boxer were fighting forcefully at each other, not far from where Spot was standing now. It really took him by surprise that the bulls came out of nowhere. They don't usually come around these parts of Brooklyn, but it was early morning, and to Spot, he knew that they were making a great deal of noise. If it weren't for one of the older bulls, his enforcing but sympathetic look gave him the impression of Kloppman, they would've all been in jail by then. He had only taken Spike, right after throwing Boxer in the river. They didn't know what happened to him. The bulls just came and took him away. Spike was gone. He saw the look of pity that the bulls gave them. He knew that they didn't need pity, but when they needed it the most, it came most handy.

Now, here he was, sitting on a wooden barrel, shooters and slingshot in his hands, wondering what was to become of them. Hammer and Mackie did their best to keep everything under control, but the power got to them. Their brother was finally out of the way and control was upon their hands. Spot couldn't believe how they treated the younger newsies, beating and abusing them to their own pleasure. Somebody had had to take over. But Spot knew he couldn't do it by himself. He needed the help of others. Spot remembered Jack telling him about what was happening at the Manhattan Lodging House too, with the older newsies constantly leaving to start work, leaving no one in charge. How times have changed.

He turned to look around and suddenly saw an outline of a small boy run towards him. "Spot!" shouted the figure. Spot hurriedly jumped down and walked over to the boy. He had dark green eyes and dark brown hair to match his small stature. He quickly recognized the boy as one of the younger newsies. "Hammer and Mackie… they're gone! And… Spike's room… it was open… and all the stuff we took was gone…"

Spot looked back at the boy in amazement. He had remembered that Spike's room was where all their loot had gone. The following day after the raid they had found out that Spike had locked the room, leaving no one but himself, not even his brothers to enter the room. It was untouched since then. But now their loot was gone and there was no one to rule Brooklyn.

~*~

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! ^^ only 6 more days until opening night! (smokey joe's cafe!)

Shout-outs

Strider: lol, no cliffhangers this time! well, kinda... but not as intense as the other ones! :P

Blake: wow... haven't done something both good and irritating at the same time. lol. i guess anything's possible on october 31st. *raises eyebrow*

Sapphy: haha, scooby doo! i thought that movie was hilarious...

Spazjoslyn: lol, skittery! *hugs* not so predictable, eh? lol, jk! i already had everything planned out beforehand. :P

evenstarundomiel: haha, thanks! halfway thru the fic i wasn't sure if i was portraying race right. but i guess i'm doing so fine so far. ^^ yay! heheh, we luv mush! lmao!

fivefold: i luv twists in stories. *wink* hahah, did you notice that for each chapter i'm suddenly writing more and more? look at my first chap compared to what i have now! lol.