DISCLAIMER: Basically, to put it in simple dictation, all the characters in Disney's Newsies belong to Disney. *SuRpRiSe* All the characters NOT in Disney's Newsies belong to me, with the exception of Angel-she belongs to herself. ^_^

A.N. Wow, there's a lot of people reading this story! W00t w00t! We broke 300, we broke 300!!! *tackles down Runner in a hug* Thanks so much EVERYONE! Shout-outs to: Lanen1, Chimes1, Random, Angel27, tiger17, imaginelet, sweetgal1, Dimples1, Chewy2, Missus Estes, g0ne-f0reveR, Deanie, asp, snipah higgins, Spider Chick, CiCi, Drama-Queen, Apollonia2, Rhapsody4, Tree, Lyra Torg, and NicNac!!! THANK YOU, FRIENDS! ^_^

Uhm...this chapter may seem a bit short I suppose, but I really wanted to get back into the swing of things; maybe it'd help in finishing this story once and for all. *grins* So here I present to you: Chapter 26!!

-Brief Recap-: After a brief conflict in a bookstore over the intentions behind their hatred, Spot and Snap have finally reached a sort of truce between each other and perhaps are traversing the road to friendship. We last left Becca and Race happy as ever, agreeing to 'wait' until they were sure of their love before giving themselves to each other. Though a bit hesitant to forgive him, Angel accepts Blink's apology for not being the boyfriend he should have been, and the couple is starting their relationship anew. Mallory no longer has to worry over her father, for Mr. Carter's bronchitis has been traced to the growth of fungus in the ventilation units of the house, and lastly, Runner has finally learned from Spot that the Brooklyn leader and Mallory did *not* sleep together, as Runner had originally assumed. And now without further ado...

~*Just A Little Bet*~

~*~*~*~*~ Runner's day of selling papers had been cut short by his own lack of self-pride. He despised the fact that time away from his once-hobby had formed him into a wretched hawker who couldn't peddle a morning edition if his very life depended on it. Another reason why he didn't care much for the richy life he was living up back at Morningside. While confined to his ballroom of a dormitory scribbling things in Hebrew and Latin, here were boys-most younger than him-taking part in the real life, actually working to see another tomorrow...and never once did they complain.

How he wished that some God-sent misfortune would rain down upon the aristocracy and force them all to walk in a lower class ruffian's shoes just for one day. He would bet his life they wouldn't last a minute. Discarding his papers into the waters under the docks, he let out an aggravated sigh and shuffled his way into the Brooklyn lodging house. If his reasoning was correct, the building would currently be vacant, for Brooky's tended to be superior newsboys and would spend hours working the crowds and earning good money.

"As if I couldn't feel any more miserable," he muttered to himself while passing through the front doorway of the lodge. "I'm a pitiful fighter...Spot has to defend me 24/7 because our worst enemies hate my guts...I can't even earn a dime for some lousy papers...and I'm a damn jackass to top it off!"

He intentionally collapsed onto the floor then, as he was growing accustomed to doing, and laid sprawled out across the hardwood like a rag doll tossed aside for later amusement. "I hate my life..." Though he knew he was sounding much like the angst-filled suicidal cases that often came to the monastery seeking guidance, he couldn't care less, for he was only being honest. He simply couldn't quite hold everything together these days. His father was dictating his life, his teachers thought too highly of him, his friends thought he was something he really was not, and Spot kept insisting that he do something about it all yet Runner kept denying himself, as if he had come to believe that such skill never had been in his power.

"What does he want me to do anyhow?" The young Conlon asked of the walls about him. "Yea, he tells me to stand up to my father, but it's easier said than done. What am I suppose to do? Curse him out? Tell him off and then give him more incentive to kick me out the place?" He lifted his head an inch off the ground only to slam it back down and groan. "Yeeea right."

Tired by his childish actions, he climbed to his feet and made his way up the stairs dejectedly, letting his feet rest on each step during the ascent. His hand slid along the rusted railing and he almost had the feeling of time being suspended, as if his upward mount would last a lifetime. Finally, though, he reached the second story and leaned his back against a wall to recover from the climb. It hadn't tired him...only had made him dizzy for some reason.

"Damn, Lucas," he belittled himself, "you're turning into a friggin' pansy now. Ya gotta get a hold of yourself." He exhaled a deep breath of air and adjusted his bowler hat upon his head with accurate precision. His head was swelling, however, and he couldn't ignore that. He brought a hand up to massage his temples but it only seemed to exacerbate the pain and he moaned in response to the hurt. Maybe he wasn't bettering in health after all...

And then just as quickly, the pain left. Runner rolled his eyes at the confusion of it all and cursed Queens under his breath, swearing he'd soak the bastard that put him in the hospital to a bloody pulp. He pushed himself off the wall and headed down the corridor to Spot's room, where he had been lodging for the past few days. "Heh, I wonder if father's sent out a search crew yet...or if he's even noticed I'm gone..."

His deliberation was interrupted when someone's soft cries traveled to his ears and perked his attention. Begot by his curiosity, he followed the trace of the noise to the girls' bunkroom where the entrance door was slightly cracked open. Runner pursed his lips, unsure of whether he should intrude or not, but in the end he figured it best simply to make sure all was right.

The bunkroom was rather dark even though it was early afternoon, with all the thick-draped curtains pulled closed. Runner allowed his eyes to adjust to the change in lighting and then saw a figure hunched over by the ledge of a windowsill, a girl around his age kneeling with her face buried in her hands. With a soft pure voice, words spilled from her mouth in a sweet string of melody, but the song's virtue was occasionally shattered by her sobs.

Runner cocked his head to one side and in efforts to not embarrass the girl, cleared his throat to announce his presence. The girl did not hear him. He walked farther into the room on cat's feet, his steps light ones, trying ever hard to not awaken the creaking proclivities of the wood below him. When he was a reasonable distance from the girl, he studied her backside for a moment and finally recognized her.

"Rhapsody..." he whispered.

The girl called as so slowly turned around to face her visitor. Her curly brown locks were pulled back into a French braided pigtail, her cheeks smeared with tear-stains and her eyes so reddened she appeared to be a grieving widow. "Heya Runner," she managed to say with a forced smile, but a fresh new batch of tears fell during the greeting and she turned away from him to hide her shame.

Runner closed the distance between them and kneeled down next to her, pained to see such a close friend in a like condition. "Rhap, what's wrong?" His forehead was furrowed in concerned and he laid a hand on her shoulder to show his support. "Did, did something happen?"

In reply, the girl nodded and once again faced him. She wiped at her dampened cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater and tried to gather her bearings. She wasn't ever the type to spill her feelings to anyone, and she wasn't necessarily in any mood to reiterate the cause of her current depression, but Runner was a close friend and if anyone could make her feel a hundredfold better, it would be him.

She calmed herself with a few easing breaths and swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Remember...remember that upper-class boy I was always with? James Beckoner?" The other nodded and so she continued. "Last week was our one year anniversary," she smiled sadly. "It was wonderful. He took me to this five-star restaurant...I felt like a princess, ya know? The night was just so beautiful...everything was perfect; I couldn't imagine a more perfect day."

She scooted closer to her friend and beheld his gaze for a moment, needing his strength to go on. Runner's eyes were glistening and she extracted the assurance her heart required to finish the tale. "Gosh, ya know how much I cared about him! A whole year, Runner! Can you imagine that? A whole year!" He draped an arm around her neck and she comfortably rested her head onto his shoulders, as if he were an elder fending off some nightmare for her. "Yesterday, I went to his house for a banquet his parents were holding. James is graduating from college this spring, so they went all out for the celebration. All his high class friends were there too...I kinda felt out of place naturally.

"The night rolled on by smoothly; I had a pretty good time, but I kept noticing that James was acting a bit strange. I asked him about it when we were alone...I wish I hadn't. You know what he told me? That now that he was out of college, he needed to settle down with a real woman, someone from his class who would 'seal the deal' on his social ranks. Just like that!"

She narrowed her eyes in indignation, angry tears escaping through the half-opened slits. "I couldn't even believe the words he was speaking! I was shocked! I stood there like a complete idiot, shaking my head, asking him whether this was some kind of joke. How could someone end a year-long relationship so...so..."

"So arrogantly," Runner finished for her, subconsciously rubbing her shoulders to alleviate her humiliation. "The kid's a jackass is all. If I was youse, I'da socked him a good one right in the eye. I'm sure no high- class goil would want him then."

Rhapsody laughed lightly, but sighed nonetheless. "I just can't believe it, ya know? I mean...a year! We had been together for a year! And everything just seemed so magical when I was with him. He always knew the right things to say, and he was always such a gentleman with me. I still can't believe this even happened! It's like some...it's like a nightmare. I wish things would go back to the way they were."

"Well, some things aren't meant to go back to the way they were, Rhap. That's just the way the world woiks." He hugged her close and smiled down at her, sitting back on his heels to be more comfortable. "Believe me, you could do much better than that hoity-toity. Ya need to move on, doll. Forget about 'im and find someone else who'll treat ya like the lady ya are."

"That's the thing, though," she replied, "I don't want to move on! I loved him, Runner! I loved him. Maybe I sound like a fool, or maybe I'm just naïve, but I truly feel like things will work out between me and him. Maybe he was having a hard day and took it out on me, I don't know." Her shoulders sagged and she sat upright, pulling away from Runner's grasp. Her arguments had merit...didn't they? She shook her head. Of course they did! Countless times had James expressed his love for her; he couldn't possibly have meant all the horrible things he had said to her last night.

Runner wanted to take the blindfold off her eyes and allow her to see the situation as it truly was. Rhapsody was a beautiful young woman with an inspiring personality; on top of that she was a great friend. He couldn't bear to see her suffer like this. "Look, Rhap. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I really don't think James was kidding when he said he wanted to end the relationship. He was using ya, goil! Can't ya see it? Probably not yet socially accepted, he figured he'd go out with the foist sweet face he came across, and now that he's moving up in the woild, he's ditching ya. I've seen it done a number of times. The guys a joik; ya gotta forget about him!"

"How can you say that about him? You barely even know him, yet here you are going on about the type of guy he is and telling me his motives behind going out with me. He loved me, Runner! Can't you understand that? I mean, you make it sound as if love can't exist between two people of different classes! Do you think I'm not good enough for a rich man?"

"Ya know damn well that's not what I'm saying!" His gentle gaze became a glare and he rose back onto his knees to stare her down. "All I'm saying is that you're wasting time if you think he's going to march into this place and shower you with apologies."

She gave him an incredulous look. Who did he think he was! How dare he feign an apologetic mode only to lash out at her in her most vulnerable state. Did he enjoy piercing her heart with pessimism and stone-cold possibilities? "Wasting my time, huh? You're wrong! Maybe I'm just wasting my time talking to a bastard like you!"

Angered by her words, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him so that their noses were nearly touching. Their current derision towards each other was electrifying, like a radiating current that pulled them together. "Ya wanna spend ya life in a daydream, it's fine with me," he hissed at her. "But don't ridicule me for slapping reality into your face. If anything, you should just grow up."

"Oh, look who's talking," she countered him. "You couldn't survive a day in Queens if it weren't for your cousin. You know more than anyone else that you would've died if Spot hadn't stepped in for you. Maybe you should take your own advice, Runner. Maybe I'm not the only one in this room who needs to grow up."

He scowled at her, but knew she was absolutely right in that issue. He was dead wrong for accusing her of a fault he too possessed. Silent moments passed between them before he shook his head, his features smoothing out. "I'm sorry..." he said softly, loosening his grip on her wrist. "My temper's a bit, uh, a bit more uncontrollable than usual."

She only nodded, unsure of how to answer him. His outbreak had been a surprise, that much was true. She hadn't seen Runner lose his temper since...actually, she had never witnessed such a time at all! Watching as he passed a hand through his hair, she wondered what was stressing him out as of late. "Spot told us you'd be staying here for a while," she said, wanting so much to break the conversational hiatus. "Is everything okay back at your home?"

"Never been better," he said quickly, not wanting to dwell on his troubles.

"You lie."

He looked up at her, a bit offended by the words. "What?"

"You lie." She shrugged, as if her comment was the most natural thing in the world. Seeing his confusion, though, she knew she'd have to explain. She faced him eye to eye and smiled warmly. "Runner, we've known each other for a long while now, and I know when you're hiding something. I see it in your eyes...you're heartbroken."

He tried to cover his shock with an urbane front, but failed pathetically. "Uh, well y-you're wrong. I'm not, I'm not heartbroken!" He tried to laugh. "That's ridiculous! I, uh, I don't..." He shook his head. "I'm not heartbroken."

"Gosh, Runner, just admit it!"

He wouldn't stop shaking his head. "There's nothing to admit! I'm not!"

She playfully pushed him aside and grinned. "Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

His lips upturning into a smirk, he growled at her stubbornness and tackled her down to the floor gently, supporting the back of her head with his hand so that she wouldn't feel the impact of their fall as he came down atop her. Pinning her down with the utmost victory, he straddled her and lifted his nose into the air haughtily. "Ha! I'm NOT heartbroken!"

She rolled her eyes but laughed anyhow. "It's always a battle with you, huh?"

"Damn straight," he replied with a grin. As he looked down at her, he couldn't help but admit to her close resemblance to Mallory, with her brown tresses and chocolate eyes...it made his stomach turn. The last thing he needed now was to be reminded of the heartbreak he was so fervently trying to deny. "Ya gotta forget about James," he whispered to the girl, leaning closer to her to stress his seriousness. "Ya gotta move on."

"Then...help me," she whispered back. She caressed one of his cheeks with her hand and guided his face downwards where their lips anxiously waited to join together. Her heart was pounding within her; she needed the pain to go away, she needed to feel that warmth and acceptance now. The pieces of her heart were shattered fragments scattered here and there and she needed someone willing to pick up the pieces and mend her soul.

When her lips finally met his, all that she had lost became clearer in her mind. All the things she would hold close now only as memories stung her, but also made lighter the burden her emotions were carrying. She wrapped her arms around Runner's neck and kissed him back with a desire to be shown the same love she thought she had known during her year with James.

Runner was at a lost for rationality. Somehow, his mind had linked Mallory and Rhapsody together and had justified his actions with some surreal code that allowed him instant gratification for his mourning heart. Rhapsody was so soft under him, and her body aroused every tensed feeling surging through his veins at that moment. His kisses became harder as he tried to get the most from the rendezvous, his lips trailing down her neck and then back up to make sweet wordless conversation with her lips.

His hands wandered all over her body until they met with her own hands and held them down above her head. He pulled away from her momentarily to catch his panting breath and then hurried back to her lips, those honey-flavored portals to a world of euphoria.

She moaned, begging him to further his advances, wanting to feel his tongue in the caverns of her mouth. And when he obliged her wishes, she could feel the passion gradually increasing between them. The heat was nearly unbearable. She raked her fingers through his hair and urged him on harder and closer. Though it was merely lust, the bad memories were being chased away for the both of them...the pain was slowly dissipating.

Runner knew he'd have to do more than make out with Rhapsody to rid his conscience of Mallory's presence...and he would've risked everything, so low were his hopes of getting back together with the one he loved. He was ready to obliterate every last ounce of faith in him, was ready to lose it all. But as he moved to kiss Rhapsody yet another time, the girl turned her head so that his lips instead met her cheek.

Baffled, he raised an eyebrow at her. "What'sa matter?"

She smiled sadly. "This isn't right. We shouldn't be taking advantage of each other like this. Your heart belongs to another girl and I...well, I'm just vulnerable enough right now to fall for any guy." She freed her hands from his hold and pulled him down for one last kiss before rolling from under him and climbing to her feet. "Not to say I didn't enjoy it, Runner. You really have damn good charm, you know that?"

Still lying on the floor, he turned onto his side and propped his head up onto a hand. "Of course I do!" he exclaimed. "I'm a Conlon!" His lopsided grin was a lazy one, but still maintained his pride perfectly. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and thought upon how spent he felt. He assumed he had overworked himself in trying to forget about Mallory.

"So admit it, hun," Rhapsody said from the bed upon which she now sat.

Runner looked up at her questioningly, but then understood where she was coming from. He rolled his eyes and laughed lightly. "Okay, FINE. Leave me with no dignity whatsoever; I AM heartbroken! Happy??" She threw a pillow at him and burst into giggles when he chased after her in return.

~*~*~*~*~

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