m-e lee: yeah, I was definitely rushing when I wrote that last night, my
mom was yelling at me to go to bed, so I didn't even bother with a spell-
check, sorry.
I've decided that I want to finish this in like a few more chapters and start the sequel....
Home Sweet Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jenna and Spot slowed to a walk and Jenna let out a small cry of excitement.
"I'm out!" She looked to Spot and smiled, it felt good to be outside again. Suddenly she turned serious. Jenna took both his hands so she was facing him and looked him right in the eyes. "Thank you," The honesty and completely gratifying tone in her voice made Spot's heart speed up slightly. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling away and spinning in a circle, staring up at the bright blue sky.
"Uh, Hook?" He hated to interrupt her obviously very happy moment, but he kind of had to. She turned, a smile lighting up her face. "We should prolly head back to the lodging house."
"I suppose so..." Jenna trailed off and Spot began walking in the direction of the lodging house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I know my daughter is here!" Jenna's mother stood at the desk at the lodging house. Her face was red as a beet and she was leaning in towards Terry who was obviously a little frightened by the angry woman. "Jenna! Jenna, I know you're here!" A few boys had gathered near by and were listening to her yell, it was clear than they found it amusing.
Spot walked in the door just as the woman he recognized as her mother turned towards the door. She saw him and he backed out, shutting the door.
"What are you doing?" Jenna asked him and he pulled her to the side of the building and put his finger up to his lips. Jenna's mother stormed out of the building and Spot whispered for Jenna to go up the fire escape. She did so and Spot went out to meet her mother.
"You, boy! You're the one she was talking to last night. Where is she?" She demanded. Spot took off his hat and shrugged.
"I sincerely 'pologize, miss. I have no recollection of talkin' to nobody last night, you must be mistaken." He flashed her a smile, but it only made her angrier. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard.
"You lie, you little street rat!" Spot's face adopted an seriously offended look and he put his hat back on his head. He grabbed her hands off his shoulders and practically threw them at her.
"Foist, no body touches Spot Conlon widout 'is permission. Is dat understood?" His voice was filled with anger and Jenna's mother nodded and took a step back. "Second, I don't know who you'se talkin' about, so back off and nevah, evah call me a liar again." He threw her an evil glare, pushed past her and walked into the lodging house then sprinted up the stairs. Only a moment after, her mom walked in, still angry looking but slightly more pacified than before.
"I'll ask you all one more time." She looked meaningfully around at all the newsies who still dared to hang around. "Where. Is. My. Daughter?"
They all shrugged and shook their heads. There was a chorus of, "Ain't no goils here.", "Even if she was here, why would we tell you?" and "Unless ya daughter's a boy, she ain't stayin' here."
Finally Jenna's mother got fed up and glared at them all one last time before saying: "I will be coming back here every day until I get her back, so you can get used to me hanging around." With that she walked out the door trying to retain her anger
"Well, dat was interesting." One boy said and he headed up to the bunkroom, followed by the rest. They were very surprised when they walked in to find Jenna sitting on Hook's old bunk next to Spot. One of the older newsies grinned suggestively at Spot.
"And who is dis lovely lady?" he asked.
"Yeah Spot, ya gonna introduce us?" another inquired.
Spot smirked, "Introduce ya? You fellas already know Hook." She smiled and shyly waved, it felt good to be called Hook again.
Socks, Dog and Slick stepped forward. Out of the three, Slick was the only one with her mouth closed. Socks was the first to speak, interrupting the stunned silence.
"But you'se a goil!" that seemed to set everyone off, because they all suddenly began talking at once.
"Hey! Fellas! Shut ya traps!" Spot stood and yelled. Everyone immediately stopped talking and looked to him to see what he had to say. "I over heard Hook's muddah's announcement, and if she's comin' back everyday like she says she is that means that Hook has to get outta here for a while. Now we'se gonna be goin' to visit Jackey-boy for a while and Hook here needs some clothes, anybody got any suggestions?
"She looks 'bout my size...kinda. She can borrow some of my clothes, but I want 'em back." Hook laughed.
"Sure thing." The boy walked to his bunk and removed some clothes from underneath it. He handed them overland Spot motioned for her to go change in the washroom.
When Hook came back out, Slick was leaning against her bunk.
"I heard you was leavin'" Hook nodded.
"You comin' along?" She asked.
"Nah, I'm startin' to uh, like it here." She glanced over at a newsie who was sitting on his own bunk and staring at Slick. She smiled, "Yeah, definitely startin' to like it here." She walked over to where the newsie was and sat next to him. Hook laughed and turned towards to the door. Spot was right there and she assumed he had heard the conversation but didn't seem too upset.
"We ain't together anymore," He explained. "You ready to go?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was getting dark even though it was only around five. For the past half hour rain clouds had been rolling in and it was beginning to rain lightly. Hook glanced up at the dark sky, not sure if the rain was a bad omen. Within minutes it was raining harder and they could barely see where they were going, but luckily Spot knew his way around.
"Is Manhattan any different than Brooklyn?" Hook asked him curiously. They had left the lodging house and were now walking quickly towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Spot laughed curtly.
"Any different? Lemme think 'bout dat...yes, yes it is. In Brooklyn you'se gotta be tough to survive, and in Manhattan every body's all nice and everyone takes care of each udda." He paused for a moment looking as though he was thinking. "I'd rather live in Brooklyn. In Manhattan you can't tell if someone's jist pretendin' to be nice, you can't fake being tough; either you are or you ain't."
"Am I tough?" Hook asked him. Though the question was asked in all seriousness, Spot laughed.
"From what I've seen, yeah, yer pretty tough..." Again he paused and looked over at her. "for a goil." She got a mock-offended look on her face and hit his arm.
"Wudda ya mean for a girl?" She was getting her accent back, it just felt more natural. "you sayin' dat when I was pretendin' to be a guy I wasn't tough?"
"Not really..."
"Ya know, I could soak you." Hook risked saying it.
"Ha! No one can soak Spot Conlon!" He replied not mad in the least. Hook smiled deviously and grabbed his arm forcing him to stop walking. They were on the bridge now, where they first met.
"Wanna bet?" she stepped back and took a basic fighting stance that Socks had taught her during her first lesson.
"You sure you wanna fight me?" Hook nodded, still smiling her sly little smile. "I ain't in the habit a fightin' goils but in this case...I'll make an exception." He didn't give her warning her, he just jumped forward and began to tickle her.
Hook began to giggle and tried to push him away but her efforts were in vain. She was soon cracking up and Spot was still tickling her. Hook collapsed and lay down on the puddle-filled bridge. Her long reddish-brown hair was dripping wet, just as her clothes were. She was still giggling slightly, and Spot decided that she wasn't laughing enough, so he got down and started the tickling again.
"No! pl-hahaha-ease stop!"
"Say mercy!" He replied, obviously enjoying the torture he was putting her through.
"Merc-hehehehe!" she was laughing so hard she couldn't speak.
"What?" He yelled so she could hear him over the pounding rain. Hook wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close. He stopped tickling her and she put her mouth near his ear.
"Mercy." She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. He pulled back slightly, her arm still around his neck. Hook and Spot were only inches away from each other and looking into each other's eyes. Spot realized they were both breathing harder than normal and his heart was pounding. He pulled back completely and stood up. Spot looked down to Hook and held out his wet hand to help her up. If he wasn't mistaken, she looked slightly disappointed. She took his hand anyway and he pulled her up.
"I didn't mean a tickle fight." She said, trying to sound angry, but smiling despite herself. Spot shrugged and started walking.
"You didn't specify what kind of fight you wanted." Spot answered, grinning wickedly. Hook didn't answer, so they continued walking in a comfortable silence. Soon enough, they were standing in front of a building with sign saying: Newsboy's Lodging House.
"Welcome to your new temporary home."
I've decided that I want to finish this in like a few more chapters and start the sequel....
Home Sweet Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jenna and Spot slowed to a walk and Jenna let out a small cry of excitement.
"I'm out!" She looked to Spot and smiled, it felt good to be outside again. Suddenly she turned serious. Jenna took both his hands so she was facing him and looked him right in the eyes. "Thank you," The honesty and completely gratifying tone in her voice made Spot's heart speed up slightly. She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before pulling away and spinning in a circle, staring up at the bright blue sky.
"Uh, Hook?" He hated to interrupt her obviously very happy moment, but he kind of had to. She turned, a smile lighting up her face. "We should prolly head back to the lodging house."
"I suppose so..." Jenna trailed off and Spot began walking in the direction of the lodging house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I know my daughter is here!" Jenna's mother stood at the desk at the lodging house. Her face was red as a beet and she was leaning in towards Terry who was obviously a little frightened by the angry woman. "Jenna! Jenna, I know you're here!" A few boys had gathered near by and were listening to her yell, it was clear than they found it amusing.
Spot walked in the door just as the woman he recognized as her mother turned towards the door. She saw him and he backed out, shutting the door.
"What are you doing?" Jenna asked him and he pulled her to the side of the building and put his finger up to his lips. Jenna's mother stormed out of the building and Spot whispered for Jenna to go up the fire escape. She did so and Spot went out to meet her mother.
"You, boy! You're the one she was talking to last night. Where is she?" She demanded. Spot took off his hat and shrugged.
"I sincerely 'pologize, miss. I have no recollection of talkin' to nobody last night, you must be mistaken." He flashed her a smile, but it only made her angrier. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard.
"You lie, you little street rat!" Spot's face adopted an seriously offended look and he put his hat back on his head. He grabbed her hands off his shoulders and practically threw them at her.
"Foist, no body touches Spot Conlon widout 'is permission. Is dat understood?" His voice was filled with anger and Jenna's mother nodded and took a step back. "Second, I don't know who you'se talkin' about, so back off and nevah, evah call me a liar again." He threw her an evil glare, pushed past her and walked into the lodging house then sprinted up the stairs. Only a moment after, her mom walked in, still angry looking but slightly more pacified than before.
"I'll ask you all one more time." She looked meaningfully around at all the newsies who still dared to hang around. "Where. Is. My. Daughter?"
They all shrugged and shook their heads. There was a chorus of, "Ain't no goils here.", "Even if she was here, why would we tell you?" and "Unless ya daughter's a boy, she ain't stayin' here."
Finally Jenna's mother got fed up and glared at them all one last time before saying: "I will be coming back here every day until I get her back, so you can get used to me hanging around." With that she walked out the door trying to retain her anger
"Well, dat was interesting." One boy said and he headed up to the bunkroom, followed by the rest. They were very surprised when they walked in to find Jenna sitting on Hook's old bunk next to Spot. One of the older newsies grinned suggestively at Spot.
"And who is dis lovely lady?" he asked.
"Yeah Spot, ya gonna introduce us?" another inquired.
Spot smirked, "Introduce ya? You fellas already know Hook." She smiled and shyly waved, it felt good to be called Hook again.
Socks, Dog and Slick stepped forward. Out of the three, Slick was the only one with her mouth closed. Socks was the first to speak, interrupting the stunned silence.
"But you'se a goil!" that seemed to set everyone off, because they all suddenly began talking at once.
"Hey! Fellas! Shut ya traps!" Spot stood and yelled. Everyone immediately stopped talking and looked to him to see what he had to say. "I over heard Hook's muddah's announcement, and if she's comin' back everyday like she says she is that means that Hook has to get outta here for a while. Now we'se gonna be goin' to visit Jackey-boy for a while and Hook here needs some clothes, anybody got any suggestions?
"She looks 'bout my size...kinda. She can borrow some of my clothes, but I want 'em back." Hook laughed.
"Sure thing." The boy walked to his bunk and removed some clothes from underneath it. He handed them overland Spot motioned for her to go change in the washroom.
When Hook came back out, Slick was leaning against her bunk.
"I heard you was leavin'" Hook nodded.
"You comin' along?" She asked.
"Nah, I'm startin' to uh, like it here." She glanced over at a newsie who was sitting on his own bunk and staring at Slick. She smiled, "Yeah, definitely startin' to like it here." She walked over to where the newsie was and sat next to him. Hook laughed and turned towards to the door. Spot was right there and she assumed he had heard the conversation but didn't seem too upset.
"We ain't together anymore," He explained. "You ready to go?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was getting dark even though it was only around five. For the past half hour rain clouds had been rolling in and it was beginning to rain lightly. Hook glanced up at the dark sky, not sure if the rain was a bad omen. Within minutes it was raining harder and they could barely see where they were going, but luckily Spot knew his way around.
"Is Manhattan any different than Brooklyn?" Hook asked him curiously. They had left the lodging house and were now walking quickly towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Spot laughed curtly.
"Any different? Lemme think 'bout dat...yes, yes it is. In Brooklyn you'se gotta be tough to survive, and in Manhattan every body's all nice and everyone takes care of each udda." He paused for a moment looking as though he was thinking. "I'd rather live in Brooklyn. In Manhattan you can't tell if someone's jist pretendin' to be nice, you can't fake being tough; either you are or you ain't."
"Am I tough?" Hook asked him. Though the question was asked in all seriousness, Spot laughed.
"From what I've seen, yeah, yer pretty tough..." Again he paused and looked over at her. "for a goil." She got a mock-offended look on her face and hit his arm.
"Wudda ya mean for a girl?" She was getting her accent back, it just felt more natural. "you sayin' dat when I was pretendin' to be a guy I wasn't tough?"
"Not really..."
"Ya know, I could soak you." Hook risked saying it.
"Ha! No one can soak Spot Conlon!" He replied not mad in the least. Hook smiled deviously and grabbed his arm forcing him to stop walking. They were on the bridge now, where they first met.
"Wanna bet?" she stepped back and took a basic fighting stance that Socks had taught her during her first lesson.
"You sure you wanna fight me?" Hook nodded, still smiling her sly little smile. "I ain't in the habit a fightin' goils but in this case...I'll make an exception." He didn't give her warning her, he just jumped forward and began to tickle her.
Hook began to giggle and tried to push him away but her efforts were in vain. She was soon cracking up and Spot was still tickling her. Hook collapsed and lay down on the puddle-filled bridge. Her long reddish-brown hair was dripping wet, just as her clothes were. She was still giggling slightly, and Spot decided that she wasn't laughing enough, so he got down and started the tickling again.
"No! pl-hahaha-ease stop!"
"Say mercy!" He replied, obviously enjoying the torture he was putting her through.
"Merc-hehehehe!" she was laughing so hard she couldn't speak.
"What?" He yelled so she could hear him over the pounding rain. Hook wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close. He stopped tickling her and she put her mouth near his ear.
"Mercy." She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. He pulled back slightly, her arm still around his neck. Hook and Spot were only inches away from each other and looking into each other's eyes. Spot realized they were both breathing harder than normal and his heart was pounding. He pulled back completely and stood up. Spot looked down to Hook and held out his wet hand to help her up. If he wasn't mistaken, she looked slightly disappointed. She took his hand anyway and he pulled her up.
"I didn't mean a tickle fight." She said, trying to sound angry, but smiling despite herself. Spot shrugged and started walking.
"You didn't specify what kind of fight you wanted." Spot answered, grinning wickedly. Hook didn't answer, so they continued walking in a comfortable silence. Soon enough, they were standing in front of a building with sign saying: Newsboy's Lodging House.
"Welcome to your new temporary home."