Authors Note: Ok here it is chapter 2.  I'm terribly sorry it took so long to update to all you people that have been waiting.  This chapter for you Lindsey, because you've been so enthusiastic about the story and given me so much support for it so thank you tons.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Newsies, not even just one. I've asked Disney to share but they didn't want to. Also all of the other characters in this fic are really people, so I don't own them either…or so they think. And Footloose is a real Broadway musical and it has really, really great music if you haven't heard it I suggest you take a listen, and oh yeah I don't own that either. And the song that Mush signs in this chapter is from "A Goofy Movie"

The auditorium was filled with nervous energy. A few people were talking to each other quietly, but most were going over their lines for auditions, which were dangerously nearing start time.

"Hello, children! Please, sit down, sit down, now. Today we are going to be doing auditions for our upcoming spectacular," Medda started.

"Tank you Captain Obvious for dat thrillin' update," Race mumbled under his breath with a smirk.

"Here's how today is going to work: I will give you an extra half hour for preparation, then I will call you up one by one to read your selection. After that you will sit down and wait quietly while everyone else does his or her readings. Later, I will call you up in pairs to sing. When you are finished singing I will take my notes and make my decision. The cast list will be up no more than twenty minutes after try-outs are over," Medda said with a warm smile. "I will give you further instructions after the half-hour break is over. Ok then, go on, go on now! Practice, practice, practice!" With that, the students dispersed throughout the auditorium.

"Ok…ok, Laney, get a hold of yourself. Just go up and say your dialogue, you know this…you can do it," Laney said to herself quietly, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Ya make a habit outta talkin' to yaself?" Laney jumped, surprised by the new voice, and turned around to find herself face-to-face with a boy a few inches taller than herself. He had brown, curly hair, kind eyes and a cute half-smile on his face.

"I…uh…um…err…I didn't…I didn't know anybody was…uh…was—"

"—watchin'?" he finished for her, the half smile on his face turning to a full one that reached all the way up to his eyes. Laney's cheeks burned red with the embarrassment of not only being speechless, but at being caught talking to herself. "Ya noivous?" the boy asked, a hint of concern burning behind his eyes, seeming genuinely interested in the answer.

"You could say that," Laney replied with a sweet smile and a slight giggle.

"What'cha name, kid?" Race asked, smile never leaving his face.

"Uh…Laney? Who are you?"

"Da name's Racetrack, Racetrack Higgins," he held his hand out for, what Laney thought was a handshake, but instead of shaking her hand when she offered hers in return, he turned it over and kissed the back of it charmingly. He looked up at her from where he stood, her hand still in his, and grinned widely. Laney giggled, shaking her hand before gently wiping off the spot that he hand kissed covertly. If anybody else had kissed her hand she would have thought it was creepy and made up an excuse to get away, followed by stealthy exit...but with Racetrack...it was different. There was something about the boy that made him easy to trust. "So why are ya noivous?" Race asked, breaking her line of thought.

"I don't know, I just really want to get in, and," she closed her eyes and took another deep, relaxing breath, "I guess I'm just afraid that I'm going to mess up terribly."

"Well don't worry about it! Just go up dere an' have fun; do da best ya can an' nobody has da right to ask ya for more. If dey don' wancha den dey's crazy!" Race told her sincerely. "So take one last deep breath an' everyting will be alriii—"

"Ok, boys and girls! Come back, come back, now! Take a seat!" Medda waited for the students to take get situated. "Here's how this part of auditions will work: you will come up to center stage, state your name and the character you are trying out for, and then begin your dialogue. When you are finished you may take your seat again. Ok, first one up will be…Linda."

Linda looked around nervously and walked slowly to center stage as directed. She said her lines flawlessly and with pretty good acting skills considering the fact that she was extremely nervous and everybody was watching her, waiting for her to mess up.

"That was great, dear," Medda said when Linda had finished, "but you forgot to state your name and the part you are auditioning for."

"Oh!" Linda giggled, "Saweeee, I'm Linda, and I'm trying out for the part of Ariel." KP, Laney and Fifi laughed when Linda apologized, thinking that Linda mispronounced the word purposely. When they realized she actually said it that annoyingly without knowing it they stifled their giggles and hid their faces in embarrassment. Quimby on the other hand decided it would be a good idea to make fun of her for it...

"SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEE," she bellowed, running down the center aisle and out the left door of the auditorium. This made KP, Laney and Fifi laugh even harder, and Rachel and Lindsey giggle quietly as well. Linda, who was not quite sure what was going on, started giggling as well as she stepped off the stage.

"Ok, uh, thank you…very much…uh…Linda," Medda said, a little at a lost for words at the recent outburst from one of her best techies.

The rest of the readings went off without a hitch. Some were better prepared than others, but everyone did fairly well.

"Ok, boys and girls, ok, that was wonderful, just wonderful! Next up we will have the singing part. I will call two names and they will come up and sing for all of us," Medda said with a cheesy grin. "When they are done, they will sit down and wait for the others just as before. The first girl to go up will, once again, be Linda. And your partner will be..." she surveyed the crowd, "Jack," she pointed to the stage, sat down, put on her glasses, and got ready to take notes on the performance.

The two students took center stage for the second time that day and the piano was cued. Jack started the song, "I thought that dreams belonged to other men, cause each time I got close, they'd fall apart again," he sang exquisitely. All the girls swooned at the sound of his voice. It was strong but gentle at the same time, and it rang with a timbre that was unbelievably breathtaking. Unfortunately that was where the talent stopped. The minute Linda opened her mouth; the song went from amazingly good, to glaringly bad. She only got out a few notes before Medda stopped them.

"Thanks! Thank you!" she shouted loudly, standing, the hint of urgency notable in her voice. The two shook hands and Jack looked at Linda sympathetically. They turned and walked off separate sides of the stage as Medda walked down the center aisle and took their place in order to announce the next two singers.

"Ok, next up we will have David and Emma."

"NO!" David yelled boldly, his voice seething with desperation.

"No? Well ok then…if you say so…then, Rachel?" Medda questioned, not quite sure how to handle David's unexpected and out of character outburst.

David smiled triumphantly and nodded. Rachel looked at the already standing David, rolled her eyes, and stood up. She walked confidently to center stage, to David's left, giving her friends a wink. Despite the fact that Rachel didn't particularly want to sing with David, they sang beautifully together. Though David's words to the love song were a little more sincere than Rachel's, they got through the whole song without interruption. When they finished everyone clapped and Rachel turned to leave the stage, but David caught her hand in his and took a large, overly dramatic bow. Rachel, who did not find this amusing, twisted her hand out of his and glared at him before exiting the stage and taking her seat.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Medda exclaimed, wiping a fake tear from her eye dramatically. "Next up," she continued, quickly regaining composure, "why don't we have Racetrack and Star?"

Race and Star stood taking their respective places next to each other as the others before them had done. Race started the song wonderfully, looking out over the crowd of his peers. He made eye contact with Laney and winked at her; she smiled back at him and looked away quickly, embarrassed at all the attention. 'Ok,' she thought, 'it's not that hard. Race is up there and doing a great job,' she smiled inwardly at the thought of Racetrack. 'God, why do I smile when I'm just thinking about him? Is there a chance that—oh no, there is no way that I could possibly like him! He's merely a good friend that I never knew I had,' she convinced herself with a nod of her head as if it were decided.

Race and Star sang the rest of the song without fault. There was, however, a few issues regarding Star's part in the song. She never sang the wrong notes, not once in the whole song did she stray from the given key, the problem was that she never closed her mouth; even when she wasn't singing she just left it hanging open. It was very distracting, almost to the point that it made it difficult to listen to the rest of the song; and if her voice wasn't distracting enough her hair would finish the job. It was enormous in size and there was no telling exactly how much hair spray she had used on it.

"Wow that's some big hair…" Itey said whispering to Quimby with a mischievous grin.

Quimby turned to him and matched the look on his face, "I'll get the matches," and having said that, the both of them stood and exited the room silently.

"Well done, well done," Medda said standing with a dainty golf clap. "Next up we'll have Laney and Skittery," she finished, not even bothering to walk down the aisle and get back on the stage to make the announcement.

Laney stood shakily and neared the stage. 'I think I'm going to faint,' she thought desperately. 'Yup, I'm definitely gonna faint.' She was more nervous about the singing portion, but it wasn't because she couldn't sing, it was because this was it. It was her last chance to make an impression and she hoped it was a good one. Something made her turn around, and she found Racetrack's eyes. He gave a subtle but reassuring nod and a small smile, as if reading her mind. 'Alright I can do this,' she thought as she gave Race a little smile back before continuing up on the stage.

The song was amazing and Laney sang fantastically. They got a standing ovation when it was over and she smiled widely. 'Thank you, Skittery,' she thought to herself once again, convincing herself that the only reason they did so well was because Skittery could sing as well as he could.

"Lovely, just lovely! Ok, next up, Randy and Mush, please."

Randy stood and looked at her newfound friends with a confident grin, taking her spot on the stage next to Mush. The first chord on the piano was sounded and Mush took his breath to begin singing when—

"—Wait!" Randy shouted. Mush turned and looked at her in innocent confusion, and slight fear at what she was going to do to his audition. "I can't sing this song and mean it. It's too lovey-dovey for me. If you don't mind, I have prepared my own piece for you today," she looked at Medda, tensely waiting for her response.

"Well, I guess if you can't sing it with feeling…what is the piece?"

Randy grinned triumphantly before jumping off the stage and jogging to her backpack, "'Castle on a Cloud' from Les Mis," she announced, still grinning broadly. She gave her music to the pianist and jumped back up on the stage.

Randy sang her song wonderfully. The pitch was completely accurate, the dynamics were amazing, and the song as a whole was entirely unflawed. As soon as she finished her friends and peers stood and cheered wildly. Randy grinned and curtsied before jumping off the stage to retrieve her music.

"Very good! Very good!" Medda said in complete awe of the performance, "Right then, the next two people will be—"

"—WAIT!" Mush broke in, "Don't I still have to sing?"

"Oh, Mush, I'm sorry! I completely forgot about you. Well, we have an even number of people trying out so I'm afraid I can't pair you with anyone else. Hmm…what to do with you…? I know!" she said after thinking quietly for about ten seconds, the whole auditorium was quiet, waiting to hear Mush's fate. "Do you know any other songs you can sing for us? Just so we can hear your voice, of course."

"Um…well…I watched A Goofy Movie last night...I could sing something from that?" Mush suggested apprehensively.

"Alright, that will be fine, just fine," Medda agreed. The students smiled and clapped, happy that Mush's audition wasn't ruined.

"Ok, I'll be singing 'After Today' from A Goofy Movie," he stated formally before taking center stage. He took a deep breath and started timidly, "They…they've been laughing since I can remember," he looked out over the crowd at all the silent smiling faces, urging him to continue. He took comfort in their small gestures of kindness and confidence so he continued, gaining confidence of his own, "But they're not gonna laugh anymore. No more Maxy the geek, no more goof of the week like before," he looked out over the crowd and not sure what to do next...that line of the song was sung by a female, he didn't have a partner to sing with, and he couldn't sing that part himself.

Just as he was about to give up and leave the stage, he heard the line that he was waiting for being sung from somewhere behind him. The girl started slowly and unsurely at first, but picked up tempo and volume as she gained self-assurance. Mush turned to see who was singing. The voice belong to a short girl he had never seen before today. She had stood when she started singing, making it easier for him to see her: she had dyed, blood-red hair and green eyes. He grinned at her and she smiled back before nodding her head supportively.

Then from the other side of the room he heard the next line of the song. Race had stood, much like the girl Mush didn't know, and sang, "No more looking at losers like him," Race pointed at Jack when he sang the line and laughed at his own joke. Slowly, one by one, Mush's friends stood and sang a line to the familiar song that they had all heard so many times before.

"Gonna talk to Roxanne and not feel like a fool," Mush finally chimed in at the right spot with complete confidence.

"Cause after today I'm gonna be cruisin'," they all sang together, standing, huge smiles on their faces.

"After today she'll be mine," Mush's voice rang out through the auditorium.

"After today my brains will be snoozin'," the students sang again

"If I don't faint I'll be fine," Mush sang with a wink. The next lines were sung by his peers with enthusiasm, Mush popping in and out of the song when the song called for it. "She looked right through me, and who could blame her? I need a new me, plus some positive proof that I'm not just a goof," Mush sang his solo superbly.

"Cause after today I'm gonna be cruisin'," the chorus came loudly again. "No more pep rallies to cut, YUCK!" came Randy, Rachel, and Lindsey's voices over the crowd of singing students.

"I wish that this was the day, after today," Mush finished the piece quietly, bowing his head and holding it there. The whole auditorium blew up into wild cheers at that point. The applause was so loud that a few curious students standing outside the auditorium poked their heads in to see what all the fuss was about. Itey, who had found some miscellaneous coins on the ground, picked them up and started chucking them at the stage, narrowly missing Mush's head, which was still bowed.

As the applause died down Medda took her cue. "Excellent, Mush, just excellent," she cried, clapping daintily as Mush took his seat. "After that performance I think we should take a little break! I expect you back here in FIVE MINUTES AT THE MOST! Thank you."

The girl that had originally helped Mush save his audition stood up immediately and swiftly made her way out of the auditorium. The girls saw her fast exit and looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They had wanted to compliment her on impressive save. KP and Fifi, both having the same idea, stood up to follow the girl, determined to give her the major props she deserved.

"Hey, wait up!" Fifi yelled after stranger.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks halfway through the lobby and turned around slowly. By this time, Randy, Laney, Lindsey, and Rachel had caught up and were now standing behind KP and Fifi. The six girls walked over to the girl, looked at her for a minute, and she stared back. Nobody spoke.

"So…" Randy started awkwardly, unwilling to stand there and say nothing, "that was extremely cool what you did for his audition like that."

"Yeah, well, I've seen him in other plays and he's really good. I didn't want to see him not get a part because he picked a crappy song to sing when he was put on the spot," she said modestly.

"So…uh…who are you?" KP asked bluntly.

"My name's Alanna," she said simply.

"How come we've never seen you?" Lindsey asked innocently.

"I don't know…I've been around."

"Well, you aren't in chorus," Fifi jumped in.

"Nope."

"Why not? You've got a great voice," Laney complimented.

"Yeah, you should join," the other two piped in.

Alanna looked at them a little overwhelmed, "Well, I would say nice to meet you all, but…I have no idea who any of you are."

"Oh, whoops!" KP giggled and began introducing the girls in much the same way that she had with Randy earlier. "Well we better be getting back to the auditorium, it's been about five minutes," KP suggested when she finished the introductions. "By the way…nice lipstick," she added sincerely, commenting on the green lipstick that decorated the new girl's lips.

Alanna smiled and started for the auditorium, the girls on her heels asking her more questions about herself to get to know her better.

* * * * * * * * *

Fifi and Snipeshooter stood on the stage singing. Fifi had one of the best voices in the whole school, but even her voice, in all it's glory, couldn't drown out the awful nails-on-a-chalkboard-from-hell-voice that came from Snipeshooter's mouth. The two sang on, the audience looking at each other, all of them wondering if it was a big joke, but too afraid to ask. The song ended and Medda stood, her index finger still to her left ear as if to ward off any memory of the awful sound, the tears in her eyes still visible.
"…Alright then," she cleared her throat before finishing, "…thank you. Next up are Jake and…KP, why don't we hear you two singing together?"

KP stood up and gave her friends a nervous glance. She didn't want to go up and sing with someone she didn't know, especially after seeing what happened to Fifi with Snipeshooter. Jake looked just as nervous as KP, obviously having thoughts very similar to hers. The two took their spots, next to each other on the stage, uneasily, and the piano sounded.

"I thought that dreams belonged to other men," Jake began.

KP looked at him in shock—he wasn't half bad! 'How come I haven't heard you sing before?!' she thought.

"I feared my heart would beat in secrecy," KP sang happily.

"I faced the night alone, oh how could I have known, that all my life I only needed you," they sang together as their peers looked on, nodding in approval. They finished, giving each other high fives and stepping from the stage to take their respective seats, getting comments and congrats from their friends.

"Thank you very much, you two. Ok, next up we'll have Lindsey and Spot."

The students looked at the two on stage and found themselves having to keep from laughing. Lindsey and Spot were complete opposites in every aspect. Lindsey was sweet, innocent, and cute; while Spot was a tough, powerful guy that could have whoever he wanted whenever he wanted them. Not to mention the fact that Lindsey towered over Spot by at least a half a foot! The two wouldn't even acknowledge that the other one was on stage. They had no desire to meet each other or sing together, but they did, rather awkwardly, and sat down.

"Very good. Next up is Alanna and Dean."

"Portman, not Dean, Port-man," a strong looking male said as he stood up and took his spot on the stage, next to Alanna. He looked like he should be trying out for the football team rather than the school musical. He was a pretty good singer, but compared to Alanna he was only average. She, on the other hand, had a wonderful voice. The two finished as everyone else did and took their seats.

"Ok, thanks you two. Next up we have Specs and…oh no! It looks like we're all out of girls to partner you with, and it seems that there is only one other person that has to go and that person is Dutchy. Would you two mind terribly if you went together?"

Dutchy and Specs looked at each other and laughed lightly. "Sure!" Specs said enthusiastically for the both of them, trying to keep his laughter, which was now growing, under control. As much amusement as he got out of him and Dutchy singing a love song together, he found himself truly excited to sing it with his friend. 'It must be because I like singing and I get to sing with my boyfri—best, best friend,' he thought as he walked up on stage still giggling uncontrollably. 'Is it possible that I love Dutchy? Maybe he loves me back and I don't know it! Nah, Dutchy isn't like that…and neither am I…I don't think...'

The piano sounded, pulling Specs out of his thoughts, and the two started singing the love song, trying to take it seriously. They were doing well until Dutchy sang the climax, "And in your arms salvation is not so far away!" That was the end of the song as far as Dutchy and Specs were concerned—they were hunched over on top of each other, laughing hysterically!

"Ok, ok," Medda chuckled slightly, "I've got enough from you guys to make a decision. And with that I believe everyone has gone so—"

"—Wait!" cried Oscar Delancy, stopping at the back of the auditorium, dragging his brother in. "We have to audition!"

"Well I'm sorry boys, but we are already out of partners, and we've already done the readings. I'm afraid auditions are over."

"Please," Oscar said, a hint of urgency in his voice. "We need to try out!"

"Well we weren't going to," Morris piped in, "but we saw that the girls wer—" Oscar elbowed his brother in the stomach, warning him to keep his mouth shut.

"Please can we try out?" he asked again with a fake smile.

"Well, I suppose if you acted out your lines as you sang them and you partner together you can audition."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Oscar cried, dragging his brother down the center aisle up to the stage, grabbing lyrics as he went.

The piano sounded and Oscar began to sing the words of the love song, not realizing that what he was singing to his brother was, in fact, a love song. It wasn't until Morris sang his line in response to Oscar's that he came to the sickening awareness.

The students laughed, whispered, and pointed at them. The two finished the rest of the song uncomfortably and quickly sat down, avoiding eye contact with their peers.

"Alright, thank you boys," Medda said politely, trying to hide the smile on her face. "Ok students, give me twenty minutes and the cast will be posted." She gathered her notes and walked out the door.

The students all stood and headed out the auditorium doors and into the lobby for the second time that day.

"What're you smilin' about, Cowboy?" Spot asked with a smirk and a mocking tone as he walked up to Jack and Mush.

"Jacky just got laid," Mush said with a grin, "oh! I have ta go talk ta Dutchy and Specs, I'll be back in a few minutes," he stood and walked across the lobby.

Spot watched him for a second before bringing his attention back to Jack, "So ya got laid, huh?" Jack nodded and grinned widely. "By who?"

"Well I nevah kiss an' tell, but since I did more den just kiss," Jack smirked, "…it was Rachel," he announced with confidence, an even bigger grin spreading across his face.

"What? Dat's no big deal at all. I did dat last weekend," Spot informed him before continuing. "Well it's a little bit biggah of a deal cause ya got a goilfriend, but other den dat…wait…ya still gots a goilfriend, right?"

"Yeah, whatever," Jack answered in a tone telling Spot he didn't care, "and as for getting laid…I'm good and you know it."

"Yeah, ya good but ya ain't amazin'. Ya couldn't get anyone in da whole school,"

"Ya wanna bet?" Jack challenged with the commonly used phrase.

"Actually, yeah, I do want ta bet. I bet ya that I could get a goil ta pick me ovah you."

"Uhhh…" Jack said tentatively

"Well if ya don' tink ya good enough, just say so," Spot coaxed, a confident smirk adorned his face.

"I'm good enough! I'm da best! Da bet's on!"

"Good, now all we got ta do is pick da goil." Spot stated looking around, surveying the crowds of girls dispersed throughout the lobby.

"What about Brittany?" Jack suggested.

"S-G?"

"Yeah, it could be fun."

"Nah, it wouldn't be," Spot disagreed, "she's too easy, which evah one even talks to her foist is da winner. If we picked her it'd be morah like a runnin' race den a competition."

"Yeah, ya right, scratch dat. What about Linda?" Jack suggested again.

"NO! Dat goil is way too annoyin' fah even me."

"Yeah! How does she do dat?" Jack asked in amazement

 "What about Stah?" Spot suggested looking around for the girl.

"Nah she's in da hospital and nobody knows when she's comin' back.  Plus I don' want ta date a bald goil" Jack said nonchalantly, as if the news of the mysterious 'Hair on fire episode' was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Yeah ya right," Spot said in much the same tone

"What about—" Jack started,

"—Hello?" KP said uncertainly, holding out her hand between the two boys, initiating a shake, "my name is KP, and I've never met you before so I thought I would come over and introduce myself." The boys stared at her and she put her hand down realizing that neither of them was going to take it. An awkward silence followed this exchange but only KP noticed; both of the boys were too busy thinking. "Ok…and now that I have, and you're not going to, I'm just gonna…go," she said slowly and uncomfortably, backing away from them.

As soon as she got out of earshot the boys looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Jacky-boy, I believe we got our goil."

* * * * * * * *

"Hey, Alanna, come on, casting's up!" Laney urged her newfound friend to hurry. She turned around and walked up to the large group of people crowded tightly together around the sign, deciding not to wait for Alanna. The sighs of disappointment mixed with squeals of happiness emanated from the group. Laney slowly made her way closer and closer to the casting sign as people made their way out of the swarm. It read:

Thank you to everyone who tried out, you all did very well.
Congratulations to all who made the cast,
Please go in and sit in the auditorium for some announcements about the show you will be putting on.

To those that I, regretfully, had to let go:
I'm terribly sorry; if I could take all of you I would.
I hope to see you trying out again next year or joining tech crew for this production.

If anyone would like to be on tech crew, please sign up on the following sheet of paper.


And with out further delay—

The Casting:

Ren McCormick: Jack
Ethel McCormick: Laney
Reverend Shaw: David
Vi. Moore: Lindsey
Ariel Moore: KP
Rusty: Emma
Urleen: Randy
Wendy Joe: Alanna
Chuck Cranston: Spot
Lyle: Dutchy
Travis: Morris
Cop: Oscar
Betty Blast/Irene: Rachel
Willard: Skittery
Principal Clark: Specs
Jeter/Cowboy Bob: Racetrack
Bickle: Mush
Garvin: Jake


Laney grinned, it seemed that all of her friends had made it in. 'Not that the competition outside of the friend group had been that steep,' she thought to herself.

"EXCUSE ME!" David's voice rang out in a high shrill when he saw the casting list, breaking Laney's thought process, "HOW DARE THEY NOT CAST RACHEL AS MY DEVOTED WIFE! DON'T THEY KNOW THAT WE ARE IN LOVE!? THIS IS ABSOLUTELY APPAULING!" Jack came over and grabbed David by the arm, pulling him away from the cast list. David, forgetting what happened, turned his attention to Jack and calmly said, "Oh, hi Jack, congrats on the part," as if he wasn't just yelling at the top of his lungs.

Itey, who had seen the whole exchange, turned to Quimby. "Weird kid," he said simply. Q nodded in agreement and they both put their names on the list for tech crew underneath those of Kid Blink, Boots, Crutchy, and Taylor.

'Alright! Taylor's doing tech!' Laney's attention was drawn to the tech sign-up when she saw Q and Itey add their names, 'I was so sad when he couldn't try out because he had too much going on, but now at least we can hang out with him a little bit.' Laney smiled at her next thought, 'That reminds me of the time when KP, Fifi and I had a whole discussion about how Taylor is one of the only decent guys we know, and it's really sad because we hang out with mostly guys…. Wow, I think to myself way too much. Maybe I need to get some more friends to talk to so I don't have to think all these things all the time and I can say them out loud…GAH! I'm still doing it!' "Stop!" she said aloud in an attempt to stop thinking and start talking.

"Stop what?" Mush asked, walking up to her.

"Uh…stop…uh…stop…procrastinating! And see if you got in!" Laney lied to the complete stranger so she didn't have to explain the real reason she had yelled.

"Right," Mush agreed looking at the casting list. "Alright, I'm in!"

Laney laughed, "Did you expect anything else after that performance this afternoon?"

But her question was left unanswered. Portman had walked up behind Mush to take a look at the sign, "What!?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "I can't believe I didn't get in, how did you get in if I didn't?" he asked, pointing to Mush.

"I…uh…I'm not sure?" Mush said, uncertain if he should feel bad for the boy, or be offended by the unexpected, unfounded attack. Portman looked at him and shook his head before walking down the hall, mumbling under his breath about trying out for the hockey team instead.

"That was harsh!" Laney exclaimed in an effort to make Mush feel better, she looked around for something she could use to change the subject, "Laney," she offered her hand.

"Mush," he replied taking her outstretched hand and shaking it firmly. "Looks like we better get to the auditorium, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right" she said, turning towards the doors.

Laney followed Mush into the auditorium, only to be caught by surprise when she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned around to find Racetrack, waiting at the inside of the doorway for her to enter. He smiled at her with the same big grin he always seemed to wear on his face, "I told ya that ya'd be ok. Congrats."

"Yeah, you too!" she exclaimed. Then without thinking about what she was doing, or the fact that she had just met this boy, she pulled him into a huge hug. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear before letting him go and turning to find her friends to congratulate them.

* * * * * * * * *

"Ok students, congratulations on making it into the play," Medda beamed, once again taking her spot at the front of the auditorium. Profuse cheering followed her comment. Many exclamations of "all right!" and "we made it!" and "congrats!" rose up over the copious amounts of "YEAH TECH!" coming from the techies dispersed throughout the auditorium. These cheers were followed by a lengthy, "'YOU HAVE SMALL PANTS,' SAYS BOB DOLE WEARING SPANDEX ON TUESDAYS AND DAYS THAT END IN Y!"

"Ok," Medda continued, not sure how to react to the previous comment and deciding to ignore it altogether. "For my first announcement I would like to introduce you to our new student director, Sarah Jacobs—Sarah would you stand up and say a few words about yourself?"

Sarah stood up and smiled annoyingly. "Here we go girls," KP whispered to her friends before making gagging noises, indicating her pure hatred for the girl. Her friends grinned and nodded in agreement before fixing their gaze back on the girl standing in front.

"My name is Sarah Jacobs and I'm a senior. I'm currently dating the lead of the play, Jack Kelly…hi sweetie, congrats" she blew him a kiss and he smiled at her cheesily before rolling his eyes, "I'm sister to David Jacobs, who's a junior this year, she winked at him, I'm editor of the school news paper and the head of the year book staff, I'm an A student—"

"Nobody cares," Randy whispered to her friends over Sarah's monotonous voice.

"—and I'm looking forward to working with all of you," she finished, adding another sickly sweet smile before sitting down. A few people clapped half-heartedly out of politeness.

"Ok, my next announcement is a very serious one. We have two less months to put on this show than we did last year, so I will be expecting a lot from you. I will teach you the dance scenes but I'm afraid that, due to lack of time, I'm going to have to ask you to block your own scenes for all of your dialogue. If you can not handle this then you should leave now." She paused giving them time to think it over, the students looked around the room as if daring someone to stand up and walk out. Seeing no one, she continued, "The next announcement is, all practices are open rehearsals, you don't have to be here, but I encourage all of you to come and check out scenes that you are not in. And last but not least, tomorrow's rehearsal will require the participation of Ren, Cranston, Ariel, the Cop, Lyle and Travis."

Jack, Spot, KP, Oscar, Dutchy, and Morris looked up and nodded as they heard their stage names, acknowledging the fact that they could make it. "Ok, I think that's it. Be on your way, and once again, congratulations!"

The actors stood up from their seats in the auditorium for the last time that day, grabbed their things, and left.

KP hugged her friends good-bye, congratulating them again before they left. She turned around and found a seat on a bench in the lobby and took out her music folder for chorus and chamber singers with the intent of adding her music from the play. However, she got distracted and began looking through it, "Where have all the good men gone, and where are all the gods?" she began singing, getting caught up in the music and losing all sense of where she was, "Where's the street-wise Hercules, to fight the rising odds? Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed? Late at night I toss and I turn, and I dream of what I need…"

"—You need a good ass-ass-i-na-tion" Q and Itey ran in and thrusted on the 'tion' perfectly. "If you do it on the whole thing you get a dollar seventy-six Q informed her with a wink before they both ran out laughing.

KP giggled and continued the song, "I need—"

"The Delancy bothers," Oscar broke in, a cocky smirk on his face. "Hey baby—"

"—But Oscar, she's not a baby she's fully grown and you said that we were going to get her to put out for yo—"

"Shut up, Morris!" he interrupted his brother before any more was said, and directed his attention back to KP. "Congrats on the part, sweet-face, I'm very excited to be woikin' with ya," he said slowly and suggestively, licking his lips and advancing forward.

"Uhhh, thanks, but I'm gonna run," KP said nervously, grabbing her stuff and pushing past him. She knew that she could handle herself if she had to, but if she could avoid the situation, she would.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him forcefully, "Hey, where are ya goin' so fast?" he asked her creepily as his brother jumped up and down and laughed.

"Just leave me alone, Oscar, or I'm going to have to—"

"—She'll have ta call us," Jack broke in, Spot at his side, "Sorry we're late, uhhh..." he fought to try and remember her name, "KP. We had somethin' ta take care of."

He glanced from the Delancy brothers to KP and back, acting as if he was seeing them for the first time.

"Is dere a problem heah?" Spot finally broke in, commanding their attention.

"I dunno Spot, it looks like dere's a problem," Jack replied with a huge grin.

"Well den, what's da problem?" Spot asked with a smirk, his icy blue eyes gleaming as he turned to KP, waiting for the answer.

"—There's no problem, there's no problem Jack!" Oscar spoke up, the fear in his voice notable.

"KP?" Jack questioned, ignoring Oscar's comment.

KP looked from Jack to the Delancy brothers and back, taking a deep breath and exhaling in a loud sigh, "There's no problem," she answered in a defeated tone.

Jack and Spot looked disappointed, but said nothing as Oscar let go of KP and walked away swiftly. This was KP's chance to step up.

"Thanks for what you did…Jack, is it?" he nodded and she continued, "but I could have handled it myself, I don't need anybody to look after me."

"Uh…well…" Jack stammered, unsure whether to apologize for stepping in, or defend his actions.

"It didn't look like ya was doin a very good job of handlin' it ta me," Spot challenged.

"Always bare in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing, and unless I'm mistaken, that includes what you do or do not think," she said with an overly sweet smile before picking up her things and walking out the door, without so much as a glance backwards, leaving the boys with nothing to do but watch her get in the car and stare as she drove away.

'Dis goil is smart,' thought Spot, 'an' it's gonna be tough woik, but I can get 'er…haha, Jacky-boy doesn't even stand a chance!'

Authors Note:  The reason Mush sang a song from "A Goofy Movie" is because Aaron Lorh (the actor that play's Mush) sings for Max in that movie.  Aaron Lorh also plays Dean Portman in the D2 and D3.  Linda is a really annoying character in D3.  Star is from the movie "The Lost Boys"  starring Cory Feldman and Cory Haim (Yeah Cory's).  I suggest all of those movies if you haven't seen them.

Shout-outs:

Fiffifofum:  Hello dear, thanks so much for re-reading my chapter and reviewing it for me.  I'm glad you liked it and I hope you like this one just as much you meet him in chapter 4…I've already written it wink-wink.  I love you tons and thanks again.

Kory:  Hey dude I'm glad you like the story so far yes the Newsies do, in fact, do that. I'm glad you like Dutchy, I do too I think he and Specs are my favorite characters to write.

Liams Kitten: Well you're in…I hope you like it. It does please me and it makes me happy that you are dancing haha. Here's that update…uh just because you told me to ::glances around shiftily and wonders if you know I'm lying::  Thanks for the review dear talk to you later.

Lindsey:  Here you go darling, thanks for waiting so long and being patient.  I'm so happy that you are pleased with it and I hope you like this chapter just as much. :Hugs: I love you tons.

Laney:  Yeah Bug Hall, wow you put the hottest people in my review haha I enjoyed it greatly.  I'm glad you really really time 100 love it I hope this chapter is as good as the last one.  I like their "friendship" as well.  I feel bad because everyone says they like Dutchy but I'm getting no Specs love unless it has to do with his and Dutchy's "friendship", ah well what're ya gonna do?  And nobody said anything about the dessert of choice so I think we made it with out getting caught…you didn't know anything…anything of what you say…you know about the dessert being the wrong…shit! Haha thanks for the rockin review bye.  P.S. I added a bunch of stuff that you don't know about muhahaha.

The Artist Formally Known as Q: Wow that is quite a rocking fic haha

1. I won't tell if you don't

2. Of course it was for Crutchy

3. I'm glad you like Dutchy (poor specs {read laney's shout-out}haha)

4. I'm might be able to help you out with that need

5. Yeah they had to do some funny stuff this chapter huh?

6. I'm glad you like Randy you should read her stuff (TheLoneReed)

            Alanna is (Liams Kitten) you should read her stuff too.

7. Don't die

8. ah it's useless

9. I love you too

10.Yeah Tech!

P.S. thanks so much for revising my chapters I love you for it.

ThatCrazyKid: Wow three times that's a lot you must be so sick of it. I love highlights!!

a. of course where else would it be?

b. That's Itey and Q for yah aha

c. Yeah Bob Dole is in fact Q's guy

d. Yeah I think he's going to be as well…you are so intuitive.

e. You are influential

I'm glad you can tell that I have fun writing this, and thanks so much for editing for it for me I love you tons and here's the next chapter like you asked for.

TheLoneReed: You will indeed get what's comin' to ya. Yeah well I have to write you like you are and yes you get the guy you want but shhh you're going to give away the plot so be quiet! Well you've been in hiding for a while but now you can come out and read it, I hope you enjoyed your Swedish fish.  And I do love you haha hope you liked the chappie and I'll talk to you later, thanks for your review.

All right guys there you go I'm done and I hope you all liked the chapter, as for people that might be reading it and not reviewing SHAME ON YOU!! I'm out I'll right more later—

Peace  KP