Well, this has been going pretty fast. Mainly 'cause i wrote the other chapters and the one after this one before i went on vacation. blah, i need to write. :P nothing to say except.... the movie underworld is terrific and you just gotta luv dashboard confessionals! ^^

okie dokie, on with the ff!

~*~

POV: Snooza

Day: December 23, 1900

Time: 10:01 PM

~*~

I really didn't think that I was going to create such a commotion when I walked into the Lodging House today. You'd think that a girl can just walk in looking all peaceful without getting cross-examined. But it wasn't like I was angry with them or anything, I just received a different effect than what I would've imagined. I'm just glad that Blink wasn't there at the moment or else he would've probably questioned me to death seeing as how he's one of my best friends.

Yeah, Blink. The guy with the eye patch. You can't really miss him, can you? I remember when I first met him, I was scared to death about his eye, but he acted like it was nothing, that it was just a part of him. I respected that. Even though he usually hangs around Mush, I'm still glad that he still finds time for me. I never looked at him that way, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, but I've always looked at him as a friend. Or at least I think so. Right? Moving on...

"I'm going upstairs…" I decided that I'm just going to ignore everyone's looks. I know I may be acting a little off right now, but that doesn't give me the reason to tell them what's going on. They'll find out sooner or later.

Now, I was about to go upstairs to talk to Stretch, who was probably trying to read some book that Kloppman gave her. I still think its pretty funny how she just insists to read books when she can barely read them. But, hey, who can blame a girl for trying?

I don't really know what happened to Sapphy but I'm guessing that she tripped on the stairs, and guess what? She brought me down with her? Don't worry, nothing really happened. Just a scratch. When you start living on the streets, its not that hard to get hurt.

"That's alright, Sapphy…" I said, pulling myself up and checking to see if she was okay. "I'm fine. I'll just go upstairs for a while."

I feel so happy that I could practically burst when I saw that Stretch was there in her bunk, just as usual. I was itching so bad to tell her what had happened today before anybody else did.

"Hey, Snooza, you wanna play poker?" said Brownie from her bunk, shuffling a deck of cards in her hand. "Duck's going to play too… but she's being SLOW!"

Hah, Brownie, you just gotta love her. Though her sarcasm and comments can get in the way sometimes, she's one of the girls here at the lodging house that just make days… colorful, in a way. I honestly thought that if the girl just cut her hair and put on more pounds, she'd be a boy. But who couldn't take a shine to her? Even though she's always there to do anything to get a laugh, she's still one of the girls. What can I say? She's got Itey. That, and she's Jack's half-sister.

"Nah, that's alright… maybe some other time." I didn't really feel like playing poker, anyway. I NEEDED to talk to Stretch. Is it just me or does it seem that her bunk's moving farther and farther away?

"Okay then," answered Brownie. "Duckie! Get your ass down here! YOU'RE TAKING FOREVER!"

Did I forget to tell you that the girl has the lungs of life? Yeah, that too.

"I'll play!" shouted Emu, making her way towards Brownie and taking a seat at the edge of the bunk. "Deal me in."

"Whoa, Snooza… what happened to you?" said Stretch as she looked up from her book and sat up from her bunk bed. How many times have I heard that today? Really, too many times to count.

"Geez, for the hundredth time, I'm fine." Oops, I think that came out a little too harsh. Stretch, don't look at me like that. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"Here, at least fix your hair…" said Stretch, holding out a wooden worn out brush that she owned.

"Thanks."

Thank God for Stretch. I can't live without her. Her, and Sage, to be more exact. Yeah, the three of us, that's our group. Sure, there's still the other girls in the lodging house, but for some reason, I'm closer to these two. The point is, I'm just glad I have them.

"So… is it Pie, again?" asked Stretch curiously.

I chuckled. What? I couldn't help it. Let me lay it out for you. You see, I've been with Pie for… at least, two weeks, I think. I don't really remember, I'm not the kind of girl who keeps track of time. I usually just go and bother Race about it. Anyways, you know how some people say look out for the quiet ones? I should've listened. Don't get me wrong, Pie's a great guy, there's just times when he can't hold his liquor. But for some reason, I still hang on to him. I'm hoping that he'll change, I guess.

"More or less…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Stretch once again. "Stop being so… mysterious!"

"Ooh, is that your new word for today?" She always had something related to reading. Last week was abomination.

"Yeah, it says it right here…" said Stretch as she started to flip through the pages of her book. Then, quick as a blink, she slammed it back shut. "Don't get me off the subject!"

"What? I couldn't help it! I was just asking about—."

"What happened?"

Hah, just depend on Stretch to get right to the point.

"Nothing happened with Pie. Well, not exactly." You know what? I'll just come straight out with it. "We can go on double dates again!" Okay, well, I guess that didn't come out exactly the way I wanted.

"Huh? Snooza, are you okay?" said Stretch putting her hand on my forehead. "Are you not thinking or did you forget that I have a boyfriend?"

Whoops.

"I'm fine!" I said, chuckling as I pushed her hand away.

"You know what? If you're not going to tell me, then you're just gonna have to--."

"We broke up."

There, I said it, okay? I really didn't know why it took me forever to say it. I know that Pie's a really decent guy compared to the ones around here. He's one of those guys that make you feel special whenever you're with him. But I guess that's gone now, huh?

"Stretchy?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her face. Geez, she looks stunned. You can almost see the drool on her cheek right there…

"SNOOZA!"

The next thing I know, I was being strangled to death. That or someone was hugging me so tightly and rocking me back and forth. I didn't really know.

"I'm glad you're happy about it…" I mumbled, moving strands of Stretch's hair away from my face. She's still hugging me… a little bit too tightly as far as I know.

"I am!" shouted Stretch, pulling away from me and giving me a big smile.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad that you are… 'cause if it wasn't for you bothering me about talking to him, then I wouldn't have probably done it."

"Broken up with him?"

"No…"

"So he broke up with you?"

"Well, that doesn't really matter…" To me, it honestly didn't… 'cause I'M FREE!!!

"But--."

"I got back at him." Hah, I sure did.

"Huh? You're confusing me, Snooza…"

Then, out of nowhere, I suddenly heard a squeal and someone shout, "ITEY'S HERE!" Geez, there's so much shouting going on in here. But that's what you get when you live here, right? I don't even know how I get to think, nowadays.

"Hold on… do you hear that?" muttered Ershey. I thought she was asleep on her bed, but I guess I was wrong.

Now, the next thing that happened was kind of a blur. I didn't really understand what was going on, but there was a great deal of shouting coming from downstairs too. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't making up things, the other girls heard it too. I'm just glad that Emu, Duck and Ershey decided to stay in here and let things work out for itself. I didn't want whatever was going upstairs to come up here. Though knowing the people around here, it probably would.

We tried our best not to listen, we really did, but we couldn't help it that the walls were so thin that the voices could just easily pass through. That, and they were shouting so loudly. Throughout everything, I could hear Sage's voice. I was just glad that she was there. At least somebody with a good mind and heart was present.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HE SAYS! HE CAN'T DO THAT!"

The door opened and there was Brownie, looking completely opposite from what she was before. With a bang, she quickly slammed the door and started to walk towards the window leading up the rooftop.

"HEY!" came a shout from outside. "I'm still here, you know!"

Brownie did a quick about turn, opened the door, and mumbled, "Sorry about that."

Who was that? Oh, Ears. Goodness, I'm just glad that Brownie didn't slam the door in her face.

"Wait, Brownie, where you going?!" shouted Ears from the doorway as she tried to make her way through the bunk beds and scattered objects on the floor. What? Girls are messy too. Well, not as messy as the guys.

"AND HE LOOKS LIKE A SQUIRREL! AN UGLY SQUIRREL!" shouted Brownie as she opened the window, causing the noise from the streets to slowly float inside.

"A girl can't even think with the shouting that's going on in here!" said Emu, looking up from the deck of cards in her hands. "But since we're talking - who looks like a squirrel?"

"Brownie, what happened?" asked Duck, walking over to Brownie and patting her shoulder.

"He… he…" muttered Brownie.

Did I mention that I had no idea what was going on? From the shouting and the arguing and the noises from outside, I just wanted peace and quiet.

"I'll tell you what happened later, okay?" I said, standing up from Stretch's bunk.

"But wait! You just can't leave when you're about to tell me what happened!"

"I'll tell you later…" For some reason, I didn't feel like talking anymore. "Go figure out what happened with Brownie and tell me later, okay?"

I was glad that I got out of that place. I know I'm making it sound worse than it really is, but sometimes sharing a room with nine other girls just isn't the most pleasant way to live. A girl needs her privacy too, y'know? I'm not saying that I want to be alone, no, let me rephrase that. I need my space.

Now you should've seen how happy I was to see that there was hardly anybody in the lobby. Much less than when I came in before. Now the only people in here were Specs, Skittery and Mush. I thought that there were only three of them downstairs, but I guess I was wrong when I saw something move in the shadows somewhere near the door. Was that the squirrel that Brownie was talking about? Oh yeah, and the door to the lodging house were open. Damn, its cold.

"Who left the door open? It's so freaking cold!" I said as I walked down the stairs and sat down on the worn out couch.

"That's what I told him, but no, he wouldn't listen…" said Specs from his conversation with Mush.

"Almost done…" mumbled a voice from the shadows. "There."

I saw the figure in the shadows step down from his position and close the door with a smile. Ah, it was Blink. How come I didn't notice him before? I think I may be needing new glasses…

"Sorry about that, Snooza, but I just couldn't help putting it up."

"Putting what up?" I asked curiously. Boy, was I confused.

Blink pointed to the small green leafy object hanging right above the door. Hah, mistletoe. I should've known.

"Is that mistletoe? That looks more like lettuce to me…" What? It did!

"That's 'cause it IS lettuce!" said Mush, putting on his jacket about him.

Oh.

"Blink here just couldn't help himself… besides, he's doing the guys AND the girls in the lodging house a favor!" said Skittery, standing up from his position and opening the door. "We'll see you guys later…"

Are they leaving? Hey!

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"We need to get… stuff…" I heard Mush mumbled voice from outside. Sure, that helped.

"Do you know where they're going?" I asked Blink.

But no, instead of an actual answer, he gave me a shrug. I love Blink and all, I could talk to him all day, but there's just days when he just needs to talk more. I take that back. The next thing I know he won't stop babbling about food or money. But who isn't? He gave out a long relieved sigh and took a seat next to me on the couch.

"Wow, putting up that mistletoe must've been pretty hard…" I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, it just takes the right person with the strength to do it," answered Blink with a smile.

Please don't smile.

"So watcha been up to, Snooza?" continued Blink, changing his position and sitting so that he could face me. I would've moved farther, I really would've, but then I was already sitting at the edge of the couch. I was stuck.

"Selling…" Course I've been selling! I'm a newsie. What else was I supposed to do?

"I'm sure you've been doing that," laughed Blink.

He laughed. Oh goodness.

"Yeah…" I'm sorry, my mind's a complete blank right now. Why won't it work? Work, I tell you! Work!

"Hey, you know, if Pie's still giving you trouble, then--."

"I'm fine, really. 'Cause see, I'm not with him anymore." Why did that just come out? For some reason, saying that to Blink was much easier than saying it to anybody else. Don't you think that's weird? I thought so too.

"Oh… well, I'm sorry, I--."

"No, don't be. I'm happy, actually," I said, smiling back at him. Is it just me or am I feeling more and more comfortable? I may just actually say it… can you believe it? I'm about to tell him that...

"Blink, I just want to say--."

BAM.

"I'M HERE!!!" I turned over to look at the doorway and there was Striker, a smile plastered on her face and her dark brown eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Erm, yeah, me too," came a mumble from behind her.

Was it just me or was Striker skipping? Wow, there's just too much going on. Then I figured out who was standing next to her, Spot. I couldn't believe how I could miss him. That, and maybe he was hiding in the shadows. What's the almighty leader of Brooklyn doing here? Forget I said that, he could practically live here seeing as how many times he comes to visit.

I guess Spot realized what they were standing underneath, 'cause the next thing I heard was, "Hey look! Mistletoe…"

"Is that lettuce?" muttered Striker.

Geez. Good timing, you guys.

~*~

Shout-outs

Snooza: hahah, you were all giddy when you emailed me back at the start of the ff! this is just the beginning, dearie, just wait until christmas eve! dun dun dun!!! (that's why i put the dates... so you could see what's happening when) hope i portrayed you alright!

Sapphy: you'll eventually find out! ^^ be patient! although i shouldn't be saying that since i'm not that patient either. :P glad to see my ideas for your ff helped! *jumps up and down* update! i'm getting so antsy to see what happens next!

Oneconfusednewsie: *sniff* so sad, isn't it? i don't think i can ever snowboard since i live in a place that doesn't have snow. erm, have i said that before? ooh, i luv california, though - my second cousins live there. ^^

Frenchygoil: haha, that revolution part reminded me at school when the girls TRIED not to talk to the boys all day. hah, didn't work. at least you found out what snooza and stretch were talking about! don't worry, all questions will be answered... eventually! lol. the point is, it all makes sense in the end. ^^ it should, shouldn't it? or else this ff would be messed up... lol. btw, i'll probably edit your ff and email you sometime today or tomorrow.

Emu: its good that you're happy! that's the point! heheh! i'm just glad that i got your profile or else i wouldn't have gotten to put you in this!

Puck: thanks! ^^ can't wait to see your finding nemo/newsies crossover come out!

Stretch: hey stretchy! haven't been seeing ya online in a while. :P back to school? anyways, thanks! ^^ hope to see ya around and more of your OC's ff!

Sagey: *hugs* hey! haven't seen ya in a while... hope you get everything fixed with your AOL and computer. ^^