Paper Flowers.

Summary: AU Soap Opera Style. In the wealthy town of Paradise Falls, an elite circle of youth control it all. On the surface they have everything. But once you start to dig a little deeper, there's a whole other world of lies, deceit, sex and more. Enjoy your stay.

Disclaimer: The recognizable characters and character traits of any of Disney's Newsies belong to Disney. Any other character is the property of either me or the author that I am borrowing them from.

Chapter 003.

"Hey, Rae, do me a favor? Let me know who's calling my cell," drawled twenty-two year old Lucky Pulitzer from her raft in the middle of the large in ground swimming pool. Tall and thin, with long wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, Lucky usually acted the part of the spoiled heiress. But, of course, that was understandable. As the only child of Lucky Casino's owner, Joey Pulitzer, she was one.

"Sure thing, Luck," replied twenty-three year old Rae Kelly, with a roll of her eyes, as she pulled her ankles out of the water and crawled to where the girls' cell phones were resting on a towel. As she picked up Lucky's pink flip phone up she couldn't help but think how if it wasn't for the fact that Julie had gone out for the night and Jess was spending the night with Rae's good-for-nothing cousin, Jack, Rae wouldn't have voluntarily spent the afternoon with Lucky. Though Rae's family, the Kelly's, were just as well off as the Pulitzer's and both Rae and Lucky sported the same Barbie doll style coloring (blonde hair, blue eyes, tan skin), one could never find two different people: Whereas Rae is down-to-earth and a notorious troublemaker while Lucky is selfish and spoiled. But, due to the social standards set upon them by their families and their wealth, they were friends. Somewhat. "It's Luke, Lucky," Rae said once she looked down at the screen and saw his name pop up.

"Luke? Luke DiVenize? Haven't heard from him since there were rumors running around Paper Falls that he was bonking some girl, but wouldn't say who. Never did find out who that chick was. Anywho, toss me my phone, Rae. I'd love to talk to Luke again," Lucky smiled as she rolled over onto her stomach and faced Rae

"Here you go Lucky," Rae smirked as she made to toss the phone at Lucky.

When Lucky saw the motion, she panicked and reached forward to grab the phone. "Rae," she yelled as she overreached and fell forward into the pool.

As Rae watched Lucky fall into the pool, she laughed to herself before pressing the talk key on Lucky's phone. "Hello, Lucky Pulitzer's phone. This is Rae speaking, how can I help you?"

"Rae? Rae Kelly? Is that you?"

Rae bristled at Luke's cold voice, but nonetheless remained carefree. "Sure thing, boss. And this is?"

"Rae, this is not the time for games. Give me Lucky."

"You might have to hold on there for a moment, Luke. Lucky's just getting out of the pool now," she snickered as Lucky exited the pool and, while glaring at Rae, grabbed a fluffy white towel.

Once she was dry enough to handle the phone, Lucky plucked it out of Rae's hand. "Luke, darling, it's been so long," she cooed, while ignoring Rae's louder laughs. "How've you been?"

"Fine, Lucky. Listen, I got some news for you. Guess who's back in town."

"I have no idea, Luke. Who?"

"Does the nickname 'Cowboy' ring any bells for ya?"

"Jack Kelly is back in town? You've got to be kidding me," Lucky screeched before putting the phone down for a moment. "Rae, why didn't you tell me that your cousin was back in Paradise Falls?"

Rae, who had stopped laughing when Lucky yelled out Jack's name, shook her head. Maybe because Jack is dating my best friend and I don't want to piss her off right away because you're gonna try to steal her boyfriend, you twit, Rae thought to herself before answering Lucky. "I guess I forgot," she began before continuing with a wicked smile, "but, guess what, Lucky? Jack is back in town."

Lucky shot Rae a look before placing the phone back up to her ear. "Thanks for the news, Luke. But why are you telling me? I thought you two didn't really get along."

"Well, I heard that you had a thing for him and then I heard that he was back in town. And, to top it all off, I was talking with Jessica Maris, his girlfriend, last night -- you know she's living with me and my sister? Anyway, she was telling me how things with her and Jack were rocky and she was planning to break things off tonight. Seeing as she's Julie's friend, and you're Julie's friend, I figure I'll do my sister by being nice to you both. If you get your chance to be with Cowboy, then that makes things easier for Jessica. Then you two are happy, which makes Julie happy. And when Julie is happy, she doesn't bitch at me."

Lucky listened to Luke as a smile played on her lips. "Sounds mighty gallant of you, Luke. Are you sure there's not some other ulterior motive behind it all?"

There was a pause before Luke answered. "Oh, come now, Lucky. I thought you knew me better than that."

"I do, Luke. That's why I asked you."

"That doesn't matter, Lucky," Luke answered shortly, the niceties gone from his voice now. "Anyway, I just thought I'd be kind enough to pass on some more information that I got. Basically, it's this: Jack is meeting with Jessica at Chez Maurice at seven. I reserved a table for you for seven thirty -- can you be there?"

Lucky glanced at her watch. It was quarter to six now; if she jumped in the shower now, she could definitely be there. "Sure thing, Luke. I'll be there."

"I thought so. Good. Then, I guess all I have to say now is bye. Bye." Click.

Lucky didn't even bother to reciprocate her goodbyes; she already heard the disconnection on Luke's end. "Hey, Rae, how would you like to go to dinner with me at Chez Maurice tonight?"

"Is Jack going to be there?"

"Perhaps."

"With Jess?," asked Rae with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Could be," Lucky answered, a little more cautiously this time.

Rae paused for a moment, thinking it over. Lucky received a phone call from Luke DiVenize -- and anything connected to Luke normally meant trouble. And this phone call seemed to discuss Jack's arrival in Paper Falls, as well as his relationship with Jessica. The result of said phone call was that Lucky was going to dinner at the same restaurant that Jack and Jess were already at. And, as Rae's troublemaking nature kicked in, she realized that this could be the perfect opportunity to either dismantle a relationship she seemed ill fit -- or, at the very least, watch Lucky make a complete and utter ass of herself. "Count me in."

"Love? You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear those words from you."

Julie's grin slid off of her face as a cold expression replaced it instantly. "Oh, it's you, Oscar," she began, turning her head away from her brother's best friend, "I thought you were someone else."

Oscar winked as he sat down at the cozy table. "You know you want me, Jules."

Trying to hide a look of disgust - and failing - Julie attempted to change the subject. Faking a yarn while pretending to study her French manicure, she asked, "What are you doing here anyway, Oscar?"

"Well I was meeting Luke here for dinner, but I'd much rather join you," Oscar replied, winking one of his brown eyes, completely ignoring Julie's disinterest in his appearance at Tibby's. "But it seems that you were waiting for someone else, love."

Julie ignored his remark and, eager to change the subject, she asked about her brother. "Luke was meeting you here, tonight? I thought he hated eating out at Tibby's. As I recall, that pompous son of a bitch thought this place was below his fine standards," she teased, poking fun at Luke's rather conceited attitude.

Oscar removed the derby he was wearing on his head and ran a hand through his short brown hair. "Normally Luke doesn't want to eat at this joint, but he told me that something has come up and he's trying to change his attitude towards certain things," he answered before shrugging his shoulders and placing his hat back onto his head. "Works for me, though, as long as it's a place where the grub is good."

Julie smirked as she rolled her eyes at Oscar's less than classy manner. New money, she thought to herself as she looked him over. Coming from a wealthy family as well respected as her's, Julie could always spot someone who didn't grow up as rich as they are now. And, though the Delancey's had quite a deal of money, enough to put Oscar and his brother Morris into the same league as Julie and Luke, one could always tell the difference between a Delancey and a DiVenize.

Unfortunately for Julie, though, Oscar felt that because he had as much money as she did and because he was friends with her brother, that meant that he was entitled to Julie, herself. Unfortunately for Oscar, Julie wasn't having any of that -- no matter how hard Oscar tried.

Oscar, ignoring her smirk, smiled at Julie. "So, Jules, who were you meeting for dinner?"

"Jess," Julie stated as the tiny lie escaped her lips. After all, why did Oscar need to know her personal business?

"Really? That's odd. I ran into Anthony down by the tracks this morning and he told me that our old pal, Kelly, is back in town. I just assumed that she'd be with him now that he's back."

Since when did Oscar discover he had a brain, Julie marveled before revising her story. "Did I say 'Jess'? I meant Rae. I'm meeting Rae here for dinner."

"Oh, okay -- Excuse me one second, Jules," Oscar said as he unclipped his cell phone from his belt. "Delancey. What?"

"Oscar. Luke. Change of plans."

"Umm -- sure thing, Luke. What's the change?" Oscar asked, winking once at Julie before standing up from the table and taking a step away, so that Julie wouldn't be able to overhear his conversation with her brother.

"I've decided not to go to Tibby's tonight, Oscar."

"But, why, Luke? I'm already here, with your sis--"

"Oscar," interrupted Luke, a steely note in his emotionless voice, "I will meet you at Chez Maurice in an hour. I got us a table for seven thirty, so don't be late."

"But, Luke --"

"Seven thirty. Chez Maurice. Don't be late." Click.

Oscar, not wanting to look like a fool in front of Julie, continued to speak on his cell phone though Luke was no longer there. "You know what, Luke, you're right. I think I would rather dine at Chez Maurice tonight. Mmhmm, okay. I'll see you there. Alright, Bye." With that, Oscar flipped his cell phone shut and approached Julie once more. "That was your brother, Jules. Slight change of plans, you see. We're not gonna be eating at Tibby's tonight after all."

"Whatever you say, Oscar," Julie replied, again looking at her fingernails while trying to hide a smile.

Oscar grinned and blew her a kiss. "I'll see you later, love," he winked before beginning to walk away.

With his words, Julie threw her own back at him. "Sure, Oscar. But, one thing. If you want to make it sound like your telling Luke off after he hung up the phone, do it before the operator comes on the line to tell you the call was disconnected, alright? Because, even from here, I could hear everything, love."

Oscar turned a bright shade of red before stumbling away leaving Julie alone once more, this time her head up and bobbing as her giggles filled the air.