Okay. This-a one's for my Bex, also known as Rubix. As can be expected, I don't own Newsies (never will), and "Hello Goodbye" isn't mine, and Rubix is her own. Enjoy! Don't forget to keep those reviews a-comin'!

HELLO, GOODBYE

You say yes, I say no
You say stop, and I say go go go
You say goodbye and I say hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

It was a considerable amount of time after the strike. The stickiness of the July heat had subsided to fall and now folks were anticipating the first Manhattan snow of the year. On Newspaper Row, newsies replaced their loads of papers with loads of firewood to Duane Street.

David Jacobs was leaned against the front stoop of his family's apartment building near the lodging house and observed all of this with a spectator's glance. After all this time, he had assumed he'd been accepted by now. Sure, he was a little on the awkward side upon first encounter with the Manhattan newsies, but after he'd helped Jack stand up to the powerful newspaper companies, well, he'd gotten considerable respect.

He'd never crow about being the "King of New York" like all of his new friends would, or anything completely idiotic like that. No, he reveled in his slight fame silently.

Sure, everything seemed to work perfectly for the "walkin' mouth," but there was something that every newsie in New York had that he lacked: a girl to call his own.

David gave it plenty of thought, of course. Even so, he had a bad habit of pining for the girls that were always unattainable. Ever since the strike ended in July, he was determined to get Rubix, the right hand "man" of Spot Conlon, to do something besides insult him whenever he'd say a casual hello.

Every muscle in David's body slumped with uneasiness as, surely enough, there she was, coming around the corner. Why did he even stand in front of his house at the same time every day? He knew damn well that Rubix would come past him at the same time every morning. You could practically set your watch by it.

He drew in a shaky breath. The pair of impishly glowing green eyes seemed to appear before anything else. It was hard to tell what was noticed next as a mane of red hair, a flame of a crown that adorned her head, billowed around her in the breezy atmosphere.

"Morning, Rubix," he stammered with a grin. God help him, but he really never wanted to utter a mean word to this beautiful creature of a young lady.

For a moment, she didn't even turn to acknowledge him. "Mornin' yourself, bookworm." Her words blended into the breeze so perfectly that they could very well have been a figment of David's imagination.

I say high you say low
You say why and I say I don't know
Oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello
Why, why, why do you say goodbye, goodbye

"Hey, wait a minute, Bex…" David wanted to take back the words immediately as they left his mouth. Not only did he talk back to her, but he used the nickname that only Spot and some of the more influential newsies had the permission to invoke.

With a cat-like turn of her heel, her emerald eyes flashed right at him. "'Scuse me, Mouth?"

Damn it. David was utterly trapped. That mouth of his…

"Why don'tcha ever have anything nice to say about me?" He was digging himself in deeper, so he ran with it.

Rubix gave him an impatient stare. "I fail to see why it matters to the Walkin' Mouth whether or not Spot's li'l bird is nice to him. You don't see me any other time of the day, an' I stay away from you too." She shrugged her petite shoulders apathetically. "Just 'cause we're both at the right hand of two of the leaders of the New York newsies don't mean we gotta be chummy with each other."

He balked after the mini-monologue. For once, David had nothing smart to say in return. He just studied her face—it was only for a second—but he was dumbfounded. It was a surge of mixed emotions. If Rubix wasn't a lady (and yes, to David Jacobs, even the beautifully sarcastic and snappy girl was a lady), he would have given her a real piece of his mind. But oh, how he admired that spark and spirit…

She took David's silence as an indicator that she was free to move along. "G'bye, David," she tossed curtly, preparing to walk away.

"You said my name…" A grin tickled David's lips.

Rubix's back stiffened as she turned to face him again. "Well, that's your name, ain't it?"

"Sure… But, well, ah… you just don't use it so much. I usually expect being called 'bookworm,' 'mouth,' 'curly top'—"

"I get it, I get it." She fluttered her eyes closed in exasperation. "So, is that all you want from me? You just want me to call you David and you'll leave me alone?"

He couldn't help but grin boyishly at her. "Well, it's an awful good start, right?"

Oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye I say hello

Rubix just squinted at him a little sympathetically. For the first time, something tugged on the strings of her conscience. In her tart way of replying to statements, had she actually hurt someone's feelings? The feeling was very unfamiliar when she'd grown up in Brooklyn, amidst the hardest of hearts.

She licked her lips for a moment to soften them. "Hey look, Mouth—er, I mean, David—I don't mean to be nasty, okay? I'm just used to it." Her finger poked at her once-white shirt, right where David was certain a kind heart was located. "Brooklyner over here, remember?"

He readjusted his seated position on the steps. "I suppose that's understandable." He offered her a smile. "That Spot is one tough cookie."

For the first time, David received the blessing of seeing a real, true smile tug at Rubix's lips. "Yeah, he sure is." As if the smile wasn't enough of a gift from Heaven, the natural melody of her laugh reached David's ears.

They shared a laugh, and it was followed (as first laughs together usually are) by a very awkward pause.

"Well, uh…" David stammered, trailing off, desperate to break the silence.

"Yeah…" Rubix squinted in the direction of Brooklyn, turning to David once more. Her smile was retained on her only slightly chapped lips. "So. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

David could easily die a happy young man. "You bet! Er, I mean—sure, that sounds swell." He leaned back, attempting to be coolly indifferent.

She giggled. "You're not fooling anyone, you know." She readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, tipping the brim of her cap to him. "See you tomorrow, David."

"Tomorrow. G'bye, Rubix."

"'Bye." She smiled, strolling a little more leisurely, whistling to herself.

David watched Rubix's retreating figure intently, and as soon as he was certain the girl was out of earshot, he let out the loudest, most overjoyed whoop he'd ever had the experience to release.

"She knows my name! She likes me! She really does! I know she does! Look at me, I'm the king of New York…!"

You say yes (I say yes)
I say no (But I may mean no)
You say stop (I can stay)
And I say ('Til it's time to go)
Go, go, go
Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

Stay tuned for the next chapter and Beatles song! grin Keep in mind that the more reviews I get, the faster I'll update! Thanks a million!