"And this Tyce guy makes you nervous because you're enemies?" Gabby concluded after Spot told her what was on his mind. He had spilled quite a bit during the fifteen minutes there on that bench. But she had no room to complain; after all, she did ask who he was.

"Yeah." Spot thought for a moment and realized how long he had been ranting. "Like ya care, I know."

"No, no," Gabby scooted closer. "I think it's all really interesting. I mean, I never knew exactly what went on in your little…world."

Little world? thought Spot. I'd call it anythin' but little. "Oh, okay," was all he said.

What was it about this Gabby Lawrence that made him want to talk and talk for hours? Maybe it was because it wasn't initially drawn to her by looks. Don't get Spot wrong, he was attracted to her. Gabby wasn't particularly stunning, she wasn't leading a trail of drooling boys behind her, and she didn't come off as that confidently gorgeous girl that turned heads everywhere she went. She was just Gabby; bony build, big eyes, and plain brown hair. That was her. And he liked it.

"Anything else you want to talk about? I feel like your therapist and I have to say that I like it," she said.

Spot laughed under his breath. "Nope. That's all I got for today." Really he could go on for days about his messed up life, but that would be incredibly boring for her. "Let's talk about you."

Her light green eyes widened a little. "Me? Well, what do you want to know?"

Spot shrugged. "Are ya hungry?"

"I guess."

"I'm buyin' ya lunch and we'll spend the afternoon talkin' about you for a change. It's payback for all this talk 'a Brooklyn."

A small smile danced across Gabby's face as she crossed her arm with this, which was politely jutted out for her. They strolled along the streets leisurely toward Sonny's in contentment. They didn't talk much during their walk, which was weird. Perhaps each saved their best conversations for when their only focus sat right in front of them. Gabby got a fair amount of tiny butterflies fluttering about her stomach as she wanted everyone to know just who she was arm-in-arm with. He strode next to her as he looked straight ahead of him. Although his lips were straight, there was definite curving upward, and Gabby noticed.

As they approached Sonny's, a big wave of newsies walked out, leaving the restaurant nearly empty. One boy passed the two and asked if Spot was coming to sell the afternoon edition.

"No," he shook his head. "Got more important things to do."

His statement made Gabby twitter silently with delight. Spot had put her before papers. They entered the restaurant and took a seat in a booth near the window, across from each other at the table.

"So, what's your story?" Spot inquired curiously as he took a sip of his Coke.

"Hm…" Gabby looked above her for a moment as the waiter brought around her roast beef sandwich. "Well, you know all about how my parents are dead. I have no siblings or relatives close by that I can live with, so I'm pretty much an orphan."

Whoa. She had never really thought about that before it came out of her lips. She was an orphan as well.

"I grew up not far from here actually. My father taught school and my mother gave piano lessons. We weren't rich, I can tell you that. But we weren't destitute either. They left me some money. A lot, actually. I'm just livin' off that for a while." She picked up her sandwich and took a nibble.

"That's tough," Spot replied. "I never knew my motha. She died when I was a baby and my pop raised me 'till I was seven. Just left one day." Spot stared at his plate blankly.

Gabby paused during her chewing as she realized just how depressing it had gotten. She swallowed quickly and changed the topic. "Well, that's all history."

"Right." He picked up his sandwich and bit into it without haste.

"Let's see…" Gabby swallowed and searched for the right things to say. "I'm sixteen and my favorite color is green," she blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

Their little game of twenty questions lasted them through lunch and well into the mid-afternoon. Gabby had given Spot a little of her personality and Spot got the chance to listen rather than do most of the talking. He spun his empty glass around in his palm while Gabby chatted up a storm about life with her family and the old days. Unlike other girls he had gone out with in the past, he simply sat back in his seat and heard what Gabby had to say. It was pleasant and she was pleasant and it pulled him in closer. She had a charming nature about her. She had this likable charm and it was putting a spell on him.

Gabby looked to the clock on the wall: three thirty. "Oh, we've been here for three hours!"

Spot looked up at the wall as well. "Time flies…"

Just then the door swung open, sounding a small ding! from the bell above it. Ace rushed over to Gabby and Spot, placing his hand on the table's surface in front of Spot, out of breath. "Did ya hear?"

"What?" Spot asked, far beyond irritated.

"Tyce's gone," panted Ace.

Spot rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I got it taken care of, Ace. Spies."

"Oh." Ace straightened out and caught his breath at last. He looked over at Gabby. "And who is this?"

Gabby and Ace stared at each other blankly for a couple of seconds.

"Ace, this is Gabby," Spot introduced.

"Hi," Ace shook her hand weakly and fought back his sneaky, crooked smile. "That short fer anythin'?"

Gabby bit her lip and glared at Ace while trying to hide it and make it subtle. "Gabby."

Acce nodded. "Well, I should get goin'." He held his hand out to Spot, who simply glowered icily at him, and Ace left for the door.

Gabby suppressed a few snickers as Spot sighed heavily.

"Not one 'a my favorites," Spot added once Ace was gone. "But I should get goin' too. I got some business to take care of. I'll see ya again, right?"

"Of course," said Gabby. They both waved a simple goodbye and he laid the money on the table. She watched out the window until Spot was out of sight and she got up from her seat and exited Sonny's.

Her lonely apartment was located not far from the restaurant and only took her a matter of minutes. The sun was at the middle of the blue sky as the light showered the city. Gabby walked with a light bounce in her step as she strolled along the streets. As she came closer to her apartment building she saw Ace standing around the entrance. He waved at once when they saw each other.

"That wasn't awkward," Ace commented upon their meeting at Sonny's.

"I already told you," Gabby began, "I don't want him knowing we know each other. He hates you. No offense."

Ace scoffed. "Fine, fine. Throw away our childhood friendship ovah this! I undastand," he accused in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Ya know, I bet ya parents are lookin' down at ya right now in shame."

Gabby gave him a stern look as Ace looked up to the sky with his hands cupped to the sides of his mouth.

"Hey Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence, gimme a sign if Gabby's doin' the right thing by lyin' to him! She just wants in his pants, though. And if ya bump into my folks up there, tell 'em thanks for leavin' me on the streets when I was nine!"

"Ace, stop it!" Gabby pulled his arms down to take the attention from him.

"Just get a move on it, will ya, Gabs? I mean, how hard is Spot to crack?" Ace asked as if he were tired of waiting. "It's fun to fake bein' ya best friend 'n all, but hurry yer ass up already."

Gabby started up the steps to the building's doors. She said goodbye to Ace and traipsed up the four flights of stairs to her one-bedroom apartment. As it sat there the place she now called home was pretty pathetic-looking; the tenants (whom she met casually one day at the park) before her ran into a little trouble with the law and skipped town immediately, leaving her with pieces of furniture. There was the mushy couch that greeted her from across the doorway on the other side of the room, a shelf that contained a fair amount of books, and a modest bed in the bedroom. The couple had asked her if she wanted the apartment and who was she to pass up shelter?

She walked over to the old, dilapidated mirror on the wall and stared back at her reflection. Her response was not one of particular joy. She pitied what looked back at her. What if her parents were ashamed of her for trying to nestle her way into Spot's life? But all she wanted was a little attention from someone to cure her loneliness. Sure, there was Ace, but in the role of best friend, he couldn't fill in the holes that needed so desperately to be filled. She tried to force tears to come to her eyes and a lump to come to her throat. Failed.

Have you ever taken a good hard look at yourself and thought, "this is your life?"