A.N. I appreciate all of your support. I'm back with the next installment. This chappy might be a little rushed, but I am planning on flashbacks to explain what was going on in everyone's head or maybe a revision. And, as always I have no ownership of the Newsies and not affiliated with Disney in anyway. Thanks for all the Reviews. Please Review so I can keep the story up to par. LyxnLion

My Plan Doesn't Involve Swinging Fists

I don't know if it was the best plan, but it was the most I could come up with and from what I understood from David, they had no idea of what to expect so they had no plan of escape. Or at least that is what they said, I had a sneaking suspicion that the boys had planned on swinging their fists around a bit. If I wasn't careful, my plan would deteriorate into just that. It's not that I didn't have faith in their fighting prowess, but a fight can go wrong with someone like Anthony, who never plays by the rules. I did not want my friends marked for life which Anthony would do to anyone who took away what he wanted. And what he wanted was me. There had to be a better way. And I told David so. It was simple and neat, and hopeful I would be out of Manhattan for good by midnight. David didn't seem to like it very much. But I convinced him to at least talk to Spot and Bumlets about it. Or rather, I told him that under no circumstances would I not be involved in my own rescue. Our dance ended all too quickly. I was passed on to yet another eligible young bachelor.

True enough, by the end of the night I had danced with everyone there excluding Madame Tally of course. Anthony claimed a great many dances, and it must have been late when Madame asked me to retire to the drawing room. If everything went well, maybe just maybe, I could really be free. But I was none too sure, it would figure that David would decide to be pig-headed and do something incredibly stupid. I had danced in turn with both Bumlets and Spot. And, they were reasonable enough to not argue with me. Madame then escorted me back to the waiting room. It was against all sensibilities to actually auction me when I was present, so Madame escorted me to a side room she called in a slurring voice the "Withdrawing Room." I knew what was going to go on in that large room. It made me sick to think about it. Quickly I turned my thoughts, I could hardly believe how much my friends risked for me. Yes, if only… My thoughts were interrupted by an uproar in the next room. The pit of my stomach dropped. He promised. He promised he wouldn't do anything. But, the noise in the other room seemed to say that it didn't matter. The door flung open and Spot's face poked through, "Come on' Thorns! We've got to go!"

"I'm gonna kill Davey!" I swore under my breath, "The stonehead!"

"It wasn't Davey. It's Bumlets," Spot said quickly.

"Bum?" I asked wide-eyed.

"Yeah, so come on," Spot said and we left the room and entered the ballroom brawl.

Bumlets keep his council. He had his own ideas and knew telling Angel was not going to lead anywhere. As soon as he saw her distant face, pale and pretty, he knew he would do anything to protect her. Hearst was not going to lay a hand on her again. She looked perfect, like a figure craved out of glass. Here, she was truly an Angel, even if her eyes were vacant, searching. He knew what she was searching for, and it wasn't him. Ultimately, it would never come down to him. Sometimes he would think of her and would almost work himself into telling her how much he cared. They had had so much fun sellin the papes together. But, then they would meet up with the rest in Tibby's and he could see her eyes light up whenever David came near. The way she looked into his eyes, it wiped away any thought of telling her anything. It was far better to be near her, her friend, then cause a rift between them. When Angel told him not to put up a fight, to let Hearst buy her, Bumlets knew he couldn't let that happen. She deserved to always remain free, and he could give that to her. It didn't matter to him that they would follow Hearst out and free Angel in the darkness of the night where he couldn't identify them. He would give this gift to her, and he knew how he would do it. When Angel had been escorted out of the room, Madame Tally returned looking like a pouncing cat. She had opened the bidding. There were a few complimentary bids, but it seemed resigned to let Hearst have the final say. It was in the final moments when everyone had figured it was over, that Bumlets stood up and increased the bid on Hearst. Spot pulled him down quickly and hissed at him, "What are you crazy? What about the plan?"

"I know what I'm doing," Bumlets hissed back. He then stood up and increased the bid before Hearst had even recovered from the shock. Hearst sent a nasty look towards him. The deed had been done, and win or lose, Bumlets was on his list of those to be squashed.

It was a dangerous game of bluff.

My mind was a whirl. Bumlets? I had half expected David to act the fool headed knight, maybe he would have if Bumlets hadn't taken the role first. I was in the room of swinging fists, exactly the last thing I wanted. It was surprising… I had expected to see my boys circled by the snobby socialites, but instead the fight seemed to have no particular side. Just a room full of men too busy beating each other up and Madame screeching at the top of her voice. I crossed the room to the exit trying my hardest to be invisible. Surprisingly, it was not that hard to do. The men were so intent on teaching one another what ever lesson they chose, that no one raised an eye to me. There was something more important to be won, their pride. As I was leaving the ballroom, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Bumlets in the thick of the battle. I opened my mouth to yell to him, but Spot quickly caught my arm and hissed, "They're not completely deaf." And dragged me out of the room down the hallway.

"We can't just leave him here," I growled determined.

"Thorns, we promised him to get you out and forget about him. He wouldn't have it any other way." Spot answered.

"You are just gonna let him battle it out in there alone?" I cried in frustration, dragging my feet, but Spot and David were just as determined and twice as strong, each grabbing an arm.

"Ya have to learn to accept gifts, girlie," Spot told me. We reached the hidden door and were moving quickly to met Jimmy when I heard a racket behind me. It was Bumlets flying down the stairs.

"We're safe!" He proclaimed and we all broke into the sunlight in the alley behind Magnigties. I stood there gathering my breathe wondering if that really could ever be true, mad at the stubbornness of my friends, delighted that I once more stood free from Hearst, and scared to death that I had imagined all that had happened to me. Safe?