Author note: I tried typing this up earlier, but my computer is very…slow… Anyways, I hope I can get through this chapter without having to restart it.

I avoided Spot for as much as I could. It made me furious that he broke his promise to me! I guess after the kiss everything has been going so awkward. New Years was only a few more days away.

It was just a day or two ago when I sent my letter to father. I walked down the stairs and was getting ready to head out the door, but Wades stopped me.

"Sage," he said. Smiling, I turned to him with a questioning look. "I have a letter here for you," he said, waving the envelope in the air. I quickly walked over to the desk and generously took the letter. I said a quick "Thanks," and ran up to my room.

I was surprised, actually, that father wrote back so quickly. I tore open the letter and slowly read it.

Dearest Sage,

Typical.

I am surprised to hear from you; especially since the last letter I've sent you was nearly four months ago. I am even more surprised to hear that you are not living with your uncle. You're living with a bunch of homeless boys?

I narrowed my eyes at the letter as I cursed my father.

I wouldn't expect you, of all people, to trust a bunch of…newsies. I don't trust them boys, even if I don't know them. You deserve a better home, my dear.

"No I don't!" I whispered, tightening my grip on the letter.

Well, I'll have you know that I am out of jail; I have been for the past month. The officers had to deliver the letter to our old house. You don't know how happy I am to hear from you! So, you're still in Brooklyn? That's good; when I come get you it should be easier for me to find you.

I don't know when I'll be able to leave; soon, hopefully. I've hired about six maids so far.

I raised my eyebrows in amusement; we were still…wealthy? Even after he murdered mother?

Who is this Spot person? What kind of name is Spot?

"Shut up!" I told the letter. "Don't make fun of Spot!" I'm glad nobody saw me talking to a piece of paper; that would be kind of embarrassing. Especially if I'm telling it to not make fun of Spot.

Whoever he is, I don't trust him with my daughter. I don't need you getting attached to boys; even if you are seventeen.

Anyways, I can probably come get you a month or two after New Years. How does that sound? Well, I must be getting back to my work.

With much love,

Daddy.

I was tempted to crumble up the note and throw it into the fire. How dare him! Did he think that I was just going to leave? Leave my home? I've never felt more in place! I belong here; with the newsies, my friends, Scout, and…and even Spot. Even though he can get cocky at times, he was still my friend.

I pushed some strands out of my face and slammed the paper down onto the desk. I scowled at it. Why did I write him back? He doesn't deserve to get letters from me! It may make him think I still love him. Do I? I mean, he is my father, and he used to be a good man. I sighed in frustration and flopped down on my bed.

Spot's P.O.V

I played with the pocket watch in my hand, and stared at its beauty. I ran my thumb over the smooth surface and smiled to myself. Sage bought this for me, but why? The memory of me kissing her flashed through my mind. I was just going by the rules, right?

I shook my head and sighed deeply. This couldn't be happening; I'm still waiting for Madison to return…Right? I knew she was still out there, and could possibly be thinking about me. But what about Sage?

Spark soon entered the room and gave me a smirk.

"Heya Spot," he said, sitting on his bed and throwing his hat onto the floor.

"Hey Spark," I replied, shoving the pocket watch into my pocket. Spark raised his eyebrows.

"What's eatin youse?" he asked. I sent him a side glance.

"It's Sage," I told him, twirling my key in my fingers. "We got caught under da mistletoe at da Christmas party, and I kissed her." Spark chuckled as he stared at me.

"Really now? Well isn't dat interesting. I also saw youse kiss Kathy, and youse don't seem ta be…odd about her."

"Dat's because I don't know what ta think 'bout Sage," I told him truthfully. "Her and I, we can get into so many arguments, and I still can't stay mad at 'er. Almost like…"

"Madison," Spark finished for me. "Maybe yer heart is tellin youse ta move on. Maybe youse should jus' admit to da fact dat youse got feelins for Matthews." I laughed to myself.

"I don't have feelings for 'er!" I didn't know if I was trying to convince me or him. I sighed in frustration and ran my fingers through my hair.

"I think youse do," Spark said, eyeing me suspiciously. "I think youse don't wanna admit dat youse actually like 'er more den Madison." I sent Spark a warning glare, and he got the hint.

"Sorry," he muttered. I shook my head.

"No, its okay," I said, staring at my boots. I yawned as I played the image over and over again in my head. All I could see were Sage's eyes, and all I wanted to feel were her warm, irresistible lips. I didn't expect her to kiss me back that night, which made me surprised. Usually a kiss under the mistletoe isn't supposed to last that long. But when Kathy threw herself at me, the warm feeling Sage left was gone.

I shuddered as I remembered the redhead throwing herself at me. What in the hell did she think it was? A free show? I chuckled to myself as I remembered the look on everyone's faces. But Sage's…Sage looked hurt. I shook that thought out of my head.

"Damn it!" I cursed, causing Spark to jump slightly. "New Years is comin up…"

"So?" Spark then got where I was going with this. "Oh…well, youse should kiss 'er, jus' ta see if youse do have feelins for 'er." I shook my head.

"She'll probably be freak out," I said, putting my hands behind my head and relaxing on my bed. Spark sighed in defeat and left the room, muttering to himself of how ignorant I can be.

Normal P.O.V

A few more days past, and I still didn't write a letter in response to my father. It was New Years Eve, and I couldn't come up with one thing to write to him about. I still didn't know I wanted to write to him; he was pissing me off!

I walked down the steps of the Lodging House. It was now late in the afternoon, and once again, nobody sold papes on Holidays. I took in a deep breath and turned to the main room. Newsies sat around everywhere. Some were sitting on the floor, playing cards, and some were…well, doing other stuff.

Spot sat with Spark, Splinter, Dice, and some boy named Lucky at the round table, playing a game of poker. The bottle of alcohol was in Spark's hand as he took a swing of it. Spot glanced up at me, and his eyes didn't look glazed over, so he hasn't been drinking.

I also didn't know why I cared whether or not he drank; I just did. He gave me a smile and I saw the pocket watch hanging around his neck. Why he wore it around his neck, I did not know. I smiled back and felt someone tugging at my arm. I turned around and my smile faded as I saw Art.

"Hey," he said. I didn't have to ask what he wanted, because I knew what it was. He's been asking me ever so often if I came up with an answer, and I always came up with, "Not yet," or, "Give me some more time."

"Listen," Art said. "Youse is killin me, and I need an answer!" Art demanded, catching the attention of some other newsies. I glanced behind me, and Spot was hanging on our every word like it would kill him if he missed one.

"I, uh…" I started, glancing down at the ground. Art sighed in impatience.

"Youse had enough time," he whined. "Jus' please answer me." I looked around, and was relieved that everyone was minding their own business, except for Spot.

"Art…I…I…" I looked back at Spot once more. "I can't," I finally said, dropping my head. Art's eyes were filled with hurt.

"Why?" he asked, looking quite embarrassed. I glanced over at Spot once more.

"You're taking this too fast," I lied. "I'm just not ready." Art nodded and stared down at the ground.

"Okay," he said, his voice a little low and creaky. I bit my lip as I looked over at Spot. He had a smile on his face as he stared at Art and me. Art turned around and walked away, glancing at a few of his friends. I took in a deep breath and left the main room, walking into the kitchen. Skip had a bowl of water in his hand and gently placed it on the ground in front of Chance.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Hey," I said. "Thanks for watering him." I nodded towards Chance who licked at his water like it was getting ready to run away.

"Oh, no problem," Skip said, grinning. He picked up an apple from the counter and bit into it. "He's a smart dog."

"Yeah, and he's a big help when I don't wake up in the morning," I said, rubbing my cheek as I remembered being slobbered on. Skip laughed and cut a piece of the apple of, throwing it down to Chance. Chance stopped licking at his water and eyes the apple piece before pouncing on it and shoving it into his mouth. Skip and I laughed as Chance searched for more apple pieces. He gave Skip pleading eyes, and Skip threw another one down.

"Wow, that must be heaven for him," I said, watching my puppy "kill" the apple. Skip nodded. I sighed deeply as I left the kitchen and searched for someone with the time. I could just go to Spot, but I was still ignoring him…kind of. I sighed and shook my head and walked back into the main room.

I walked over to Spot and gave him a small smile. I slipped into the chair beside him.

"Can I help you, Miss Matthews?" he asked, staring down at his cards. I was glad that he was sober.

"Yeah, what time is it?" I asked. Spot opened the pocket watch with one hand.

"It's seven," he said, closing it and looking back down at his cards. He was avoiding eye contact for some reason.

"Okay…" I said. I tried to think up of something we could talk about, but my mind only switched to the kiss. I shook my head and rose from the chair. I heard the front door open, and Scout came rushing into the room, nearly knocking me down as she hugged me.

"Happy New Years!" she said. "I mean…almost New Years!" I smiled and pulled away from her deathly grasp.

"Yeah," I said. "You too." I then gave Jack a friendly hug, and he then joined the poker game.

"So," Scout said. "How is everythin?" I shrugged and glanced at the wall.

"I finally answered Art…"

"And?"

"And I said no." Scout grinned and patted my back.

"That's me goil!" she said. She then leaned over Jack and pulled the bottle of whiskey out of his hands. She swung her head back and took large gulps of the horrible substance. She then slammed the bottle onto the table.

"Anyone wanna beat dat?" she asked, looking around at the boys. They all gave each other glances before pulling out more bottles of whiskey.

"Here Spot," one boy said, holding a bottle in front of his face. Spot stared at it for a few seconds before pushing it away.

"No thanks," he said, shaking his head.

"What?" the boy asked, giving him an odd look.

"I ain't gonna repeat myself!" Spot snapped, making chills run down the boy's back. I smiled to myself as Spot glared down at his deck of cards. I looked around the room to see a few other Manhattaners enjoying the little New Years party. There was, of course, no feast since New Years consisted of everyone getting wasted and filling their lungs with smoke.

I found a seat near the corner as the night continued on, New Years inching closer. Scout was now drunk as could be, and Jack was trying his best to keep sober so he could carry her home. Spot didn't touch one bottle from what I seen, and he was tempted to at some points. I felt a little hurt as the thought of him thinking about Madison came up.

It was now around eleven thirty, and I had gotten so many offers for a "kiss" when New Years came. I had rejected all of them. My eyes scanned the room for Skip, but he wasn't around. I sighed and shook my head and turned my attention to Scout who was laughing uncontrollably. She didn't look drunk to me; maybe she was just faking.

The clock ticked closer to twelve as everyone readied themselves for the New Year.

"Two more minutes," I told myself. I felt someone touch my shoulder, and I quickly spun around to find a very relaxed Spot.

"There youse are," he said, smiling down at me.

"Spot," I said, flinching. His breath didn't smell of alcohol, so technically he hadn't been drinking. I gave him a smile. "Glad to see your sober!" I yelled over the talkative newsies. Spot smiled,

"Well, I guess I can start over. From here on I promise ta quit drinkin." He said. We were now standing beside the window, and I looked out to see that it was snowing…again. How many times does it snow in this place?

"59, 58, 57!" Everyone began to count down, screaming to the top of their lungs. I placed my hands over my ears, and saw Spot chuckling. He pulled my hands away from ears.

"49, 48, 47, 46, 45!" I gave him a questioning look as he watching the newsies count down.

"I saw youse and Art…" he said.

"42, 41, 39!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…Why did youse say no?"

"35, 34, 33!"

"Because…I'm just not ready to be in a relationship!" I yelled, hoping that he heard me. Spot smirked.

"28, 27, 26, 25!" He glanced out the window as New Years inched closer. I didn't know why, but I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"Well, I think dat was a smart decision," Spot said.

"19, 18, 17, 16!"

"Oh yeah? And why do you say that?" I asked, stepping closer so I'll be able to hear him.

"Because Art takes things too seriously…" I raised my eyebrows.

"10, 9, 8, 7!" I stared at Spot for a second, and he seemed to be thinking.

"5, 4, 3, 2…1!" I turned my head to watch everyone, but Spot's face inched closer to mine, and he pressed his lips to mine. I pulled back slightly, but not enough to break the kiss. Ah, yes, that warm feeling again. I felt more butterflies flutter endlessly in my stomach as I pulled him closer to me.

I heard everyone cheering and screaming, but I blocked everything out as the kiss lasted for what seemed like a lifetime. Neither of us wanted to pull away, but Spot decided to end my happiness, and pulled away. He scanned my eyes with his before a smile crept up to his lips.

"Happy New Years," he whispered into my ear.

Next Chapter: Sage wants to know why Spot kissed her again, and Spot merely says: "It was a friendly kiss, right?" Why does the Brooklyn newsy bottle up his feelings?

Spot sees a familiar face in the crowd as he sells his papes…Madison? And what's this? Sage wants to know what the kiss meant.

Author note: Yes, I continue to torture you! HAHAHAHAHA! Okay, well, I hope you liked this one. LONG LIVE SPOT!