WOOT! thanks for the reviews I didnt expect any so soon
Disclaimer: I don't own the Newsies, don't sue me please. I'm, just a
poor student who loves the Newseis.
The character of Cate is mine, and most of her family
It was the first nice day that New York had seen in months. But as the sun shown down on the city this morning you could just know that spring was almost here. Three boy walked through the streets in the early morning headed towards the newspaper distribution office. The city was just starting to wake up and the Newsies were getting ready for another day of selling papers.
Really it was more like two men and one boy, for the two older of the group were in their late teens, while the third was eleven at the most. While the two older boys walked along talking about nothing in particular the younger one dawdled behind them playing with a wooden sword.
As the small group turned down an alleyway that would shorten the distance to the distribution office by five minutes, none of them noticed the young woman who came hurtling form the other direction.
Hearing rapid footsteps Jack Kelly looked up to see a girl running towards him and David. He was about to tell David to watch out when the girl crashed into him. David stumbled back a few feet, but kept his footing. The girl on the other hand fell roughly to the ground, sprawled on the pavement in front of them.
Jack was about to throw out a cutting remark when he got a good look at the girl on the ground. She was in really bad shape. Her clothes were dirty and ripped in many places. The blouse she wore must have, at one time been white, but not it was a brownish gray, and it was missing a sleeve. Obviously something very sharp had ripped it off, because there was a large gash in her arm where the sleeve was cut off. The cut had been bleeding very heavily at one point, but had slowed now. Her left eye was swollen so it was almost shut, and her lip was split and bleeding. The brown skirt had several large tears in it, and was mostly tatters.
"Wow, goil! You ok?" Jack asked as he reached a hand out to her. Much to his shock she scooted away from him and into the alley wall.
"Don't . . .don't come any closer," she managed to get out. Her voice was strained, and hardly above a whisper. There was, however, an unmistakable Irish accent to her speech.
Jack stopped his hand where it was. "Its ok, we aint gonna hurt you. My names Jack, Jack Kelly. And dis here is David and Les Jacobs. Do you need help?"
"No!" she said suddenly every forceful, "no, I'm . . I'm . . . fine." She averted her eyes from her battered body and looked into Jack's eye for the first time.
Her eyes were a very light, clear, blue. They seemed familiar some how, like he had seen them before.
"You don't look so fine, just let us give you some help." He stated to reach out to give her a hand up when she screamed out.
"No! Please, don't touch me, please!" She then burst into tears, hugged her knees to her chest, and pressed herself as far into the wall as she could.
Jack stood up, walked back a few paces, and motioned for David, who had been watching the entire exchange with concerned interest, to come with him.
"Look Dave, I'm gonna run back to de apartment and get Sarah, she shouldn't have left yet. She'll know what to do. Just don't let dis goil out of your sight, she ain't gonna last on the street by herself. Just be careful, don't want to scare her more den she already is." David nodded in agreement then went over and stooped down as close to the girl as he would dare.
"I'll be right back, David and Les'll stay with you. Don't try and run off, cause yous not in any condition to go runnen through the streets, so just stay put, and I'll be back with help." He looked directly at the girl, who was now staring petrified at David. She nodded absently, which Jack took to mean that she would stay. He then turned and ran back the way they had come.
As Jack ran off down the alley David focused his attention on the girl huddled in front of him. She look as though she couldn't have been older than him and Jack, which put her at about seventeen years old. She looked at him with terror in her eyes, like she was sure that he would grab her and hurt her at any minute.
"What is your name?" he asked, trying to make her a little more comfortable.
"Cathleen Flanagan, everyone calls me Cate though." The name seemed familiar somehow, but David pushed that thought to the side, at least she was talking.
"Well Cate, like Jack said, my name is David Jacobs, and this is my little brother, Les," he said indicating Les, who was watching from the end of the alley. "Les come over here and say hello to Cate."
Les approached carefully. And looked down at Cate, who was still huddled against the wall.
"Hi," he said, uncharacteristically silent. "Did you get hurt by a bad knight?"
"What?" Cate replied, startled but such an odd statement.
"Oh," David said, "it is one of his favorite games to play. You know, good knight, evil night, damsel in distress." he offered an apologetic grin, "you don't have to play along if you don't want to, you have obviously been through a lot."
"No" , she said again, "It is ok." Tuning to Les she said, "yes Les, I was hurt by a very bad knight, but I ran away, I wont let him hurt me anymore."
"I wont let him hurt you either, I'll protect you," Les exclaimed while brandishing his sword. David thought he saw a hint of a smile on Cate's bruised face.
"So," David said, trying to continue the conversation, now that Cate seemed a little more calm, "how old are you?"
"I was seventeen last October seventh." she replied, still keeping a wary eye on him and Les, who was now standing guard at the end of the alley.
"I am almost eighteen," David said, "Jack is about a year older than me, he went to get my sister Sarah, she's the same age as Jack. And Les just turned eleven last month."
"Oh," she answered absently.
"We're Newsies, me, Jack, and Les that is. Sarah works as a seamstress in a little shop a few blocks away." David glanced up to see if Jack and Sarah were coming yet, they weren't so he continued on. "Jack is the leader of the Manhattan Newseis, he . . ."
"Manhattan, but how could I have ended up in Manhattan?" she cut in. She looked extremely distressed once again.
"Look it's ok. We'll take care of you." As if on cue Jack came running down the alley, with Sarah trotting behind him.
Jack doubled over and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he had obviously run all the way back to the building and then back to the alley again.
Sarah, on the other hand, did not stop, but came right up to Cate and stooped down next to David.
"Hello, my name is Sarah Jacobs," she said calmly. She looked Cate over quickly. The other girl was not pressing herself against the wall again, as if she could not take Sarah invading her personal space. Sarah however took no notice of this, "I want you to come back to our family's apartment, there you will be safe, and I can take care of your injures."
Cate was shaking her head, "No, I can not do that. I have to keep going, if I don't he will find me soon."
"Who?" Sarah asked.
"The man who did this to her." David interjected.
"Yes" Cate replied, "now you have all been very kind but I must keep going . . ." While saying this she had attempted to stand, but had lost her balance, and was only saved from a second fall, by David who stepped forward and caught her.
"That is nonsense!" Sarah exclaimed, "you will come with us, David will carry you," she said firmly. "No! Really I must keep . ."
"I insist! And I promise that while in the care of our family, you will come to no harm." Sarah left no room for further arguments, and seeing as how Cate was far to week to protest every thing was organized.
"David give Jack and Les your money, and they can go ahead and get your papers. You will help me get Cate settled then you can meet them. Come on now." Sarah went to the end of the alley and waited for David and Cate.
David pulled some coins out of his pocket and handed them to Jack. "Get me a hundred papes, and I'll meet you at the DO. Les, be good and listen to Jack."
Jack walked to where Sarah was standing and gave her a kiss on the check, "thanks for helping Sarah. I'll see ya at dinner." And with that, he and Les walked out of the other end of the alley.
David turned to Cate, "I'm gonna pick you up now, but I promise you wont get hurt, Ok?"
She nodded a little hesitantly. He scooped her up with his arms under her knees and shoulders, being careful of her injured shoulder. She was so startled by this movement that she grabbed him around the neck and held on tight for the rest of the walk to the apartment.
Cate was frighteningly light. She couldn't have weighed much more than one hundred pounds. David wondered how she had gotten to be so beaten up, and if he really even wanted to know.
well there you are. I'm gonna try to update this story every day, but all you writers out there now how that goes. But I promise to try. I cant type the NY accent, but I tried to included it as much as possible. Nay mistakes in grammar, punctuation, etc. are all intentional, and should be taken as such. Love estrellalily
The character of Cate is mine, and most of her family
It was the first nice day that New York had seen in months. But as the sun shown down on the city this morning you could just know that spring was almost here. Three boy walked through the streets in the early morning headed towards the newspaper distribution office. The city was just starting to wake up and the Newsies were getting ready for another day of selling papers.
Really it was more like two men and one boy, for the two older of the group were in their late teens, while the third was eleven at the most. While the two older boys walked along talking about nothing in particular the younger one dawdled behind them playing with a wooden sword.
As the small group turned down an alleyway that would shorten the distance to the distribution office by five minutes, none of them noticed the young woman who came hurtling form the other direction.
Hearing rapid footsteps Jack Kelly looked up to see a girl running towards him and David. He was about to tell David to watch out when the girl crashed into him. David stumbled back a few feet, but kept his footing. The girl on the other hand fell roughly to the ground, sprawled on the pavement in front of them.
Jack was about to throw out a cutting remark when he got a good look at the girl on the ground. She was in really bad shape. Her clothes were dirty and ripped in many places. The blouse she wore must have, at one time been white, but not it was a brownish gray, and it was missing a sleeve. Obviously something very sharp had ripped it off, because there was a large gash in her arm where the sleeve was cut off. The cut had been bleeding very heavily at one point, but had slowed now. Her left eye was swollen so it was almost shut, and her lip was split and bleeding. The brown skirt had several large tears in it, and was mostly tatters.
"Wow, goil! You ok?" Jack asked as he reached a hand out to her. Much to his shock she scooted away from him and into the alley wall.
"Don't . . .don't come any closer," she managed to get out. Her voice was strained, and hardly above a whisper. There was, however, an unmistakable Irish accent to her speech.
Jack stopped his hand where it was. "Its ok, we aint gonna hurt you. My names Jack, Jack Kelly. And dis here is David and Les Jacobs. Do you need help?"
"No!" she said suddenly every forceful, "no, I'm . . I'm . . . fine." She averted her eyes from her battered body and looked into Jack's eye for the first time.
Her eyes were a very light, clear, blue. They seemed familiar some how, like he had seen them before.
"You don't look so fine, just let us give you some help." He stated to reach out to give her a hand up when she screamed out.
"No! Please, don't touch me, please!" She then burst into tears, hugged her knees to her chest, and pressed herself as far into the wall as she could.
Jack stood up, walked back a few paces, and motioned for David, who had been watching the entire exchange with concerned interest, to come with him.
"Look Dave, I'm gonna run back to de apartment and get Sarah, she shouldn't have left yet. She'll know what to do. Just don't let dis goil out of your sight, she ain't gonna last on the street by herself. Just be careful, don't want to scare her more den she already is." David nodded in agreement then went over and stooped down as close to the girl as he would dare.
"I'll be right back, David and Les'll stay with you. Don't try and run off, cause yous not in any condition to go runnen through the streets, so just stay put, and I'll be back with help." He looked directly at the girl, who was now staring petrified at David. She nodded absently, which Jack took to mean that she would stay. He then turned and ran back the way they had come.
As Jack ran off down the alley David focused his attention on the girl huddled in front of him. She look as though she couldn't have been older than him and Jack, which put her at about seventeen years old. She looked at him with terror in her eyes, like she was sure that he would grab her and hurt her at any minute.
"What is your name?" he asked, trying to make her a little more comfortable.
"Cathleen Flanagan, everyone calls me Cate though." The name seemed familiar somehow, but David pushed that thought to the side, at least she was talking.
"Well Cate, like Jack said, my name is David Jacobs, and this is my little brother, Les," he said indicating Les, who was watching from the end of the alley. "Les come over here and say hello to Cate."
Les approached carefully. And looked down at Cate, who was still huddled against the wall.
"Hi," he said, uncharacteristically silent. "Did you get hurt by a bad knight?"
"What?" Cate replied, startled but such an odd statement.
"Oh," David said, "it is one of his favorite games to play. You know, good knight, evil night, damsel in distress." he offered an apologetic grin, "you don't have to play along if you don't want to, you have obviously been through a lot."
"No" , she said again, "It is ok." Tuning to Les she said, "yes Les, I was hurt by a very bad knight, but I ran away, I wont let him hurt me anymore."
"I wont let him hurt you either, I'll protect you," Les exclaimed while brandishing his sword. David thought he saw a hint of a smile on Cate's bruised face.
"So," David said, trying to continue the conversation, now that Cate seemed a little more calm, "how old are you?"
"I was seventeen last October seventh." she replied, still keeping a wary eye on him and Les, who was now standing guard at the end of the alley.
"I am almost eighteen," David said, "Jack is about a year older than me, he went to get my sister Sarah, she's the same age as Jack. And Les just turned eleven last month."
"Oh," she answered absently.
"We're Newsies, me, Jack, and Les that is. Sarah works as a seamstress in a little shop a few blocks away." David glanced up to see if Jack and Sarah were coming yet, they weren't so he continued on. "Jack is the leader of the Manhattan Newseis, he . . ."
"Manhattan, but how could I have ended up in Manhattan?" she cut in. She looked extremely distressed once again.
"Look it's ok. We'll take care of you." As if on cue Jack came running down the alley, with Sarah trotting behind him.
Jack doubled over and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he had obviously run all the way back to the building and then back to the alley again.
Sarah, on the other hand, did not stop, but came right up to Cate and stooped down next to David.
"Hello, my name is Sarah Jacobs," she said calmly. She looked Cate over quickly. The other girl was not pressing herself against the wall again, as if she could not take Sarah invading her personal space. Sarah however took no notice of this, "I want you to come back to our family's apartment, there you will be safe, and I can take care of your injures."
Cate was shaking her head, "No, I can not do that. I have to keep going, if I don't he will find me soon."
"Who?" Sarah asked.
"The man who did this to her." David interjected.
"Yes" Cate replied, "now you have all been very kind but I must keep going . . ." While saying this she had attempted to stand, but had lost her balance, and was only saved from a second fall, by David who stepped forward and caught her.
"That is nonsense!" Sarah exclaimed, "you will come with us, David will carry you," she said firmly. "No! Really I must keep . ."
"I insist! And I promise that while in the care of our family, you will come to no harm." Sarah left no room for further arguments, and seeing as how Cate was far to week to protest every thing was organized.
"David give Jack and Les your money, and they can go ahead and get your papers. You will help me get Cate settled then you can meet them. Come on now." Sarah went to the end of the alley and waited for David and Cate.
David pulled some coins out of his pocket and handed them to Jack. "Get me a hundred papes, and I'll meet you at the DO. Les, be good and listen to Jack."
Jack walked to where Sarah was standing and gave her a kiss on the check, "thanks for helping Sarah. I'll see ya at dinner." And with that, he and Les walked out of the other end of the alley.
David turned to Cate, "I'm gonna pick you up now, but I promise you wont get hurt, Ok?"
She nodded a little hesitantly. He scooped her up with his arms under her knees and shoulders, being careful of her injured shoulder. She was so startled by this movement that she grabbed him around the neck and held on tight for the rest of the walk to the apartment.
Cate was frighteningly light. She couldn't have weighed much more than one hundred pounds. David wondered how she had gotten to be so beaten up, and if he really even wanted to know.
well there you are. I'm gonna try to update this story every day, but all you writers out there now how that goes. But I promise to try. I cant type the NY accent, but I tried to included it as much as possible. Nay mistakes in grammar, punctuation, etc. are all intentional, and should be taken as such. Love estrellalily