Waitressing had been harder than either of the girls had expected. The trays of food were heavy, and when the dinner hour rolled around and men had drinks with their meals, they tended to get a little rambunctious and crude. Both of the girls were quite relieved when their shift finally ended.

Jack had taken Elise to the pharmacy to look for a remedy to her nausea, which left Skittery and Penny strolling together. It had cooled considerably since the hour Penny took for her lunch break, and it was actually rather pleasant to walk home that evening. Listening to Skittery talk made for a lovely end to a stressful day.

"The headlines actually weren't so bad. I sold all my papes, even the afternoon edition. Didn't have no boneheads givin' me trouble at all today, neither, which was nice. I was gonna stop at Tibby's for lunch, but I just didn't have the time today... I ended up in Brooklyn at some point. Not sure how that happened." He laughed a little, turned to look at her amused but distracted face. "Anyhow, how was your day? Anything interesting happen in the life of a waitress?"

"Not really. Elise broke a dish," she shrugged, then smiled. "Tibby didn't seem to care though." Penny examined the streets of her new home, realizing she found them rather attractive. "Why is it that men get so stupid when they drink?" She sighed. "My bum hurts a little from all the pinching."

Skittery let out a loud laugh. "Well, there goes my plans for the night." He laughed harder when Penny punched him weakly in the shoulder.

"Pop ain't gonna be happy we lost 'em," a voice carried from several paces behind them. Penny froze. "But they cant've gone far. The dark-haired one couldn't hardly even walk."

"Hell, who says the little tramps are even alive anymore?" The second voice broke into a familiar, hideous laugh, and the first one joined him.

Penny grabbed Skittery's hand and dragged him into an alley. Leaning against the wall, she pulled him into a deep kiss. He let out a soft moan of surprise before easing into it, leaning an arm against the wall behind her and placing his other hand on her hip. Her mouth was warm and sweet, and reminded him of something he was missing, but couldn't place his finger on. All apprehension about getting carried away hadstarted to slip out of his mind, and his hand began to toy with the bottom of her bodice.

She placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and pushed him away. "We need to get home." She straightened herself and dusted her skirt off, glancing nervously toward the street.

Skittery stared blankly at her for a moment, his brown eyes clouded with confusion and arousal. He wanted to say something, but his tongue was thick in his mouth and the words just weren't coming.

That night at the lodging house, Penny and Elise sat at the window and talked in hushed, nervous tones. The boys, with the exception of the younger newsies, were enveloped in a poker game, but Skittery and Crutchy only pretended to play as they spoke quietly behind their cards.

"She kissed me."

"Kissed you? What the hell would she wanna do that for?" Crutchy laughed, elbowing Skittery playfully in the side.

"It wasn't like anything was happenin', we was just walkin' home from Tibby's and alla sudden she just pulls me into this alley and starts kissin' on me. Then, just as quick as it happened, she stops and says we have to get home."

"Weird."

"You're tellin' me."

A/N: Hmm... not quite sure how I feel about this. Shorter than I would've liked, but my other fic was calling me. What do you guys think about it? I need some serious feedback on this. Please R&R! -Layne