Author's Note: Here's chapter number three. I will be using every character that was so generously offered. The first of these characters, Hair, is mentioned in this chapter. The rest will enter in the next chapter. Woot.

Disclaimer: This story is from the property of my mind. The twins, Clover & Ash O'Connell, as well as most minor characters are mine, except for a few friends who were generous enough to let me use their characters. Any character that you recognize from the 1992 musical, Newsies, obviously is the creative property of Disney.

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ad infinitum
- To Infinity -

08.10.06

When Clover lost her parents and her love all within one short year, she and her brother remained in Manhattan.
What happens, though, when her newfound life as a newsie isn't as carefree as she thinks?
Or her position in the group leads her straight into the arms of her old enemy?

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PRIMORIS PLACITUM
FIRST MEETING

Clover was not ready to leave Ash on his own just yet but when the boys said that he could accompany them on their selling, she did not want to look ungrateful. They were from this area – the Lower East Side – and obviously knew all the selling spots. Also, as she learned during their brief stay in the Bronx, it never hurt to stay on the good side of a crew of newsies.

She was a bit concerned, just then, as to what she was going to do. It was mid-afternoon and any of the girls that Jack had mentioned would surely be working at the factory. And, while Jack offered up the Girls' Home to her, he had not mentioned exactly where she could find it.

She did not have to really worry about that, though; as soon as Jack offered to take Ash on – with a generous 60/40 split since Ash had a, as he called it, 'face no lady could turn away'; she found out much later that he thought that Ash was too dumb to be perceived as a scammer – Blink tapped her on the shoulder. "I'm heading in the direction of Bottle Alley. You want I should show you the way?"

Clover turned to look at the blonde boy with the eye patch. He was grinning – he seemed to always be grinning – but he seemed sincere all the same. She shrugged. "That would be great."

Ash let out a great laugh. "You see, Maddie. I told you we'd make it in Manhattan," he said, swatting the side of her arm.

She just smiled at him; it was a motherly smile and it showed the discomfort she felt at leaving her brother alone. "I'm going to go get settled in at this Home, Ash. You do the same and tomorrow, I'll come back to see you, alright?" He nodded. "You'll behave?" He nodded again.

Racetrack looked from Clover to Ash and back again. "What are you, his mother?"

She did not know how to reply to his comment just then. She could not help it if this boy did not have anyone to care about him. Ash had her to watch out for him and she would do that until she died. She opened her mouth to tell the short boy such when Jack – Goddamn peacemaker, I knew it – interrupted her.

"Hey Race. Dave and Les came down with some sort of stomach bug last night. Seemed like something Sarah cooked didn't sit right with them. Do you want to come hit the boxing match with me and the new kid today? I think you might have missed your trolley to Sheepsheads what while you were running from me and Blink."

Race did not even look abashed at Jack's mild accusation. Instead, he smirked. "Sure thing, Cowboy. Someone's gotta teach him how to really sell."

Kid Blink took that opportunity to tap on Clover's shoulder again. "Are you ready, Miss?"

"Clover," she supplied. She did not like to be called anything but – including 'Miss'.

"Are you ready, Clover," he amended.

She nodded. It was better not to look a gift horse in the mouth. If one of these boys – and not that short, obnoxious one – was offering to show her to a respectable girls' home, she would follow him. But, before she set off after Blink, she turned around and gave her brother a quick hug. "Be good, Aidan," she whispered to him.

"I will, Maddie."

--

Clover was quiet as Blink led the way. He was hawking the headlines, trying to sell his wares as he went; it was somewhat difficult, considering it was the afternoon edition of the New York World that he was trying to sell. Most of the people, hurrying home or hurrying to work, had already read the morning edition.

The only luck he was having at all, she noticed, came down to the eye patch the boy was wearing. It reminded her of a kid she knew during the few months she was a newsie in the Bronx. He was a cripple, with only one full arm; the other was nothing more than a stump that extended down to his elbow and that was it. He said he got his hand and wrist cut off in a factory accident when he was twelve. Clover doubted the truth behind his story – it looked like he might have been born that way to her – but, either way, he got more than a penny for a paper almost every time he told his story to a prospective customer.

Part of her wanted to ask him about his eye patch. Did he have an eye under there? Or was he just faking? But she knew she could not. She had, after all, only known the boy for about an hour or so.

She would wait until later to ask him. Like, after he took her to Bottle Alley.

But, just because she was keeping quiet about his eye, it did not mean she was not going to keep quiet about anything else; the silence was almost stifling her.

So, after he sold a newspaper to a young man – who, to Clover's chagrin, had been looking her over during the transaction – she decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey Blink?"

He seemed a bit surprised that she was talking to him. Up until then, she had stayed about a foot behind him, following like a little lost puppy, but now she had caught up to him and was talking. "Yeah?"

She was a few inches shorter than him so, now that she was walking at his side, she tilted her head upwards slightly to speak with him. He noticed that her lips were formed into what could only be read as a mischievous grin. "So, why are you heading in the direction of Bottle Alley?" If that Jack Kelly was said to have spent his time over at the Bottle Alley Home in order to be with a girl, did that mean that Blink was doing the same? She did not know but her curiosity was causing her to find out.

"Because."

'Because'. Oh, what a mature answer. "Because… of a girl?" It had been so long that she talked to anyone besides her brother. She had forgotten how much fun it could be; she could not tease Ash at all. He never knew when to be offended or laugh – mainly, he just laughed.

This boy, however, had a faint pink twinge appear on his cheeks. Bingo. "Maybe," was his answer.

"Who is she?" Clover asked, assuming that 'maybe' meant yes. It would probably be a good idea to get a bit of information about these girls she would have to live with.

He hesitated for a moment but then he sighed and lowered the arm that held his papers. He had given in. "Well, her name is Greenberry bu—"

"Greenberry?" Clover interrupted. Her nose went slightly wrinkled at the name; she had never heard of a girl called 'Greenberry' before.

Blink grinned. "Like I was saying, her name is Greenberry but we all just call her Hair." He paused then. He had a feeling that Clover would want to say something.

She did. "Oh." Not much, but it got her feelings across. She thought Hair was a better name than Greenberry.

He continued; Clover learned, from then on, that the quickest way to get one of these newsies to start talking – and never stop – was to ask them about two things: the quality of the day's headline and their girl. "Hair is just great. She's real pretty with these beautiful blue-grey eyes. She's got nice long hair, a nice brown color, that suits her nice."

Clover was prepared to interrupt with a comment on how 'looks aren't everything' but Blink surprised her. Before she got the chance, he began to talk about her personality.

"And, besides being real pretty, she's a great gal. She's sweet, she's funny and, though she's kind of shy around people she don't know to well, she's a real good friend."

"She sounds like a nice person," Clover said. She was kind of regretting asking Blink now; she had not had someone to gush about her since Mickey up and left. And she did not like to remember Mickey.

Blink just nodded his agreement. "Yeah…"

--

After asking about Blink's girl, a silence fell over the duo. Despite her better attempts, Clover's thoughts kept returning to Mickey Duggan. Blink's thoughts, obviously, were on this Greenberry – Hair – person.

She took a few steps back and they fell into the rhythm of earlier. He led the way, selling papers to anyone who listened to his yells of the improved headline; she followed, as quiet as before.

That's when another person seemed to join their ranks; he had been standing on the corner at the end of the street that Clover and Blink were walking. Once he saw them, he lowered the newspapers he had held high – another newsboy – and turned to greet the pair. Or, better yet, Blink.

As he spit into his right hand and extended it to Blink, Clover got a good look at him. He was a thin boy, roughly her age, if not a year younger. His skin was slightly darker than her own and he had a head of tight, dark curls. He was smiling, however, and that expression seemed to brighten up his entire face. In that aspect, he reminded her of her brother.

After the two boys spit-shook – a habit she found to be entirely disgusting; Ash brought home more than one illness from the filthy newsies custom – the new boy looked past Blink and greeted Clover. "Hello there, Miss," he said. Then he put his hat, a dark newsboy cap, back on his head. She only then realized that she was able to see his hair because, as soon as he had approached them, he had taken off his hat in a sign of respect for her.

She was not sure if she was flattered or annoyed at the gesture.

Blink, on the other hand, knew from before that she did not like to be called 'Miss'. Before she had the chance to correct his pal, he did. "Hey, Mush. This ain't no 'Miss'. This is Clover."

The boy, Mush, looked a bit confused. He was sure that she was a girl; and a girl, unless married, was a 'Miss'. He shook his head. It was much easier to understand that her name was Clover. "Hello, Clover."

She shrugged. "Hey."

Blink, obviously, seemed to think it was up to him to introduce the two of them. He had already given Mush her name; he did the same for her. "Clover, this is my pal, Mush. He stays over at the Lodging House with us."

"I kind of figured that," she said but smiled. She did not want to look ungrateful. She nodded at Mush. "Nice to meet you."

"Same, here," he replied. He did not seem to move, though, after introductions. Blink, on the other hand, was eager to sell the rest of his papers and meet up with Hair as she finished her shift at the Williams' factory.

"Well, Mush, we're on our way to the Bottle Alley Home. I'm showing Clover how to get there," he explained.

Mush was not as slow as he normally let on. He elbowed Blink in the side. "Are you sure you're not just going to see Hair?"

Blink blushed slightly again but retaliated for his words by playfully slapping Mush's cheek. "You just wish you had a girl to visit."

Mush just laughed. However, Clover could not help but notice that his dark eyes slid in her direction as he did so.

Clover rolled her eyes. Not for the first time, she wondered: Why me?