Title: Sealed with a Kiss
Author: Stress
Summary: Layna Kotliar is a girl with a secret so big that she doesn't even know it herself. Will she be able to trust David with it or will she continue to rely on the only friend she's ever known, a simple leather-bound journal?
The translations: As you will see as the fiction begins (and continues), Layna is a French immigrant. Therefore, much of what she says is in French. When the dialogue called for it I tried to include a translation but not always. However, I will include translations at the bottom. Hopefully it will add to the experience of the story.
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II. SECRETS
Baggy blue jeans and a box of magazines
Is all I have of you…
13 August 1899
Mon journal,
You'll never believe what happened to me today. It all started when I was shaken roughly awake this morning...
"Hey girly, wake up." The young man sneered down upon Layna, while waking her up. He turned back and grinned cheekily at his two companions before shaking the girl's shoulder.
Layna's eyes sprang open and she jumped to the side when she saw three people standing in front of her, two boys and a girl, all around her age. By instinct, Layna reached for her journal and clutched it to her chest before brushing the sheet off of her. She pulled herself to her knees and began to ramble in French. "Qui sont vous ? Que voulez-vous?"
The girl saw that Layna was frightened and scowled. She reached forward and smacked the boy on his arm. "Morris Delancey, what do you think you are doing? Can't you see the girl was tryin' to sleep?"
Morris forgot about Layna for the moment and turned to face the other boy. "Oscar, can't you keep Gip's mouth shut for once? She's your girl after all."
Oscar wrapped his arms around Gip protectively. "I'll do no such thing, Morris. Gypsy can say anything that she likes – I ain't gonna be the one who tries to stop her."
Morris rolled his eyes. "Why did my brother have to fall for that girl? And, she's a newsie no less. Damnit, Oscar."
Gip broke free from Oscar's embrace and stepped forward, calmly reaching for the knife she kept hidden in her boot as she did so. Oscar caught the motion and pulled her close to him again. "Morris, I know you still don't like the newsies and all but they ain't so bad since the strike ended last month."
Morris narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Oscar, you are only saying that cause now that you're going with Gip, Cowboy don't soak you no more." He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. His brother at least had the decency to look embarrassed at the accusation.
As the two brothers quarreled Layna began to gather her things up so she could sneak away from them quietly. "Chacun est idiot," she murmured to herself as she got to her feet slowly. Once the sheet had been stowed away, and her journal was tucked in her bag gently, she made to get away.
Morris heard the rustling and turned around. "And where do you think you're going? I ain't done talking to you yet."
"Morris, if you're gonna stay here and torture poor girls, we're gonna leave you alone to do it. We gotta head over to the distribution center to help Mister Reilly keep those newsies in line. Now be nice," Oscar said as he gently led Gip away. He saw the fire in her dark eyes and was afraid that Gip was going to attempt to soak his brother.
Morris ignored Oscar's comments and rounded on Layna. "What are you doing sleepin' out here on that dirty statue? And what's all that gibberish you're speaking? Can't you talk American?"
Layna clamped her mouth shut and began to tremble. Mon dieu, I should have stayed in the orphanage, after all…
Morris looked at Layna quizzically and his tough expression softened. "Hey, are you alright?" He reached out his hand to try to calm her. He ignored the frightened look on her face as he let it fall and rest on her shoulder.
Layna's hand flew to her head as she shrieked in pain stopping only briefly to take two steps to the side in order to get away from Morris. It was happening again…
The seven-year-old girl remained as still as it was possible for a seven-year-old to be. Even at such a young age, she was aware of the danger she would be in if that man, that Eddie, found her.
"Honey, I know you're over here somewhere. And when I find you," the threat was left hanging and all Layna heard was approaching footsteps. His voice paused and, when he spoke again, it was in a much oilier voice than before: "Why good evening officer."
Layna's breath caught in her throat when she heard another voice. "Why sir, may I ask why you have a knife behind your back."
"Knife, officer? What knife? Oh, do you mean this knife?"
Layna poke her head out from behind her hiding space once more and nearly shrieked when she saw the man lunge at the policeman. "No!" she yelled, running forward. She couldn't let him hurt another person.
"No!" The seventeen-year-old Layna yelled out loud and drew herself in before collapsing to the ground. At that moment close contact was something she could not manage.
"Shit," swore Morris as he witnessed the girl fall. "What the hell is going on here?" he muttered as he reached out and poked her on the arm. When she didn't move, he lifted her into his arms. All he had done was try to reassure the girl that he wasn't going to do anything to her and she had started to quake. Her eyes had rolled to the back of her head so that only the whites of her eyes were shown and then she yelled the one word before passing out. He had been the only one to witness this fit; he had to find somewhere to bring the girl. Obviously something was very wrong with her.
"Hey Morris, what do you think you're doing?" A voice, loud and gruff, rang out from the direction of the distribution center. Morris almost dropped the girl; it was the voice of the only person who had been able to soak him repeatedly – Jack "Cowboy" Kelly.
Morris slowly turned around and grinned what he hoped was an innocent grin; the result was that his action looked shadier than it would have. He was right. Approaching him from the opposite side of the street was Cowboy, his selling partner, David and his girl, Stress. "Cowboy, Stress, Davey. How are you? Nice to see you all this fine summer morning."
Jack and David remained back while Stress kept walking. She had not noticed the girl at first. However, when she did, she paused just like the other two boys. Gasping, she pointed at Layna's limp body. "Delancey, what do you think you are doing with that girl?" she demanded, her golden eyes flashing yellow.
Morris, on the other hand, wasn't about to give any answers to Jack's new girl. She was a good half a foot shorter than he was and quite slim. What, exactly, could she do to him if he didn't answer? "It ain't none of your business, Stressie, dear," he drawled sarcastically as he tried to walk past the three of them.
Cowboy handed his stack of papers to David and stepped forward. Morris gulped. Now he knew why he should have answered her question. "First of all, Morris, the only one that can call Stress by that name is me. Second of all, if she asks you a question, you sure as hell better answer her. Understood?"
Morris nodded meekly. He liked to talk tough, and even didn't mind fighting when his opponent was smaller and weaker than he was. But he got a bit nervous when actual violence was a possibility. And, with Jack and his temper, anything was a possibility.
Stress laughed and moved so that she stood by Jack's side. "And, like I said, Morris, what are you doing with that girl?"
Morris gulped and contemplated how quick he could get away. If he paused to place the girl down, the three could be on in him minutes. Though Dave would go down easy and Stress was a girl, he knew he couldn't take on Cowboy alone. If he ran off still holding the sleeping girl, he would never be able to outrun them. He gulped again and sighed. Better stick to the truth. "I-I-I found her like this." Or, at least, something like it.
"Liar," she said with a touch of humor. Then, turning to face Jack, she announced loudly, "Hey, Jack, I think he's lying to us, don't you?"
Adopting her bemused expression, Jack nodded. "Yes, Stressie. I definitely think that he's lying. Morris," he said, now addressing Morris, "since you chose to lie to us, I'm only gonna give you to the count of none to put the girl down and leave her there. We'll take care of her."
Morris looked at the delicate girl in his arms and shrugged. She was too much trouble even if she did have a pretty face. "Here you go, Cowboy. Enjoy," he sneered, trying to look intimidating. In reality, he only looked like an idiot as he placed Layna into Jack's arms and strutted off. But, before he got too far away, he threw back a parting shot. "Have fun with that one, fellas. See if you can even make anything of her gibberish."
The trio ignored his shouting and focused on the girl who lay sleeping in Jack's arms. "Well, Stressie, I don't think we're gonna be selling our papes right now." Jack shifted Layna in his arms so that he would be able to point to the papers still in David's hands before placing his under her back for support. "First things first, though. Do you girls got any extra bunks over at Bottle Alley, Stress?"
She nodded, long blondish-brown curls bobbing up and down in rhythm with the movement. "Mrs. Cook is always saying that we could use a couple extra girls in the Home."
"Good. David, do you wanna come with us to find out exactly who this girl is or would you rather go find your brother and sell with him?"
David, whose eyes had been glued to the unconscious girl the whole while, looked up abruptly upon being spoken to. "What, huh? Did you say something Jack?"
Jack smirked and began to head towards Bottle Alley. "Just follow me and Stress, Dave."
Stress hung back and started to poke fun at David. "Oh, I think someone's in love..." she joked, laughing gleefully when she noticed that his face had turned bright red.
David, despite his blush, looked seriously at the girl. "My, Stress, I have no idea what you're talking about. I thought the way you show someone you love them is by lying to yourself and them for a bunch of years before you admit to each other you're interested."
Stress' laughed died right away. David was chronicling her exact relationship with Jack; they had been friends for ages before they finally realized that they had fallen for each other. "Not funny, Dave."
It was so weird to find myself in a strange bunkroom, surrounded by a bunch of people who I've never even seen before. But they all were so nice to me, especially that David.
Ever since the huge newsies strike had ended in the middle of July, David had grown in more ways than one. His mouth was running more and more these days, and he no longer hid behind the might that was Jack Kelly's shadow. On that afternoon he had proved himself to be even more so outspoken for David had taken it upon himself to find out all he could about the fallen girl. Stress had explained the situation to Mrs. Cook. The elderly owner of the Bottle Alley Home had accepted the situation and allowed the trio to bring the girl to the bunkroom while she busied herself keeping the other girls from interrupting them. She figured it might be easier to learn anything about the girl if there were fewer people questioning her.
For what seemed like the tenth time since she regained consciousness David tried again. "Please, won't you at least tell us your name?"
And just like the ten other times before that David had asked Layna looked down, letting her long dark hair fall into her face. She was too frightened to speak. The last thing she had remembered was being harassed by that Morris character before she had another spell. And she was not about to tell them all that.
Jack took his cowboy hat off of his head and tossed it onto the bunk across from him. "That's it. I can't take this anymore. If she won't give us a name for herself then we'll just have to do it for her. Stress, any ideas?"
She got down from the bunk she was sharing with Jack and approached the girl. She squatted down so that she could see her face. The girl turned away from her and Stress snapped her fingers. "I think I got the perfect name for this one, Jack. How about we call her 'Secrets'?"
Jack clapped his hands once and smiled, leaning back on the bunk in amusement. "That was a great one, Stress. It fits her great, don't you think, Dave?"
David ignored Jack's question, instead looking right at the girl. "Hey," he began softly. She lifted her head and David awarded her a tiny smile. "How's that? Do you mind if we call you 'Secrets'?"
"Layna," she whispered hoarsely. "Je m'appelle Layna."
Jack sat up straight and gestured towards the girl. "What did she say?" he asked, looking over at Stress & David. Neither had heard her, so they both shook their heads.
"Je m'appelle Layna – I mean, my name is Layna," she whispered again, louder this time so that the others could hear her.
Jack nodded and scratched his chin. "Layna is a pretty name and all but it ain't a good newsie name. If you're gonna stick around and be a newsie, you're gone need a better name than that."
David looked across at Jack and shook his head. "What are you talking about, Jack? I think Layna is a fine name."
Stress rolled her eyes and sat down next to Layna. Ignoring it when the girl flinched, she held up her hands. "Stop it, both of you. Jack, hush up and stop telling people what to do. Dave, just hush. Why don't you ask the poor girl what she thinks, alright?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders and David looked away, embarrassed. Layna sat up straighter and, for the first time, a genuine smile came to her face. "I don't know what to say," she began, "but thank you. Does that mean I get to stay here?"
"Sure, if you want. I mean, if you don't got anywhere better to go, cause, to be honest, you don't seem to be too much like a street kid to me."
"I'm alone, I can tell ya. I was let out from the orphanage this week," she said apologetically. Most people thought she was less of a person because she was an orphan. She didn't know what these kids would think of her.
"Don't feel bad, Secrets. My parents died years ago and Jack's only got his pa. We're all family now and it ain't too bad here, if you don't mind selling the papers to earn your money. And it's only a nickel a night to stay, too," Stress answered. "Jack over there said that he'll spot you for your first night, if you want."
Jack smiled and pointed at Stress. "And that would be Stress, who is a lot more generous with my money than she should be," he said, teasing.
Layna looked back and forth between the pair. "Hou la, that is the nicest thing anyone's done for me. Merci."
David opened his mouth to say something but, upon a look from Stress, fell silent. She continued speaking to the girl. "What is all that fancy talk you keep saying? Don't sound like anything I've ever heard before."
"It's French."
Stress turned her gaze from Layna and stared at David. Jack looked at the curly-haired boy in surprise. "How the hell did you know that, Dave?"
David blushed. "I learned a little bit of it from school."
Layna slowly turned her head so that she was facing David. "Élégant, eh?"
"Not too smart," David answered, his earlier blush deepening.
Jack got up and walked over to David. He clapped the boy on his back and smiled broadly. "Don''t listen to him, Secrets. Dave here is one of the smartest guys I've ever met. He even won us that strike a few months back, with my help, of course."
His blush grew even further.
Layna smiled shyly at the boy. "Nice to meet you, David.
"Mon plaisir, Secrets."
I think it might just be alright to be a newsie. I mean, can it be any worse than the orphanage? I don't think so. Especially if they never find out…
"Secrets?" Stress, followed by a crowd of girls, approached Secrets' new bunk slowly not wanting to interrupt the girl. Secrets, who had been writing in her journal, looked up and grinned. She quickly shut the leather book, leaving the pen in the binding, and hid it under her pillow. "Hello– Stress, right?"
Stress nodded. "Yeah, that would be me. I just thought I'd show you to a couple of the girls that live here in the Home." She waved her hand around to indicate the four other girls that stood in the bunkroom. "These are just a handful of the regulars here. You got Tunes, Dragonfly, Iris, Holiday and Aki." As she introduced each one, a girl nodded and smiled. "Girls, this is the one that Jack saved from that Delancey goon today. You know, the one that David has taken a fancy too," Stress added bluntly.
Secrets looked up and waved at all the girls, trying to hide her embarrassment as Stress' pronouncement. "Bonsoir and hello everyone," she whispered. It was an overwhelming sensation to be meeting so many people at once.
"What are you doing?" asked Iris as she tried to see what Secrets had shoved under her pillow. She pointed at the corner end of the journal that was protruding from the edge of the pillow.
"Rien, I was doing nothing," she answered hastily. When she saw that a few of the girls, especially Iris, looked surprised at her reaction, she smiled shyly. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a little tired. This is the first time in a while that I've been out of the orphanage and I'm a little wary around new persons."
The girls, all of which had been briefed about the new girl's situation by Stress prior to this meeting, all nodded. "Of course," answered Dragonfly, warmly. Stress nodded her approval.
Tunes took a step back. "Come on, girls. Let's go sell our evening papes," she said. "We can all get to know the new girl better when we get in for the night."
Holiday nodded. "I agree with Tunes. And maybe then Secrets can teach us some of her fancy French language."
Stress shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "I thought it was neat that you could speak like that and I told the other girls."
Secrets grinned. "I'd be happy too. Jusqu'à plus tard," she added as the girls laughed and began to head out. Secrets would be joining them tomorrow morning.
When she was once again alone, Secrets sighed in relief. "Écoutez Layna," she scolded herself, "you were able to live in that orphanage on your own for ten years without anyone knowing about your past except for yesterday. There is no need to be defensive here. You'll be fine in the Girl's Home, d'accord? Right." Secrets pulled her journal out from under pillow and placed it on her lap. Feeling comfortable, she began to think. She thought about her life at the orphanage. I wonder if anyone ever noticed that I didn't return last night. She thought about all the people she had met since leaving the orphanage. And she thought of David. David, with his clear blue eyes, curly brown hair and innocent manner. David. She thought about David for awhile, long after all the other girls had returned to the bunkroom and gone to bed.
It wasn't until long after "lights out" that Secrets had taken her journal out from under her pillow and opened it to re-read her passages.
And, like always, there was a message from Kisses.
Mon cher, Layna,
I'm not going to call you Secrets because you will always be Layna to me. Why are you using that name anyway? And why are you letting these people affect you? It's just me and you, Layna, me and you. Nowhere is there a Stress or a Jack or a David in the picture. Nowhere. Especially a David. We made it ten years without needing anyone else, why start now? Pourquoi?
Kisses
Secrets placed her journal back under her pillow and stared at the bottom of Holiday's bunk right above her. Though it was hours after the normal time she would fall asleep she was wide awake. There was something wrong with Kisses' passage. It wasn't friendly and supportive like they usually were.
It was possessive.
And a bit scary.
--
Translations:
Qui sont vous ? Que voulez-vous - Who are you? What do you want?
Chacun est idiot – Everyone is crazy
Mon dieu – My God
Je m'appelle - My name is
Hou la - Wow
Merci – Thanks
Élégant – Smart
Mon plaisir – My pleasure
Bonsoir – Good evening
Rien – Nothing
Jusqu'à plus tard – Until later
Écoutez – Listen
D'accord – Right
Pourquoi - Why