Title: Secrets Behind the Lies

Author: Stress

First written: June 27, 2002- March 19, 2004

Edited and replaced: May 16, 2006

Summary: Part II of the Soul Mates Series; After living in Manhattan for two years, Stress thought she knew everything about Jack Kelly or, should we say Francis Sullivan? Well, guess not.

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.June 27, 1897.

Queens

"I ain't going nowhere!" screeched the eighteen year old red headed girl as she picked up the nearest thing on the nightstand and chucked it at the door. The candle landed against the wood and splattered wax on the young man leaning up against the wall. He didn't bat an eyelash.

"Spindle, my dear, think about what you're saying." He ran one of his hands through his thick black hair while using the other hand to bring his cigarette to his lips. "It's been two years now. It's time to move on."

Spindle stopped and threw herself onto the bed in the small, secluded guest room of the Queens Newsgirls' Lodging House. "But, Rip, we just can't let that slut get away with all she did." Pouting, Spindle crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head away from her boyfriend of the last four years.

Rip sighed and walked over to sit next to Spindle on the bed. "Don't you worry, Spindle. I want to get our revenge on Jess just as much as you do but it's been two years now. She probably has forgotten all about us and that's just the way we want it. Remember? But like I explained to you before, we still can't do anything for awhile."

Spindle stood up abruptly, fire in her emerald green eyes. "I've waited with you for two years now. While we're waiting in Queens, she's probably living it up over in Manhattan with all of her new friends. I mean, I want to act now!"

Rip reached out his hand and pulled Spindle down to sit on his lap. "Spindle, I know how long we've been waiting. But it's part of the plan. Remember? we're going to leave New York and take all of your best newsies with us. We'll go out West for a bit until we got so much dough and power we can take any of those newsies in Manhattan."

"And I'll get my revenge on the "Li'l Miss" that left me those two years ago", Rip added to himself as he smiled. Though he had been happy with Spindle, to whom he had returned to after the last encounter with Jess in that alley two years ago, Rip never forgave her for leaving him. Though it hurt himself to admit it, if she came strolling in the door of the Queens Newsgirls' Lodging House at that very moment, Rip would drop Spindle in a second. But he knew that would never happen so he pushed on with his elaborate plan of revenge. A plan that Spindle agreed wholeheartedly with. If only she knew the reasons why Rip pursued the revenge with such vengeance... "Don't worry, Spindle. We'll all love it in California," he drawled, a rare amount of excitement shining in his ice blue eyes, "and the farther we get from New York right now, the better. I still can't believe we stayed for these last two years."

Spindle, slightly calmer at Rip's soothing words, threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, Rip. I'm sure I'll love it in California too."

"Did you talk to some of your girls yet?"

"No. I was hoping to talk you into getting our revenge a li'l early, but" she added when Rip's eyes flashed, "I realize that your plan is a lot better than mine." Even after being with Rip for four years, Spindle was afraid of him and, even moreso, afraid of losing him. The memory of the time when she caught Jess and Rip together in that alley exchanging their "I-love-you"'s all came rushing back as she sat in that room, arms around Rip. She had thought that he was gone forever and was so ecstatic when he returned to her and explained what had happened. Of course Rip was just humoring the girl that had fallen hopelessly in love with him. Rip was such a caring soul; it was so like him to pretend that he loved her just to spare Jess her hurt feelings. Unfortunately that led to Rip being beaten by two Manhattan newsies that had been befriended by Jess. "I wonder what that tramp did to get those boys to beat up me baby?" she whispered to herself.

Even in her thoughts Spindle referred to Jess as that "tramp".

"Of course my plan is better. That's why I'm the brains of the operration, eh?" Rip leaned down to kiss his girlfriend, ignoring her annoyed expression that she tried so desperately to hide as he jarred her back to reality; out of her daydreams of Jess laying in a hidden alley in a pool of her own blood. "Let me guess, Spindle. Thinking about the different ways that you plan on killing Jess when our revenge plot goes through?" he asked after he broke their kiss.

Spindle giggled coyly, a trait most unlike her. Yet, her demented thoughts of revenge always made Spindle a little different. "How did you guess, Rip?"

Rip ruffled Spindle's long, straight red hair as he enveloped her into a tight bear hug. "You could have had all this, Miss Jess. Now though, you're going to have to pay," he thought to himself, smiling at the long-term plan that he was installing to get revenge on the poor girl.

No one left Rip and got away with it. Though it would probably take a good five or so years to make sure their plan was totally in effect, the time and effort that Rip, Spindle and the selected newsies of Queens, would put into it would be worth it in the long run. The one person that had the unfortunate luck to leave Rip was going to realize that it possibly wasn't the smartest thing to do.