Title: Catch Me If You Can

Summary: She's sassy, she's classy (well, not really: she spits on Jack's shoe!), and she's a girl who dresses like a boy. Need I say more?

Chapter One: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing… or A Girl in Boy's Clothing?

"Hey… do youse heah that?" Jack Kelly asked, looking around as the sound of police whistles and police horses approached rapidly. The other newsies looked up, some in interest and some, well… uninterestedly, as a young girl rounded the corner and sprinted in their direction.

Looking over her shoulder to see if the police were still following her, she didn't notice the group of boys in front of her until it was too late. Luckily, Jack reached out and caught her by the arms just before she ran into him.

"You've… gotta… help me…" she muttered, trying to catch her breath. "Police… chasing… didn't do anything…" She shook her head, trying harder to catch her breath.

"Hide 'er, boys!" Jack exclaimed, pushing her behind his back just as the group of about fiver policemen rounded the corner the girl had just appeared at. The other newsies quickly pushed her into the center of the crowd, trying to make her blend in with the crowd.

"Did any of you boys happen to see a girl run this way?" the officer at the front, obviously the leader, as, eyeing Jack suspiciously. "She was about this high-" He held his hand about five and a half feet (the same height the girl was) above the ground. "With brown hair, wearing boys clothes."

"Well, no, officah, sorry, we ain't seen nobody come though heah lookin' like dat," Jack stated. "I'm sure if she had, we'da noticed, right boys?" The other boys nodded and murmured in agreement.

The officer seemed a little critical of their answer, but brushed it off. "Very well. Thank you, boys." The officer turned around and led his group back the way they had come from.

As soon as the girl was sure everything was all right, she pushed her way to the front of the group. "Thanks a lot!" she thanked him warmly, giving a small grin. "I'm Ellie Marshall."

"Kelly. Jack Kelly," he greeted her genially, and shook her hand. For the first time, he got a good look at her. Her untidy chocolate-brown hair was falling out of it's hastily made pigtail braids, and her eyes, with no other way to describe their mix of every eye color possible, were hazel. And she was, in fact, wearing boys clothing! They looked loose on her, as though she'd gotten them from someone else.

"Kelly? I've heard of you. They call you Cowboy, don't they?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh, yeah! You were the one that led the strike! Good job, good job." Ellie nodded approvingly, obviously trying to keep the conversation away from the impending questions.

"Why were those bulls chasin' ya?" Racetrack asked curiously. "It's not very often ya getta see a bunch cops chasin' a girl." The other boys chuckled in agreement, and Ellie couldn't seem to shake the odd feeling she was getting from Jack's stare.

"Well, they think I stole these clothes – which I didn't, and then they told me it was illegal for girls to wear boys clothes – which it isn't. They just think I'm some stupid little blonde… would you stop looking at me like that, please?" The group of newsies tried to figure out whom exactly she was yelling at, since all of them had been looking in her direction.

"Who?" David asked, leaning forward. "Who's lookin' at you like what?"

"You." Ellie pointed at Jack. "Would you please stop staring at me like that?"

"Why?" Jack asked, smirking mercilessly as she squirmed in discomfort.

"Because it makes me a little uncomfortable!" the brunette retorted, pulling herself to her full height; a whopping five feet, six inches, and leaning towards him angrily.

"Well, look a this, gentlemen, we've got a brunette heah that's gots the temper of a redhead!" Jack proclaimed, arousing a loud outburst of laugher from his fellow newsies.

"I'm not angry, just a little annoyed," she stated, brushing a piece of hair out of her mouth. "I just have this thing about people staring at me like this-" She opened her eyes as wide as possible and didn't move her gaze from his face for a few seconds. "-When I met them three minutes ago! I dunno, call me crazy, it's just a little weird, you know?"

The amused chuckles, which had emitted as the aftermath of Ellie's sarcastic comment, died down as soon as Jack turned and glared at the newsies. "Well, it looks like wes gots us a wise goil heah, fellas." The boys laughed again, this time at Ellie. "Do you know what we do ta peoples like you, small fry?"

"What are you gonna do, Mr. Tough?" Ellie asked mockingly. "Soak me? Throw me in a trashcan? Spit on my shoes? Mock me in a rather unpleasant manner? Oh, I'm shakin' in my boots…"

"Oh, dat's not healthy…" Racetrack muttered, shaking his head even as Jack approached the girl threateningly.

"Ya know, is I was youse, I think I'd be a little more grateful for the fact that I jus' saved youse's skin from them bulls." He pushed her lightly on the shoulder. "Youse sure're brave foi such a shrimp, though…" He grinned down at her suddenly. "Youse gotta place ta stay, kid?"

Ellie hesitated, alarmed by his personality switch of threatening to cordial in three seconds flat. "No." She shook her head. "I'm new in town."

"Yeah, wes could pretty much tell that from tha accent." There were snickers in the crowd of newsies. "So how 'bout ya come wit me, an' we get youse set up at th' Carnegie Hill Lodging House?" He spit on his hand and held it out for her to shake.

"Ew!" she exclaimed, jumping away from his hand. "That's gross!" Instead of shaking his hand, she spit on his shoe. "There. Now we're even."

-x-x-

"Well, this is it. Home sweet home."

As Jack and Ellie stood in front of the Carnegie Hill Lodging House, Jack crossing his arms, and Ellie with her hands on her hips, she inspected it carefully. It was a small, nondescript building, with a boring exterior and dirty window. Ellie sighed.

"And this building hasn't been condemned yet? You guys just can't let go, can you?" Ellie asked sarcastically, eyeing the slightly crumbling walls with apparent unease.

Jack grinned over at her. "Youse gotta sense a humor, Marshall. They's two ways that can woik in this city; it can eithah make ya, or break ya. Ya gotta decide what it's gonna do foi ya, though."

"That's hardly something you can decide on your own, Cowboy," Ellie retorted, raising an eyebrow. "It all depends on how well other people take your sarcasm." She smiled at him happily. "And you just happen to be one of those people… sort of."

"Well… aftah you." Jack, in a very gentleman-like gesture, held the door open for Ellie.

"Aw, such a gentleman… thanks, Cowboy." She grinned cheekily at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Youse tha only goil I knows whose can make funna me an' get away wit it," Jack stated, walking over to Kloppman's desk and grinning widely. "We's gots a new newsie, Klopp!"

"Well, maybe not necessarily a newsie," Ellie interjected, appearing around the corner. "I just… need a place to stay." She scratched the back of her head.

Kloppman seemed surprised to see the girl. "Well, well, well… a girl, in the lodging house." Kloppman looked at Jack. "Now, Jack, you know that I don't like puttin' up girls here. They cause too much ruckus with the boys."

"Yeah, but I'm good, and I can clean, and I'm smart and I really need a place to stay!" Ellie pleaded, a little more dramatically then believable. But, hey, why not?

Before Ellie knew what was happening, Jack was behind her, grabbed both her arms, and laid his cheek on her's, looking right at the lodging housekeeper. "Now, Klopp, how can you resist this cute little face of poifection?" Jack asked. Ellie pulled off her best cutesy and innocent look. "C'mon, Klopp!"

The older man rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, fine…" he muttered. "I'll write ya down in my records." Jack and Ellie grinned at each other. "But I don't want ya sleepin' in the same room as the boys. Lord knows, they've got enough hormones messing them up without it. I'll let you sleep in another room, as long as ya clean it out." Kloppman unhooked a key behind the desk and stood up.

"Yes, sir!" Ellie exclaimed, giving him a mock salute. "I am confident in my abilities to successfully carry out my duties!" Jack snorted at the quirky brunette's eagerness. "Are you makin' fun of me, Mr. Kelly? 'Cause I thought I heard you snickering at me!"

"Nah, I ain't makin' fun a ya," Jack explained, a small smile creeping onto his face as the smaller girl began a mock fight.

"I think you're makin' fun of me! You are, aren't ya? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Ellie poked him in the back as the two followed Kloppman up the stairs.

"Hey, I didn' know this room was heah," Jack stated, wandering into the room Kloppman had unlocked. It was stacked high with boxes and rather dusty.

"It's a testament to you genius, Kelly, that you can walk by a room every day and never realize that's it's there…" Ellie muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Did you jus' call me stoopit, Marshall? 'Cause I think youse called me stoopit," Jack stated, leaning over her.

"No, Kelly, I didn't call you 'stoopit', I called you stupid. S-T-U-P-I-D. Stupid. Pronounce it correctly, if you're going to use the word again."

Kloppman watched from the doorway with a mixture of amusement and concern at the two bantering teenagers. He knew they were only joking, but they had just met, and he had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy… But, instead of saying anything, he just left the two to with one set of instructions: take the boxes up to the attic, and then bring down the bed. And then he was gone.

"Hey, wait, Jack, don't you have to sell papers today?" Ellie asked suddenly, turning to him.

Jack hated to admit it, but he kind of liked the way she said his name, like they'd been friends a long time, and it was a familiar sound to her lips. He felt his cheeks begin to grow hot.

"Uh… I gots Davey ta take care of mine foi me," Jack explained. "Is it a little hot in heah?" he asked, walking over to the small room's only window and opening it.

"No, I'm fine… but then, I'm from the South, so heat's not a big deal for me…" Ellie shrugged, picking up a large box.

"You're from tha South?" Jack asked, picking up an even large box than Ellie's.

"Yeah, Florida… and Maine, too. Hence the accent, or lack thereof. So, basically, I've lived in the hottest and the coldest parts of the country." She grinned cheekily at him over her shoulder as they climbed the stairs to the attic. "Need some help with that, Cowboy?"

"Shouldn't I be askin' you that?" Jack asked, clearly struggling more with his box than Ellie was with her's. "I could get one o' tha othah boys ta help us…"

"Nah, I'm fine…"

-x-x-

They finished in a little over an hour, including the time it too to sweep out the room, and bring the bed down. By the time it was all set up, it wasn't looking too bad; there was even a small set of shelves and desk that had been used to stack things on.

"Well, this is nice!" Ellie grinned, surveying their handiwork. "Y'know, with a little bit of paint, or wallpaper, and some rugs, this could be a cute room. Anyway…" She flopped down on the bed. "Time to unpack!" For the first time, Jack noticed the bag she carried.

He watched in interest as she began taking things out of the bag. A few changes of clothes (even a dress!), quite a few books, and paper and pencils. There was also a pinwheel and small ball, but Jack decided he wouldn't ask about the latter two.

"D'ya like ta write?" Jack asked, sitting down next to her and picking up the paper, which had some scribbly, but undeniably girly, cursive on it, and started to read.

"Yeah, I do." The girl snatched the paper from Jack, causing him to quickly protest. "Please don't read my stuff." Her eyes pleaded with him to not read any further.

"Well why not? You gots somethin' ta hide? Whaddaya write, anyway?" he asked, leaning over her shoulder and trying to read the paper.

"Just… stuff. Sometimes I write stories, sometimes I write quotes for stories I've never even written… and sometimes I just write little comment about the day." Ellie shrugged. "Nothing special."

"We've gotta go ta Tibby's, foi lunch!" Jack exclaimed, jumping off the bed. Ellie stood up slowly. "You ain't got any money, don't ya?"

"Not enough to buy food. Probably just enough to buys a newspaper." Ellie stretched and yawned widely.

"Well, I'll pay foi ya." He bounded to the door. "C'mon, let's go!"

Ellie crossed her arms and strolled over to him. For some reason, she realized just how good-looking he was, leaning on the doorway, with that boyish grin and… well there was something about his nose and eyebrows. Ellie had an odd fetish for distinct noses and eyebrows.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Yeah?" He grinned down at her, and she realized just how short she was compared to him; a good six inches shorter.

"Thanks for helping me today. With everything." In one quick motion, she stood on the tips of her toes, and pecked him lightly on the cheek. When her heels set back down on the ground, both of them were blushing profusely.

Author's Note of the Chapter: Well, now we've met Ellie? Isn't she such a charming person? (Watches as everyone gives her the "Oh my God, she's on crack!" look) No? Well, kinda… (Ducks as audience throws rotten produce at her) Sor-ry! I'll shut up now!