Disclaimer: I feel like this has become our mantra...we don't own Newsies, we don't, we don't...though all the Queens characters belong to us; more specifically, to Emilayanne...woot

And the reviews are awesome! It's so great to see people reading this story and hear what they think.

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"Bumlets, and Specs, and Skittery, you take Queens," Jack said, pointing at each boy in turn. Skittery nodded slowly, and nudged Emilyanne, who was taking in the excitement with a large smile. Despite her lack of fondness for crowds, she was very much enjoying the events of the day, though something was weird about the way he kept looking at Erin.

"Look, I had better go with Bumlets and Specs. If you want to stay here, I'll understand," Skittery quickly whispered to Emilyanne. She could tell he wasn't happy with being told what to do. After seeing this, she shook her head firmly.

"I'm going to go wherever you go," She replied, looking into his eyes to make sure that he knew she was serious. She had caught the enthusiasm that had been spreading since the first mention of a strike. She now wanted to do whatever she could to help, especially if it meant getting to be with Skittery.

"Alright, I'll be glad for the company," Skittery said somewhat resolutely, and ushered her towards the sidewalk, away from the large group of people.

Bumlets and Specs, who had been muttering to themselves ahead of the couple, suddenly turned and flanked Skittery and Emilyanne on either side.

"So, Skitts, you never told us you had a girl," Specs said, nudging Skittery's arm and smiling suggestively. Emilyanne blushed furiously, and hugged onto Skittery's arm tighter without saying anything. Bumlets, who was standing beside her, just smiled widely at her, and shook his dark hair out of his face.

"Guys, this is Emilyanne, who also answers to Sage," Skittery said touchily, disappointed that his friends would try to embarrass her. However, he wasn't surprised.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sage," Specs said, tipping his hat in an imitation of a gentleman. Emilyanne smiled and nodded back genially.

"I'm Bumlets," the dark-haired newsie said and spit into his hand, offering it to her.

Emilyanne looked with repulsion at his dirty hand without moving.

"It's… nice to meet y'all," She said, then continued hesitantly, "I understand Specs' nickname, but Bumlets- that's an interesting epithet. I'm very curious- how did you end up with Bumlets?"

Upon this shock, Bumlets' smile immediately died, and he dropped his outstretched hand. Specs snorted loudly, and elbowed Skittery, who was trying not to laugh. Emilyanne caught onto their humor, and covered her mouth with one hand.

"I'm sorry if I said something offensive, I-," She began. Bumlets cut her off with his free hand, relatively annoyed at having to explain this yet again. He rolled his eyes, and looked down at his walking stick dejectedly.

"When I was young, I had a speech impediment, ok? I used to work in a butcher's shop before I became a newsie when I was 7, and I used to tell stories about my boss and things that had gone on there. Bumlets came from one of those stories. I don't really want to give anymore details than those." Bumlets looked terribly uncomfortable at this and chanced a look at Specs, whose face was red from his attempts to stop his laughter.

Emilyanne looked at the ground, upset with herself for making someone ill at ease. Skittery broke the short silence.

"We're here," He said simply, and motioned across the street to a dingy, grey stone building. It had a small silver plaque on the door reading, "Newsboy Lodging House- Queens."

Emilyanne hesitated at the sight of the run-down building, but Skittery put his arm around her waist, and led her forward. Specs and Bumlets had already headed towards the door.

"It'll be alright, Sage. Just stay by me and everything will be fine," Skittery murmured in her ear once they reached the entrance. Emilyanne had barely registered what he said, when the door was jerked open from the inside and a tall, blond newsie stepped out and shut the door behind him. He gave the small group of Manhattan newsies an evil look with sharp, brown eyes, and then seemed to recognize Specs.

"Specs? Is that you? I thought that you had left after-" The boy didn't get to finish, as Specs had put a hand over the young man's mouth rather forcefully. Emilyanne glanced between the two boys, knowing better than to ask what was going on.

"Yeah, it's me, Brash. We, meaning my friends, Bumlets, Skittery, and his goil, Sage," Specs pointed to each in turn and then went on, "We have some business with Falcon. Do you mind?"

The boy named Brash considered the four, and then shrugged. His eyes strayed onto Sage's tidy appearance.

"I don't see why you can't go in. I just hope your goil here doesn't mind seeing some alcohol," Brash said, shaking his head as he laughed silently. Emilyanne looked somewhat concerned after this announcement, so as they entered the building Skittery whispered in her ear.

"It's fine. The leader of the Queens newsies is well-known for being a drunk. She's not violent, though, so don't worry."

Emilyanne's eyes widened considerably. She? Before Sage could ponder why a girl was a drunkard, she met the famed leader of the Queens newsies face-to-face.

A petite girl stood in front of Emilyanne, her long, red locks spilling over her shoulders and reaching almost to the small of her back. The girl wore cut off brown pants and a loose white blouse, with scruffy brown boots on her feet. The girl looked to be about seventeen, but Sage could tell by her demeanor that she commanded to attention of the room. The young woman had a hand perched on her hip, and an eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

"So, what have we got here? A few Manhattan newsies, huh? What d'ya want?" Falcon slurred, her body slowly rocked to and fro as she spoke. She suddenly started scratching herself in a most inappropriate spot, and Emilyanne immediately looked away in embarrassment for the teen.

Specs was the only one that seemed unfazed by this girl's lewdness. Bumlets and Skittery were both trying their best not to laugh at Emilyanne's horrified face.

"Look, Pulitzer has jacked up the price of the papers. 60 cents a hundred," Specs paused here for effect. Falcon immediately started making protesting sounds, if rather slowly. Specs kept going when he knew he had her attention again.

"We're going on strike against the World and any other papers that decide to go with Pulitzer. I think that it'd be good if you joined wit' us. What d'ya say?"

Falcon seemed to consider, each motion very exaggerated.

"I think that that's a good idea. We'll strike!" She yelled out, and punched an arm into the air, and then lost her balance and toppled over. Bumlets caught her right before she hit the floor.

"Oopsie!" She said, and then gazed into Bumlet's eyes, suddenly enamored. "You're so handsome. Do ya wanna stay here with me tonight?"

Bumlets stood her up quickly, and backed away, shaking his head vigorously. Skittery and Specs looked on in amusement, while Sage seemed to still be appalled.

"Uhh, no. I think that I'll be heading back to Manhattan now," Bumlets nodded, as if reaffirming his decision.

"Aww, come on. We were just about to start the real party!" Falcon said coquettishly, flipping her long hair out of her face and batting her eyelashes. When she didn't receive a response right away, she grabbed Bumlets' hat and held it away from him. He immediately lunged for it, muttering some choice curses, but the petite girl was fast and quickly skipped out of his grasp and down the corridor.

"Come and get it!" She cried, and Bumlets reluctantly pursued her down the hallway.

Specs immediately burst into laughter, followed closely by Skittery.

"Well, it seems that we may be here for a while. Would you guys care for something to drink?" Specs said as he headed towards what seemed to be a common room. "There's always plenty to drink here."

Emilyanne about gagged. The smell of alcohol was very strong, and she knew that her clothes would smell horribly whenever she returned home. The very thought of drinking any of the amber liquid being passed around by the Queens newsies sickened her. Skittery caught on to this fairly swiftly. He denied the offer, even though he would normally partake in the party.

"Nah, Specs. We'll just hang around in the parlor where it's a little less…," Skittery searched for the right word, "Lively."

Emilyanne smiled happily. She knew that he would drink if she wasn't there and appreciated him thinking of her.

They moved into another room in the back, where the furniture seemed not to have been touched in years. It was unusually fancy for such a ramshackle lodging house, but Emilyanne decided not to question. It didn't smell as repulsive as the rest of the house. She sat down gratefully on a burgundy velvet loveseat, and Skittery joined her.

"Thank you. I've seen enough drinking to know the effects," Sage bowed her head in thought. "My father was an alcoholic."

"I guess that's something we have in common," He replied rather spitefully. He quickly changed the subject, still trying to get his mind off of liquor. "So, do you waltz?"

He held out his hand to Emilyanne, who looked warily at him.

"I haven't danced in years. We used to have these grand soirees at our home, with beautiful gowns and pearls…," She seemed caught up for a moment, and then went on, shrugging as if his offer was absurd. "And, besides, there isn't any music."

"We'll make our own," Skittery said simply, his hand still outstretched. He smiled encouragingly at her, and she finally placed her hand in his.

He drew her to her feet and immediately spun her around. He drew her closer to him, while she continued to look around nervously. She laid her other hand on his shoulder, and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Suddenly, she heard him humming a soft tune. She recognized it immediately and began humming along with him in a soft voice. It was her favorite waltz. The "Emperor's Waltz," by Johann Strauss jr., was the name of the tune.

As they continued to dance, so close that they were almost embracing, Emilyanne closed her eyes. She had gotten back into the rhythm of waltzing. She remembered well the cool summer nights back in Georgia, where she was always the center of attention, the best dancer, and the most sumptuously dressed. Despite their lack of funds, her parents always managed to make themselves look good to society. That was the one thing that always seemed to be top priority in their minds.

No matter what happened in their bank account or at home, they appeared to be wealthy at all times. This put great stress on her father, who drank heavily to relieve his worry. Emilyanne shuddered at the memories of those nights, which became more and more frequent. Her father would scream and curse, throw lamps and her mother's china, often coming close to injuring anyone who dared to come near him.

She opened her eyes abruptly, and realized that they had stopped dancing. Skittery said nothing as Sage leaned her head against his shoulder; he just put his arms around her. He understood her pain. Losing your family wasn't a simple thing to recover from.

Emilyanne couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and choked out a sob. Skittery led her over to the couch, where she fell gladly into the soft fabric. She covered her face with her hands, ashamed that she had allowed herself to ruin a perfectly fine evening. She felt as though she had to explain.

"I'm so sorry. I… my parents…," She attempted to say, her voice cracking noticeably before she lost her internal struggle for control, and started to weep into her hands. She barely noticed Skittery hugging her again, humming another tune. He was humming a tune that she wouldn't have remembered anyway, an old church hymn. They remained locked in an embrace for what seemed like a long time before Skittery noted that Emilyanne had stopped crying, and had fallen asleep in his arms. He gently laid her down on the couch, making sure that she didn't look too uncomfortable. Skittery then went over to the loveseat across the room, and looked out of the grimy window to see that the sun was already setting.

Several hours later, Skittery was awoken by Bumlets, who unceremoniously shoved him off of the couch.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Skittery yelled, enraged. He rubbed the back of his neck, which was sore from sleeping on the short loveseat. Bumlets clamped a hand over the other boy's mouth with a look that clearly communicated that Skittery needed to be quiet.

"What, do you want to wake up Sage or something?" Bumlets said, slowly removing his hand. Skittery could smell some liquor on Bumlets' hand. Skittery wasn't sure whether the smell was from Falcon or from Bumlets having some beer.

"What time is it?" Skittery said groggily, wishing that he could just go back to sleep. Bumlets laughed widely, and Skittery could tell that the odor of alcohol wasn't from Falcon. Skittery sighed. It was always hard to tell if Bumlets was drunk or not. He held his alcohol very well, which Skittery supposed was a trait from his Spanish ancestors.

"It's almost two in the morning. I really think that you should see what is going on in the other room," Bumlets said, a mischievous smile playing across his face. Skittery looked worriedly over at Sage, who was still asleep on the couch. Bumlets saw this.

"She'll be fine. If you haven't noticed, nobody ever comes in here anyway," Bumlets pointed out.

"Fine. But I'll only be in there for a moment," Skittery said, and ran a hand though his hair in an effort to further wake up.

When Skittery reached the front room, a very peculiar sight lay before him. About fifteen newsboys in their teens were scattered around the room, each one sleeping soundly. Most of them were sprawled across the floor or chairs and were snoring softly. The only movement in the room came from the other end of the room where Specs and Falcon were on the couch, kissing passionately.

Skittery's eyes widened, and he looked at Bumlets, who snorted.

"It's been like this since Specs slipped something into most of the boys' bottles. I was smart enough to keep mine away from him. He's had a thing for Falcon for a while, and I knew he would try something as soon as Jack told us to come here. It's a good thing sage was here, or else you'd probably be passed out with the rest of 'em," Bumlets said wisely. Skittery rubbed his temples, and moved over to where Specs and Falcon were getting busy. He grabbed a beer bottle from a table as he walked, and once he reached the pair, he dumped it on them.

"What the hell?" Specs said angrily, looking at Skittery with utter contempt. Falcon mirrored his look, but once she saw that Skittery was a male, she started giving him puppy dog eyes. Skittery rolled his eyes at her.

"Look, I'm headed back to Manhattan. I completely lost track of time, and I know that Sage will want to get back. Do what you like, but Bumlets and I are leaving," Skittery explained, making sure that Specs knew that he wasn't joking.

"Speak for yourself, Skittery. I think I may crash here tonight," Bumlets said wearily.

"I knew you'd come around," Falcon said, and blew Bumlets a kiss. Specs didn't even notice this, through the fog of alcohol that he was currently engulfed in.

Without saying another word, Skittery left the room, and headed to the parlor. Emilyanne was rubbing her eyes, apparently trying to wake up.

"What time is it, Skitts?" She said blearily, clearly having just woken up.

"Don't worry about it. Go back to sleep," Skittery said tenderly, sitting down on the couch beside her. She immediately fell back into a peaceful slumber when her head fell back upon the pillow.

Once he was sure that she was sleeping heavily, Skittery gently took her into his arms, and headed for the door to the lodging house. He had no sooner gone two blocks, than a fire engine siren blared on the next street over.

Sage began to stir restlessly, and opened her eyes. When she saw Skittery, she smiled, finally remembering the events of the past evening.

"Hello," She said softly. "You can put me down. I'll be fine walking back."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," She answered, and he set her feet on the ground. Almost straight away, she fell onto her knees.

"Perhaps some assistance would be an advantage," Emilyanne reasoned, and didn't protest when Skittery placed an arm around her waist.

"Thank you," She said, wrapping her own arm around him. "Thank you for everything."

"I don't really know what you're talking about," Skittery said.

"You were there to comfort me and protect me from the intoxicated people at the Queens lodging house. In my opinion, that is a very chivalrous act," She smiled up at him, and quickly gave him a kiss on the forehead. "And I thank you."

"Come on, let's get you home," Skittery whispered, and hugged her closer.