Author's Note: Mr. Donnelly is a character I made to replace Weasel, Oscar, and Morris in the paper distribution center.

You Don't Know Me
By: Stubby the Newsgirl

Chapter 4: Knowing Me, Knowing You

Skittery was glad that the attention was off of him, after punching Swifty in the face. But it was a double edged sword, because now, everyone was back to talking about "the good news." Even though the sun was shining brightly, dark clouds seemed to form over Skittery's head as he walked up to get his papers.

"You get in a fight?" Mr. Donnelly, the head distribution worker, asked a bit concerned. He was a kind faced old man with gray hair and a gray mustache.

"What's it to you?" Skittery asked rudely. Even though he had given Swifty a black eye, Swifty had gotten in a few hits before Kloppman stopped them.

"Just asking. How many papes?" Mr. Donnelly asked.

"Ten," Skittery answered.

Mr. Donnelly furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, son, I thought I heard you say ten. Now how many did you want again?"

"Ten. I said ten. Is that too high for you to count? Lemme help you out. One, two, three-" Skittery began to count angrily.

"Whoa, now! Calm down, boy," Mr. Donnelly said, getting ten papers. "There you are, ten papers…"

Skittery took his papers and began to walk toward Central Park.

"Skittery seems like he's in a worse mood than usual," Mr. Donnelly commented and shook his head.

As he neared the exit gates, he was stopped.

"Hey, Skittery!" Jack called running up behind him and grabbing his arm.

"Let go of my arm, Jack," Skittery said pulling away.

"What's the matter with you?" Jack asked.

"Nothing," Skittery answered, walking away.

"First of all, you were a jerk to Donnelly. You and I both know that he's on our side; there was no need for you to act like that. And second, you only got ten papers. Why the sudden change?" Jack asked, following after him.

"I just don't feel like selling. Anyway what are you so worried about? I'm always in a bad mood, remember?" Skittery said trying to avoid giving him an explanation.

"You punched Swifty for no reason; you got yourself thrown out of the lodging house-that ain't normal for you!" Jack said emphatically.

"It was an accident…"

"Your fist just accidentally hit Swifty in the eye? You accidentally wrestled him to the ground?" Jack asked skeptically.

"You're not my mother, Cowboy, so just leave me alone. If Swifty has a problem with it, he can talk to me himself. He's a big boy, he can handle a black eye- it ain't like it's his first. So get off my back," Skittery said angrily.

Jack decided it would be best to leave him alone. Maybe it would be best if Skittery didn't stay at the Lodging House. Still, Jack couldn't help but worry; within the past few days, it was almost as if he didn't know his friend at all anymore.

"Hey, Swifty, where'd you get the shiner from?" Sadie asked as she passed him on her usual route.

"Skittery punched me," Swifty said angrily.

"I thought you sometimes sold together," Sadie said with a confused look on her face.

"Not anymore, apparently," Swifty answered quickly.

"Well, what happened?" Sadie asked as a woman came up to her to buy a paper.

Swifty remembered he was supposed to be selling, "Extra! Extra! Woman murdered in Upper East Side!" he yelled. "He just punched me for no reason!" he said going back to the conversation."

"There's gotta be a reason; there's always a reason!" Sadie asked, as young man came up to her and asked her for a paper. She obliged his request after he paid her.

"Irish gang members arrested in Bottle Alley!" Swifty yelled trying to sell a paper. Another man came up to Sadie and bought one from her. "Nope, he just punched me. Right outta the blue!"

"Extra!" Sadie said. Two more people lined up to buy a paper from her. "That can't be right. I know Skittery has social problems, but he must be upset about something," she said.

"Say! Why's it that you haven't even called out a headline, and you're selling like crazy? I've been using some of my best headlines, and I haven't had a single customer!" Swifty said frustratedly.

Sadie shrugged. "Headlines don't sell papes; newsies sell papes," she said with a grin. "Or maybe it's because I don't look like a street rat with a shiner…"

"Aw, shuddup!" Swifty said, only half jokingly.

"Seriously, we should do business together more often… you hungry? I'm starving. You wanna go to Pete's Tavern?" Sadie asked.

"Sure, I could use a break," Swifty said tiredly.

Blink and Poke took a break from selling, and chose to rest on a bench in Central Park. Together they had sold over a hundred papers-it was the most Poke had ever sold since being a newsie. When she was selling by herself, she had hardly sold any papers. Being in the company of Skittery and Swifty had really helped her to find an angle, and now with Blink, she was finding that she had a gift for selling papers. With Blink, she found that she could be bolder, less shy, and more aggressive with selling.

"Skittery told me that you started selling to help out your family. What are they like, if you don't mind me asking?" Blink said.

"Well…" Poke started slowly. "My dad was killed… Cowboy wannabes… They thought they were being funny and having a good time, and they shot him. That was three years ago."

"That's terrible. It sounds like you really loved your dad," Blink said sympathetically.

"I did… I do." Poke said.

"Well, that's good. Me an' my pop haven't been on speaking terms in a long time. I ran away from home," Blink said, trying to make her feel better.

"You know, when I first met Jack, I hated him. That's probably the reason that I was always so shy around all of you newsies-because he was your leader, and since I didn't like him, I figured I wouldn't like any of you." Poke said.

"I'm glad you changed your mind," Blink said giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Me too," Poke said, with a big grin.

"So, what does your ma do?" Blink continued the previous conversation.

"She works at a sewing mill. I have an older sister, and she's eighteen. She used to work there with Mom, until she got really sick. She's getting a little better, but she still can't work. So I took a job to help out," she said.

"You got any other family?" Blink asked.

"Two brothers, thirteen and seven- they go to school. My mother works really hard… she wants them to make something of themselves, so they don't get trampled on like my dad," Poke answered.

"Sounds like you got a full house," Blink said.

Poke nodded in agreement.

"I had a little brother and a little sister, too… before I ran away…" Blink said.

He began to tell her more about his life before he was a newsie. He told Poke about how his mom died when he was younger, he told her about his dad being an angry, abusive drunk. He told her how he ran away and became a newsie, and he told her about the big strike they had in the past. As he was telling her, he realized that he had never felt so open to anyone. It was at that moment, he realized that he'd never really been in love with anyone until now.

Skittery walked through Central Park, only having sold two papers. He thought about all of the events that had happened within the past few days. It was all a big blur to him. He'd lost the girl he loved. He'd lost his place at the lodging house too. It was his only home and shelter, and his friends didn't even know him. He feared that his day would only get worse.

When he looked across the pathway he was walking, his fear was confirmed. Across from him were Poke and Blink, hand in hand, laughing; they were completely absorbed in their own little world, not even noticing anyone around them. Skittery frustratedly threw his papers down and made a loud, angry sound. Unfortunately, he had thrown his papers near an area that was infested with pigeons, and the startled birds began to frantically take flight in his direction. Soon the birds were all around him, and some of them were aiming their droppings on him. He fought them off until they had flown over head and out of his reach.

Poke and Blink's romantic atmosphere had been broken by the commotion, when they saw what was happening, and who it was happening to, they headed over toward Skittery.

"Skittery!" Poke called out.

"Whoa, what the hell happened to you?" Blink asked with more than a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Damn pigeons!" Skittery muttered frustratedly as he looked up at the couple.

He began to wipe the bird droppings off, but this only smeared them into his clothing.

"You feelin' okay?" Poke asked with concern.

"Damnit!" He yelled angrily, referring to the bird defecation.

"He doesn't look alright to me," Blink said to Poke.

"Could you stop talking about me like I wasn't here. I'm fine, damnit!" Skittery said angrily to Blink.

"You're not fine," Poke said as she put her hand on his shoulder. She was growing very concerned for her friend. Even though he wasn't the most congenial newsboy that she had met, this behavior was much different than his usual misanthropic self.

Skittery looked at her hand, and then looked into her eyes. Maybe she'd be able to read his own eyes which seemed to be screaming, "Forget about Blink, and love ME." But it was clear that she was too blind with her love for Blink to even notice what his eyes might have been saying.

"I heard about how you punched Swifty," Poke said.

"How'd you hear about that?" Skittery asked quietly.

"Uh, I kinda told her about that," Blink said speaking up.

"Maybe you should've been the one called Snitch," Skittery said angrily.

"Why'd you do it, anyway?" Poke asked changing subject before Blink could react to Skittery's comment.

"Yeah, what's with the bad mood?" Blink asked.

"I'm not in a bad mood," Skittery said defensively.

He was sick of their prying. He turned and walked away.

"We just want to help you, but we can't do that if you keep shutting all the newsies out," Poke said as she followed him and grabbed his arm.

He turned around to face her. He didn't want her help, he just wanted her.

"One for all and all for one, right?" Blink piped in.

Skittery rolled his eyes, then looked at Poke. She was looking into his eyes, but she couldn't read what he was trying to communicate to her. He wished that he could just tell her everything, but he couldn't... or could he?

"I punched Swifty because..." Skittery's voice was trembling. He trailed off.

"Because what?" Blink asked eagerly.

Poke shushed him, then nodded to Skittery so he would continue.

Skittery searched for the right words to say.

"I punched him because I'm in love with a girl, but she doesn't love me back," he said.

He braced himself for the next question. If Poke asked him who the girl was, he'd tell her, unless she already knew.

"I didn't know that Swifty had a girl!" Blink said in wonder.

Poke came closer to Skittery and held his hand and gave it a squeeze. He held his breath. Did she understand his meaning?

"You're in love with a girl who's in love with Swifty, and that's why you've been upset and that's why you punched him... that explains everything," she said.

Skittery nodded numbly. If he could cry, he would have, but there were no tears to be shed. She didn't know what he really meant.

"Well, even if she's with Swifty, you shouldn't let her come between you two. And if you ask me, she's missing out on one of Manhattan's finest newsies, and I feel very sorry for her," Poke said.

She released his hand, then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Skittery just stood there, surprised. He felt both elated and frustrated. Maybe all hope wasn't lost.

"There are lots of other fish in the sea, and you'll find the right one," Poke said with a smile as she took Blink's arm. "Just like I found mine."

Blink smiled and gave Poke a kiss. Then again, maybe all hope was lost for Skittery.

"Well, we should go and sell the rest of our papes, so we'll stop bothering you," Blink said beginning to walk away with Poke.

But then, Poke turned back around and went to Skittery.

"Skittery, promise me that you'll make up with Swifty. And don't think too much about that girl either," she said taking his hand again and giving it another squeeze.

Skittery nodded. She ran back over to Blink, and he watched them walk off into the distance.

"What the hell was that?" he asked aloud, touching his cheek where Poke had kissed him. He just stood there, puzzled. She really didn't know him at all.

You give your hand to me
And then you say goodbye
I watch you walk away
Beside the lucky guy
And you will never know
The one who loved you so
Well, you don't know me

THE END.

Author's Note: I know that the ending is somewhat tragic for Skittery fans, but I ended it here because I don't think that Skittery's the type of guy who can just get over his problems in a sentence or a paragraph. This is only the first story in a series of stories that I intend to write, so you will be seeing Skittery, Poke, Blink, and others very shortly. Cheer up, emo Skittery fans! Your boy's story isn't done yet! :-D.