Once again Brooklyn found herself sitting at the bleachers among the sea of navy blue and white with the baseball field in front of her. The World Warriors and the Brooklyn Bobcats were facing off. An odd sense of deja vu filled her from the inside out. The last time she was here felt so long ago, when in reality, it was only a few weeks or so. The Warriors had been going to away games over the past few days, meaning that Brooklyn couldn't exactly make it to many. A few of the boys and Feister did to support Albert. She wanted to be there as well, but couldn't since studying got in the way. But when the home games started back up, she was able to go. This time sporting one of Albert's spare jerseys. How that happened was that he outright asked if she wanted too (without any pressure of course). Through her shocked sate, Brooklyn agreed. Then spent the next few days trying to figure out how to make the giant piece of clothing fit on her petite body. After debating on how to go about it, she tied the two front pieces together flipped whatever was still sticking out underneath and buttoned it up, leaving the top two undone. She wore a fitted black shirt underneath and wore thin silver chain with a dainty butterfly charm. Her hair was pulled back in a somewhat high ponytail, and on either side of her head were little locks of hair, perfectly framing her face. She had even painted her nails navy blue while her ring fingers was a sparkly, chunky silver color.

While she was getting ready in the morning, Feister kept looking at her, like she knew something was up. Though Brooklyn wasn't sure if she had put two and two together. It was kind of obvious that something was indeed up given the fact she was wearing Albert's jersey, however, whether Feister did know or not, she kept quiet. And Brooklyn was thankful for that. It was one of the reasons why she got along with the other girl so well. Because Feister understood the feeling when someone would pry. The boys however, were suspicious, but didn't badger her….while on the other hand, her brother was oddly quiet...Brooklyn wasn't complaining of course, she was just worried how he'd react once all was revealed. Nevertheless she told herself not to over think it. Oddly enough, she didn't for once in her life and instead enjoyed the here and now moment. Maybe Albert's easy going ways were rubbing off on her. Then again, who could say for sure? Besides, that was something else she didn't want her mind to linger on. How close she had becoming with the redhead. Or already had become…..ok sure, they've spent time alone together, but it wasn't considered a date. Plus they've only kissed once on the lips. Albert's go to move had become the top of her head or her cheek in a playful, caring manner. Though there was the one time she got chocolate on her face when she was eating a brownie and Albert may or may not have kissed the smudged spot - which was fairly close to her lips - before saying, "here I was thinkin' you were already sweet." to say the least Brooklyn had butterflies in her stomach for the rest of the day.

Unlike the last time, she wasn't as scared as seeing people from her old school. More or less. She wasn't scared now, but her mind wasn't lingering on the thought on how awkward it would be for them to see her in Warrior blue instead of Bobcat red. Which, quite frankly, blue had always suited her anyways. Though that was beside the point, her eyes were somewhat locked where Albert stood in the field running last minute drills. He tossed the ball to one of his teammates, who caught it with ease then tossed it back to him. Repeatedly doing that over and over until the coach blew the whistle and the next drill was done. Even from where she sat, she could still see a hint of red peaking out from underneath his baseball cap that sat backwards on his head like it always did. While on that note….he didn't look too bad in his uniform either. There was something about it that made him look cuter. Well, he was always cute, but this was different...ish…..yeah Brooklyn managed to pull herself out of her own mind before she started to go down the rabbit hole of endless thoughts. Then again, that one wasn't as bad as some of the other things she'd often think about.

"You ok?"

"Hmm, what? Yeah I'm ok, why?" Brooklyn asked as she abruptly turned to Feister, who was making one of her many facial expressions that could mean just about anything.

Feister stared at her for a few moments before saying, "If you want, I bet I could throw a bag of peanuts at 'em from here." she then nodded her head in the opposite direction.

Brooklyn looked over to what Feister was talking about only to soon realize that Hailey and Jenny were by the fence, laughing at something one of the Bobcats was saying. Her insides instantly turned into a knot. The freckled girl sunk back a bit, trying to make herself look small and invisible in the sea of navy blue and white.

"I can knock 'em out right now if ya want me too," Feister offered.

One thing was for sure. Brooklyn knew that was an empty threat...but even if that were the case, she wouldn't put it pass Feister to actually do that. Honestly, the smaller girl still scared her sometimes. And people say the Brooklyn city is supposed to be the toughest part of New York. But despite that, she actually found herself confiding in Feister about her so called friends and everything that went down with Colton. It was an odd moment of bonding time with her. Brooklyn never really had the chance to form a sisterly bond with a girl. Sure before moving to Manhattan, she had the girls from the group home, but it wasn't the same level. Brooklyn didn't need to tell Feister to keep her mouth shut on this subject. She already knew not to let anything slide.

"Feisty just cause ya hate the other team don't mean ya gotta go takin' out their players one by one," her brother cut in. Clearly done with whatever conversation he was having with Kid Blink.

The gears seemed to switch in Feister, for she put on her innocent smile as she said, "Right….keep your friends close and your enemies closer." she then winked and made a quick click sound with her her tongue for good measure.

Mush slap his forehead and heavily sighed. "Why are you like this?"

"Shut up, you love it when I get like this," she teased while wrapping her arm around him and burying her head into his chest.

All the while, instead of making gross remarks about pda like some of the other boys, Brooklyn smiled a little. As odd as her brother and Feister's relationship is….she's never seen two people complement each other so well in her life. That was the kind of love story that's described in books. Despite everything that happened in the past...it was still something she wanted. The only difference was now she now knew the signs that silently told her to stay away. And Albert never showed any of them…..he was more casual and laid back. Maybe that's why she felt so comfortable around him. Though they weren't officially a couple (which was one sign she should run away) it made her want to stick around. She's thought about what could go wrong. If things turned out for the worst then it'd be her own fault. Nevertheless, she told herself not to think about it. The more she thought about it, the more she'd worry, and the more she'd worry, well….then it wouldn't end good on her part. Not in the slightest. Besides, Albert wouldn't hurt her. He's done enough to prove he wouldn't….at least she thinks he wouldn't. In all honesty as fast has it happened in the same breath the pace of it all was slow? Did that make any sense? Probably not.

Soon enough the game began. Naturally, The World Warriors were up to bat first. Which meant Albert was currently making his way up to the plate. This was one of the few times she ever saw the redhead look so serious. Even from where she was sitting she could tell he was staring the pitcher down as some tactic. Not once has she ever seen Albert act cocky when he's out on the field. Unless of course, it was obvious the Warriors were going to win, but even then his face was solid as stone. Unsettling? Maybe. Does it make him a good player? Absolutely. Which is probably why he's the best guy on the team from Brooklyn's understanding. And why everyone ar her old school hated him so much. She heard enough rumors to know what was up.

One of the biggest that went around was that a freshmen not only made it on the team as the first batter, but also during a game the pitcher for the Warriors' arm started acting up. The coach didn't want to risk making that worseThe story went the freshmen kid who was tall and somewhat lanky filled in for the last few minutes. The Bobcats had the bases loaded, the best senior player was up at the plate and whether it was dumb luck or pure talent, that freshmen kid struck out the Bobcats, winning the vert first game of the season. From that day forward, nobody called him by his jersey number. Nope. He was simply known as Albert. The boy who made a name for himself from day one, but most importantly, the one with the backwards cap. At the time, Brooklyn wasn't sure how much she believed the details of all that. But upon coming to Manhattan, she soon learned that it was all true. Apparently the girls' bathroom was the same no matter where she was. A place for makeup touch ups and gossip. She casually asked Albert about it, who said he was happy about winning, but didn't care about the popularity that came with it. That surprised Brooklyn in a way.

"Is this seat taken?" a perky voice asked from behind.

"Next to the Warrior fans, really Ann?" a somewhat deeper voice groaned.

But when Brooklyn turned around her eyes widened. "Annie? Howard? What'er you doing here?" she asked in pure shock.

"Eh, visiting my cousin for the weekend. I think he's somewhere near center field," Howard shrugged in reply. "She stowed away in my luggage."

"Lies!" Annie exclaimed as she slapped Howard upside the arm. "Do not listen to him, ok? I'm here for a family friend's bridal shower that's coming up, which also happened to have landed on the same weekend he's visiting his family. So it worked out in the end."

Brooklyn smiled and nodded a little as she patted the open space on the bleacher next to her for the couple, who sat down with ease. Then she suddenly remembered she was wearing Albert's jersey. But it wasn't just that, she was wearing Warrior blue and not Bobcat red. As nice as Annie and Howard are she knew they were still loyal to their school's colors. But then again Howard's cousin is on the team so maybe it wasn't as bad as she was thinking.

"Well hello there beautiful, and what might your name be?" Romeo asked from the bleacher behind. He leaned down between the two girls with his best smile.

"Happily taken," Annie replied with a sweet smile. She grabbed Howard's arm and wrapped it around herself with ease. "And way too old for you."

"What's a year or two when it's true love?"

"Aw shut it Rome!" Race said. He grabbed the younger boy by the shirt and yanked him back. "Even I know when not to flirt with a pretty lady." he said. "But….Unlike you I am well within this young lady's age limit, so hey if things don't work out just gimme a call. Name's Higgins. Racetrack Higgins."

"Wait a minute," Howard piped up. "Aren't you the kid who silly stringed our school's statute, put giant sunglasses on it and one of those Liberty headbands on top?"

"No," Race replied. His voice cracked a little because he did indeed do that. Along with Jojo...and Sniper and Romeo and Feister. Albert wanted too, but if they got caught he would've been benched from the game. But he did come up with half the ideas.

In that moment, the sound of the ball hitting the bat smacked through the air. Those who were fans of the Warriors started to cheer loudly as Albert made a run for it. He was able to make it to second base. Halfway to getting a point. He smiled widely and clapped twice for his teammate who was up next to bat.

"Alright Al!" some of the boys yelled out, and naturally, Brooklyn clapped her hands twice to show her own excitement.

"I would ask if you know him," Annie began with a hidden, knowing look in her eyes. "But by the looks of the jersey you're wearing, I think I already have the answer to that." a gentle, happy smile formed across her face.

"Yeah….he's my brother's friend," Brooklyn admitted shyly while she rubbed her arm. Sure, Albert was a great guy, and ok he's kind of cute...as well as with the smirk he does so well. The one that makes her insides twist and weakens her knees. Sometimes though, it was hard knowing where she stood with him exactly. At first, she thought the redhead was being nice to her just because she's his friend's sister, when she found out Albert wanted to get to know her for who she is, Brooklyn wasn't sure what to tell him. Not because she didn't know herself, but because no one really asked her that question. She was just sort of there.

"Since when do you have a brother?" Howard asked.

"Since the time in the womb," Mush said as he leaned ever so slightly over Feister to make his presence known. Though, Feister did smack him upside the head, it didn't bother him. In fact, he expected it to happen by this point. "Name's Mush Meyers. The older, better lookin' twin. Obviously - OW Feisty!" he groaned when the small girl elbowed him right in the stomach.

"I bet whoever your cousin ain't as good as Al," Feister stated.

"I dunno," Howard replied. "Scott's one hell of a player."

"I'm sorry," Mush cut in with a calm voice. "Did you say your cousin's name is...Scott? As in Scott Turner. The one who constantly is takin' his cap on and off to fix his hair that looks like a rat made a nest in it." with every word he said his gaze shifted over to Feister, who had both a glare and "I'm so done with you" look all rolled into one.

"Well that's not oddly specific," Feister said. "Seein' as I wasn't the one who-"

"Can you two go one day without arguin'," Kid Blink asked before things got out of hand.

After that, nothing else was said. Everyone's attention turned back to the game. Or most of them watched at least. Cheers, boos, and stamping of feet on the metal bleachers filled the air. Most of the time, Brooklyn would clap, but occasionally she'd end up cheering just as loud as everyone else. Though in all honesty, she mostly cheered for Albert. She never said his name, but it was clear as day who she was rooting for. When she wasn't doing that, she'd talk with Annie, sometimes Howard as well, but he didn't say as much as Annie would. It was nice getting to spend time with them again, even if it was for a short time, or that they weren't exactly close, Brooklyn still enjoyed it.


The game had gone into a single overtime inning, and everyone was on the edge of their seats, but at the end of it all, The World Warriors had taken home the win. With Albert being the one to have hit the winning ball. To say the least the newsies cheered at the top of their lungs and Brooklyn got a small, absent smile across her lips as she clapped her hands together. Her eyes never leaving the redhead with the backwards cap.

"Now. That was a good game, wasn't it?" Annie asked while standing up.

"Of course it was," Race hollered. "We just beat your sorry Bobcat butt. And it was our boy Dasilva who took home the gold."

"And what did your best player do?" Jojo cut in. "Oh yeah. Sit on his sorry little bum cause he was not only striked out-"

"But also picked a fight with the ump," Race added.

"Well...that Colton is nothing compared to Al," Brooklyn replied. The lightest pink color started to spread across her cheeks. "Never has been." and she wasn't just saying that. She really did mean in. Albert had always been the better player. Colton looked worse than a pee-wee t-ball player who didn't know left from right. She stood up and stretched out a bit from sitting down for so long. Bleachers weren't the most comfortable thing to sit on in the world.

When the crowd started to slowly disappear the boys, and Feister, plus Brooklyn with her two friends started to make their way out as well. By the fence, Albert had back against the metal. His duffle bag by his feet as he talked and laughed with some of his teammates. His cap still backwards on top of his head, only the closer Brooklyn got, the more she could see the flaming red color hiding underneath the navy blue material. The closer she got, the more she felt her stomach start to twist in turn. Not in the way it would when she saw Colton, but in a different way. A good feeling that felt like actual sparks running through her veins and dance across her skin. Her footsteps slowly came to a stop while the rest of the group continued to walk.

"Hey there, princess," a voice that instantly made the good feeling disappear into one that really made her sick.

"Oh...hi," Brooklyn quietly replied as Colton walked up to her. His uniform was, of course black pants, cap and a red shirt. His duffle bag was in one hand while dirt and blackout smudged his face. The look was one that wasn't all the appealing to her. However, with Albert...it somehow worked.

"Missed me?"

"Not really."

"Why not?" Colton asked innocently. "I missed you. Thought about you every day. Even tried calling you a few times but you never pick up. Are you busy? Or think you're too good now that you're living in 'Hattan?" his tone was somewhat accusing. "You know, maybe you should change your name to that. 'Hattan Meyers has such a pretty ring to it."

"I should go now," Brooklyn mumbled under her breath. Just as she tried to walk away, Colton grabbed her arm. A little harder than necessary. "Let go of me," she said while trying to pull away. But it seemed to be no use.

"You're pretty. But you'd be much prettier with those freckles of yours covered up," Colton whispered close to her ear.

Just as he began to let go, Albert had walked on over. He stared Colton down, giving him the dirtiest look he could muster before turning back to the Brooklyn. His face changed from absolutely disgust to the softest, loving look ever imaginable. He could read her as easily as a magazine. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that she was trying to hide how upset she was. So without giving it much thought he got closer to the freckled girl, and as gently as he could placed both hands on either of her shoulders. Now he didn't exactly touch her at first, he waited until he saw that flicker in her eyes, silently telling him it was ok. And when he did, he still made sure his touch was light and gentle as can be.

"You alright sweetheart?"

"Oh what? I can't call her princess but you can call her sweetheart?" Colton asked. "How is that fair?"

"Cause….she's my girl," Albert replied without daring to take his gaze away from hers.

"Weren't you the one who said that you can't call a girl yours if she doesn't want to be?"

"That is," Albert added, sending a quick glare to Colton as a silent message that he wasn't done talking just yet. "If she wants to be." as he spoke, his eyes were locked with hers. Momentarily that is.

For Brooklyn had immediately looked towards the ground. Not only because it was hard to look the redhead in the eye, but also to hide her currently flushing face. She even leaned her forehead against his strong chest for good measure. Completely ignoring that he smelled like dirt and sweat from the game. She felt him cup her face gently and lift her head up ever so slowly. And when she saw just how soft and loving his eyes were, Brooklyn knew that Albert had meant what he said about them becoming….more serious. Scary? Yes. Was she ready? Maybe. But knew he wouldn't push her. Did her heart want to be more than friends? Well she was wearing his jersey for crying out loud. So that was a definite absolutely. Yet it was all the more reason to want to run away. However, that running feeling seemed to have diminished for those few seconds. "Ok," was the freckled girl's only response.

"Seriously Brook? You wanna be with a loser like him?" Colton asked. "He looks like a giant carrot."

"Hey!" a shout went through the air. Which belonged The small girl stormed right up to the trio and placed herself between Colton, Brooklyn and Albert. And without hesitating for even a moment, she grabbed Colton by the collar of his shirt and glared at him with a blazing fire. "Listen here you Bobcat scum of the earth! I am the only one who gets to pick on the tomato-"

"The carrot tomato top has feelings ya know," Albert stated.

But like always, Feister ignored him. "Now lemme make this loud and clear to get it through your thick sorry excuse for a head. You stay the hell away from Brooklyn and Al or I swear I'll find your pethetic little full of yourself bum and soak ya so good your great grandchildren won't be able to sit right. Now-" she leaned in closer so only Colton would hear this. "I know how you treated Brooklyn. But 'er brother and the rest of his buddies don't know. And if it would somehow accidentally slip out what ya did to her. Your death will look like an accident. If I were you, I'd scram to some remote hut in Alaska." and with that sweet, but threatening smile she does so well, Feister let go of Colton's collar and walked away like nothing happened. However, she did turn her head around and said, "Make it official already Al! I've got good money on the line with Racer!"

"Well, I do love provin' Race wrong," Albert said. A hint of smugness dripping off every word. "Whaddya say doll face? Mind if I kiss yeah?"

"...I'd be mad if you didn't," Brooklyn whispered with a light laugh. The next thing she knew was that Albert leaned forward and kissed her right then and there, not even waiting for her to meet him half way like he usually would. And the odd part? Brooklyn didn't mind it that much. Because right at that moment, there was only one thought in her mind. That, this is what romance is described in the books. She felt the butterflies in her stomach, and sparks tingle her skin. The on air feeling mix with a bit of recklessness. For this was just about the craziest thing she's ever done. Kissing a boy in front of just about every teenager in school, her brother, and even families. With young children. But all of it didn't matter to her. Only the boy with the backwards cap and smirk that fill her black and white world with color again.

When Albert pulled away he pressed his forehead against hers with the biggest, stupidest grin ever. While Brooklyn on the other hand, was left breathless and pink faced as can be.

"Wanna go on a date sometime?" his voice was slightly lower than usual.

"Hell yeah she will!" Race yelled from the bleachers with a giant popcorn bag in his lap.

"And you owe me twenty Higgins," Feister pointed out.

"That did not happen. I am havin' one of those weird dreams after eatin' somethin' I shouldn't have fore bed. My sister did not just kiss Al. Nope. No. I refuse to believe it," Mush muttered under his breath as he collapsed onto the ground.

"I would make fun of him, but honestly, let's all consider ourselves lucky he's in denial right now," Feister stated.

"Guess that means I've got twice the luck then," Albert said as he turned back to Brooklyn, who shook her head, but smiled anyways.


Author's note

Hi yes your girl is still alive. I know I've disappeared a bit, life has gotten busier now, but I promise I'm still working on a bunch of stuff behind the scenes. I've got at least several drafts in the works that should see the light someday in the near-ish future. For now you get more cute Alblyn stuff. Consider this the point and time where they officially made it official. Because Brooklyn would've had too much PTSD from Colton if the lines weren't properly drawn. Persay. Yes, this took longer than I thought it would to write seeing as this was one of the few ideas I was definitely planning to do, but somehow, it came out better than expected. Got lots of cute Alblyn moments, hints of Meister, Feister being her usual self, and a special guest appearance from the only likeable characters from a pervious book I hope people were able to catch. And before anyone who is new/unfamiliar with how things work around here...there's already a one shot up about Alblyn's first date. It's called Highway Heart if anyone wants to take a look at that. With all that being said, I don't own Newsies, only OCs. I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.