Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership over any of the characters in this story besides Chaos and the Brooklyn newsies (except for Spot). Everyone else from the movie "Newsies" is property of Disney and some other people.

Fellow-newsie-freaks-- Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say:)

Hi there, guys. So here's a new chapter. And here's some good news. It's Friday, which means I have the entire weekend to write. Maybe Saturday and Sunday I'll post a longer chapter each day. I can't wait until summer... Pretty much all I have is 2 more weeks and finals and then I'm done. Then I can write all the time. I also have yet another idea for a new story, so I'll be working on that one when I finish this.

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After Spot took off, I didn't see him for the rest of the afternoon. I sold alone, which proved to be twice as difficult as selling with someone else.

I did my best to brush off most of the mud from the puddle Spot had pushed me in. Still, some of it still stuck to my clothes and made me more than uncomfortable the whole day.

I couldn't go back to the lodging house to change my clothes during the day, though. Partly because I didn't know how to get there from where I was, and partly because I didn't have any other clean clothes to change into.

It got later and later, becoming more difficult to find customers as the sun crept lower in the sky. I gave up on selling and decided to finally find my way back to the lodging house. Following my sense of direction, I walked down street after street and ended up at the docks.

I was getting close. The lodging house was on one of the blocks right off the pier. As I turned to walk in the direction of the apartment buildings, I thought better of it.

Approaching the water, I looked down at it. The teetering sun on the horizon caused the small waves to have a bright orange shimmer to them. Even though it was dusk, the air still felt dense and hot. I decided the water would be a cool relief from the air, and I needed a way to rinse the mud off my clothes anyway.

I untied my shoes, leaving them on the side of the dock along with my hat. I untied my braids and kept the two rubber-bands around my wrist. Then I stood on the edge of the wood and pushed off into a dive. It was cold at first, but as I resurfaced I got used to the temperature.

I floated on my back and stared up at the sky, simply letting the weak current push me in any direction. I would stay like that for minutes at a time, only kicking my feet silently underneath the surface to keep me afloat.

For about fifteen minutes, I closed my eyes and just drifted. I only opened them when I heard a rhythmic splashing sound, only to realize that I had floated about 50 feet away from where I had jumped into the water. The sky wasn't above me anymore. Now wood planks were about a foot above my head. I had floated underneath another dock.

I positioned myself upright in the water again and realized that the splashing sound was coming from the edge of the dock. Someone was swinging their legs back and forth, kicking the water with the end of their toes.

Cautiously, I swam around a wooden boat that was attached to the dock with a rope. I held onto the side of the boat and inched my way around, keeping myself hidden from view. As I got to the bow, I peeked over and saw that it was Spot Conlon sitting on the edge of the dock.

Without knowing I was even watching him, he stared out over the surface of the water. His usual smirk, the angry fire in his eyes, his rough exterior... They were all gone.

His legs continued to swing steadily over the water. Spot's smoky-blue eyes just lingered towards the horizon, and he looked more calm and more pensive than I had ever seen him before. I could sit there and just stare at him forever.

Suddenly, something slimy swam past my legs, brushing against one of them. A gasp escaped my mouth, and Spot looked over at me. My eyes grew wide as I sank lower beneath the side of the boat.

Too late. He had already seen me. "Chaos!?!" He yelled, quickly getting to his feet. "Chaos, what da hell is you doin'!?"

I took a mouthful of air and ducked under the water, swimming quickly in the opposite direction. While underwater, I heard a splash that meant that Spot had jumped in after me. I desperately kicked my legs and pushed myself forward with my arms, only coming to the surface when I felt my lungs were going to explode from lack of oxygen.

I kept swimming, unaware of where I was going or if Spot was even following me anymore. I had ended up near a shore somewhere, covered in huge rocks. As I pushed my head above the surface for air, one of the rocks cut my thigh with a sharp edge when my leg brushed across it. Pain shot through my body as the salt water made the wound sting. I dragged myself up onto the shore and rested on a flat rock as I searched the surface for Spot, but I couldn't find him. I assumed I had lost him.

Suddenly, Spot came up from under the water and gasped for air, dripping wet. I stared at him as we both desperately tried to catch our breath. "Why... Da hell... We're you spyin'... on me?" he stuttered. He was still knee-deep in water, so he trudged up the rocks and came closer to me.

"Hey! I aksed you a question!" He demanded. "I wasn't spyin' on you, Conlon. I went for a swim, lost track of where I was goin', 'nd happened to come across you." I sneered.

"Oh, is dat so?" Spot said sarcastically. I nodded slowly.

Alright, I had been spying on him. But I didn't really mean to. I couldn't bring myself to tear my gaze away from him. What was the matter with me? I was supposed to hate this guy, and now I found myself unable to reply with a sarcastic remark. I was tongue-tied.

Spot sighed and took a few more steps towards me. His eyes wandered down to the deep slash in the fabric right above my knee. There was blood all over my thigh. "Dat's bleedin' real bad. Can you walk?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno..." I said. I unsteadily got to my feet, shutting my eyes tightly and gritting my teeth to avoid yelling out. "Yeah... kind of." I choked out. I was able to support myself, but every time I took a step pain would surge up my leg. "How far's da lodgin' house from heah?" I asked.

Spot sighed again. "Too far for you to walk in dat condition. C'mon, follow me. I got an idea." With Spot's help, I was able to get back up onto the pier. I limped behind him as he led me to a nearby dock.

There was an old fishing boat tied off to the wooden columns on the dock. The same one I had been watching him from behind. It looked like it hadn't been used in years. Most of the white paint had long since chipped off the sides, showing the brown planks underneath. The sail had holes in it almost everywhere, and the ropes that pulled the sail were frayed and ready to snap.

The boat wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. It was about 10 feet in length and could hold roughly 5 people. Following Spot, I climbed over the side of the boat. I sat down, using the back of the boat to lean my back up against. "I'll be back in a couple minutes. Stay heah." Spot commanded. I rolled my eyes. "You say dat like I could actually leave if I wanted to." I retorted.

Spot sneered at my comment and ran off down the pier. I listened to his footsteps against the dock disappear and then I waited.

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Hm... Spot and Chaos alone in a boat? Who do ya thinks gonna end up killing the other first?

Thanks for reading, and thanks to the people who reviewed. If you haven't reviewed yet, please do so :D I'd love to hear what you think so far. Any comments or criticism is welcome.