Disclaimer: I don't own, nor claim ownership over, any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies."

Alright. So career day today-- Dressed as a newsie. I took a tally of how many people asked "What are you supposed to be" (23) and I never once got tired of saying "I'm a newsie!!", of course with a huge, somewhat creepy, grin on my face. However, I did get tired of people trying to steal my hat :(

And here we go.

.-:-.-:-.

I worked my way towards the lodging house, starting at the diner. I stopped to sell every time there was a passing crowd. "Extry, extry! Farmer in Virginia claims to have seen aliens!" In reality, the article was about how the farmer's dog, Alien, broke the record for 'biggest litter of puppies' when it gave birth to twenty three at once. "Thank ya, Miss." I said, handing a woman a newspaper in return for a penny. By the time I was a few blocks away, I only had four or five papes left and it was almost dark.

As I passed one of the shaded alleyways, I heard the rustling of garbage bags. I backed up again, half expecting to see a poor street-rat unconscious against the crates.

When I glanced into the alley, a strong fist clasped around my collar and dragged me in. I was thrown up against a brick wall and held there before I could contemplate what was happening. "Where is he!?" A voice boomed.

"W-who?" I gasped, choked by the pull of the fabric around my neck. I frantically tried to reach the ground, but the tips of my toes barely touched. He pushed me more forcefully into the wall again. "You know who!" he yelled.

His yellowish-green eyes glared at me when I didn't respond. I tried to punch him or kick him, anything to make him drop me. But my weak attempts had no effect on him. I was helpless. "Where is he!? Where's Logan?!"

"I-I don't know a Logan..." My answer earned me a punch to the jaw. "Don't lie to me, goil! You'se been wit him every day! I saw ya!" He raised his fist again. I desperately shook my head. "You've got da wrong person! I don't know anyone by dat name, honest—" Another blow to the face. I could already feel the bruise forming on my cheek.

"I'm gonna ask ya... one more time." His threat came from under his ragged breathing. Still holding me by the neck with one hand, the other hand disappeared behind his back. I heard the sound of metal snapping into place and he pulled out a knife.

"P-please, lemme go... I don't know who yer lookin' for, a'right? Lemme go!" He brought the blade up to my neck, and I raised my chin as high as possible to avoid coming in contact with it. "I don't like it when people play dumb, goil... It don't make my job very easy." He whispered.

I shut my eyes and waited for the cold tip of the knife to touch my chin, but it never did. I heard a hollow clunk sound and cautiously opened one of my eyes.

The stranger in front of me let his head droop forward and then jerked it upright again. The grip of his hand loosened on me and I dropped to my feet. He went cross-eyed for a split second, and then his figure crumbled from under him. He collapsed onto the cobblestone, revealing Spot Conlon standing behind him.

Spot was holding his cane with both hands, ready to hit him over the head again with it if the guy tried to get up. When Spot was sure the body was still, he glanced up at me. The reflection of a nearby streetlamp caught in his incredible eyes and made him look more dangerous than I'd ever seen him before.

I could feel myself trembling from fear. I wouldn't call myself a great fighter, but I had never been that powerless in a situation before. If Spot didn't show up, God knows what would have happened...

"S-Sp..." I tried to say his name, but I couldn't make any sound come from my lips.

"Chaos!" Cricket ran towards me from the opening of the alleyway and engulfed me in a hug. "God, what happened? Are ya alright?!"

I nodded into his shoulder as he pulled me closer in his arms. Cricket lightly forced me to look up by putting his hand under my chin. "Chaos, look at me... Ya alright?" He asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded more definitely this time. "Yeah, thanks to..." I turned my head to look for Spot, but he had slipped off into the shadows.

.-:-.-:-.

I wiped my forehead on my sleeve. The sun was brutal, but dark clouds seemed to be rolling their way into Brooklyn, providing some relief. I was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, absentmindedly staring at a crack in the cobblestone.

Cricket tapped me on the shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Woah... Someone's a bit jumpy today..." He commented. His eyes flickered from the bruise on my face the stack of papers under my arm.

He smiled and held out his hand. "Lemme help... Ya seem to be runnin' a bit behind today." Cricket said. "Ah, you'se got yer own papes to worry 'bout. But thanks." I replied.

"I'se already finished." Cricket showed me his empty bag. "It's no problem." He told me, taking half the papers. I smiled appreciatively at him.

"Uh... Hey, did ya happen to see Conlon today by any chance?" I asked in between yelling out articles. "Extra! Train crash on outskirts of da city! Nah, I didn't... Think he went to Manhattan for somethin'. Why?" Cricket asked, handing out papers to a small group that had formed around us. "Jus' wanna talk to him, I guess."

Cricket paused mid-headline and lowered the newspaper. "Lemme get dis straight... You -Chaos- willingly want to talk to Spot Conlon?" I shrugged. "I didn't really thank him for what he did last night."

He nodded, but looked over at me with confusion. "What exactly did happen last night?" Cricket asked. I tilted my head in the direction of the customers, indicating that I didn't want to talk about it around the crowd. For all we knew, a friend of the guy could have been searching the city for the person who knocked his buddy unconscious with a cane. Cricket nodded again, immediately understanding me. "A'right... We'll talk 'bout it when we'se done, okay?"

.-:-.-:-.

Yeah, sorta short. But I don't have school tomorrow, so you know what that means? Yep. Caffeine, my computer, and a whole night's worth of writing.

st.elmo-lover: Haha, thanks :) Yeah, I figured it would be only fair to have the brilliant strike leader see through Chaos's and Spot's "hate" for each other. As for Cricket and Chaos getting together, I guess we'll just have to see. ::Makes innocent face like she's got no clue what's going to happen::

facetiouslymichievious: Thanks for the review! It's kinda difficult to update every day, but here's what I do: Before I post a chapter, I make sure that I have a little of the next one written already. Kind of like staying ahead of the game, you know? That way, even if I don't get a chance to write I still have something to post. And on top of that, I've got no life and spend all my time writing besides when I'm in school, with my friends, or sleeping, haha. (and the OaP thing sounds good, good luck with it:D)

Pippa Kelly: I'm soo happy that you think they're all different... I'm always sorta paranoid that they'll all come out somewhat the same, you know? There's only so much you can do with a bunch of hot guys living in a lodging house in the 1900's... Anyway, I did have fun dressing like a newsie, and yeah... I secretly wish I was a real one. Woops, guess it's not a secret anymore.

Sirenn: Aw, thanks :) I'm happy that you like it... I was sort of afraid that I'm taking too long to put Chaos and Spot together... Sort of like it's getting a bit boring just reading about them going back and forth with each other. Anyway, thanks for the review!

NarniaRulz: Absolutely no problem. I appreciate any reviews I can get lol. Yeah, Spot and Chaos both have their moments where one's on top and the other sort of lost the fight. Thanks again :)

Everyone else-- Thanks for reading.