Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership over any of the characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only characters I own are Chaos, Cricket, and the Brooklyn Newsies EXCEPT for Spot Conlon.
Hiya everyone. So good news: I got a whole lot of writing done last night (caffeine can work miracles) so that means the next few chapters, including this one, should be long and out fairly quickly. Wooo :D
I was wondering... Do you guys want me to do a "recap" thingy at the beginning of each chapter? Maybe put a paragraph in italics of the last chapter so you know where you left off? I know I'm one of those people who always forgets the last thing that happened, and then I gotta go back to the previous chapter. So give me your views on that one and here we go.
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With Cricket's help, I was able to get rid of the rest of my papers within half an hour. After we were finished selling, we wandered around for some time looking for desolate place to talk. We ended up walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge.
"So what happened last night, Chaos?" Cricket asked softly, slipping his hand around mine as we walked. I shrugged. "Dis half-crazed guy showed up, thinkin' I knew where some person was. I told him I didn't know da name, 'nd he jus' pulled a knife on me."
"And how'd he end up on da ground?" Cricket asked. "Apparently Conlon's cane ain't jus' for show." I replied. "Woah... No wonder you'se been a little sidetracked since den..."
"Yeah... But da creepy thing is, dat guy was convinced I knew who he was lookin' for. Jus' kept sayin' I was lyin' to him."
"What was da name?" He asked. I bit my lip, trying to think of it. "Hmm... Something with an L. Logan, I think." I thought I saw a hint of panic in Cricket's eyes, but it was gone in an instant. Still, I stopped and turned towards him. "You okay?" I asked skeptically.
He nodded. "Yeah... Jus' hate to think of what might have happened if dat guy had three more seconds before Spot showed up." Cricket slowly brought his hand up to my face, stroking my cheek lightly with his thumb. "Chaos, ya mean a lot to me."
An idea tugged at my mind, telling me that Cricket was hiding something, trying to cover it up... I opened my mouth to ask a question, but it was forgotten when Cricket quickly leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. Cautiously, I put my hands on his shoulders as he deepened the kiss. But my heart sunk, like I was waiting to feel something that never happened.
Cricket pulled away for a split second so he could wrap his other arm around my waist. When he leaned in to kiss me again, I heard the smack of something hitting his shoulder. Cricket jumped back in pain and I whirled around to see Spot holding his slingshot up. He looked just as surprised as Cricket, although he had been the one who shot the marble.
"What da hell, Conlon?!" I yelled. Spot was completely frozen, his mouth slightly open. I groaned in annoyance and turned back to Cricket. "Are you a'right?" I asked softly. He nodded, moving the neckline over on his shirt to reveal a bruise that was starting to form.
I sighed and brought my gaze to his eyes. "Go back to da lodgin' house 'nd ice dat, a'right? I gotta have a lil talk wit Spot." I said. Cricket hesitated for a second before finally agreeing. I watched him disappear around a corner before I turned to face the bridge. Spot was standing at the mouth of it, no doubt coming back from Manhattan.
"Do you enjoy destroyin' everything dat makes me happy? Huh!? Is dat how ya get yer kicks!?" I yelled, taking a few more steps towards him. For once, Spot was silent. He let his gaze drop to the ground. "Answer me!" I demanded.
"I... I didn't mean to do dat." He mumbled slowly. I snorted at his answer. "Oh, so da marble jus' slipped, I see. I'se hoid better excuses from seven year olds, Conlon!" I was practically fuming. Where did he get the nerve to think he could do something like that? Sure, he was convinced he was the King of Brooklyn. But that didn't mean he got to go around budding into other peoples' love lives like cupid with a slingshot.
"No, I mean... Somethin' jus'..." Spot paused and fiddled with the key around his neck as his voice faded out. "Somethin' jus' what!?" I yelled. He sighed and looked up at me, glaring me directly in the eye in this time. "Nevermind." His voice went sour again. "I don't gotta explain nuttin' to you." He said the last word as if it poisoned his mouth.
Spot turned on his heel and angrily walked across the bridge again, his fists clenched at his side.
"Ugh! Dis is it, Conlon! I'd rather be in da Manhattan refuge den heah wit you!" I yelled after him. "I don't need you, or yer help, or dat lodgin' house, or any of dis crap!" He was halfway across the bridge and I doubted if he could even hear me, but I continued away.
"I could go to Queens, or Harlem, or... or anywhere I want!" I dropped to my knees and picked up a rock, hurling it mercilessly at the bridge. The sound echoed as it bounced off. "Jus' as long as I'm away from him." I muttered.
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By the time I got back to the Brooklyn Lodging house to collect my things, it was way past late afternoon and the sun had set.
I found out from Ghost, who was the only one in the bunk room when I got there, that Cricket had taken off only about 30 minutes before. He rushed to grab his belongings and left without much of an explanation as to why. I was still too pissed at Spot to give it much thought, though.
I said goodbye to Ghost, telling him that I would come to see him soon--Most likely when Spot wasn't around. After all, Ghost had been one of my closest friends in Brooklyn.
With my small pile of extra clothes and possessions sitting next to me, I let my legs swing idly over the water. My arms were crossed over my lap and I let my gaze blur out where the water met the gloomy sky.
The fog was so thick over the water that I could barely see the surface. Once in a while, the clouds would break just enough to get a glimpse of the hazy moon, but the light would be gone again in seconds as more clouds rolled by.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the old sailboat bob up and down in the water. The same sailboat that Spot had brought me to after I cut my leg up on the rocks. As the fog collected around the base of the forgotten boat, it looked almost haunted.
Despite the eerie feel around me that was a combination of the fog and the darkness, all of it was beautiful. I sat on the dock and picked up pebble after pebble, tossing them into the water. The ripples shattered the images of the mist.
"Looks like we actually have somethin' in common." The voice made me jump since I had thought I was alone. Still, I didn't have to turn around to tell who it was. "You 'nd me? We could neva' have anythin' in common." I shot back coldly.
"Oh yeah? Besides our stubbornness, I think we do." I heard Spot's footsteps on the wooden planks as he came over and sat beside me, letting his legs hang over the water, also. "Your favorite place in da woild is my favorite place in da woild." He answered.
"And why do ya assume dat?" I challenged. He shrugged as he turned his head towards me to look me in the eye. "I can jus' tell. By da way ya look out over dese waters da same way I do. Couldn't leave witout seein' it one more time, could ya?" Spot asked.
I ignored his question, changing the subject and looking away. "I talked to Ghost when I went back to get me stuff... Said Cricket jus' took off. I can't believe you'd be dat low, Conlon." I said. Spot tilted his head slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"I know ya can't stand to see me happy, but did ya have to kick da guy out!?" I questioned. "What are ya talkin' about?" Spot asked. Judging by his voice, it was obvious that he was confused. "I'm talkin' bout Cricket!" I explained impatiently.
Curiosity invaded his eyes. "Ya honestly think I'd do somethin' like dat? Kick him out?" he asked slowly.
"Maybe." I replied coldly, looking away and beginning to toss pebbles into the water again. Spot took a deep breath and let it out, sounding more like a heavy sigh than an exhale. "Chaos... Don't- Don't leave." He said.
I sighed. "Save it, Spot. Dere's no way I'm stayin' heah." I answered, picking up my things and getting to my feet. He stood up, too. "Why not?"
I started to walk down the pier, absolutely no clue where I was planning on going. "Because I'm sick 'nd tired of dis. Face it, Conlon. You don't care 'bout no one but yerself." I told him over my shoulder. "Dat ain't true!" Spot said quickly, keeping a few steps behind me. "You're wrong, 'cause I do."
I stopped and turned around to face him, rolling my eyes. He stopped walking also. "Oh yeah? Who!?" I demanded. Spot never faltered once as he stared at me with his icy-blue eyes. "You."
I was stunned for a second and all thoughts froze until I recovered. He's playing mind games with you. My brain told me. "You're a liar and a pain in my ass, Spot Conlon." I shot back at him, turning away again. I took quick strides to get away from him, but he ran in front of me and blocked my path.
I avoided his blazing eyes at all costs as he threateningly grabbed the collar of my shirt. "Don't you dare call me a liar, Chaos. I may be a jerk, maybe even a little ruthless... But I am not a liar. I care 'bout you, 'nd a lot more den you think!" He hissed.
I opened my mouth to reply, but I had too many thoughts running through my head to back up my words. His face was, once again, inches from my own. I suddenly began to feel extremely dizzy. The shock wouldn't leave my body and neither would the feeling of lightheadedness.
My legs started to feel weak underneath the weight of my body, and I didn't know if I could support myself any longer. "I... Oh dear." I mumbled, collapsing forward and loosing all consciousness.
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Bit of a cliffhanger... Sorry guys. Thanks for reading, and I'll have another out pretty soon. Here go the "thank you's"
st.elmo-lover: Thanks so much :) I know I've said it before, but you've got no idea how much I appreciate that you review all the time.
ktkakes: AHH it's driving me crazy not to say anything about your thoughts on Cricket, but I don't wanna mess up the ending for you so I'm gonna keep my mouth shut :X. Haha, glad to see that the Blink/Race thing made you happy.
SantaFeDreamer: Hi there. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm happy you like the story. Nice pen name, btw :)
trignifty: What I usually do is I don't post everything I've written right away. I make sure to stay a couple chapters ahead, that way if I don't get to write, I can still have something to post. I was always one of those people who hated when it took writers a month to get a new chapter out, because then I wasn't sure if they'd ditched the story or something, you know? Anyway, thanks so much for the review and the really great comments you always write.
NarniaRulz: So me and my friends all have dibs on our favorite newsies, right? Like, I'm Mush, my best friend Kayla is Race, my other friend Julie is Spot Conlon... We all go by those names, and we all have little name bracelets because we're such losers. Anyway, I think Julie really believes, deep down, that she's Spot Conlon. Every time she walks into a room, she yells "Nevah feah, Brooklyn is heah!" That was sorta off topic, but I figured I'd tell you because you wrote that quote in your review. As for the newsie hat, one of mine I found in my dad's closet, the other I got at Khol's, and the last one I asked an old man where he got his in the mall and he pointed the store out to me. Sadly, I can't remember what the store was called. I guess Khol's is a good place to check, and if I come across any more I'll let you know :)
peculiarjuliar: Haha. I'm so attached to my newsie hat. Yesterday I left mine on all day even after I changed out of my newsie stuff, and I accidentally ended up falling asleep with it. So my mom comes in this morning, stands in the doorway, and goes: "Maria... Your obsession with this movie is getting really out of hand." End of random story time. You may've got something as to "why the heck" (lol) Cricket showed up seconds after the creepy guy got knocked out, but I'm not saying any more than that!
Pippa Kelly: Yeah, Cricket kind of is a moment-ruiner. Damn him. Or damn me for writing it the way I did? Hmm... Anyway, thanks for the review. And no, my suspenders aren't red. I was looking for brown ones since Mush is my favorite, but they didn't have 'em anywhere so I had to settle for black :(