Skittery introduced me to all the newsies and then he took me out for a walk. He wanted to catch up with the sister he barely knew.

We walked down the nearly disserted street and he just listened as I told him everything. How mom died, how I figured out I had a brother, and how I found him. He put his arm around me as soon as we walked out of the lodging house and an hour later he still hadn't removed it. My first impression of him was that he was extremely protective.

"So mom actually got the letter I sent to her? I didn't get any reply so I didn't think she got it. Or rather she just didn't care." He added the last part probably so I wouldn't ask him why he didn't write again. If he didn't want to tell me why he hadn't, he didn't have to.

"So what have you been up to these last, well, eleven years?" I asked. Enough about me, how about you? I thought.

"Well Jack, you met him back at the house, he helped me break out of the refuge when I was nine. He took me to the lodging house and told me I could be newsie with him. He taught me everything I know. He became leader a few years ago and last year he even started a strike when Pulitzer and Hearst jacked up the price on how much we pay for our papes." He told me.

"Wow, that sounds amazing." I couldn't help my face falling a little. It crossed my mind that I could have been with Peter…ummm…Skittery when all this happened but instead I was busy living my cushy little life in the country with our mother in our big fancy house with maids and everything. I couldn't believe that while I was living the good life here was my brother who worked for every cent he made and couldn't even afford sixty cents per hundred newspapers.

"Hey," he said when he saw my expression. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't even mom's fault, it was dad's. He walked out and mom couldn't afford two kids." What, we'd known eachother a couple hours and now he could read my mind? We really are brother and sister.

"Yeah but she didn't even tell me about you. She could have sent for you when we got back on our feet. It's just…she could have tried harder to bring you back."

"No she couldn't have. By the time you guys were out of debt I was out of the refuge and no one could have tracked me down."

"But I did." I protested.

"I know you did, but…"

"But what?" I asked tears welling in my eyes.

"Listen, your friend who helped you find me was the man who brought me to the refuge eleven years ago. After me and Jack broke out he was sent to find me. Once he found I was living as a newsie he confronted me about it. He said he wouldn't turn me in, but didn't tell me why."

"It was because he knew mom." I finished. So he didn't turn my brother in because he knew my mother wouldn't want him to, or because he knew she wouldn't care? Or both? I was so confused.

"I never even realized that he was the one who brought me to the refuge, I was five when it happened but now with your story it all makes sense." He whipped the tears out of my eyes and we turned down a street.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Isn't the lodging house back that way?" I said pointing in the opposite direction.

"A little surprise for you. Mush had the idea and told me about it just before we left. He said to meet them there. Come on." He said and I followed him. I couldn't help singing. And singing a song I had never really sung before. With my brother walking next to me and us on our way to meet with all the other newsies I just felt like everything was perfect. Like everything I had ever wanted was coming true. I felt something coming alive inside of me, something I had never felt before. Whatever it was it made me feel bold and I liked it.

Has anyone ever read you a fairytale
And taken you to places magical
Where homes are made of gingerbread and skies are always blue
Where pumpkins turn to coaches and wishes all come true
Has anyone ever sung you a lullaby?
You can fly above the rain clouds
Close your eyes
Let the melody carry you
Leave all your fears behind
You can float across a rainbow sky to once upon a time
I believed in miracles (once upon a time)
I believed love would conquer all (once upon a time)
I believed anything was possible
And i believed again the moment when
I saw you here tonight
Now once upon a time has never felt more right
(Once upon a time) I believed in miracles
(Once upon a time) I believed that love would conquer all
I believed anything was possible
Once upon a time (we believed in miracles)
Once upon a time (we believed that love would conquer all)
Oh yes I believed that anything was possible
And I believed again the moment when
I saw you here tonight
Now once upon a time


Has never felt more right
More Right!

I sang all the way to the place Skittery was taking me and when I finished he clapped for me.

"I didn't know you could sing like that. Your really good." He said.

"Thanks. Mom taught me. We would always sing around the house and when we danced, look out." We both laughed and he opened the door for me.

"Where are we?"

"Irving Hall. Medda headlines here and Jack's real good friends with her. We decided to take you to where all the newsies love to go on the weekends. You ever been to a Vaudeville show?" Skittery asked.

"No I haven't but mom always talked about us going to one some day."

We walked into the hall and I was greeted by the roaring hello's of the Manhattan newsies and some others I hadn't met yet.

"Ummm Emma you haven't met Spot yet have you?" Skittery asked pulling me over to a table of unfamiliar newsies.

"Oh no I haven't." The boy I guessed was Spot stood up and walked, no swaggered, around the table to meet me. I looked back and Skittery looked a little uneasy around Spot. I wondered why, I mean he was barely taller than me and not much bigger. All my questions were answered as soon as he opened his mouth.

"You must be Emma. So what's a gorgeous girl like you doin with this bunch a penniless nobodys?" He smirked when he was done and every word before hand had been dripping with superiority. It made me sick.

"Excuse me but this happens to be my brother." I said glaring at him.

"So they told me. Hey Skittery, too bad she's you sister huh? She's a pretty little thing ain't she?" He said addressing my brother. Skittery all of a sudden looked like he was going to kill Spot. Especially when he saw Spot step closer to me and put his hand on my ass. Skittery lunged forward but my hand got there first.

SMACK! I slapped him across the face with as much force as I could muster. Spot staggered backwards and everyone stared at me in disbelief. Even Skittery looked like he was going to pass out.

Spot got back on his feet and I braced myself for anything. The way people where staring you'd think I'd just smacked a sleeping lion. But instead of him being angry he simply laughed once and then said "Well you sure don't look like the kinda girl with the guts ta slap me. But then again, you don't look like a newsie."

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked still glaring at him. All he had to do was make a point of looking me up and down (the third time this has happened today) and I knew what he meant. I was dressed way too expensively to be a newsie, with my beautiful blue dress and a matching hair ribbon. I looked away and my face grew hot.

"So what? So what if I've got nice clothes? It doesn't matter anymore because I don't have a cent left to my name. My mother's dead and my father is God know's where, I used all the money I had left to come here and now I'm actually taking this shit from you? Why should you even care?" I had finally lost it. I made to smack him across the face again but he stopped my arm in midair.

"I care because I don't want no hoity-toity rich folkes runnin around actin like newsies cause they're sick of their spoiled little lives. Some don't have it as easy as them." He said his voice rising.

"Well neither do I!" I was so angry I used all the power I had to try and shake loose from his grip. Skittery was also just as pissed off as I was and I never even saw it comin. One minute Spot and I are glaring at each other and the next Spot's sliding across the table on his back. I looked back and Skittery was rubbing his knuckles and stretching his hand.

"Don't you ever talk to my sister that way again." Skittery yelled at Spot as he was sitting up. Every newsie in the hall started applauding and I hugged him for standing up for me. Spot looked thoroughly embarrassed and stood up faster than anyone I had ever seen.

"Well ain't that sweet. Stickin up for little sis are we? Do her a favor and let her fight her own battles. She was doin a damn good job before you came in." At the last bit he changed his expression from a stuck up glare to a look of almost respect. (Or as much respect from him as I could hope for.) Approval maybe? "You're a real tiger aren't ya?" With that he walked away and joined Jack's table a little ways over from the one we were just at.

I sat at the table Spot was just at and I let out a sigh. I closed my eyes but I just couldn't get the image of Spot's cold ice-blue eyes out of my head. Or his words. You're a real tiger aren't ya? She was doin a damn good job before you came in. I opened my eyes and a girl I hadn't noticed sitting to my left spoke.

"Don't pay attention to Spot. He ain't worth it. He always treats girls like shit until they earn his respect. But really, he's harmless once you learn to deal with him. And it looks you already have, Tiger. Your already earning his respect."

"Thanks. And you are?"

"The name's Aqua. And I know your Emma. But now I can pretty much guarantee people are gonna start callin you Tiger." Aqua was pretty, she had shoulder length light brown hair and blue eyes.

"So how do you know Spot?" I asked.

"Oh I've been livin in Brooklyn for about five years now. Spot took me in. I was ten when I became a newsie."

"Well nice to meet you Aqua." For the rest of the night I tried to forget the scuffle (and the fact that Aqua was staring at my brother like there were no other boys in the hall) and just think about how I was sitting here with my brother and new friends. I really enjoyed the show that night but Spot's words were still ringing in my ears. Despite myself, I smiled thinking of what Aqua had said about me already earning his respect. I could tell that was a hard thing to do and I had managed it on my first meeting with him.

A/N So this chapter took some revisions and if you couldn't tell already there are going to be some songs in this story. What can I say, I love musicals. Also, props to the first person who can figure out what all my chapter titles have in common. Give you a hint: it has to do with what I said about loving musicals. Well, let me know how you are liking things so far! CTB!