Over the next week I seemed to be running into Spot a lot. Jack said something about him having business in Manhattan with him but I wasn't buying it. Even Race and Mush said they caught Spot staring at me more than once. Man one week here and I already have a guy who likes me. Spot and Jack are really good friends so it didn't surprise me that Jack would be helping him get closer to me.

Did I mention that one week in Manhattan was like a year in Tennessee? Not in the sense that it felt like it went by so slowly, but that I got to know all the newsies as well as if I'd known them forever. That was one thing I liked about being here. Back at in Tennessee I was the awkward girl at school who didn't have any friends. People just didn't understand me. I think they all thought I was going to be some snooty upper class citizen like them but when they found out that couldn't be further from the truth, they avoided me. Here, all the newsies understood what I had gone through and they never expected anything from me. As a result I had a new attitude, I was more confident and laid back. I became a true newsie, as Skitts put it.

It helped that I now looked like one. I had been wearing my brother's old clothes for a few days because I couldn't very well be going around selling newspapers wearing my usual dresses and skirts. Then one day Aqua came into town with Spot and she offered to let me borrow her old hand-me-downs. They fit better than Skittery's clothes.

Aqua's started coming to Manhattan more often now, I think more to stare at my brother than to hang around with me, but we get along great anyway.

It was on Friday night that Jack asked me and Race to run an errand for him. (As to why it wasn't me and Skittery, Jack wanted Race to do this errand for him and I just wanted to get out.) He wanted us to give Spot a message from him. Something about working together to take over Queens. Me and Race took off around 6:00 on Friday night and walked over to Brooklyn. It took us about an hour to get there and we just talked and laughed on the way. When we got there it had started to thunder and lightning outside but we figured it would pass by the time we were done here.

It didn't.

After we had given the message to Spot he walked us to the door only to be greeted by a loud crack of thunder, a dangerously close bolt of lightning, and torrential rain.

"Well there is no way you two's can walk back ta Manhattan in dis." Spot said looking more towards me. I blushed under his gaze but didn't look away. 'You can stay here for da night. I think there's a spare bunk in da boy's room and I know there's an empty one in the girl's room. Race, you can come with me, and Tiger, Aqua'll show you upstairs."

At that moment Aqua came downstairs. "Come on Tiger." She said and lead me up to the girl's room. It looked slightly less dilapidated than the Manhattan one. (Although I had put considerable effort into making it a little nicer.)

That night I couldn't sleep at all with all the thunder. It wasn't that I was afraid of the thunder, I had never been afraid of it, I just liked listening to it. At home I would always stay up late and watch the storm out my window, listening to the thunder. I sat up in my bunk and looked around the room. The window was situated so all you could see was the wooden structure around the docks. I decided the rain wasn't so ad anymore and the lightning wasn't overhead anymore so I decided to go out on the docks.

I got out of bed silently, dressed quickly, crept downstairs, and slipped outside. I walked out onto the docks and sat down, my feet hanging out over the water. The water was sloshing all around the dock and I caught the spray off the water. It didn't make much difference because I was already getting soaked by the rain.

I just felt at peace, even with the loud booms of thunder. Thus was the affects of thunder storms on me.

Spring and summer ev'ry other day
Blue wind gets so sad
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay,
Through the open books on the grass
Spring and summer

Sure, when it's autumn
Wind always wants to
Creep up and haunt you
Whistlin' it's got you
With its heartache, with its sorrow
Winter wind sings and it cries

Spring and summer ev'ry other day
Blue wind gets so pained
Blowin' through the thick corn,
Through the bales of hay,
Through the sudden drift of the rain
Spring and summer.

I was so wrapped up in my song that I didn't even realize someone was behind me until I heard them singing

So maybe I should be some kind of laundry line.
Hang their things on me
And I will swing 'em dry.
You're just wavin' the sun throught the afternoon,
And then see, they come to set you free
Beneath the risin' moon.

I whipped my head around to see Spot standing there. I didn't know he could sing. I didn't even know Spot was capable of opening his mouth without sounding arrogant and superior. I started to sing with him, my own song but countering his.

'Cuz you know I don't do sadness, Spring and summer, ev'ry other day
Not even a little bit. Blue Wind gets so lost
Just don't need it in my life. Blowin through the thick corn
Don't want any part of it. Through the bales of hay
I don't do sadness. Spring and summer, ev'ry other day
Hey, I've done my time Blue Wind gets so lost
Lookin' back on it all. Blowing through the thick corn
Man, it blows my mind. Through the bales of hay
I don't do sadness, Through the wandering clouds of
So been there. the dust
Don't do sadness, Spring and summer
Just don't care

We both finished and just stared at each other for a moment. It was like we were seeing each other for the first time.

"I didn't know you could sing." He said.

"Funny, I could say the same about you." We both had to yell slightly in order to be heard over the roar of the wind.

After another awkward moment of staring, Spot started to walk closer. When we were about a foot apart I finally got a good look at him. I had seen him before but not this closely. He had those famous icy-blue eyes that could practically kill and soft lips. His expression gave nothing away but I knew I could change that. I reached up and touched the side of his face, I saw his eyes glance at my hand and for a second he actually looked nervous.

I had heard the dirty history of Spot Conlon. He had a notorious reputation for leading girls on, getting his way with them and then dumping them for the next best thing. He had only been in love once and his love hadn't been returned. Needless to say, it didn't work out.

I could almost sense what was coming, I knew he was falling for me but didn't want to admit it. Touch me, all silent. That whatever happened tonight, tomorrow he would just try and pass it off as nothing, but we'd both know it wasn't. Tell me please, all is forgiven. I'll tell you how, how the winds sigh. I knew the only reason he treated girls like this was because of what happened to him. He didn't want to get hurt again. Touch me, just try it. I wanted to tell him that I wouldn't hurt him, that I loved him too. I'll love your light, I'll love you right. We'll wander down where the sins cry. Telling him this would be easy. Touch me, just like that. Now lower down, where the sins lie. I wouldn't have to say a thing. Love me, just for a bit. We'll wander down where the winds sigh.

I leaned forward and closed the space between our lips.

Now there that's it, God that's heaven.