I wasn't pleased with the last chapter, so I decided to write the next one to give you two updates!

Review and read on!

~Emily

After the two had arrived back at the lodging house Mush had taken off toward the roof. Braid was concerned, but in the end she figured he probably needed some time to be alone.

"Hey, Braid! Come over here, I'll deal you in!" Race called from the corner, where he and two other boys had set up a table for poker. Shrugging, she sat down next to Race and he began to deal the cards.

"Okay, now don't cry when I wipe you clean." Race joked, poking her in the side.

"I have no doubt you probably will. I suck." Braid laughed.

"Oh come on, you can't be that bad!" Responded race.

As it turned out, Race was wrong. She was that bad. The other boys in the room had tried to help her, but everything they said seemed like a big mess of words swarming in her head. It wasn't long until she was eliminated.

"Wow, I was wrong. You do suck." Race said. Braid slapped him in the arm with her cap.

"Oh shut up! I told you! Deal me in the next hand." She said. Race bit his lip and messed with the collar of his shirt.

"That may not be the best idea, darling." He said. Braid rolled her eyes.

"I want to try again!" She complained.

"Okay, but let me take these guys coins first." Race smirked, earning him a few smacks to the head.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Jack walked it, collapsing on the couch. He looked exhausted, and the dark circles around his eyes proved it. The boys in the room shot glances at him, but all figured it would be best to keep their distance. After all, Jack was not the most pleasant person when he was tired. Sighing, Braid slowly stood up and walked over beside the couch.

"Jack, are you okay?" She asked timidly. Jack rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm going up to bed early tonight." Jack said, standing up and stretching his back.

"Boys! Get some sleep tonight! That means you too, Race." Jack stated, looking at Race who was beginning to deal again.

"Why is it always me being called out?" He laughed. Jack shook his head and crept up the stairs to the bunk room.

"Sorry, Braid. Cowboy canceled our rematch." Race said as he picked up his deck.

"No worries, this just means I'll get more time to practice." She said, smirking. Race laughed and he followed the rest of the boys to the bunk room.

"Yeah, you'll need it!" He called back over his shoulder.

As soon as the last boy disappeared from sight, Braid let her smile drop and slipped out of the door. It was going to be a long walk.

A long walk was right. It took Braid twice as long as normal to reach the Queens Lodging House. She had tried her best to run, but began coughing up blood and wheezing. She settled for a fast walk, or eventually fast limp. After multiple rest sops, she finally walked up the steps and composed herself. She couldn't let on that anything was wrong. After taking her last deep breath, she stormed into the Lodging House.

"Fly!" She yelled.

"Well, who ticked you off." Fly asked, coming up behind her and slinging an arm around her.

"Want to take a guess? The kid sitting upstairs who's going to blow everything. Now take me up to him." Braid snapped.

"Fine, fine. Wow, you know you can be scary sometimes." Fly said as the pair walked up the steps. Fly opened the door and Braid burst in, slamming her fist on the papers in front of High-Brow.

"What's the big idea? The kid was young, young! And the kid who Spot has a soft spot for, really? Why not someone else?" She asked. High-Brow sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Whisk, calm down. You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, wouldn't I? Tell me, tell me why you did it?" She demanded.

"Whisk, stop. It's all under control." Fly told her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, so you were in on this, also? You guys promised me!" Braid knocked Fly's hand away.

"Listen, he hit a girl. If we would have don't nothing Spot would think we were weak. Queens is not weak-"

"He thinks I'm Jacks' newsie! He thinks you soaked me!" Braid interrupted.

"Whisk, that's not the only reason. Since we attacked Brooklyn, some of the street gangs are considering helping us out. The Dark Sharks have already agree to form an alliance with us. Don't you this was a good thing." Scrunch, who had been silent, said.

Braid had to admit, he did have a point. However, the sight of Tweet in his mangled state and the fire of pain she was feeling all over begged to differ. Sitting down, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Whisk? Whisk, come on." Scrunch said.

"You have no idea. Spot is beyond ticked. He's violent, and he's out for blood now. Jack is right behind him, as are the other leaders. They had a meeting in Brooklyn all day today. You may have gotten one gang on our side, but you lit a fire under all of the other newsies, and it's getting bigger. We are going to need a hell of a lot more help if we have a chance in this war." Braid said, staring and a random spot on the floor ahead of her. More a moment, everyone was quiet. The tension in the air becoming more and more noticeable.

"Well, then I need you to get as much information as you possibly can." High-Brow said in a matter of fact voice.

"You don't think I've been trying?"

"We know, we know. Is there someone close to Jack you can get closer to?" Scrunch asked. Braid thought for a moment.

"Well, Mush has been acting all weird, blushing and he seems a little different when I'm talking to other guys." She said. Scrunch immediately began to laugh.

"Aw, Mush has a crush on Whisk!" He laughed. Braid's face turned a deep red.

"No,no,no..."

"Yes! This is perfect! If Whisk can get close to Mush..."

"I will not flirt with him!"

"Come on, it would only be until we win and you can come back home." High-Brow said. Braid though it over.

"But...what if he asks me out?" She asked. Scrunch started into another laughing fit, and Flys' face was stone hard. Braid couldn't help but notice his eyes were exactly like Mushs' eyes at Tibby's earlier...

Thanks for reading! Review Please!

- Emily