I'm finally getting back to writing now, so I'm hoping to finish Lock and Key and Four as well. Hopefully I can still write pretty well and the stories won't seem too awkward….. Wish me luck!
Nenenene
Key ran after her sister, letting the boys deal with Thomas. She knew her sister and knew that she was hurting, but that she wouldn't want anyone to know. Only problem was, she didn't know her sister or the city well enough to know where she would hide.
The sky was turning dark, twilight was coming up, and Key was still searching for her missing sister. She had denied the help of the newsies for fear that Lock would only hide more. They had suggested a house near some bridge but she had forgotten already. It didn't really matter anymore, she was near the only bridge she knew of that had any chance of known to Lock.
"Lock! Where are youse? Lock?"
Receiving no response, Key yelled, in the loudest voice she could, "Addie Brook! Youse bedder come out righ' now!"
Nothing.
"She'd be in dat 'ouse ovah' der"
Key jumped at the voice behind her and turned to find a band of newsies standing there. She held her hand on her heart as she waited for it to stop pounding, and, when it did, she swung at the nearest newsie, hitting David hard on the arm.
Though he did nothing more than grunt and rub his arm, she knew he would have a bruise there in a couple of hours.
"Don' do that!"
A few newsies smirked; whether it was because she was scared or because she punched David in the arm, Key wasn't sure. She simply glowered at them until they looked away, and she followed Racetrack into the house.
"Addie?"
"What?"
Once again, Key jumped at voice behind her, this one quieter though.
Lock stood at a window that looked out over the river and made no other indication that she knew Key was there.
Key smiled sadly at her older sister and went over to stand next to her. A few seconds passed before both sisters grabbed the other in a hug.
"He wasn't worth it."
The statement sounded more like a question to Key, and she nodded and repeated,
"He wasn't worth it."
Racetrack, who stood at the doorway, figured they wanted some time alone. After all, they hadn't been able to talk much about anything since they had been reunited. There were always newsies flocking about. He shooed the other newsies out and then followed them to wait for the girls outside. He figured they'd be waiting a while.
Bobobobo
Months later, Lock and Key stood waiting at the distribution gate at the crack of dawn. Over the past few months, both girls had grown and so had Key's baby. There had been no extreme activity and everything had calmed down to normal.
This particular day was a Sunday, and the girls had forced the boys to not work. Instead, they were just going to hang out and have fun. Lock was determined to learn some flips and tricks, and how to fight. Well, fight better than she could already. Key wanted to as well, but she was worried about hurting the baby or herself, no matter how others convinced they were safe.
"Dey comin' soon?"
The older girl looked at her sister and sighed.
"Dunno, dey should come soon," Lock shrugged and continued, "but who knows wha' der doin' now. Prob'ly left us."
Key smiled and placed a hand on her growing belly, "She's getting' impatient too."
Lock placed her hand next to her sister's and a huge grin nearly split her face in half, "Yep, she's kickin'!"
As they struck up a conversation, the boys arrived, having gratefully slept in that day.
Snipeshooter waved to an unhappy looking man and received a withering glare in return. He shrugged; people usually just thought of newsies as 'good for nothing street rats'. Didn't bother him- that was their problem. He sauntered up to the girls and tipped his hat cockily. He received a whap in the head for his smug attitude. He just laughed.
The air was cool and the day off was helping all of their spirits rise. Everyone chattered animatedly as they walked to the park in a large group. Some split off before they reached it, and some continued walking after they got there, but Lock, Key, Racetrack, David, and Snipeshooter all remained together.
Racetrack and Snipeshooter offered to help Lock with the tricks and fighting while David, being the 'older brother', sat and talked with Key while kept an eye on the trio.
"Kay," Race instructed Lock, "run an' we'll flip ya'"
"An' Ise supposed ta trust youse?"
"Yea'"
Lock just rolled her eyes, backed up, and, after receiving the 'go ahead' nod, ran straight at the boys.
Race caught her as she started flipping and helped her finish the rest of the way. This was the only thing he could think of, right off the top of his head, that Lock was a little apprehensive about. Flipping- even the easy ones.
He steadied her as she stumbled out of the landing and Snipeshooter demonstrated another flip. He watched as she attempted it herself and landed hard on her rear. He laughed as she stood up wincing and listened to Snipeshooter's corrections. He managed a smug smirk as she smiled brightly in his direction; sure she was going to make the next one. He laughed again when she fell, but rose with a determined look on her face. He knew she was not giving up any time soon.
Vavava
Key winced along with Lock when she fell the first time, then let her eyes stray to Racetrack. She could tell that he liked Lock, even if Lock was blind to it all herself. She turned to David, who had also been watching the other two try and teach Lock to flip.
"So," David broke the silence, "what are you going to name her?"
Key looked down and, out of habit, put her hand on her belly, "I'm not sure; what do youse tink?"
"I don't know; she's your child."
Key hummed in response, breaking off suddenly as Lock cried out. Key looked up to see her sister on the ground with Race and Snipeshooter kneeling next to her. Snipeshooter looked up and waved them over. As she and David got closer, she saw that Lock was holding her neck in pain while Racetrack was trying to make sure she stayed flat on the ground.
"What happened?" David asked as he, in turn, knelt down next to Lock.
"Ise ain' sure," Racetrack glanced toward Snipeshooter who shrugged, "she did some flip an' came outa' it all wrong. 'urt 'er neck."
"Ah-" Lock gasped, "I'll be fine…ugh.. 'll be fine…"
"I still think you should-"
David was cut off by Racetrack saying, "Youse ain't fine; youse goin' to someone who can 'elp ya."
With that, he lifted her in his arms and led the way down the street.
Cocococ
They found the Sisters' convent and they were more than willing to help. They advised she stay there for a night or two so they could check up on her, but Lock was having none of that. All together, everyone managed to force her to let someone carry her back to the Lodging House, where she would stay bedridden for at least a whole day. It did take everyone. Lock was already trying to make it up to the Sisters; she didn't like being in debt. Key told her to listen to them and that was probably the best way to make it up to them, and that she was sure they weren't being an inconvenience.
Word had gotten back to the newsies and the five found a crowd waiting for their return at the Lodging House. They eagerly listened to the story and were rather disappointed that nothing extremely exciting had happened. Most did offer Lock a sympathetic glance and a few gave her a pat on the shoulder or head, but those who knew she didn't really like sympathy stayed away.
Everyone slowly filed out of the Lodging House and went back to work, while Lock, being Lock, was already bored of staying in bed; she had been there for a whole three and a half minutes. After attempting to get up for nearly half an hour, Lock finally stayed in bed after Key threatened to sit on her to keep her down.
The rest of the twenty-four hours passed slowly for Lock, but the minute she was cleared to get up, she shot out of the bed and ran out the door. Her neck still hurt like you'd never believe, but she was plenty ready to get out of the Lodging House.
The crisp November air blew and colorful leaves flittered in the breeze as Lock walked around outside. It was the most beautiful day she had seen all year.
She decided to cut through a small alley and head over to Brooklyn to chat for a while with Spot.
Crunch
Lock spun on her heels and put her fists up at the sound of someone stepping on metal behind her.
The alley was silent. Dead silent, without another soul in sight.
The sun was suddenly obscured by a large mass of clouds and a shiver ran through Lock's core that chilled her to the bone. In a few seconds, it all passed and everything seemed just fine again. Lock looked about warily and turned to head to Brooklyn once more.
She hadn't even taken five steps before she felt someone grab her arm and pull her close. She tried to twist out of their grip, but that resulted in her pinching a nerve in her neck, leaving her neck immobile. Lock could only stare straight ahead as the person, a man, put his lips by her ear with his beard brushing the top of her shoulder, and whispered,
"Your daddy wants you."