Chapter 2….

I made it back to the LH after selling the afternoon edition. Normally I would've skipped it and given a report to Night or Holler, but I hadn't seen either of them around here. This didn't bother me though, because I knew that the two of them were bound to be busy with the "plan". But now I was tired and all I wanted to do was sleep or play a quick game of poker. Unfortunately, it was impossible to relax around the Newsies. I had to be constantly alert for information or any signs that they were on to me.

Sighing, I dragged myself into the LH and up the stairs to the boy's room. Even before I reached the top I could hear yelling and laughter from inside. I let a small smile slip onto my face, feeling oddly separated from them, even though I was only a thin piece of wood away.

Opening the door, I walked forward and straight into someone. Looking up, I froze as I realized who it was.

Spot Conlon.

My heart beat faster as I continued to stand next to the famous King of Brooklyn. Frick. The absolute last person I wanted to see here. Now there was a big roadblock in the plan, and it was wearing red suspenders. I was starting to get in hot water.

"Oh good, you're here" Jack said to me as he walked over to the two of us.

"Spot, this is Actor, our newest Newsie. Actor, this is Spot Conlon, leader of Brooklyn" Jack said.

During the introduction Jack had shot a meaningful glance at Spot, which Spot seemed to understand. I was worried about what it meant, but was careful enough not to let it show. Instead, I spit into my hand and held it out to Spot.

"Nice to meet you"

Spot looked at me for a moment before spitting into his hand and shaking mine. As soon as the handshake ended I walked over to the poker table and sat down.

"Deal me in Race" I said, and Race obliged by quickly throwing down some cards for me.

I picked them up and had to work hard to keep my face blank. I had a really good hand: full house with three aces and two sevens. We started to place down our bets, and I threw in a few pennies.

As we were playing, however, I felt an odd sensation. It was as if I could tell someone was staring at me, and that there were two holes being burned into my face from their eyes. At first I tried to ignore it, but the feeling just got worse. I got fed up and looked to my right, against my better judgment. I was immediately met with the gaze of Spot. It wasn't one of those flirtatious gazes, or even a suspicious gaze. It was calculating, and a bit curious. The thing that unnerved me was that he didn't look away when I met his gaze. He continued to stare at me. Tearing me eyes away, I tried to go back to the poker game even though I still felt his eyes on me.

I was so distracted by this that I failed to notice that only Race and I were still playing, and that the pot had grown fairly large. Triumphantly, Race laid down his cards. It was a full house with three kings and two sevens. Slowly, I laid down my cards as well. We both looked at the cards in silence and disbelief for a while, until something in my head clicked.

"I WON!" I yelled, jumping up.

Everyone immediately crowded around the table, including Jack and Spot.

"I beat Race!" I said excitedly, tugging on Jack's sleeve and pointing at the cards.

"Yeah you did!" He said, laughing.

I felt like a little kid but I didn't care. Everyone was chattering and patting me on the back while making fun of Race. He just smiled and held out his hand to me.

"I can't believe it" Race said.

"I can't either" I said, shaking his hand.

I scooped up my winnings and put them in my pocket. In all of the excitement I managed to back away and sneak out the door. Once outside, I breathed in the cool night air.

'If I was going to just come out here again I probably shouldn't have gone inside in the first place' I thought wryly.

Still, it was nice to have that handful of change in my pocket now. I chuckled at the thought of Race's face when he realized I had beaten him.

"Pure dumb luck…" I said softly.

"With what?" a voice from the darkness said.

I jumped a good five feet in the air and landed on my butt. Out of the darkness stepped a smirking Holler. I glared at him and tried to slow down my heart by breathing deeply.

"What the hell was that for?!?" I hissed at him.

"Sorry, just couldn't resist the chance to make you jump" he snickered.

"Ha ha, you're hilarious" I said sarcastically, "But seriously, what are you doing here? I could get caught if you hang out here too long"

"Don't worry Actor. I won't get caught and neither will you" he said, patting my head.

"But Spot Conlon's here!" I whispered.

"Really?" Holler said, looking extremely interested.

"Yeah. And it was weird, he was staring at me during poker. And him and Jack exchanged a look when I was introduced to Jack, so I think they know something's up" I explained rapidly.

"Hmm, you may be right. But I think that "look" is about something else" Holler said, shaking his head.

He noticed my questioning look and sighed.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now listen up. We've just had a change of plans" Holler said, a smirk appearing on his face.

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