Life With the Newsies- One Shots- OPEN to OCs

Flavi Meets the Newsies

Post-Strike (sometime after Life at the Races)
Snowdropfabjous, this is for you! Enjoy! 

She runs through the alleyways of Brooklyn. It is dark and the hours that is safe for a young lady to be out have long since past. But, she never was a lady, now was she? So maybe running in the dark was not such a terrible idea after all.  Besides, her family would never miss her. She could easily slip out of one world and into another. No hard feelings. The only person who would probably even notice that she left was her boss. Finally, she arrives at the Brooklyn bridge. On the other side lies Manhattan. She has not been to Manhattan in a long time. Her best friend, Racetrack, lives in Manhattan. He had told her the address to the Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House once and said if she was ever in trouble or had an emergency, she could drop by whenever. She stands on the Brooklyn side of the bridge for a very long time. Should she really be doing this? Would Race approve of this, let alone the rest of the Newsies? She tugs at the bag on her shoulder. Maybe, she should wait awhile. But, the thought of those angry words of her parents and the ten other children that lived in the one room apartment force her to take an even closer step to bridge. She gently tugs at her skirt as she prepares to cross. Her dad has done nothing but gamble with the money that the family earns from their various jobs. Race understood this better than anybody. He also understood that this was where her love for small coin gambling began. Life was too rough back home and her parents were never kind to her. Saying that she was too quiet or wasn't helpful. She had her own thoughts about them, but nothing quite so harsh. Pulling at the bag slung carelessly over her shoulder, she runs across the bridge in a hurry. Until she is grabbed around the waist and a voice hisses in her ears.

"What's a purty goil like ya self doin out so late? Tryin ta see someone in Manhattan?" Her captor asks and she starts to fight him. Finally, she throws a punch and it winds up smacking his eye. She shoves free and runs as fast her legs will carry her to Manhattan. Her captor does not try to follow to her relief. Running in to Manhattan, she heads toward Duane Street. Once she gets there, she is not sure what to do. She finds the fire escape and starts to climb up.

"I'll just sleep on the rooftop," She thinks to herself as she finishes climbing the first ladder.  As soon as she steps on to the rooftop, a fist connects with her face knocking her to the ground.

"JACK! YOU'SE JUST PUNCHED A GOIL!!!!" A voice shouts as the girl lays on her back, rubbing her eye. She rolls onto her side to see a kid with a crutch peering over at her.  The boy gently pokes her with his crutch, causing her to curl away from him. "Sorry bout im, he's just jumpy sometimes, ya know? I'se Crutchy. What's yer name?" He asks and she waits a second before answering.  Neither of them are Race, so she asks in return,

"Can I talk ta Racetrack?" She moves her hand away from her eye, so she can see who she is talking to. A tall boy with dark hair stands behind the kid with a crutch laying by his side. The tall boy runs a hand through his hair and looks at the girl with a look that she couldn't quite figure out.

"Yea, shoah. Depends on what he did ta ya. Did he break ya heart? Cuz sometimes he does dat ta people an ya shoulda known when you'se decided ta date him," The tall boy that Crutchy had called Jack begins to scold and she interrupts,

"I'se not datin im an I nevah have. I'se just needs ta talk ta im." Jack continues running a hand through his hair and groans. He gestures for her to follow him down the fire escape. She looks at Crutchy and he shrugs. Following the tall boy down the ladder, she stands on the metal platform.

"Stay here. Don't want anybody ta do someting stupid," The tall boy says as he swings into the window. She nods and a few moments later, the tall boy emerges with Racetrack in tow. Racetrack looks shaken from sleep and he is muttering as the tall boy shoves him toward the window, shushing him as he does. She smiles as he looks up and his eyes get wide. Race turns to the tall boy and shoves him out the window and in the direction of the ladder to the rooftop. He then steps down and looks at her.