Spot Conlon was the king of Brooklyn, after the strike he and his newsie buddies had had that previous year he realized that he was lonely. One of his buddies, Michael Eggs, brings in a new kid to the Brooklyn Newsies- this kid is quite... odd... Th...
Eliza got back home after her date with Richard. Her feet were tired from dancing, she was stressed out since this prince clearly didn't know what personal space meant. She tried to talk about things that were interesting to her but he didn't listen, he would laugh at the fact that Eliza would want to do manual labor, "You're a lady," he'd say teasingly, "Behave like one!" her blood boiled. In the streets she gave a young boy a piece of bread she ordered at the restaurant, Richard only scolded her, who does he think he is? Telling her what to do and what not to do. He bought her jewels, and trinkets to "make her beauty stand out". She never wanted these, sure they were pretty but jewels don't talk, they don't laugh, smile, they don't comfort you when you need it... She cleaned herself up and headed to bed, her thoughts were clouded with Spot Conlon. It hurt...
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The next day, Eliza made her way to the Newsies. Her suspenders were clean, her hat was neatly placed on her head along with a piece of toast in her mouth. Her mother had finally started to feed her and take care of her properly, it felt nice but... Fake. They got to their little crate area and sat there calmly, trying to avoid the other newsies. "Lucky?" she called for her cat, "It's me, where are you buddy?" a mew came from behind them, Eliza patted their lap and the kitten came running to the protection of the human.
Footsteps came from the corner, Eliza jolted upright and straightened their back, it was Spot. He looked terrible, dark circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess, he laid his eyes on Eli. His glance hardened, he lunged at them and gripped their collar, "Bold move," He growled, "Comin back here. What do you want?"
"I want to be a newsie," Liza gulped, "Spot what's wrong?"
"You know what's wrong, punk! You- you and that- RICHARD!" he gritted his teeth, his cold eyes never leaving Eliza's face.
"He's nothing to me..." Eliza squeaked, their eyes were calm as their heart raced. "Spot, I apologize for everything, I apologize for not saying anything I-" Eliza was thrown against a wall, having the wind knocked out of them.
"Shut up!" Spot pulled at his hair, tears welling in his eyes, "I- You," he bit his lip and breathed heavily, "YOU ARE AN IDIOT, LIZA KETTLE!" he punched the wall next to Eli's head, his fist began to bleed. Eliza whimpered and placed a gentle hand on Spot's cheek, his eyes softened and he tried to step back but his body refused. "I am an idiot," Eliza whispered calmly, "But I will never ever want to harm those who don't deserve it. I care about my friends, the Newsies, why do you think I came here today...?"
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"To laugh at me." Spot choked out as a tear threatened to fall, "You don't need me anymore now that you've got that hoity-toity bastard to hold you and treat you like a real prince- er- princess." he looked away from Eliza and dropped his fist, he didn't want to talk to her anymore yet he wanted to hear her voice.
"Is this why you are upset?" Eliza's tone was even and quiet, "Because you could never treat me like something important?" Spot nodded stubbornly, his gaze still avoiding Eli.
"You won't have to work and sell papes now." He sniffled.
"But I like selling papes, and working," She turned his gaze back to her, "I don't care if you see me as a boy or as a girl, as long as you see me." she smiled softly. Spot wanted to bash that gentle smile in the wall, yet he wanted to see it more. He wanted to see that small and fragile body of hers broken and shattered yet he wanted to hold it tightly and cry.
Eliza didn't care if they were a prince or a princess to Spot, they gave a damn because Spot actually listened. She took his bloody fist and frowned, Spot assured her that it was only 'nothing' that she didn't need to worry. Eliza had none of it, she pulled out a little bag of medical equipment, "Give me your hand." She said gently but sternly.
"I'm fine, Liza," Spot protested, "Just leave it be-" before he could finish he winced in pain, Eli was cleaning the wound, "Ouch! Eli, stop!"
"Consider this your punishment for what you said," they were now gently putting ointment on the boy's wounds, she gently blew on the broken skin to help the ointment absorb. Spot growled in pain and retracted his arm, glaring at Eli, "Ow! How is this punishment?"
"It hurt me too you know..." Eli pulled out a roll of medical tape, "Give me your hand."
"NO! And why were you hurt?" before he got an answer, Eliza was already dressing his wound, "LIZA!"
"It hurt me because, I cared a lot.... and... it sounded like I was merely nothing to you anymore.." they finished with the bandage and let go of Spot's hand. There was silence, Eli walked back to her crate and sat there cross-legged. Spot couldn't help but take a seat next to them, he took a long look at the small newsie and sighed, he was indeed, madly, in love. He leaned in slowly, Eli hardly noticing, he was now inches away from their face. His warm breath made Eli quickly turn her head to meet his eyes, his nose brushed against hers, followed by a gentle peck on the lips.
Eliza turned bright red and squealed quietly, she wanted to pull away but something inside her wouldn't allow it, she shut her eyes tightly and waited for it to end.... Spot's lips were soft, the kiss was gentle but firm, both of the newsies hearts were racing, what was to become of them...?
