On The Docks | A Spot Conlon Love Story

In The Moonlight

"Sweetheart!" 

I hear Jackie calling my nickname across the docks, once I get close enough to him he grabs me and I see his worried face.

"Ash, are you alright? He didn't try to do anythin'?"

"Nope. He just wanted to know, as your 'brother' if I was serious. Sadly though, he said he still doesn't want to join," I hear his groans let out. We start heading out, and I turn around and see Spot watching us leave, so I wave goodbye.

"Bye, Sweetheart! Comes back soon if you've got bettah news!" Jackie turns to me like he's about to kill me.

"How did he know your nickname, Ash?" I start sweating, thinking of what I can say as a cover up, it's not the only time I've had to lie to my brother.

"Well, he told me about how he has spies everywhere. And that he heard the other newsies calling me that. So he used it to pick on me, because it's a very feminine nickname," Jackie scoffs.

"Of course, that sounds like him. He's a huge joik tah everyone,"  I nod, even though what we talked about was proof that he's actually a good person.

"He really seemed like it. Now anyways, let's head back home," Boots laughs.

"I can vouch for that."

I lie in my bunk, praying for the strike to just be harmless, that the prices will go back to normal, and no one gets hurt. Pulling the blanket my best friend kid blink made for me after I got him his eye patch.

I toss and turn in my bed for a solid hour. Not knowing what else to do, I get up and look around for any awake newsies, but alas, all are asleep. I sneak over to Racer and snatch a cigar and lighter from his pocket. I grab my jacket and head out of the lodging house for fresh air, as I step outside, I light the cigar, putting it to my lips, I take in a breath of smoke to try and calm myself down enough to get sleepy. Deciding to move farther away from the house in fear of a newsie seeing me, I decide to take a walk.

It starts raining harder and harder, more and more, it seems like there's going to be a storm. While standing out here, I see a figure hiding in the shadows, watching me.

"Hello?" The figure moves slightly, but doesn't leave, "were you sent by Spot?" The figure stops moving.

"Nah, but I'm friends with the guy. Are youse Ash?" The person asks, his voice is masculine, which lets me know they're a boy. But for some reason, his voice is familiar.

"That's the name. May I know yours?" The boy slinks out of the shadows.

"They calls me Tops. And Spot told me that if a pretty goil asks if I was sents by Spot, then it's Jackie boy's sistah, but I didn't expect youse to be a goddess," I feel my face flush, thank god it's dark and he can't see me. But it's also too dark to see who the boy is.

"Well, thank you, but you can't even see me, so how would you know?"

"You comes to the docks very often, and I'm a close pal of Spot, sos I go there as well sometimes. I'll see you and wonder if you're his goilfriend, but you never really talks tah him. So I'm guessing youse not that," I shake my head.

"Not his girlfriend, I just go there to read, I like it there. And I don't even know Spot that well," taking a puff of air into my lungs, feeling a sense of calamity fill my body.

"Well, he's told me that he's takens a likin' to yah. That youse has a poifect poisonality. Like an angel. And I'd bet that'd be true."

"Not really, I'm a person, not an angel," he walks closer to me, allowing me to his newsie cap, "are you a newsie?" I ask.