Spot Conlon

Chapter 4

     "Extra! Extra! Terrified flight from burnin' Inferno. You heard the story right here!" you yelled, trying to sell the last pape you had managed to steal without being noticed by the brooklyn boys. You needed to get a little bit of money for dinner tonight and it was too late to start a shift at the bakery so you decided selling a few papes wouldn't hurt. Besides, you had dressed like a boy and were going to go see Spot anyways, so you might as well take advantage of the many empty street corners in Brooklyn before you did. After selling the last pape you took off to find Spot, trying to stear clear of as many brooklyn newsies as you could. They knew not to mess with you when you were recognizable, but it wasn't safe for you to run around as a girl in cities like Manhattan and Brooklyn so you had to disguise yourself. The boys had soakedyou on more than one occasion thinking you were a Manhattan newsie and you didn't think you could handle that right now. When you finally saw Spot you slowed down and took off your cap walking the rest of the way to him. 

     "Hey Spotty, I know we said we was meeting later but I needed to get aways from-" you were cut off by him grabbing your chin and tilting your head up to see the side of yourface. "What are you doing?"

     "You're hurt." he said, clearly worried. It dawned on you that you most likely had a pretty nasty bruise from the hit Jack landed earlier. You sighed and tried to push his hands away, refusing to look him in the eye.

     "I's fine Spot, I just had a little scuffle." you flinched when his hand brushed over the bruise, silenty cursing yourself for it.

     "With who? Was it one of my boys? I swears if any of 'em laied a finger on you I'll kill 'em." he said, trying to stay as calm as he could so as not to draw attention to the two of you or make you more upset than you already were. 

     "No Spot it wasn't any of your boys. I don't wanna talk about it, I's fine." You're voice started to shake a little bit at the end of your protest and Spot sighed. 

     "Fine. I gotta sell these papes back and then lets head to Manhattan I's sure Jack will want'a know that you's been soaked"

     "No! I mean, not yet. Finish sellin' your papes, Spot, we can go over there later. Please..." You looked at him pleadingly, making eye contact for the first time sinceyou had been there.

     "(Y/n) what's goin' on? You shows up early while I's still workin', not that I mind, but you looks like someone tried to knock your head clean off a your shoulders and now you's beggin' not to go home. What happened?" He suddenly got a look of realization on his face and frowns. "Tell me it ain't what I think it is."

     You looked at the ground and mumbled "Just sell your papes, Sean. I's just gonna come back later." You turned to walk away and he grabed your hand.

     "Hey, Don't leave. It was Jack, wans't it? He punched ya when you told him where you was last nights, didn't he?" you shook your head yes and stopped trying to walk away. He pulled you into a hug and kissed the top of your head. "If you ain't wantin' to go back we don't have to tonight, we can waits until he's not angry anymores." You took some deep breathes to keep yourself from crying again and you stepped back away from him. 

     "No, I already told Crutchie and Davey you was comin', we're going over there, just not yet. I needs to be away from there for a while" He shook his head understanding and went back to trying to sell his remaining papes. You sat down against the building he was selling next to in the shade and closed your eyes, not planning on falling asleep but the emotional fatigue of what had happened caught up to you and caused you to drift off. You woke up close to sunset as Spot shook your shoulder to wake you up. 

     "Mornin' Doll" he chuckled, "You ready to go?" You sighed and stood up, brushing yourself off.

     "Ready as I's ever goin' to be." With that he took your hand and you both walked to manhattan. "Spot, can you promise me somethin'?" you asked once the two of you had reached the front door.

     "Depends Doll, what is it?"

     "If Jack or anyone gets mad and hits you, or me, or someone else, leave. I ain't want no one gettin' anymore hurt than they already are, and getting involved with a fight will just make the boys dissaprove of you even more"

     He frowns. "I'll leave if they starts hittin' eachother or me but I ain't leavin' if they hits you. And even if I do leave I ain't goin' far and I'll come back later to make sure's everythin' is alright." You nodded in agreement and hugged him, giving him a loving kiss before going inside.