I looked behind me as I ran down the street. I was happy to see I had lost those two creeps that were chasing me. It hadn't been all that easy either. I had never been in New York before and would have gotten away a lot faster if I wasn't lost.

I had grown up in the Oklahoma territory. I had long light brown hair and green eyes. My parents had died and I had come to New York to meet my best friend Brooklyn. Unfortunately, I had ended up being chased by two creeps that obviously liked beating up people. They probably would have done more than try to beat me up if they had known that I was a girl. But they couldn't tell with my hair up in my hat.

I heard voices behind me, "Morris, the kid went this way!" Okay, maybe I hadn't lost them. "Oh yeah Brooklyn, New York is just the greatest place on earth. Especially when you are getting chased around by these two idiots!" I mumbled to myself.

After a while I was convinced that I had lost them but kept running, just in case. All of a sudden I ran into a wall and fell down, stunned.

"Hey! Why don't ya look wheres youse goin'?!" An angry voice said.

I looked up. 'Well, this is a handsome wall.' I thought. He wore a cowboy hat and a bandanna and had a strong New York accent. I scolded myself mentally for that thought and quickly reminded myself he might be a friend of those other two guys.

I stood up. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" I replied defensively.

I got up. My old friend is coming today. She was going to meet me on the bridge at noon. Chris is, was from out west. She had only heard me tell how great New York was in my letters, poor thing.

I wasn't watching where I was going and ran right into Oscar and Morris Delancy. "Hey watch where yous goin' Brooklyn!" I didn't have the patience for them so I kept running. I run fast. They run faster. I saw a fist.The next thing I remember is Cowboy helping me up.

"Yous got a nice shiner."

"Thanks" I hurried to the Bridge.

When I got there I didn't see her but I did see Spot. "Hey Spot have you seen a kid that don't look like she belongs here? She'll probably be dressed like a guy." He hadn't.

"Oh wait, I saw the Delancys chaisin' one off data way." He pointed toward Manhattan.

"Chris, oh no!"

I came up behind Jack. Chris was picking a fight with him. OhH boy. Not Good. Not good at all. I waved my arms wildly. 'No, Chris not a good Idea!!' Spot came up behind me. "That her?" he asked.

"Yeah"

"Hi Brooklyn!" Chris yelled.

Jack spun around to face me and Spot "You know him?" he asked

"Yeah, I know her"

Jack gave me his what-in-the-world look. Chris took off her hat. "Well, pardon me miss." Jack bowed slightly. I don't think he noticed that Chris was already in love.

"Hey, Chris come on I need to get to woik.�

"Did you say that was Jack? As in the Jack that led the strike? Was that who that guy was?" I asked as we walked away.

She smiled. "Yeah, that was Jack. Just don't start planning your wedding yet."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Who was that other guy?" I asked.

She smiled again, this time she had a dreamy, far-off look on her face. "That's Spot Conlon, the leader of Brooklyn. He took me in and showed me around. I told you about him, remember? We're kinda together now." she said.

I laughed. "Oh really! Kinda together! And you're telling me not to start planning my wedding!" She glared at me and then started laughing.

We walked for two or three more blocks and Brooklyn stopped and pointed to a building. "That's the New York Sun. I buy papes from them and sell them to the public."

I watched a guy walk out of the building. "Hey Denton, any good headlines?!" she asked him. He smiled. "Not since the strike."

"Denton, this is my friend Chris. Chris, this is Brian 'Our Man' Denton."

"Nice to meet you." He said politely, and walked away.

I stared at Brooklyn. "So you introduce me properly to Denton but not Jack, the best-looking guy in New York. Gee, thanks."

She laughed. "You bumped into him before I could introduce you."

"That's not my fault Brookle." I said, knowing that she hated being called that.

She glared at me. "It is too your fault!"

I tried, unsuccessfully, to defend myself. "Hey! It isn't my fault! I wouldn't purposefully bump into him! Well, I would. But that's not the point! I was being chased and didn't see him!"

"Yeah. Right. Sure. I believe you Chris." She said sarcastically. She thought for a few seconds. "You were being chased? By who? Was it two guys that were really rude and smelled bad, a little taller than you or I, brown hair, named Oscar or Morris?"

I thought back. "Yeah, that sounds like them. One was named Morris. I didn't hear the other one's name."

She nodded and frowned. "Yep. That was definitely them. The Delancey brothers. Stay away from those two, they're trouble." Even though she didn't say anymore, I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that I wasn't ready for New York. She was wrong, if anything, New York wasn't ready for me. I could take care of myself and I knew it, even if she didn't.

Brooklyn was talking to me but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to listen to her. She was saying something about the Brooklyn Bridge and meeting Spot. I thought about it for a while and got an idea.

"Hey Brooklyn. Maybe we should split up for a little bit. You go meet Spot and I go..... sightseeing. We can meet on the bridge later."

She considered my offer. "Well, I guess it would be okay. As long as you don't get into any trouble." She said cautiously.

I laughed. "Trouble? Me? Don't even think it!" I said sarcastically as I walked away and put my hair up in my hat.

After a while I went to get a present for Racetrack. 'Ahh perfect, a cigar shop!' I walked in, slipped a box of the finest Cuban cigars into my jacket and walked out.

I heard a whistle. 'Oh man they caught me!' I ran down the street, and into couple of guys smoking cheap cigarettes. I looked back, the bulls weren't the only ones chaisin' ' me. Oscar and Morris had joined our little parade! I went up a fire escape and through an open window. It wasn't until after I had shut and looked the window that I noticed the screaming woman behind me. I turned around. "Who are you? What are you doing in my house? I'm callin' the police!" I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Darn."

A little boy came out from behind his mother. It took all my strength not to laugh at the expression on his face.

"If you just be showin' me da door..." her yellin' interrupted me. "I'm calling the police!" she informed me of this about three times before she actually moved. "Okay we've established that yous callin' da bulls." This didn't comfort her at all, in fact it only made her even more upset.

There was a knock at the door. "Hey lady, good news ya don't hafta call da cops da bulls is already here!" This calmed her down enough for her to let them in. But she stated screamin' again. "Great I jest got her ta shut up!" the little boy had sat down and covered his ears. I laid the cigars down on the table beside the chair I had sat in. The police checked me for the cigars and then turned to ask the still screaming lady some questions. I picked up the cigars and some mislaid money and left before the bulls turned back to ask me questions. Unfortunately the woman noticed the missing money. She started screaming again. I ran.

I ran right into Jack. "Hey Brooklyn I was jest lookin for you!"

"I'll talk later I gotta meet Chris at da bridge"

"Dats why I was lookin fer you! Chris was wonderin' about you." Jack looked behind me. "Brooklyn, how do ya always seem ta git yourself inta lotsa trouble?"

"Jest talented I guess."

A few minutes later I headed to the bridge.

I wandered around New York aimlessly for a few hours. I started thinking about Colorado and the sunsets there and wondered what the view was like here. I decided to climb to the top of the building I was standing by and see for myself. As I was walking down the alley, some one grabbed my arm.

"Hey Morris, this kind of looks like that kid we chased around Manhattan this morning, don't you think?" One of the guys from earlier today.

The other one nodded. "Yeah, dat is da kid, Oscar."

"I thought so. So kid, ya ready to finish our little fight?" Oscar said menacingly. I saw Morris standing right behind him. Two to one. This was a little unfair. Not to mention I didn't like the idea of fighting... I decided to make a run for it. "Let go of me you creep." I said as I punched Oscar with my free arm. He fell and I took my chance and ran.

I hadn't gone ten feet when I ran into some one and fell down. I sat up and rubbed my head. I looked up and saw that the person I had run into was Jack. He was now standing over me with a concerned look on his face.

"Are ya okay?" He asked.

I gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to learn to look where I'm going when I'm running."

He held out his hand to help me up and then turned to the Delancey brothers. "Even you two should have enough manners not ta start fights with goils."

"We ain't fighten any goils. That's a guy Kelly." Morris said with a stupid grin on his face. Jack jerked the hat off my head and let my hair fall down just as Morris finished his sentence.

"Youse two betta get outa heya while ya still can!" Jack yelled.

Oscar glared at us as he and his brother backed away. "This ain't ova' yet Cowboy!"

Jack looked at me and laughed. "I've seen ya twice and both times ya ran into me. Do ya usually meet people this way?"

I blushed. "Well, no."

"What were you doin' in this alley in the first place?"

I stared at the ground. "Well, I wanted to see the view...... from the top of the building."

He smiled. "You choose a good building. This one has a great view. Follow me." He took my hand and led me to the top of the building. I smiled as I reached the roof, it really did have a great view. I closed my eyes as a soft breeze blew my hair in my face.

"I hear you're from out west." Jack's voice broke into my thoughts. "I always wanted to go west. What's it like there?"

I leaned against the building and took in the view as I gathered my thoughts. "It's beautiful out there. I used to watch the sunsets. No matter what I was doing I always took the time to watch the sun sinking behind the hills, the sky turning orange, then pink, and then purple. The clouds lined with silver. After the sun went down you could watch the stars come out. On a clear night you could see every star in the sky, shining like diamonds. On a rainy spring afternoon, you could step outside and actually smell the flowers blooming. It was like you could smell each individual flower by itself, but all of them at one time. And once, after a storm, I saw a double rainbow. It was so bright, you could see every color like it had been painted on a canvas. It was so breathtaking you just wanted to stop time." I stopped talking when I saw Jack staring at me. I looked down at the ground and could feel my face turning red.

He smiled. "You sound like you really loved it. Why would you want to leave?"

I stared at the ground. "Brooklyn was staying with my family and I. We were really good friends. Then my mother got sick and died. Brooklyn left that night, but she would always write to us. We stayed in contact with each other for two or three years until my father was killed last month. I really did love it there. But I had lost my parents and the only friend I had left was here in New York. I had no where else to go."

I remembered the day my father had been killed as I told Jack what had happened. It had been cloudy. My father and I had gone to town and he had to go to the bank on business. He went inside but had told me to wait outside. A few minutes later I heard gunshots as four guys ran out of the bank. I ran inside and saw my father on the floor, bleeding. He saw me and tried to smile. I dropped to my knees. "You'll be okay dad." I said close to tears. He shook his head. "It's my time to go. I'll always be with you, watching over you." He handed me my mother's locket. "Keep it with you always. I love you princess." He died only seconds later and I felt like some one had ripped my heart out of my chest. I remember now that I cried until I didn't have any tears left.

I bit my lip, fighting the tears back. I wouldn't let myself break down. Jack walked over and put an arm around me. "I know how you feel." I looked at him. I knew he must be telling the truth by the look in his eyes.

He laughed nervously. "Ya ain't like a lot a da goils in New York. They're all so proper. Brooklyn is da exact opposite of proper. But she'd neva' stand dere an' describe a sunset like you just did."

I laughed. "Yeah, I usually wouldn't do that. I guess I just forgot where I was. Brooklyn is... Brooklyn is going to kill me because I am late!" I said as I remembered meeting her at the bridge and started running toward the fire escape.

"Hey Chris! Where ya goin'? "

I spun around as I realized I had forgotten Jack. "I was supposed to meet Brooklyn at the bridge. I forgot."

Jack smiled. "I wouldn't worry, Brooklyn won't be too mad... she probably won't even be dere."

We walked off the building towards the Brooklyn Bridge. We got there eventually, not without me taking a few wrong turns though.

"You're lucky I found ya Chris. If I hadn't you would be pretty lost by now." Jack said as we approached the bridge.

I smiled. "I have a theory that if you walk in one direction until you find something familiar, you'll get to where you want to go eventually."

He looked at me skeptically. "Dat's an interestin' theory. No offense, but I don't think it'll woik too well in New Yawk."

I smiled and shrugged. "Why should I be offended? It wouldn't work in Colorado either."

We stopped in the middle of the bridge. I looked around and saw that no one was there. "It looks like we'll have to wait on Brooklyn for a while. So what are you plannin' to do here in the city?" Jack asked.

I shrugged again. "Same thing that Brooklyn is doing."

He stared at me. "Youse gonna be a newsie?!"

"Yeah. How long did it take you to figure that one out?" I said sarcastically.

"But ya can't be a newsie. Youse a goil!"

"Oh, you noticed! That took brains. Why does it matter anyway? Brooklyn is a newsie and she's a girl. Or did you even know?"

"Well yeah! Brooklyn's a girl. But dat's different. Brooklyn's.... well she's..... she..... you....." He stuttered.

I smiled. "You give up? You really should, you don't have a chance."

He laughed. "I give. But if you're gonna to be a newsie you have to have a nickname. Can ya think of one?"

"Uh..... no. I'm not to good at that kind of stuff. I'll come up with one eventually. Where is she?!"

Jack looked around. "You stay heya, I'll look for Brooklyn. An' don't worry 'bout your name. Da guys'll come up with one."

I watched him walk away. I stared off the bridge and waited for him to come back. I stayed like that, all alone, for about ten minutes.

"Hey goil! Where's Brooklyn?"

I turned around and saw Spot standing a couple feet away. "Goil? I have a name you know. And I don't know where she is. I thought she was with you."

He stared at me coldly. "No. She was gonna get a present for one of the guys in Manhattan. It's 'is boithday tomarra'. Youse Chris, right? Da names Spot Conlon." He spit in his hand and held it out.

"I know who you are." I said as I spit in my hand and shook with him. For a moment he seemed suprised but quickly hid it.

We managed to get a semi-interesting conversation going. But, I was a little uncomfortable around Spot, and even though he didn't show it, I had a feeling he was just as uncomfortable around me. Not long after I actually met Spot, Jack walked up with Brooklyn.

"Hi Brooklyn!"

"Hey Chris how was yer day?"

"Fine, what did ya buy uhh..."

"Racetrack?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, what'd ya git me?"

"You'll find out tomorrow." Chris and I walked off toward Brooklyn.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what did ya get him?"

"Cigars."

"I didn't know you had enough money for those!"

I took out the money I stole and started counting it. "Did you?" she was bein' persistent.

"Man! I hit da jackpot I got twenty bucks offa dat! Dat will pay fer all me troubles!"

"Did you pay for those cigars!?" Chris was gettin' upset. Never make her repeat herself more than twice, you may regret it.

"Naw I didn't have dat kinda money till afta da Dalancys chased me inta some lady's house. Fer some reason she didn't want me there until I left. Oh well."

"You stole them!?"

"Yeah so?"

"So that's wrong!"

"I was wounderin' why every one got so pissed.�

She glared at me. Chris hated it when I stole. Ironically that's how we met. See there was this huge party and every one in town had been invited. Except of course us thieves. It was a golden opportunity for me to get enough money to go to Brooklyn. So I had no choice but to let opportunity in and go out and get money for a nice long train ride. It was about midnight and people were goin' home. I decided to loot one more house then the next day I would be on me way ta Brooklyn, New York. When I got in I looked around for money. I got about ten bucks and headed out. Suddenly a small table jumped right in front of me.

I looked up to a man holding out his hand to help me up. This was new. No one had ever helped me before. He smiled. I took his hand and got up. The table had broken. I just knew the bulls would be here any minute now.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I was confused, confounded, baffled, bewildered, perplexed, disconcerted, disoriented. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to get mad not ask if I was all right. "Uhh, yeah, I guess." I looked around. My newly acquired belongings were scattered. A girl about my age came in and watched as I gathered them up.

"You can stay here for awhile. Unless you have another place to stay." I stayed. In fact I stayed for three months. I didn't steal or fight much while I was there. And when I did fight it was because someone was calling Chris names. After a while I taught her how to defend her self. We fought side by side. She was really good, especially when she was really pissed off. When she is pissed you don't want to be the one she is pissed at. Trust me I know from experience. I finally had a family again. But this family cared what I did and what happened to me. They were paying fines monthly. But they never refused to. I had a family that cared. I never wanted to leave. Christina's mother died June second, 1896. I was fifteen. I couldn't handle my family disapperin' on me all over again. I left the Collins' house June third. It was early in the morning, I didn't bother to say good-bye or leave a note. I took everything I had stolen the night I met them and just left. At noon I arrived in a city where I would trade my stuff for money to buy a ticket for Brooklyn, New York. "Ahhh, Brooklyn, your home!" I said to on one in particular. I finally saw the town I had dreamed about for years. After I settled in I wrote a letter to Chris and her father. I told them where I was staying and everyone I had met. Every week without fail I would get a letter from them.

One week I didn't get a letter but everyone forgets once in a while. The next week I got one. Mr. Collins died and Chris would arrive August 20, 1900. I was now eighteen. By this time I was feared almost as much as Spot.

The next day Chris and I went to meet Davey. "Chris this is David da walkin' mouth, David my old friend from out west, Chris."

"So uhh, your from out west." He said.

"Yeah" she replied.

We headed over to Tibby's for Race's birthday party.

"Hey Racetrack, Happy Birthday!" I handed him the box of cigars. He grabbed me and kissed me passionately. Everyone hollered but Spot. He came and put his arm around me protectively. Race casually backed off. Chris bumped into Race. "Who's dis vision o beauty?"

"This is Chris, Brooklyn's friend from out west." Cowboy said as he put his arm around her. Race lifted her hand and kissed it.

"Pleasure ta meet ya."

"Here try da punch." Jack handed her a glass Boots had just picked up for himself.

"What the f..." Boots started to protest then decided not to fight with Cowboy.

Chris came up to me. "Hey."

"Hello, hey Les, long time no see. Where ya been?"

Les had half a cookie in his mouth and the other half in his hand when he spoke. "Hi Brooklyn." Cookie flew everywhere.

David started to yell at Les about good manners.

"Hey David lay off. It's a party, let the kid have fun." I said. Les looked up at me and smiled.

After the party I told Cowboy to watch Chris while I ran some errands. "My pleasure." Cowboy looked at her and smiled she stared down at her feet. "C'mon."

Brooklyn said she had some errands to run and asked Jack to keep me out of trouble. He smiled and replied, "My pleasure."

I wasn't quite sure whether to be happy about this or not. Don't get me wrong, Jack is a great guy, not to mention good-looking. But there was that one little thing I couldn't remember that was bothering me. I tried to forget it as I walked around New York with Jack. He showed me around and told me about some of the newsies and then showed me his favorite spot. We stayed there and talked for about an hour. He was telling me about Santa Fe and how he wanted to go there some day when he suddenly leaned forward and just when he was about to kiss me, I remembered what had been bothering me all afternoon. I pulled back.

"Is somethin' wrong?" Jack asked.

"Yeah...... well...... uh, don't you.... uh... don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked nervously.

He seemed disappointed for a while. "Where'd ya hear that?"

I looked at him sheepishly. "Brooklyn told me in one of her letters."

He smiled a little. "Yeah. I did. We broke up though."

I started to tell him that was a good thing but decided to keep my mouth shut. We walked away and saw Spot and Brooklyn kissing not to far from where we had been.

Spot and I went to Brooklyn. We watched the sun set on the bridge and talked till it was completely dark. He leaned close. A carriage rushed by.

"Um, I'll walk you home." He said.

Darn carriage. He helped me up and we headed to the lodgin' house.We passed by the New York World. Jack and Chris were standing their arms around each other. I was jealous. Spot put his arm around me. He pointed at them. "Let's leave them alone."

We stood in front of the lodgin' House. He leaned over and kissed me. We heard footsteps and turned to see Jack and Chris. "Hey Spot." Jack shook his friends' hand.Cowboy and Chris went inside. Spot kissed me again. "Bye."

"Bye Spot."

I went to the room Mr. Kloppman had made up for me. It was small but it was just for Chris and me. "I am madly in love!" Chris announced when I walked in.

"Why do you associate love with a mental illness?" I asked in a nice-as- possible voice. She just glared at me.

The next morning Brooklyn and I had just gotten ready to leave when Jack walked in. "Oh good. Yer up." He said cheerfully.

"Good morning Jack." I said happily as I smiled at him.

Brooklyn wasn't as merciful. "Jack haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

He laughed. "Hmmm..... knockin'? Yeah, dat does sound familiar."

Brooklyn hit him with her hat and walked out the door. I laughed and followed her. Jack walked up beside me and smiled. "So, ya got a nickname yet?"

I stared at him. "Huh?"

He laughed. "Do ya have a nickname?"

I shook my head. "Uh... no. Why do I need one anyway?"

He shrugged. "All of da newsies have 'em. It helps if da bulls are lookin' fer us. So, are ya sellin' at Da Sun wit Brooklyn or at Da Woild wit me an' da guys?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I know Brooklyn wants me to sell for The Sun because there isn't anyone that she likes selling with her, but I'm not sure if that's where I'm going to go.... what do you think?"

He looked away. "Well... uh, ya sell at Da Sun wit Brooklyn, den she wouldn't be alone an' she would probably be yer only friend dere, or if ya sell at Da Woild ya could be around all of da rest of us but Brooklyn would be alone."

I bit my lip. I could kill Brooklyn. She had layed a guilt trip on me the night before and she knew that I hated making decisions more than anything, and that I wanted to sell at The World. I shifted from one foot to the other and looked at Jack. "Well, she only buys her papes at The Sun, she doesn't sell there, so she's not really all by herself, right?"

"Does dat mean dat you're gonna sell fer Da Woild?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."

He smiled. "Great. Follow me!"

I followed him to the circulation center and bought some papes then followed him to his selling spot. I looked at the headline. "Mayor's Dog Run Over? They're kidding right? I thought the point was to sell these things"

Jack smiled. "Yeah, dat is what newsies do."

I laughed. "Not with headlines like that!"

He shrugged. "Headlines don't sell papes, newsies sell papes. Ya have ta improve da headline a little."

I nodded and thought for a while. "Right, I think I know what you mean. Mayor grieves after loosing secret love!" I yelled and a small group of people came up and bought papers. I looked at Jack. "How was that?"

He smiled. "Not bad." I sold papes with him until noon when we went to Tibby's. We walked in and sat at a table with Brooklyn, Race, and Blink. "Spot isn't here today?" I asked Brooklyn.

She shook her head. "He had ta go back ta Brooklyn... he is the leader ya know."

I smiled. "I was beginning to think you two were attached at the hip or something."

"So, do ya know which paper your sellin' for yet?" She said to change the subject.

I nodded. "The World."

She pouted. "Oh come on Chris." I frowned and looked down at the table, here comes the guilt trip. "I don't have anyone to talk to at the Sun because the only person that I'm ever around is this really annoying guy and-"

"Geez Brooklyn, it's her choice. If yer so sick of the Sun den ya can sell wit us." Race butted in. She frowned and I smiled, if Race hadn't said something I probably would have given in.

"So Chris, ya got a nickname yet?" Blink asked. I shook my head.

"Ya got any ideas?" Jack asked the guys, and Brooklyn.

They thought for a while and finally started naming off stuff. "Mouse."

Jack looked at Pie Eater. "Mouse?"

He shrugged. "Well, she's real quiet."

Jack shook his head and a few more people called off some suggestions. Sparrow, Dove, Pigeon, Daisy, Tiger Lily, Flower, Petal...

I rolled my eyes. "Guys, please no flowers... I am NOT a plant."

I few of the guys laughed and thought of some more names. Star, Diamond, Ruby, Amythest, Joy, Song...

I looked at Brooklyn who was laughing hysterically by now. "Oh geez." I said and put my head in my hands.

"Somethin' wrong?" Dutchy asked trying not to smile.

I rolled my eyes. "Petal, Leaf, Jovial, Joy.... While we're at it why don't we add Rainbow, Sunshine, and Giggles?" I said sarcastically.

"Okay!" Brooklyn said cheerfully.

"NO!" I practically yelled. Eventually someone suggested Echo, which was a lot better than some of the other names they came up with, so we stuck with it.

The next day I sold papes... with Jack. Sure, I could have sold them alone just fine, but it was more fun with someone to talk to.... especially when that someone was Jack. It was the end of the day and we were on our way back from selling all of the papers. He smiled. "So, how do ya like New Yawk so far?"

"I love it."

He laughed. "Love it? Ya can't even walk around witout gettin' lost yet."

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and laughed. "I can't help it if I don't know my way around.... I haven't even been here that long!"

He shrugged. "Well, den ya'll just have to stick wit me."

I smiled. "I don't have a problem with that."

"Well, I'm glad dat ya tink it's a good idea. I can't spend all my time lookin' fer ya cause yer lost." He said sarcastically.

I snorted indignantly. "Oh really?"

He laughed. "Yeah... ya don't know nuttin' bout dis city."

I rolled my eyes. "And you could find your way around with a blindfold?" He nodded. "There isn't a place in the city you haven't seen?" He nodded again. I smiled. "Prove it."

"What?"

I smiled. "Put your bandanna over your eyes."

He stared at me suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because, I want to see if you're right." He hesitated but tied the bandanna around his eyes and sighed. "Okay, take me away oh fearless leada'.... if ya get lost, I'll 'ave ta soak ya dough."

I laughed. "Just follow me."

I stopped as he grabbed my hand. He shrugged when he felt me turn to look at him. "I can't see ya... how else am I gonna folla' ya?"

I nodded and started walking again. I led him to Central Park in silence. He smiled. "Dis is whera' yer takin' me? Central Park?"

I glared at him. "No peeking!"

He laughed. "I'm not... I just know whera' we's at... dat's all."

I shook my head and led him down an unused path and after a few twists and turns led him to an abandoned part of the park that had been forgotten a few years ago. It was a small clearing I had found when I was looking around New York on my own one time. There was a pond, beside the pond there was a small fountain with a bench beside it and a weeping willow. It wasn't easy to find... the pathway that had once led here was almost nonexistent and the trees hid any view of it. I smiled. "Okay, now you can look."

He took off the bandanna and laughed. "Of all the places you take me to prove I-" he cut his sentence short as he looked around at the unfamiliar scenery. "Where are we?"

I smiled at him sweetly. "You mean you don't know?"

He looked around again. "No... I ain't neva' been heya before."

I laughed. "It is in Central Park, you got that right."

He looked over at me. "How'd ya find dis place?"

I shrugged. "I didn't really find it.... I just kind of... stumbled onto it. It's beautiful though, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's great."

I smiled teasingly. "I thought you knew every inch of the city."

He glared at me and then splashed water at me from the fountain. I laughed as I ran away from him and he chased me around the pond for a while until I stepped in a hole and tripped. He kneeled down beside me. "Ya okay?"

"Of course... I'm fine." I said and smiled as I tried to stand up, but gasped when I stepped down onto my foot, and fell back down.

Jack frowned and picked me up. "I betta' get ya back ta da Lodgin' House an' see if yer foot's okay."

I sighed. "I'm fine. I can walk. Really!"

He shook his head. "Ya can't even stand up."

"I can walk... it only hurts to put pressure on my foot!"

He sighed. "Dat ain't walkin'... it's limpin'."

I bit my lip. "I can walk without limping! Come on Jack, just let me try!"

He shrugged and put me down. "Go ahead, knock yerself out."

I hopped a few feet and turned to smile at him. "See? I'm not limping."

"No, you�re jumpin'. Even worse." I rolled my eyes as he picked me up again. I sighed and started giving him directions back to a part of the park he knew. All of a sudden he tripped over a tree root and I gasped and tightened my grip around his neck. He stopped breathing for a second and I slowly let go of him and blushed. "You should watch where you're going." I said sarcastically.

"At least I can walk." He said mockingly.

I groaned. "I can't help it if I stepped into a hole."

He carried me the rest of the way back to the Lodging House in silence. By the time we got there my head was rested against his chest. I looked up and nudged him. "Will you put me down now?"

He smiled mischievously. "Never." His lips brushed against my cheek as he slowly put me down.

I blushed and was so embarrassed that I forgot my foot was hurt for a second and tried to stand on it, causing me to fall. Jack caught me and before I knew it, he was holding me in his arms. He ran his fingers through my hair and then kissed me tenderly. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, returning the kiss. It lasted for well over a minute until I pulled away. "We should probably go inside."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

We walked inside and I walked into Brooklyn and I's room. A few minutes later Jack walked in. "Ya okay?"

I nodded and flinched as I hit my foot against something. Jack looked worried for a second. "Are ya sure yer foot's okay?"

I nodded again but Jack wouldn't give in and after only a few seconds of arguing he was looking at my rather swollen foot. I jumped as he poked my ankle. "That hurt!"

He smiled. "Well, then I'll just have to get your mind off the pain." Before I could ask him what he was talking about he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me for the second time that night.... and we were interrupted when Brooklyn walked in. "Well, maybe I should leave you two alone."

Jack stood up and smiled at me. "I betta' go... I tink ya just twisted yer ankle, it should be alright."

I looked at Brooklyn sheepishly as Jack walked out the door. She smiled. "Well, I guess Race won that bet."

I glared at her. "What bet?"

She laughed. "The guys were betting on whether or not you and Jack would be together in one week."

"Really? What did you say?"

She cleared her throat. "Well, I bet that you would be.... Kloppmen even bet for you guys."

I rolled my eyes. "Great."

She laughed. "You like him don't you? I knew you liked him. Ever since you first met him and got all starry eyed and-"

"Oh shut up!" I said angrily as I threw a pillow at her. We had a small pillow fight but then decided to get to sleep. I smiled a little as I drifted off to sleep, I had a feeling I was going to like New York.

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