Faye sat bolt upright, shaking with sweat. She was suffocated by the dream and her chest let out a deep cough as she struggled to breathe. Slowly her breathing began to go back to a normal pace, and she took time to inhale deeply before letting out a wail, and covering her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. The girl's voice was still whispering in her head, trembling and weak with fear.

"Janie," Faye moaned, rocking herself back and forth. "Janie, Janie..."

Gradually the sharpness of the dream wore down, and Faye lay down in her bed. Still hiccuping with tears, she curled up on her side, hugging her pillow to her stomach. "I can't do dis no more," she whispered to herself. "I can't do it." Her eyes closed, and Faye tumbled back into a restless sleep.

A tall blonde haired boy with a patch on his left eye turned around, and grinned. "Hey Race."

"I'm done sellin'...you?"

Blink nodded, flashing his empty bag at him.

"Ya wanna come ta da tracks?" Race asked, lighting a half spent cigar.

Blink couldn't help but smile. Race was addicted to that place. "Nah- maybe next time. I'm kin'a tired taday- I wanna go back ta da house an' rest b'fore I gotta sell again latah."

Race nodded. "All right. I'm tellin' ya dough, dis is it. I got a hot tip-" he paused. "Ah hell, Blink. I ain't gonna have no money left tanight."

Blink laughed, and nodded to Race that he could go. He watched his best friend head down the street. Sometimes he worried about Race. He really did go to that place a lot. Sometimes a little too much. Then he sighed, remembering how tired he was, and headed back towards the lodging house.

He decided to take the long way back. He was tired but he wanted to just think a little. Something was scraping just under the surface of his mixed up thoughts, and he couldn't figure out what it was. He looked up at the sky, hoping the bright blue shades would make him feel a little lighter. But his forehead wrinkled when, to his surprise, he saw a gray cloud coming in quickly.

"A' coise," he grumbled, picking up his pace. "I go da long way an' now I'm gonna get pelted wid rain. Jis' wonderful."

Faye shoved her sheets into an off white pull-string bag. Slowly, she turned, trying to think of what else to put in it. A hair brush. A handkerchief, an extra shirt- the only extra shirt. Her eyes wandered aimlessly around the tiny room, and to the dark corner...her body temperature dropped and she shuddered. Quickly she picked up her bag and walked into the sad looking kitchen, which was the rest of the house, double checking to make sure no one was behind her. She ran her fingers along old pictures on the wood table, nostalgia shooting into them like heroin, and she pulled away for a moment. Then, carefully, her tired fingers picked up the pictures, and put them in her bag. One more t'ing. She went over to the counters, and, opening the last one on the right, stuck her hand as far back as it would go, pulling out a small little book. She gazed at it for a moment, brushing her thumb along the cover and the fabric that very softly said "Jane". She put it in her bag, and then without another look around, left her empty house behind her.

Faye...Faye...help me, Faye....help me...

Faye closed her eyes in torment and broke into a run.

"Faye! Faye!"

Faye whirled around when she realized someone was actually calling her. A boy her age with light blonde hair and glasses ran up to her.

"Wheah ya goin' in such a hurry, girl?"

Faye bit her lip. She'd almost hoped to miss him- it was going to be too much, saying good-bye to him. How do you say good-bye to a best friend? Faye could feel her throat tensing up with the threat of tears.

"James, I'm...I'm leavin'."

"Leavin'- leavin' ta where?"

"I don' know. I can't stay in dat house no more."

"Faye, ya don' got nowhere ta go- come stay wid' me!"

"Yer family couldn' afford me James an' ya know it."

"Faye I could work more er sum'tin', I could-"
"Nah, James, ya couldn'. Ya barely even see yer dad an' Mae cause yer always at da factory- an' when ya ain't dere you'se usually wid me. So I wouldn' even see ya if ya worked more."

James looked up at the sky, and frowned. It was going to rain....He didn't know what to say. His emotions rumbled around in his stomach- how could Faye be leaving? He never thought this would really happen. She was always going to be around. Even when they would get old...they'd still play poker together every night, and live next door to each other's families, right? Right?

"James, ya- ya okay?"

He looked at her, studying her, understanding this could very well be the last time he would ever do so. He smiled at her, his beautiful best friend, and felt the pin pricks of tears.

"Faye...ya mean da world ta me. Jis'- jis' remembah dat, all right?"

Faye felt herself losing control of her emotions. She nodded, sniffing.

"I don' want no good-byes," he said.

"I don' eiddah. But- but ya mean da world ta me too," she said. "Ya remembah dat too."

James nodded as she had, looking up at the sky to see where the gray cloud was. Go, Faye. Go before I have time ta see ya leavin'... James looked back in front of him, and Faye was gone.

Nothin' ain't been da same no more...sumptin's changin', somewhere. Blink turned his face up to the cloud. Somet'in 'bout rain makes everyt'in so much clearer- like it's washin' sumptin' away...

Faye ran through the streets, trying to outrun the gaping whole that was pounding itself into her and was growing bigger and bigger as she went farther and farther from James. James. The last person who really knew her. Now she was completely alone. Faye collapsed in an alley, crying on her knees, exhausted. She'd been running like that for a good half an hour, towards the Brooklyn Bridge. She knew it was stupid- dangerous- to stop in an alley- and she was almost at the bridge- but she couldn't go any further. She turned her face up to the sky and closed her eyes, letting the rain wash it all down.

Mush had seen Blink standing in the middle of the rain, his face turned up, getting completely soaked. It wasn't surprising- he'd actually come out looking for him. He walked over and smacked him on the back of the head, grinning at him. He had an umbrella. "Come on, let's go."

Blink got under the umbrella and walked with Mush back to the lodging house.

"Whea'd ya get dis?" he asked, referring to the umbrella.

"Kloppy- he finally got one." Mush scratched his head with his free hand. "Ya know, I have a feelin' dis rain ain't gonna let up fer a while."

"Yeah- looks like a storm ta me."

"Nah- Imean it jis' seems like it's gonna be here fer a few days er sumptin'. Comin' in an' out like dis."

Blink looked at Mush curiously. Mush always made strange proclamations like that one- the funny thing was he was usually right.

"Ain't gonna be too good fer sellin'," he added, motioning for Blink to go inside the lodging house door first. Blink walked in the door, and smiled at Kloppman who was sitting on the counter with two other newsies.

"Hey fellas," said one of them.

"Hey Jack," said Blink. He nodded at the other, grinning. "Spot."

"Hey Blink." The boy's ice blue eyes smiled.

"So what ya doin' in Manhattan?" Blink sat on the ground, lighting himself a cigarette.

"Jis' decided ta come fer a visit," Spot replied. "But I actually should be headin' back." He slipped off the counter, straightening his gray hat. "I'll see ya Jacky-boy."

"Ya sure ya wanna go in dis weather Spot?" asked Jack.

Spot shrugged. "L'il rain won' do nuttin'. 'Sides, I got me a extra pair a clothes finally, so I'm good." He nodded to the others. "See ya boys."

"Bye Spot," said Blink. Mush waved, preoccupied with untwisting his right suspender.

Spot walked out the door, and crossed his arms over his chest, walking quickly. Dis is gonna be a long walk back.

A good forty-five minutes later, Spot stepped off of the Brooklyn Bridge, completely soaked. Dis rain jis' ain't lettin' up. He shivered, and walked hurriedly into a maze of alleys to his lodging house in hopes that the buildings would provide some protection. His quick step stopped short as he walked into an alley and discovered a body collapsed over a bag, right next to one of the buildings. He walked closer, and realized it was a girl. He examined the body with his eyes- thin black hair cascading over her back- her torn white shirt and gray skirt completely soaked through. He looked down at her feet...no shoes. He couldn't tell if she was even alive. Suddenly the body shifted, and Spot jumped back. He rolled his eyes at himself. Good t'ing yer boys didn' see ya do dat.


Faye's eyes slowly opened as her shivering awoke her. Barely even acknowledging the downpour, she shifted her look upward, to be greeted with a brick wall. She groaned. Ya fell asleep in a alley. Great start. You'se real good at dis. Faye suddenly had a horrifying feeling that someone was behind her. Half frozen in fear, she slowly turned around, to see a thin, fairly tall boy. Seeing he wasn't lunging at her, she focused her eyes in on him. His gray hat was covering his hair but she saw little sandy blonde patches peeking out- dry and protected from the rain. She shifted to his face, and found she couldn't move her eyes once they'd locked with his- they were icy blue- but not cold, just....just like something you could dive into. His brow was furrowed and his two hands were resting on the gold top of his cane. Suddenly he spoke.

"Watcha doin' in a alley?" His voice was slightly hard- but it didn't scare Faye. She could see he meant no harm. She answered in the same tone.

"I kin'a fell asleep. Didn' mean to."

Spot realized suddenly that he was getting more and more soaked by the minute.

"Look ya got somewhere ta stay?" He asked her.

She looked at him dubiously. "Nah, I don't."

"Come wid me." He turned and walked quickly down the alley. Faye jumped up, grabbing her bag which she'd actually kept dry by sleeping on it, and ran after him. She didn't know where he was going and something told her this may not be the smartest thing to do, but where else could she go?

Finally she'd caught up with him and was somehow managing to keep pace with him too.

"Wheah we goin'?" she asked, adjusting her arms to cover her bag.

"Lodgin' house," was his only answer.

From his curt response Faye could easily tell he wasn't up for conversation. But she pressed on anyway, nervous about trusting him. "What kin'a lodgin' house?"

"Fer newsies."

"I ain't a newsie."

Spot rolled his eyes. "Yeah, t'anks. I know ya ain't."

Faye looked at him. "What's eatin' you..." she mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothin'."

Spot looked away. He'd heard her. "It's a lodgin' house fer newsies, but you can stay fer da night, we got a extra bed or two."

Faye watched his face, seeing if there was something she wasn't quite catching. "T'anks."

Spot nodded absently. He couldn't help but be curious about why this girl was wandering around by herself. He saw countless homeless girls every day but they all had the common sense to not fall asleep in an alley. But looking at her...and her clothes...not to mention hearing her accent and the look on her face absolutely spelling Brooklyn-made Spot think she couldn't be too new at this sort of thing. So what was she doing in an alley?

"Dere it is," he said, pointing to a somewhat large building across the street. The two of them ran over and in through the door.

"What ya got heah Spot?" asked a boy coming down the stairs. Spot turned to Faye.

"Dis is...."

"Faye," she said quickly.

"Faye. Faye, dis' is Tip." Spot looked at Tip, making it clear that it wasn't what he thought. "Found her in a alley sleepin'."

Tip looked at her, amused that she was so green she'd done something so dangerous. But then he noticed just what Spot had about her appearance. What was she doing sleeping in an alley?

"Ya got money?" Spot asked her.

Faye shook her head.

"All right- look I'll pay fer ya," he said, digging into his pocket to pull out another nickle. "Da lodgin's five cents."

"T'anks." She paused. "What's ya name?"

"Spot Conlon," he said, handing his two nickles to an old man behind the counter.

"Spot?"

He turned around from writing their names down in a sign in book. "Yeah. Spot."

Faye nodded, hoping she hadn't just sounded like she was making fun of him. Spot looked at her. She was beautiful. Her straight black hair ended at her lower back. Her skin was pale, and contrasting with the black hair it almost made her look angelic, in a strange way...her green eyes jumped out like beams and held Spot's for quite a while. For a moment he looked at her lips- they were a wonderfully unusual, pretty shape, and were extremely full. Spot cleared his throat then.

"Come on up heah," he said, walking up the stairs. Faye followed him warily. She wasn't concerned about him trying anything anymore- but this was a lodging house for newsies right? Which meant there were lots of other boys his age in this place- and it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think one of them had visited her side of Brooklyn before.

As they walked up the steps Faye heard a growing rumbling noise, becoming louder and louder as they came to a door at the top. Spot grinned, a natural reaction to the familiarity of home, and looked at Faye.

"Dis is it." He opened the door, and Faye peeked in.

Inside were an almost countless number of boys, some the same age as Spot, some younger, and a few maybe a little bit older. They were all talking extremely loud, running around, creating an almost gastly amount of body heat. Faye scanned the room. There was a small poker game going on in the middle. She grinned. Poker was her weak spot. Over in a corner, there was a group of guys huddled around something- when one of the boys moved for a minute she realized it was an arm wrestling match. Looking at all of them, she noticed they all carried a certain air- something that reminded her of her neighborhood friends. That tough air that she had never aquired. Well that wasn't true. She carried the look- but as soon as you talked to her it broke down. Faye found herself a little intimidated, but didn't dare show it. Spot put his hand on her arm and pulled her in, leading her to a bunk. As soon as she entered the room, boys starting nudging each other, pointing her out with a nod of the head that said, "Conlon's got a new one."

"Dis is me bunk," said Spot. "I usually sleep on da top...but you can sleep up dere tanight. I'll sleep on da bottom." He paused. "Don' want none a dem tryin' nothin'."

Faye nodded. She could feel all of the boys watching her and it was unnerving. She looked pleadingly at Spot. Say somethin', please, say somethin'...

"Hey!" yelled Spot, understanding from her looks. Eventually the room quieted down. Faye crossed her arms over her chest, shivering. She needed to change.

"All right, boys, dis is Faye. I found 'er-" he cut himself off, knowing he'd embarass her if he told them. He cleared his throat. "Found 'er in da storm- she needs a place ta stay fer da night. Den as far as I know she's leavin' tamorrow."

They all looked at Faye for a moment, and then slowly started resuming to their earlier activities. Faye let out a breath. Maybe none of them knew her.

"Hey Spot," she said quietly. He turned to her. "I uh- I need ta get changed. Dere another place I can- do dat?"

Spot nodded, and took her to the washroom, pointing her to one of the stalls. Faye walked in one and shut the door. Sliding down to the floor, she closed her eyes and covered them with her hands.

I ain't nevah felt like dis before....so lonely. I ain't got no one no more.

She sighed, letting one tear trickle down before she cut off her emotions. She couldn't cry now- she'd have to go back out there and they'd all see her. And they'd all look at her again. Faye sniffed, and pulled off her shirt.

"Faye?" Faye jumped, and spun around. The door was still shut.

"Uh- yeah?"

"Y'allright in dere?"

She couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, Spot. I'm fine."

"I uh- ain't Spot."

Faye quickly put on her dry shirt and walked out. There was a short boy- well at least her height- that looked about her age, standing there. He had dark brown hair under his hat, and a dead cigarette in his hand. She studied him for a minute. There was something different about him.

"Ya ain't from Brooklyn are ya?" she asked.

"Nah," he said, grinning. He paused to look at her, and stuck out his hand. "Da name's Race."

"I guess ya already know me name," she said, awkwardly taking his hand. She wasn't used to introducing herself with a handshake. "So wheah ya from?"

"Manhattan," he said, rocking back on his heels. "I'se at da tracks taday an' da storm kin'a caught me so I came heah."

Faye nodded. "You a newsie too?"

"Only da best," he said casually, relighting his cigarette as he realized it had burnt out.

She grinned. There was an awkward pause for a moment.

"You from Brooklyn?" He guessed she was. She'd definitely looked like it when she'd walked in the room.

She smiled. "Yeah- not from here, Brooklyn, I live out-"

"Factory kid?"

"Nah. Me friends were though." Faye decided to get off the subject quickly before he asked her what she did. "So, uh, ya leavin' tamorrow too?"

"Yeah- I'se gonna get me papes an' head back ta Manhattan." He leaned forward, to lower his voice. "Don' like Brooklyn so much- da boys're all right, specially Conlon, but Brooklyn...." he shook his head and took a drag off of his cigarette.

Faye smiled. She was a little nervous about asking the next question. "Mind if I come wid ya? Jis' gettin' inta Manhattan?"

Race bowed to her, sweeping his hat on the floor. "I'd be glad ta escort ya."

Just then Spot walked in. He eyed Faye. "Ya got a dry skirt?"

Faye shook her head. Spot frowned and went back into the bunkroom. He came back in with a dry pair of pants.

"Jis' put dese on fer now."

"Who dey belong ta?"

"Tip. He don' mind. Said ya could take 'em wid ya." Race looked at Spot quickly, who motioned for him to be quiet. Faye didn't notice this exchange, and turned and headed back into the stall she'd left her bag in.



"Hey Blink, ya know wheah Race is?"

Blink turned around from the window when he heard Jack. He'd been watching the rain for quite some time now.

"Uh, no. He went ta da races taday, so he mighta decided ta stop in Brooklyn."

Jack nodded, and left Blink to the window. Blink stared out of it. Sumptin' jis' feels funny...sumptin's gonna happen an' I don' know what it is.

As Blink watched the slanted rain, his eyes withdrew and everything became unfocused, all of the colors and lights twirling around and forming one big thing- one big thing he couldn't identify. Blink closed his eyes, and rested in the black of his mind. He didn't know what was bothering him, all he knew was with his vocabulary he couldn't explain the feelings he was experiencing.

Just then he heard everyone getting into bed. He turned around, and dropped his body into Race's bed, his shirt and pants already on the floor. His bed was just above Race's, but he just didn't feel like pulling himself up there. He frowned at the holes in the legs of his long john's, and pulled the sheets over him.

"G'night, boys!"

"'Night, Kloppman!" was the returned chorus. Then after the lights went out were a scattered number of goodnights to each other, and eventually the room went silent, except for the shifting of people in their beds and whispering to each other, and the fading storm outside.

Blink closed his eyes, and fell asleep to the sound of rain hitting the roof.

"All right, in your beds!" came a scratchy cry.

Race looked at Faye, who had just emerged from the stall in the pants she'd gotten from Spot.

"Race," she whispered, embarrassed. "Dese t'ings won' stay up!"

Race grinned. "We'll get ya some suspenders in Manhattan. Come on, dey's gonna turn out da lights."

Faye walked over to where she saw Spot sitting. He looked up at her.

"Up dere," he motioned with his head, more to say something rather than nothing.

Faye tossed her bag up first, then hopped up carefully, praying her pants wouldn't fall down. When they didn't, she got comfortable, and pulled the sheets up to her chest.

"Now go to sleep!" the old man said firmly, shutting out the lights.

"'Night Faye," came a whisper from a couple bunks away. Faye smiled, curled up on her side, hugging her bag to her chest.

"'Night, Race."

"What da hell ya doin'?" he grumbled, half concious.

"Up up up! Morning morning morning!" yelled Kloppman. Jack turned over once again. Kloppman shook him. "Jack! Jack!"

"I'm up, I'm up......Hey! I'm up!"

"All right, hop to it!" Kloppman began making the other rounds. "Come on boys, let's go! Blink, Blink- let me see your eye open Blink- there we go- come on, outta bed! Skittery didn't I already wake you up? Mush! Come on now, let's go! Presses are rollin'!"

Jack yawned and slid out of bed. Scratching his head, he went over to a washbowl and splashed his face with water. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Blink. Among the other newsies, who by now, were tearing ass around the room, Blink was completely still, staring out the window. Jack frowned. Something was bothering Blink- he'd been acting like that for a while- and he didn't know what it was. Jack put shaving cream on his face and raised his razor to the skin, walking over to the mirror next to Blink.

"How'd ya sleep, Blink?"

Blink almost jumped- he hadn't seen Jack coming. "All right. T'anks Jack." He started to walk away.

"Hey- Hey Blink!"

"Huh?"

"Ya all right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Blink forced a smile before he turned back around, making it look as genuine as he could.

Jack sighed as he watched Blink walk away. He wasn't fine, and he knew it. But what could he do? Jack finished shaving and rinsed his face off.



"Faye- Faye!"

Race watched as Faye's still body suddenly sent an arm out to slap his.

"Go away. I'm tired."

Race raised his eyebrows.

"Faye, ya hafta come now if ya-"

"James I don' wanna go taday. Get da hell away."

Race realized she didn't remember where she was- and she obviously wasn't a morning person either. She shoah tawks like one a' da boys. He grinned. "Faye- dis is Race, Faye. Ya gotta get up now if ya wanna go ta Manhattan."

Faye immediately sat up, her eyes dark with a foul morning temper. Race bit the sides of his cheeks to keep from laughing.

"Oh," she said, grumbling. She paused, annoyed. "Ya always get up dis early?"

"Yup."

Faye nodded. She slowly slid down the bed, feeling her pants falling. She immediately grabbed at her pants and almost fell when she hit the ground. She shot a look at Race daring him to laugh. He didn't.

Spot watched Faye's interactions with Race from across the room. He found himself smiling. She must be from somewheah round here.

Five minutes later, Faye was ready, holding up her pants. Race looked at her.

"Ya ready?"

"Almost- wheah's Spot?"

"He left fer da distribution alley already- if we hurry we can catch him."

Faye nodded, and the two of them walked quickly to the alley. Faye had no idea what a distribution alley was but she assumed it was a newsie thing. Just as they got there, Spot was walking out with a pile of papers.

"Spot!"

He turned around to see Faye.

"Yeah?" He watched her run over, her hand on her pants. But he paid no mind to that. He watched her face, her hair- she was so beautiful....

"Spot, I jis' wanna t'ank ya fer bein' so nice. Dat's da first good night's sleep I'se had in a while."

Spot permitted himself a smile. "Shoah. Anytime." And to his surprise, he meant it.

Faye smiled back, exposing her slightly crooked teeth that made up her infectious smile, and then Spot walked away, a little annoyed with himself for starting to get attatched to her.

Race walked over with his papers. "Ya ready ta go?"

"Yeah."

Faye, although uncomfortable with people she didn't know, found it easy to talk with Race. Her ease with the situation made Race strangely comfortable as well, and soon they were exchanging stories.

"So what're da boys like in Manhattan?" asked Faye.

"Ah," said Race, not being able to help grinning. He loved the Manhattan boys. They were his family. "Dey'se great. None a' us in da lodgin' house have a family er nothin'- an' if we do we can't be dere- wid 'em, I mean. So we all live tagether all da time. An' den dere's ol' Kloppy- Kloppman. He runs da joint, but he ain't like dat guy in Brooklyn- I mean ya know, he does more'n jis' turn out da lights an' wake us up- 'e takes care of us. Like a big faddah," he added with a grin.

Faye smiled. "Must be nice," she said.

"Yeah." He paused, the wheels turning in his head. "Faye, ya know ya could come back dere wid me."

Faye shook her head. "Nah- I ain't a newsie."

Race nodded. Normally he would have protested but for some reason, he just felt like she was going to end up there anyway. So he just talked about the boys- he told her about Jack and the strike, Weasel and the Delanceys, Medda, and of course Blink- he talked a lot about Blink- and Mush and Dutchy and Skittery.

Faye found herself in love with the newsie world- she knew it was hard, but it was no worse than what she had now. And the idea of living in a kind of family again... And who was this Blink he kept talking about?

"Who's Blink?" she asked, voicing her internal question.

"Oh, Blink," said Race. "He's me best friend. It's hard ta describe him- ya jis' gotta meet him. Nicest guy you'll ever know."

Faye looked around, noticing the suddenly seedy look of the block they'd walked onto. It didn't scare her- on the contrary it more reminded her of home than anything else. So when someone reached out from a small walk way in between two abandoned buildings and grabbed her, she handled the situation with an almost disarming expertise.

Quickly she elbowed the owner of the hand in the stomach and then swung that fist up and hit towards where she thought the face was. When the hand let go she swung around, punching the person directly in the eye, and then swinging around with her left arm, busting their lip. She barely even had to let go of her pants.

Race watched with his mouth nearly on the ground- he'd barely even lifted his arm to punch the guy. Faye quickly backed up towards Race as he started to laugh.

"Nice one, Morris," he said to the guy on the ground, so Faye would recognize the name. "I b'lieve Cowboy'll love ta hear dis one. T'anks for da entertainment."

The two of them walked quickly down the street, Morris yelling something after them. They ignored it.

"So dat was da Morris like Morris Delancey you was tellin' me about?"

"Da one an' only. 'E likes ta start stuff wid us by hurtin' everyone else- prob'ly jis' wanted ta fight me through you. Don' take it, uh, personal er nuttin'."

Faye smiled to herself.

"Wheah da hell'd ya loin ta fight like dat goil?" Race whispered.

Faye grinned. "Race. I grew up in Brooklyn."

Race laughed, and as they turned the corner, ran directly into someone with newspapers.

"Race! Dere y'are."

"Hey Blink!"

Faye immediately recognized the name and looked up from helping to pick up the boy's papers. Blink looked back. She's beautiful....who is she? Feel like I'se seen her somewheah before...

So dis is Blink. Awful good lookin'. Almost seems familiar- dat musta been what Race was talkin' bout when he said ya can't describe 'im.

Race watched them looking at each other, neither of them realizing how long they'd been looking. He smiled. Somehow he'd just had a feeling that was going to happen.

He cleared his throat. "Blink- dis is Faye. She was spendin' da night at da Brooklyn house- didn' have nowheah ta stay. Faye- dis is da Blink I'se been talkin' yah ear off about."

Faye stood up, handing Blink the papers she'd picked up for him.

"Nice ta meet ya Faye," said Blink, letting his broad grin spread across his face as he took the papers.

Faye smiled back- she hadn't seen a smile like that in a long time. "Nice ta meet you too, Blink."

They smiled at each other for a little longer. Blink looked over her face, feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time...how did he know her? Well anyway, he could tell he was going to like her- there was something about her that just wasn't ordinary.

"Well," said Faye, still not breaking her eye contact with him. "I'se gotta be on my way. I'll see ya Blink."

"Yeah. I'll see ya."

Faye grinned, and turned to Race. She laughed, and hugged him. "T'anks fer everyt'in Race."

"Shoah. Come by an' see us sometime."

"I'll do dat." She paused to smile at Blink one more time, and then she picked up her bag, and walked around the corner. Blink let out a breath.

"So how'd ya meet her?" He asked, not even pausing to ask Race how he was. Race chuckled.

"Spot found 'er last night- brought her back." Blink's heart sank- if Conlon had found her than anyone slightly interested would be playing with fire. race, sensing his friend's thoughts, continued. "She's from Brooklyn- but it don' look like she's wantin' ta stay dere."

His heart rose back up into place. Well, if she wasn't going to be in Brooklyn anyway, what would Spot want her for? Blink nodded. "She's..."

"Yeah," said Race, patting him on the back. "She is." He knew exactly what he was trying to say. She was something .....



Faye walked happily down the street. Then she realized she'd never gotten suspenders with Race- but it would be stupid to run all the way back now just for that. She could find a place that sold them herself. But she didn't have any money. Faye sighed, annoyed with herself for forgetting- she could have borrowed from Race and paid him back later. She could be walking without having to hold her pants up with her free hand. She continued down the block, grumbling to herself.

"Buy me last pape, lady?"

Faye sourly turned to see an adorably cute little boy, holding a paper out to her with a pathetic look of sadness on his face.

"I would, but I don' have no money," she said, almost apologetically.

"Hey Les! Les!"

The little boy turned around. "Cowboy!" He went and hugged a tall boy with light brown hair. He had a red bandana on his neck and a black cowboy hat on a string resting on his back.

"Haven' seen ya in a while!" said the older boy. "Wheah ya been?"

"School. Pa barely lets me sell anymore."

Faye looked at the little boy, amused. He'd faked an accent pretty well for a little guy. He'd had her fooled.

"Ya wanna sell wid me taday?"

The boy looked up, beaming. "Yeah!"

"All right." He looked up, and noticed Faye standing there. He nodded at her. "Hey."

"Hi."

"Jack Kelly," he told her, wondering why she was staring at him.

Faye's jumped at the familiar name. "Jack Kelly? Ya know Race?"

Jack grinned broadly. "Yeah I know Race. He's one a me best friends." He looked at her, trying to see if he'd heard about her. "How ya know 'im?"

"Jis' met 'im last night in Brooklyn. We walked heah tageddah dis mornin'. He told me about ya." She paused, feeling like she had to prove herself. "Me name's Faye."

Jack smiled, nodding at her pants. "Ain't yer clothes, huh?"

She looked down, and rolled her eyes. "Nah. Hafta hold dese blasted t'ings up all da time."

"Ya wanna get some suspenders er sumptin?"

"Don' have any money."

Jack looked at her, taking in how beautiful she was. But there was something else, too. He'd almost expected her to be rude or at least cold when he'd seen her- she'd actually had the same look Spot Conlon had that kept him feared around New York- but then as soon as he started talking to her, that shell disappeared right away. There was something mysterious about that...and about the way her pale skin and jet black hair and green eyes all blended together into that something....

"I'll get ya some. Come on. Les, come on wid us."

They walked by a good number of stores Faye saw suspenders in. She figured there must be a certain store Jack was used to or something. But to her surprise they didn't go to any stores. He walked up to a large green building- it looked a little like the Brooklyn Lodging House. Faye wondered if this was the Manhattan one. There was something written on the building she could see, but she couldn't read it.

"Hey Kloppman!" he yelled once they walked in the door. Faye smiled. So they were at the lodging house.

An old man wearing basically what the newsies wore and a hat walked out.

"Jack!" He said, walking fully into the room. "What are you doing here right now? Something wrong?"

"Ya got spare suspenders around still? Faye here's in need a' some serious pants-pullin'."

Kloppman looked at her, noticing her for the first time, and smiled. "Just a second."

He walked back out a minute later, carrying a pair of faded light blue suspenders. "These are the only ones I can find. They all right?"

"Oh, dey's fine," said Faye gratefully, taking them in her hand- the other one still holding her pants up. She looked up. "Uh- I don' exactly know how ta use 'em."

"Well see," said Jack, taking on his voice of God, "Ya take dis 'ere clip 'ere an' den ya clip dat 'ere- see what I'm talkin' about? An' den ya snap this doohicky on top a da-"

"Geez Jacky-boy, it ain't dat hard," said a voice behind her. She turned around, and grinned. It was Blink. He smiled back at her, and at the sound of Jack clearing his throat, he snapped out of it.

"Heah," he said, taking them from her. He moved close to her, and hooked one of them to the back of her pants, then the front. "See?" He asked, looking up at her.

She didn't answer, but took the other one from him and hooked it in back like he'd done. But in the front, she was having some trouble.

"Heah, lemme..." he put his fingers on hers, helping her attatch it. He felt something shoot through his skin when he touched her- something painful, something beautiful....Quickly he let go.

She looked at him, feeling the same thing he did. "T'anks, Blink," she said quietly.

Jack looked at the two of them, baffled and slightly amused. He looked at Kloppman for some explanation, but Kloppman was too busy grinning at the two of the entranced teenagers. Finally Jack popped the question. "How you guys know each uddah?"

Blink's head spun towards Jack. Obviously he'd forgotten anyone else was there at all.

"We met dis mornin' while she was walkin' wid Race," he explained. "She stayed at da lodgin' house in Brooklyn an'-"

"Yeah, I know dat much," said Jack. Blink nodded, and turned back towards Faye.

"I was jis' gettin' some more money Kloppman," he said, still looking at Faye. He smiled one last time as he headed up the stairs to the bunk room. "Good ta see ya again, Faye."

"Yeah- good ta see you too." Faye watched him walk up the stairs. She was positive she knew him from somewhere else. She just didn't know where. She reached up, pulling a ring hanging on a piece of string out from behind her shirt collar.

"Where'd you get that?" Les asked, seeing her toying with the ring.

Faye grinned, more to herself than anyone else. "I had a- kin'a boyfriend when I'se real little. He gave it ta me- too small ta fit on me fingers now so I jis' keep it here."

Jack smiled. "Ya still friends wid em?"

"Nah. He disappeared bout eight years ago. Ain't seen 'im since." She smiled, and tucked the ring back into it's hiding place behind her collared shirt. She felt her stomach rumble. She really wished she had some money- or even any way of getting money. She hadn't eaten in four days. But she refused to work in the factories ever again. Ever since her parents had died in one during a fire, she refused to even go near one. But she really didn't know what she was going to do.

"I'se gettin' hungry," said Jack. He looked at Les. "Wanna go ta Tibby's?"

Les nodded, and the two of them headed out the door. Jack turned his head around.

"Ya comin' or not, Faye?"

Faye grinned, and after saying thankyou to Kloppman, was out the door. She wondered if Blink would go there too.



Faye walked in the door of the restaraunt as Jack held it open for her. Her eyes went wide when she saw the entire restaraunt filled with boys- boys she assumed were all newsies. Immediately she scanned the room, hoping.

"Race!" She said cheerfully. He turned around, and beamed.

"Faye!" He got up and hugged her. Like old friends. "What ya doin' heah?"

"Jack heah got me some suspenders from Kloppman-"

"Blink showed her how ta put 'em on," Jack added, leaning down to Race's ear.

"An' den he took me here," said Faye, hoping she wasn't blushing from what Jack had just said.

Race looked at Faye, amused as usual. She'd shown no reaction to Jack's interjection- but if he wasn't crazy, her cheeks did seem just a slight shade darker.

"Come an' sit wid us," said Race. Faye followed him to his table. Race pulled out her chair, bowing to her. Faye laughed, and sat down, scooting up to the table. She grinned when she saw the good looking boy sitting across from her- he had dark brown, curly hair, and just an incredible looking face.

"Blink should be here soon," Race added casually, watching Faye's face for a reaction. But there wasn't one. She shoah is from Brooklyn.

"Me name's Mush," said the boy sitting across from her, extending his hand. Faye smiled. She'd heard about him too. Again she felt awkward shaking hands, but she did it anyway.

"Faye," she said, smiling. Mush nodded. He knew that already. He'd heard all about her earlier from Blink and Race. And he hadn't seen Blink looking that dizzy in quite sometime. Mush grinned to himself on his last thought.

"So what's good heah?" she asked, looking up at the chalk board menu.

"Knockwurst," said Les from the next table with Jack. "Ya ever had knockwurst?"

"Nah."

"You should."

Race grinned. "Yeah, da knockwoist is pretty good- so's da salad an' coffee's always real good." Faye sighed with relief. She loved coffee. But then, she remembered.

"Ohhh," she moaned, putting her head down in her arms on the table.

"Ya got a problem wid coffee?" asked Race, grinning at her.

"Nah- I don' have no money."

Race raised his eyebrows. "What, ya t'ink me an' Mush was gonna let ya pay anyway?"

Faye looked up and grinned. "I'll pay ya back latah."

"Nah- I'm buyin' ya lunch. And lendin' ya nothin'."

"T'anks Race."

Just then the door opened, and Faye turned to see Blink walking in the door. She watched all the boys yell hello to him. Manhattan shoah is a different place from Brooklyn. He grinned that huge, broad grin of his at everyone, and headed over towards his usual table. Mush looked at Race, fighting back laughter.

"Watch dem," mouthed Race. He wanted Mush to see how they'd acted before. Blink pulled out his chair and sat down before he even realized just who was sitting at the table with him. He nearly knocked over Mush's drink.

"Faye!"

She smiled.

"Jacky-boy brought 'er," said Race, not even bothering to wipe the grin off of his face as he watched their eye contact. Mush grinned right at Race, seeing exactly what he'd been taking about. They just wouldn't stop staring at each other.

Gawd I know I know dis girl. Faye- it even sounds familiar....How do I know 'er? Faye looked at him intuitively, seeing he was trying to figure something out, like she was. How did they know each other? For some reason it wasn't a question they could ask out loud.



"Hey Race..can I tawk ta ya?"

"Shoah." Race walked over to the corner of the street with Faye as everyone else exited Tibby's.

"Uh- have ya evah- I mean have ya evah seen a girl newsie before?" She almost cringed waiting for his answer.

Race smiled. "Nah. But I ti'nk ya'd make a great one."

Faye grinned. That was all she'd needed to hear. "T'anks Race. Ya t'ink I can stay in da house an' everyt'in? I mean, cause you'se all boys an everyt'in- ya t'ink Kloppman would let me?"

"Yeah. I know he would. Come on, Faye- I'll buy some papes for ya."

They headed towards the distribution alley with the rest of the newsies for the evening additions.

"Thoity papes fer my friend here," said Race, putting money out once they'd reached the front of the line. Then he put down two bits. "An' fifty fer me."

The papers were shoved through the window, and Race handed her the surprisingly heavy thirty papers.

"We'll get ya a bag ta hold 'em," said Race. "Can ya carry 'em fer now?"

"Shoah."

The two of them walked towards Race's selling spot.

"All right," he said, looking at her seriously. "Da foist t'ing ya gotta learn," he paused to light his cigar. "Is hawkin' da headlines. Ya know what I'm tawkin' 'bout?"

Faye shook her head.

"Awright- what ya do is-" he opened the paper to find a good example. "Ah. Here we go. Now look at dis headline."

Faye looked at him, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh," said Race, feeling extremely stupid. "Ya can't read, can ya?"

"Nah." Faye looked at the ground.

Race cleared his throat. "Well dat's no big deal. Me an' da boys can teach ya real quick. But look. Dis headline says, "Mayor Thinking of Visiting Mexico". Now I don' know who da hell'd be interested in dat headline. So what we gotta do- is ya know, give it a li'l sumptin'- make it interestin'." Race thought for a minute. "Mayor t'inkin' a leavin 'is wife! Found sumptin' more interestin' in Mexico!"

Faye stood aside and grinned as Race got a good group of buyers with that headline. He turned and smiled at her.

"An' da t'ing is, dey'd nevah buy it if ya didn' do dat. You'll learn ta get real good."

Faye smiled. "Any coitain place I should sell?"

Race shook his head. "Not really- jis' don' sell anywheah ya've seen a newsie sellin'- ya might get inta a fight. Jis' find a empty corner. It should be fine."

"Mind if I come back when I'm done?"

"Not at all, me lady." He grinned at her.

Faye walked off to find a selling spot. She eventually found a corner that she thought looked good, and started yelling out headlines- first using the one Race had made up for her. To her delight, she actually got a few buyers. She also got plenty of disapproving looks for her choice in clothing, but she shrugged them off. She'd be getting dirty looks if she was wearing her torn clothing too, so she didn't care. Faye squinted at the foreign letters on the black and white pages. She wished she'd asked Race to tell her more headlines-

"Hey you."

Faye looked up. "Hey Jack."

"Ya havin' trouble readin'?"

"Yeah."

"Want me ta tell ya what da headlines are?"

"Yeah- I already used da mayor in Mexico one."

Jack smiled. "All right- heah."

He read her all of the headlines he thought were workable. He turned to Faye, handing back her paper, watching her think. The one on her mind was "Abandoned Building Burned Down"- Jack had elaborated that a female cat had almost burned with it. She grinned once she'd thought of something, and yelled out her new headline.

"Female barely escapes life from inferno! Her home an' hundreds' a udders gone wid' it!"

She got three more buyers. Jack looked at her in surprise. She was good.

"Geez Faye, you'se gonna have me outta business." Faye laughed, and Jack said he had to get back to selling.

Two hours later, Faye had no papers left. Pleased with herself, and the feeling of change in her pocket, she went looking for Race. Someone had even given her a quarter.

"Race!" she yelled, running over to him. He turned his head back to her, and grinned.

"You'se done already? Jiminy goil, you'se a natural."

"I got a quartah from one guy," she beamed.

Race spun around. "Ha! It figures. I teach 'er, and she gets paid bettah." He yelled out another headline, getting another buyer.

"How many ya got left, Race?"

"Oh, I'se gotta good number left. Ya can wandah 'round if ya want. Ain't worried about ya defendin' yerself," he added with a wink.

Faye snickered, and decided she would walk around- get to know the streets a little better.



She went down a few blocks walking slowly, taking the city in. She couldn't stop thinking about Blink, and when he'd touched her hand- she'd felt something...something....what was it?

Faye sighed, exasperated with not being able to remember why she knew him. She walked down to the harbor, and sat down on a bench, a little tired. James flashed through her mind, and she started to cry, but something stopped her. Something felt good- right- again, like it hadn't since she could remember. It was like that safety feeling you have when you're little during the summer, and your mother tells you to come in for dinner from playing with your friends- that nice orange color the house windows have when you look in from the lavender skied streets, slipping into that time just in between daytime and dusk. When the purple sky turns the world light blue and you feel like you can stay out there forever, as long as everything else promised to. She closed her eyes, and fingered the ring hanging about her neck.

There was something in Blink's eyes- something that made her feel the warmth of those orange windows and the excitement of the light purple skies- the freedom, the safety, the innocence of being young. And something in his touch pained her. It brought her back to the days when the orange lights were quickly burned out and the purple sky faded to a threatening gray- and the house was empty. But then- then through that, when he touched her, when she looked in his eyes- she felt something....what was it? She breathed in heavily, and listened to the seagulls and the water hitting the wall of the harbor. Just as the first raindrop fell, landing softly on her forehead. She smiled.

Blink felt the rain start to fall. He immediately started for the lodging house- he went the shorter way this time. Through the second alley, past the harbor- stop.

Blink stared at Faye, sitting on a bench hugging her legs to her chest, her face up towards the sky, a look of beautiful contentment on her face. He walked over, and sat down next to her, unsure of why he felt he had to. He would have done it anyway, but this need to sit next to her- it wan't something he was accustomed to.

Faye's eyes opened as she felt the weight of someone else on the bench. To her surprise, she was almost expecting Blink to show up. She turned her head, and smiled at him.

"Heya Blink."

He could only smile back. He had this crazy feeling- this horribly crazy feeling, that he was going to kiss her and there was nothing he could do about it. He could feel the gravitational pull towards her, and he knew he couldn't just wait for it to pull him there- that would be extremely odd and would make him look odd too. He exhaled quickly, pushing out the butterflies, and moved over, directly next to her. Quickly, but softly, he placed her head in his hands. Faye looked him in the eye, and then let hers drop down to his lips. Blink smiled, just barely, before he leaned in, and kissed her.

Faye's lips were on fire. She'd never felt a kiss like that before- or had she? She put her hands up to his face, pulling his face even closer. He wrapped his arms around her. They were completely oblivious to the pouring rain. Faye's heart was beating fast- slowly she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him pull himself against her. Suddenly, they stopped. Blink looked at her, and his eyes shifted down the ring sticking out from behind her collar. And suddenly, memories, memories he'd completely pushed back into his dusty caves of retrospect- came crashing through him like a wave.

"Faye," he said, breathless, "Faye, whea'd ya get dat ring?"

Faye reached up and held it. "Me friend, when I'se real little, Charlie...Charlie..." she struggled to remember his last name. But she felt Blink staring at her, wide-eyed.

"Faye- Faye Jones?"

She looked at him in surprise, and then....

"Oh Jesus Christ, Charlie!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

"Faye- I knew I knew ya," he said, laughing slightly. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her- Faye Jones, the eight year old beauty queen from across the street. He held her tight. Then he pushed her back, and, grinning broadly, leaned in and kissed her again. Faye breathed in when he did so, and ran her hands up his neck. They were kissing for quite some time, when they both shivered, and stopped to look at each other. They jumped when a huge lighting bolt and a crash of thunder shook the cobblestone street.

He looked at her, the happiness in his eyes. "We should pro'ly go back ta da lodgin' house. We're soaked t'rough." They ran through the streets, Blink pulling her playfully by the hand.

"Got yourself a girl dere Blink?"

Faye and Blink looked at each other, and grinned.

"Well do ya?" asked Faye, her crooked smile as wide as it had gotten since they'd met her.

"I t'ink I do," said Blink. He leaned in and kissed her gently. The whole bunk room filled with hoots and whistles, and the two of them started laughing. Faye went to the washroom and put on her other shirt- it had dried by that time, and grudgingly put on her torn gray skirt. She hated that thing.

"Hey Faye," said Race, coming in to check on her. Faye poked her head out of the stall. "Ya want a pair a' pants instead?" He'd seen the look on her face when she'd remembered she didn't have any other pants.

"Yes," she said quickly. Race grinned, and walked back into the bunk room. He came back in, and tossed a pair of pants at her.

"Dey're mine," he said. "Pro'ly fit ya better dan Tip' s."

Faye giggled, and shut the stall door. Tip was tall, and extremely muscular- naturally his pants had fit her oddly. Race's were also a little large, but at least they weren't falling off. She picked up her suspenders off the floor, and put them on.

She walked out into the bunk room, and all the boys had to fight not to stare. Race's pants fit her much better than Jimmy's- and gave them a much better look at her figure. Which was a very, very nice figure. Faye, slightly uncomfortable, stood in the door, doing nothing but pray none of them knew her.

"Hey Faye," Jack called from across the room. "Come 'ere. I'll show ya yer bunk."

Relieved, Faye walked over to Jack. He pointed to a bunk in the corner, near a window.

"You'll be on da bottom. Dutchy has da top bed- he's da one ovah dere wid' da blonde hair an' da specs."

Faye looked at Dutchy for a while. He reminded her of James, a lot. She tore her eyes away, and walked over to her bed, tossing her bag onto it. James on her mind, she sat down on her bed, facing the window. It was still raining, and it didn't look like it would be letting up any time soon.

Blink walked out of the washroom, and saw Faye on the bed next to his and Race's, looking out the window. He walked over and sat next to her, looking at her face carefully. He knew that look- a look of untouchable, empty sadness he hadn't seen since the day her parents had died.

"What's wrong, Faye?" he asked softly, moving some loose strands out of her face. She still didn't turn to look at him.

"James- remembah James?"

Blink thought quickly. Then he smiled. "A' coise- called 'im Jamie back den right?"

Faye grinned for a moment. "Yeah. He's been me best friend since forevah. An' now he ain't around..."

"Wha- he ain't-"

"Oh no, 'e's fine," said Faye, finally turning her head to look at Blink. "He jis' ain't around- around heah."

Blink smiled, thinking about his old neighborhood, trying to remember the faces he hadn't seen since he was nine years old. "Hey, how's Janie?" he asked. Faye's face was immediately pained. Blink watched the transformation.

"What happened to 'er?"

"She died."

Blink looked at her, almost disbelieving. Janie. Janie- the beautiful girl all the older boys had a crush on. The one that had saved Blink from drowing in the East river....Blink shook his head.

"I can't believe dat."

"I still don't," said Faye, her voice weak.

"How- how'd it-"

Faye closed her eyes, tears pricking them unmercilessly. "Ol' Mikie."

Blink felt his jaw drop out of place. "Ol' Mikie - killed 'er?"

Faye nodded, a tear running down her cheek. "I'se dere."

Blink looked at her, barely able to believe what he was hearing. "Oh, Faye, I'm so sorry..."

Faye nodded and leaned against blink. "Me too," she whispered. She looked up at him. "How'd ya get da patch?" she asked, gently touching his face right by his left eye.

"Ah, I woiked in a factory b'fore I'se a newsie. I lost me eye."

Faye shuddered. "I'm sorry Charlie."

He grinned, being called Charlie again. "Just kiddin'. I got two eyes. It's jis' for sellin'." He flipped up his patch just long enough for her to see the other blue eye underneath. Faye smacked him forcefully, snickering. Both of them turned around when there was a loud groan from a group of boys, Race hooting with joy over all of them.

"Pay up boys," he cried, doing a little dance as he stood up. Faye grinned. It'd been too long since she'd played poker. Blink knew exactly what she was doing- they both learned to play when they were really little- only Blink was never all that good at it.

"Can I play a hand, fellas?" She asked, crossing the room. Seven newsies, including Mush and Jack, looked up. They grinned, pretty sure they could win some money off of her. As she sat down Jack introduced her to the ones she didn't know.

"Faye, dis is Crutchy, Itey, Specs, Dutchy, an' ya know Mush an' Race already."

Race threw Jack a sarcastic look. Faye nodded, and sat down. Immediately when the cards were dealt her "Brooklyn face" as the boys were already starting to call it, washed over her. There was no expression. The boys exchanged glances, a little worried. Maybe she knew what she was doing. Blink watched from the back, anticipating Faye absolutely wiping the floor with the poor guys. Faye contained a smile.

An hour later, with Faye one dollar richer, Kloppman came up the stairs.

"All right boys- and Faye," he added with a smile, "The storm is getting worse. We could end up with no electricity so I'm leaving candles with Jack here. Okay?"

The boys all answered in one form or another. Faye watched in awe as Kloppman smiled and walked down the stairs. Jis' like Race said- like a faddah, she thought, a rush of unidentifiable feelings going through her. Maybe she'd finally found home- something she hadn't had for a long time. Faye walked over to Blink and Race's bunk, where the two of them and Mush were sitting on the lower bed. Blink scooted over for her and she sat down in between him and Race.

"So ya t'ink you're gonna like bein' a newsie?" Mush asked her.

Faye looked around the softly lit room, and glanced at the dark sky outside the window. The warm orange light made her feel warm inside as she took Blink's hand and he kissed her on the top of the head. She smiled to herself, happy that for the first time in a long time, she was inside those orange windows, looking out at the world. With a family.

"Yeah. I know I will."

"Faye!"

Faye nearly fell off of the railing of the fire escape in surprise, sending her defenses up.

"What?" she snapped.

"Sorry," said Blink, coming out in his long johns. "What ya doin' out heah? It's da middle a' da night."

"I um..couldn' sleep."

"Nightmare?"

Faye looked at Blink, and couldn't help but show the gratitude in her eyes. Somehow, no matter what she did or said, he could always read her.

"Yeah."

"'Bout what?"

Faye paused, looking back out to the city. Blink watched her still, pale face in the moon light.

"Janie."

Blink waited a moment, and then walked over to her. "Faye, what happened?"

"I tol' ya. Ol' Mikie," said Faye, trying to talk about it like it was any other story.

"Yeah but...what 'appened?"

Faye felt goosebumps growing on her skin, remembering the horrors of the night only two months before.

"I uh...was comin' home from woik..." Faye's voice started to tremble and her body began to shake violently. Blink quickly pulled her down off of the railing and held her to him.

"It's all right Faye...I don' wanna squeeze it outta ya."

Faye exhaled slowly. She knew she had to tell someone sometime.

"I'm gonna- I'm gonna try ta-"

Blink pushed her away a little to look her in the face. "Ya can say anyt'in ta me, Faye."

Faye closed her eyes for a moment. She only wished she could.

"I'se comin' home from woik, an'..."

Blink kept a firm grip on her waist.

"An' all da lights were out. Ya remembah me house?"

Blink nodded.

"I don' know if ya remembah but no light evah comes in dere from da moon at night- I don' know why. But I couldn' jis' keep da light on while I was out- uh, at woik, ya know- can't afford it- so it was always dark. Didn' t'ink nothin' was wrong. I was in da kitchen, tryin' ta find a candle, when I hoid it." Faye started to shake again. Blink tightened his hold on her.

"Hoid what?"

"Hoid Janie- whisperin ta me," she said, barely audibly.

"Whisperin' what?" He pressed on gently.

Faye closed her eyes, still hearing her voice in her head. "Sayin'- sayin' she needed me ta help 'er. She kept sayin he's here, dat he knew he was here, an'...an den she'd say help."

"What you say back?"

"I'se askin' 'er wheah she was- I couldn' see nothin'. When I started talkin' loud she told me ta be quiet- dat he was dere. By dat time I knew who she was talkin' bout an' I got real scared so I jis' ran inta me bedroom wit'out a candle- a'coise dat didn' do no good..." Faye was numb now. She couldn't feel anything, not even the tear slipping down her cheek. She told the rest of her story in a state of detatchment. "I hoid 'er whisperin- but I jis' couldn' tell wheah it was. She was gettin' real scared by dat time, I could heah her shakin'- an' I hoid floor boards creakin' but I t'ought it was 'er. I ran out inta da kitchen wheah I hoid it from, an' found me candle, an' started callin' er name. When I walked in wid da candle, she was in corner a' me room, all slumped ovah. She wasn't movin' er nothin'. I started cryin'- an' I told 'er ta get up- but she didn' move- I went ovah to 'er, and lifted up 'er head-" Faye suddenly lost her composure, and collapsed on the fire escape, feeling nautious. The last thing she'd wanted to remember was Janie's face...not her face....

Blink was immediately down by her side, his arms around her shoulders. Suddenly Faye spun around, on her hands and knees, and threw up over the fire escape, into the street below. Blink kneeled behind her, rubbing her back. Faye stopped, and stayed in that position, half coughing and half crying, struggling to breathe. Blink pulled her to him then, cradling her to his shoulder.

"I'm heah for ya Faye," he whispered, rocking the two of them back and forth. "Always be heah."

Faye suddenly started bawling, covering her face in her hands. Blink just kept rocking her back in forth, trying to soothe her. Faye's emotions were upside down- Janie's empty, blank expression was frozen in her mind, and the warmth in Blink's arms brought out the sadness- the anger- maybe the hate- that had been infesting her insides. Suddenly Faye looked up, staring into his eyes. She smiled sadly. "What would I do wit'out ya, Charlie?"

He smiled gently, and kissed her on the cheek. She sighed.

"Guess I should go back ta sleep," she said, pulling herself up by the railing. "I'm real tired."

He nodded. "Yeah, get some sleep Faye."

They crawled back in the window, and Blink kissed her on the cheek one more time. "G'night."

"G'night," she whispered back. Faye watched him start to climb up. "Uh- Charlie?- I uh..." She struggled with finishing her sentence. He understood, smiling sadly.

"Want me ta sleep in yer bed wid ya?"

She nodded, slightly embarrassed. Blink crawled under her sheets, and Faye cuddled up next to him, closing her eyes. Blink smiled slightly, liking the feeling of her against him, before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.