Because Of You I Am Afraid ~*August*~

[Dreamer]

What did she do now? How could she have done it? Why did Dreamer go and get herself lost in Midtown?!?!

She had made a promise to herself since her last two encounters with Mike to not get herself into more trouble. She was supposed to stay in the Manhattan territory, and she blew it! She just had to get her pretty little head lost in the clouds and wander around the City of New York alone, again!

That morning had started out all right. Dreamer woke up on the roof to the sound of Kloppman waking up the sleepy Manhattan newsies, and got herself ready as fast as she could (or as fast as she could without tripping over herself too much). But by the time she had gotten her 20 papers, she remembered her fight with her best friend, Jinks, and thought it was best to just leave her alone for a while and sell papers on her own for today.

She didn't know how, but by the time noon came around, Dreamer managed to sell all of her papers. Which was strange, since she wasn't really that good a newsie. The key to selling a paper was to lie, and Dreamer hated lying. She only lied when it was a life-and-death situation, and even then was she the worst liar ever.

Usually, Dreamer was glad when she would have enough money to go buy herself something to eat at Tibby's. But, seeing as how things were going for her so far, she didn't feel so hungry. So, she decided to take a walk by herself.

But they didn't call her Dreamer for nothing. Being a dreamer meant that you constantly dreamed.

When the sun came down, getting ready to sleep for the night, Dreamer noticed she had wandered far. Very far from Manhatten. More than usual it would seem.

She tried to find her way back, but still ended up getting lost, wherever she went. As the night grew dark, she grew panicky and frightened. This was Midtown she had gotten herself lost in. She didn't know much about it other than Mike D. Greaser was its leader for their newsies. Hadn't she gotten herself into enough trouble when it came to Mike?

The only thing Dreamer knew was that she had to get herself back to Manhattan and curl up in her makeshift bed on the roof of the Manhattan Lodging House before anything happened. She was like a magnet when it came to trouble. She tried to calm herself down as she turned the corner onto a street. Obscurity Street:...the atmosphere and environment suited the name well, it seemed.

As the cold autumn wind blew with a harsh and loud whistle, Dreamer folded her arms around her upper body, as the goosebumps began to form. She didn't know where exactly she was, nor did she even want to ask for directions. Very few people were out that night, but their appearance did not look very welcoming. Particularly the two gentlemen, who looked to be in their early twenties, leaning against the brick wall of a boarded up grocery store that looked to have been out of business for years.

Taking a deep breath, she stood up straight, kept her arms folded, and tried her best to walk past them without them tailing her or getting her to stay behind against her will.

Unfortunately, Dreamer's plans never go so well. One of the burly looking men grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"What'cha doing out here all by your lonesome, girly?" he slurred his words with a pumpkin grin.

He was drunk. Instinctively, Dreamer yanked the guys grip off of her arm, and ran as fast as she could, going down a deep, and dark alleyway. Hiding herself between a dumpster and a smelly old trash can, she pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them, and buried her head in between them. She could hear the guys that had caught her, running past the ally shouting "I think she went this way!". But she didn't want to take any chances. She felt frozen in her hiding spot, but her entire being could not stop shaking involuntarily from fear. Shuddered gasps escaped her lips, and her heart skipped a few more beats when she heard footsteps coming over. Careful not to gasp so loud, Dreamer hugged her knees closer to her chest in a more tight grip, and edged toward the brick wall, frightened of what might happen if she was found.

((Here you go. I hope it's long enough for you. Happy posting! ))

[August Davis]

August Davis was walking down the streets of Midtown, going to meet up with Mike D. Greaser. Him and Mike had a pretty strong friendship, and Mike wanted him to fight in the rumble. August agreed imminently. He took pride in his fighting, and his rough exterior. He came from a family in which he was the youngest, five older brothers and sisters. Five tough older brothers and sisters, his sisters were feminine but they could hold their own ground when it came to arguing and fighting. His brothers were the reason why he was such a good fighter, and August thanked them for that.

The street in Midtown he was on was Obscurity, it fit the description well. Midtown was an obscure part of town, and the street was worse. Junkies, prostitutes, drunk people, pimps, everyone that fit that sleazy title was on this street. Whether living, dying, fighting, whatever, if they could've been described with the word 'obscure' they were on that street.

In other words, the name fit well.

August knew his way around Midtown perfectly, he lived there after all. His parents lived in Queens, Jean and his wife in the Bronx. Rebecca and her husband lived in Manhattan, and the others lived in Brooklyn, they all shared an apartment. August was the only one who lived in Midtown, and he loved it. He loved independence, and the feeling of freedom. The feeling was priceless, and it was the best feeling in the world. No one could take the feeling of freedom away from him.

The cold, bitter wind blew, August didn't mind. Fall was his favorite season, because it was cold. He felt he was most productive in the cold. Why? He didn't know, everything just worked better in the cold than it did when it was hot outside. It was just one of the many mysteries of August. He was a mysterious person, and he liked it that way.

He rolled up his sleeves as he passed an abandoned building, most things were deserted here, so it was nothing new to him. Nothing interesting going on right now. Such a pity, everything was much more interesting if there was a fight. But sadly, on this breezy night in September on Obscurity there were no fights, no drug deals, nothing interesting or exciting.

But wait....two drunk men, and a girl. Oh, this should be interesting. He watched as the girl ran away, and the men followed her. That wasn't a good thing, drunk men did bad things to little girls when they were drunk. August's ears perked up, and he smelt a fight coming on. He didn't appreciate it when women were disrespected, if they were disrespectful first, that was another story. But this girl wasn't doing any harm, she was just walking around. Well, served her right, little girls shouldn't be walking around Midtown at this time of the night.

August ran into the alleyway were they were at, the drunk men were looking for the little girl. He rolled his eyes, it would be much more fun if they were sober. He could actually feel good about winning. It would be best if he saved his energy for another time, this would be a much too easy fight. He bent down and picked up an empty bottle. He then took it and threw it out of the alleyway. The drunk men looked up, and stumbled out of the alleyway to see what the noise was. August looked around for the girl, he saw darkness. Hmmm, the girl was a good hider, he had to admit that. "Hey!" He yelled, "You can come out now, I'm not going to hurt you." He paused for a moment, nothing happened. August let a sigh escape, "Your welcome!" He exclaimed, before he began to make his way out of the alley.

[Dreamer]

She might have either been too stupid or crazy to do so, but Dreamer dared herself to look up from between her knees and looked around herself from her dark hiding spot. The two drunks appeared to had given up on looking for her, their prey, and left the alleyway. Oh, let it be so, for the sake of poor Dreamer's heart. She didn't move. She didn't even try to breathe so loud. Something had made those men go away, but what? A third person who would also try to hurt Dreamer? A bystander who just happened to be walking by and saw what was going on? She didn't know. Dreamer never knew. That was why she was mostly quiet, naive, and to herself.

She never wanted her heart hurt. It had been abused so many times before, that it ended up killing two people she loved the most: Her parents. Because of her pride of not telling them about that boy she was with, they were dead. Because she didn't want anyone to find her in Texas, she was all alone in New York City. Because of her stubbornness and and desire to not be so weak anymore, she had received a scar on her side and bruises on her arms from the fingers of Mike D. Greaser himself. She felt like everything had gone wrong since the fire. Everything in her life was a mess.

Everything seemed quiet. Deathly quiet, that was. The kind of quiet that Dreamer hated. It crawled on her skin with the chill of the wind.

"Hey!"

A frightened gasp came from Dreamer. Someone else was here. Or still there. But who?

"You can come out now, I'm not gonna hurt you,"

Yeah right. Dreamer was smart enough to think of the possibility that maybe this guy was just trying to get her like those two drunks. Trying to earn her trust to get her to come out of her hiding place. She shook her head to herself. No way. There was absolutely no way she was coming out.

"You're welcome,"

Wait a minute? Was he going? Was the guy just giving up or something? Could he really not find her in this alley? There was no time to question herself. Mentally preparing herself, Dreamer slowly crept out of her hiding place, looking in the direction where the voice came from. Yeah, he was definitely leaving. Quietly, she got up, and started to make her way out of the other side of the alley.

"Hey! There you are, sweet-cakes," laughed a couple of chilling, drunk voices.

Dreamer froze on the spot.Up ahead of her on the other side of the alley were those two drunks coming toward her at a casual walk. She took a step back, frightened. Regretting from leaving her hiding place for the tiniest minute, a look of uncertainty and fear of the night's outcome took up residence on her soft, sweet face. Her innocent blue-green eyes were wide and frantically looking for something to help her fight back. She had two choices at the moment.

1: Find a stick or something and fight off these guys until she would trip over her own feet, as usual.

Or.

2: Run away until she would trip over her own feet...as usual.

She decided to pick the second object. It would make her look less of an idiot, anyway. Getting her senses together, she took off at lightning speed to go out the way she came in earlier.

"Get back here!" they started to chase her down.

Dreamer never looks where she's going when she's running, even when it meant for her own safety. Everything seems to go too fast for her to comprehend right away. She looked back once to see how far away they were from her (not too far, unfortunately), but by the time she started to turn her head to look forward BAM!

She knocked into somebody else, and, being the klutz that she was, fell back, hitting her head on the concrete ground. She held it as a throbbing annoyance took over immediately with a painful vengeance.

"Ah..." she moaned as she sat up.

Her moan was a partial moan of annoyance as she found a bit of blood on her fingers. Dreamer always asked herself why she was always so fragile, even when she tried to tough it out. But the answer never came. It looked like it never would.

As she started to look up, fear took over her again. She had run into the guy who claimed that it was safe to come out and that he wouldn't hurt her.

A couple of shaky intakes of breath was her only sound, and her small, trembling figure was her only movement.

She lifted her upper body off the ground more with her hands planted firmly on the concrete as she couldn't keep her eyes off of him, waiting to see if he was friend or foe.

Waiting to see if he would help her or hurt her...

[August Davis]

"Hey! There you are, sweet-cakes,"

August turned around, could these guys not take a hint? He turned around and watched what the girl would do, and what they would do. He wouldn't get involved unless absolutely necessary, which so far it wasn't. He believed it wasn't right to beat up on a girl, but he also believed that a girl had to stand up for themselves if they wanted to survive in this cruel world. It definitely added points if he saw a girl stand up for themselves, but not to the point where she made a guy look dumb. It was a complicated process.

He watched as they came towards her, and as she ran off. So far, so good. He still prepared himself to fight, she didn't look like the toughest cookie out there. Besides, he was long overdue for a nice fight. Eh, this might not be the greatest fight he had had. Two drunk men versus the sober August. Still, the girl could take the men down. Two drunk men versus a little girl. No problem, you just kick and run. He sighed, and continued to watch. Watching was his specialty.

"Get back here!"

Any second now something would happen and it would be August to the rescue. He folded his arms across his chest and watched. As if on cue, the girl fell. It appeared that she was really hurt. He unfolded his arms and began to walk over to her. The drunk men have crossed the line, he believed that you shouldn't hurt a woman for no reason. His walking pace grew to a jog as he went over to where she was.

Standing over her, he watched to see what she would do. It didn't look like she was hurt that badly, so she probably didn't need his help. Unless she was one of those pathetic girls, the ones who got a paper cut and began crying because it 'hurt'. August couldn't stand those type of people. But still...if someone was hurt, shouldn't he help them?

He looked down at her and sighed. "Stand up, you're not dead." He said, when she didn't reply as fast as he wanted, he picked her up. "Grow a backbone." Sure, it was harsh, but some people needed the harsh truth. He paused, maybe that was a little too mean. Just because he was a good fighter didn't mean he had to be insensitive to those who well...weren't. "Are you okay?" He asked. From picking her up he didn't center his weight, which made him loose his balance. August hated when this happened, it was almost like slow motion as he felt himself tumbling over onto the little girl. Oh great...how awkward was this?

[Mike D. Greaser]

Leaning his head against the wall behind him, Mike sighed. What a crazy week. Taking a long drag from his cigarette, Mike realized for the first time that he was smoking one. He didn't usually smoke regularly, but lately he found himself doing it as second nature. He didn't even remember lighting it... Mike sighed and flicked the cigarette aside.

Mike groaned. He was acting like a bloody fool. He couldn't let the things that had happened in the past week bring him down. Deciding that he was going to have some fun tonight, Mike pushed himself off the wall. He would go play cards with his boys or go see Bella. Or maybe Alice. Oh wait, he can't because her father was being an-

Mike shook his head. This is exactly what was getting him down. He could worry about all those things tomorrow, but for now, Mike was going to enjoy the rest of his evening. Suddenly, Mike heard a small noise in the alley just across from him. Fights were a normal part of a newsies life; happened almost everyday. Mike usually ignored them and walked on, but today he felt the need to fight.

He smirked and sauntered over to the alley, excited to beat some random kid to death. What he saw, when he arrived at the mouth of the alley, made Mike laugh out loud. August, one of his fighters, was on top of a girl. Who the girl was, Mike could not see. But he could see her small body under August's and her skirt sticking out. Mike continued to laugh. This was just to funny, finding August in this situation. Leaning against the wall of the alley, Mike asked nonchalantly, "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"


{Posting order= Dreamer, August, Mike}

[Dreamer]

As she just sat there on the ground, like an idiot, Dreamer couldn't help but stare at this tall, dark figure standing over her. The way he stood looked authoritative, powerful, and demanding.

It was fearful, in a way, for Dreamer.

And yet, there was something in his eyes that caused Dreamer to doubt her fear. It made her more...entranced rather than afraid. Usually, Dreamer could see a person's true colors through their eyes if she stared at them for just a second or two,

Somehow, she saw nothing but the green color in those eyes. Maybe that was why she kept staring at him with wide eyes.

But the feeling she got when she looked at them made her forget what she was running from. Made her forget her troubles and her aching head, even.

And she was grateful for that.

"Stand up, you're not dead."

His voice alone brought Dreamer back to reality. He sounded a bit frustrated, so she tried to find her voice, and the ability to move.

She was just about to speak when she was suddenly picked up off the ground. As expected of Dreamer, she was taken by surprise, and held onto this peculiar stranger to at least help carry her own weight in his arms...not to mention calm her trembling figure down by focusing on something else.

"Grow a backbone."

If Dreamer knew this guy, she would be a bit offended, even though it was the truth. But she didn't, and even if she did, she wouldn't allow herself to argue. Instead, she took it as advice.

"Sorry," she said, her voice quiet, but loud enough for him to hear. "Um...I'll remember to do that. Really, I will. And thank you for helping me out. It was nice, and I appreciate it very much...not many people around here would do that,"

Memories of what happened a week or so ago with Mike caused Dreamer to automatically pull her sleeves up to cover the purple and green finger-print bruises on her forearms.

"Are you okay?"

Dreamer started to get a bit more comfortable answering his question now that he was a bit softer in his words now. When he had asked her this question, she remembered her headache and the blood. She just shrugged it off. It didn't as much as it did when she hit her head on the concrete.

"Actually," she started. "I think I'll be just--"

All of a sudden, Dreamer was back on the solid ground, hitting her head again in the process, lying flat on her back...With this guy right on top of her.

OK, this was uncomfortable.

It wasn't until then when Dreamer really got a good look at the guy's face. It was pale, kind of like her own, but she had a rosy spot on both cheekbone's. He had a nice bronze color in his messy hair, and his eyes looked a bit darker than the green color she had seen before.

She finished her sentence, half in a bit of wonder, and the other half in a bit of pain due to the now the intensified headache.

"...Fine,"

Suddenly, a chill went up Dreamer's spine, making her shudder, as a laugh echoed off the walls of the alleyway.

She knew that laugh. She had tried to avoid the owner of it in everything as best as she could, and now this night would be the end of her efforts to ignore him.

She closed her eyes a bit, pleading to herself softly.

"Please," she whispered to herself. "Let this just be a bad dream. Let it all be just a nightmare. Please..."

There was no denying it. That laugh belonged to Mike D. Greaser and Dreamer knew that if she didn't think of something, she would be in more trouble than at Harlem. BIG trouble.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Taking in a quiet gasp, Dreamer grew more frightened. On an act of impulsive thinking, she made herself go limp, forcing her body to relax itself against the cold ground.

She kept her eyes softly closed as if in a deep sleep, hoping that if Mike thought she had a faint spell or something, he would leave her alone.

The stranger, however, was another question. She didn't know if he was with Mike or not. This was Midtown...

...But he did help her out with those guys. And she would very much like to trust him, not to mention learn his name, so...

Could she trust him?

[August Davis]

If this situation could have gotten more awkward, August would have been surprised. It felt like forever before he realized he was on top of this girl, and his senses haven't kicked in. He pushed himself off of her and sat next to her, frowning. He never wanted to come in that close contact with someone ever again. "Please, Let this just be a bad dream. Let it all be just a nightmare. Please..."

Well August didn't consider himself to be an ugly guy, and he didn't consider himself to be a rude type of person. So he was almost insulted when she said that. Until he realized his boss, Mike D. Greaser was at the corner of the alleyway laughing. He felt horrible, he was Mike's fighter, the situation he was just in made him look bad. August stood up imminently and brushed himself off, as if he was brushing the girl off. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and prepared to give an excuse.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

August bit his lip, something he never did, he never was nervous. But Mike was his boss...his friend, he would understand, right? "Its not what it seems." He blurted out. "I was just fighting off people for her, because she can't do it herself." He sneered at the girl. "And then I lost my balance and knocked her over." August said nonchalantly, as if this happened everyday. He tried to keep his cool, hard exterior.

He glanced down at the girl, "Oh get up, you're fine." He said, just to make sure that Mike knew he had no feelings for her. Besides, August wouldn't let himself like someone who probably couldn't handle a punch. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, and folded his arms across his chest. August scowled at her, he didn't even know her, and already he knew they wouldn't be getting along...

[isaac]

Midtown at night was what every parent warned their children about, what every father threatened his lazy son he would end up becoming if he didn't work like an honest man, and what every mother protected their pretty young daughters from by shutting them in the house to practice cooking and sewing and cleaning, so they would never know what it was like in this bereft part of New York city once the sun went down. But there were also those who were not warned, threatened or protected from the dirty, forlorn streets. Some made their way here accidentally: by finding themselves only able to afford one of the old, run-down tenements that towered over the narrow streets, or finding a vice that could only be satisfied if they crossed this borough's borders. For others, like the young man who was making his way down Obscurity Street, life in Midtown was a choice, and often it was the only one they had.

Isaac Montgomery wasn't afraid of what lurked on street corners and alleyways. He didn't shudder at the glare of a drunk, nor cast his eyes away at the sight of an addict, or blush at the lewd stare of a prostitute. It took a different kind of person to not be afraid or even phased at all the sights one could see at this time of night on Obscurity. Because Isaac considered himself to be the worst thing someone could bump into on these streets in this darkness. And because there was nothing worse than what he was, what did he need to fear?

As Isaac continued his aimless walk, he heard a collection of voices that caught his attention. Two were slurred, their voices unfamiliar. Drunks, Isaac thought, nothing out of the ordinary. The scared voice of a girl, again nothing that was too strange. Isaac was about to pass them by when a third voice was added to the mix, one he recognized. There were few working streetlights in Midtown, because there was always someone messing with them, putting them out, breaking them, but he could see in the dim light that it was August Davis who was speaking, a fellow Midtowner, one of the boys who called Isaac by the name of Cain...with good reason.

Isaac stood by and watched the display from afar, not caring to walk over yet. He didn't make a move until August fell over on the girl. Isaac hid a laugh with his hand, trying to make himself hidden. It was only when someone else strode over did he figure that he might as well, too. The person to come before him was Mike. Good sign, Cain thought. That meant there would be friends, or if he couldn't call the other Midtowners friends, at least comrades, to stand around with. Cain crossed the street and walked over in time to hear the tail end of the conversation.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Mike laughed. Cain's sentiments exactly.

"Its not what it seems. I was just fighting off people for her, because she can't do it herself." To the girl, August snapped,"Oh get up, you're fine."

"What am I missing?" Cain asked with a smirk. He looked from Mike to August, and then to the girl. She wasn't particularly pretty, he didn't think. Why would August be messing around with her? He looked back to August and said, "Why fight people off for her?" Cain couldn't see why August had helped the girl at all. It wasn't like he knew her or anything, Cain didn't think. He never saw the point of helping strangers. After a moment he looked back to the girl, but still addressed August. "It's her fault," he said with a slight sneer, "for deciding it was a good idea to walk around here. She doesn't belong here..."

[Dreamer]

There was nothing more chilling in this world than Mike's laughter forcing Dreamer's spine to crawl. She slowly opened her eyes as soon as the stranger got off of her, sitting next to her with a sour look on his face. She was a bit pensive on the question of why he seemed to be so aggitated.Why did he look so irritated all of a sudden? She hoped she had done nothing wrong to offend him. The last thing she wanted was to get on the wrong foot with someone she just met.

As soon as he noticed Mike, Dreamer propped herself up, planting her hands on the ground behind her, wondering what she was going to do to get out of this without coughing her lungs out, getting something sharp stuck in her, and/or being kissed by a creep.

She forced herself to not shudder at the memory of Mike kissing her that night in Harlem. She had to suck-it up if she wanted to get out of here. There was no look of fear on her face, for once in her life. Instead, there was a hint of relaxation and indifference to the situation.

"Its not what it seems."

So...this guy did know Mike D. Greaser. Great. Just the thing to perfect Dreamer's situation.

But there was something in his voice that made Dreamer think about this guy's character more. She had caught him biting his lip, looking a bit stressed, wondering what to do with this scenario.

Well, she might as well help him explain to Mike what happened. After all, he did help her out, and she wanted to do everything in her power to keep the growing tension between the three as low as humanly possible.

"He's right," she added as if she were explaining something to a friend, looking Mike in the eye with all her confidence."It was just an accident,"

"I was just fighting off people for her, because she can't do it herself."

Dreamer turned to the guy in time to see him sneer at her.She swallowed, resisting the urge to cringe. Immedietly, she could sense a sudden annoyance from this guy because of her inability to fight. Granted, she was annoyed at it herself, but...was it her fault that she tried to fight back so many times and always end up getting hurt? Dreamer had wanted the newsies to teach her how to fend for herself, but she was always quietly denied.

So, she spoke the truth to that.

"I know that," she explained calmly, with a shrug. "I'd like to learn, but nobody will even bother to teach me. Besides...it would definetly be nice to get into a fight you know you would win in,"

"And then I lost my balance and knocked her over."

Dreamer nodded in agreement to the guy's testimony of what happened. He seemed to be pretty calm about what was happening.

"Oh get up, you're fine."

False alarm. Quickly, this time, Dreamer got herself up, and steadied herself on her feet. Her head was not being too generous with her, what with it now aching like an ax chopping away at her brain. She resisted the urge to just hold her head in comfort by folding her arms across her chest, protectively. This guy seemed to be naturally crabby, but she still tried to be nice, hoping it would be effective on both him and the way things seemed to be headed.

"Thanks again," she gave a small smile that tugged at the end of her mouth.

When she looked at Mike, everything seemed silent now. Everytime she looked at Mike now, Dreamer was given flashbacks of the events in Texas, most of them being the outlaw she had gotten herself involved with. But that was when she was stronger, happier, and more confident. This was now, when she suffered the consequences of her choices by being timid, shy, and scared all the time.Mike D. Greaser would somehow be nothing but a constant similarity to the outlaw, in character, for Dreamer and there was nothing she could do about it.

With a calmness in her eyes, she acknowledged the murderer as if he were a long-lost friend. Dreamer hoped that her attempts to keep everything subtle would come out triumphant.

"Hello Mike," she said as bravely as she could.

Suddenly, a new voice sounded, making Dreamer cringe inside, but not so that the other two guys could see it.

"What am I missing?"

From what Dreamer could tell, this guy could be as mean and cruel as Mike. They looked like they were friends or something like it. Still, she stayed calm, and appeared as if she wasn't bothered by the boy's uncomfortable presence.

"Why fight people off for her?"

Though she looked like she wasn't affected by the boy's sneering comment, Dreamer's heart skipped a beat. She had been spoken too like that before, but it had been so long that she had almost forgotten how much it hurt her emotionally. To prove that she wasn't afraid, Dreamer took a step forward from where she stood so that this guy would know that she wasn't hurt by his nasty comment, her green-blue eyes still appearing unaffected by any pain or discomfort.

"It's her fault," he said with a slight sneer, "for deciding it was a good idea to walk around here. She doesn't belong here..."

Dreamer nodded, actually agreeing with this guy, whoever he was.

"I know it's my fault," she said with confidence. "I know I don't belong here. But there are just days when I take walks, get my head stuck up in the clouds, and the next thing I know, I find myself in different places. Today was just one of these days,"

Dreamer faced Mike and the boy who helped her so that they would know she was talking to them too.

"I know someone like me shouldn't be in a place like this," she explained calmly. "I was actually trying to find myself a way out of here so I could get back home in time."

She faced the boy who helped her.

"Again, I appreciate you helping me out. You didn't have to do that, but you did anyway. So thank you..."

For once, Dreamer actually laughed a bit.

"Sorry. You're probably getting tired of me thanking you,"

Then, Dreamer turned to Mike, taking in a huge breath to help her speak.

"Mike, please, I really don't want to get into anymore trouble tonight, or even this week for that matter. But I would really like it if you would tell me how to get out of Midtown so I can be on my way home...Please?"

[August Davis]

"It was just an accident,"

August noticed a shift in her body movements, as if she was getting uncomfortable with Mike's presence there. He looked at her, and then back at Mike. Mike was smirking, and the girl was blushing. Apparently they knew each other. A few nights ago Mike was talking about all of his lady friends. At first, August thought he knew them from Twinkle's House, the whorehouse in Midtown, but the girls he was talking about were people he had met around the city and such. Was this girl the airhead? No, no...her name was Sarah. And this girl looked much too poor to be the rich girl Mike said he was dating. She didn't look anything like Jack, so she couldn't of been his sister. Was this the girl that Mike said he had tried to help but she rejected the help, and made Mike get mad at her? Oh well, it didn't really matter...

"I'd like to learn, but nobody will even bother to teach me. Besides...it would definetly be nice to get into a fight you know you would win in,"

"Are you a newsie?" August asked, it was more of a "answer me now or else" type of a question. "Normally when you become a newsie, someone teaches you how to fight. That's usually the leader's job."
He stifled a laugh at his next thought. "You could get into a fight with an ant, that's a guaranteed win." He said, laughing.


"Thanks again,"
"Hello Mike,"

August rolled his eyes. Sure, he appreciated getting thanked but once was enough. And how did this girl know Mike?! Oh right, she was one of the ones that Mike told him about. August just couldn't remember which one. It wasn't that big of an important issue, he didn't really care about who she was. He just helped her once, no big deal.

"What am I missing?"

"It's her fault, for deciding it was a good idea to walk around here. She doesn't belong here..."

"I know it's my fault, I know I don't belong here. But there are just days when I take walks, get my head stuck up in the clouds, and the next thing I know, I find myself in different places. Today was just one of these days,"

"I had a moral crisis today." August said to Cain, one of the other Midtown newsies. "I see the girl," he gestured to her with his head, "Get involved with some drunks, and then ends up here. I save her life twice. Don't ask me why, I'm having a good day today." He said with a shrug. He sighed at Cain's response. "I know. She doesn't, hopefully this little incident," he said with emphasis on incident, "Will teach her not to roam around Midtown at night...or day."

August bit his tongue during the girl's speech, not really wanting to hear what she had to say. "Well, if you know you don't belong here why come to Midtown?!" He exclaimed. "Do you know I have a million other things I could be doing right now?" He huffed, "Pay more attention to things, and you won't be in stupid situations."

"Again, I appreciate you helping me out. You didn't have to do that, but you did anyway. So thank you..."

"Sorry. You're probably getting tired of me thanking you,"

"Mike, please, I really don't want to get into anymore trouble tonight, or even this week for that matter. But I would really like it if you would tell me how to get out of Midtown so I can be on my way home...Please?"

"Yeah, I am. I got it that you were thankful about ten thank you's ago." He said, trying to hide the smirk on his face. He listened to her plea for help to Mike. So they knew each other...huh? August considered two options, the three of them could lie to her and torture her. Or Mike could be a gentleman and send her on her merry, day-dreaming way to wherever she lived at. It was Mike's call...

[Mike D. Greaser]

"Its not what it seems. I was just fighting off people for her, because she can't do it herself. And then I lost my balance and knocked her over."

Chuckling, Mike replied, “Fighting of the bad guys for the damsel in distress?” Mike raised is eyebrows and glanced at Dreamer. Being chivalry wasn’t a normal thing for his newsies. They didn’t usually take time off from their day to help others. They were Midtown newsies. But just because they were Midtown newsies didn’t mean they wouldn’t have feelings. Look at Mike for instance, he was in love with the Governor’s daughter. Did August actually have feelings for Dreamer? If so…. Mike needed to have a talk with him.

"What am I missing?"

Mike looked to see Cain approaching the trio. He had to laugh of the irony of it all. Dreamer was now cornered by three Midtown newsies. It really was her fault, for venturing into Midtown in the first place. But Mike was almost happy she did. Maybe now she would stop whining about what happened weeks ago.

“Oh no, Cain. Just in time.” He smirked and turned to look at the two. “Continue.”

"He's right, It was just an accident,"

Mike sneered at Dreamer, disgusted by her. Everything about her made him wanted to throw her off a bridge. She was about as bad as Sarah. An airhead who couldn’t defend herself. “Was I talking to you?”

"Why fight people off for her? It's her fault, for deciding it was a good idea to walk around here. She doesn't belong here..."

Dreamer thought Mike was mean and creepy. Well, Mike thought, welcome to the real world. People didn’t walk around with smiles on their faces and a song on their lips. Her little dream world was about to crash around her. What would Jack do if one of his newsies went missing? Would he even notice. Mike doubted it, especially with someone like Dreamer.

"Oh get up, you're fine."

Mike noticed her shudder and snorted, disgusted. “Still hanging on to the things of the past?” Mike sneered. She just wouldn’t let that go. She was a girl who took things way to seriously. Mike threatened her and kissed her. Big deal. She needed to bloody get over it.

"I know that. I'd like to learn, but nobody will even bother to teach me. Besides...it would definetly be nice to get into a fight you know you would win in,"

Mike had to respect her for how calm she was. She didn’t even seem to notice that three guys had her cornered in an alley, a place not many girls wanted to. It almost insulted Mike, the fact that she wasn’t showing fear around him. It made him want to slap her and yell at her. Why couldn’t she pick an emotion? What was her problem. One minute she was super Dreamer and the next she was broken Dreamer. Mike hated two-faced people.

"Thanks again,"

Mike rolled his eyes and snorted. Think that is going to save you? You think August is going to help you get through this mess? What makes you think that, Dreamer? Are you that stupid? Thought so.

"Hello Mike.”

“Afternoon, love,” Mike said with a smirk and a wink. Might as well have fun if he had to deal with her.

"I know it's my fault. I know I don't belong here. But there are just days when I take walks, get my head stuck up in the clouds, and the next thing I know, I find myself in different places. Today was just one of these days. I know someone like me shouldn't be in a place like this," she explained calmly. "I was actually trying to find myself a way out of here so I could get back home in time. Again, I appreciate you helping me out. You didn't have to do that, but you did anyway. So thank you...Sorry. You're probably getting tired of me thanking you,""Yeah, I am. I got it that you were thankful about ten thank you's ago."

Mike gagged a few times, glancing to the other two boys laughing. This girl was just oblivious to everything, wasn’t she? The other two seemed annoyed and amused all at once. Mike shook his head and looked back a Dreamer. “What am I going to bloody do with you Dreamer?”

"Mike, please, I really don't want to get into anymore trouble tonight, or even this week for that matter. But I would really like it if you would tell me how to get out of Midtown so I can be on my way home...Please?"

Mike lunged at her, no longer being able to control his anger. Grabbing her by the collar, Mike pushed her against the alley wall. “You think you can walk in here and walk right out? You think because you are a girl that we are going to have pitty on you? No matter your sex, we call what you did trespassing. I don’t take kindly to trespassers.” He sneered at her, inches from her face.

"Are you a newsie?""Normally when you become a newsie, someone teaches you how to fight. That's usually the leader's job. You could get into a fight with an ant, that's a guaranteed win."

"I had a moral crisis today. I see the girl, Get involved with some drunks, and then ends up here. I save her life twice. Don't ask me why, I'm having a good day today. I know. She doesn't, hopefully this little incident, Will teach her not to roam around Midtown at night...or day. Well, if you know you don't belong here why come to Midtown?! Do you know I have a million other things I could be doing right now? Pay more attention to things, and you won't be in stupid situations."

Mike crossed his arms over his chessed and raised his eyebrows. “You might want to listen to him, Dreamer. You might not be so lucky… next time.” If there was a next time, Mike added, laughing to himself. He might have let her go easily that one time, but he couldn’t say the same about the other two boys next to him.

[isaac]

Cain listened to what August and the girl had to say, and smirked slightly to himself. It was things like this, those rare things that only slightly amused him, that almost made him laugh. The girl was probably one of the stupidest girls he'd ever seen, coming into Midtown at night, and then getting mixed up with possibly the worst people you could come across at one time: Mike, August, and Cain himself. Mike was English, so he was being gentlemanly so far, but in a mocking way that Cain enjoyed watching. August had actually helped the girl, for some reason or another that Cain couldn't fathom, because August wasn't exactly the type to listen to morals (none of them were). Cain himself wasn't one to bother with properness or morals. Perhaps he was the one for this silly little girl to worry about...

"Oh no, Cain. Just in time. Continue."

After this, Cain swiftly lost interest in what was going on. Mike seemed to become more and more disgusted with the girl as she went on babbling excuses, and August was doing the same thing. But between the two of them, Cain though that August was doing the best job of justifying what he'd done. The decent bastard, Cain thought, still slightly amused. Someone ought to talk to him about that and set him straight. Cain was beginning to concur with Mike: the girl was pathetic. He knew that if Mike would allow it, he would have liked to mess her up quite a bit. Exactly how, he would have yet to decide. But he didn't think August would be in the mood to save her sorry hide twice...

"You think you can walk in here and walk right out? You think because you are a girl that we are going to have pitty on you? No matter your sex, we call what you did trespassing. I don’t take kindly to trespassers."

This was the cue that Cain had been waiting for. A dangerous look in his eye, he stepped forward. "I'd be glad to take care of her, Mike..." he said, his voice cold. "I have no problem teaching her a lesson she won't soon forget..." He cast his eyes on her, wondering what he should do to her. Something that wouldn't leave a mark...but perhaps, scare her anyway? If Mike allowed it, of course. He seemed to be reconsidering his previous threat...

"Pay more attention to things, and you won't be in stupid situations."
"You might want to listen to him, Dreamer. You might not be so lucky… next time."

Cain chose to keep quiet now, waiting for the go-ahead. The next time he caught this girl in Midtown, he wouldn't bother not to leave a mark. He'd give her two black eyes and a split lip, and everyone would know she was just a stupid little girl who loved to get involved with the Midtown boys. We'd see about that, Cain thought. But for now he would just smack her around a little, which was just what he wanted to do with the annoying little child that Mike insisted on having in Midtown for some ungodly reason...and forbid anyone to mess with her.

[Dreamer]

(A/N: Geez. You guys are just harsh! )

“Fighting of the bad guys for the damsel in distress?”

That was the only thing so far that Dreamer glared at Mike for. He sounded like it was her title: The Damsel in Distress. She wanted to tell him to shut up, but she remembered that she had to keep her mouth shut for the time being, just until she could get herself out.

"Are you a newsie?"

"Yes," Dreamer immedietly answered being calm.

"Normally when you become a newsie, someone teaches you how to fight. That's usually the leader's job."

To this, Dreamer rolled her eyes.

"Jack has more important and better things to do than teach someone like me how to fight. It's bad enough I need someone to teach me how to lie to sell newspapers,"

"You could get into a fight with an ant, that's a guaranteed win." He said, laughing.

Despite the situation she was in, Dreamer smiled, trying to stifle a bit of laugher too.

"No," she shook her head. "I think the ant would win, considering my fighting status,"

“Oh no, Cain. Just in time.”

Cain...As in Cain and Abel?...Great. Another murderer. Hopefully, for Dreamer, the other guy wasn't a murderer too.

“Still hanging on to the things of the past?”

Dreamer said nothing to that. She had noticed the sleeves of her shirt had rolled up, showing the fingerprint bruises Mike left a while back, still healing. She pushed the sleeves back up to her wrist, and looked down on the ground.

"No," she said softly. "...It just keeps hanging onto me and I can't escape from it. So I'm just dealing with it, all right?"

“What am I going to bloody do with you Dreamer?”

"Hopefully, show me the way out of here so I can get back to Manhatten where I belong,"

Suddenly, Dreamer was pushed back against the wall by Mike. Luckily, she braced herself for that part. Mike always seemed to be surprising her...in a bad way. She didn't like the look on his face. It made her frozen stiff.

“You think you can walk in here and walk right out? You think because you are a girl that we are going to have pitty on you? No matter your sex, we call what you did trespassing. I don’t take kindly to trespassers.”

"I'd be glad to take care of her, Mike..." he said, his voice cold. "I have no problem teaching her a lesson she won't soon forget..."

Shuddering, Dreamer closed her eyes a bit, trying to calm herself. Then she pushed Mike off of her and turned to Cain.

"Unfortunetly, I do," she protested before turning to Mike. "Come on Mike, I really don't want anymore trouble. Tell me the way out of Midtown,"

"Pay more attention to things, and you won't be in stupid situations."
"You might want to listen to him, Dreamer. You might not be so lucky… next time."

"Listening to him now," Dreamer said. "It's good advice,"

She turned to the guy who gave her that advice.

"OK," she said. "Why don't you tell me the way out?"

[August Davis]

“Fighting of the bad guys for the damsel in distress?”

August smirked, "You could say that." He said as he glared at the girl. He was somewhat happy that Mike, and Cain were here, because frankly; August didn't want to deal with her. She was already getting on his bad side, once you got on his bad side it was all downhill from there. Now that all three of them were there, maybe they could have some fun taunting her.

“You think you can walk in here and walk right out? You think because you are a girl that we are going to have pitty on you? No matter your sex, we call what you did trespassing. I don’t take kindly to trespassers.”
"I have no problem teaching her a lesson she won't soon forget..."

"I don't think any of us will take kindly to trespassers, Mike." August said, as he kept his cold, hard gaze locked on her. He smirked at what Cain said, she needed to learn a lesson. It was obvious her and Mike knew each other, and it was obvious Mike didn't care for her. He hated those who could just waltz right into Midtown, and waltz back out, going on their happy way.

"Jack has more important and better things to do than teach someone like me how to fight. It's bad enough I need someone to teach me how to lie to sell newspapers,"

Jack...the one word that could make August laugh like a child. Mike had told August about Jack. "Well I'm not surprised that you haven't learned how to fight now. Jack isn't the best teacher you could have." He smirked, chuckling. "So you're one of them?" He asked.

"I think the ant would win, considering my fighting status,"

August snorted, "I wouldn't be surprised."

"Come on Mike, I really don't want anymore trouble. Tell me the way out of Midtown,"

Something snapped inside of August, his temper flared. "Trouble?! You just caused this trouble! This is your fault," He said as he shoved her, hard. She made him mad, so he had no trouble pushing her around. "I think she needs to learn a lesson, what do you guys say?" He asked, turning around to face Cain and Mike. "She needs to learn that she should never come into Midtown again." He turned back around and glared at her. "I don't know about them, but I know I'm not going to tell you the way back just like that." He came closer to her. "Maybe everything is perfect in your happy little blissful blonde brain of yours, but in this world its not like that. I don't think you understand how the world works. The world is a tough, and cruel place. Midtown is barely a sample of that, if you want to survive then you grow a backbone." He said through clenched teeth.

"You might want to listen to him, Dreamer. You might not be so lucky… next time."

"Listening to me would be a wise thing. But, there's not going to be a next time with me. This was your shot, and you blew it." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Why don't you tell me the way out?"

August rolled his eyes, "Yes, why don't I?!" He said in a nasally, almost mocking tone. "Oh how good that will be!" He jumped up and down and clapped his hands. "You get what you want! Oh hooray! You get to walk through Midtown like the Queen of England, and nobody does anything about it!" He stopped his mocking tone, and glared at her. "That's not how it works. Midtown isn't like Manhattan, we don't welcome children here." August stated, sharply. She was getting on his last nerve, something about her just bugged him. She seemed to act like the world was against her, and then the next minute she tried to be all brave. Pick one side of the fence or the other, playing both was annoying.

((Oh wow, I feel so mean..))

[Mike D. Greaser]

"I'd be glad to take care of her, Mike... I have no problem teaching her a lesson she won't soon forget..."

Mike stayed within inches of Dreamer’s face, glaring at her. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and that made Mike so incredibly angry. Come on, Dreamer, prove yourself! He almost took Cain up on his offer, but instead shoved her once and let go of her. “No, she isn’t worth it.” She really wasn’t. Dreamer wasn’t going to do anything for him or against him. Why bother?

Mike backed up, almost as disgusted with himself as he was with her. It frustrated that he always seemed to lose his temper or his control when he was around Dreamer. She was just so infuriating. But never again.

"I don't think any of us will take kindly to trespassers, Mike."

Mike smirked at Dreamer. “You thought I was just one kid. One kid with a stupid goal. You thought I was alone in my fight.” He leaned toward her, his smirk growing every second. “Well, look around you, Dreamer. What do you see? I see two very devote newsies. And you know who they are devoted to? Me. Not Kelly, not Brooklyn. Me. And you know what else, there is more of them. You might want to tell your ‘leader’ that. Maybe he will bloody take me seriously.”

“Yes. Jack has more important and better things to do than teach someone like me how to fight. It's bad enough I need someone to teach me how to lie to sell newspapers,"
"Well I'm not surprised that you haven't learned how to fight now. Jack isn't the best teacher you could have. So you're one of them?"

Mike snorted. Having Kelly teach her how to fight would be no improvement. Fortunately, August voiced his thoughts. Thank you August, Mike thought. He was proud of his newsies, bad mouthing Kelly in front of one of his newsies…. If you could call Dreamer that.

"No...It just keeps hanging onto me and I can't escape from it. So I'm just dealing with it, all right?"

Mike watched as Dreamer rolled down her sleeves. That was all he could take. He roughly shoved at her, knocking her against the wall. “You think you have got scars and bruises?” Mike laughed flatly. “Well, maybe you should stop and look around you. You’ve got friends, you’ve got a place to stay. So many of kids are without homes, friends, or families because of nothing they did! Maybe you should stop thinking the world revolves around you and your problems and get over it!” There he went again, losing his temper. Great.

He backed up, trying to justify his actions. “I don’t even know why I bother,” he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Trouble?! You just caused this trouble! This is your fault. I think she needs to learn a lesson, what do you guys say? She needs to learn that she should never come into Midtown again. I don't know about them, but I know I'm not going to tell you the way back just like that. Maybe everything is perfect in your happy little blissful blonde brain of yours, but in this world its not like that. I don't think you understand how the world works. The world is a tough, and cruel place. Midtown is barely a sample of that, if you want to survive then you grow a backbone."

Mike cursed. Stop tempting me, he thought. They were not making this easy for him. Mike couldn’t even begin to say how much she wanted to beat Dreamer within an inch of her life and then bring her back to Manhattan and show Jack what had become of his newsies. But was she worth it? Were they ready to start an all out war? Most of the dirty work had been done. The boy from Brooklyn had been murdered and was hoped to be discovered tomorrow. Mike had had his date with Sarah and now had an alibi for the day the boy was murdered. They were so close, but not close enough. They still needed Brooklyn’s support and hopefully Harlem’s. But if Dreamer came back beaten to death, would Kelly declare war? Or would he simply say it was Dreamer’s fault? Mike didn’t know and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to take that risk.

“Back off, August. As much as I want to do this, we can’t.” He glared at Dreamer. You got off easy, kid.

"Listening to me would be a wise thing. But, there's not going to be a next time with me. This was your shot, and you blew it. "Yes, why don't I. Oh how good that will be! You get what you want! Oh hooray! You get to walk through Midtown like the Queen of England, and nobody does anything about it! That's not how it works. Midtown isn't like Manhattan, we don't welcome children here."

Mike smirked. How he wanted to let August beat her, he was a very good fighter. Maybe they could just scare her a bit…..