Midnight Homecoming (~*Open*~)

[Dreamer]

She was back.

It had been a while since she last saw the old Manhatten Lodging House but, for Dreamer, it was a sight for sore and tired eyes.

Limping along the dark sidewalks toward the place that she now called home, the 18-year-old newsie lowered her cap over her eyes, trying to avoid any looks from the few newsies that were on the corners of the streets, shouting fake headlines for the evening paper. She didn't want to cause too many attention to herself. All she wanted to do was get inside the lodging house and sleep.

A bit of pain shot through her injured leg, and she sucked air through her teeth quietly.

"Aw for the love of--I knew jumping off a moving train was a bad idea," she muttered under her breath.

What exactly had Dreams been doing, jumping off a moving train? More over, where did she head off too in the last few months without saying a word to anyone? Well, that was Dreamers business. She would explain in due time, but right now she wasn't in the mood.

The lights were on in the lodging house, which made the newsie Texas-born newsie a little anxious. What if the boys were home? What would she say then? Should she just walk in anyway?

"What are you so worried about, Dreams?" she asked herself as she forced herself up the frontsteps. "They never cared if you were there or not. They probably didn't notice you leave,"

No one was home. Good. Dreamer made her way upstairs to the bunkroom. She had never felt so glad to see the place.

"Home sweet home," she said to herself softly.

The nearest bed was just a few feet away. Dreams usually slept on the top bunk, but her leg wasn't feeling like cooperating with the climb up. She limped over there, laid down flat on her back, pulled the hat over eyes, and drifted off to sleep. The others wouldn't see her there anyway...would they?...

[Bella Braxton]

Bella sat quietly in the dark shadows of the Manhattan Lodging House, her worn sketchpad poised on her lap. She wore her simple light blue dress and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, as she stared out the foggy window into the dark of midnight.

She had called this dear old place home since she was only nine years old, but she had been away so long that she almost felt like a stranger, an intruder. Gosh, the whole joint seemed unfamiliar and strange, shrouded in the menacing shadows of the night. Where was everybody? These thin walls used to echo with good ole Racetrack's harmonica playin', Kid blinks singin' (The kid had a beautiful set of pipes) Mush's high stepped dancin' and heartfelt poetry readin' and Jack Kelly's melodious laugh. She sighed sadly, as she felt their absence immensely. Especially Jack's. She had truly loved him. Heck, she still was crazy about the guy! Those warm, twinkling brown eyes, that mischievous grin of his. She had known him better than any of his pals, and loved him with every depth of her heart.

"You're my pearl, Beautiful." She remembered that gorgeous voice saying to her after a bad fight with the Delancey Brothers. She had softly grinned as she tended to the shiner, darkening his beautiful eye. "Whattdya mean Kelly, you sayin' you kinda like me? She had grinned brightly, and he sat up weakly for a quick kiss. He had grinned too, his slender hands smoothing her fine curls, and wrapping one around his finger. "Stop foolin' Bella, you know I'm crazy about ya! You're my pearl, cuz you're drop-dead-gorgeous and tough-as-nails! My girl's a real pearl... he had murmured as he weakly layed back down. That had been so long ago... Ages even. Drake Camden was the reason she wasn't wrapped up tight in his arms right now. Drake Camden had ruined everything good in her life...

The splintered door downstairs was suddenly thrown open, startling Bella from her reverie, causing her to drop her drawing on the floor. Someone was here. Panicking, and really not sure what to do, Bella swiftly blew out the flickering candle and sat deathly still. What if it was Jack? How could she keep herself from running into his arms and professing that she was still crazy in love with him, even if he had moved on... But no. As the fatigued figure stepped softly into the moonlight, Bella realized it was a girl, a newsie she'd never seen before. That was understandable, she'd been away for so long, that she hadn't seen a familiar face in days. She watched the girl lay down exhausted, and wondered what to do. She didn't want to bother the poor thing, but she was desperate for some company right now...

Quietly she called out in the dark to the girl. "Hello? Heya pal, you look dead tired..."