Take me back to the start

[Mike D. Greaser]

For the first time in a very long time, Mike felt utterly hopeless. Hopeless to the point of tears. Mike D. Greaser... Crying. He didn't know what to think of it. And neither did his boys. Thankfully, Mike had threatened them with their lives and so they kept quiet. But he needed to get out of there. He HAD to get out of there. Flinging the door open, Mike stormed out of the lodging house, freely letting the tears fall now. No one was going to see him. And no one would care.

Nobody said it was easy,
It's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy,
No one ever said it would be this hard.
Oh take me back to the start.

Mike furiously wiped at the tears. How strange, feeling the droplets of salty water fall from his eyes. So, this was how it felt to cry? Mike had almost forgotten. His fist clenched at his side. He loved this girl. He loved her with all that was inside of her. He used to be afraid to admit, but now he would scream it to the world if it would bring her back. Right now, he regretted every part of his life. He regretted ever moving back to New York. He regretted letting his foolish vendetta with Jack Kelly start this whole thing. He regretted everything, but the first time he saw her. Her beautiful face. The moment he laid eyes on her, he knew. True, he was hesitant, but he knew. He had always known.

And then there had been their first time. First and last time. She was so perfect, everything he had ever imagined. After that night, Alice had stayed with him. Then she went home, and thankfully no one noticed her absence. But it was so bloody hard to let her leave. He wanted her to stay with him, forever. She had told him she would come back...

They never spoke of that night. It was a silent memory, that they both shared. Through smiles looks, they shared it. Mike was glad of that, because it was something special to them now. Something no one could ever touch. It was theirs.

But now, she was gone forever. She would never come back. Mike was sure of it. Why would she come back, after she had found out what he was; what he had done? He was a murderer, and she knew it. Thanks to those blasted kids from Manhattan. Mike would have all but killed them that night if she wasn't standing there.

Her face that night would never leave his memory. Her beautiful, rosy face turned stark white. Shock. Pain. Denial. More pain. All there, in her face. She stared at him for a few moments. Mike could see the tears coming; he could feel his own. Both of them ignored the smug Manhattan boys. They just stared into each others eyes; one pleading, one disbelieving.

Then she demanded to be brought home, threatening to call the police and get us all arrested. Mike escorted her back. That was the most silent, frightening night of his life.

Mike hadn't seen her since.

Funny how things work out; funny how your body responds to the situation. Funny how, even though he didn't want to, Mike found himself in front of Alice's house. He stood there, his mind debating between the wise and the foolish choices. He choose the latter. False confidence flew through his body; his feeble attempt to stop his legs from shaking. Without knocking, Mike opened the door. "Alice..." He began hesitantly. Then, "Alice!"

Take me back to the start....

[aliceroosevelt]

The front parlor of the Roosevelt Manor bustled with activity. Edith Carow stood with a bespectacled elderly man, discussing a list of the various chapels in the area and which one would be best suited for the ceremony. Quentin and Kermit ran through the room, laughing wildly, and Ted chased them unsteadily, yelling at them to give him back his glasses. Ethel was watching her older sister, who studied her nearly-finished bridal gown on a mannequin amid a sighing group of maids and seamstresses. Archie was looking for his father's attention, but Governor Roosevelt sat on the sofa with Ian Johnson's parents, discussing other affairs. Ian himself was sorting through the guest list in a nearby chair. Maids and menservants from both the Johnson and Roosevelt households weaved in an out, carrying papers and fabric, flowers and presents...

Alice smiled to herself. It was one of the loveliest dresses she had ever seen, and she pointed out various things she adored about it. She examined the veil with its long train and sighed. It was a dream dress, she thought. All of this: the red and white carnations that were to be used in the ceremony, the immaculate chapel, the most esteemed and elite persons in all of New York vying for an invitation...it seemed perfect. A gaudy diamond ring was on her finger, and she couldn't help but to steal glances at it time and time again. Occasionally she would glance at Ian to find him looking at her, and they would exchange soft smiles.

Alice wasn't as warm toward Ian as he possibly would have hoped, but much to the relief of everyone else involved, she was no longer icy toward him. She had stopped resisting the union, and it seemed that everyone else in the household was put in a much better mood. Alice was getting affection from her father she had never before received. To her shock, he was even calling her by her real name. Her siblings, who normally drove her up the wall, were surprisingly pleasant.

Yes...Alice was almost completely happy.

As much as she hated to admit it, her mind continually drifted back to Mike. Her skin crawled every time she thought of him: to think that the hands that murdered a boy had been holding her gently, the lips that had issued cruel threats and who knows what else soft and loving on hers... She couldn't bear to think of it. And yet, although her skin crawled, she felt her heart swell. She knew that she could never love anyone as much as she loved him. Maybe in time. But now, her heart belonged to him, the murderer. Dear God... She recalled the night they had spent together with a mixture of tender recollection and fear. Would Ian notice on their wedding night? She doubted it. Bur right now she didn't want to think about Mike. All she wanted to think about was Ian and their wedding.

But apparently, Mike wasn't going to give her a choice.

"Alice...Alice!"

She looked up when the door opened, and gasped when she saw him. The ladies in the room shrank back in fright at this vagabond who had entered to suddenly, and the men were suddenly on guard. Governor Roosevelt cried, "You!" and stormed forward, hindered by his wife, who took his arm, knowing it wouldn't be good if he hurt the boy. Quentin and Kermit clung to Ted, who didn't need his glasses to see what was going on. Archie and Ethel ran to their governess.

"Mike..." Alice said, her voice soft with disbelief. "What are you doing here...?"

[Mike D. Greaser]

"You!
Mike... What are you doing here...?"

All at once, Mike was aware of several things. One, Alice was gorgeous. So, gorgeous, Mike wanted to take her right now. He was having trouble controlling himself. Especially with her standing next to that dress. The wedding dress. He could do nothing at this moment but think of her in it, walking down the isle toward him.

Two, Mike came to startling realization that Alice was standing next to a wedding dress. A bloody wedding dress!?! How was she over this so fast? And Mike couldn't help but notice the hint of the smile on her face before it disappeared once he entered. She was happy?! Mike felt his fist clench in anger and disappointment.

Third, Mike noticed how many people were in the Roosevelt house hold. Too many for Mike to worry about now. They were just going to have to see this. He almost regretted storming in like this. Almost. Actually, not at all. Alice deserved this. At first, he was just coming to talk. But then he comes to find out that Alice was already making wedding arrangements? How long had it been? A week? Maybe less?

Fourth, Mike noticed the gaudy ring upon Alice's finger. How could she? She once swore to Mike to never wear it, not while she was still alive. She used to despise Ian and the idea of wearing his ring. And yet, here she stood, wearing it proudly. Mike shuddered as he remembered the simple ring he had looked at weeks before. He couldn't believe the thought of marrying this girl even crossed his mind...

Fifth, Mike noticed Ian. Ian. IAN. Mike felt himself shake with anger. This was too much. Ian, and his whole family from what Mike could see, was here, planning his wedding to Alice. This made him angrier then anything. He had no right. Alice was his. Always. No one else could have her. He had put his claim on her weeks before. Pride swelled in him, and he had to force himself to calm down.

But that didn't last long.

Mike ignored both of them, Alice and her father, to yell, "What the hell is going on?!" Everyone winced at his raised voice, even himself. Mike never cursed in front of Alice, never. The maids and the children all huddled back. Thankfully, Alice's step mom asked the maids to take them upstairs. Now, in front of Mike stood Alice, her parents, Ian, and his parents. Great.

[Ian Johnson]

Ian was at the Roosevelt's house, helping plan the wedding for him and Alice. Needless to say, she had grown on him. Just a bit though, he still wasn't happy about the arranged marriage, but he had accepted it. Besides, it was publicity, and he didn't mind having his name and face in the papers. In fact, he loved it.

He loved it a lot.

He was sitting in a chair, minding his own business by looking at the guest list. His glance would catch Alice's and he would smile. Ian didn't mind being with her, she was a great girl, good person. And she was pretty, what more could he ask for? He looked over at her younger siblings, and grinned. One day him and Alice would have kids, how many? He didn't know, he didn't care at the moment. All he could think about was that Alice was going to be his for the rest of their lives.

Ian knew that Alice had a crazy ex-boyfriend. He had heard that he was a murderer, a low class murderer. It didn't get worse that that. He was surprised that Alice would stoop that low, he shook that thought out of his head. He couldn't imagine his Alice with some greasy newsie. He hated newsies, and the majority of them hated him too.

"Alice...Alice!"

His head popped up, who was that calling for his fianceé? He followed Governor Roosevelt over to the door, Alice, her mother and his parents followed. Who was there?

"Mike... What are you doing here...?"

Ian glared at the man at the door, so his name was Mike, huh? "Is this him?" He asked Alice. It probably was, it was that stupid greasy, newsie, murderer. He wanted to shove him and tell him to stay away from Alice, but he couldn't. He needed to remain calm, even though it was hard. He just stared him down, stupid Mike.

[aliceroosevelt]

"What the hell is going on?!"

Alice watched in silence as her siblings were ushered upstairs by Edith, accompanied by all the maids and everyone else, until only seven people stood in the parlor: her, her father and stepmother, Ian, his parents...and Mike. She spoke after Mike quickly, in a loud voice so as to prevent her father from screaming at him, or else picking him up and throwing him out a window somewhere. Or worse. Governor Roosevelt, for all his girth, was a man of unequaled strength and ruggedness. "You need to go, Mike," she said. "I don't want to see you thrown out..." She was resisting the powerful urge to run up to him and throw her arms around him. She wanted to more than anything, but she knew there was no way she could. Not now. Not after everything that had happened. Instead she edged closer to Ian and took his arm, knowing full well it would at least offend Mike, if not infuriate him, and hating herself for it.

"Is this him?"

"Yes, darling," she answered simply. "But you needn't worry. He's about to leave." She looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the adults. Her calm blue gaze seemed to have an effect on them, and they could see that she was in control of the situation. It was at times like these she truly felt like the daughter of a powerful politican.

[Mike D. Greaser]

"You need to go, Mike, I don't want to see you thrown out..."

All anger in him vanished as she said his name. It almost sounded like she cared, that she still loved him. Mike took a step toward her, but stopped as every other male in the room mimicked his step. Ignoring them, Mike looked at Alice with pleading eyes. "Then talk to me," he almost begged. How could she refuse him. She couldn't, he wouldn't let her. She would talk to him if it was the last thing he did. He was not leaving here until she talked to him.

"Is this him?"

Mike growled at Ian, fighting the urge to jump him then and there. He could kill him easily enough. One movement and Ian would be dead. One call to his newsies, and the whole Roosevelt house hold would be in flames. That was the kind of power Mike had. But he didn't, for Alice's sake.

"Yes, darling,"

Mike scoffed and couldn't stop himself. "Boy, you get around," he spat. Instantly, he regretted it. But he could not back down now. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

"But you needn't worry. He's about to leave."

Mike almost laughed at her. "I am not leaving. Not until you talk to me." He took another step toward her, once again ignoring the surrounding people. "Alice, you think I am making a scene now? Well, I can sure as hell make a worse one!" He was inches from her now. She was within his reach. He could almost touch her. "Please, Alice. Talk to me," his voice softened as he reached out to her. He didn't touch her though, afraid of what Alice's father would do. He left his hand dangling inches from her arm, alost an invitation.