Silence (Newsies Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

AN - Hello, this is Emma. So this obviously hasn't been updated since 2015. Haven't even looked at it since then. I was fourteen then, and I just turned eighteen a few weeks ago. I thought I'd let you know how I've been doing, on the off chance anyone still gets notified of anything on here. It's very likely all my old friends from here have moved off their accounts, like I did. But anyway, I've been applying for colleges and I'm going to have a career in theatrical direction. When I was writing these, I always thought I wanted to be a broadway actor, but I started doing directing work, and now I realize that is my true passion and livelihood. My writing has actually taken me places as well. I write plays now, pretty frequently. I've had the opportunity to produced quite a few, in school and at local community theatres. One play I wrote even got produced in New York City, twice. So I'm doing very well. 

Anyway, today I was looking for something and accidentally stumbled upon this acount again. I was looking through some of my old work, which, as much as I cringe reading it now, was partially what motivated me to pursue writing more professionally. I look through and read all of your comments and marvel at how supportive you were of a kid who really didn't know what she was doing. And there's even more recent comments - I see things people are saying from December of 2018, which is crazy to me. There were several people asking for the next update on this story, and while I haven't written anything on it in years, I found the unfinished, unpublished draft of the next chapter. I thought I might as well post it, so you can see where I was going. It trails off in the middle, I guess I never finished the thought, and it's been too long for me to remember now what was supposed to happen, but at any rate, if any of you are still around- enjoy this trip down memory lane. Thank you for all the support you gave me when I was just starting out. 

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Liana woke up to Davey gently tapping her shoulder. Sunlight flooded through the window. She yawned and sat up.

"Good morning," he whispered, smiling at her.

"Morning," she grinned back. "What time is it?"

"Around six," Davey replied. "Um, I think you should probably go before my parents get up. I mean, they really like you, but they might... um... jump to conclusions." He blushed and tugged at his earlobe.

She giggled. "Yeah." 

"Do you have any where to go?" he asked. "I mean, you said you didn't have work because Medda and everyone is out of town until tomorrow."

"Well, I usually don't work until the evening, but as I really need to make more money so I can get my apartment back. So I'll have to get a second job."

"Well, maybe you can try being a newsie?" Davey suggested. "You did say you used to sell papers before you started at Medda's, right?"

"Yeah, that would work!" She laughed. "This is why you're the genius."

They heard voices out in the hall, and footsteps. "I'm gonna go now," she whispered quickly. "Bye David."

"Bye."

She slipped out the window and hurried down the fire escape. As she walked away she heard voices from the window.  It was a lovely day; the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was out.  A bird sang as she walked alone. She was lost in thought of last night.

Davey was so sweet. He really didn't have to do all of that for her. She would have been perfectly fine sleeping on the floor, just as long as she was away from the man outside. But he had gone out of his way to make her comfortable. When he comforted her after her nightmare, she had felt safe. Usually, after one of those dreams, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, she was terrified the dream would return.  But Davey had that effect on people. His little brother, Les, always went to him when he was frightened, and Davey would make him feel alright again. She remembered one day when she was over at the Jacobs house for dinner, Les had told David about how some boy had made fun of him, and Davey had comforted him.

She liked being close to him. It felt as if her heart was glowing when he held her. And his voice was soft and kind. She was so lucky to have a friend like him.

Finally, she found her way to the distribution center. Standing there, surrounded by a couple other boys, was her brother. She glanced down at herself and realized she was still wearing Davey's clothes. They were a bit big on her, but other than that, no one would know the difference. She quickly pulled her hair together into a ponytail and approached the boys.

"Hey Jack," she said casually.

"Liana!" He grinned when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was having a bit of trouble,you know, financially, so I decided that I might be able to earn some extra money by selling papers. That okay?"

"Is that okay?" Jack laughed. He turned to the other newsies. "This girl here, my sister, might just be the best newsie in all of New York!"

She rolled her eyes, and punched him in the shoulder. "Exaggerating."

"Hardly," he smirked. "Sell with me? Like old times?"

"Definitely."

Jack introduced her to the other boys he was with. She met a tall boy with glasses, called Specs, an adorable crippled boy named Crutchie, and a slightly obnoxious flirt called Romeo. 

"So darlin'," Romeo had said, sauntering up next to Liana. "I was thinkin', you, me, at seven tonight-"

He stopped dead when he saw the murderous look Jack was giving him. That is when Davey and Les walked up. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Davey asked. Jack continued to glare viciously at Romeo. Romeo looked like he might lose it and scream. "Um, guys?"

Liana whispered in his ear. "Romeo was flirting with me, and Jack looks like he's going to rip his head off."

"Oh, God," he breathed, rolling his eyes. He stepped forward. "Okay, okay, Jack, no murdering Romeo, Romeo no dating Jack's sister. We clear? Good. Lets forget about it."

Reluctantly, Jack took a step back. "Fine," he grumbled. Romeo sighed in relief.

Everyone stood there in awkward silence for a bit. Crutchie finally cleared his throat. "So, ya think we should go get our papes now?"

There were collective nods and mutters of consent. They all headed over and bought their papers. 

"So Davey," Jack turned to his friend after paying for his papers. "Liana here is gonna be selling with us for a bit. Problems with her rent, she-"

"Yeah, I know," he smiled at her quickly.  Her stomach felt odd. She was smiling dumbly. For a long second, they just stood there, smiling at each other. 

Jack, as always, was oblivious. "Anyway, you ready?" They nodded. "Les, you?" The ten year old boy grinned up at him and nodded.

------------ And that's all there was. I don't remember where I was going with this, so here's where it ends. Thanks for reading.