Newsies: Welcome Autumn.

Chapter 3: Harlem Hearties.

Sorry for the late update, I've been super busy. :)

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Chapter 3: Harlem Hearties.

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Kitty Parker had never seen Bobby like this before. He sat with his hands over his ears, sobbing into his knees who where pulled up to his chest. He rocked back and forth slowly, strumming up a rhythm with his shoes. They tapped the floor lightly as he hit the doorway, before kicking back into a steady swaying rock again.

'Bobby .. ' Kitty whispered. She knelt down to her best friend, placing her hands on his shoulders, trying to stop him from moving. 'Bobby - what happened?' Kitty asked. Bobby shook in her grip. His whole body was trembling. His lips quivered as he pulled his head up, his eyes bright red with tears. 'Shh .. Bobby, it's okay.' Kitty held him close to her body, hugging him tightly. She wrapped her arms around his body, placing her head on his shaking shoulder. 'Kitty's here now.' Bobby shuddered under her weight, and leaned down against the wall. Kitty tucked her body with his. They laid they for what felt like forever. Kitty felt like she was dreaming. Cuddling Bobby was a wonderful feeling. It made her feel as safe as it made him feel safe.

Morning came in slowly. It was the way it should be. The sun drew weakly over the city, letting shards of light blink through the heavy New York fog. Bobby and Kitty lay asleep in each others arms. Kitty didn't notice Bobby's split lip or black eye in the night, but when daylight spread across his face, that was unmissable. Kitty opened her eyes weekly, staring up to the beaten face of Bobby. 'What happened?' She gasped. Bobby shrugged his shoulders weakly, cringing as if it brought pain.

'C-Can't you tell?' He mumbled. She squeezed his shoulder playfully. Bobby smiled painfully, before slipping back down the wall. Kitty un-tucked her legs, yawning.

'What really happened?' She asked. 'I want the truth.' She stared directly into his cloudy eyes. Bobby blinked back the tears, but one small one escaped down his cheek, and stained his purple bruise.

'I was- cruizin' around Harlem.' He mumbled. She knew it was trouble. You have to be extremely careful around Harlem, you can get jumped at every turn. It's really rough and tough, and you'd want to avoid it at all times. 'And 'dem Harlem Hearties jumped me.' He groaned, sitting up straight. 'Deys were gonna' kill me.' Bobby cringed. He sat up on his bottom bones, groaning as if everything brought him pain. 'So I pleaded.' He continued. 'I told them if I joined dem', they'd have to stop it.' He dropped his head into his hands. And that's when Kitty found out her best friend had joined the roughest and cruel gang in all of New York city.

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Eliza Banks hung around the Brooklyn harbour for the rest of the day. She hung off the edge of docks, dipping her feet in and out of the water. She didn't dare strip off to get into the water like the boys surrounding her did. She also didn't dare to speak with them. If there was one thing her mother had taught her, and one thing she'd passed onto her sister is that you NEVER, EVER, get caught up with Newises. They're just the beginning of trouble. They mess around with everything you get yourself into. And they wont be there to help you out. She'd never met a group of more selfish boys.Greedy, egotistic, charismatic, heroic, handsome .. Blah blah blah.

But Eliza didn't mean to make eye contact, or in fact meet this boy. The blocked her in, giving her no hope of escape. The boarded her into a corner of shipping crates. Her back was up against a wooden box, where three teenage boys stood. One was tall and had a black bowlers hat on his head. The other short and fat, with curly brown hair, and the finale boy wore suspenders that matched his cane that he tossed between two hands. 'Looky here, boyz'.' The boy mused. Eliza pushed her orange hair from her eyes, feeling her freckled cheeks grow red. 'We got a little Ginger.' He snickered.