Guess who's back form the dead! I apologize a thousand and one times for being one of those authors who just lets their stories fall by the wayside. I'm not going to give any excuses...because I have none. But if it makes anyone feel any better, I've had one hell of a year. Anyway, I hope that there are still a few people interested in this story and that you enjoy this chapter, although I'm not sure it ended the way I had really wanted it to. Oh well.

Oh and contrary to popular belief, I don't own Newsies.

~Avalon

Chapter 5: Grown Man Blink

Kid Blink stood in front of the distribution center, cigarette in hand, as he waited for the gates to open up. In all honesty, he would've much rather been back in his bed under the covers where there were no worries about how much money he ought to make and where his next meal would come from. He looked around at his fellow newsies chatting and joking merrily while nibbling on their last bits of bread from the nuns of the Children's Aid Society. How could they all seem so happy? Normally Blink would've been right with them taking Race's bets and catcalling at the occasional girl who walked by, but ever since Mush's birthday he had been putting a new perspective on his life. Blink had turned seventeen four months prior and had thought nothing of it at the time. He and his friends had gone to Medda's and the boys had gotten some pretty girl to give him a kiss, a tradition they held for all of their birthdays. When Mush had told him that things were going to be different now that he was seventeen, Blink shrugged it off, telling him that he shouldn't have any worries because he was "young, healthy, and free." But that wasn't the truth. They weren't young boys anymore. Hell, Jack had just told them a couple of weeks ago that the next few months were going to be his last as a newsie and by this time next year he planned to be married to Sarah Jacobs. Pretty soon they would all be leaving the sanctuary of the lodging house. They weren't healthy, for how could you be with nothing in your body but a piece of bread and lungs full of smoke? And they definitely weren't free. They were shackled down by poverty with their newspapers as the chains.

These dumb papers, thought Blink to himself. He let out a ragged, smoke-filled breath before sticking the dampened stogie back between his lips. Nothing truly came out of selling papers, nothing for him anyway. Sure, they had won the strike and gotten their small justice, but that very same day they had gone back to selling the headlines as if nothing had happened. Blink hated to sound like Skittery, but he couldn't help but agree with the resident cynic when he had said that winning the strike was merely a small feat, and that Pulitzer and Hearst didn't really lose out on anything at all. Of course, he would never admit to this, but it always lingered in the back of his mind.

Blink looked at Mush, who was deep in conversation with Crutchy, and thought about all his poor best friend had been through in the past week. Running into his sister must have been hard, especially when she didn't want to speak to him. Blink hadn't had any siblings and he barely remembered his parents but he imagined that if he did he would feel just as bad. His thoughts lingered to Samantha. There was no doubt in his mind that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eye on, though he would never tell Mush that. A girl like her made him think that maybe there was a life after being a newsie. Maybe one day he would settle down with someone like her and live happily, like Jack planned to do with Sarah. Maybe he would leave New York, the city that only beat him down, and make his way in some new territory with Samantha on his arm and maybe live a life that was slightly better than the one he had now. Or maybe I been listenin' to Jack Kelly for too long, he thought.

"Hey Blink, yer holdin' up the line!" he heard someone shout from behind him. He snapped out of his trance and looked around. Sure enough, the gates had already opened and he was next in line.

"Fifty papes," he said to the distributor as he placed his money on the counter. The old man handed him his papers and called for the next person in line. Blink made his way to a group of newsies who had already gotten their papers and were skimming over the articles.

"Warehouse collapse kills eight," Mush read out loud. "Not too shabby of a headline. Say Kid, wanna sell together today? I'm goin' down to the harbor." Blink smiled at his friend, happy to see that he was acting like his normal self.

"Nah, you go ahead. I'm gonna try my luck over in Herald Square again. There've been some big buyers lately," said Blink. Mush shrugged, folding the paper he had been reading and tucking it under his arm with the rest of the papers.

"Ya must be gettin' a lotta customers if yer goin' there for three days in a row. Meet ya at Tibby's later," he said. Blink nodded and the two bid farewell to each other and the rest of their friends as they parted ways to hawk the headlines. Blink could've gone to the harbor with Mush. In truth Mush would probably make more money, especially on a nice day like this. New Yorkers loved to flock down by the water when the weather was favorable. But Herald Square was where he had seen Samantha a few days before and he was hoping that he might run into her again.

"Warehouse in flames! Kills fifty!" he shouted, waving a newspaper in the air. The people were buying fairly well today, but Blink barely noticed. His eye had been peeled for Samantha, but as the morning lingered on and the size of his stack of papers dwindled, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was the third day in a row that he had been looking for her to no avail. When all of his papers were gone he dragged his feet down the street, mentally kicking himself in the head for waiting on a girl he didn't even know. Lost in his thoughts, he let his body take over and his feet lead him to wherever they pleased to go. It wasn't until he remembered that he was supposed to meet the guys at Tibby's that he realized he was standing in front of Irving Hall, the big sign with Medda Larkson's face on it smiling down flirtatiously at him. He thought about going in and paying a visit to Samantha but thought better of it. If she didn't want to talk to Mush, then what would she want with his best friend? And what would Mush say if he found out what Blink thought of his sister? Regretfully, he walked away. She would never go for a street rat like him anyway.

He paused. But then again, it wouldn't hurt to just stop by…

"Ready?" said Toby, a kernel of popcorn between his fingers.

"Hit me," said Samantha. She opened her mouth just as Toby sent the popcorn through the air and caught it in her mouth.

"Good one," said Toby, a broad smile forming on his round face. Samantha smiled back as she chewed the popcorn. She had finished her errands for the day and was enjoying the leisurely time allotted to her before she had to start getting ready for the evening's activities. She had spent her break in the kitchen with Toby, who had taught her how to catch popcorn in her mouth, much to the disapproval of Medda who had chided the elder man for teaching a young lady such a childish game. Toby had responded by throwing a piece of popcorn at her.

"I betcha I could catch three at one time," Samantha boasted. Toby laughed and shook his head.

"I can't even do that, Miss Samantha," he said.

"Wanna bet?" said Samantha. Toby raised an eyebrow before picking up three kernels of popcorn.

"What do you wager?" he asked.

"If I win, you make lunch tomorrow. If you win, I'll make lunch," said Samantha.

"Deal," said Toby. He started to launch the popcorn in the air when Larissa rushed into the kitchen, a distraught look on her face.

"It iz ruined!" she cried. Samantha and Toby looked up to see what the problem was. Larissa was holding a purple dress with a large tear in the skirt.

"How did that happen?" asked Samantha.

"It got caught on a nail in ze wall. Now I will have nothing to wear tonight!" said Larissa. Toby stood up from the table.

"Well, it looks like I won't be of any use in this matter. I'm going to go see if Medda needs anything," he said. He patted Larissa's shoulder before exiting the kitchen.

"Let me see," Samantha said. She held out her hand and Larissa placed the dress in her lap. Samantha studied the soft fabric in her hands.

"Well it looks like it's been ripped at the seam so it's definitely fixable. Come on, I'll sew it back up for you," she said. Larissa's green eyes brightened and she smiled widely.

"Oh zhank you!" she said, throwing her arms around Samantha's neck. Samantha laughed at her enthusiasm and hugged her back.

"What are friends for?" she said.

"I cannot zhank you enough, Samantha," said Larissa as she watched Samantha skillfully repair her dress. Samantha smiled.

"You don't have to keep thanking me. You know I'll help you when you need it," she said. And she meant every word. Growing up, Samantha had few friends, and those acquaintances she did keep hadn't been close. She had been home schooled by her mother until her death and had only started attending a real school after Jonathan had left. By that time everyone in the neighborhood had known about her strange family, her dissolute mother, her colored brother, and her criminal father. Most parents had told their children to stay away from her, making her life very lonely. She was glad she had befriended someone like Larissa who didn't judge her. Like herself and probably most girls who worked at Irving Hall, Larissa had had a hard life, possibly harder than anyone else Samantha knew. At the age of thirteen she had trekked from her home in Russia to the seemingly more promising land of America. Her parents had just died and her grandparents, being too elderly to care for her and her two younger sisters, sent them away to live with their uncle. But the conditions on the boat to a better life were horrendous, and one of her sisters, Marta, did not survive the journey. If that wasn't heart-wrenching enough, Larissa's uncle had no interest in caring for the two girls, and though he allowed them to stay at his house, they had to fend for themselves. So at nearly eighteen Larissa worked as a dancer at Medda's place so that she and her twelve-year-old sister, Ulyana, could make ends meet and in the hopes that one day she would be a world renowned performer.

"I have been meaning to tell you," said Larissa, breaking the silence that had befallen on the pair. "I did not go with Alice the other night. We were halfway zhere and I backed out. I could not go through with it." Samantha gave her a small smile.

"Good for you," she responded.

"I wanted to tell you so you did not think little of me," said Larissa. Shocked by this statement, Samantha stopped her needlework.

"I would never think little of you," she said. Larissa smiled in thanks. Going back to her sewing, something had occurred to her.

"Hey, where's Alice anyway?" asked Samantha. Lately she had been seeing less and less of the girl and it worried her. She wouldn't exactly call the blonde her closest friend, but she was still concerned for her fellow vaudevillian. Larissa rolled her eyes.

"She iz late again. Zhat is ze third time zis week. Medda will be very angry," said Larissa.

"What has she been doing?" Samantha asked. Larissa raised an eyebrow.

"I am sure you can guess," she said. Samantha nodded, knowing full well what her friend had meant. Alice was the kind of girl who had dreams that were too big to fit into her head and a "by any means necessary" attitude. Truth be told, Alice was most likely finding another way to make more money in the same fashion she had done the other night. Samantha sighed, feeling sorry for the poor girl who didn't know what she had gotten herself into.

Wanting to change the subject, Samantha began talking about a lighter subject, and the two girls shared jokes and stories until Samantha was finished with the dress.

"All done," she said, handing the dress to Larissa.

"Zhank you!" the girl said, embracing her friend again.

"My pleasure," said Samantha.

Larissa bade her goodbye, explaining that she had to practice for the show that night. When she had gone, Samantha stood up and exited the kitchen, figuring that she had better start preparing for the evening. Walking out to the main floor, Samantha grabbed a rag and started to wipe down tables. She heard the door open and someone walk in but she paid them no mind, thinking that it was just an early patron and Henry the barman would tend to them.

"Samantha!" she heard her name called. She looked up to see Henry flagging her over. "Take care of this patron, will you? I have to go help Medda and Toby with something." Samantha smiled and nodded, putting her rag down and making her way to the bar. She walked over to where a man was sitting with his head down.

"Can I help you?" she asked. The person lifted his head and much to her surprise, and eye patch-clad boy was smiling at her. "Oh it's you."

"Nice to see you too," said Blink, noticing her less than enthusiastic greeting. Samantha rolled her eyes and struggled to keep her mouth from smiling.

"What's you poison?" she asked, meaning what she said literally. Being around alcohol so much had caused her to have an aversion to it.

"I'll have a whiskey," Kid Blink said. Samantha leaned against the counter, intrigued by his choice of drink.

"That's an old man's drink, Mr. Kid," she said. Blink snorted.

"My name might be Kid but there ain't nothin' childlike about me, toots," he said. Samantha stared at him as he quirked his only visible eyebrow up. Though he was right, he was far from being an actual kid, she still saw a hint of innocent vitality to him.

"Whatever you say," she answered.

She retrieved the whiskey, poured it and slid the glass across the counter. Kid Blink took a fleeting sip and slightly puckered his lips. He watched her watching him and smiled. She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms across her chest. She knew that he was having fun making her feel uncomfortable.

"So, what do you want?" Samantha asked. Blink smiled.

"What do you mean?" he said. She put her hands down on the counter.

"No boy comes into Medda's during midday for a drink without another motive," she said. Blink raised his glass in a mock toast before taking another sip.

"Good work, detective," he quipped. Samantha smirked. "You know, the more I look at ya, the more you remind me of Mush."

"Excuse me?" said Samantha, her interest piqued. Blink nodded.

"Yeah ya do. Like the way ya smirked. That's a Mush thing," he said.

Their conversation was interrupted by Alice, who burst through the doors and walked loudly through the otherwise quiet room. Samantha watched her, wondering how Medda would take her tardiness before turning back to the newsboy.

"So Miss Samantha, I was wondering if ya wanted to maybe go out with me one evenin'," Kid Blink said. Samantha hesitated. She couldn't tell if this was a genuine favor or just a ploy to get her to talk to Jonathan. Kid Blink seemed like a nice young man but he was also a street kid, and nothing good came from the streets. She wondered if Jonathan was as smooth talking as his blond friend when talking to young ladies.

"I work every evening," Samantha answered. Kid Blink smiled.

"You can't take one evening off?" he asked.

"Not if I want to make money," she said. She leaned on the counter. "Look Kid, you seem like a very nice person, but I just can't." Kid Blink gave her a sheepish smile before reaching into his pocket and flipping a nickel onto the counter. He stood up and tipped his hat.

"Well, thank you for the drink, pretty lady. Maybe I'll see you around sometime," he said. Samantha watched as he leaned on the counter so that they were face-to-face. "Don't worry, I won't give up." He winked at her, rendering her speechless as he walked out of the door. Samantha rested her head in her hand as she thought about what he meant about not giving up. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Medda scolding Alice by the stage. She supposed the theater owner didn't take the girl's tardiness too well.

Well another chapter down. I'm not really sure why I named this chapter what I did, but I liked the way it sounded. Let me know if anyone is still interested in this.