Prologue

It was the summer of 1895 and she was entering a whole new world. As her foot left the ship she never once looked back at her old life. Here, in New York City, she could make a new life. She could be a different person, become whoever she wanted to become. She was a young woman on a mission, escaping the smog and corruption of the London streets.

For weeks she wandered from store to store, working odd jobs. As a twelve year old girl on her own, she was determined to work hard and make herself a better life. She would work during the day, and then sneak in at night to sleep inside the shop. The plan always worked fairly well until the shop owner would catch her and throw her out. Not too many owners were keen on housing their employees.

Trying out a change of scenery, she took a job at a small restaurant named Tibby's. It was so different from working out of a shop, mostly because she could get a good night sleep on the booth seating. The owner, a middle aged man named Frank had her working in the back as a dish washer. He was a nice man, but felt that only men could make decent waiters.

So for days, she went unnoticed, hiding away in the back, keeping her head down, hoping that Frank wouldn't walk in to her sleeping form one morning.

One afternoon, as she was collecting the dishes from the front, her eyes fell upon a young boy sitting quietly in the corner. His eyes were eagerly scanning the pages of a small western magazine. He seemed young, probably about her age, but yet he had a look that she couldn't place. She stood transfixed, just staring at the boy as if trying to uncover a secret.

"Ms. Taylor, I don't pay you to stand around girl. Get to working" Frank called out.

She ran back to her sink, taking one more look at the stranger on her way. For the next few days, she scanned the restaurant at lunch time in hopes of finding her mystery boy. And every day he came in with a large group of young news boys. She would watch him mingle and joke with the others during the lunch rush. But as the other boys would begin to slip out, the boy remained. He would move to a small private table in the corner and pull out his small magazine, looking at each page slowly and gingerly, a glimmer of longing filling his eyes.

After one lunch period, the boy was left as the only customer in the establishment. The girl hovered in what she had designated as 'her corner'; a place where she could watch him without notice and without repercussion. But today, someone had caught her.

"I see one table that still needs clearing girl" Frank said, with a smile on his face giving her a small shove in the boy's direction. She blushed and hung her head, not knowing how to quiet handle this situation. She was never very good with people, people were hard to trust. Still, in fear of losing her job, she slowly made her way forward.

She paused at his table, wondering if it would be inappropriate to disturb him. Thankfully it didn't take long before his eyes drifted up to acknowledge her. He froze momentarily, shocked to see the small figure before him.

After a moment of awkward silence, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, and then pointed at his empty plate, "Are you finished?"

"Yeah, sorry, yeah," The boy quickly grabbed his effects had tipped his hat on his way out.

The girl cleared the table then retreated to her sink, determined not to look at Frank, who was smiling by the doorway. The exchanged was small, nothing earth shattering, but it would introduce something that would alter her life forever.

From that day on, her daily "hunt" for her mystery boy changed. He had begun to hunt her too. She would watch as he would enter and crane his neck around. At first she didn't understand what he was trying to find.

"It seems you've caught some someone's eye girl," announced Frank. "But don't you go getting any ideas about slacking on your work."

So it was that for the next week, she enjoyed the new game that had developed. Where she would find new places to hide from his view and he would spend his lunch craning around trying to find her. When he would wait after lunch, she would stay in the back, hidden away. In a way, she almost hoped that he would forget she had existed.

But of course, Lady Luck is rarely on one's side. One evening, after the restaurant had closed, she had been about to sneak back in, when she heard a noise behind her that made her jump about a foot in the air.

"What are you doing?" She turned around to see the mystery boy staring at her with a perplexed and amused look on his face.

She fell back against the wall, clasping her chest from the shock. "Oy! Me? What are you doing? Why are you sneaking up on people?"

"Sorry! Sorry. It's just, I mean. Well ya look like you were planning sneaking in. That eager to be at work on time?" he joked with her, trying to calm her down.

She tilted her head down, suddenly shy. "Um, nothing. Just thought I left something inside."

"Oh. Well let me help.." He started to move in front of her, to assist but she stopped him.

"No! No. Please don't. Frank'll kill me if he found out I let anyone in after hours."

The boy stopped and looked deeply at her, like he was trying to read her thoughts. She looked away, fearful that he could actually do just that.

"Let me guess. You crawl in at night to sleep?" He stared at her, not really asking her. She returned her eyes to him, wide with surprise. "Hey, don't worry. I know how it is. The name's Jack, by the way. Jack Kelly." He stuck his hand out for her, letting her know that she could trust him.

She slowly grabbed his hand, "I'm Elizabeth Taylor." It felt almost surreal, like she shouldn't be allowed to know his name. Because, if she knew his name, he was not longer a mystery and she could no longer hide.

"Well Liz, what if I told ya that I knew of a place with a decent bed that you could sleep in.. well, a bed, not sure if I'd really call it decent." Jack offered. Unfortunately, his kind gesture was lost in her horror of misunderstandings.

"Look mate!" She backed away quickly. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm not like that!"

"No! No, no, no!" He placed his hands up and backed away a step, showing her that he was safe. "I just meant, like a lodging house! I'm a newsie; we live in a lodging house, a large group of us!"

"Yeah, but I'm not a newsies?! I work here! Besides, isn't the house just for boys?" she replied, easing back into the conversation.

"Well, yeah, but I could talk to Striker. He is the leader of Manhattan newsies. He always tries to help everyone out. Besides, not like there aren't any girl newsies out there."

"Yes, but I'm still not a newsies," she argued.

"You could be."

She hesitated, considering his offer. But was she really ready for a new change? Becoming a newsies meant relying on others, trusting others. Elizabeth wasn't ready, or at least, she didn't know if she was ready or not.

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll just try my luck here for a bit."

"You know that you'll get thrown out if they catch ya," he reasoned.

Elizabeth turned and looked at the small building behind her, considering her options. But it wasn't until she looked back at the boy that she made her choice. There was just something about his eyes, a look at told her she could always trust him no matter what. Understanding the change of look in her eyes, even before she did, Jack held out his hand and gave her a small smile.

Elizabeth looked down at his hand, and the up into his eyes. As she slipped her hand into his, the two departed into the night and she began what would become her new life. Her life, as a newsie.

Author's Note::

Hey guys! First fanfic in a good long while, but I am feeling motivated as of late. I understand that this is an incredibly slow start but every story must start somewhere. Besides, if I gave it all away in the first chapter, where would be all the fun? Anyways, hope you stick around for the next chapter!