This is another 40s/50s AU one except instead of Jack and Katherine snuggling like the last one was, this one is about what happens at the dance which is where  the rest of the Newsies  are while Jack and Katherine are having their alone time. OCs are included. Special thanks to Runner_Weirdo, BeckyMerari1808, and 23gatkins for the use of their OCs, Falcon, Katie, and Pups respectively. 

She had been planning on going to this dance since it was first announced during the second week of school and yet here she was and she wasn't entirely sure that she had someone to go with. 

Flavia was going to go with Race, Katie was going with Oscar Delancey (Elley had no clue how she made that work but she did), Falcon was most likely going as friends with Albert and Pups was just going with the group. 

Elley was considering doing that but, where was the fun in that? She wanted to have someone who she could call her dance partner. 

Mush was taking someone unfortunately, but Elley had heard from Flavi that this girl had a reputation of cheating on boys. She never stuck with one person for too long. Elley was hoping that for her sake, Mush would hang out with her instead of this other girl. But, she knew that that was wishful thinking and it was selfish of her to wish rejection on her friend. But, she wasn't perfect and that other girl probably wasn't either. Hopefully she could have her way. 

Until one week before now, Kid Blink came bounding up the stairs to where she was playing a card game with Mush, Flavi, and Race. 

"Can't ya see that we're busy?" Race asked him as soon as Blink opened his mouth to ask a question. Patches the kitten tried to sit on the deck of cards for the umpteenth time and Flavi scooped her up and stuck her in Race's lap. 

"Take care of your cat, Race. She wants affection," Flavi said as she tried to focus on her cards. Patches let out a loud meow and rubbed Race's chin with her head. 

"Alright! Alright! I knew I was a pretty person and a cat man but wow. This is a lot to take in all at once," Race replied as he pet Patches on the top of her head. 

"So, can I ask my question now? You must not be that busy if you're playing with the cat, Race. Besides, the question isn't for you anyways. I was going to ask Elley if she wanted to go to the Holiday Dance with me," Blink said and then he looked down at Elley, "Would you want to go with me? Be my date?" 

Elley was positive she saw Mush's face flush red at the question. 

"Sure, but we're just going as friends. Jack wouldn't be happy if I actually we were going as a certain word," she said with a chuckle. 

"Alright then. Sounds like a plan," Kid Blink had said with a grin.

The next week was full of putting the final touches on the girl's dresses and making sure that everything was going to go perfectly. 

Well...smoothly might be a better word. The girls knew that the boys weren't perfect at these whole dance things but, they were sure it would go relatively well. 

The week flew by and now Elley and the rest of the girls are waiting for their respective dates to come down and see them. Mush comes down the stairs before any of the other boys, with the exception of Jack who is already sitting down in front of the fireplace trying to get a fire going. 

"Mush, why don't you just hang out with Blink and I? You know we aren't really going to be that exclusive or anything," Elley suggests. Mush stops for a second and Elley feels a smirk slide onto her face. The Kellys have always bene very persuasive, even in situations like these. He's really considering it. His girlfriend seems to gaze at other boys more than he would like her to. Mush isn't entirely sure of her loyalty to him. Nonetheless, they had been planning on going together the minute they started dating. Hanging out with Elley, Blink and the rest of the boys did sound more fun. 

"Maybe. I promised Shelby that I would..." Mush starts but Elley cuts him off. 

"Mush, you know you're getting played by her. I can see the wheels turning," she says. Mush sighs and locks eyes with Elley. He shakes his head at her while chuckling. 

"Ells, you're something else," he says as he pats her shoulder before moving towards the door, "I gotta go." 

"I think you're making a mistake," Falcon calls out as Mush walks out the door. Elley groans and stares at the large wooden door. Flavi walks up next to her friend and pulls her into a gentle side hug. 

"He'll really get played eventually and then you can comfort him through it. He needs you and he knows that but, the girl seems more important right now," Flavi says kindly. Elley shrugs her shoulders and brushes her thoughts away as the boys come racing down the stairs. 

It all seems to be going smoothly to the girls until Race smacks Albert in the eye with his tie. 

"Oww!" Albert cries out and Race runs over to Flavi and grabs her arm before Albert can catch up to him. Flavi lets out a small gasp at the sudden grab. 

"Race!" Flavi cries out as Race pulls the door open and the two of them out onto the street, "What are you doing?" Race quickly pulls Flavi down the street a ways and then into an alleyway. 

"I wanted some alone time with you!" Race says as they walk into a small corner of the alley. 

"You could have just said that," Flavi replies matter of factly while Race gently moves a strand of hair out of her face. 

"Yeah, but irritating Albert is more fun," Race says as he gently starts to play with the loose strand of black hair that he has wrapped around his finger. 

"I'm not going to kiss you if that's what you meant by alone time," Flavi says, crossing her arms, "You don't get what you want by bullying other people. Besides, we're friends right now and there really isn't a need to make things escalate. I see that look in your eyes, Anthony. It's not happening." 

"Ever?" Race asks sadly as they start to walk out of the alleyway. 

"I didn't say it was never going to happen. It's just not happening tonight," Flavi states. 

"So, at midnight I can kiss you?" Race asks and Flavi shakes her head. 

"If you want to ever kiss me, you're going to have to wait until I'm ready," she says. Race's eyes meet hers. 

"How long is that going to have to be?" he asks, "I really don't want to wait much longer." 

"I know you don't but, it might be sooner than you think," Flavi says. 

"Like midnight?" Race asks again with a chuckle. 

"Anthony Racetrack Higgins!" Flavi cries out and the two hear the rest of the group starting to walk past. Race chuckles, takes Flavi's arm and leads her out with the rest of the group. All of the boys are hurrying down the street. The sky is an ominous shade of gray that holds the promise of an incoming snow. Nothing could dampen the group's cheery mood. Elley and Blink hesitantly link arms as they walk. After a few blocks, the group makes it to the giant high school. Nicely dressed students flood in from all different directions. 

The group walks inside and the gymnasium is decked out for Christmas. 

"It looks so pretty!" Elley says quietly. Blink smiles at her and says, 

"Not as pretty as you are tonight, Elley." Elley quickly grabs Blink and pulls him to a dance right along with the jazzy version of Sleigh Ride that is being played up on the stage by a local band. The two of them swirl in circles and Elley trips and nearly falls into someone. 

"Whoa.." a familiar voice says as she topples into the person. Whoever it is picks her up and sets her back on her feet.

"Thanks, Mush," Elley says with a smirk as she notices the look on Mush's girlfriend's face. She looks anything but happy. 

"Your welcome. Don't let Blink spin ya too much. One time he spun a girl around so much at a dance that she faceplanted into the punch bowl trying to get a drink," Mush says, starting to laugh as he tells the story. Elley turns to Blink, 

"Was there anything in the punch, Blink?" Blink raises his hands in innocence and looks at Elley worriedly, 

"What do you mean was there anything in the punch?" 

"Blink, you know how school dances go. Did anyone slip any alcohol into the punch? I hear vodka's a popular one to slip in there," Elley continues. 

"WHAT? NO!!" Blink cries out loudly, "Nobody put any alcohol into the punch and usually it's some kind of beer or wine, not vodka. She just got a little dizzy from spinning." 

"Sure, Blink. Whatever you say. I'm sure it was spectacular when it happened," Elley replies as she and Blink continue to dance with a bit less spinning involved than had been previously. 

The rest of the evening goes fairly smoothly. The dances soon become less about couples and more about group dancing. Elley, the rest of the girls, and all of the boys with the exception of Mush, who, to Elley's chagrin, is hanging out in the corner with his girlfriend, gather into a giant, but lopsided circle and begin to dance. The music moves faster and faster causing the circle to spin faster and faster. Eventually, the song ends and the group lets go. Each person that is in the group was spinning in circles as they all let go of each other. Everyone is spinning in different directions and Henry spins right into the fire alarm pulley. He grabs onto it to save his balance and pulls the alarm. 

The bells start to ring throughout the building and everyone panics and runs out into what is now a large snowstorm. 

"Oh no," Race groans. There's no time to put on coats or anything so all of the attendees of the dance have to stand out in the snow. 

"Good thing Davey is spending some time at home with his family. He would freak if he saw this," Elley says. She notices Mush helping his girlfriend out of the building and he holds her close as they stand outside shivering in the snow. The girls all huddle together shivering as they hug, trying to keep each other warm. Snowflakes fall from the sky and sprinkle their hair. 

Mush is watching the girls and can see Elley shivering as she clings tight to Falcon and Flavi who are on either side of her. The snow falling on Elley's hair makes her look beautiful, as if she isn't beautiful enough already. Mush is regretting not taking her to the dance.  Pups and Katie complete the circle on the other side. Oscar notices his girlfriend shivering and hands her the jacket he was wearing since he actually had enough money to buy one. Elley, when she notices it, says, 

"You sure that didn't come out of a back alley trash can, Katie?" Flavi elbows her friend. 

"Be nice. She's get a lot farther with him than the rest of us do," she warns. 

"Sorry, Katie. I just couldn't resist," Elley says softly. 

"You're forgiven. Just please don't bash my boyfriend," Katie replies. The girls shiver as a cold wind comes rippling through their little circle. 

"Why did we have to spin in circles? Whose idea was that?" Elley asks as a large fire truck pulls up. 

"It actually wasn't Race's this time," Flavi answers, "surprisingly." 

"I think it was a group effort," Falcon says from her place, "I also agree with Flavi." 

Some firemen enter the high school and begin checking it out to make sure that it is safe. They come back out looking a little less happy than when they went in. 

"No more stunts, kids! We've got bigger things to worry about than a fire alarm going off," one of the firemen calls out as the fire truck pulls away. All of the students start to walk inside and Mush walks over to Elley. 

"Ells! Wait up!" he calls out and Elley turns around to face him.  Mush's girlfriend stays with Mush. 

"Hi, Mush," Elley says. Mush catches a hint of hostility in her voice. She looks even prettier up close and Mush forgets exactly what he wanted to say to her. 

"You...you...you wanna maybe dance with me?" he finally stutters out and Elley chuckles. 

"I don't think your girlfriend would appreciate that very much. I know Blink wouldn't care but, your girlfriend certainly would," Elley says matter of factly. She notices Mush's girlfriend making eyes at another boy walking inside to the high school. "Or maybe she wouldn't," Elley says, "If she's making eyes at other boys then I guess our dance is acceptable." Mush lets go of his girlfriend and takes after Elley. Mush's girlfriend slowly wanders off in the direction of the other boy. 

"Come on. We gotta make this quick. She'll notice eventually and get upset," Mush says, taking Elley's hand and pulling her into the gym. A slow song is already starting to play. Crutchie was helping Jojo and Tommy Boy clean up some punch that they had already managed to spill on the floor just after they walked back into the school. Mush pulls Elley close to him and starts to dance with her. 

"Are you sure I'm not going to wind up face down in the snow after this?" Elley asks as she and Mush slowly start to sway to the beat. Their faces gradually start to move closer to each other's but Elley leans away. She knows she shouldn't even though she wants to. Mush has a girlfriend. 

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Mush chuckles as he gently hold Elley's waist as they dance. They stay close to each other throughout the entire song. Once it ends, a piece of candy comes flying at Mush and socks him in the shoulder. 

"Stop stealing my date!" Blink shouts loudly causing a bunch of other students in the room to shoot glares in his direction. 

"We were sharing one dance, Blink. It's not like you weren't around to say no," Elley replies as she and Mush stay close to each other even after the song is over. 

"You're even holding hands with her! She won't let me do that!" Blink whines loudly and the whole side of the room with the Newsies in it seem to stop for a second. 

"What now? Who's holding hands with who now?" Race asks, pulling Flavi along with him. 

"Is there a scandal happening underneath the candle?" Crutchie asks. 

"Crutchie, there's no candle," Elley says slowly. 

"It rhymed and it was the first thing I could think of that rhymed with candle," Crutchie replies with a smile. 

"There's no scandal. What do you boys do all day? Make up stories about romance just for the fun of it?" Elley asks. 

"You know what we're good at and what we do all day," Blink replies. 

"This should be an easy answer for ya, sweetheart," Romeo calls out with a wink in Elley's direction. 

"Romeo, don't even start," Specs calls out. 

"Oh, I'm just getting started. Has anyone ever done The Twelve Days of Christmas With Pickup Lines?" Romeo asks. 

"Did you teach him that?" Flavi asks Race and Race looks at Flavi with a grin. 

"What do you think, Dot?" Race asks with a smirk on his face. 

"Oh brother," Flavi groans. Crutchie yawns loudly causing everyone to look at him. He flips his wrist up to look at the time on his watch. 

"Ho hum! It's past my bedtime!" he exclaims. 

"Oh come on, Crutch! Live a little. It's only 11! We have to stay out all night!" Race complains. He looks out at the snow falling from the sky. 

"The snow looks so pretty," Flavi comments. 

"Not as pretty as you," Race replies. Flavi raises her eyebrows at him. 

"Says you," she says to him. Race smirks at Flavi. 

"Well thanks, doll," Race says with a smile slinging an arm around Flavi's shoulders. 

Mush's girlfriend eventually walks over to the group. 

"Mush, I met this other guy and I just feel like something clicked more with us than it did with you and I. So I don't really now how to put this but..." she says. 

"That's a stupid reason to break up with such an amazing guy," Elley interrupts the girl and she looks very offended. 

"It's my choice, not yours," Mush's former girlfriend says, "Leave it alone if you know what's good for you." 

"I'm a Kelly. We don't leave things alone until they're taken care of," Elley says crossing her arms, "Nobody does that to my friend. Leave him alone and if you don't, I'll be taking care of you." 

"Ells, don't," Mush starts, "She doesn't matter to me like that anymore. Don't worry about her. I don't need a girlfriend to be happy. I have the best brothers in the world. Yeah, I'm sad but I'll get over it." Elley continues frowning at the other girl but moves towards Mush. She soon grabs his hand and starts to dance with him. Mush quickly pulls her close to him just like earlier. She leans her head against his shoulder and smiles at him. 

"Thank you, Mush. I've always got your back," Elley whispers, "You are an amazing friend." 

"You too, Ells, you too," Mush replies. 

The dance is enjoyed even as they walk home in the snow. Elley walks home holding hands with Mush. Blink, if anything, is happy that Mush is maybe starting to show Elley how he really feels. It maybe a merry little Christmas for everyone, another successful year for all of the boys in staying under one roof and staying a family, and maybe some new opportunities for some potential couples in the Lodging House. 

AN:/ Wow. That was probably the worst ending I've ever written. Now that that's over it. 

Merry Christmas, everybody!! The next thing on my list to publish is My Life In A Bookshelf and then hopefully a Psych chapter!! I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas. I also hope that you have enjoyed this one. It wasn't as goofy as I was intending it to be but, it works. There were still some hilarious parts to it. This one was kind of hard to be goofy with because I was going for romance with other Newsie couples/"couples". Anyways, feel free to vote, comment, and do whatever it is you do. I hope you all enjoy it!!! Have a Merry Christmas, everybody!! Thanks for checking out this oneshot!! See you around!!

-Aisling