AN:/ Hey all! So macavity22 requested that I do personalities and backstories for all of the boys. So, I'm going to sort of work it into the story. This isn't actually the story starting. You'll understand what I mean. This breakdown,  I guess, is going to exclude Davey and some OCs. You will meet and learn everything that you need to know about them as the story goes on. Please note, that you may need to refer to this often. Sometimes I will spell it out for you later on in the story, regarding what happened to somebody and sometimes I won't. That's why this is going to be very useful to you. Also realize that everything in here could potentially be important to the story. If I have writer's block down the road, I might come back here for an idea on what to do next. So, if you ever get stuck, these first two chapters about the background of the boys and the gang itself is going to save you from getting confused. Jack's, I already sort of spelled out for you, but I will recount his briefly. I am going to bold the first time each different boy gets mentioned, so you know who I am talking about and when their story is starting. Then, if something happens in the story and you want to read up on a particular Newsie, you can come back here and find them easily.  Anyways, I hope you enjoy this and that it is helpful to you later on in the story. See you around, friends.

Warning: Be sure to have a tissue box on hand. The waterworks may turn on when you least expect it.

Jack Kelly hates remembering the past. Every piece of it sometimes keeps him up for nights in a row. As he walks around Manhattan, his city, he shoves his hands in pockets. Memories flow through his mind. But these memories are unlike the ones from his past. Intertwined with the sad pieces of his past, Jack remembers how he met each and every one of the boys. Each and every one of the boys who quickly became his brothers. He's surprised the boys let him run off to think, but he doesn't mind. Jack likes remembering this part of his past, one of the better parts of his life...meeting all of his now brothers. None of their stories were happy and Jack loves getting to help them through that. Being born and raised in Manhattan like many of the boys, Jack grows to love and hate his city everyday. Hating that it proclaimed him an orphan the day his father died in Normandy back in the war, hating that it couldn't make his mother better when she was dying from some cause that was to this day unknown to the boy. If it hadn't been for a legacy, a boy, and his wild dreams, The Newsies gang would not even exist. Jack treasures each and every one of the boys in his gang. He thinks of Crutchy. Crutchy did not have an easy life, being subjected to polio not even a year into his life. A crutch became a permanent part of the young boy's life. Crutchy's family was furious that their son had polio and they were fairly poor since Crutchy's father was just a taxi driver and his mother did absolutely nothing. At the young age of five, Crutchy experienced homelessness. His mother and father decided that their son couldn't work because of his leg.  So, underestimating him, they kicked him out of the house permanently. Young Crutchy spent days wandering around the city looking for some kind of shelter or just a friend. Something that Crutchy had never really had before. Crutchy ran into Jack a few nights after being kicked out of the house. Some bigger boys saw Crutchy walking around and they decided to pick on him. One of them stole his crutch, which made Crutchy fall on his rear. Jack had been running around by himself and saw the commotion. He stole the crutch, threatened the boys with it and the bullies ran off screaming like a couple of school girls after being talked to by someone they find attractive. Crutchy thanked Jack and the older boy instantly took the younger one under his wing. Jack smiles at the memory. Crutchy had a rough beginning, but he had always stayed optimistic, sweet, kind, innocent through it all. The kid had even started to become a little sassy and sarcastic as he spent more time with the boys. Jack and Crutchy have a bond that will never be broken. He smiles and passes their old hiding place back when it was just them and a few other boys. Was it really that long ago?  Jack sighs and shakes his head in disbelief. If it hadn't been for Racetrack, he and Crutchy may have never found that hiding place. Racetrack had been a little bit of a fireball of a boy ever since Jack met him all that time ago. Hailing from Brooklyn originally, Racetrack had spent his early childhood years playing with the likes of Spot Conlon. Spot and Race were like brothers. They were never separated and they always made sure that one had the other's back. Race was about a year older than Spot, so he was proclaimed the leader of Brooklyn's little playgroup of boys. He had had a small group of boys that had proclaimed him to be their leader. The Italian boy loved every second of it. He had no idea who had given birth to him and to be honest, he didn't care.  Racetrack was King of Brooklyn at the time. In his mind, the whole city was at his fingertips. Until a bigger kid came along and decided that a kid like Race should not be running Brooklyn. Race and the bigger kid got into a fight and Race almost died. The kid was about to seriously hurt Race when Spot came in, stole a cane that the kid had in the loop hole of his belt and hit the bigger kid with it until he stopped hurting Race. Race and Spot decided that Spot should be the King of Brooklyn from now on, since Race was nearly killed for the position. Race ran off to Manhattan and soon found him and  loud mouth in some trouble with some adult gangsters. Before Race had been with his boys in Brooklyn, some guys that met at a bar on a regular basis taught him to play poker. Race had a knack for the game and soon learned how to gamble well too. One night, Race heard that there was a poker tournament with a gang and he decided to participate. Somehow, Race was accused of cheating someone out of their money and this started Race's very fast sprint to Manhattan. He found a hiding spot and a couple of hours later, Jack and Crutchy came along. The two boys heard Race rustling around and found him. That was the hiding spot from that day forward for all three of the boys. The six year old boy had been loud mouthed, sarcastic, smart, and at the same time, lovable from the day he met Jack and Crutchy. Jack smiles as he passes a park where he sent Race on a little mission one day. Racetrack was supposed to have found Miss Medda, but he came back with something else. Or rather someone else. Jack remembers it all just like it was yesterday. He sits down on a rusty metal park bench to think. This was where Race had said he had found Skittery all those years ago. Jack scuffs the toe of his shoe into the ground in thought. Skittery was one of the few who had had a decent family life before everything fell apart. Beyond his attitude, Jack knows that Skittery is thankful for when Race helped him. Skittery had been from a decent sized family. He was the oldest out of four kids. Three younger sisters relied on him a lot whenever things got rough for their family. Skittery's mother was a sweet woman who took care of her children as best as she could, despite the part of Manhattan that they lived in. And they lived in one of the roughest parts of town there was. As soon as he could walk, Skittery's father was teaching Skittery how to use his fist. Before he had married Skittery's mother, Skittery's father had been a part of The Newsies Gang for a couple of years. He quit to begin a life devoted to his wife. Thus, he had gained lots of fighting experiencing through The Newsies Gang. To the family's relief, Skittery picked it up very quickly. Maybe a little too quickly. Fights happened at Skittery's elementary school more often than not, and Skittery often got into them. Sometimes, the fights were picked with him and sometimes he got into them just because he could. World War II rolled around and just like Jack, Skittery's father left his family and died in the war. Skittery's mother cried for a long time after that and Skittery's sisters relied on him for comfort. Skittery was having trouble providing it for them since he was moody and upset that his father left him and died because of it. From that day forward, Skittery has had a negative attitude about everything in life. His mother gave up living in the rougher part of Manhattan to move up to where her mother lived. She took her children with her, but Skittery's grandmother approved of her granddaughters and not him. After about two hours of arguing from all different sides of the family and after lots of begging from his sisters to not leave, Skittery left the small apartment and never went back to his family. Skittery went and sat on a park bench just to think. Racetrack found him there and brought him back to Jack. Skittery has been a moody child since the day he was born and he may be a pessimist, but he clings tight to his band of brothers and can be very protective of them. The other three boys learned this very quickly when they got into their first fight. Skittery threw punches like there was no tomorrow. All four of the boys then realized that they could handle themselves well enough to move on with life. Jack remembers running with a seven year old Skittery away from the fight. The memory plays over and over in his mind as the two master the spit shake. Later on down the road, when Jack had mentioned starting The Newsies Gang, Skittery had explained his distant ties to the gang and was excited that Jack wanted to start it up again. Skittery continues to help Jack move the gang forward and Jack is eternally grateful for his friend. Although Skittery is enthusiastic about the gang and his friends, he can be really tough sometimes. Particularly around new people. Which is partially why Jack keeps him higher up in the gang, but it is not always good when Jack is trying to bring new people into the gang. Jack chuckles in disbelief a little bit as he remembers when Specs met him for the first time. Specs had had a rough life since the moment he entered the world. His parents were young, had been married for just under a year, madly in love, and wanted a child. At first it had been a joke until they found out that Specs' mother was pregnant. Then it wasn't a joke and the couple was excited. Unfortunately, both of them had sketchy backgrounds that involved gang activity. Specs' parents both continued in their gang activity despite the fact that they were expecting a child. They both managed to stay alive for Specs to be born. The couple had several scares and close calls when it came to their gangs when they were expecting, but everyone, including the baby, made it out okay. Specs got to live with his parents for the first six years of his life. He spent a lot of it hanging out with other gangsters' kids. Specs himself, eventually learned how to run away from being shot and other survival methods in a gang. When he wasn't dodging bullets, Specs was trying to learn to read and other basic things that would be helpful in life. Specs loved trying to learn to read, but couldn't quite see the words and letters. His parents had just successfully robbed a bank, so they took Specs to a doctor. The doctor informed Specs and his parents that he needed glasses. The two gangster parents got their son a pair of glasses and cheered with their son when he read his first words. They loved him very much, up until the day they died. One night, Specs' parents told him that they had a late night run which wasn't unusual. Specs nodded and hugged them goodbye. He woke up the next morning and they weren't there. Specs knew his parents occasionally had to hide out somewhere else for a night, so he didn't worry. He waited an entire week inside their tiny apartment for his parents to come back. When he didn't see them, he decided to go out and hang out with his friends. One of his friends looked at him and asked,

"What on Earth is wrong with you?" Specs was clueless and had looked around nervously.

"What's wrong, fellas?" He asked and his friends stared at him in disbelief.

"Ya mean ya don't know?" Another one of the boys asked in disbelief and Specs shakes his head.

"Guess not."

"Yer parents are dead. Got shot at da raid a week ago." Specs fell to his knees and cried. His gangster friends were not sympathetic in the least and Specs took a necklace of his mother's and a watch of his father's and ran off. Specs ran and ran until he crashed into Jack. Jack had looked at the six year old and noticed the tears running down his cheeks. He asked Specs what was wrong and Specs told him. Jack had opened his arms and the younger boy had stared at him. After a conversation about Jack caring about how Specs actually felt and was trying to be sympathetic and Specs would still have to fear for his life, but he had more people looking out for him, Specs hugged Jack. Specs went back to Jack's hideout with the other four boys. The other three were already there and were talking quietly when they saw another figure behind Jack. Skittery, being a little impulsive and angsty, ran out and punched Specs square in the nose. Out of protective instinct, Jack punched Skittery in the nose and out of the three boys, Jack was the only one standing. Crutchy limped out behind Race and Jack glared at Skittery.

"What was dat for? He's new and he just found out dat his parents are gone. He is stayin wid us tonight, no questions asked, pals," Jack stated, glaring at Skittery. Skittery helped Specs to his feet and apologized. Jack introduced Specs to the other three boys and everyone was very welcoming to him. Specs was very smart, bookish, and knew a lot about gangs and their politics. He was the reason that the five of them didn't get nabbed off the street or drafted into gangs on more than one occasion. Jack was grateful for that. Very grateful. Specs has grown to be one of the older, more intelligent boys and understands how the agenda of gang business works. Jack walks past a park and a memory strikes him. A weather beaten wooden park bench resides just off of a trail around the park. Jack remembers that he met one of the younger Newsies at the bench. Actually, he saved that Newsie from making a complete fool of himself. Romeo had always had a thing for girls, but beyond his flirtatiousness, he was one of the sweetest boys in the gang. Jack remembers his flirting that about landed both of them in some serious hot water. Romeo had been flirting with a girl who appeared to be much wealthier than him. Jack had been walking home to Medda's, where he had been living at the time with the other four boys, when he noticed Romeo and the girl. Romeo had leaned himself over the backside of the park bench to flirt with this girl who had been walking on the path around the park. Things did not seem to be going too well. Due to the fact that Romeo was running out of pickup lines and the girl did not seem to be the flirting type. A cop was walking into the park at that exact moment, making a beeline for Romeo and the girl. Jack stopped in his stride for a moment to listen to the conversation that was going on. The girl was telling the cop that Romeo was being a bother and the cop was now threatening to take Romeo away. The cop reached for Romeo, but Romeo jumped off the bench and started running. He ran straight into Jack and Jack had grabbed him.

"Let me do da talking, understand?" Jack  demanded and Romeo nodded. The cop pointed at Romeo.

"Is he your brother, son?" The cop asked and Jack nodded.

"Yea, sorry about him. He just gets a liddle carried away when it comes to da ladies sometimes," Jack responded quickly and Romeo looked up at Jack in shock. The cop eyed the two boys for a moment before saying,

"Just don't let me catch harassing young ladies again. You understand, boys?" Both boys nodded and both the cop and the girl walked away.

"Ya lied just for me?" Romeo asked looking up at Jack with amazement in his young eyes. Jack  looked at the little kid.

"How old are ya?" Romeo looked around nervously.

"How old are youse?" Romeo asked back and Jack sighed.

"I'se eight. How old are youse?" Jack repeated. Romeo thought about it for a second.

"I'se five." Jack shook his head in disbelief. Crutchy was only a year older than him. How long had this young boy been on the street? Jack later found out that Romeo had lost both of his parents in a fatal car crash when he was three. Romeo had managed to walk away with only a few minor injuries, but the same could be not said about his parents. His parents were very sweet and Romeo had a brother that was a teenager at the time. The two were ten years apart and after the funeral, Romeo never saw him again. Romeo had missed his brother a lot throughout those first few months of being alone. He roamed the city and discovered that he really liked girls. His older brother had been a natural when it came to girls and Romeo had picked up on it. Except his version was much more childlike and didn't really win any ladies over. Jack remembers when he brought Romeo home and then had to take him to the theatre because Medda was putting on a show that evening. After the show, Medda had called a friend of hers who she knew wanted to foster a child. Romeo had a new home and a loving mother by the end of the night. He was still a flirt in every way possible, but he had grown up a little bit. Now, he could flirt with any girl he wanted to and would get some sort of an adorable reaction out of her. Jack makes a turn and strolls down Bottle Alley. Mush always delivers papers to the homes that were around here. Jack remembers Mush's story and remembers the tragedy that it was.  Mush had been in a large home off in one of the nicer parts of Manhattan. His parents had made it big with their occupations and so naturally, Mush grew up in a very wealthy home. He had an older sister and a younger brother. His sister was in her teenage years and his younger brother was only two years younger than Mush himself. The three siblings loved the water, particularly the water down by Bottle Alley and the harbor. Mush's family had a private yacht. Their parents would have their butler accompany the children on their trip out onto the water. One day, the group went out on the yacht and the three children jumped into the water to swim for a little bit. The youngest of the three immediately dove under the water to see how long he could hold his breath. The butler, not realizing that the young boy was under the water, tossed the anchor in as he always did. He realized when the anchor hit something that it wasn't the bottom of the ocean. After a short time, Mush and his sister began to wonder where their brother was. His sister, being the oldest and the one who sought to take care of her siblings, slipped under the water to find him. A very short time later, she came bursting back up. Tears were already in her eyes as she held up the youngest sibling. A huge bleeding indent was on the back of his head and his sister broke down into a full meltdown. Mush moved to take his brother from his sister and climbed out of the water. He gently laid his younger sibling down on the yacht and his sister climbed out after him. The butler quickly maneuvered the yacht back to the dock where it belonged. The siblings hurried to go find a doctor, trying to keep pressure on the back of their brother's head. Once their sibling was under the doctor's care, it was too late. The youngest brother in the Myers family had an infection in the back of his head that was rapidly becoming fatal. Mr. and Mrs. Myers made it to the office in record time, wishing to support their son as best as they could. The butler was extremely upset with what had happened. He apologized profusely to the entire family. Two days later, the youngest Myers child passed away and the rest of the family changed forever. Mush's parents became very angry with the older two and the butler was fired shortly after the boy passed away. Mush, his sister, and the butler all tried to explain that the whole ordeal was an accident. But, neither of Mush's parents were sensible enough to hear of it. One night, their parents were so furious that both children decided to run to the streets. His sister knew some people in the city who could help find them a safe place to spend the night, but Mush wouldn't hear of causing anyone any kind of trouble. The two siblings slept on the streets for about two weeks. After that, they both started looking for jobs. Mush's sister found one, but Mush couldn't. He eventually gave up, seeing that he was only a six year old kid at the time. No one in their right mind would hire a six year old in the 1940s. Mush was a rich kid and was expected to be at school. That was not ever happening again. Mush decided to wander down to Bottle Alley, where he would always swim with his siblings on the hot summer days. Jack turned the corner, running from who knows who and nearly tripped over Mush. Mush tried to keep Jack from falling in the water, but it failed and then both boys wound up swimming in the water. Jack introduced himself to Mush and asked why he was sitting at the harbor by himself. Mush told him the whole story and eight year old Jack told him his own story. A few minutes later, Mush and Jack were standing in the dark theatre with Medda looking at Jack with an exasperated look on her face. She loved her little Jack Kelly, but sometimes, he got into more trouble than she would have liked. Mush was a foster kid to one of Medda's friends and a friend to Jack before the evening was over. Jack smiles as he thinks of the boy in the higher ranks of his gang. Mush is a sweet, kind and caring boy who can pack a punch. Unlike Romeo, Mush is actually good with girls and attracts a lot of them. His athleticism helps all of the boys out in any situation they may have. Mush usually has a girlfriend and is very good at gymnastics. If there is ever a showdown between The Newsies gang and another gang, Mush would be one of Jack's top choices for their representative. Jack thinks of Mush's best friend, Kid Blink. Kid Blink was found by Mush, sitting outside of a school crying one day after the school had let out for the day. He told Mush that people were making fun of the fact that he wore an eye patch. His sight was different in that eye than in the other one, so he wore an eye patch to keep his perception of the world from being half right. Mush asked Kid Blink how he felt about going to Medda's. Blink agreed and later met Jack and the rest of the boys living at Medda's. The group found out that Kid Blink had been dealt a rough hand. His parents had not been supportive of his vision issue at all and then Blink's dad had left for the war. This meant that Blink's mom was working double shifts just to try to keep food for eight people on a table. Blink's parents were from New Orleans, but Blink had been born in Manhattan. A couple weeks ago, Blink's mother had told him to start wearing an eye patch over his bad eye since they couldn't afford glasses to try to help out Blink's vision. Blink's family had also received notice that his father was most likely dead. No one had heard from him in quite awhile and the Axis powers weren't saying who they had imprisoned, so the government had presumed him to be dead. Blink was heartbroken over that and his mother hardened dramatically after that day. She never smiled and rarely spoke to any of her seven children. Blink was the fourth child at the age of seven. Most days, Blink resorted to crying on the front steps of his school long after everyone had left. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Before life got rough for Blink and his family, Blink had been a very outgoing child. He was loud and his family hated it and loved it. Blink was also kind of a hot head too and would get into fights at school and on the street on a regular basis. This made his parents furious because they couldn't afford to pay for medical bills for their son. Blink never really grew out of that. Jack knows that to this day, Blink still gets into fights at school. He still lives with his over exasperated mother and his six siblings. Life was rough at home and there were several times where Blink asked Medda for a foster family, but she continually declined. Blink continues to live at home and Jack makes sure to bust him out every once in a while so he can be himself around some people who care about who he is and how he feels. Being an instrumental part to the gang, Blink helps with a lot of the fighting and Blink understands the lower class rules of living. He is good at communicating with people and Jack is grateful for that. Meeting Blink when he was eight, Jack knows that including Blink in the gang was a wise decision even at that young age. He passes by the old school that Kid Blink went to as a kid and thinks of his small past. About a year past before any more boys became a friend of Jack Kelly. When he was nine years old, a young boy who was about eight showed up at the theatre trying to get some kind of entertainment for free. Albert had made some joke to the person selling tickets. Medda had recently started showing movies in her theatre as well as performing live. Albert had proclaimed that his face was interesting enough to rival the looks of those in the pictures themselves and just for that he should be let in since the ticket seller would let anyone into the movies for free. The ticket seller eventually gave up on the kid and found Medda to kick him out herself. When the ticket seller talked to Medda, she called Jack out from which ever he had been in the theatre and told him that she needed help with something. Jack and Medda walked out and saw a boy who looked a little younger than Jack leaned up against the ticket booth wall. Medda started to talk to the boy who said that he didn't have any money and wanted to see a movie. Jack asked if Albert had a home or a family and Albert said that he didn't have either. He had been born to a family with an older brother and Mr. DaSilva spent all of his money on luxury items for himself. Items that never reached the hands of little Albert. Occasionally the effect these items had on Mr. DaSilva reigned over his actions more than either of the boys would have liked. Before Albert's mother had died bringing him to the world, Mr. DaSilva would only have an occasional drink or an occasional cigar. When Albert's mother passed however, Mr. DaSilva resorted to those two items to deal with his problems. Of course, neither of the boys had jobs at the time because they didn't think it was necessary. Until they were evicted from their tiny apartment. Albert's older brother and Albert both hit the streets. They tried to stay together until they ran into trouble with a gang. The gang leader needed one more boy and threatened to beat up both of the DaSilva boys up if one of them didn't join. Albert's older brother was forced to make a difficult decision. Either they stay together, but they have targets on their backs or one of them joins and the other is on their own. Albert's brother said he would join as long as they left young Albert alone. The gang leader agreed and Albert's brother said he would quit if the gang hurt young Albert at all. Albert ran off in search of something, anything to make his life better. That's when he found Medda's theatre. Medda set him up with another friend of her's who wanted a foster kid. Albert had some new friends and a new home by the end of the evening. His loud mouth and tough boy exterior gave way to a kind boy who would do anything for his brothers. Even if it cost him his life. Jack wanders his way down near the Bowery. Bumlets and Buttons had both grown up in the Bowery. Bumlets and Jack had met because Bumlets was the son of one of Medda's performers. He often showed up at his mother's shows and sat in the back with a nine year old Jack.  One night, Bumlets came to the theatre and his mother wasn't there. Bumlets's father was off fighting in the war. The other two members of his family had decided that he wasn't coming back. His mother had been involved in a car accident and had perished instantly. Bumlets found this out after the performance and was heartbroken. Medda had asked him why he hadn't been with his mother. Apparently before the performance, the two got into a fight because Bumlets wanted to hang out with his friends down in the Bowery. His mother had to hurry so she didn't miss the performance because she was already running late as it was. Bumlets was being slightly rebellious and stayed with his friends. Right before the show started, Bumlets raced into the theatre and Medda had immediately asked him where his mother was. Bumlets had explained that she was running late and Medda thought nothing of it. Bumlets's mother had never been one to excel in the area of punctuality. Neither was Bumlets.  Bumlets had been nine years old when this happened. He and his mother had had a unique bond between a mother and her son. She loved him fiercely, even after his father disappeared in the chaos that was known to them as World War 2. Bumlets had made a lot of friends down in the Bowery. To the adult gangsters that roamed the Bowery, Bumlets and his friends were just a bunch of goofy kids running up and down the busy streets. But to the boys themselves and other groups of kids that ran around the Bowery, they were trouble. Bumlets got into a fair share of fights, none of which he started. He was too kind to start a fight with anyone. Bumlets would be the first to admit that not everyone was friendly with each other in the Bowery, but that didn't mean that he didn't try to be nice to his group's rivals. Since he was the oldest, all of the younger kids sort of looked up to Bumlets. Bumlets did his best to treat them like brothers and the group agreed to not start fights. Their rivals, however, saw otherwise. After his mother passed away, a gang of teenagers decided to pick on the young group of boys. The teenagers started to beat up the other kids. The fight ended when the teenagers ordered that the younger kids join them or they would continue to soak them and make it worse. A bunch of the boys gave in, to scared of the consequences. Everyone, but Bumlets and one other kid. The teenagers and their new recruits circled Bumlets and the other boy. Bumlets grabbed the other boy and broke through the circle. The two took off towards Medda's theatre. Bumlets threw open a back door, shoved the slightly younger boy inside and slammed the door behind them. There stood five boys, one of them being Jack. Jack spat into his hand and offered it to Bumlets. Bumlets returned the gesture and the two shook hands. Moving to the side, Bumlets revealed a slightly younger boy behind him. Buttons waved nervously at the group. Jack did a spit shake with the seven year old boy. Buttons explained that he had been friends with Bumlets for as long as he could remember. He explained that they had been in the same group of boys that hung out together in the Bowery. Buttons belonged to a decent sized family with three older brothers. One of his brothers and his father had both disappeared in the war, but Buttons still had two older brothers and a mother that loved them all. Until one of his older brothers decided to join a group of teenage guys that quickly became involved in gang activity. No one in Buttons's family was happy about that. Buttons did not consider the group of guys he hung out with to be a gang. They were more like what the Newsies gang had become. Buttons's brother was one of the boys who decided to beat up Buttons's group of boys.  Before they left, Buttons's oldest brother tried his best to convince the younger three to stay away from gangs. From his short time in high school, he could already tell that gangs were trouble. Buttons tried his hardest to stay true to his brother's words as a little boy. A few months after Buttons met Jack, he received a letter from his father. On that same day, Buttons found out that all of his family involved in the war was dead. It was well after two years since the war had ended and yet he was just finding out.  Saying Buttons was heartbroken was putting it mildly, he was devastated. Reading the letter from his dad brought tears to everyone's eyes. Button's mother tried her best to keep her boys out of trouble, but it only lasted for so long. The oldest boy that was still alive was arrested a little bit later. Button's mother and his brother were so upset by this. The oldest brother's gang had attempted to perform a raid and they had not been very successful. Time started to pass and Jack began asking people about The Newsies Gang. Buttons tried to stay out of it, but Jack was not planning on doing any actual gang activity. Being the sweet, loving boys that he was, Buttons was apprehensive about actual gang activity. When Jack said what he said, it put Buttons at ease and made the quiet boy become fiercely loyal to his brothers, especially to Bumlets. Jack remembers this conversation he had with Buttons and other boys that later came. Boots had been one of those boys. Boots was about eight years old when Jack snuck away to that old warehouse. He had been an only child. His parents loved him fiercely. Wanting to protect their son from the war, they both went off to fight in it. His mother became a WASP and his father went off and fought valiantly in the battles. Neither of them managed to survive the war, but Boots was proud of his parents for what they had done. When he received this news, a group of people came to take him away to an orphanage. They put Boots in a large group with several other kids, but he managed to escape. The child services people didn't even notice when he ran off. Boots came across an old warehouse and he threw open the door. A group of about ten boys stood staring back at him. Boots slammed the door and sat down on the side of the street for a moment. There were ten older boys in there who could easily take out an eight year old kid. The door opened and Boots closed his eyes, preparing for the worst. Jack stepped out and sat down next to the kid. Boots would have been lying if he said he wasn't terrified. He had heard terrible stories about gangs attacking young boys or even worse, soaking them until they joined. Jack gently said,

"Hey!" Boots jumped about three feet into the air from where he was sitting. Jack started to reassure him, "Ey! It's okay. We'se ain't gonna hoit ya, we'se ain't really a gang." Boots looked up a little nervous and startled.

"Youse not?" He asked and Jack nodded his head.

"Youse don't gotta be scared of us. We might be a gang someday, but we'se gonna be different than all of the other ones out there," Jack stated and Boots gave the tiniest sigh of relief. He decided to be a little brave.

"I'se ain't scared of no gang turf! Sometimes, the fellas just makes me a little noivous, you know?" Boots explained and Jack chuckled.

"Yea, I'se knows the feeling," Jack responds with a light laugh in his voice.  The two boys continued to talk and Boots told Jack that he didn't have a place to stay or any parents. Jack invited him to stay in the warehouse. Boots was terrified that he was joining a gang and Jack reassured him that he wasn't. Boots had grown to be a strong leader among some of the younger boys and was fiercely loyal to his brothers in the gang. Yes, Boots had listened to Jack's whole speech about their gang and had agreed with it. Boots joined the gang, knowing that they were more than a gang. They were a band of brothers, banding together against the dangerous streets of Manhattan. Jack loves Boots's story a lot. He had been so young and yet had stuck with them, much like a kid Skittery had brought in off the street one day. Tumbler was by far one of the youngest boys in the group. Skittery had been wandering the streets, looking for some kind of a job when he found a little boy about the age of four, just sitting on the curb watching the cars zoom by. Curious as to what the little boy was doing, Skittery sat down next to him and asked him what he was doing on the side of the street. Tumbler said,

"I can't find my mommy." Skittery sat a little bit closer to the kid and asked,

"Do ya know if she's coming back?" The little boy shrugged. "How old are ya, kid?"

"Fouh," Tumbler replied, holding up four tiny fingers that were red from being out in the winter for so long. Skittery figured Tumbler had been sitting there for awhile. He asked Tumbler,

"You wanna come hang out wid me and some of my friends? They's all big, but they won't hurt ya." Tumbler looked a little scared. Skittery noticed that the little boy was shivering, so he scooped him up and pulled him close to him. Tumbler instantly started to snuggle in closer to Skittery for warmth and Skittery hurried back to the warehouse where he and the rest of the boys now lived. Skittery quickly kicked open the door and quickly sprinted over to a bunk, where he gently set Tumbler down. Thirteen year old Jack and the rest of the boys sprinted over to see what was happening. Tumbler started to cough and Crutchy hurried over to grab some blankets for the little boy.

"Mama?" Tumbler asked and Specs said quickly,

"Skitts, where did you find this kid that seems to be seriously sick? He's got a fever." Skittery looks up at him annoyed.

"Since when did youse become a doctor, Specs?" Skittery snapped back and some of the boys started to cause a racket. Jack got everybody quickly and asked for the story. Skittery told him what he knew, but Tumbler was awake enough to tell the whole story. Tumbler's father had died somehow along time ago, Skittery and Jack guessed it was in the war, but they didn't know for sure. His mother had been receiving some strange threatening letters from someone she used to know that had heard about her husband dying and had wanted to see her again. Tumbler's mother agreed and the two saw each other. The man threatened her into a second time and the letters kept getting more and more menacing, threatening young Tumbler's safety until one day, she left Tumbler a few streets away from the meeting place and ran off. That's when Skittery found him. Tumbler's story was much more animated since he was a young four year old boy at the time. Skittery and Jack both told Tumbler that he could stay as long as he needed to and Tumbler wound up living in the warehouse permanently. Tumbler looked up to Skittery as an older brother and he was the sweetest and the littlest boy out of all of the Newsies. Shortly after Tumbler showed up, Jack created the gang. Jojo showed up shortly after this. He was from a small family near Brooklyn. Jojo's mother had been a nurse in the war and Jojo's father was not apart of the war. He chose not to be since he was a rich business man, who had a large business in Manhattan. Jojo knew very well what Wall Street was and how the economy worked, better than most nine year old boys did. He ran around with a bunch of rich teenage guys until they threatened to hurt his younger sister. Then he ran away. Through the some of the less rich kids at school, he had heard that The Newsies Gang had been revived. Jojo found out where the boys were hiding and ran to that side of Manhattan to find them. After awhile, he found Jack and became one of the boys. His father grew upset when he couldn't find his oldest child. Jojo found out that there was a search party going on and he decided to return to his home. He promised Jack that he was still a part of the gang even though he was running back to his rich kid life. About a month after that happened, Jojo snuck out permanently.  With his mother dead from the war, Jojo's father had practically neglected his two children. His sister went to live somewhere else and Jojo moved down to Jack's warehouse permanently. The shy boy quickly became close with some of the younger boys and kept to himself most of the time while taking care of some of the others. Jack remembers that Jojo, although he was shy, was never afraid to face a problem head on. He spots a Dutch flag off in the distance, hanging proudly from a Dutch family's apartment. This makes Jack think of Dutchy. Dutchy was almost pure blood German. His parents had immigrated over and made it over to the United States. Dutchy was born in New York and he grew up in a hard life. Being an only child, he worked hard. His parents worked hard and to the two adult immigrants, New York City seemed to be a very cruel place. Dutchy's parents hardly knew any English, while Dutchy picked up on it quite quickly from hanging around kids on the street. One day, Dutchy's father went off to work and never came back. His father worked on large projects such as building bridges and other large ordeals. The manager of Dutchy's father's group came to Dutchy's apartment and told him that there had been an accident and six men were killed. Dutchy and his mother were extremely upset. Wandering around on the street one day, a twelve year old Dutchy ran into the Newsies gang. He pleaded for them not to beat him up and told them what had just happened. Jack stepped forward and started to talk to Dutchy, reassuring him that he was safe. Dutchy and Jack got to know each other a little bit more and before the day was out, Dutchy had joined the gang. He continued to live with his mother as she still needed his love and support.  Dutchy became a sweet boy to have around who loved to learn things about his country and the people that lived there. He was never afraid to get his hands dirty in a fight and he loved to hang out with the boys. Dutchy bonded a lot with Specs and Itey as he participated in the gang alongside them. Jack remembers Racetrack bringing home Itey one night. Itey had been a Brooklyn boy just like Race and had actually been one of the boys that Race ran around Brooklyn with. When Race stepped out, the two boys didn't get to see each other anymore. Itey had grown up in a huge Italian family. He managed to be the oldest of eleven kids. His mother was a harsh woman who did not allow any free time for any of her children. Bad consequences arose when Itey or one of his siblings was caught slacking on their chores. Itey's father had been a strong believer in his homeland during the war, so when Italy lost the war with the other two main Axis powers, he was upset. Much like Dutchy's family, Itey's family was smart and left Italy before the war even got started. Eleven year old Itey had mixed feelings about leaving his homeland. He loved Italy dearly, but when his parents explained that bad things were going to happen to them if they stayed, he did not hesitate to leave. Itey and his family moved to Brooklyn and Itey quickly learned English. He was a smart kid and learned the lingo of the streets as he ran around with the other Brooklyn kids that were his age. Itey had been the youngest out of the group that Race led around Brooklyn. When Spot came, Itey stuck with the same group of boys. Spot grew up to be a teenager and couldn't resist some gang activity. That is when Itey knew he needed to get out of the group, but he was too late. Itey's family was threatened and Itey had a close encounter for being a young eleven year old boy. He ran all the way to Manhattan while being chased by some gangs. Itey nearly steamrolled a person who was standing in the street. It was Jack and he was alone. Itey came to a screeching halt and the goons chasing Itey grabbed him. The gangsters started to beat him up and Jack started to get involved, but there were more than he could fight off on his own. Since the warehouse was in earshot and the chances that the boys were outside doing something were high, Jack whistled for help. About eight of his boys came running to Jack and Itey's aid. After some fists were thrown and the Newsies scared off the gangsters from Brooklyn, Jack asked Itey what was happening. Itey explained everything and Jack offered him a place to stay for the night. That one night turned into a permanent situation. Itey figured that there were plenty of kids in his house, no one would notice if he went missing.  He loves living with all of the other boys there and fighting alongside them. Yelling at Race in their native tongue is always entertaining. Although Itey is a little bit quieter of a Newsie, he still has the brotherly bond that all of them seem to have with each other. Jack smiles as he walks down the street and a bird flits over his head. Finch would have known what bird that was. Jack watches for a minute as the bird flies up to a nest and feed its children. Finch would have been able to tell Jack everything that was happening had he been there. The boy's father had been into birdwatching, not that there was a lot to in New York City, but Finch's father tried his best. His son would often join him. Finch learned the different names of the birds and all of their different lifestyles. He quickly learned that he adored birds.  Finch was about ten at this time in his life. He had an older sister and a younger sister. Finch's mother thought that birdwatching was a waste of time and she would send him off to school most days. She was one of those boisterous women who everyone knew better than to mess with. One day, Finch came home from school with a black eye and his mother, for some reason, decided to give him a slingshot. Finch was elated and became pretty handy with a sling shot very quickly.  For once, his mother was impressed with him. His mother said that a sling shot was much more powerful than a fist. Finch's father on the other hand went missing for long periods of time here and there. One night, he got up and left in the middle of the night. The next morning, Finch's father was not present and Finch's mother called the police. The police found Finch's father's dead boy outside of a jewelry store in a rich part of Manhattan. Finch's father had been involved in gang activity and Finch's mother was furious. One night, one of the gang members came knocking on the door and said that they needed Finch's mother for a raid. They threatened to kill Finch and his sisters when she disagreed. Finch's mother never came back and a few weeks later, the gang member came looking for Finch or one of his sisters. Finch told his youngest sister to run out the window and to never come back. The little girl left and Finch's oldest sister hugged him quickly, knowing that she was not ever going to see Finch again. Finch waited one more day at the apartment and when his sister didn't come back, he packed the few things he had and made for the street. Overcome with sadness, Finch decided to sit down for a little while on the curb and birdwatch. He saw some new birds and knew what they were thanks to his father's bird books that he had packed away. Suddenly, a kid with a crutch, who looked to be a little bit older than Finch walked up.

"Whatcha doing?" Crutchy asked and Finch shrugged.

"Bird watching," He replied and Crutchy sat down next to him. The two watched the birds for awhile and Crutchy told Finch about the Newsies gang and the warehouse. Before he knew it, Finch belonged to a large group of brothers who cared about him a lot. He learned to become terrified of Brooklyn and he grew to quickly love the life of being a gang that didn't go out of their way to cause trouble. Finch is still quiet, a little timid, and thinks Crutchy can sell papers better than any one on the bikes. Jack smiles as the birds quickly fly away. So much like him and the boys. They all tend to flock together. Jack keeps walking towards the warehouse and hears the sound of loud laughter. Elmer had been one of the few boys who was happy before he found Jack and the Newsies. He wasn't laughing about his prior circumstances in life, but about something else that amused the young boy. Elmer was not the brightest boy there ever was.  He would make proclamations at school that had already been discussed a week ago and yet Elmer had never known that. Elmer was perfectly happy in his own little world full of a rough family. His family had died a short time ago in the war. Elmer's mother had been a WASP and Elmer's father had been a pilot. Because of his parents, Elmer's dream was to fly an airplane. Elmer lived with his aunt who was single and young. She carried a wonderful job and loved Elmer to pieces. Elmer saw it as his duty to protect his aunt as she was a news anchor. Much to Elmer's despair, his aunt began dating a man and he did not like Elmer in the least. For some unknown reason to Elmer, she continued to date the man. The day they announced they were getting married, Elmer became very upset. He expressed his feelings to his aunt who did not seem to care as much as he wanted her to. Not that it mattered much anymore. It would have been amazing if she had cared at all. Elmer attended the wedding and was the ringbearer. The wedding went well without any major bumps or bruises and Elmer was happy for his aunt. The reception began and Elmer danced with a couple of the little girls who thought they were princesses and were dying to dance with a prince. Elmer agreed to dance with them just to be a gentleman and he saw his aunt gesture for him to come talk to her at one point in the evening. She told him that his new uncle was going to live with them. Elmer shrugged his shoulders and pretended not to care. If only she knew. Elmer decided to stick around for a little while just to see how things were going to go. They spent two weeks away on their honeymoon and for two weeks, Elmer heard nothing from his grandparents, who his aunt told him to stay with while she and her husband were gone, about how they were newlyweds and how he shouldn't be too demanding. Elmer wanted to point out that all he wanted was to feel loved by somebody. When the two newlyweds returned, Elmer decided to stick around for a couple of weeks just to see what would happen. Elmer was ignored most of the time. His aunt would say good morning and good night and ask how he was, but rarely would she say anything to him in between those times. He and his aunt used to be very close and it seemed as though he didn't exist anymore. One night, Elmer's aunt and uncle ran out in the middle of the night together. Elmer decided to run out too. Except he had the feeling he was never going to come back. He ran down the fire escape and down to the streets below. Elmer ran and ran through Manhattan just trying to find a place to forget or to even start over. He had to admit that he had it better than most kids. If only his aunt and uncle would love him more than they did. Elmer eventually came upon a rough looking group of boys. One of them shoved him and Elmer pleaded, saying he didn't want any trouble. The small group of boys looked at him and shrugged.

"Youse invading our turf?" asked Racetrack and Elmer shook his head quickly.

"I'm just out running around. Escaping my newlywed aunt and uncle," He replied quickly and Racetrack sighed.

"That's tough, kid." Elmer nodded and Buttons said,

"We'se got a place youse can stay for the night." Elmer perked up and agreed to go with them. He went back with the group of boys and met Jack. Elmer told the group of boys everything, but also explained that he felt bad if he left his home permanently.  Jack told Elmer that he would probably be sad with the results if he chose to stay at his home. Elmer decided to stay at the warehouse permanently with the others. A couple of nights later, he snuck back into his home and packed his things that he could take with him. Elmer left a note telling his aunt that he was never coming back to live with her, but he loved her and would not mind a visit every once in awhile. He made it back with his things and the boys cheered excitedly.  Elmer was quickly thrown into some of the gang activity with his brothers and Jack taught him everything from fighting to sweet talking his way out a situation. Even though he was not the brightest boy of the bunch, he loved the boys and was often a part of the pranks that the boys pulled on each other. Elmer can be very sweet, but he never hesitates to fight his way out of any situation. When Jack had first talked to him, Elmer was laughing at his situation because he thought it was ridiculous. Jack thinks that Elmer would say that it was one of the best decisions he had ever made. Walking around the starlit sky, the faint smell of a pie cooling on a fire escape reaches Jack's nose. Pie Eater could never resist a piece of pie. On the rare occasion that Kid Blink snuck a pie from his mother's kitchen, Pie Eater would eat it. Pie Eater had a lot of brothers and sisters. He had 2 older brothers and an older sister. He had a sister who was his twin and then there was another girl in the family who was much younger than both of them. Pie Eater's parents worked hard and forced their children to as well. None of the children really appreciated working hard, but they did it to please their parents. The sad part was every cent the kids made the parents used on frivolous items. Thirteen year old Pie Eater wished that it would be used to make more pies, but it never was. His siblings were tired of it and they were lectured harshly when they spoke out against it. Pie Eater had heard of the Newsies gang and decided to sneak out and find them. He knocked on the warehouse door and was greeted by a group of the boys, who at first were not the nicest to him until he explained that he wanted to join them. Jack agreed and Pie Eater was thrilled. He became a great addition to the gang and loved to hang out with them. Pie Eater still lives at his home, but he makes pies for the boys at the warehouse when his parents aren't forcing him to do some kind of work for them. He spends as much as time as he can with the boys. Pie Eater is a quiet boy who really loves pie. He fights for the protection of his brothers a lot and is one of the older boys that the younger ones go to for advice. Jack hears faint Irish music coming from a nearby pub. Snoddy grew up in that sort of an environment. His family had been in New York since the potato famine some time ago and they had owned a pub in New York since then. When Prohibition came into play, they took it underground and sold Irish food instead up at their store front. The family was selling alcohol by the time Snoddy was born because Prohibition only lasted a short time. Snoddy grew up eating baked potatoes and was born to a family who loved him. Both of his parents were Irish and had the accent. Snoddy and his four siblings managed to learn the New York accent in somehow. Their parents really wanted them to have full on Irish accents and be proud of their heritage, but Snoddy and his siblings ran around with other kids on the streets. That is where they learned the language of New York City. Snoddy's family had not bothered to be a part of World War II and didn't let their oldest son and oldest daughter do it either. One night while Snoddy's mother was managing the bar, his father left to go somewhere. He was helping a richer woman uptown fix her television as Snoddy's father was good with appliances. The woman eventually got tired and went off to bed and that night, an armed robber broke into the house. Snoddy's father tried to stop him and did not make it home that night. Or ever again. Snoddy and his family were completely upset and his mother became very hard from that moment forward. She worked hard to keep the pub open, but business became thin and before Snoddy knew it, the pub closed, his family was evicted from their apartment and they were living on the street. Snoddy's siblings and his mother fought constantly as they knew that they needed to find work. His mother wanted to reopen the bar and start over, but the children all knew that the pub was not going to reopen any time soon. The arguments got more and more heated, so Snoddy eventually took off one night and didn't come back. He ran straight into a street gang, the Newsies. They roughed him up a little bit, hollering about their turf until Crutchy told them to hear the poor kid out. Snoddy explained his situation and the boys took him to Jack.  Fourteen year old Jack convinced eleven year old Snoddy to join the gang and Snoddy decided to move into the warehouse. The Irish boy who has a huge sense of adventure loved being a part of the gang. Nothing scared him and he was thrilled to be a part of the gang. Jack passes by the place where the Irish music is coming from and keeps walking. He sees a group of young kids running around in the street. Two boys, who act like they are brothers, run in between the sidewalks. Mike and Ike spent their days playing in the street. Their parents did not particularly care for the twin children, so the two boys were left to fend for themselves most days. Mike and Ike played with other kids on the streets and rarely stayed inside. There was a day when Mike and Ike woke up and their parents were gone. The two boys looked around for any kind of a note or any sign of where their parents were going. Mike and Ike, two eight year old boys, had been abandoned by their parents. The two eight year old boys decided to stick around for a while to see if they would come back. A week passed and the two boys chose not to go back inside in their apartment one evening. The two boys were the only children in their family and they did not have any other family that they knew of in New York City. Mike and Ike hung around on their street and played with the other boys in the apartment complex until the landlord threatened to call the police and have them take the boys away for loitering. The two boys ran away from the apartment complex that day and never went back. Mike stole food one day and the vendor on the street called the police to come arrest him. Ike saw his brother run past him and started to chase him. Then he saw two police officers chasing after them. Ike caught up to his brother and the two split up. They dodged through traffic and ran around the streets as fast as their small legs could carry them. Little did they know, but a fourteen year old Jack was sitting on the rooftop of the warehouse, watching the small boys run around. Jack eventually whispered yelled to them and the brothers looked up. With Jack's help, Mike and Ike ran up the fire escape ladder and up to the rooftop. The two boys sat together and watched the frustrated cops roam the streets. Eventually, the cops gave up and walked away, grumbling about little kids having sticky fingers. Jack chuckled and led the boys inside the warehouse. He introduced them to all of the other boys in the warehouse and the two little boys became some of the youngest members of the gang They stayed in the warehouse permanently from that day forward. The two boys grew to love some of the younger kids. They were always getting into trouble, but Mike and Ike were the reason the warehouse never had a dull moment. Jack turns a corner walking away from the kids as he does, a kids whizzes by him. He is running at a very fast pace. Just like Swifty. Swifty ran a lot in his childhood. His mother died giving birth to him. Swifty had an older sister and an older brother. His father was still alive and took care of the three children as best as he could.  Swifty learned to run errands and since his family did not live in an ideal part of Manhattan, Swifty ran everywhere. He got to be a quick runner and any fight he got in, he ran away. Swifty was not afraid to throw a fist, but he preferred running over fighting any day of the week. His brother had taught him how to throw punches and how to throw them well, but Swifty liked running. He had a group of boys that he hung out with school and being a thirteen year old boy, he enjoyed a good natured foot race every once in awhile. One day, Swifty ran right into the Newsies gang turf while escaping a fight with some bullies at his school. He got into a little bit of a scuffle with Race because he was on their territory. Race had pinned Swifty to the wall and Swifty explained how he had been running from an earlier fight. Swifty had been let go of and Race talked to him for awhile. The two boys watched cars roll by and they heard the sounds of the city swirling around them. It was a crisp fall day and Race invited Swifty into the Newsies gang. Swifty had mentioned that things were tough at home, but having a gang to be a part of might be nice. Race took Swifty to Jack and the three discussed Swifty being a part of the gang. Swifty joined the Newsies gang, but decided to stay home with his family for the time being. His family was really wonderful and tried to do their best to take care of him no matter what happened, so Swifty did not see any need to leave them. Swifty went home and told his family what he had done and they were happy that Swifty had found some great friends. Being in the part of town that they were in, having a family member be a part of a gang was not a bad idea. Swifty continues to run in between his home and the warehouse to be with his two different families. He runs everywhere he goes and is a part of the high school that all of the boys attends cross country team. Swifty loves being with the boys and he enjoys the special bond that all of the boys share with each other. Jack watches as a kid from a rooftop throws a small rock at a car. Sniper was always into those kinds of antics. Being the youngest of a large family of eight kids, no one really paid attention to him. Ten year old Sniper had to find other people to gain attention from. If only he could get attention from people who saw him as more than an annoying kid. Sniper would go to the richer parts of town and throw rocks at fancy cars, or pelt people from rooftops. Anything he could do to get some kind of attention. He would rocks at cars in the plain daylight, not at night when no one would catch him. One day, he threw a rock at one of the tycoons that lived on Wall Street's car and the man threatened to call the police right away. Sniper ran and ran as fast as he could. The man started to chase Sniper, so he could teach him a lesson. Sniper managed to get away and climbed up a fire escape. Jack with Race, and Kid Blink, were waiting to jump a guy on the same fire escape. Sniper grabbed a handful of rocks and pelted the boys with them. The three boys started to soak Snipers, so he jumped down onto the street and right in front of Oscar Delancey. Jack saw what was about to happen and decided that even a little destructive vigilante should not get beat up by a Delancey. He leaped in between Sniper and Oscar. Kid Blink and Race were excited to help soak Oscar for jumping a couple of the younger boys a few nights ago. Sniper climbed back up onto the fire escape for safety and to watch his now heroes fight away some villain. Once Oscar ran away, Sniper jumped down from the fire escape. After a long discussion with Jack about what had just went down, Sniper became a part of the Newsies gang. He would be a perfect candidate for defacing the property of other gangs and getting away with it. Jack helped Sniper to learn that hurting people and their things was not the way to get attention. Sniper loves to deface the property of the other gangs and makes sure that the Newsies gang gets the attention they want. He does it to protect his brothers and helps voice that they are a gang that will not be pushed around. Jack sees some girls watching a group of boys across the street. The girls are giggling and whispering to each other. The one girl shouts and points at one of the boys. She shouts

"Hey, buddy! My friend thinks you're pretty cute!" Jack watches and this reminds him of Snitch. Snitch can't keep a secret to save his life. He tells absolutely everybody in the gang who has a crush on what girl at the area high school and it drives everyone absolutely crazy. Snitch grew up living with theater parents. Both of his parents were doing well and were on Broadway. He would help out behind the scenes as a little kid and watched his parents perform on the stage. There was lots of gossip that rolled around behind the scenes and Snitch made sure to pass it right along to the next person who wanted to know. Snitch never really censored or thought about what he told people. He just sort of told whatever was told to him. Snitch was in the eternal game of telephone except he never got the short stick of it. He proved to be a trustworthy kid to one of the crew members backstage, so one night, the crew member sent him on an errand. An errand that related to gang activity. Snitch was attacked by a group of teenagers, who were the group he was carrying out the errand to. Instead of thanking him, they attacked him. The group of boys saw that he was wearing nicer clothes and carried himself with a smaller hint of the streets than most kids did. This reason and the fact that he was not the regular errand boy gave them cause to attack Snitch. Snitch started to run until another gang showed up. Jack stood at the front of the line with the Newsies behind him. Snitch was in the middle of a never ending turf war between two rival gang.  It was obvious to the Newsies that Snitch had no clue what was going on and that he was just playing errand boy for someone farther up the gang food chain. The Newsies chose to protect Snitch and he told the Newsies what he had delivered to the rival gang and who had told him to do it. Jack and the boys were thankful that Snitch had snitched that time. Snitch listens well to information that is being presented to him so he picks up easily on things that are important. He then tells Jack and the other boys and then he helps carry out the plan. Snitch was twelve years old when he met a fifteen year old Jack Kelly. He joined their gang and explained to his parents that he was doing this to protect them. Snitch told his parents that there was no way they could help him because he was scared of what the rival gangs could do to his parents if they tried to help him. Snitching on the stage crew member who gave him this errand, Snitch explained why and that his parents could not tell a soul that they knew who the stage crew member really was. He moved into the warehouse shortly after that. Snitch is a slightly quiet boy who bursts at the seams to tell any kind of a secret to anyone who will listen. He has gotten wiser as he has gotten older, but he still loves to tell secrets and spread rumors about his brothers. Jack walks through the streets some more and comes across the nicer part of town. A loud car zooms by him, no doubt belonging to someone in the R&F (Rich and Fancy) gang. Hot Shot would have loved to see a car like that roll by.  He loved cars and could dismantle the parts from fancier cars that could keep the R&Fs looking for their car parts for awhile. Hot Shot had grown up with a father. His mother had been a spy for the French in World War II and had died in an espionage bust. Hot Shot wanted to do something noble like his mother. He wanted to prove that he could be defiant and he could fight back against evil.  Hot Shot admired what his mother did and when he heard about the Newsies gang, he wanted to join. Hot Shot was thirteen when he joined the Newsies gang. He continued to live with his dad until he died in a car accident. Hot Shot left his apartment before the police found him. He ran down to the warehouse and collapsed into the doorway in tears. All of the boys present understood the pain of losing a parent in some way other another and quickly helped the kid up to his feet. Jack decided that from then on, Hot Shot was staying at the warehouse. He grew to love the boys that lived there and they all saw each other as brothers. Hot Shot fights alongside his brothers and frequently helps Snipeshooter dismantle rival gang's cars when they least expect it. Nothing pleases the quiet boy more than seeing a R&F get mad about his car having been touched again. Jack remembers Snipeshooter and how he and Hot Shot are like brothers. Snipeshooter was quite the prankster, so much so that he got kicked out of his house for it. His family was not rich and Snipeshooter would get bored. He would start pulling pranks on his family. The ten year old did not understand the meaning of quit and one day, he took things too far when he put shoe shine in the shower head. His blonde haired mother had jet black hair for the next week. That was the week Snipeshooter got kicked out onto the street. Snipeshooter started stealing from various people and places for food and money. One day, a cop saw him do it and Snipeshooter started running. Hot Shot had been around at that point and had seen what was about to happen. He quickly came up with a distraction for the cop, hoping that Snipeshooter got the message. Hot Shot made up some story about this gang harassing a girl on some street a long walk away. The cop took off in that direction and Hot Shot found Snipeshooter. Snipeshooter thanked Hot Shot for helping him get away from the cop. The two boys talked about Snipeshooter's situation and before he knew it, Snipeshooter was moving into the warehouse with the many other Newsies members that lived there. Hot Shot and Jack talked for a little while about the kid and his slightly destructive behavior, but Jack reminded him that he was in a warehouse with a lot of boys. Snipeshooter became welcomed into the group right away. He also started the first prank war in the warehouse. Pulling a prank on Race got the ball rolling and Snipeshooter became a permanent member of the Newsies gang from that day forward. With a love for pranks and making off with Race's cigars, Snipeshooter fits in very well with the Newsies gang. He loves delivering papers, going to school, and fighting alongside them. Jack sees a group of boys that he recognizes to be from the Bronx cross the street nearby. Tommy Boy and Smalls were both from the Bronx. Tommy Boy loved growing up in the Bronx. His parents were hardly ever home which meant Tommy Boy ran around the Bronx with Smalls and other kids that hung out on the street. There was gang activity in the Bronx and Tommy Boy jumped right into it. Tommy Boy's older brother was the one who lead the gang, so Tommy Boy did not resist joining. He was slightly younger at the age of fourteen when he was running around with the gang. One day, Tommy's brother picked the wrong group to mess with. The R&F gang did not take kindly to a bunch of kids from the Bronx messing with them. Tommy Boy and the boys got soaked and from that day forward, the R&Fs made sure to make the Bronx kids' lives miserable. It was not unusual for Tommy Boy to get jumped when he was doing something as simple as visiting Smalls. His brother had taught him to fight back, but it wasn't enough. The boys snatched Tommy Boy up off the street and took him back to their hideout. The R&F gang took Tommy Boy back to their hideout. They had also managed to snatch Crutchy off the street the day before. Tommy Boy was thrown into the same room as Crutchy and the two boys got to know each other. Later on that very day, Jack and a group of the boys came to save Crutchy. When Crutchy asked Jack if Tommy Boy could come with them, Jack agreed. Tommy Boy became a part of the Newsies gang and stayed permanently at the warehouse with the boys. He is a quiet boy, but loves being a part of a gang and loves getting to be on the winning team. Smalls had a better situation than Tommy Boy. She would run around with Tommy Boy and the gang he was a part of, but her parents hated it. They were afraid that she was going to get hurt. Smalls ran out one night and her older sister saw who she was with and ratted her out to her parents. Smalls's parents refused to let her go out at night again. Smalls was upset. She really wanted to be a part of a gang. Smalls kept sneaking out, but being more careful about how she did it. One night, some kids in the Bronx found Smalls, who was twelve, running around by herself. They attacked her and she struggled to fight back. Smalls managed to break one of the goon's nose, but she was definitely at an extreme disadvantage. Kid Blink, Tommy Boy, and Mush helped soak some the boys and scared them away. Smalls went back to their warehouse and they helped her get back on her feet. She had to sneak home and her parents were not happy with what had just transpired. When Smalls explained that a group of boys have saved her, they were even more furious. Smalls told her parents that the boys who saved her meant no harm and they really cared about how she was doing. Her parents didn't believe it for a second. Smalls got even more creative with how she snuck out and she continues to.  She reunited with Tommy Boy and met some of the other boys that night when Kid Blink, Tommy Boy, and Mush saved her. Smalls knew that it was something she wanted to be a part of. She sneaks out almost every night to see the boys and run around with all of the craziness that goes on with the gang. Jack walks around and sees a boy telling a very animated story. Jake always made up crazy stories for the boys. Most of them had to do with gangsters and terrible things happening to them. Jake was just like every other kid in the gang. He had two parents, both died in a tornado when they were visiting his family out in Kansas. Jake had to keep going to school and his parents were gone long enough that it would have been a lot of school for him to miss. His parents really wanted him to go to school and get a good education. Jake heard from some random townsperson that was in Kansas that knew his family that they were dead. He was upset and fled to the streets since he had no family left to keep him company.  Race found him sitting on the side of the street and made some sarcastic comment and Jake sarcastically turned into a story. The story turned out to be a good story and then Jake told Race the true story. Race felt sad and invited Jake to come live at the warehouse. He snuck Jake in and Jack figured it out after Jake got into some shenanigans with Race. Fifteen year old Jake became a permanent member of the Newsies gang who could turn any mundane event into an amazing story. Jack sees a kid that was dancing in the middle of the sidewalk with the kid who was telling a story. Henry dances all the time. Sometimes Jack thinks he hears the kid trying to tapdance in his sleep. Henry grew up on the stage. He was a little kid who loved to perform for anyone who would watch. Small local New York theatres would let him perform and sometimes they would even pay him a little something just to keep him from starving. Nobody knew where Henry's parents had disappeared to. Henry claimed that they were the people who had taught him to dance. He figured they had taken off across the world with a theatre troupe since they loved theatre and the likes as much as Henry did. Henry had been about thirteen when he was running from some kids who were making fun of his love for theatre. They had tried to beat him up, but Henry knew enough about fighting to fight back. He landed a couple of bruises and was holding his own when a group of the Newsies came and helped him out. The bullies had more than a couple of bruises when they were running away from Henry and his newfound friends. The Newsies helped Henry to his feet and he told them what had happened. Jack, who had led the group, decided to invite Henry into the gang. Henry wanted to know what they stood for and they told him. He decided to join. Henry continues to do theatre gigs all over New York when he's not hanging out with the Newsies gang. He loves theatre still and loves living in a warehouse with a big band of brothers who love him to pieces. Henry is a little more introverted than Race and Albert, but he still loves to display his talents and abilities to the world. Jack looks around and thinks of how Manhattan screams of his boys and the gang. Everything in this city reminds him of the boys and their personalities. They have all come from different kinds of beginnings, but they now put all of that behind them. Every boy rides around the city on bicycles, delivering newspapers to the people of New York City. Little do they know, but something big is looming. Something that will cause the Newsies gang of 1955 to band together in a way that they never have before.

AN:/ So....this has taken me a month and a half to write. You are welcome, macavity22. Please leave a comment and tell me what you personally think. I hope everybody enjoyed these. I left out some of the Newsies(Kenny, Vince/Myron, I didn't even know who he was, Bart/Willie, I don't know who any of them are, so I left them out.) If you have any questions about any of the history of the Newsies gang or the boys themselves, I can probably tell you. If you want me to write any more background info, please comment below and request it. I am going to give you the brief lowdown of who is what age in 1955 and who actually lives in the warehouse and who doesn't. Everybody who knew Jack before he was thirteen that lived with a foster family now lives in the warehouse with Jack.

Jack- 17, lives at the warehouse.

Crutchy- 15, lives at the warehouse

Racetrack- 16, lives at the warehouse

Skittery - 17, lives at the warehouse

Specs - 16, lives at the warehouse

Romeo - 14, lives at the warehouse

Mush - 15, lives at the warehouse

Kid Blink - 16, lives at home

Albert - 14, lives at the warehouse

Bumlets - 15, lives at the warehouse

Buttons - 13, lives at the warehouse

Boots - 12, lives at the warehouse

Tumbler- 8, lives at the warehouse

Jojo- 13, lives at the warehouse

Dutchy - 16, lives at home

Itey - 15, lives at the warehouse

Finch- 14, lives at the warehouse

Elmer- 13(I don't think I actually gave one), lives at the warehouse

Pie Eater- 17, lives at home

Snoddy- 14, lives at the warehouse

Mike and Ike- 11, live at the warehouse

Swifty- 17, lives at home

Sniper- 13, lives at the warehouse(I never said it, but he does.)

Snitch - 14, lives at the warehouse

Hot Shot- 15, lives at the warehouse

Snipeshooter- 12, lives at the warehouse

Tommy Boy- 16, lives at the warehouse

Smalls- 14, lives at home

Jake- 17, lives at the warehouse

Henry- 15, lives at the warehouse

Okay, I think I got everybody who I brought up here. Once again, if there is any background information that I haven't explained and you want a story, I will either write it or just explain it in the comments. If not, the first chapter of this story should be coming soon!!!! I kind of gave a lead in, but if more background information is needed, I can put it off. Thank you so much to everyone who has voted and read the first chapter. It has like 9 votes, I think? And that's only the first chapter!!!! You guys really are amazing. I don't know when this is going to get updated next. Hopefully, it won't take me as long as this update did. I am sorry this took sooooo long, but I wanted to make it good and life has been crazy. (All of my Jr. High and lower high school friends, be careful when it comes to AP(advanced placement) classes.) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please tell me what you think in the comments below. The story will actually start moving soon! One little last note before I sign off for this chapter, I have opened a Newsies Preferences/Imagines book. If you would like one(I am including the OBCsies, Toursies, Livesies, 1992 Newsies/92sies actors and Newsies characters), please comment on that book! I only have four requests that need worked on, but you can submit if you want to. I would love to write more than four. I am also going to open my oneshot book up to requests. I'm not out of ideas, I just think it would be fun to have you guys request stuff. You can submit OCs to be a part of that book as well. I would love to hear what you guys want to see!!! Also, thank you to everyone who has been responding to my posts about Jack's romance interest for this book. I have come to a very interesting consensus. I am not going to share it, but I think you all will find it interesting. Thank you to macavity22 for requesting this chapter!! I really had a fun time writing this even though it took awhile. It was worth it!!! Thank you all for reading, voting commenting and doing whatever you do!!!! Enjoy the story!!