March 1898

Feister Johnson, a girl you don't want to get in hot water with. Granted, she hasn't actually soaked anybody. Just playful fights with the boys, maybe a couple of strong right hooks to the Delancey brothers, and any other thug, bummer, or no good that might come her way. But, those are stories for another time. Right now, it's about a side of Feister that's....shall we say...complicated. You see, long story short, Feister has your typical, tragic love story. A crush on her best friend, who only sees her as a little sister, and is too busy going after other girls to even notice her. Now, this is where the tables start to turn a bit. Usually, it's the protective brother who's watching out for his sister in the world of romance, right? Well, this time, it's the other way around. Feister is the one who's looking out for her brothers since they're too blinded by love to even notice a rotten apple when they see one. And, while usually Feister keeps her mouth shut when cupid has shot an arrow. When she sees a girl that's not right for one of her boys, then you better believe she will throw some words.

Which brings us too now.

It was the usual night in the bunk room. The boys were relaxing after a long days work by playing poker. Now, newsies are a lot of things, but when it comes to betting their money, that's something they're all careful with. So the winnings for poker were different trinkets the boys have found on the street that have no worth, they just liked them, along with a couple of coins for those who were more daring. Feister wasn't the biggest fan of poker. No matter how many times the boys would teach her, she could never get all the different hands to stay in her mind. Instead she was perched on her bunk bed, playing solitaire, while dreading the moment she had to meet Mush's latest girlfriend, Genevieve. Now, there are millions of reasons why Feister is dreading this moment. But the main one is because all of Mush's past relationships or girls he liked, but never made it official with, were always fake. At first, they were all sweet and innocent, but as soon as Mush stepped aside for one second, they'd turn on Feister. And only Feister.

While Feister is a tough girl, it still bothered her to a certain extent. The long awaited, dreaded moment soon came when Feister heard Romeo say, "Lookie what the cat dragged in." Feister looked to the entryway of the bunk room along with the other boys. She saw Mush with a brown haired, brown eyed girl with rosy cheeks. She was wearing a fawn colored dress with a white apron with pink roses on it. Her brown locks were halfway up, and tied with a pink ribbon. She looked shyly around the bunk room full of boys and then at Mush, who whispered something in her ear, which made her smile.

Mush introduced Genevieve to the boys, who were all eager to meet her. There were a few jokes and teasing here and there. Romeo of course, tried to flirt with Genevieve, who only smiled at the younger boy before leaning up to whisper something to Mush. A smile appeared on his face as his eyes met Feister's and gestured for her to come down. Feister grumbled to herself as she put on a happy face and jumped down from the bunk bed with ease. As she made her way over to where Mush was when Albert called out, "Hey Feisty, don't scare this one away! She's bout as strong as a baby kitten!" some of the boys chuckled and started to add on to Albert's little comment.

"Aw shut up Al!" Mush snapped. "Feisty's bark is bigger than 'er bite!" Genevieve looked worriedly over at Mush, who gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Ya wanna put yer money where yer mouth is Meyers?!" Feister cockily asked as she marched right up to Mush and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Bring it on little goil," Mush replied as he put his fists up.

"Oh are you'se gonna get the soakin' of yer life for that!" Feister said as she too, raised her fists up. The two newsies started to go at it. Playfully of course. In the middle of all this, both their caps fell to the ground while they rough housed. But that was the least of the problem because Feister ended up getting Mush into a headlock. She rubbed his head with her knuckles. Causing Mush to shout his surrender. Feister let Mush go, and they both shared a few laughs.

"Wait..." Genevieve thought out loud. "You never told me Feister is a girl." Genevieve looked at the girl that was standing in front of her. She was a lot shorter than she was, and in clothes a boy would wear. Even the way she talked was the same as the boys. The girl, who Genevieve had concluded was Feister, saw that she had dark brown eyes that were giving her a weird look, and dark hair that was in two somewhat messy braids.

"I didn't?" Mush asked as he scratched his head. Truthfully, Mush didn't tell Genevieve that Feister is in fact a girl for two reasons. One being is because she's usually the first one he talks about when asked about the newsies. The second reason is because Mush has learned the hard way that girls don't like it when he talks about another girl. Though it makes the first meeting awkward, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"I'm pretty sure I would've remembered that, Mush," Genevieve replied. As that was going on, Feister rolled her eyes. She wasn't surprised that Mush didn't established that little fact. But then again, Feister is one of the boys. And if her cap hadn't fallen off, that fact would've stayed a secret for just a bit longer, and then she wouldn't be getting attacked by a jealous girlfriend. But, to Feister's surprise, Genevieve gave her a warm, and what looked like a genuine smile as she said, "This is great!"

"It is?" all the newsies (including Mush and Feister) asked at the exact same time. Genevieve nodded her head. "Yeah, now when you -" she looked at Mush. "- are busy goofing off with the guys, Feisty and I can have some girl time together."

"Feisty don't do goil time Genny!" Jojo hollered with a laugh. "She'd rather be sinkin' her punches into someone's gut."

"What Jo said," Feister replied as she tossed her head towards Jojo. "Oh, an' the name is "Feister", sweetheart." one of the many things Feister hated was someone other than her boys, call her "Feisty", period.

"Well, I'm sure we can find something we have in common," Genevieve said happily. "I mean, we already got this guy for starters," she said as she grabbed Mush's hand.

"Just my luck," Feister thought as she put on a fake smile. As the night went on, Mush wouldn't leave Genevieve's side. He was so distracted by this girl, that Feister was left sitting by herself as she shuffled a deck of cards. Usually by this time of night, she and Mush would be in the middle of a heated game of war. But this time round, there was another type of war brewing inside of Feister.

There was a mix of heartbreak, anger, sadness, and of course the protective side of her. She's seen Mush get his heart broken one too many times before, and not only did she have to put this Genevieve girl in her place, but also make sure she knows who she's dealing with is the toughest newsie Manhattan has got. And she isn't afraid to get her hands dirty when and if needed. She was so lost in thought that Feister didn't notice she was angry shuffling the deck until a voice said, "Ya keep that up, yer gonna burn a hole through that goil's head." Feister jumped up, but kept a tight grip on the deck of cards when she noticed that Buttons was now a few feet away from her.

"Good," Feister said under her breath.

"C'mon Feisty," Buttons said, trying to knock some sense into Feister, without getting killed. "She's a nice goil an'-"

"Nice?" Feister asked in shock. "Do ya hear yourself B? Mush don't go for the nice ones. He always ends up with the fake, backstabbing, little snakes who don't know when ta quit." as every word was said, Feister began to clench her fists so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"Ya only met the goil today," Buttons tried to reason. "Give 'er a chance, ya might actually like 'er."

"Please, the day I's actually get along with one of Mush's goils is the day I'll kiss a Delancey," Feister replied. Buttons didn't say anything more and offered to play war with her. Feister said she wasn't in a mood and decided to call it a night. She scurried to her room as quickly as she could, and just as she was about to close the door. Genevieve was standing in front. "Whaddya want?" Feister snapped.

"I just wanted to have a little girl talk," Genevieve replied shyly.

Feister grumbled to herself once again as she opened the door a crack to let the older girl in. "So...you have your own room," Genevieve said, trying to make small talk. "At least you've got a place to hide from the boys. I'm sure it gets annoying at times and you just wanna lock yourself away and do...whatever you want." Feister scoffed at that statement. Like she gets any privacy around here. "Mush tells me you and him have been friends since he was eight-"

"Seven," Feister snapped coldly. "He was seven when I's met him, an' I's was six. Which makes that officially eight years in June since we's met. An' I's believe you'se only known him for what? Two, three weeks."

"I'll give you that," Genevieve replied. She didn't know why, but there was something off about Feister. The way she kept looking at her with judging eyes, the sound of her voice when she talked, it made Genevieve uncomfortable. By the way Mush talked about Feister, Genevieve was expecting this sweet, but tough girl that she'd be able to get along with. Of course at the time she didn't know that Feister was a she. But know that Genevie knew, it kind of changed everything. The other boys were getting along with her, so why was Feister any different? But, Genevieve didn't have to wait very long because in that moment, she saw Feister's true colors.

"Ok sweetheart, I's done puttin' on this fake smile," Feister said as she closed the door so the boys wouldn't barge in. "an' I's pretty sure you'se are too. So cut the act an' have at it already. Oh, an' believe me when I's say I's heard it all from the others-"

"Others?" Genevieve questioned. But Feister ignored her and continued.

"Cut the dumb, innocent act. I's can see right through ya," Feister said as she took a step closer to Genevieve. "So with that bein' said, there are three things ya need ta remember. Number one, as I's mentioned just moments ago, I's can see straight through yer sweet little innocent act. So don't even pretend with me. Two, just cause yer his goil, don't mean you'se can go gettin' a big head! I'm his best friend. Which means I's known 'im longer, an' better than you'se ever will. An' last, but not least, you'se break his heart, then I's break yer pretty little face! Mush is the sweetest guy you'se will ever meet, an' if you'se slip up, I's promise you'se, I's will soak ya into the next two centuries. Ya got that sweetheart?"

Genevieve was at a loss for words. She didn't know that Feister was so protective. Though she did have a slight height advantage, Feister grew up on the streets for pete's sake! The girl could probably take her down with one knock to the gut! So, without another word, Genevieve scurried out of the room with a slam of the door.

"Lemme guess," a cheerful voice said. "She gave ya some tawk bout how if ya don't leave 'er alone, she'll soak ya?" Mush asked in a knowing tone.

"S-something like that," Genevieve managed to say. Mush smiled and pulled her closer as he said, "Don't worry bout Feisty, alright? She's just rough round the edges. Fore ya know it, you'se two will hit it off," Mush reassured. "C'mon, it's gettin' late an' I's should probably get ya home now."

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

"That goil is worse than the headlines! But she sure is stickin' round like one!" it was true. So far, Genevieve had lasted longer than most of the other girls did. Oddly enough. "I's will say that this one has 'im wrapped round 'er little finger. Surprised it's lasted this long. Usually by this point they'd be callin' it quits."

"Ya know, you'se could actually try an' be happy for Mush ya know," Kid Blink said as he leaned onto the railing of the fire escape.

"Happy? Please," Feister scoffed. "Mush don't date nice goils, he always ends up with backstabbin', two timin' fake snakes! Genevieve is gonna show 'er true colors any day now, an' who are the ones left ta pick up the broken pieces of his heart? Us!" Feister shouted before Kid Blink could answer. "We's always stuck with a sad lump of a human bein' that refuses ta get cleaned up in the mornin'. An' who's the one stuck sellin' with 'im all day long? Me! An' don't forget that I's his rebound! Course, Mush has never made any serious moves, but still! He acts sweeter than usual, when he -" Feister went silence as she pushed back that burning pit in her stomach.

Kid Blink turned around and saw Feister looked as if she were trying to get herself to get the words out of her mouth. But, Blink already knew what Feister was trying to say. Him and the rest of the newsies all see the way when Mush is in the middle of a break up. And, honestly, they've all probably done that at least once in their lives. Yet, Feister could easily brush their...shall we say, flirtatious manner towards her. It was Mush who she had the hardest time brushing off.

"He probably don't mean anythin' that comes outta that stupid mouth. An' fore I's know it, he's got anudda goil on his eyes an'...it starts all over again. He gets hooked, makes a move on the goil, forgets all bout me an' then what? It starts all over again."

"Now yer tawkin' nonsense. Mush could never forget bout ya," Kid Blink reassured as he placed his hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. "Yer always gonna be important ta Mush, an' the rest of us. No matter what happens."

"Yeah right," Feister mumbled. "I's dunno what ta do anymore Blink," Feister sighed as she leaned onto the fire escape railing. "It's pretty obvious who he really cares bout. It ain't a total loss, I's mean, at least he still talks ta you'se, but me? It's like I's don't even exist."

"Hey, don't say that Feisty," Kid Blink said. "Mush still cares bout ya." Blink has had many talks of this subject with Feister, but this time, it was different. She actually looked torn to shreds over this. In fact, Blink wouldn't be surprised if Feister gave up at this point. He wouldn't blame her either. Feister may be strong, but even the strongest people have their breaking point. And what she's been through the years, only adds onto it.

"It's true," Feister mumbled as she rested her cheek into the palm of her hand. "I's gone from best friend, ta just...." Feister went silent for a few moments as she tried to get the words to escape her lips. There were a few times where she'd open her mouth, but the words got caught in her throat. After a moment or two, she finally said, in a low, quiet voice, "Second best."

"Yer not second best Feisty," Kid Blink reassured. "You'se important ta all of us! No matter what happens, yer always be our favorite goil." he lightly punched her shoulder, but Feister wasn't having it. "I's mean...who's gonna give Elmer sellin' tips? Or, help Rome with the headlines?"

"Anyone can do those things," Feister mumbled as she kept her eyes on the ground.

"Umm...oh! I's know! Yer the only one who will sit down an' listen ta us practice pick up lines! An' give us goil advice!"

Feister looked at Kid Blink, and said, "It's more like you'se force me ta do it, an' I's ain't that kind of goil." before looking away. "Sides, it ain't like no fella will give me the time of day. I's short for my age. I's got dark hair that sticks one way or anudda. An' when I's let it down, it looks like a rats nest. I's ain't got blue eyes, an' instead got stuck with stupid brown eyes. An' most importantly. I's one of the boys. Look, smell, an' all. No guy in their right mind, would give me a second glance.

"Hey! I's short, got dark hair an' stupid brown eyes," Kid Blink said. Trying to cheer Feister up. "An' you'se smell better than most of us anyways! I's sure once a fella gets ta know the real you'se, they'll be linin' up just ta get a look from those big brownie eyes."

"Tell that ta the idiot I's just had ta fall for," Feister mumbled to herself. But, Kid Blink had caught onto her words. "I's ain't like those other goils Blink!" Feister screamed as she turned to face the older boy.

"Ya don't have ta be!" Kid Blink yelled back. "Yer perfect just the way ya are. So why would you'se compare yourself ta other goils for? Someday, a guy will come along an' see ya for who you'se are, an' love everythin' bout ya!"

"Then explain this! How come guys always fall for a pretty face that's most likely a snake, rather than someone who knows 'em better than anythin' else in the woild. Someone whose been there for 'em through tough times, an' never once, thought bout leavin' 'em? What'd bout the times he gotta nightmare? Who stayed up all night, when he said he wasn't sleepy yet? Let's not forget long talks right here on this fire escape about anythin' an' everythin'. Who puts on a smile when he tawks bout some pretty face he seen across the street? When really she - she knows that, it'll never become more than what they'se already are. Yet, keeps hopin' that, it'll change. But, on the inside, she knows things will stay the same, an' she has ta face the facts that - that maybe it's time ta move on. An' the only way ta do that is...ta step out completely, an'...Ya know. You'se always say that I'll always be important ta you'se all. But, we's all know that ain't true. Someday, yer all gonna meet a goil, get married, have a family, an' I'll be all alone. I's used ta it though. Used ta people leavin'. That's what happens when yer second best." and with that, Feister stormed back inside the bunk room.

From the window, Kid Blink saw that Mush had just got back, and just as he was about to say something to Feister, she cut him off, "Go suck some goils face off!" before going into the room and slammed the door as hard as she could. "I's knew she cared bout 'im, but pushin' 'erself outta the picture just for 'im? That's true love if I's ever saw it," Kid Blink thought. While he has seen Feister do this a lot. He never heard her put it into words before. This one, had to be the most heartbreaking talk yet. Yes, there have been long rants, doubts, and anything else a girl would talk about when the guy she liked didn't well...you know. But this time, it was worse than ever. It's obvious Feister and a certain newsie have been through a lot together. It wasn't such a shocker that at some point in life, feelings would change. But, Blink never thought it would be this bad. He always imagined them finding out at the same time, not one starting a crush and the other off with dates left and right.

───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────

Author's note

As much as I love Feister (finally) getting her happy ending...a girl just has to go back to the basics sometimes (especially when your brain won't shut up about that idea). I've stated before that hurt/comfort isn't my strong suite. But do you know what is? This! This right here is what I'm the best at for some reason. Believe me when I say I thought I was mostly going to do lots of fluff. But one thing lead to another and suddenly I'm writing an emotional mess. I think the only bright side about this is that we all know what happens down the line, so it's not all sad. Plus, you've gotta admit Blink's a great brother for putting up with Feister's long rants. But, I'll admit, I loved writing Feister's little "you hurt him and I kill you" threat the most. It shows how much she really cares about Mush being happy, even if it means she'll be second in his life. (which we all know isn't true because Feister will always be Mush's favorite girl ;)). Now I have to ask, when this whole virus thing started was I the only one to think "hey they'se was coronas." Yes, that was the first thing to pop into my head. Stay safe and healthy everyone! Ok, I've got an April Fools coming soon, maybe a little something with Alblyn as well...heheh. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and I'll see you on April Fools.