I am so sorry you guys!!! Apparently I haven't updated in 2 1/2 months!!! What even??? I'm usually not that person! I feel awful, I've just been so busy with shows and exams and I have so many half written drafts.... I feel terrible. I'll do better. I promise. I promise I haven't abandoned this. Like I said, I literally have fourteen half finished one shots. I counted. I'll work on those.

Anyways.... I'm actually kind of proud of this one, so I really hope you guys like it!!!! (This is another of my own invention). Also, I posted it on my 12 Days of Christmas story, so if you read that there's no point in you reading this one again. Unless you really liked it. Then by all means read it again!

***

Buttons wasn't the best newsie in Manhattan, nor did he claim to be. However, he was good enough to make enough money to live. He had just enough to buy daily meals and to stay in the lodging house, but not much extra.

That had never bothered the boy too much. In fact, he barely even noticed until the July following his thirteenth birthday.

Buttons had known for a long time that his boots were getting too small. How could he not notice the pinch in his toes every time he laced up his boots?

Yet there was nothing he could do about it. A decent pair of boots would cost him a good three dollars, and he didn't have that kind of money.

Buttons would just have to survive another year or two until one of the older boys outgrew their pair. He could wait.

At least, he thought he could. That belief began to falter in mid-July, when Buttons experienced a long awaited growth spurt. However, his excitement  faltered considerably when he got around for work that morning.

"Well, would ya look at that," Romeo whistled lowly as Buttons entered the washroom. "Heya, Specs! Come check this out!"

Specs dried his face with a towel and squinted as he looked at Buttons. "Gosh Buttons, what've you been eatin'?"

"The usual," Buttons shrugged. "Why?"

"You mean you ain't noticed?" Romeo asked. "I think you grew about two inches overnight!"

"Man, you gotta be nearly as tall as Elmer now!" Specs agreed.

"Really?" Buttons grinned.

"Mmhmm," Romeo hummed. "About time too. I was thinkin' you'd be short forever!"

Buttons threw a towel at Romeo, who caught it and shot him a cheeky grin in response.

"What's goin' on in here?" Albert yawned as he ambled into the room.

"I'm growin'!" Buttons said proudly.

"Wow, how excitin'!" Albert snarked, rolling his eyes.

Buttons' face fell and Specs, having taken notice, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Buttons. He's just jealous 'cause he ain't no bigger than the new kid, what's-his-face..."

"Thomas," Romeo supplied.

"That's it! Thomas. He's almost as big as Albert, and the kid's ten!"

"Whatever," Albert scowled, heading to the sinks to wash his face.

Buttons had luckily finished washing up and he headed back into the bunk room. There he was greeted by the familiar sight of a dozen or so boys in various states of undress, hurrying around and getting around for the day.

Buttons weaved his way throughout the boys, but couldn't avoid bumping into some people. Race, who was pulling his shirt on, couldn't see the boy and nearly fell over when Buttons hit him.

"Ahi! Watch it!" Race exclaimed.

"Sorry!"

"You will be," Race muttered grumpily.

"Hey! There a problem over there?"

"Course not! Wese fine!" Race said hurriedly and Buttons shook his head.

"You better be," Jack said.

Jack, the leader and eldest at nearly fifteen, was perched on the top bunk of the bed that he shared with Crutchie. His elbows rested on his knees, long legs swinging back and forth as he waited for the boys to finish getting around.

He was mostly quiet, apart from issuing the occasional order and keeping the morning routine running smoothly by breaking up a few arguments from his loft.

Not wanting to be chastised again, Buttons opened the trunk at the end of his bed and quickly dressed. He liked Jack, but the older boy sure seemed to enjoy being bossy.

Buttons pulled his pants on, frowning when he noticed they were getting too short. They looked strange, and he knew one of the boys was bound to tease him about it.

Then came his socks, blue, followed by his boots. The boots that were even tighter than yesterday, if that was possible.

Buttons grimaced as he laced them up. He could barely move his toes. He glared down at the brown leather of the shoes and stood up, his mood ruined.

It was a long day, his feet were aching by the evening, but he had no other choice. A year. He could stick it out until then.

***

In September, Buttons noticed that the toe of his right boot was developing a hole. Not just any hole, a very large one. You could almost see his toes through it and Buttons knew it wouldn't be long before his toes poked out the end of the worn shoe.

"Somethin' wrong?" Henry asked.

Buttons was seated on the stoop of the lodge, carefully inspecting the end of his shoe. "Nah, I'm fine."

Henry didn't look convinced. "You sure?"

"Mmhmm," Buttons mumbled.

Henry leaned down to look more closely at the boot. "That don't look too good, Buttons."

"I know," he replied with a sigh. "But I just gotta push through it. I've only got forty-eight cents saved up. Headlines have been slow lately," Buttons shrugged.

Henry nodded. His lips were pressed together and he didn't move for a second. "You told Jack?"

"No, and I don't plan to either."

"He might be able to help!"

"I'm fine Henry. They'll last until spring at least."

***

Buttons was, as he tended to be, wrong. His shoes were not going to last until spring, or even through the winter. By the first of November, the hole in his boot was big enough that he could stick his thumb through it. His other shoe was also gaining holes and Buttons's feet were always cold from the wind that would find its way into the boot.

Buttons had taken to wearing two pairs of socks to curb the effect, but it didn't help as much as he would have liked.

Everyday when he got back from selling, he'd take off those lousy boots as soon as he could. They hurt his feet terribly, and the thought of the pain that came with putting them on every morning was almost enough to bring Buttons to tears.

More boys were starting to take notice, but there was nothing they could do either. Buttons ignored the questions and worried glances he received whenever his shoes drew attention. He could push through.

Just a bit longer, he'd repeat. Six more months.

***

It was the last week of November when the first boot fell apart. Buttons didn't know exactly how, but figured the several inches of snow that had plagued the city for the past two weeks must have contributed to the demise of his right boot.

The sole had come unattached from the rest of his shoe up near his toes. There was no longer anything separating his feet from snow. After another week and a half the left boot looked exactly the same. By the time he got home every day his boots would be packed with snow and he'd have to wring out his socks.

He'd known that his boots were old and not very well made, but Buttons couldn't help but glare down at them. He bitterly stared at them, blaming the shoes for all the misfortunes of that year.

"Maybe you can sew the bottom back on," Elmer suggested.

"I don't know how to sew," Buttons muttered.

"Neither do I," Elmer admitted.

"I got an idea!" Race said, shooting in in his bed.

"What is it?" Buttons asked eagerly.

"I'll wear your right boot and you can wear mine! Then you'll only have one bad boot!"

The others congratulated Race on his brilliant plan, but Buttons shook his head. "I don't want you to have cold feet just 'cause my shoes is fallin' apart."

"Your toes'll freeze off!" Specs complained.

"Then that's my fault," Buttons shrugged. "I ain't wearin' no one else's shoes, so unless you want me goin' barefoot..."

The boys gave in, all agreeing to wear there shoes. Buttons had wanted to take Race's offer, he really had, but he didn't want other people to suffer because of him. It wasn't right for the others to be uncomfortable because of him.

***

A few days later Buttons had thought he'd solved his problem. He found some unused twine and wrapped it around his shoe, tying it at too. He smiled down at his handiwork; though his feet would still be cold, his shoes would at least stay together.

He was sorely mistaken. He hadn't made it six blocks from the distribution center before the twine came untied. He tried to fix it, but the cold was bone-chilling and his fingers shook too violently to complete the small knots.

Around one o'clock his left boot gave up completely and Buttons realized that he'd come to a point where it didn't matter whether he wore the shoes or not-the outcome would be the same. At least if he was barefoot he might sell more paper, he might win sympathy for being the poor shoeless newsie out in December.

He slid his shoes off, wincing as each foot sunk into the snow. With each step the cold seemed to sink further into his bones, each step left him wanting to cry out in pain, but he held it together.

He didn't let out a single sound of discomfort until he arrived back at the lodge at half past six. The moment he stepped in side he let out a tell, immediately dropping to the ground and grabbing at his feet.

They felt like fire! They were burning! Buttons bit his lip, trying to ignore the pain. He felt like he was walking on broken glass, his feet stung terribly and he considered stepping back outside just to make the pain stop.

Specs and Albert found him there and the two picked him up and carried him up the stairs to his bed. Albert dropped him unceremoniously onto the bed and Specs immediately stripped the soaked socks off.

"Buttons!" Specs gasped. Even Albert looked surprised.

"Your feet! They're blue!"

Buttons risked a glance and saw that his toes were in fact turning blue. This just caused his face to scrunch up more as he tried not to cry.

The two boys loaned him dry socks and wrapped his feet in blankets, the best thing they had to offer.

"You shouldn't do this anymore," Specs warned. "You're feet might fall off."

Buttons shrugged. There was nothing else he could do. He had no other shoes. Besides, it would be spring in a couple months and he wouldn't need shoes then.

***

He continued another two weeks this way. He'd wear his boots out in the morning, then take them off after disappearing from the view of the others. He'd carry them around all day, only slipping them back on when he got close to the lodge.

He had a bigger issue now then just cold feet. All the days exposed to snow and freezing temperatures had caused blisters to appear on the bottoms of his feet. After walking all day they would bleed and he'd leave red trails in the snow behind him.

Each step was agonizing and Buttons had given up on his 'no crying' rule. The tears slid down his red cheeks, warm against his wind-bitten face.

When he returned to the lodge he stumbled up the stairs and dropped onto his bed. Buttons buried his face in his pillow and sobbed, his feet burning and stinging and bleeding.

Several of the boys surrounded him, speaking in hushed tones. Someone, he suspected Race, rubbed his back gently and another, probably Finch, patted his head and smoothed his hair.

"Are you okay Buttons?" Elmer asked quietly. He sounded scared and Buttons could picture him chewing nervously on his thumb nail.

Buttons didn't answer his friend , though he wanted too he was crying too much.

Specs lightly grabbed one of his ankles and inspected his foot.

"That's disgusting!" Romeo hissed.

"Buttons! Why didn't you listen to us?" Specs sounded like he would cry. He wasn't a real doctor, but Buttons' feet sure didn't look good to him.

"Yeah Buttons! You could've worn my shoes!" Race offered again.

"Or mine!" Elmer added.

All the offers quickly disappeared when there was a creaking by the door.

"What's goin' on here?" Jack asked.

All of the boys scattered, except for Buttons who had no choice but to lay on his bed and wait for Jack to come over and chastise him.

The older boy did come over, but he didn't sound angry at all. He too inspected the bottoms of Buttons' feet and flinched when he felt how cold they were. The. He leaned down and assessed the condition of the younger boy's boots, his frown growing deeper.

"Why didn't you tell me Buttons?"

He sounded... Hurt? Buttons couldn't quite tell, but that couldn't be right. He should be mad! Buttons had lied to him!

"I don't know," Buttons mumbled.

Jack was quiet for a second then he cursed, something he rarely did. "How could I let this happen?" Jack hissed. "I didn't even notice! How could I have missed this?"

"You was worried about Crutchie and Tommy getting sick," Buttons whispered. "I snuck past you when you was with them."

Jack froze, the rubbed Buttons' back. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault."

"No it ain't! They were sick."

"It's my job to look after all of you. Not one, not two. All."

"Really! It's alright! I didn't want you to know!"

Jack flinched. "Why not?" That was definitely pain that Buttons could hear in his voice.

"I didn't want you to worry," Buttons said as Jack helped him to sit up.

"You're so stupid! I'm gonna worry about you! You're my brother." Jack leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before shooting the boots another dirty look. "How long have you been wearing those like that?"

"Actually I ain't been wearing them at all for two weeks," Buttons admitted sheepishly.

Jack's eyes widened and he pursed his lips. "That's gonna have to change.

***

Buttons had been forced to remain at the lodge for the past week. Jack had wanted him there until his feet healed. Staying at the lodge all day on his own had gotten boring very quickly, but he figured he owed it to the older boy after all the trouble he'd caused.

One afternoon a few days after Christmas the boys seemed to be in better moods than usual. They all gathered excitedly around his bed, chattering back and forth. The only one missing was Jack.

Jack wasn't missing for long. It was nearly seven when the door swung open and Jack walked in carrying something behind his back.

"Whatcha got there Jack?" Buttons asked when it seemed as though no one else would.

Jack grinned and pulled out a pair of shiny, sturdy brown boots.

"Are those for me?" Buttons gasped.

"Who else would they be for, brainless?" Albert folded his arms and fought a smile as Buttons grabbed the boots out of Jack's arms.

"How'd you afford these? They look expensive!"

"They were!" Elmer piped up.

"Yeah," Ike agreed. "Nearly three seventy-five!"

"We all chipped in!" Crutchie chirped. "We all thought you could use a new pair!"

Buttons smiled at all of his brothers, lower lip wobbling. "Thanks! I'm gonna wear them first thing tomorrow!"

And he did. They had been purposely bought several sizes too big and he had to stuff the ends. As the years passed, he would remove a bit of the stuffing to make more room for his growing feet. The shoes were well worth the price of almost four dollars, the material didn't wear very much at all.

Buttons' lucky boots lasted him the rest of his years as a newsie and a couple more. He never got rid of the though. They were the best gift he ever received.