Not so quiet ( open )

[Mouse]

Mouse stared at the stack of newspapers that had been laid before him. They were too many, really. He only sold thirty-five, average, fifty on a good day. Why had they given him one hundred? And he could not pay for these either! "Look here!" Mouse began, his slight frame puffing out with the indignantly of it all. "I only ever order fifty, why a hundred now?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion. "I cannot pay for these..." Mouse mumbled, losing his words under the gaze of the hardened employee. He passed over the two bits that would buy the lot and began to shove papers into his messenger bag as neatly as possible.

Still, many were on the counter. Scooping them up desperately, Mouse turned on his heel (still trying to maintain dignity) and sat heavily on the platform. He sorted through his papers, trying to collect them and find good headlines. "Hmm... Teddy Roosevelt makes new proposition as governor... Eh..." he shrugged and flicked through the paper idly. "Oh! Young mother found butched... Work of New World Jack the Ripper?" Mouse smirked to himself. This was his headline. 'Terror! Terror in the streets! Mothers found slaughtered, babes missin'!' One had to have the accent or customers would get suspicious. Plus, he would not be lying. No word of the woman's children or if others had been killed also... He would just fill in the gaps.

Mouse turned his head, catching a glimpse of Jack Kelly and his friends. Mouse's thin mouth turned down in frustration. He would show them, he would be the best newsie in all of New York, and no Jack Kelly could stop him! Mouse grinned to himself, before collecting his papers and shouldering them and moving toward the gates. He was waylaid by a latecomer. "Oh sorry." Mouse muttered, as he moved so the person could pass. Mouse waited as manners dictated for the person to say something like, 'Not you're fault.' or 'Terribly sorry.' He could wait all day if he had too...

[Oops]

Oops walked into the World Distribution Center in Manhattan. He normally wouldn't be there, but he couldn't stay away from Manhattan. He came there every day; he loved it there. He got his eye to finally stop bleeding from the fight he got into last night. He hadn't slept all night. He could feel the cut scabbing and he knew a scar would follow not long after. He sighed, then he ran into someone. He was in no mood for another fight. He breathed sharply and looked around and closed his eyes trying to calm himself.
"Oh sorry." He heard someone say. He opened his eyes or at least his one eye; the other having almost swelled shut. He saw a boy, the person he'd run into. "Oh. It was my fault, sorry." He was sizing the other guy up; he seemed all right. Not the fighting type. And he was struggling with the amount of newspapers he had. Oops had noticed that the kid had dropped some when he ran into him. He bent down to pick them up. "Ya look like ya could use a hand with those. Why'd ya get so many?" Oops could tell that this kid usually didn't get that many papes, otherwise he wouldn't have stuggled so much.

[Mouse]

Mouse took the papers from the large boy and shoved them into his bag hurriedly. He wouldn't hand them over. What if the guy ran off with them? What then? "I don't need any help. I can handle it." He muttered, not looking at the guy. "I didn't ask for this many, they gave them to me and made me pay for them." He shrugged and squared his shoulders, "But I can do it. I'm the best newsie in New York. I'm going to own my own newspaper one day. It will be bigger then the World." Mouse crossed his arms, ready to run or fight. He did not trust this unnecessarily large boy. He was... excessive.

"Now... Is there something you want from me? Because you had better tell me, or else I'm walking." Mouse looked him full in the face for the first time, narrowing his eyes in suscpicion. "Look, I don't know what you want, but I'm not giving you money or papes or anything else. They're mine." He was acting like a sullen little boy again. But he was a man of fourteen now. He was grown up.

[Oops]

Oops narrowed his eyes at the other guy. He refused to look at him. Oops suddenly became self-conscious of his size. He knew he was larger than the average guy his age; he couldn't help that. He smirked inwardly as he watched the kid cross his arms like he was getting ready to fight him. He gave the kid the newspapers and shrugged. "I didn't want yer papes or yer money." He said with a harsh tone in his voice. He didn't take kindly to people with this kid's attitude. "I was only tryin' ta help ya." He turned slightly and began to walk away, to get his own papes.
He looked at the long line of boys waiting to buy papers and stopped. He didn't know anyone there and turned around. Okay so he wasn't going to buy or sell papers today. He just won't eat much today. Just as he thought this, he got a strong pain in his stomach. He looked around, trying to see if that kid was still standing there. He couldn't help himself and chuckled as he remembered the expresion on the kid's face when he acted all tough. Oops breathed sharply out of his nose and walked away from the distribution center.
Just before he walked out into the sunshine, Oops heard a noise. He heard laughter, and the sound of someone being pushed to the ground. He turned and saw Mouse on the ground surrounded by his scattered papers with a couple of guys standing over him. One of the guys kicked dirt into Mouses face while the other kicked him. When Oops heard his foot connect with Mouse's shoulder blade, he set off at a full out sprint towards them. He collided with the one guy and tackled him to the ground. "What the h311 was that?" He asked pulling the guy roughly to his feet. The other guy left Mouse and pulled Oops around and hit him, his fist colliding with Oops' face. He felt his cut from the other day open again and blood running down his face. He blocked the next hit and punched the guy in the stomach. "Get outta hereh!" He yelled as the two took off. Oops had no doubt that they would be back. He turned to look at Mouse and helped him to his fee. "Ya ok kid?" He asked, trying to keep his eye from bleeding.

[Mouse]

Mouse watched with a mixture of satisfaction and self-doubt as the large boy handed back the papers. Mouse took them quickly and refused to look at the boy. However, Mouse watched through his eyelashes as the boy turned to leave. Mouse, smirking to himself, turned and took a step toward the gates, the opposite way from which Oops had exited. He collided with someone. Someone big and sturdy. Mouse fell back and landed on his butt with an 'oof'. He blinked hurriedly and saw through the early morning light, large and five o'clock shadowed kid, who had his group of crones around him.

Mouse yelped despite himself and scurried backwards like a crab onto the dusty sidewalk of Manhattan. No matter how brave he was, and desperate to prove himself, he would not mess with these kids. These kids were bad news. He had heard they were involved with criminals! Mouse tried to put his feet under him and run, but one of the boys pushed Mouse into the dirt, his newspapers scattering everywhere. The lead kid, someone who Mouse thought they called Dirk, stepped on his hand, slowly applying pressure. "Ow! Ow! Shove off!" Mouse cried, tears running down his face against his will.

"Little boy gonna cry for his mama? Little hoity toity gonna scream for the po-lice?" Dirk whispered cruelly, still stepping on Mouse's hand.

"No! No!" he repeared quietly, saying anything to get Dirk off his hand. One of Dirk's gang swung out with his heavy booted foot and the kick landed on Mouse's shoulder blade. Mouse cried out in pain, tears flowing freely now. Suddenly, Dirk was blasted off his feet by the boy Mouse had watched go. Oops. Mouse scrambled to his knees and gathered a handful of papes to him before standing shakily, swaying on his unsteady feet.

Mouse flinched away from Oops' offered hand as the gang fled. He rubbed his dirty sleeve under his nose, trying to stop the flow of tears. He left a streak of dirt on his face. "I'm fine." He said shortly, embarrassed and wanting no help from this boy. This boy who was braver and stronger then him. It wasn't fair. Why wasn't Mouse ever the strongest or bravest? Why?!

He glanced away from Oops, more angry with himself then anyone else.