Carryin' the Banner in Disguise

Chapter 1: The Runaway

Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies. Disney is lucky enough to have that pleasure. I just use these wonderful characters for my own amusement. Tiger and other Newsies you have not heard of are mine. If any Newsie happens to have the same name as another Newsie that wasn't in the movie but in another story, it is pure coincidence. I'm sorry.

A/N: Sorry for these long intro but I wanted to introduce myself. Hello, I'm Fox and this is my first Newsie fanfiction (but not my first fanfiction overall). I've been writing this story for awhile and I now just decided to post it for all you lovely people to see. Let me know what you think by REVIEWING. No flames please, but compliments and constructive criticism are nice.

Now onto the Story!!

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In the rough, busy streets of 1898 New York City, a small figure was moving frantically, swiftly moving its way through the streets, barely colliding with people on the way. If anyone looked closely enough, they would see that this small figure was actually a young boy, dressed in stiff, working-class clothes, running from a group of men dressed in similar clothes as he was in.

As the boy ran, he could hear the sounds of the men's boots pounding behind him, giving the boy the clue that they were catching up. Running faster, he ignored the sharp pain in his side and his feet practically screaming in pain due to the boots that he had learned to despise, along with other things. Memories of long, dark nights filled with beatings entered his mind, distracting him from his task.

Shaking his head of these things, he ran into a crowded market, hoping that the men could not follow.

When he broke through the crowd, he suddenly saw an alley not far away. He quickly turned in, diving behind a pile of trash in a corner, glad for the convienent darkness that the alleyway supplied.

Catching his breath, the boy closed his eyes, his ears closely listening for any familiar sounds of movement of people, silently praying that no one would find his hiding place.

Not long after he caught his breath, he heard the sounds of boots running come close and come to a halt near the entrance of the alleyway.

"Stretch, check in dat alley foah Tigah," a man's voice said. "Dat bastahd couldn't have gone fah."

"Tigah ain't no idiot, Tank," 'Stretch' answered. "Dere ain't no way 'e would choose ta hide in an alley."

The hidden boy opened his eyes, his bright blue eyes adjusted to the dark. He saw the group of men standing only a few feet from his hiding spot, arguing about whether or not to search the spot.

"Awlright," 'Tank' finally called out. "Let's awl jes' see if 'e jes' kept runnin'."

Soon, the group of men ran out of the entrance and out of sight.

'Tiger' smirked at the sight. 'Morons,' he thought, rolling his eyes.

After waiting a few minutes to see if anyone was coming back, he climbed out of the abandoned garbage, pulled out a small sack that he concealed in his somewhat baggy clothes, and opened it.

Inside, there was a pair of brown trousers, a brown cap, a baggy white shirt, and beaten-up brown shoes. Looking at the familiar sight, he smiled and began stripping down to almost nothing.

If anyone had come along at that time and looked in the alley closely, they would have seen the boy reveal a secret that he had kept for so long:

That this "boy" was none other than a girl.

Fixing the tight binding that strapped what small breasts she had to her chest, the girl slipped on the clothes and shoes quickly, glad she had not grown since the last time she wore them, which felt like a lifetime ago.

After getting fully dressed, she searched throught the sack and pulled out one last precious item: a gold pocket watch with a matching chain. Smiling softly, she quickly kissed the cover before putting it in her pocket.

Throwing the boots into a corner, the girl put the discarded clothes into the sack and hoisted the sack over her shoulder. She picked up the brown cap and placed it on her short, boyish looking dirty blonde hair and hesitantly stepped out of the darkness and into the bright sunlight, her eyes burning from being used to the alley for too long.

She looked up and down the sidewalk, making sure that the men were nowhere nearby.

Seeing that the coast was clear, she slowly walked down the sidewalk, her eyes darting back and forth.

'Come on, Tiger, relax', a voice in the back of her mind said. 'You'se dun dis a million times befoah.'

"But I nevah got dis fah befoah," she quietly muttered to herself.

Although her plan worked out better than she hoped, Tiger was still nervous that she would be discovered and sent back. She reached in her pocket and felt the coolness of the circular piece of metal in her hand, hoping it would comfort her in any way.

Taking a deep breath, she mustered up her courage and continued to walk down the street, the sounds of New York concealing her every step.

Short, I know! But that's just a little chapter that HAD to be in there. It'll get longer and better, I promise. Please review! Fox