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whoops-im-obsessed · 1 year

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(More) Things I Noticed in UKsies: Fansie Night Edition! (Act 1)

I was lucky enough to see newsies again at the fansie night last night and it was incredible!! Here are more little moments that I loved :) This is gonna be long.

The absolute roar from the audience as soon as the lights went down to start the show, fansies are something else, man, this audience was on fire

At the very beginning Race looks so happy reading the paper I can't his smile was so big - Josh Barnett has said that this is his favourite part of the show and it shows!!

Lady behind me tried to buy a paper from one of the newsies but he wouldn't give it to her because she didn't have cents

Matthew Duckett (Crutchie) can do the fingers-in-the-mouth loud whistle thing and uses it a lot during the show, first to call the newsies to work

Not me wondering the entire time how Race's cigar and Morris' cigarette work only to be reminded that e-cigarettes exist

My mum's face after Splasher did a backflip whilst skipping - Ross Dorrington, my God

'Hey! Hey! *spin* Get ya papes!'

The way the newsies just slide around the stage and careen off of it, its an accident waiting to happen but it looks so fun

Santa Fe Prologue, Jack yanks Crutchie away from that railing so fast poor guy he just wants to go down

Crutchie flinches away from Jack and laughs when he suddenly leaps towards him at 'close your eyes'

For like half of carrying the banner these boys are just half naked, you can see their mic packs running up their backs

Crutchie pickpockets Darcy

At some point Crutchie does something to offend Finch and gets whacked with his slingshot

Guy in front of woodside looks so sad the whole of the 'curdled coffee' bit and is contemplating life only to stand up and sing 'all I can catch is fleas'

He then proceeds to flick said fleas at another newsie who runs away and calls him disgusting

Wiesel descends from the ceiling

Alex James Hatton Davey!!

Alex's Davey is more mature than Ryan's, he seems more sure that he's here to do a job and isn't confused or intimidated by the newsies, he genuinely seems like an outsider who isn't in on the joke and is not impressed by their antics

'that's disgusting'

Henry gets on his knees and pretends to be a child in the line to get papes and keeps going 'I'm new too'

Right behind them a distraught Mike carries a limp Jojo who opens his eyes and says 'I'm dead' to Wiesel

Hannah and Bunsen squabble over a notebook in Bottom Line and Nunsio looks ready to commit

(Lindsay Atherton Hannah is amazing she is hilarious)

Alex Davey is very unsure selling papers to the audience he just kinda mumbles and seems a bit hopeless at it while Les just swindles everyone

The relationship between Alex!Davey and Les is very different to Ryan!Davey, Ryan is all over Les and is very affectionate whereas Alex seems to show the other half of large age gap sibling relationships, meaning he clearly cares about Les but also occasionally looks at him like he is the bane of his existence. Relatable.

Spot's actress is also a bowery beauty it's amazing, the bowery beauties also dance behind Medda during her performance and wink at the audience.

Newsie controlling the light for Medda's performance is concentrating Very Hard

Bobbie Chambers Katherine!!!

Bobbie!Katherine is very sarcastic and very uninterested in Jack but when he gives her the drawing makes a 'huh thats pretty good' face

The newsies watching Medda's show pick up the lights at the end of Don't Come A-Knocking and dance in a circle around them, mirroring their dance moves

Josh Denyer (Mush) has his moment to shine in the bit just after don't come a knocking and has a little solo which was heavily applauded, rightly so

When Race 'tells Wiesel (him)self' he literally goes up, closes the money box and just says 'no'

Katherine watches World Will Know from above the Bronx

When Jack writes on the chalk board he shoves Oscar out of the way very harshly several times and he ends up sprawled over some stairs unable to get up

There's a slide

Crutchie joins in with some of the dancing but his face screams 'help me idk how to do this' I love Matthew Duckett

Jack, Les, Davey and Crutchie confer before marching up through a corridor of newsies to the doors of the World. Crutchie stands facing away from the doors when they go in like he's standing guard, when they get thrown out, he falls to the side directly into the arms of another newsie trust fall style.

Despite already being given a borough to go to, Tommy Boy dives face-down under a table to avoid going to Brooklyn, Mush and another newsie (didn't see who 😅) put their bags on their heads

Bobbie!Katherine is a lot more sure of her self which makes it more meaningful when she shows the vulnerability of 'I'm just busting out of the social pages'

Les follows Crutchie at the end of the World Will Know mini-reprise and Crutchie looks sad when Davey calls him to go home, he then calls to Jack who is staying behind to talk to Katherine and says 'for fuck's sake' when he doesn't follow. This was confirmed by the girls in front row Brooklyn who he said it to because they couldn't stop giggling

Crutchie breaks the forth wall a lot

Katherine's hesitation on giving her last name is more played as she doesn't expect to have to provide one

Katherine physically puts distance between herself and Jack when he starts flirting

Watch What Happens is amazing!! Bobbie puts more frustration into it and speaks a lot of the lines, often punctuated by 'ugh'. Fun fact: Watch What Happens was Bobbie's drama school audition song and she has been working on it for actual years, it definitely shows, it was a brilliant delivery.

Davey really shows hesitation before Seize the Day and his voice goes wobbly in all the right places when he calls for Jack to help him out

'Maybe Pulitzer will see it out of his window and feel sorry for us' 'Heh?? *offended Crutchie noises*'

Crutchie is physically restrained from beating up on the scabbers

One of the scabbers is slipped extra money by Wiesel

Seize the Day was incredible as always, all other productions pale in comparison it is seriously next level, mid-song applause and a standing ovation afterwards (which really, really doesn't happen mid-show on the west end)

Splasher's box jumps!! I counted twelve last night. TWELVE.

Military snare in 'behold the brave battalion'

Crutchie stands offstage with Les to watch the Seize the Day dance break and whistles So Loud to cheer them on

And Mush's pirouettes!!!

Crutchie's agonised coughs when he's being arrested jfc Matt is good at that

The fight call for this show is insane, there is so much going on and its all so expertly done, something went a little wrong and Les' rope ascension didn't happen but so much goes on it wasn't missed

Crutchie whistles to signal the arrival of the police

Newspapers fall from the ceiling at the beginning of Santa Fe

Santa Fe was so good, Michael has such a pretty voice even while literally crying and he uses his little postcard a lot throughout, physically leaning over the railing of the tower like he's reaching for the idea of Santa Fe.

Aaaand end of act 1! This is so long so I'll do a part 2 🤣

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bigmack2go · 1 month

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I got live‘sies so its time to appreciate‘sies some brackrond‘sies detailies

Not rly bc but i live how it looks like were zooming up, and then back down the lodge before and after santafee prologue

Why tf is crutchie su confused when he wakes up

Jack proceeds to sleep with one of just drawings wtf

He waves his hand infront of crutchie like ��ur eyes closed yet??“

Al playing and leaning on the rail ahhhh ahshwksmdnxlxl (in case u didnt know: i love albert)

Race laughing and slapping specs

Everyone just deads in their tracks and teams up when Albert gives his coment that went to far

Finch scratching his head is so real

DID BIRD FLY TWEETY BOY JUST LEAN IN FOR A GOODMORNING KISS

AND DID GINGER MF JUST REFUSE BIRD FLY TWEETY BOY HIS KISS??

The slap on his chest like „not now honey“ 😭swejfcizp

Ike and mike arent in the same thibgy thing. For fucks sake thank god cuz its been bothering me for a while how they only get mentioned in the same context. I hate it when they do that. Wait nvm that looked like mush but it actually was mike.

Naw sniper can be so adorable

Did i mention i fucking love jojo

Smalls snd finch sharing a room ™️

Crutchie is so done w jacks bullshit

LMAO BUTTONS COMBING HIS HAIR

Albert posing infront of the „mirror“ is so me tbh

Ive mever seen anyone struggle this mutch to out on a hat as blink. All those tbh thats smt that could be me prolly

Specs babe what r u doing on the floor

Race shaking his jaket is so overdramatic and its perfect

Mush and henry are a duo I didn’t know I needed.

Why is mush acting like hes in a circus lmfao

Tommy struggling with the pants is everything

Elmer just took his cap off, put it in his pocket, and the magicaly made it apear in his other hand???

Who is tommy saluting at

Naw specs is like a big brother to livesies blink and it breaks my heart in the best way possible

Albert jumps in the middle like when i slide through the kitchen on my socks lmfao

Tbh sniper just wanted to move too

Sky. What was your thought process when you looked at darcy‘s ass instead of Katherine‘s even tho you knew this was gonna be in the proshot?

BUTTONS WTF??

Finch is such a mood istg

Snipe honey ily but you are being a little creepy

HENRY YOU JUST PUT ON THE JACKET HOW DID IT GO OFF U AGAIN?

I demant to know what jojo is doing

Ok smalls just sitting there dangling their feet is everything

BUTTONS ALSO LOOKED AT DARCY INSTEAD OF KATH WTH ?? HER ASS CABT BE THAT BAD /j

Kath awkward queen

Darcy going „alright“ like „okay thats enough, im done— your dONE“

HES SO PROUD 🥹

Specs. Going down backwards are leathers. This are stairs. Please watch where you’re goibg

RACE TOO IS EYEING DARCY INSTEAD OF KATHERINE

Istg romeo and jack r the only ones eyeing kathering wtf is thos?

RACE LOOKS AT CRUTCHES SO KNOWINGLY LIKE AN INSIDE JOKES UNDER BROTHERS LMFAO I LOVE THAT. THEYRE MAKING FUN OF JACK TOGETHER AHSHWKENFN

Ok so elmer actually looked at kath but he honestly just looks angry

Tommy boy save me, youre the only normal person here!

Nvm

Race wtf is your deal??

OKAY SOMEONE HELP ELMER I THINK HES HAVING A SEIZURE

How is blink STILL bot done?!

Jacks just talking to the air

Every single one of finches facial expressions. Like i can’t even count them all.

Hes so done lmfao

Mush? Wtf? Stop? Please?

You wanna share with the class tommy? We wanna laugh too

Buttons just watches like he just gave up like,,, ah whatever you do you

Mush is becoming a poledancer??

WJEN DID SPECS GO BACK UP THERE WTF

Race slapping buttons on the cheek like a grandma💀💀💀

We all agree that albert is that one friend where the whole friendgroup thinks he’s the token straight friends but hes everything but that, its just that he doesn’t talk about it a lot. And there’s that one friend (i wonder who/j) that knows fron experienced how thats just so fucking wrong

Elmer is like „😒😒😒—oh shit thats my cue- IM HAPPY“

So i got aprox two seconds into it and now in tired so see u lmfao

#newsies #edit later tag

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racebox-of-higgars · 3 years

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Take Me Captive, Set Me Free - Chapter Eight

New chapter of sprace pirate au is here!

TW for discussions of child abuse in this chapter. The form for my next fic is still open until Wednesday, so please go and vote if you haven’t already - https://forms.gle/PWX4SarGJ9SswHAP6

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30592184/chapters/77798888

@angelslibrary - please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

Race couldn’t sleep. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t relax enough. Maybe it was something about the ground being solid, rather than the gentle rock of the ship, maybe it was the deafening quiet. Maybe it was worry for his crewmates. Regardless, he had been staring at the ceiling for hours with no chance of sleep, just as he had the past two nights. He still hadn’t heard anything about the crew, and he began to think he never would. He would go through the entire rest of his life not knowing what had happened to his family, and it made him sick.

He wouldn’t know if Spot was okay.

Spot could be hurt or dead and Race wouldn’t know. That thought terrified him. The man who had made Race feel alive for the first time could be dead.

Spot made him see what the world could be. Spot gave him hope. Regardless of what had happened to Spot, Race was determined to make things right. He would fight tooth and nail until Spot and his crew could be free. If he couldn't return to Spot, he would use this situation to help them. He would free his country, no matter what. Just beyond his window, people were suffering. Children stole and fought just for their next meal, no shoes on their feet as they ran through cobbled streets to escape guards. Spot and his crew had opened his eyes to the way his people were hurting, and Race wouldn’t let himself become blind to it again. He had to make a change, for Spot.

Images from the night before the battle flashed through his mind. What wouldn’t he give to be back in Spot’s arms right now? He was filled with such a sense of warmth when he was with Spot, he couldn’t give that up. Race may not have known Spot for very long, but he had taken up full-time residence in Race’s mind. Everything reminded him of Spot, which only made the uncertainty about his fate hurt more. He would give any luxury in this castle for one more moment with Spot. He would trade gold and silk and china for a breath of sea air, to hear Spot’s voice once more, to drink one more shot of whiskey on the deck.

He would trade everything he had for that ship, for Spot.

Silence hung over the room, so heavy it was impossible to break. It was too quiet. Aboard Brooklyn, there wasn’t a quiet moment - there was always the gentle lull of the waves against the hull of the ship, the light breathing of someone else asleep in his dorm, Finch snoring, Elmer’s nonsensical ramblings in his sleep. Race didn’t think he would miss that, but he did, more than he cared to admit. He missed it all.

The sound of scraping at the window shook Race out of his thoughts. He glanced over, and his eyes widened. He ran out of bed to the window, pushing it open.

“Spot, what are you doing here?” He hissed.

“Seeing you, what does it look like I’m doing?” Race backed up, sitting down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.

“Great, now I’m fucking hallucinating to.” He laughed bitterly. There was no humour to it. He had to, to mask the hopelessness he truly felt.

“What do you mean?” Spot asked, staying close to the window. Every bone in his body ached to wrap himself around Race and comfort him, but something stopped him. Race just gestured vaguely in his direction.

“You! Being here, I mean. I don’t get it. Is it- is it my fucking brain trying to trick me into thinking you’re okay? I’m going crazy here, not knowing what happened to you, now I’m hallucinating.” Then, Spot did go and wrap his arms around Race tightly.

“I am here, for real.” He said into Race’s hair. Race pulled back slightly, looking up at Spot with tears in his eyes.

“Why?”

“I needed to know you were okay.” He paused for a moment. “And I want to bring you back.” He looked around the room, at silk sheets and solid gold trim lining the walls. “If you want to come back, that is?”

“God, yes,” Race answered immediately.

“You sure?”

“Yes.” Spot began to make his way back to the window, but Race stopped him. “Wait.” Spot turned to face him. “Is everyone else okay?”

“There were some pretty bad injuries, but everyone’s alive.”

“Who was hurt?”

“Elmer and JoJo were the worst, but they’re both alive, just on bed rest.” Race frowned.

“What happened to them?”

“They had some pretty nasty run-ins with swords. Elmer got it in the stomach, JoJo in the leg.” Race thought for a moment, before rooting through the very bottom drawer in his dresser. “What are you-” Race held up a hand to silence Spot. He pulled out a small bag of various herbs and medicines.

“Katherine keeps it here, just in case. It should help them.” He tucked it into his pocket, along with various silver and gold hairpins and jewellery.

“What’s that for?”

“We can sell it.” He fastened a simple silver chain around his neck. “It was my mother’s,” he said, at Spot’s confused look. “I want to keep it.” Spot nodded.

“Ready to go?” Race looked at Katherine, asleep beside his bed, blissfully unaware. He couldn’t go without saying goodbye to her. He gently shook her awake.

“Tony, what’s going on?” She asked, still half asleep.

“I’m, uh, I’m going. Again.” Her face fell. “I wanted to say goodbye this time.” His eyes lit up as he had an idea. “Spot, why don’t we bring them with us? Katherine and David?” He glanced at Katherine, who looked past him at Spot. He paused for a moment.

“I don’t see why not. We have spare beds and enough food to go around.” Race turned to Katherine.

“Do you want to come?” He asked. She thought about it for a moment.

“Yes, as long as you don’t mind.” Spot shrugged.

“We always have space for new people.”

“We should go find David too, we can’t go without him.”

Their footsteps echoed in the dark, empty halls. Race couldn’t help but be reminded of the days he would run through these same halls in the middle of the night, just to spend a few hours exploring the grounds. Sometimes he would go alone, some nights he would go with the stable boy, or Katherine and David. He would run through the halls and into the gardens, climbing trees and playing in the mud, making the most of the little freedom they had. He always got in trouble afterwards but it was worth it.

They turned into the servants wing, suddenly much quieter. David’s bed was at the very end of the room.

“Wait here,” Race whispered. “I’ll get him.” The other two nodded, and Race made his way through the room, weaving through beds as quietly as possible, light footed and hardly breathing. If anyone woke up, they were all done for. Finally, he reached David’s bed. He shook David awake, holding a finger to his lips as David opened his mouth to say something.

“Don’t ask questions, just grab anything you want to keep and come with me.” David’s brow furrowed but he sat up, pulling on shoes and fastening a simple leather braided bracelet around his wrist. Race couldn’t help but notice its resemblance to a bracelet he had seen Eclipse wearing.

“What’s going on?” David hissed when they were out of the servants wing.

“We’re leaving,” Race said simply.

“What?”

“I don’t have time to explain now but Spot showed up so we’re leaving with him.”

“We can’t just leave!”

“Keep your voice down!” Race turned down a different hallway, waving to Spot and Katherine who stood at the end. They turned to him as they reached them.

“Are we ready to go?” Spot asked.

“I never said I was going anywhere,” David said.

“David, listen to me,” Race started. “If you stay here, you die. They’ll find out I’m gone, and they will kill you. Who do you have to stay for here anyway?” David opened his mouth to say something, but fell silent. “So, are you in or are you out?” David paused, eyes flickering between Race, Katherine, and Spot, who all looked at him expectantly.

“I’m in,” David said finally, to the quiet cheers of everyone else.

“I got some guys waiting outside to help us get outta here. Hope you two don’t mind running,” Spot said, mainly to Katherine and David.

“Who’s gonna be there?” Race asked.

“It was gonna be Albert and Finch but I couldn’t drag them away from Elmer and JoJo, so we’ve got Blink, Specs, and Sniper.”

“Who names their kid Sniper?”

“It’s a nickname, we all have them,” Race answered.

“What’s yours?”

“Racetrack.” David raised a brow. “Don’t question it.”

Race’s legs and lungs burned from running. They sprinted across the castle grounds, making for the wall as fast as they possibly could. Race had plenty of practice running around and navigating the grounds, so he led the group. In the dark, it was difficult to navigate, but Race had experience and knew the grounds like the back of his hand. He weaved through tree roots and plants, jumping over the walls separating the gravel path and the gardens. For the first time in his life, Race resented the sheer size of the gardens. The sprawling acres that had once been his safe haven had become the one thing in between him and freedom, and he wasn’t going to let it hold him back. Nothing was going to stop him now.

Shouts echoed behind them, which only spurred them on faster. It wouldn’t be long before guards would be hot on their trail, so they had to use the small lead they had while they could. The wall was only a few metres away now. Race simply poured on the speed, knowing the guards would be right behind them. As he reached the wall, he jumped, grasping the top of it and pulling himself up. Spot swung himself over, about to take off into the woods towards the ship, but Race turned to glance behind them.

Katherine and David were still a few metres from the wall, guards right on their heels. Panic flashed through their eyes. Race shifted his position on the wall, reaching his hand out towards them. Katherine reached him first, and he grasped her hand tightly, pulling her over the wall. He did the same for David, turning to the guards and flipping them the bird, before jumping down the other side of the wall and taking off into the woods with the others.

They only slowed when they reached Brooklyn, climbing onto the deck and immediately casting off the ropes keeping her docked. The sails were set and the moment the lines were cast off, they were in motion. Race watched from the edge of the ship as the land grew smaller and smaller. He took that moment to catch his breath, running a shaking hand through his hair. He hadn’t realised how much his legs were aching, how much his lungs burned from running until he stopped. He leaned against the railing, watching as the castle faded from view, as the waves crashed against the hull of the ship. He smiled. He was home.

“Hey, Racer.” Spot materialised seemingly out of nowhere beside Race. “You okay?” Race paused for a moment before nodded.

“Yeah. I’m glad to be back here, and that we were able to bring Kath and David too.” He turned around, watching David among the group. David looked out of place, but he was laughing at something Jack had said, while Katherine was talking to Eclipse, Sniper, and Smalls below deck. Spot followed his gaze.

“They seem to be fitting right in.”

“David and Jack seem to be getting along,” Race said with a wink.

“Oh, God, Jack isn’t gonna shut up about him, is he?”

“Nope!” Silence fell over them, but it wasn’t awkward. They didn’t need conversation all the time, and often silence suited them fine. Race stared down at the waves, mesmerised by the movement of them against the hull of the ship as they sliced through the sea. Spot simply watched Race, studying his features, all sharp angles and dark shadows in the low candlelight. He frowned as he noticed Racee’s black eye.

“Who hurt you?” He asked quietly. Race tore his eyes away from the sea to look at Spot.

“What do you mean?”

“You have a black eye.” Spot gestured to his face. Race frowned, debating lying to Spot. He could say that it had happened in the fight, it would be so much easier than going into everything. So what was stopping him? Right, he wanted Spot to be open with him too, and Spot wasn’t going to do that if Race wasn’t honest.

“I - uh - I told my father that I didn’t want to get married and he didn’t take it too well.” He laughed dryly in an attempt to add humour to the conversation. It didn’t work.

“Shit, do you want some ice for it?” Race shook his head.

“No, thank you. It’s not painful anymore. I’m fine.” He smiled, as if to prove his point. Spot paused, studying his face for a moment, before nodding.

“Alright. If you do need anything, just let me know.”

“I will.” Race paused for a moment, allowing a brief silence to stretch between them, before speaking up again.

“Why did you have to leave home?” Spot froze.

“What?”

“The other night, you said you had to leave home when you were 8. I was wondering why.” Spot hesitated. “You don’t have to answer of course-” Race rushed out, “-I was just curious.” Spot shifted slightly where he was standing, drumming his fingers on the railing of the ship.

“My parents died, they were killed. I only just made it out.” Race’s face dropped. He briefly wondered who had killed Spot’s parents, and had tried to kill Spot too. Spot was only a child when it happened, what sick bastard tries to kill a child? Well, Race could think of someone, but he pushed the thought from his mind. Now wasn’t the right time to ask.

Hesitantly, he wrapped Spot in his arms, holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry,” Race whispered, running a hand through Spot’s hair.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“I know, but I still am.” Spot’s grip on Race’s shirt tightened slightly as Race slowly ran his fingers through Spot’s hair. “It’s okay, if you want to talk about it, I’m here for you, if you don’t then that’s fine too. If you just want to cry, I’m gonna be here to help you through that too.” Spot nodded, burying his face in Race’s shoulder. Race smelled like home - the wood of the ship, the salt of the sea, and honey, rich and warm. Honey had always been a luxury Spot could rarely afford, they only had it for special occasions, but Race was better than it could ever be. Spot pulled back from him slightly, eyes glancing over Race’s face, illuminated by the candlelight, casting flickering shadows upon Race’s face. Spot’s eyes were drawn to Race’s lips, and he couldn’t help but wonder if they would have that same sweet taste. Spot’s eyes met Race’s, a silent question, answered by Race’s eyes glancing at Spot’s lips. Slowly, Spot leaned in, eyes flickering shut. Race’s breath hitched at the closeness. Slowly, achingly slowly, Spot’s lips brushed Race’s, just a barely-there touch. Just as they were about to go in for more, the door crashed open.

“Race!” Albert said, clearly not realising that he had interrupted them. Spot leapt back from Race as if he was burned, flushing deep red. Spot carefully avoided looking at Race, instead, focusing on Albert. Race took a moment to regain his composure before answering.

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to thank you for the medicines, they really helped Elmer and JoJo, they’re both doing a lot better.” Race smiled, glancing at Spot before turning back to Albert.

“That’s good. I’m glad I could help.” Albert nodded. Spot gripped the railing of the ship behind him tightly, staring at the floor. Albert shot him a questioning look, but he shook his head. Albert hesitated, before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

“Spot-” Race began, but Spot shook his head.

“Your bed is being used by Elmer at the moment, and keeping David and Katherine is taking up more, so we have to share.”

“Shouldn’t we talk about this?” Race asked, taking a step towards Spot, but Spot backed away.

“I made a mistake. We can just act like it never happened.” Race opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. That stung. Was it a mistake? It didn’t feel like a mistake, at least to Race. Maybe Spot didn’t feel the same way he did. Maybe, for Spot, it had just been a heat of the moment thing. Emotions were running high, and they were still running on the leftover adrenaline from the chase, Spot had just made a mistake. It hadn’t meant anything to Spot, and that was okay.

“Okay,” Race said, trying to mask the hurt he really felt.

“You go ahead, I’ll come along in a bit.” Race nodded, making his way to Spot’s cabin.

He was fine. Spot didn’t want him the same way he wanted Spot, and that was okay. He could act like it didn’t hurt.

He had spent his whole life masking the things that hurt the most, what was one more?

#sprace #newsies #racetrack higgins x spot conlon #newsies fanfiction #fanfiction #pirates #medieval setting

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musicalhistory · 5 years

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United States Immigration at the Turn of the Century (And How it Relates to the Newsies)

Inspired by several different posts by the blog @newsiepedia. This post will be composed of historical facts about immigrating to the United States in the late 19th century, followed by my own personal headcanons about how immigration relates to the different newsies. Let’s get started!

Ever since the first European colonizers, the United States has been a destination for immigrants from all over the world. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a massive influx of immigrants due to political, social, religious, and economic tensions all over Europe.

Immigrants arriving in the United States could be processed at several different points of entry, depending on where and when they landed. For those arriving in New York, they were often processed at Ellis Island before either settling in the city or moving on to other parts of the country. It is important to note, however, that Ellis Island was not opened until January 1st, 1892, so if your character or their family is immigrating before then they would not have been processed there. Instead, they would have been taken to Castle Garden (also known as Castle Clinton), an old military fort in what is now Battery Park originally constructed for the War of 1812. Castle Garden opened as an immigration landing depot on August 3rd, 1855, and served as the main point of entry into the United States until April 8th, 1890, when the federal government took over immigration processing from the state government. During the 34 years that it was open, over 8 million immigrants passed through its doors and 2 out of 3 immigrants to the United States during that period entered through there.

The actual process of making it through immigration was difficult for many. After disembarking from the ship they arrived on, immigrants would be ferried to Ellis Island (I was unable to find out exactly what the immigration process was like at Castle Garden, although it was reportedly very loud, chaotic, and confusing. There were also reports of immigration workers stealing from and cheating immigrants, as well as many unnecessary deaths. It is also important to note that only third-class passengers were required to go to an immigration center to be processed and questioned before entering the United States, first and second-class passengers were examined on the ship.) Once arriving on the island, immigrants would be led into the main building where interpreters were available for those who didn’t speak English. Before proceeding to the inspections, immigrants would be required to leave their bags in the baggage room and collect them later (though their things might have been stolen by the time they returned).

The first (and arguably most important) inspection was the medical inspection. Immigrants were encouraged to look energetic and lively as they climbed the stairs because the medical inspectors watched them for any sign of weakness. Once at the top of the stairs, immigrants waited in long lines to be quickly examined by a doctor (these examinations usually lasted about 6 seconds). If something was found to be wrong with them, or the doctor felt they needed to be more closely examined, a mark would be made on their clothing in white chalk.

There were also eye doctors, who used button hooks to flip the inside of a person’s eyelid up to check for eye disease. If an immigrant was found to be sick they were sent to the infirmary, and if it was serious enough back to the country they came from. Sick children under the age of 12 were required to return home with one parent, and sick children over the age of 12 were sent home by themselves.

If an immigrant passed the medical examination, they were sent on to the Registry Room to be questioned. The inspectors there would ask immigrants questions about their country of origin, name, age, religion, sex, civil status, job, political beliefs, etc. It was during these inspections that immigrant’s names were often changed to sound more “American” (although this was more likely to happen if an immigrant was Jewish than is they were some form of Christian).

If an immigrant passed this final inspection, they received their landing card (a ticket to a ferry off of Ellis Island) and proceeded to the Money Exchange to change the money from their home country to American dollars. Afterward, they collected their luggage and were then ferried off of Ellis Island to the mainland. For an average healthy person, the whole process took about 4 to 5 hours.

Now, here are some of my own personal headcanons!

Jack’s father and mother fled Ireland in 1881 when his mother was about 3 months pregnant with him after his father’s Irish Republican beliefs landed him under suspicion with the authorities.

Crutchie’s parents were both American citizens, born and raised in the United States, His great-great-great-grandmother immigrated from England as an indentured servant in the eighteenth century, and married his great-great-great-grandfather (who was also a revolutionary war veteran) shortly after arriving.

Davey and his parents immigrated to the United States from what is now Poland (there was no independent Polish state until 1918) in 1884 following brutal pogroms where they lived. He and Sarah were both babies at the time (Davey, Sarah, and Les are all half Polish, half Russian).

Race’s parents immigrated from separate countries and met and got married in the United States. His mother was from Italy and came to the US when she was 18 in 1881. His father was from Ireland and came to the US in 1864 when he was 5.

Spot’s parents were the same nationalities as Race’s, his mother was Italian and his father was Irish. His father was considerably older than his mother, however, and had immigrated to the United States as a toddler in the 1840s due to the Irish Potato Famine. His mother, on the other hand, was a recent immigrant when they met, having come to the US in the 1880s when she was a young woman.

Elmer’s parents immigrated from what is now Poland in 1879 when his oldest three siblings were young children. They came mostly for the promise of better jobs, but also to preserve their Polish language and culture. They are not Jewish, however, but Catholic (although Elmer is not very devout).

JoJo never knew his parents, but his mother was originally from Mexico and moved to New York when she was a teenager. She briefly worked as a maid for a wealthy family but was eventually fired when it was discovered that she was having an affair with the eldest son (JoJo’s father).

Finch’s mother was an American citizen, born and raised in New York City, but was of Irish descent (she named him Patrick after her father). His father was from Spain and immigrated to America when he was 18 after signing onto the crew of a ship bound for New York.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all my headcanons for the newsies, but it’s all the ones relating to immigration that I could think of off the top of my head. If you’d like me to expand upon anything here, or post more of my headcanons in the future, send me an ask and I’ll be happy to oblige!

Sources:

http://www.ellisisland.se/english/ellisisland_immigration1.asp

http://behindthescenes.nyhistory.org/castle-garden-where-immigrants-first-came-to-america/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Clinton

#newsies #newsies fanfiction #1890s #history #immigration history #jack kelly #crutchie morris #racetrack higgins #david jacobs #davey jacobs #spot conlon #elmer kasprzak #jojo de la guerra #finch cortes #headcanons

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all-the-lovely-newsies · 5 years

Text

What A Moment Can Do (Chapter Two)

Chapter One / On Ao3

You guys asked for it! So here it is!! Thank you for all the continued support!! <3

Summary: Crutchie remembers what got him here.

Triggers: Some strike violence. Some blood. Nothing too serious this time.

READ OR COMMENT ON Ao3

I hope you all enjoy!!

Papers were flying and everyone was screaming their victoires. They were going to do this, seize the day as Davey said. All the newsies of Lower Manhattan were on their side. Crutchie looked at all the boys surrounding him. They were smiling, bigger than Crutchie had ever seen and the spark in their eyes that had been lost the day before had returned brighter than ever. The boys, his friends, were ripping up the newspapers that just two days ago were their sole source of income. The flimsy material held within its ink whether or not they would eat that night. But now, now the choice was in their hands, literally. To his right Crutchie could see the Delancey brothers hiding behind a few piles of papers. Their eyes were wide, still in shock over the scabbers switching sides on them. Jack was patting Davey on the shoulder, congratulating him on his choice of words that convinced them to join the fray.

To his left Elmer, Albert, Henry, Les, and Romeo were in the middle of a heated newspaper snowball fight, Les ran over to Crutchie, handing him a crumpled up ball and looked up at him expectantly. Crutchie smiled down at him and unfolded the paper. He held it out for Les to take one end. He happily did and the duo held the paper above their heads.

“You see this Mr. Pulitzer?” Crutchie shouted and preceded to rip the paper in two. He felt a sense of pride well up in his chest. For once they were doing something about the wrongs in their lives and Crutchie was one of them. Together they were going to prove to Pulitzer and Hearst and all of those above them that they were more than just some street rats. Crutchie hobbled off with Les to join the snowball fight, his STRIKE banner flapping against his arm with every step. But as soon as it started the fight had stopped, and Les was no longer by his side.

READ OR COMMENT ON Ao3

A quick scream alerted him to the younger boy’s location, over the shoulder of Morris Delancey. Crutchie took a step towards them but before he could get too far Jack and Davey were already rushing at the brothers. They were able to retrieve Les with relative ease, but then the rest of the newsies preceded to take their own swing at the pair. Finch, Mush, even Tommy Boy charged at them before Albert and Buttons forced them to the ground, only to be finished off by Les forcing their big heads together. Crutchie couldn’t help but smile. They truly were a family. If you messed with one Lower Manhattan newsie, you’d feel the force of all the others. And Les was certainly a Lower Manhattan newsies, despite him and his brother just joining the crew.

Crutchie situated himself on the back of one of the wagons, enjoying the view of his brothers running around, causing chaos. Soon they were all rushing towards the distribution desk and Ike called after Crutchie as he hurried past “Crutchie come on, they’se gunna take our pitcha. We’se gunna be inna papes! Hurry up!” Crutchie didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly leapt off the wagon and muscled his way to where the rest of the boys were congregated, followed swiftly by Mush. The camera flashed and the boys cheered, papers once again floating through the air like snowflakes. For a moment everything felt right. Everything was going the way it should.

But nothing good can stay. He should have known, the universe had something against the boys who lived on the streets. Silence washed over the crowd of boys. Confused, Crutchie turned to see Wiesel- and his band of goons standing opposite the newsies. He noticed that the Delancey brothers had returned, a new confident, snide smile creeping along their faces.

“It’s time these kids learned a lesson” Wiesel yelled, hitting his baton against a piece of metal for emphasis. Mush ran up to him, ready to continue the soaking he started with the Delanceys, but Jack shoved him back. Everyone stared at their leader in anticipation. After a moment of silence Jack screamed a response.

“Newsies! Get ‘em!” And all hell broke loose once more. The newspaper goons were nothing the boys hadn’t handled before, but whether they were filled with anger or just pure number, the bad guys seemed to be winning. The brothers that once wore confident smiles were not bleeding, falling, fighting. Crutchie took a few good swings of his own with his crutch but the attackers never seemed to cease. He looked up to find Albert clutching his hands to his head, curled in on himself on the fire escape, to his right Jack was leaping on top of some unfortunate soul, Henry was being dragged by his ankle across the ground, attempting to steady himself against something. Crutchie panicked. There had to be something he could do. Anything. He had to protect his friends, get them out of this mess. Something. Anything.

A loud shriek of a whistle stopped the action once more. Everyone looked up to see an officer at the head of the fringe. His shiny buttons and clean uniform signaled some sort of importance. The bulls often showed up during street scuffles to break up the fighting that disrupted the otherwise calm streets. So this wasn’t completely unusual.

“It’s about time you showed up,” Romeo cried, running up to the officer, exasperated, “They’re slaughtering us!” He looked for some sort of relief but was met with a swift backhand to the face instead. Romeo was sent flying as a group of bulls charged to mass of bodies. No, Crutchie thought, this is not what is supposed to happen. The bulls ain’t supposed to care about some kids. They weren’t doing anything illegal, at least he didn’t think so.

“Cheese it, it’s the bulls!” a voice rang above the ruckus. He shooed Jojo, Romeo, and Finch away as they tried to run past him, he looked over his shoulder to see Race doing the same with Mush and Elmer. Davey gained a hard back hand as he tried to get past one of the bulls, but still pushes by and races away from the action, Les close at his heels. Crutchie darted his eyes across the circulation center, making sure that everyone was gone, or on their way out. He was the only one, oh god- he had to get out of there. His eyes glanced around meeting the back of a familiar dark head of hair, grey cap, and blue shirt.

“Jack! Jack, wait for me!” he cried running as fast as his leg would let him, but Jack just ventured farther and farther away. Why wasn’t he waiting, why was he leaving him behind? Crutchie was so focused on his best friend running away that he didn’t see the Delancey brothers come up next to him until his arms were tight in their grip.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Morris asked snidely, tightening his grip. Crutchie’s eyes went wide. Sure, he’s taken on the pair before, he could hold his own, but those were just small scuffles that usually ended quickly. This was different.

“Jack! Romeo! Finch!” His voice unintentionally cracked as he screamed. What else could he do? Morris raised his hand to reveal a shiny pair of brass knuckles that made Crutchie’s stomach sink. “Jack!” Crutchie could feel his body instantly go cold and start to shake. Where were his friends? Why wasn’t anyone coming to help him?

“Aw, shut it!” Oscar sneered as he ripped the banner off of the crutch. Crutchie eyed Oscar, taking in his current situation. He finally realized just how alone he was. Everyone had gotten away, which was for the best. But he couldn’t shake the disappointed feeling of his best friends running away.

“Stop, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Crutchie thought, “You’re not weak. You can do this.” With a sudden burst of confidence, he swung out his crutch and smacked Oscar right in the gut, causing him to let out a grunt and drift away. Crutchie turned to face Morris and was met with a face full of brass knuckles and was sent flying to the ground.

If someone asked, Crutchie would claim it didn’t hurt. But-damn- did it hurt. There was no way he would come out of this without a hardy bruise across his cheekbone. Black spots danced across his vision and he could barely make out the towering figure above him. He raised his hands to block the sun that was piercing his eyes. The figure leaned over Crutchie and his chest clenched as he realized who it was. Snyder. The one man who made Jack Kelly quiver in his boots.

“Well, well. It’s off to the Refuge with you, little man” Snyder cackled and raised a stick over his head. No-not a stick, Crutchie’s crutch. The crutch swiftly came across Crutchie’s abdomen. Again and again the crutch struck him, and each time he’d try to catch his breath, only for another whack to make him repeat the process.

“No! Please, stop!” Crutchie cried, his voice coming out just above a whisper. He felt each strike against his body, despite his pleads and arms sticking out in an attempt to stop the weapon. With one last solid blow Crutchie turned onto his side, collapsing in on himself. Spots littered his vision, causing everything around him to go fuzzy. Abruptly he was forced into a seated position by the rough hand of Snyder yanking him up. That did nothing to help the pain that pulsates through his body. He was so focused on the pain that he didn’t even notice Snyder pull his hands up and clasp on a pair of metal handcuffs. The realization of his predicament struck him too late as Crutchie yanked his hands apart in a feeble attempt to break his bonds.

“Jack! Help, please! Jack!” Crutchie cried one last time as one of Snyder’s goons grabbed him by his leg and dragged him across the dirt. Frantically, Crutchie tried to find his best friend. He couldn’t have just left him there, he couldn’t have forgotten about him. This wasn’t supposed to be how it ended. The guard wasn’t trying to be careful as Crutchie hit every rock and bump along the way to the paddy wagon. Along the way Crutchie dug his nails into the ground, trying to grab hold of something, anything that would slow him down or give him an opportunity to escape. All it gave him was bloody fingers and an extra hard tug on his leg.

Crutchie was lifted up and chucked into the back of the paddy wagon. His head collided hard against the floor and he allowed his body to just lie there. Moments ago he was celebrating with his friends, laughing and cheering, and now he was in so much pain it’s like he couldn’t feel anything at all. He was numb, his limbs refusing to move, not that he could go anywhere anyways. Like a ragdoll he lay limp, sprawled out on the floor, bouncing and swaying with every movement of the wagon. Crutchie stared at a spot on the wall where a dark stain had left its mark. Or it could have just been one of the spots that were whittled around him already. Especially when all the small dots started to become larger ones, and the pounding in his head wouldn’t stop, and everything became more and more fuzzy, and that damn ringing in his ear just got louder and louder until that was all he heard and the spots were all he could see.

----

TAGLIST:: (Let me know if you want to me added or removed)

@romeo-in-a-trenchcoat @klaineharmony@americasfavoritefightingthot @jd-sammy @wingedprunepsychiclawyer @nerdgirl453

#Newsies #Newsies Fanfiction #Moment Fic #Crutchie Morris #Newsies Live #DustyWrites

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alberteatsglass · 5 years

Text

a hundred bad days, a hundred good stories - part 4

Warnings: uhhh i can think of nothing unless you are polyphobic but in that case how are you still in the newsies fandom???

Word Count: 1082

Edited: noppppe

Parring’s: specs x romeo, mentioned and implied romeo x specs x jojo (we are rare paring straight to hell)

“that should be all to get you settled.” Albert said, sitting on the bed across from race. The light bulb in albert’s room was burnt out so there were three small peppermint scented candles lit sitting on the top of the both the mismatched dressers in between the three beds. Race hated the smell of peppermint but tried to ignore it sitting down on the makeshift bed albert had set out on the ground in between his and the other boy in his rooms bed.

“you really don’t have to let me stay here.” Race stated sitting up.

“hey, don’t let what spot said bother you, he cares about all of us to much for his own good.” Albert told race, “what he said was true but its not like you’re five or something you can look after yourself right?”

Race nodded.

“on a lighter note smalls seemed to really like you which means spot will warm up to you.”

“are him and smalls actually related or?” race asked bluntly making albert laugh. “what’s so funny?”

“you- you didn’t even try to phrase it nice im-” albert coughed “but no they are foster siblings; spot blink and smalls are that is”

Race pretended to know who blink was laying back down. He stared up at the celling some more as albert went to go get the kid race guessed was named boots an ice pack. As he was doing that the kid laying in the other bed next to race sat up. He had shaggy deep brown hair and large bags under his eyes hesitating to start a conversation.

“so. . .”

“so?” race also sat up now looking back up at him.

“how. . .long are you going to be staying here?” they asked race awkwardly.

“not sure yet, maybe until I find a place of my own to stay? Not planning on going back home though.”

“that’s fair” he scratched the back of his neck, “im finch by the way, and im assuming you’re race.”

“yeah I am.” Race didn’t really want to answer any more questions and was really tired so he laid back down before asking “what happened to boots anyway?”

Something seemed to shift in finch’s eyes but race couldn’t tell what it was. “well him and crutchie got soaked by one of the delancey’s.” he answered quickly, clearly not wanting to elaborate on that.

“what is ‘soaking’ someone???”

“its like, , ,beating them up I guess- but don’t worry or anything!” finch stopped seeing the look race gave him from how calm he was talking “we are used to it by now, the delancey’s suck ass but aren’t going anywhere.”

“who are ‘the delancey’s’?” race was just growing increasingly confused.

“rival gang, walk around thinking they own the place, lead by Morris and Oscar Delancey”

“wait rival gang???”

“that not what I meant I swear this isn’t a gang!” finch spoke fast.

Race gave a weird look but nodded. “so is he going to be ok?”

“boots?” finch looked over to him tossing and turning in his sleep. “he should be. . .fine.”

“the real question is if jack will be, stuff like this always means he is going to be. . .upset and the last thing we need right now is more stuff started with the Delancey’s.” Another person stood leaning at the door frame. What was his name again, specs?

“are we going to need another trip to the dollar tree soon?” finch asked him ignoring race for the moment.

“that’s what crutchie’s saying.” Specs sighed, “I haven’t asked Elmer how much money we have though so I’m not sure how possible that will be.”

“why would you need to go to dollar tree?” raced asked them giving up on going to sleep any time near then.

“for food? Try to keep up?” specs snapped clearly a little stressed. Race bit their lip looking down.

“specs they are new here okay, and we try to have food downstairs, most of the time people don’t stay here 24/7 but if they have to most likely they don’t have money for food.”

“and usually medda chips in but a certain asshole didn’t want to bother her and told her we would be fine but clearly we are not fine-” Someone walked up behind specs grabbing his waist and putting their head on his shoulder. The person had jet black hair and tanner skin contrasted with a pastel pink sweater.

“specs stop worrying so much and come back to sleep.” They mumbled into his shoulder. “you woke up jojo and you know how he is when he doesn’t get his solid eight hours.”

“ill be back in a second, I was just getting some water love.”

They seemed to blush a little at the pet name but continued, “that sure looks like what you are doing.”

“. . .” specs sighed again and said one last thing to finch. “I guess we will see what happens tomorrow night with all this delancy stuff.”

“true, go get some sleep wont you?” finch joked and the two went back to their room.

“so who were those?” race asked after a couple minutes. Finch sat up rubbing his eyes seeing as he was literally just about to go to sleep again.

“you ask lot of questions, you know that?” finch came to terms with the lack of sleep he was going to get for the time being. “that was specs and Romeo, the resident married couple, jojo is their room mate and everyone figures all three of them are together but not like anyone really tells me anything.”

“three people in a relationship???”

“yeah, you polyphobic or something?” finch eyed him.

“no its just. . .different”

“everything around here is different get used to it.” Finch was just so done with race’s questions and needed to sleep. “now if you are done with your interrogations can I sleep?”

“yeah, sorry for bothering you so much.”

“no its fine.”

Finch rolled around and his breathing deepened so race figured he fell asleep. Laying looking up and the celling race just couldn’t seem to sleep, all the shock of the day hitting him as he closed his eyes. He remembered his fathers yelling, his sisters worried face, and race just couldn’t close his eyes without his mind replaying the scene for him, so he stuck with being awake until albert came back holding some medicine bottles and an ice pack for boots.

eyyy look at me actually writing

i had this done when i finished the last chapter think nothing of this im not going to be posting this regularly trust me

please reblog and tell me what you think! also hmu if you want to be on the tag list!

tag list:

@justanaveragedisaster

@orollyitsracetrackhiggins

@hopefully-not-the-ghostbusters

@spot-the-brooklyn-pirate

#newsies #newsies fan fiction #hundred stories

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thewoildis-yaerster · 5 years

Text

Abusus Non Tollit Usum

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven: Echo

Description: We find out a bit more about one of our characters and we progress the plot. A little bit short, but it's entirely fluff with a pinch of angst. (Also, an OC??? I'm gaining confidence???)

Warnings: Swearing, mentioned homophobia.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s noon-thirty, Davey. People are trying to sleep.” Elmer groaned as they slid out of the back of Sniper’s convertible. Albert slid out behind Elmer, while Smalls and Sniper hopped out of the passenger seats and the four of them walked over to David, who was leaning against the side of his van.

“Yeah, what did you want us for?” Sniper tried to take off her sunglasses but was blinded by the sun so she put them back on.

“Every day we wait is a day we lose, my friends. If we want to make a change, we can’t just put it on hold during the weekend. Besides, who isn’t awake by noon?” David’s cheery tone was a stark contrast to the others’ tones.

“People who value their sanity.” Albert crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

David smiled and rolled his eyes. They all stood there on their phones until everyone else started piling into the parking lot of the community park David told everyone to meet him at. Spot, Jack, and Race were squeezed into the front of Spot’s truck, while Hot Shot was riding in the bed of the truck (illegally). Katherine and Crutchie were in Katherine’s yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Romeo, Specs, Finch, Mush, and Kid Blink were all in Specs’ small silver car. Henry, Mike, and Ike were in the hand-me-down Impala the twins had to share. JoJo, Tommy Boy, and Buttons were in JoJo’s mother’s Dodge Journey. Everyone could hear them coming down the road since Buttons had taken over the radio and was blaring show tunes.

“Can you tell us what we’re here for now, Davey?” Albert asked as he softly shook Elmer to get them to wake up. (They had insisted on falling asleep in his lap.)

“Alright. So, if we all remember correctly, there are two parts to the first step of our plan. Get people on our side, and get pride items. We’re already working on that first part, so let’s start on that second one.” David explained.

“Where are we supposed to get pride shit from that isn’t online? I’ve never seen an actual pride store.” Finch questioned.

“Well, you see, there’s this underground place in-”

“The Bronx.” Smalls cut David off.

“Oh. You guys already know.” David glanced away, then kept his focus on his feet.

“They don’t. But I do.” A small smirk appeared on Smalls’ face. David looked up and narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. “What? I’m from the Bronx.”

“Ah.” David nodded. “Well, we’d better get started on our journey.”

***

The large group quietly made their way down an empty alley in the Bronx. Smalls and David were leading the group since David had looked up the directions and Smalls seemed to know the way by heart. Once they got close to the middle of the alley, both of them stopped in front of a large metal door. Smalls banged on it with her fist, then stood on her tiptoes when the slot in the door slid open.

“What’s the password?” A deep voice growled from the other side.

“Open the damn door. You know who I am.” Smalls hissed back.

“All these years and you’re still so rude to me.” The voice decreased in pitch by a lot and whoever it belonged to started unlocking the many locks on the door. Once the door was fully unlocked, it swung open to reveal a boy around their age that looked…very similar to Smalls. He had a few feet on her in height, but they still looked alike. “Heya, Smalls…and Co.?” He looked out at everyone in confusion.

“These are my friends. I’ll introduce you to all of them later. We need to buy some of your shit.”

“Damn. Here I thought you wanted to pay your favorite sibling a visit.”

“You’re my only sibling.”

“Which automatically makes me your favorite.” He stepped out of the way and swept his arm out to the side, gesturing for them to all come in. When they all entered the dark room, he closed the door back and locked it again. “So, you going to tell your friends who I am?” He hit a flashlight against his palm a few times to get it to turn on, then led the way to a staircase in the corner of the room.

“Ah, yes. This is my twin brother, Echo. If he bothers any of you, just tell me and I’ll kick his ass.” Her tone was serious, but she had a smile on her face.

Echo gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

“You know I would!” She pushed him and he lost his balance, but he expertly pushed off of a step and front-flipped onto the floor of the basement. When he landed, he shined the flashlight on his face and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Why do they call you Echo?” Albert asked suddenly.

“Why do you think?” Echo mimicked Albert perfectly, then winked at him. He walked further into the room and all of the lights turned on at the same time. Everyone gasped in unison as they looked around the room. It was quite literally nothing but pride. Every sexuality or gender you could think of had its own section and pride flags hung from the ceiling. “Hey, if you guys like that then you’ll love the back room.”

“Please don’t go in the back room.” Smalls closed her eyes and shook her head as Race, Spot, Jack, Romeo, and Blink ran to the back room. After a few seconds, all of them came back out except for Race and Spot.

“Don’t go in the back room.” Blink said while looking at the ground, his face turning pink.

“I tried to tell them.” Smalls shrugged at her brother, who had a big smirk on his face.

When Race ran out with a rainbow strap-on attached to his forehead, they all immediately understood what was in the back room. Afterward, everyone dispersed throughout the room and began to browse. Echo moved to behind the check-out counter and Smalls hopped up on top of it.

“How is everything at home?” Smalls questioned.

“Don’t know. They kicked me out a few weeks ago because they found out I’m bi.” Echo shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Danny, I’m so-”

“Nah, it’s fine. Like you said, we’re better off without them, right? I make enough money doing this to keep myself afloat, so it’s not like I need them for anything.” He suddenly became very interested in trying to peel off a penis-shaped sticker that was stuck to the counter.

“Danny, you know you could always stay with me and Sniper. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

“And leave this place behind? I’m not leaving this place until someone comes and kills me and takes my body out of here. Hey, speaking of Sniper, which one is she? You’ve never shown me your girl before. Only talked about her. I have to give her the brotherly stamp of approval.” Echo quickly changed the topic.

“Hey, babe! C’mere!” Smalls rolled her eyes then called out. Sniper made her way over and leaned against the front of the counter.

***

After an hour or two, they had quite literally bought half of the store’s stock. Most of them just had clothing items, but some of them had also gotten their hands on miscellaneous things. Race bought a few penis-shaped lollipops, Elmer found genderfluid pride flag stickers (which were definitely going to be stuck everywhere later on), and Tommy Boy got his hands on the strap-on Race had on his forehead earlier on.

“My offer still stands,” Smalls told Echo, nodding her head toward Sniper.

“Nah, I’m fine here. I appreciate it, though.” He replied.

“Alright. Just know that if you change your mind, we won’t turn you down. I’ll see you around, little bro.”

“We’re twins.”

“Yeah, but I popped out first so that automatically makes me older.” She flashed him an exact imitation of his own signature smirk.

“See you around, nerd. And, toodles to the rest of you!” He waved to the large group. In unison, they all waved back and said goodbye. They all went back up the stairs and were about to leave the building when Echo ran up the stairs after them. “Almost forgot. Good luck with your revolution.” This time, he gave them all an earnest smile.

***

“So, Dave, what do we do now?” Jack questioned David once they all got back to their vehicles.

“We go home.”

“After that?” Finch asked.

“We go to school. Pride and all.”

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you-and-i-for-forever · 5 years

Text

We Need You (Jack Kelly/Reader)

Fandom: Newsies

Warning: Canon-Typical violence

Words: 6.4k

Read it on my ao3 instead if you want!

The circulation bell chimed, cutting through the peaceful morning.

“Newsies! Time to get up!” You called out as you exited the washroom, smoothing out your dress.

Some boys popped right out of bed and started getting ready for the day while others grumbled and were slower to rise.

It was like that most days. Each boy had their own routine and as long as they got out of the lodge in time, that’s all you could ask for.

It was utter chaos when everyone was up though. Boys were scrambling to get into the washroom to bath and freshen up and others were getting dressed, the housing lodge not terribly big when with all the newsies inside at once.

“Come on Albert, get up.” You said, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing your hand up and down his back.

Albert moaned and opened his eyes.

“I was having the most wonderful dream. A large steak, cooked to perfection.” Albert said, scrunching his eyebrows together.

“You’ll have time to dream later, you got work to do.” You said, standing up and moved across the room.

You walked over to another boy who always took forever to get up, Romeo.

“Romeo, wake up lazybones!” You said, patting his cheek.

His hand shot up from under the covers and grabbed yours to hold it to his face.

“How’d you get so beautiful this early in the morning, [Y/N]?” He said, eyes still half closed but looking at you.

You leaned in real close, smiling. Romeo’s eyes widened and he started to lean in as well.

“I got out of bed on time.” You whispered and pulled away. Romeo pulled a face and rolled over in his bunk.

“Here Tommy Boy, I fixed your sock.” You said and pulled his sock out of your dress pocket, having mended it the night before.

“Thanks!” Tommy Boy said, happy to not have a large hole on the heel anymore.

“[Y/N] have you seen my cigar?” Race asked. He was crouched over, looking under his bed.

“And my shoe?” Kid Blink called.

“Blink, I’ll help you look for your shoe in a second,” you said with a smile, “Race you always end up stashing them in between your mattress and bed frame when you’re half asleep. Just put it away before you go to bed.”

“No can do.” Race said, pulling out his cigar from where you said it would be and sticking it in his mouth.

“Boys, you have about 10 more minutes before the papers are distributed.” You called out to the room as a whole.

“[Y/N]! The water’s freezing in here!” Elmer said, sticking his head out from the washroom’s door.

“It would have been warm if you had gotten up on time.” You said with a laugh.

“I hope the headlines are better today.” You overheard Mush complaining to Specs “This whole trolley thing is boring, and no one is interested anymore.”

“Matter’s to the workers,” Specs said, adjusting his suspenders.

Mush grumbled a reply.

“Don’t forget its laundry tonight for…” You pulled out a small piece of paper you kept in one of your dress pockets and read off from the laundry list. “Finch, JoJo, and Buttons.”

Buttons saluted you and the other two made noises of acknowledgment.

As Smalls ran by, Blink’s shoe in hand, waving it above his head, you grabbed it from him. Smalls let out a noise of disappointed but went back to getting ready.

“Blink!” You called out.

The newsie looked over at you and easily caught the shoe when you tossed it to him.

“Are you gonna meet us for lunch today?” Crutchie asked, buttoning his shirt.

“Yeah! You know I love Jacobi’s, wouldn’t miss it.” You replied, placing Mush’s cap on his head that you had found on the other side of the room.

Newsies rushed past you, still trying to get ready for the day on time, while you remade everyone’s bed, tucking covers back in and fluffing pillows.

“Can someone go make sure Jack is up. He’s usually down here by-” You started but stopped when you heard a heavy weight hit the floor. You turned over your shoulder to see that Jack had just come in from the fire escape through the window.

Jack glanced at you but quickly turned away, straightening his vest.

You weren’t really sure why it seemed like Jack didn’t like you. Maybe because you weren’t a boy, maybe because he didn’t think you were useful, there was no way of knowing with him.

Jack did let you sleep on his bunk since he claimed to only ever sleep in his penthouse anyway, but he still seemed reluctant to like you at all.

“Okay boys, you gotta leave now.” You said and soon there was a flurry of bodies heading towards. It was a mad dash to be at The World in time, all wanting to see the headline for the day.

As boys passed, they each gave you a quick wave or hug as a goodbye. Jack was the only boy to do neither.

You shook your head, turning your thought back to the rest of the gang and smiled fondly. You made yourself useful and started picking up discarded towels left over from the boys bathing.

You had first arrived at the newsies lodging house when you heard it was really the only safe place for a kid to live. You had run away from home about a week before with no money and desperately needed somewhere to stay.

You knew staying on the streets for too long meant that you might be thrown into the Refuge.

You arrived at the lodgings in the early evenings with only yourself and a small suitcase. You knocked on the door and waited.

You heard nothing for a moment than thumps and crashed from inside like stampeding elephants.

The door slowly crept open and you found dozens of eyeballs staring back at you from the doorway.

“Hi.” You said shyly, not really prepared for this at all.

The boys all wore confused expressions. They never got house calls except for the landlord, looking for rent money. They had never had someone come and knock on their door, and they had never had a girl come to see them.

“What, uh, what can we do for ya?” One of the boys asked

“If yous gots a problem with your edition, take it up with The World.” Another boy said, laughing. A few other boys join in.

“No, no, I was…looking for some place to stay, actually.”

“What?” A few boys asked, the confusion only growing more.

“I ran away from home and…I heard this was somewhere safe for kids to stay who were working. I need to make money and some place to sleep so…here I am.” You explained, knowing your face was turning red.

“Someone go get Jack.” A boy with a crutch under his arm said.

You were invited in and several candles were lit. Soon you were greeted by what seemed to be the newsies leader.

“Hello…who is this?” Jack asked the other boys, looking you up and down.

“Says she ran away from home.”

“Needs a job.”

“Wants to stay here.”

Jack looked at you with a face full of skepticism. “Yous wants to live here with a bunch of stinkin’ boys?”

You looked out of place. A nice dress, styled hair.

“I need a job, you’re all newsies, right?.” You said, trying to sound confident.

“Sorry kid, yous in the wrong place. Goils ain’t newsies.”

“Please, they turned me away at the other workhouses that I could find. I’ll do anything. I’ll cut my hair off and wear trousers or -”

“First off, the hairs not your problem, you got too many other,” Jack paused for a moment “attributes that make you distinguishable from a boy. People don’t wanna buy from no goil. Also, girls ain’t allowed in this lodging house. We could all get kicked out if the landlord finds you here.”

“Please, I don’t have anywhere else to go. This was my only chance. I’ll end up in the Refuge or somewhere worse if I can’t stay here.” You pleaded, eyes watering, knowing you sounded desperate but unable to do anything about it.

Jack glanced at the rest of the boys and your eyes followed. The boys looked at one another before nodding at Jack.

“Alright, alright, you can stay. But no funny business and you got to earn your keep.” Jack said.

“Earn my keep?” You asked

“Yeah, until you have a job to pay rent, you has to earn your stay here!”

For a moment you thought about the fact that the landlord not knowing you were living here meant you wouldn’t need to pay rent, but you were desperate for the boys to stay so you were willing to go along with just about anything.

“How do you propose I do that?” You asked, furrowing your brows.

“Well…uh…you could…” Jack scratched the back of his head “keep this place clean?”

You looked around the room and noticed how messy it really was. Cobwebs in the corners, dust on the walls and floors, items scattered all over the floor, and you really did not want to see the inside of the washroom.

“What do you say? Take on the womanly duties of the house?” Jack asked before spitting into his hand and offering it to you.

Did you really have a choice? It was embarrassing to have to be a maid to a large group of teenage boys, but you really didn’t have any other choice.

You spit into your own hand and took Jack’s.

“Deal.” You said.

The newsies broke off into small groups, excitedly talking. Most likely about you.

A girl, living with a group of boys? It was scandalous. It was unheard of. Of course, it would be the other thing they could talk about.

You realized that your hand was still in Jack’s and you quickly pulled away. It seemed like Jack barely noticed as he turned and started heading towards a window.

“All right, now get back to bed, all of ya,” Jack said and, giving you one last brief look, opened the window and climbed onto the fire escape.

You watched him go, a little entranced, until a hand landed on your shoulder, startling you out of it.

“Hi, name’s Crutchie.” A boy with golden hair said with an inviting smile.

“I’m [Y/N].” You replied, with a shy smile.

“Let me show you were the empty bed is you can have.”

Crutchie led you over to the bunk in a far corner of the room as the rest of the boys scrawled back into their beds.

“Here, let me take that from you,” He said, offering his hand out to take your suitcase.

You hesitated and Crutchie smiled again.

“Don’t worry, newsie code; We don’t take or mess with each other’s stuff,” Crutchie explained.

“Yeah, except for when Albert takes my cigar,” A boy said from somewhere in the room.

“Aaaah shut it,” Another one said, and a loud smack was heard.

The first boy let out a small shriek and muffled laughter could be heard around the room.

You cautiously handed your bag over and Crutchie slid it under the bottom bunk.

“Take the top bunk, I can’t get up there myself, not with this leg.”

You nodded and watched Crutchie sit down and start to get settled down into bed.

“Crutchie” you whispered.

“Yeah?” He asked and sat back up.

“I need to…” you struggled for the right word “change.”

Crutchie quirked his eyebrow for a moment before realization came over his face.

“The wash closet is right over there. I’ll wait outside the door and make sure no one bothers you.” He said with a reassuring smile. He grabbed his crutch and the blanket off his bed before leading you to the bathroom.

As soon as you were in you washed your face, relieved yourself, then undressed down to your undergarments. Once you were done you cracked open the door.

Crutchie turned around towards you, eyes deliberately locked on the ceiling and offered you his blanket. You wrapped it around yourself and Crutchie ordered everyone to blow out their candles. It was pitch black in the room.

“Gimme your arm, I’ll lead you back to the bunk.”

After a few tries, you laced arms and were soon back at the beds, despite a few trips.

“Do you need any help getting up?” Crutchie whispered

“If you wouldn’t mind…”

Crutchie had you up on the bed in no time, thanks to him letting you use his intertwined hands as a step. You passed his blanket back to him and you both lay down on your thin mattresses.

“Crutchie?” You asked again

You heard him stand back up, “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem. I know what it’s like to be someone that people always look at and talk.” He whispered before lying back down on his bed.

You smiled, glad to have one friend in a house full of strangers and closed your eyes to sleep.

It took you about a week of cleaning to get the place almost remotely livable by your standards. It was hard since every day the newsies would come home and, unintentionally, undo some the hard work you had done.

You couldn’t blame them. They worked long, hard hours in all kind of weather conditions and a lot of the time all they wanted to do when they got off work was come home and relax.

Jack never seemed that impressed with you though. You worked hard to try and gain his approval, but he never said anything to you about how much better the place looked.

You scrubbed the washroom toilets and floor so they sparkled. You cleaned and polished all the newsies shoes. You did the laundry for each boy at least once a week and would get up earlier than everyone to boil hot water for their bathing. You took care of the boys when they got sick and would run errands for them when they needed it. You swept and dusted and made beds every day. You even sewed curtains for the windows and thicker blankets for the boys for when winter came.

You played mother to all the boys and were really very good at it.

But still, Jack didn’t seem to care. After that initial meeting, he barely spoke to or looked at you. It hurt to be ignored by him. He was kind and funny with the newsies, always joking and smiling with them but as soon as he saw you were around, his joy seemed to die, and he became more reserved or left entirely.

But you really couldn’t seem to do anything about it. So you worked hard so maybe, secretly, he would appreciate all you did.

You were sitting on your bed, working on sewing a new blanket for Henry for his birthday, when your stomach started growing. You reached into your pocket and pulled out a small pocket watch to check the time.

You stood up and quickly took off your apron, you had to be at Jacobi’s for lunch in a little bit.

You fixed your hair and straightened out your dress. Just because you lived with a bunch of boys, doesn’t mean you weren’t going to care any less of your appearance. You were still a respectable young lady going out into the world and wanted to appear that way.

The boys had all agreed to give you a few pennies every month so you could get food for yourself, so you made sure you had some in your pockets.

You made your way out of the house and onto the streets of lower Manhattan. Along the way, you investigated the windows of many different shops and admired the fancy items each of them held.

As you got closer to Jacobi’s, you saw all the newsies already inside.

“[Y/N]!” A few newsies called out to you as you walked in the door.

“What happened?” You asked, extremely interested to know why the newsies were in such a good mood today.

“We went on strike, like those trolley workers!” Mush ran up to you laughing. He picked you up and spun you around.

The boys all clambered to tell you what had happened. You listened intently the whole time.

As soon as they finished with the story and everyone decided where they were going to go, they each raced off in different directions to alert other newsies in other parts of the city of the strike

You waved off each of the boys. Both Romeo and Race left kisses on your cheeks before they sped off. You felt eyes on your back and when you turned around you found Jack standing there.

“Brooklynn, huh?” You asked, impressed.

He just turned away and left the restaurant.

You left to head back to the lodgings, interested to hear the news the guys would bring back at the end of the day.

The next morning, the energy in the lodging house was high. All the boys dressed quick and were out the door in only a few minutes, all hooting and hollering, ready to go receive their answers from the other newsies and meet up at The World distribution center.

You busied yourself with cleaning up the lodgings and fixing a hole Finch had torn in his blanket. Less of a tear and more of him getting bored and finding loose threads to pull at.

It wasn’t even an hour later when you suddenly had a sinking feeling in your stomach. You had no clue where it came from, but you stopped everything you were doing.

You were out of the house, running straight to The World circulation desk in a matter of minutes.

You ran and ran and ran and a fight was already well underway when you got there. You cried out at the chaos exploding in front of you. The Bulls were beating on your friends and you were terrified.

What if someone got seriously hurt? What if someone died?

You turned your head and saw the Delancey brothers. Morris had his arms locked around Race’s while Oscar was punching him in the gut.

Anger seethed through your veins. You sprinted forward and slammed into Oscar as hard as you could. You both went sprawling to the ground, you on top of Oscar. You quickly stood up and stomped on Oscar’s face with your foot as hard as you could. His body folded in on itself and he held his face, yelling.

You whipped back towards Morris, your hair and dress flying out, teeth bared.

Race was able to escape Morris’ grasped with a jerk of his body. They grabbed at each other, but Race had Morris pinned to a wall in seconds.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Ike asked, running up to you.

“Helping!” You said before kicking Oscar as hard as you could in the side of his ribcage. “No one messes with my newsies.”

You dodged a rouge flying newspaper stack and saw Romeo stumble up to a police officer, looking relieved. He was smacked hard across the face and crumbled right to the ground before you could tell him that the officers weren’t here to help you.

You screamed, but it was cut short by a hand getting tangled in your hair and pulling hard.

You couldn’t see who it was, but they slammed you into a pole. You cried out and suddenly the hand let go. You looked up to see Crutchie crashing his crutch down over Wisele’s head.

You jumped up and suddenly came face to face with a large police officer. He grabbed for you and caught the skirt of your dress in his hands.

You tried to pull away, but the officer wouldn’t let go. You looked around for help, but all the newsies had fled the area.

The police officer sharply pulled at your skirt and you fell to the ground. You struggled to get the man off you, but he started pulling you back by your dress. You managed to flip over and found Crutchie in a similar position as you.

The Delancey’s were dragging him away by his bad leg. You tried to reach for him, but it was no use. You cried out his name, hand still extended like it might work if you tried hard enough, but the officer holding you wouldn’t let go.

Another hand grabbed onto your extended one and pulled hard in the opposite direction of where the officer was taking you. The man lost his grip and went stumbling backward.

You looked up and there was Jack staring down at you.

“C’mon!” He yelled and you jumped up as fast as you could.

You both ran out of The World and ran up and down what felt like a dozen alleyways, Jack pulling you along. You didn’t stop until you were safe on top of the lodging house, high above the city on Jack’s penthouse.

Your lungs were screaming at you to breathe and you felt like you were going to collapse from the adrenaline. You wiped sweat from your face and tried to calm your speeding heart.

You looked over at Jack, doubled over, panting.

You coughed, trying to get more air into your lungs and, in a flash, Jack spun around to face you.

“You,” Jack said, turning around with a snarl and pointed finger, “They got Crutchie cause of you!”

“What? Jack, no, I was there to help! I just wanted to help.” You tried to explain in between deep inhales.

“No, no, no, if you hadn’t been there, I would have been able to save Crutchie, but thanks to you those damn Delancey’s got him!”

“Jack, please I-”

“Who do you think you are?” Jack seethed.

“Jack,” His name came out a breath from your mouth.

“YOUS JUST SOME GOIL WHO CAME HERE BECAUSE SHE COULDN’T TAKE LIVING IN SOME RICH FAMILY! THE GUYS DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT ANYTHING YOU DO HERE, THE ONLY REASON THEY EVEN WANT YOU AROUND IS TO STARE AT YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Jack screamed at you.

Your tears poured down your face and your body felt like it was shutting down. He was right and you felt so stupid just now realizing it.

You could tell Jack started talking to you in a calmer tone, but you couldn’t hear any of it. You pushed past him and raced down the fire escape. You flew back through the open window, tears streaming down your face.

The few boys that had made it back to the house already after the fight perked up when they saw the state you were in, but you rushed past them, running straight towards the door.

“[Y/N], stop, what’s going on?” Finch asked you could barely see him through his tears.

“I have to go.” You sobbed, throwing open the door. You gave yourself a moment, to turn back and look at the boys.

“What happened? What’s wrong? Where are you going?” The newsies called out to you, but you couldn’t answer.

You were out the door in a matter of seconds. Running away for the second time from home.

You hid in Central Park for two days, not knowing where else to go. You were too scared to face Jack or the other newsies again.

What Jack had said was true. It had to be. Why else would he have said those things?

You were worthless to the newsies and you knew it, you were a burden, just someone they kept you around out of pity or to…gawk at.

You didn’t dare leave to get food in case you ran into one of the boys. You felt sick and weak from not having enough to eat but you powered through somehow.

You didn’t know how you would feel if you ran into one of the newsies selling papers. If they were selling papers.

You had no clue how the strike was going or if that was old news by now.

You were finally able to pull yourself together enough to decide to go see Crutchie in the Refuge. It was his fault you were in there, and you had to go make sure he was okay.

No newsies ever sold anywhere near the Refuge, so you were safe on that end. Being caught by Snyder or a bull was a lot higher of a risk.

You waited until nightfall to make your way to the Refuge. It stood like a prison.

You silently crept up the crisscrossed bars that were attached to every window on the building until you were sure you found the window of the room boys around Crutchie’s age were kept.

A boy was standing at the window when you pulled yourself up. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw you.

“Is Crutchie Morris here?” You whispered, not trying to alarm the boy or anyone else in the room.

He nodded and ran back over to where you saw your friend sitting. Crutchie turned to look at you and smiled brightly. He looked battered and bruised from the fight a few days ago but he managed to hobble over to the window.

“What are you doing here [Y/N]?” He asked.

“I had to see how you are, Crutchie. I’m worried about you.” You said

“I’m alright.” He said with an unsure laugh “You know me, always resilient.”

“I’m sorry this happened, it’s all my fault.” You said, worried you were going to start sobbing.

“What? No, no, it’s not. The ol’ leg just ain’t as fast as it used to be.” Crutchie said, “How are the fellas? All doing okay without me.”

“I don’t know.” You said, looking anywhere but his face. “After the strike…Jack and I…we got into a fight.”

“What?” Crutchie asked.

“I,” You had to take a breath to stop your shaking voice “I left. For good.”

“You left?!” He asked.

All you could do was nod, the pain in your chest feeling ready to burst.

“It was clear he didn’t want me around anymore. Never wanted me around. But I had to come see you.” You said.

“You can’t leave [Y/N]. Wese your family. Yous is ours!” Crutchie said desperately.

“I know but Jack-” Suddenly a voice from down below cut you off.

“Hey! What are you doing up there?!”

You looked over your shoulder and saw a bull about a block away pointing right at you.

“I’m sorry.” You shouted out to Crutchie as you scaled back down the wall.

You jumped down to the ground once you were close enough and took off running before the bull could catch up to you.

You ran through different alleyways and streets, weaving in and out until you were sure you had lost the man who would drag you straight back to the Refuge as a prisoner.

You were looking behind you as you turned another corner and ran smack into a wall. You stumbled back onto the ground.

You rubbed your bottom where you had fallen and looked up at what you had run into. It was the back of a young man.

You froze up at the sight of him. Oscar.

He turned around to look down at you and you saw his brother lean around him to get a look at you too.

Your heart was caught in your throat. You had never come face to face with the brothers before the fight, but you had heard story after story from the newsies about them and their rough behavior.

“You,” Oscar whispered, nostrils flaring.

“Who’s that?” Morris asked.

“The one that belongs to the newsies,” Oscar growled, a dangerous scowl twisting on his face. “The one that nearly broke my nose.”

“What are you doing so far away from your dogs?” Morris said in a sinister voice.

You couldn’t make a sound.

The brothers both lunged at you, each grabbing one of your arms and pulled you up to standing.

“Let go.” You managed to breathe out.

“Oh no, I think you’ll be coming with us.” Morris turned to his brother. “What do you think Oscar, think the Refuge has an opening?”

Oscar let go of your arm and moved his hands onto your waist and started pushing you from behind while Morris roughly pulled on your arm.

“Stop!” You yelled and hastily tried to wiggle out of their grips.

“HELP!” You screamed at the top of your voice “PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP!”

You started to sob and tried to twist your wrist out of Morris’ hold.

“Please!” You begged, “Don’t do this!”

“Hey!” A voice called from the end of the street. You all paused.

You felt relieved and even more scared at the same time. A bull meant no more Delancey brothers, but it still meant the Refuge.

The Delancey’s turned to see who it was.

“Well, well, well,” Oscar said, “look who’s come to collect their garbage. Sorry Kelly, but we’ve already got plans with this one.”

You felt tears trickle down your face as you looked at Jack’s figure standing about 20 feet away.

“Jack.” You whispered.

“Let her go,” Jack said sternly.

“Don’t think so.” Oscar snapped back, motioning to Morris.

Suddenly, Morris picked you up and threw you over his shoulder. The act of your stomach slamming down onto his shoulder knocked the air out of you.

You struggled to breathe and escape. You managed to look over at Jack, he and Oscar were both on the ground, wrestling with each other, punching and grappling.

“Jack.” You tried to wheeze out.

The feeling of not being able to breathe and the lightheadedness from not eating in the past few days mixed with the lack of sleep and the stress from it all finally caught up with you in that one moment.

You promptly fainted over Morris’ arm as he carried you off to the Refuge.

You awoke on a lumpy mattress and a thin pillow. There were voices around you and something cold pressed against your face.

Your eyes fluttered open and you woke to the newsies lodging house with all the newsies running around, shouting.

“[Y/N]?” A voice asked. You turned to find Sniper patting a cool rag on your forehead.

“Is this the Refuge?” You asked in a moment of confusion.

All movement and noise in the room immediately stopped and the newsies all gather around the bed you were on.

“Are you alright?” Henry asked.

“You scared us half to death!” Finch cried.

They all started talking at once while your head started spinning.

You raised a hand and the boys fell quiet. You readjusted yourself so you were sitting up more and rubbed your eyes before giving the boys the ok to keep going. Everyone began speaking again.

Your face sprouted a sad smile, feeling horrible that you had even left in the first place but also feeling special that the newsies all seemed to have missed you.

“…And I lost my shoe!” Specs cried as the group fell back into silence.

You laughed a little and tried to clear your throat to apologize but all that came out was a sob.

“Oh [Y/N], come on, don’t do that,” Romeo said, voice wobbling a little.

You looked around at the group, seeing all the boys had watery eyes.

“I’m sorry.” You mouthed and felt tears come falling down your face.

Tommy Boy, who was the closest to your left side, leaned over and hugged you, whispering “Please don’t leave again” into your ear.

Each boy followed suit, giving you a hug and telling you how much they missed you or asking you not to run away again. You nodded along to whatever they said, feeling so guilty.

Mush took an extra-long time, weeping into your shoulder. He really lived up to his nickname of Mushy.

Soon the boys were all sitting or lying on or around your bed, filling you in on all the events that had taken place in the past week.

“And wese having a big gathering today in newsies square. We handed out flyers to every workin’ kid we could find.” Mike said with a large smile.

“And Spot Conlon and the rest of the Brooklynn boys are going to be there! We saw them last night at the rally!” Elmer cried, looking so excited.

“We already said that.” Kid Blink said with a roll of his eye.

“Pulitzer will have to lower the prices after we shut down this city!” Jojo laughed.

“I hope we win.” You said, squeezing both Button’s and Small’s hands.

“We will.” Buttons said, looking very sure. The rest of the newsies all nodded and voiced their approval.

Suddenly, a loud thump came from the other side of the room. Everyone turned their heads to find Jack standing by the window, hands in his pockets and not making eye contact.

The guys all scrambled to get up and quickly exited the room, all looking back at you with worried expressions.

Jack slowly wandered up to your bed, still not looking at you.

He shuffled his feet and pulled his hat off, wringing it between his hands. You had never seen this version of Jack Kelly before, always so loud and brash. Now he looked too nervous to speak.

“I was-” He started “I mean…I didn’t think that…well…I…”

Jack sighed and moved so he was kneeling by your bed, looking extremely guilty, “What I’m trying to say is…I’m sorry.”

He looked up into your eyes finally.

You felt like you were going to burst into tears, you missed Jack so much. He was a part of your home and his presence brought a safeness only he could provide. You started to move your hand in his direction just needing to touch him, if only for a second.

Jack glanced down at your hand and practically threw his arms around your waist, his body sort of collapsing over your lap.

“I’m sorry,” Jack said, face in your lap, “I was wrong, we do needs you. I don’t know what I was thinkin’. We need you, [Y/N].”

You felt relieved and surprised and happy. You rested your hands on his head and shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have run away,” You breathed, brushing your hand over his hair.

Jack straightened back up and let out a shaky breath, “You had every right…after the way I talked to you. Nothing that happened that day was your fault and the boys don’t ever look at you like that. And if they do its only cause yous always lookin’ like an angel and are way too good to be hangin’ out with us newsies that we can’t hardly believe it.”

Jack took your hand slowly, lacing his fingers together with yours. “I don’t know how we survived before you came along. You’re the best thing to ever happen to us.”

You smiled and squeezed his hand.

“The best thing to ever happen to me.” You stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

“And maybe…if I didn’t screw this up too bad and make ya hate me…maybe-”

Abruptly, Jack leaned and gently pressed his lips to yours. You sighed softly and moved up to cup his face, thumbs stroking the apples of his cheeks.

Jack moved up so he was sitting on the bed with you and slide his hands in between your back and the pillow to cradle you gently.

You broke apart from Jack for air. His eyes were half-lidded, and his eyes moved from your lips to your eyes then leaned in for another kiss.

You had never been kissed before, but Jack was full of passion and didn’t seem to want to stop.

“I thought you didn’t like me.” You said resting your forehead on his. “Felt like you couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me.”

Jack closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, looking totally blissed out. “No, it wasn’t like that. It’s just…you make me all nervous. You showed up here with your fancy clothes and nice smellin’ hair and it was so obvious you come from money and I didn’t think I’d ever be good enough for you, even if you didn’t just want money. And all the guys are always talkin’ to you and makin’ ya laugh soes I thought you might like one of them. You just seemed too good for me, so I didn’t get my hopes up, but I guess I kinda pushed you away when I did that.”

You grinned and laughed gently.

Jack pecked your lips a few times before bringing his free hand up to cup your cheek.

“Say you’ll come back for good,” Jack whispered against your lips.

“I will,” You breathed into his mouth before he kissed you again.

“Promise?” He asked leaning back enough to stare into your eyes.

You nodded, not able to speak when he looked at you like that.

He moved around so he was leaning against your pillow and your head was resting on his chest. You let out a small noise of pain. Your stomach sore from where Morris’ shoulder had rammed into you.

“What happened with the Delancey’s?” You asked, rubbing your stomach a little.

“Taught them to never mess with you again,” Jack said, kissing your forehead. “Yous one of us now and anyone who messes with you mess with me.”

“What about Crutchie? He’s still in the Refuge, Jack.”

You didn’t mean to make the moment melancholy, but you had to know what Jack was thinking.

“We’re getting him out. Tonight. No matter how the rally strike goes today. Spot and his Brooklynn boys have broken plenty of their own out of the Refuge in their area.”

You sighed in relief and snuggled closer to Jack. You had never felt so full of happiness before. He reached up and ran his hand through your hair, both of you just lying in the quiet, enjoying the simplicity of it now everything was out in the open between you two and how, regardless of how the strike ends, Crutchie would be back soon.

“So,” you said with a small giggle after a few minutes, “you think my hair smells good?”

#newsies #jack kellyxreader #jackxreader #newsies fanfiction #newsies fanfic

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broadwait · 5 years

Text

For Wreck or Ruin

Warnings: Sexual tension, implied sexual content, (somewhat heavy) making out. Basically they don’t do the sex but boy do they want to

Word Count: 2667

Pairing: Ravey

Read on AO3: x

Race wasn’t shy. Race had never been shy. He was a firm believer in being unapologetically who he was. That being said, Davey Jacobs could turn him from confident to a stuttering mess in a matter of seconds.

They were at a bar celebrating Elmer’s promotion. He invited them all out for drinks, insisting that he pay for them all because he could afford it now with his new position.

Which is why Race was tucked into a wrap around booth before most of the guys had really arrived. It was big enough to hold just about everyone who was coming, if they sat really close together. Race was nursing his first beer still, waiting for everyone else to show up. Jack was already there, as were Crutchie and Finch, all chatting idly. There was no sense in really starting until everyone else was there, so Race was just scrolling through his phone and absentmindedly sipping his beer. And then Davey showed up.

Race wasn’t a nervous guy, not about liking guys and especially not about flirting with them. Race didn’t do subtle, he was forward as all hell. Then Davey had to come alone and turn all his mannerisms on their head.

When Race was around Davey, he couldn’t think straight (no pun intended). There was something different about him that made Race hesitate, stopping him from flirting as outrightly as he normally did. It might’ve been something to do with how smart he was, a kind of intelligence that translates into respectability. Race didn’t know how to be respectable, not in the way Davey was. He was a little scared that if he started flirting the way he normally did with Davey then he’d fuck things up.

And that was the other part about it: Race really really didn’t want to mess things up this time. Davey wasn’t some passing crush or fleeting hookup, he meant something. Race had never liked anyone quite the way that he liked Davey. Davey was smart and passionate and funny and right now? He was fucking hot.

He was wearing a low rise jeans and a tight fitting shirt that rode up every so often, revealing sharp hip bones, the deep v that extended below the waistband. Race took a breath and forced himself to look away.

He slid into the booth on Race’s side, moving all the way over so he was next to Race. Race held his breath for just a fraction of a second. He had a beer he’d grabbed from the bar, which he took a sip of, greeting the other people at the table with a smile and a nod. This was fine, this was great, everything was going to be good. Race downed the rest of his beer in one shot, hoping that it would help alleviate the anxiety twisting in his stomach. Davey turned to him.

“Hey Race,” Davey said. Race plastered on a smile.

“Hi Dave.”

“I like that shirt,” he said. It was a patterned blue button down that Race definitely didn’t pick because it looked good on him and he knew he’d be seeing Davey.

Davey looked him over, quickly, and Race tried his best to not feel self conscious. He seemed to hesitate, just for a second, before reaching out and taking the collar of Race’s shirt between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the fabric.

“It’s softer than I expected.”

Race cleared his throat nervously. “Yeah, it is.”

Davey looked him in the eyes for a moment before lowering his hand and taking a drink of his beer. He turned away and started talking to Jack, jumping into their conversation. Race went back to scrolling through his phone, a little disoriented.

Everyone started showing up soon enough, and the situation eventually arose where there was just barely not enough space for how they were all sitting.

“Oh it’s fine, we’ll just scoot together,” Davey said, shifting so there was more room for everyone else to squeeze in. His side was pressed flush against Race, much closer than was strictly necessary, and for the first time in his life, Race wished he had less friends. If there weren’t as many people then he wouldn’t have to be worried about his heart hammering in his chest and whether or not Davey could feel it from the contact he had with his side.

Davey didn’t even seem phased, he just kept throwing back beer like it was no one’s business. It wasn’t that he was drinking a lot, he was just drinking more than Race had ever seen him drink. Now that he was thinking about it, had Race ever seen him drink? Usually Davey was the designated driver, but even when he wasn’t, Race couldn’t remember seeing Davey even take a sip of something. For a guy who didn’t drink much, Davey was holding up surprisingly well. He was talking coherently, moving fluidly; the only thing that really gave him away was the pink tint to his cheeks, and the red flush that was steadily creeping up his neck. Race was only halfway listening to the chatter around him when he heard his name.

“Race, didn’t you eat cat food once on a dare?” Finch asked from across the table.

“First of all, it was dog food. Second of all, you’re saying it like there was no justification for it,” Race replied before launching into the full story. It was a nice distraction from the man beside him. He had everyone chuckling through it, Davey included, though Race could mostly tell because he was pressed so close that he was alerted to every single movement Davey made.

“So we’re sitting there, Jack’s crying with laughter, Davey’s half asleep, and I’m trying not to throw up because dog food is more disgusting than you can imagine-”

Davey started laughing again, this time resting a hand on Race’s shoulder to steady himself

“I still can’t believe you did that, it was just a dare,” Davey laughed. His body was turned towards Race, just ever so slightly facing him more than the rest of the group. His laughter calmed down after a second but his hand didn’t retract. It just stayed on Race’s shoulder, the warmth of his palm sinking in through Race’s clothes.

“Ha, yeah, well you know me,” Race stutters out, his face heating up. “I can’t turn down a dare. I just, um. Yeah, right, I can’t do it haha.”

Race’s eyes flickered around quickly, trying to focus on something and not look at Davey under any circumstances. Across the table, Albert quirked an eyebrow, probably a little confused about why he stumbled over his words, about why he looked panicked for seemingly no reason. Race moved his eyes away and took a deep breath, finishing his story. He rushed through the end of it, not fully trusting himself to speak for much longer. When he finished, JoJo jumped in with a story of his own, fixing the table’s attention on him rather than Race. Race let out a little sigh in relief, before he realized the weight had not left his shoulder.

Race had expected Davey to pull his hand away, but instead he started to move it. It was slow at first, subtle, just little stroking motions that focused around his shoulder, something Race could probably brush off if he really wanted to. But the longer his hand was on Race’s shoulder, the more and more noticable the action became, until it was something more like a half caress, half massage of his shoulder and arm. Race could feel the blush spreading up from his chest to his neck to his face but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. Everyone was still looking at JoJo, Davey included. Race snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye.

Davey was staring ahead, not paying any mind to Race, his face seemingly innocent. But his hand was still slowly moving up and down Race’s arm, like he didn’t realize he was doing it. The thought crossed Race’s mind that maybe he didn’t know he was doing it, maybe it was a subconscious action that he hadn’t given any thought to.

But then Davey suddenly tore his gaze from JoJo and looked over at Race. Race turned his head so he was fully looking at Davey and not sneaking glances out of his peripheral. His expression was slightly more intense than it had been before, somehow less innocent. He was slouched a little, his head was bent down slightly so he was looking up at Race, making his gaze just a tad half lidded. There was something heavy in the look he was giving him and Race didn’t know what it was or how to feel about it.

Davey leaned his head in close and whispered into Race’s ear. Race swallowed, more out of nervousness than anything else

“You’re all red, Race, you feeling alright?” His breath ghosted over his neck and Race had to try very hard to suppress a shiver.

“Ye- yeah I’m fine. It’s just a little warm in here.” Davey nodded but didn’t pull out of Race’s space. His hand found its way to the back of Race’s neck and it felt like the whole of him was burning.

“It is a little hot in here. I think I’m going to head outside for a few minutes and cool off. You should think about going too if you want, you look like some fresh air could do you good.”

“I’ll definitely think about it,” Race replied. Davey flashed him a smirk.

“I’m going to get some air for a bit, I’ll be back soon,” Davey announced to the group, letting the people near him get up so he could slide out and head toward the exit. The people who were standing didn’t sit down though, they just looked at Race. Albert cleared his throat.

“So?” He asked

“So what?”

“Are you going too?”

Race tried to force a laugh but it got caught halfway in his throat and came out kind of strangled. “Why would him leaving automatically mean I would follow him?”

Albert rolled his eyes. “Race, he’s been giving you bedroom eyes all night. Either go after him or get a fucking room, jesus christ.”

If Race could blush a darker red, he would have. But for the moment, all he did was take a swig of his beer, slide out of the booth, and start walking towards where Davey had headed.

Race found Davey leaning against a wall a few feet from the door, his back pressed against the brick, his head tilted upwards. He glanced over as the door opened, looking at Race. The cool air hit his cheeks and Race realized Davey had been right. It was much cooler outside than inside, and the temperature made him feel a bit more relaxed, a bit more himself.

“Nice of you to join me.”

Race walked over and took a spot next to him, attempting to imitate his stance. Davey turned and looked at him, giving him another once over.

“You look really good tonight,” Davey said. Race smirked a bit.

“I try,” he replied. Davey tilted his head a bit so he was facing Race a bit more than he had been before.

“I want you to know that I’m a little drunk. I’m a little drunk but you’re hot and I’m not just saying that because I’m pretty tipsy.”

Race could feel his cheeks heating up all over again, but he turned so he was facing Davey, still leaning against the wall but with only one side.

“Am I now?” Race could feel himself slipping back into his flirtatious manner. This was good, this was familiar. He’d been thrown off, flustered even, when Davey had started flirting with him but it was good that Davey had. This was the kind of situation where Race knew the rules. Davey was looking at Race, with a heavy gaze and dark eyes and tousled hair and Race realized this was something he wanted, and wanted bad.

Davey moved so he was mirroring Race’s position against the wall.

“I might be more confident after a few beers but it doesn’t make me a liar,” Davey said.

They were drifting closer. Race’s eyes flickered from Davey’s mouth to his eyes, back and forth, until they were less than a foot away from each other.

“You aren’t looking too bad yourself, Jacobs.”

“God, just kiss me already.”

Davey took him by the collar and pulled, crashing his lips into Race’s. It wasn’t graceful, and at first it wasn’t much more than just hard pressure, lips against lips, unmoving. After a second it morphed into something more coordinated, as coordinated as they could really be with Davey still a little drunk and Race being less than sober himself. It was kind of sloppy and desperate, no thought to nuance or skill, no thought to anything at all besides Davey’s hands on Race’s shoulders, moving to press him against the wall.

Race rested his hands on both of Davey’s sides, not on his hips but as close as he could without touching the skin that was showing from where his shirt had ridden up. One of Davey’s hands trailed down his side, reaching the hem on Race’s shirt. He pulled back to look in his eyes, just far enough away that Race could see the unspoken question there. Race nodded, just slightly. Davey brought their lips together again and slipped a hand under his shirt, sliding up to his ribs and settling there.

Race’s teeth grazed Davey’s bottom lip as Davey pulled away, making him gasp ever so slightly. He ducked his head into Race’s neck, mouthing at his pulse point, trailing down to the junction where his neck met his shoulder. He kissed the area gently before biting down. Race threw his head back against the brick of the wall, his breath coming out in hot pants.

“We should take this somewhere else,” Race said, breathless. Davey nodded profusely, pulling away and moving slightly towards the entrance of the bar.

“I’ll go tell everyone not to wait up” he said as he turned to go. Race’s hand flew out to grasp his wrist.

“Wait- before we go… is this just about hooking up? Or because you’re kind of tipsy? Because I don’t know if I can do this if it is. I like you a lot, Davey. I have for a while, and I’m not sure I could deal with it if this was just a one time thing or like a friends with benefits thing, not that those wouldn’t be great too, it would be fantastic, but I just would really like to have an actual relationship with you and-”

Davey cut off his rambling by kissing him, but not in the feverish way he’d been before. It was slow and soft and sweet and Race melted into it. Davey pulled away, placing a hand on Race’s cheek.

“I’ve liked you for a while too, you idiot, I just needed some alcohol to give me the confidence to do something about it.”

“Oh,” was all Race would think to say. Davey’s hand moved from its place on his cheek into his hair, running through it.

“Yeah” Davey replied, removing his hand from Race’s hair and motioning towards the entrance again. “So I should tell them we’re leaving?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Race breathed, a smile on his lips. Davey returned it, just for a second, before slipping inside. Race’s smile grew to a grin as he waited for Davey to come back. Davey reappeared a minute later, walking over and wrapping an arm around Race’s waist.

“Ready?” he asked. Race took Davey in: his half lidded gaze, the tightness of the hand on his waist, the intensity in his eyes. It was enough to send a rush of excitement through him. He smiled up at him.

“Absolutely.”

#ravey #davey jacobs #david jacobs #racetrack higgins #my writing #newsies #newsies fic #newsies live

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ihavetoomanyocs · 6 years

Text

Sea Turtle- Albert DaSilva

That Soulmate AU where everything written on person A’s skin shows up on the same spot on person B’s.

Skye was unsure of how she felt about the soulmate system. Her own parents had been a failed match, so she wasn’t entirely sure how much she actually believed in it. Sure, seeing some of her friends find their soulmates had been nice, and she’d been seeing her soulmate’s writings on her skin for a year now, but they never responded to her. She had no idea if they could even see her writings yet.

The first thing she saw on her skin was a couple math equations on her wrist. She’d written a couple of question marks after them, but never got a response. And now, a year later, the seventeen year old was convinced that she would never get to meet her soulmate because she didn’t have one.

Everyone got the soulmate talk in middle school, before they were teenagers. At some point during your teenage years, writing would start to appear on your skin that wasn’t written by you. If you got to the age of twenty and couldn’t see the writings, then you probably didn’t have a soulmate. Skye’s grandfather had been that way, and had married a woman who was the same. If you got to the age of twenty and could see the writings, but that person couldn’t see yours, then they were your soulmate, but you weren’t theirs. Skye was terrified that this was what was happening.

“Skye, come on, you still have three years to find your soulmate,” Race, her best friend, said one day. They were at lunch, waiting for a few of their friends to join them. Skye had been sadly staring at her arm as some kind of drawing slowly appeared on it. She was wearing a hoodie, but had her sleeves rolled up. Her soulmate drew on himself all the time, but couldn’t draw to save his life.

“Race, my grandpa didn’t have a soulmate, and my own parents were a failed pair; a soulmate probably isn’t going to happen for me,” she responded.

“Spot’s parents were a failed pair, too,” Race said, mentioning his own soulmate and boyfriend. “And he and I are perfectly fine. Plus Jack and Katherine, too, and Blink and Mush. You’ll find him, Skye,” he said.

“Race, I’m not worried about finding him,” Skye finally confessed. “I’m worried that he might be my soulmate, but I won’t be his,” she said.

Race’s face fell. He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “That’s only happened a couple of times in history, Skye, you know that,” he said softly.

“I know,” Skye replied. She moved her hand back away from his and slid her sleeves back down her arms, hiding the drawing and laying her head on her folded arms with a groan. “Might as well accept it,” she finally said.

“Accept what?” that was Spot, coming up behind her.

“Skye’s convinced that even when she does find her soulmate, that he’ll be hers, but she won’t be his,” Race said.

“Awe, come on, Skye,” Spot started, sitting down next to her, “There’s only been, what, 50 confirmed cases of that in the history of humankind?”

“And I’ll be case 51, then,” she said.

Spot rolled his eyes at her. He had known her since they were five; she was never an over-dramatic person, usually very go-with-the-flow, but this soulmate thing was really taking its toll on her. Especially since she was the only one in their little friend group without her soulmate. What Skye didn’t realize, was that her soulmate was facing a very similar problem.

Albert Dasilva sat on the opposite side of the cafeteria with his friends. JoJo, Elmer, and Henry had already found their soulmates. JoJo’s was a pretty girl named Mary. Henry was with a kid named Finch, and Elmer said he had found his soulmate, but none of them had met them, yet. Albert was the only one to not yet find his soulmate. He couldn’t even see the writing, yet.

JoJo sat next to his friend, drawing on his arm with a pen he found at the bottom of his bag. And by drawing, he really meant that he was just tracing the freckles on Albert’s arm; the redhead had a LOT of freckles.

“You know, Jo, just because I can’t see the writing doesn’t mean my soulmate can’t,” Albert said. “She could be sitting there, watching this show up on her arm, just so confused right now.”

Elmer paused in raising a fry up to his mouth. “How do you know your soulmate’s a girl?” he asked.

“’Cause I’m straight,” the redhead answered, “The soulmate system’s been really good with pairing people up with the gender they’re attracted too. I mean, Henry got matched with Finch, but JoJo got matched with Mary. Henry is attracted to guys, and JoJo is attracted to girls.”

JoJo nodded in agreement, swallowing the food in his mouth, “It’s true; when my aunt met her wife for the first time, she was terrified that it was a guy because Tracey has kind of messy writing. But when she saw that she was a girl, she got so excited.”

Albert pointed to him with a fry, and then said, “And just because I can’t see her writings yet doesn’t mean she can’t see mine.”

“But what if you don’t have a soulmate?”

JoJo glared at Henry for the question. “Henry, come on. That’s just as rare as having someone be your soulmate, but them not being yours! I only know of one in recent years, and that’s that one girl’s grandparents. She sits over there, I think.”

JoJo pointed to a group of students on the other side of the cafeteria. Two girls, and six boys. The girl JoJo spoke of had long black hair braided out of her face, and was wearing an over-sized hoodie with leggings.

“Her name’s Elise, right?” Elmer asked, twisting in his seat to see her.

JoJo nodded, “I work at the art store with her.”

“She goes by Skye, I think,” Albert said. “I’ve talked to her, she’s nice, but she hangs out with Spot Conlon, Race Higgins, and Jack Kelly. Katherine Pulitzer and Crutchie Morris are cool, but those three…” he shuddered.

“How did all of them get those nicknames?” Henry asked, looking confused.

Albert shrugged. “I only know Skye’s. Her eyes are super blue. Oh, and Crutchie; don’t know what happened, but he needs crutches to walk.”

“What’s wrong with Spot, Jack, and Race?” that was Davey. He had just moved to the school a month before with his older sister Sarah, and he had become friends with the four of them. He sat down on Albert’s other side with a lunch box in hand. “Jack seems cool, anyway.”

“Spot is a notorious fighter,” Henry explained. “Haven’t you ever wondered why he always has black eyes and bruises? He’s calmed down since he found out Race is his soulmate, though.”

“And why do Race and Jack elicit shudders?” Davey asked.

“Race’s thing is more that he’s dating Spot, so mess with him, and you get Spot. Jack’s Spot’s brother. Crutchie is, too. The three of them were adopted together, so they’re all pretty protective of each other,” Henry said.

“Race himself is actually pretty cool; I work at his family’s restaurant, remember?” Albert added.

“I want to know when Skye met them,” Elmer said before sticking some more fries into his mouth.

Albert shrugged, “They started Kindergarten together. I don’t remember the four of them not being friends.”

“And why are we talking about these people who we barely know?” Davey asked in confusion.

“Henry over here said that because Albert can’t see the writings yet, that he might not have a soulmate. The only person I know like that is Skye’s grandparents,” JoJo explained.

“Awe, you’ll find your soulmate, Albert,” Davey said. He had his sleeves rolled up, which allowed everyone to see the writing that covered his arm. Whoever his soulmate was, she was a writer.

Albert grinned, “Thanks, Davey.”

Three months later, as Skye was writing her break times on her hand, her advisor came up behind her, ready to give her a job as soon as she got her head set on. Catching sight of the break times and register number on the back of Skye’s hand, he whistled.

“Your soulmate probably doesn’t appreciate that you do that,” he said.

Skye shrugged, “From what I can tell, he can’t see my writings. Hasn’t responded to anything I’ve written, although I can see his stuff,” she said, twisting her arm so that her advisor could see the little doodles he had left that morning.

Her advisor only hm’d in response, and gave her a job to start her shift. Halfway through it, as she was finally sitting down to her lunch break, she noticed it.

What are these times?

Skye held her breath. He could see her writings? With shaky fingers, she picked up a pen and wrote back.

You can see my writing?

She watched as, moments later, letters began to materialize just below her question, on her arm.

Yeah I glanced down and they just appeared. How long…?

Over a year.

There was a pause in the writing. Had she scared him off? Yep, she’d never meet her soulmate.

I’m so sorry. You’ve had to deal with my idiot friends drawing on my arms for a whole year.

Skye let out a laugh. Oh, she was going to like this guy.

They had a long conversation during her lunch, and then some more during her last break. After work, Skye was so excited about finally being able to actually talk to her soulmate that it took her forever to get to sleep. She showed up to school the next day, tired, but happy.

“Morning, Skye,” Race said as he come to her locker that morning. Spot was with him, as was Crutchie.

“Morning!” she grinned at the three boys. They shared a look.

“I haven’t seen you this happy in a while,” Spot said. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the locker next to Skye’s. “Especially on a Monday morning.”

“What, a girl can’t be happy that a new week is starting?” she asked.

Spot just raised a dark eyebrow.

Skye grinned, “He wrote back.”

“Your soulmate?!” Race exclaimed.

Skye nodded and shoved her sleeve up to her elbow. And entire conversation, half in Skye’s neat script in blue pen, and the other half in a messier scrawl in black pen, covered her arm.

“Oh my god, Skye!” Crutchie exclaimed. “Do you know who he is?!”

Skye shook her head. “You know how the system is; names and addresses get blurred out. But I do know that he apparently hates his hair because it’s red, and he lives in New York.”

“Alright, that only narrows it down to a couple thousand guys in New York,” Spot said.

“Spot,” Race nudged his soulmate, “It can’t be that hard to find him; people find their soulmates all the time. Spot and I figured it out by deciding to use a picture. I drew a very specific picture on my arm. Obviously, it appeared on Spot’s arm. That way Spot and I knew where to look and what to look for. The fact that we were already best friends was already a plus.”

Skye nodded, “I think I’ll try that. Thanks, Race.”

Race grinned at her, “Anything to help my favorite girl.”

A few days later, after many conversations on their legs, and the one on their arms washed off, Skye brought up Race’s idea.

So apparently my idiot friend is actually really smart because he gave me an idea for us to find each other.

Skye set down her pen, and waited. Sometimes it took him a while to answer. Finally, though, he did.

What’s the idea?

Skye grinned and set her pen to her skin.

I’ll draw a very specific thing on my arm or the back of the hand. It’ll appear on you, and we can look for the drawing to try and find each other.

Sounds good to me. What do you want to draw?

Skye thought for a moment. Jack was the artist of the group, but Skye was pretty good at drawing.

Just wait and see.

With that, she ran to her room. Grabbing a bunch of colored pens, she got to work drawing a very detailed sea turtle on the back of her hand. A few blocks away, Albert watched in fascination as the sea turtle slowly showed up on the back of his hand.

The next day, Skye made sure that her hand was on full display for everyone to see. Race and Spot were happy that she was implementing the idea, but had warned her that because it’s obviously not someone she already knows, that it probably won’t happen the very first day like it had for them.

“Out of curiosity, Race, what did you draw?” Skye asked once lunch finally came around.

“A dog!” he said proudly.

“A poor excuse for one, maybe,” Spot muttered.

Race rolled his eyes at his boyfriend.

Skye didn’t find her soulmate that day. Or the next day, or the next, or the next. A month into this, and Skye was getting ready to give up on this idea. She sighed as she wrote her break times onto her wrist.

“Still haven’t found him?” that was JoJo, one of her coworkers.

Skye shook her head, “No. It’s been a month, and we’ve been drawing very specific pictures to try and find each other, but it isn’t working.”

“Hey, my best friend is doing that with his soulmate,” JoJo said.

“Hopefully he’s having better luck than I am,” Skye said. She held her hand out in front of her, examining the drawing of a sea turtle on the back of her hand. JoJo glanced at it and looked away, only to suddenly turn and stare, wide-eyed.

“Oh, my God,” JoJo muttered, turning away and practically running back to the break room. Skye watched this, very confused.

When JoJo got back to the break room, he got to his locker, opened it, and pulled out his phone. “Pick up, Al, pick up!” he groaned. While he worked at an art store, Albert was a waiter.

“Hey, this is Albert, ya just missed me. Leave a message, and I’ll get back to ya!”

JoJo cursed a little bit. “Albert, I swear to God, you need to get down to the art shop as soon as you can! It’s really important! I will kick your ass if you don’t!” With that, JoJo tossed his phone back into his locker.

Three hours later, Albert DaSilva walked into the art store, still in his work clothes, having just gotten off. Wearing black jeans and a black shirt with Antonio’s written on it in white script right above the left breast, Albert ran his fingers through his hair. He worked for Race’s family’s restaurant, Antonio’s, making most of his money through tips. He still had his belt around his waist, which had his book in it, a pad of paper and a pen stuffed into it for taking orders. A decent sized wad of money was rubber-banded, all of his tips earned, was also in there, and a few other things that one needed when they were a waiter.

JoJo, upon seeing the redhead, immediately sped-walked over to his best friend. “What took you so long?!” he demanded.

Albert raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I was at work? Race had to come get me because my phone kept going off. I had to tell them I had a family emergency! You’re lucky it was the end of my shift, anyways! What’s so important that you had to blow up my phone?”

“I found your soulmate!”

Albert put his hands on JoJo’s shoulders, “Jo, I told you, that girl was Katherine Pulitzer, Jack Kelly’s soulmate? Of course she had a small painting on her arm, when doesn’t she these days?”

He spoke to his best friend like he was a small child in that moment, a teasing smile on his lips.

JoJo rolled his eyes. “No, not that! Remember a few months ago, when we were talking about Skye Kloppman? I think she’s your soulmate!” he exclaimed.

“Skye Kloppman, my soulmate? Don’t you think I would have noticed in the past month that we had matching drawings on our hands?” he asked, adding in a laugh.

JoJo kept eye contact with his best friend and raised the mic for his headset to his lips, “Skye, could you come up to the front of the store, please?”

Albert didn’t hear her response, but sure enough, the pretty ravenette was walking towards them.

“Hey, Jo, what’s up?” Skye asked.

“Skye, can I see your hand, please?” JoJo asked. When Skye confusedly held up her right hand, he sighed at her, “Your left hand.”

Skye blushed but held up her left hand, palm up. The break times written on her wrist were hidden by the sleeve of the jacket she was wearing. Grabbing her hand, JoJo turned it over so it was palm down, exposing the sea turtle drawing.

“Al?” Albert stared at her hand, eyes wide. Hands now shaking, he gulped and put his hand next to hers, palm down. The drawing of a sea turtle on the back of her hand matched the one on his hand perfectly.

Both looked up with sharp gasps, eyes meeting.

Oh, my God, Skye thought, my soulmate. My actual soulmate.

Finally, Skye smiled widely. “Hi, I’m Skye. I think I’m your soulmate.”

Albert let a laugh escape. “Hi, I’m Albert, I think I’m your soulmate, too,” he said.

“Okay, I’m just gonna leave you two alone,” JoJo said, edging away from his best friend and his coworker.

Finally, they had found each other, in an art store of all places. They grinned at each other.

My very first soulmate AU, not sure how I feel about it. Please let me know how it was!

#albert dasilva #albert dasilva x reader #newsies #newsies imagine #soulmate au #minor sprace #skye kloppman #my oc

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dont-sneeze · 7 years

Note

imagine all the newsies going to their first pride together eyyy (this is supposed to be a prompt but i suck at wording) (also your writing is really good!! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF)

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rbbalmung · 7 years

Text

Quiddsies: Chapter 3

Hey guys! This chapter is in Katherine’s perspective and picks up near the end of the last chapter. I will warn you that this chapter is even longer than the last one, but I think that’s a good thing!

What What Happens:

“Come on, boys! Are we really going to let Wiesel and Pulitzer walk all over us?” Katherine briskly followed the rest of her team, ignoring the glares some the surrounding students were giving her,” Anyone? Darcy?”

She desperately reached forward and pulled her childhood friend back by his sleeve,” Come on, Kitty,” He gently pried her hand off of his sweater,” You and I both know that our fathers would murder us if we joined this strike. I’m in enough trouble with him as it is.”

Mr. Reid had always been too tough on his only child and was practically forcing him to take over the family business as soon as he graduated. Katherine’s father, on the other hand, was the exact opposite; he practically ignored his daughter and actually discouraged her from following in his footsteps. Katherine cringed when the mental image of Darcy’s father roughly grabbing him and threatening that he’d disown him if he didn’t get an outstanding in his O.W.L.s. If he found out that Darcy was purposely skipping class...

The boy with glasses sighed. He obviously didn’t want her to get involved in something that could get her in in trouble, but he recognized the determined glint in her eyes and knew she wouldn’t be giving in. With a worried frown, he pulled her into a tight hug,” Are you really going to do this? It’s not your best idea.”

“We both know that it’s my fault quidditch was taken away in the first place,” Katherine buried her face in her friend’s jacket, instantly being taken back to long nights hiding away from dinner parties and Christmases spent at Hogwarts in order to avoid their families. In many ways, Darcy was the brother Katherine never had, and every fiber of her being didn’t want him to sacrifice his well-being for her,” I have to fight to make things right again. I won’t let everyone suffer because of me; If I’m the last person standing, I’m going to stand firm.”

“....Fine,” She blinked in surprise when her friend pulled away from the hug and waved towards the retreating Slytherin team,” You always have had a way with words, Kitty,” When she sent him an even more confused look, he elaborated,” I will help you, but I can’t do it openly. If you ever need someone to bounce an idea off of, I’d be more than happy to help.”

While it wasn’t full support, the small amount was more than enough for Katherine,” I don’t deserve you, Darcy.”

“I think you’ve got that backwards, but I’ll take the compliment,” He grinned cheekily,” Now go and get the rest of the team to back you up before they make it too far.”

She gave him one last hug before taking his advice and racing to catch up with the Slytherins,” Hey! Hey guys! Wait up! I need to talk to you!” When they showed no signs of stopping, she moved onto her second form of persuasion; a threat,” I swear to god, if you don’t stop right now-”

“You’ll do what, Captain?” Oscar sent her a warning glance, but much to her relief, he stopped to face her,” Or should I call you Princess instead, since that’s what we all know you are.”

She clenched her fists and forced the urge to hex him into tomorrow away. While she would never admit it to anyone, she used to be fairly good friends with the Delanceys. Their dad used to be her father’s bodyguard, meaning that most of their childhood was spent killing time outside of his office. The three’s friendship broke off, however, when they began to attend Hogwarts; The Delanceys got involved with the wrong people, and Katherine didn’t stand for their transition into becoming bullies. There was also a misunderstanding between herself and Morris, but she prefered to forget that ever happened,” I know that you’re all scared, but you heard what Crutchie said; if we stand together, we can fight Pulitzer!” Oscar’s glare intensified, urging her to back away. Sadly, Katherine was never one accept defeat,” And as much as we hate the reputation we have and the glares we get at school for our house colors, we have to stand beside them to get quidditch back.”

Morris stepped forward,” I’d shut up if I were you, Princess.”

“Is that a threat?”

“You heard me loud and clear.”

Suddenly, a short boy with deep black hair stepped between the two. He couldn’t have been past his fourth year, but the amount of gusto he was showing was fairly impressive,” Hey now, is that any way to treat a beautiful lady? I’d back away if I were you.”

She tried to hide her laughter. Was this kid flirting with her? Had something happened between her fifth and sixth year that suddenly made her a boy magnet? Katherine chuckled,” While I appreciate your spunk, Romeo, I can protect myself.”

He gave her a cheeky wink before trudging over to Jojo, nudging his shoulder in excitement,” How did she know my name was Romeo?”

Without the 4th year to be a barrier between them anymore, Morris had no problem getting right in her face. She held her ground firmly, staring straight into his wild eyes with a sense of defiance. The two held each other’s gaze for what felt like an eternity, only breaking the stare-off when Morris emitted a condescending laugh,” You heard what she said, Oscar; She doesn’t need anyone to protect her anymore,” He turned to leave, making sure to purposely knock her aside,” Don’t come running back to me when your Daddy hears about this.”

The brothers, once again, left without sending so much as a glance at Katherine. She mentally chastised herself as she regained her footing; a part of her knew that the Delanceys wouldn’t be on her side, but she couldn’t help but feel her hope dashed as they left her in the dust. Darcy, who had caught up by this point, send her an encouraging thumbs up before following after his friend Bill. Much like the two of them, Bill was raised in a wealthy family and held to almost unreachable standards. Him stepping away from the strike was reasonable.

Katherine sighed, waiting to watch the rest of her team follow suit. It was starting to look like she was going to be the only Slytherin to join the strike, which would not turn out well for her at all. Oh well. Someone had to do it, and if it was going to be her-

“So what now, cap?”

The girl’s heart fluttered when she turned to find two of her teammates smiling back at her,” Wait, you guys are going to strike with me?”

Romeo grinned cheerfully,” Of course! What kind of a gentlemen would I be if I let you do this alone? Plus, I heard that girls like bad boys. I’ll have the ladies all over me in a matter of hours once word gets around.”

She let out a watery laugh, relief filling her up like a balloon,” Thanks, Romeo. What about your friend?”

The fifth year, Jojo, shrugged with an even bigger smile on his face,” I really wanted to strike for quidditch, I just didn’t want to be the only one. I was waiting for someone else to join with me.”

“...Really?”

“You said it yourself,” His smile shifted into a more bittersweet one,” The other houses don’t exactly like us.”

She couldn’t say he didn’t have a point,” I’ll take it! Now, let’s go meet back up with the others before they assume we dropped out altogether.”

==============================================================

By the time Katherine, Romeo, and Jojo had returned to the pitch, the strikers were all talking over each other. The words “Weasel”, “Detention”, “Durmstrang”, and several profanities popped out of the conversations like neon signs, drawing Katherine closer to the group. She couldn’t say she was surprised when Jack’s voice rang out above the rest,” Come on, Finch, are you telling me you’re scared of Durmstrang?”

“I’m not scared of anything!” The boy replied defensively. Many of the students in on the conversation sent him incredulous looks, causing him to shrivel up slightly,” But the last time I sent my owl there, he returned missing a ton of feathers!”

“Why don’t you just send your owl, Jack?” One of the Ravenclaws, Specs, pointed out,” You’re friends with Spot Conlon, aren’t you?”

“You know Spot Conlon?” Katherine felt the words leave her lips before she could stop them. Spot Conlon was the youngest professional quidditch player in Europe, and had gained himself quite the reputation from playing as a beater for the Hungarian Horntails. While he wasn’t her favorite quidditch player, she couldn’t deny the giddy feeling that bubbled inside of her at the thought of interacting with him,” How do you know Spot Conlon?”

A slight smirk snuck its way onto Jack’s face as he hopped forward to meet her,” Well, what are you doing here?”

“Asking a question,” Good answer, Kat. Keep him on his toes,” Do you have an answer?”

“Spot Conlon and I are both from New York City. I met him at the Quidditch World Cup last year, so we write each other back and forth to keep in touch. Since he goes to Durmstrang, we’re trying to decide whose owl we’re sending to him,” When she waved for him to explain, his grin grew even wider,” We’re trying to spread the word to the other schools to get their support for the cause. We figured that if we can get everyone on board, we’ll make a bigger commotion,” The brunet stuffed his hands in his pockets and retreated back to the group, silently baiting her to tag along,” You know, for someone who doesn’t care about quidditch, you sure spend a lot of time on the pitch. What is that about?” He winked,” Are you following me?”

“Who said I didn’t care about quidditch? I am the captain of the Slytherin team, aren’t I?” Katherine crossed her arms,” And no, I’m not following you: I’m here to join the strike.”

She tried to ignore the weirdly adorable way Jack’s eyes lit up when she said that and flipped to face an extremely skeptical Davey,” Didn’t you just walk away an hour ago?”

“I was getting reinforcements,” She motioned towards the two boys behind her, both of whom waved eagerly,” Jojo and Romeo also want to join the cause. We figured that you wouldn’t properly gain Headmaster Wiesel’s attention without all four houses participating.”

“I wouldn’t call three people joining participation,” Albert backed his captain up.

“Hey now, any help is good help,” Katherine both relaxed and tensed up when she felt Jack clap his hand on her shoulder,” You heard what Crutchie said earlier; if we stand together, we can accomplish anything.”

She nodded politely while simultaneously shrugging his hand away. To say that she had mixed feelings about Jack was an understatement. While she wanted to believe that she didn’t care about the stupid flirt with the outrageously large ego, the playbill with a beautiful sketch of her consistently burned a hole in her bag as a reminder of her confliction. No matter. Now wasn’t the time to mull over feelings, it was the time to make a difference,” Speaking of help, I’ve got a way to spread the word not only to the students, but other wizards as well.”

Crutchie rose his eyebrow,” What do you mean?”

“I’m a writer,” To prove her point, she pulled a notepad and quill out of her bag,” If you guys will let me interview you, I’ll whip together an article and send it to the quibbler.”

“The quibbler?” Davey choked out a laugh,” They’re not exactly the most respected news source around.”

Much to her surprise, a Hufflepuff girl with mousy brown hair stood up for her,” What are you suggesting we do instead? Send it in to the Daily Prophet? I’m not sure if you’ve noticed or not, but they’re the reason we’re striking in the first place.”

“But nobody reads the Quibbler,” Elmer pointed out,” How much help will a failing paper be?”

“More help than no paper,” Katherine retorted as she squared her shoulders. Jojo wasn’t kidding when he said the other houses didn’t trust them, for at the moment, Jack and the hufflepuff girl seemed to be the only two people onboard with her,” Look, I know that this doesn’t look ideal, but I promise, I will get us the space.”

There were a few beats of silence with every quidditch player mulling her proposition over. Finally, Crutchie spoke up,” You really think you could get us in a paper?”

“With a story like this?” A small smile flitted over her lips,” We’re gonna make the front page.”

A collective gasp rang throughout the crowd as the group turned to see each other: Mush and Kid Blink instinctively grabbed each other's shoulders, Specs’s glasses had slipped down to the brim of his nose, Dutchey was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement, and Davey had reached behind himself to grab Crutchie’s hand. If Jack was excited, he was good at hiding it,” Well, are we all in collective agreement to allow the Slytherins to join the strike?”

A huge grin broke across Katherine’s face when all of the quidditch students cheered in unison.

=============================================================

The rest of the afternoon was spent either planning, socializing, or in Katherine’s case, starting interviews. While she was nervous at first, some of the things she learned put her at ease. For example, Elmer wanted to play quidditch because it was tradition for his family to try out. He was hoping to become co-captain the following year and eventually take over the team once Race graduated.

Buttons, the Hufflepuff chaser, was also a prefect and quite possibly the sweetest person Katherine had ever met. The first thing he asked was if he could still help the kids in his house during the strike, to which she couldn’t say no to. It was oddly refreshing to see someone put others before themselves, especially when she came from a house of self-sufficient students.

However, the student she was most curious about was a Mr. Jack Kelly: He had spent a good majority of the day working on his letter to Spot, using his free time to check on the newly formed union members. With Katherine spending every available moment to interview the others, it was starting to look like the two wouldn’t meet up until the next day.

Katherine had been interviewing Davey and his little brother, Les, up until the sun had nearly set. When it became evident that Bunson, the groundskeeper, would come after them if they didn’t leave soon, the two bid her goodbye and headed back up to their rooms. She was about to follow suit when the silhouette of a certain strike leader caught her eye. The auburn haired girl made sure to straighten her shoulders and keep her chin held high before heading in his direction,” So what’s your story? Are you planning on playing quidditch professionally to pay for art school?”

He visibly lit up when she approached him, but scoffed at her question,” Art school? Are you kidding me?”

“But you’re an artist. You’ve got real talent,” To prove her point, she dug an extremely familiar playbill out of her bag and held it out. Katherine watched his expression shift from confusion to a touch of bashfulness as he observed his work,” You should be pursuing art-”

“You kept it?”

“-instead of focusing on-” Her heart leapt straight into her throat when she finally processed what he asked and the way he was looking at her. Damn, how was she supposed to react when he was staring at her with that much admiration? Katherine cleared her throat and regained her bearings,” O-Of course. I wasn’t kidding when I said you had real talent,” Reel it in, Kat. You’re supposed to be interviewing him, not tripping over yourself like a silly schoolgirl,” You should place your focus on your art instead of quidditch.”

He shrugged half-heartedly,” Maybe that’s not what I want.”

She eagerly pulled her notepad and quill out of her bag, ready to record,“ Then tell me what you want.”

“...Can’t you see it in my eyes?” Katherine glanced up from her writings to see him sending her the cheekiest grin she had ever laid eyes on. That was more like it; this was the Jack Kelly she had heard hushed rumors about in the hallways. The same boy that had jumped into so many people’s pants that nobody could keep count and slacked in all of his classes because he enjoyed vexing the professors. She had been fooling herself when she thought he gave a damn about anything but himself.

With newly found confidence, Katherine rolled her eyes and walked straight past him,” Yeah, okay,” She was about to put her supplies away and call it a day, but the Gryffindor reached forward and gently grabbed her by her elbow. As much as she wanted to deny it, the look Jack was giving her was the exact same look she had given Darcy earlier that day. With a deep breath, she decided to give him a second chance,” Have you always been their leader?”

“Davey’s the brains, I’m just the blowhard,” The brunet replied honestly,” He actually knows what he’s doing.”

The voice in the back of her head insisting that there was more to Jack that meant the eye was screaming at her to say something, but she was honestly too shocked to investigate,” Modesty is not a quality I would’ve pinned on you.”

“Gee, thanks,” She chuckled at his response, but was not at all ready for his next question,” What about you, huh? Why’re you striking with us?”

She hoped that she hid the wave of nerves that rolled into her stomach well and nonchalantly crossed her arms,” I’m standing up for...,” Katherine frantically searched her brain for any excuse that could get him off her back for at least a little while,”...women’s rights.”

Unfortunately, he seemed to catch on,” What, aren’t you sure?”

“We live in a world where witches are barely placed on quidditch teams. It’s bad enough that there are barely any girls on in general, but if we take quidditch away for good, there’s no guarantee that they’ll let ladies play in professional teams,” Well, it wasn’t a lie. Katherine felt strongly about equal rights, and the surge of pride that swelled in her chest whenever she announced she was the Slytherin quidditch captain was a feeling she didn’t want to be taken away from other girls,” Don’t you feel the same?”

The familiar look of admiration crept back into Jack’s eyes as he smiled at her,” ‘Course. I’ve seen you, Smalls, and Sniper play. You girls are a force to be reckoned with.”

She shook her blush away and quickly changed the subject,” So tell me about this week. What are you hoping for?”

“I’d rather tell you what I was hoping for tonight.”

Man, this boy really knew how to screw himself over in her mind,” Mr. Kelly.”

Much to her surprise, he held her eye contact for another few seconds before sighing and giving up,” This week, we’re testing out our boundaries and how easy they’ll give in. If that doesn’t work, we head straight to Pulitzer’s office and protest.”

The auburn haired girl’s heart stopped. Why the heck were they planning on doing that?! That was dangerous! If her father so much as caught word that she was going to be there-

“Are you okay, Ace?”

She snapped away from her snare of negative thoughts to find Jack looking directly at her, his eyes laced with worry,” I’m fine. It’s just...aren’t you scared?”

“Do I look scared?” He waited a beat, subtly slipping his hands in his pockets before whispering,” Ask me again in a week.”

To say she was impressed would be an understatement. As a Gryffindor, she figured that he would brashly declared that nothing could scare him. To her, admitting that he was just as nervous as she was was a sign of true bravery,” Good answer,” Katherine stated honestly, hoping that the genuineness of her words shone through her smile. It seemed that they had, because the same lovestruck look that she constantly caught him sending her returned in a snap. The more that she saw the pure bliss shining in his gorgeous, green eyes, the more she-

Katherine shook her head, mentally berating herself for thinking such things and frantically stuffing her supplies back in her bag,” Goodnight, Jack Kelly.”

He blinked in confusion, seemingly not fully processing her words until she was exiting the pitch,” Hey--Hey Plumber! Where’re you going? It’s not even dinner yet!”

“I’ve got an article to start. I’ll see you in the morning,” She replied cheekily,” And off the record...,” Katherine decided against listening to the voice in her head warning her to stay away and sent Jack one last grin,” I’m pulling for us to win.”

A wave of relief washed over her when the boy’s familiar smirk settled back on his face,” Yeah, alright. Make sure you write it good, Plumber.”

#newsies #Quiddsies #hogwarts newsies au #katherine plumber #jack kelly #darcy reid #oscar delancey #morris delancey #davey jacobs #romeo #jojo #quidditch #hogwarts #crutchie #smalls #albert #pulitzer

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racebox-of-higgars · 3 years

Text

Take Me Captive, Set Me Free - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of my sprace pirate AU fic is now out. TW for violence and misgendering in this one. Updates will be moved to Wednesdays and Saturdays now! Enjoy!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30592184/chapters/77412707

@angelslibrary

When Race woke up, his whole body ached. Specifically his head, that was the worst part, but his arms and legs burned too. Memories of the night before were hazy, something about winning a competition, and the stable boy? Something to do with Spot? He remembered talking to him, though the details of the conversation were slightly foggy. God, how drunk had he been? Vaguely, he recognised that he wasn’t in his room, but instead was in Spot’s. How had he ended up in Spot’s bed? He flopped back against the pillows, arm covering his eyes. His head was pounding, and he just wanted to go back to sleep, but he figured that wasn’t an option.

Not long later, Spot poked his head around the door.

“You awake?” He asked quietly. Race groaned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Spot came in fully and Race pushed himself up on his elbows.

“Why am I in your bed?”

“I figured you’d probably have a killer headache and it would be quieter in here than your room.” He handed Race a glass of water. “Drink this, it’ll help.” Race took it gratefully. “Where did you sleep then?”

“I took your bed.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Race slowly downed the water.

“I know, but it’s okay. You probably needed the extra sleep.” He sat down beside Race. “How much of last night do you remember?”

“Not much, just winning some competition, and us talking, but I don’t remember much of what we said.” Spot looked relieved and Race wondered for a moment why.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much.” Race nodded, and immediately regretted it when pain shot through his head. “You should get up soon. Crutchie saved you some breakfast, but it’s gonna get cold if you leave it much longer.”

“Alright, thank you.” Spot nodded and left.

“You like him, don’t you?” Jack said, materialising out of nowhere beside Spot.

“Piss off.”

“You do!” He insisted.

“What makes you think that?”

“First of all, you let him stay here. If it was anyone else, you would’ve sold them on, but you didn’t. Secondly, Morris.” Spot opened his mouth to speak, but Jack cut him off. “And last night. You were looking at him like he hung the stars and moon in the sky. You don’t look at anyone else the way you look at him, you don’t smile at anyone else in that way. You like him.” Spot was quiet for a moment. Fuck.

“It doesn’t matter.” He mumbled. “Why not?”

“Cus he won’t ever want me in that way, and even then, I don’t know if I can do the whole relationship thing.”

“Judging from last night, I highly doubt that first part,” Jack pointed out.

“Just drop it, Jack. Nothing’s gonna happen.” Jack’s face fell.

“Alright.” He left Spot alone.

Truth was, Spot did like Race. A lot. However, relationships weren’t something Spot did. He had given his whole heart to his ship, and he couldn’t help but worry that if he allowed room for someone else, his crew would slowly slip away. After all, his crew always came first to him, they were more important to him than anything else. There was nothing else that could replace his crew, and nothing else would replace his crew. These people were his family, and he wasn’t going to risk putting them at jeopardy. He would hide his own feelings for Race, no matter what. He couldn’t risk losing the one thing that mattered the most to him.

Race left Spot’s room shortly after Spot, met by wolf whistles from Albert. His brow furrowed in confusion, but he shook his head. It probably had something to do with whatever he had won last night. He made his way to the galley, smiling at Crutchie.

“Morning, Race!” Crutchie said cheerfully, handing him two buttered rolls and a glass of water. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been trampled by a horse.” Crutchie laughed.

“It’ll get easier each time.”

“Oh, God no. I’m never drinking again.”

“That’s what they all say. Just you wait, tonight you’ll be drinking again.” Race’s stomach turned at the thought of alcohol.

“No thanks. Definitely not tonight, anyway.” Crutchie nodded slowly, almost as if he didn’t quite believe Race.

“You should consider yourself lucky, Spot doesn’t normally let people sleep in when they’re hungover.” Race frowned.

“It’s probably because it’s my first time.”

“I’m not so sure.” What was that supposed to mean?

Spot gave Race less chores than normal that day, which Race was more than grateful for. He still helped when turning the ship, but Finch took his place setting the sails and someone had done his chores for him. His bed was neatly made, his change of clothes neatly folded at the foot. When he noticed, he couldn’t help his smile.

“Hey, Racer!” Buttons ran up to him.

“Yeah?”

“I made a load of clothes out of your old wedding dress, so you won’t have to keep borrowing Albert’s.” Race grinned.

“Really? You didn’t have to do that.”

“I kinda did, it is my job after all.” They laughed. “C’mon, we can make sure it fits right.”

It fit him perfectly, no parts of it too loose, none too tight. It was warm too, but not bulky. Buttons was a wizard with a sewing needle.

“How is it?” He asked, studying the fit.

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

“Thank you for letting me use the dress. I got enough material out of it to make new clothes for everyone.” Race smiled.

“I just wanted to get rid of it to be honest. I’m glad it helped.”

The crew lazed on the deck, taking in the sun while they could. Race stretched out, taking off his scabbard and setting it next to him. The ocean was still, and there was hardly any wind, just enough to keep them in motion. Race was grateful for the breeze, it was just enough to keep the heat from becoming unbearable. There was nowhere for them to be, so they allowed themselves to bask in the sun, letting the wind carry them wherever.

“We got a problem!” Finch yelled from the crows nest. Spot, Jack and Al shot to their feet, running to the side of the ship.

“Fuck, it’s the royals!” Al called. Panic shot through Race. They were looking for him, there was no doubt about it. If he was caught, he would have to go back to the castle, possibly have to go through the wedding. He would lose his family.

“Do you think they’ve seen us?” Elmer asked, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“There isn’t a chance they haven’t, they’re heading right for us.” Jack ran a hand through his hair as he spoke, a nervous habit.

“Is there any way we could escape?” Race asked.

“No, they’re bigger and faster than us. This is going to end in a fight, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.” Spot said, face solemn. “We haven’t got long to prepare, come on.” Everyone ran into their dorm rooms, presumably to get weaponry for the oncoming fight. Race simply stood in the middle of the deck, completely lost.

“Race!” Spot yelled. “What are you just standing there for?”

“I don’t have a weapon! What am I meant to do?”

“Fuck,” Spot muttered under his breath. “I have a spare cutlass in my office, take that one.” Race nodded, sprinting into Spot’s office. The cutlass from his very first day still hung on the wall. He didn’t take a moment to admire it this time though, instead pulling it off of its hook and sliding it into his scabbard. It was heavier than he expected and he briefly wondered how Spot expected him to hold his own in a fight against trained soldiers when he had never even held a sword before, but he pushed the thought from his mind. He would burn that bridge when he got to it.

He made his way back onto the deck where everyone else had congregated. All of them were pale with panic, but their faces were hard with determination. Spot shouted orders from the front.

“Sniper, Albert, get downstairs and prepare the cannons. If we can attack first, that’ll give us a slight advantage.” The two nodded, disappearing down below deck.

“Jack, Finch, Blink, Eclipse, you four are our best close range fighters, you’ll be our first line of defence.” The four of them nodded, one hand on their swords, ready to draw them and fight at a moment's notice. “Smalls, Crutchie, you two are our long-range fighters. Attack them from high up.” They both nodded, climbing the rigging. Smalls helped Crutchie up and both of them sat on the platform, slingshots ready. “JoJo, Buttons, Specs, you three will be our second line of defence. Race, Elmer, Romeo, Mush, you’ll be our third line. EVeryone got that.” Everyone nodded, faces stony. “They may have more manpower, and better training, but we have heart, okay? We have to win this fight, okay? Look out for one another.”

One thing Race certainly did not anticipate was the way the entire ship shook as the cannons fired. He stumbled, almost losing his footing as Albert and Sniper set them off. Holes appeared on the side of the enemy ship, but not nearly enough to do damage. The crew watched in silence as more cannons were fired, this time falling short. The enemy ship drew closer with each passing second.

Race drew his cutlass, hands shaking in fear.

Men swung onto the ship, swords drawn. Immediately, Crutchie and Smalls rained down projectiles on them. The men looked up for a moment to see where they were coming from, and in the moment of distraction, Jack, Eclipse, Finch, Blink, and Spot launched themselves at the soldiers, swords drawn. There were shouts of pain and anger from both sides and Race watched, rooted to the spot as Eclipse sliced across a guard’s thigh. The man cried out, legs buckling and Eclipse kicked him, sending him falling off the ship.

More guards took his place. Soon, each person aboard Brooklyn was fighting at least one guard, with some taking on two or even three. A small boy ran through a guard’s legs, laughing and shouting.

“Why the fuck is there a kid here?” Race yelled over the noise of the battle, struggling against the guard he fought.

“Hey!” The kid shouted. “I’m ten! ...almost.”

“That’s Les, he likes to see how long he can pretend he doesn’t exist when we get a new crew member!” Spot explained, blocking an attack with his cutlass and kicking another guard in the chest. The guard fell back against Jack, who slit his throat. Race’s eyes widened as he recognised the guard, but he couldn’t focus on that.

He made eye contact with his opponent, blocking each of his attacks. He was clumsy in his movements, but as long as he wasn’t getting stabbed, he was happy. The guard looked at him, eyes suddenly widening.

“I found her!” Race froze. He tried to back away, but crashed into another guard. They surrounded him, grinning. Panic shot through him and his stomach turned. He couldn’t go back, he couldn’t.

“Spot!” He screamed. “Jack, Albert, help!” Suddenly there were hands pinning his arms behind his back. “Spot!”

A blow to the back of the head cut him off, and everything went dark.

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