there might be a life here

by Whatsisname

Summary:

Idk I just wrote newsies but gayer. and I may or may not change things (such as the ending) (and whatever happened with Jack and Katherine).

Notes:

hiii
this is my first fic ever!
I used the Newsies jr. script for reference, so it's a bit different than the dialog in the Broadway show.
Comments and Kudos are very appreciated <3

Chapter 1: Prologue

Ask anyone of the newsies and they'd tell you, without a doubt, that Davey Jacobs was the most well-behaved newsie in the state of New York. Anyone except Davey, that is. Davey knew that he wasn’t that well behaved. He sometimes wouldn’t do his homework until his history teacher was collecting it, he would sometimes raise his voice at Les or fight with Sarah, but hands down, the worst thing Davey ever did was fall in love with Jack Kelly.

 

Jack Kelly was the leader of the lower Manhattan newsies and the leader of the newsboy strike of 1899. He was like the king of New York, as Racetrack liked to say. Jack was an inspiration to all. He was heroic and charismatic and creative and was an amazing leader. He also thought Davey was all things wonderful.

 

Jack Kelly made David Jacobs feel alive.

Chapter 2: Cowboy makes an entrance

The day that Davey joined the newsies was a stressful one. His dad was hurt, his mom and sister were at a lace factory, and his little brother, Les, was being quite the brat. Les decided that he needed to ask every question a 9-year-old could before they left for the circulation gates. Davey loved his family very much, but he thought that a 17-year-old shouldn’t be in charge of making sure his family eats. Davey knew that he should be happy that his father’s injury wasn’t worse, but he couldn’t help but be mad. Davey had just sorted out his schedule for settling into the summer. And then he has to go sell damned newspapers with his brother so his damned family can still eat.

 

When Davey got to the circulation gates, he could already tell that this job was going to be rough. He saw some kids harassing an older man that had done seemingly nothing. The newsies were calling him Weasel. Davey didn't know if the guy was rude, or if the Manhattan newsies were. 

 

Once Davey and Les were at the gate, he asked for 20 papers. Nothing absurd, considering that Davey had never sold anything in his life. This is when Davey learned that you have to pay for papers before you sell them. The man that was being called Weasel looked exasperated and huffed out,

“Kid, you gotta give us a dime if you wanna sell your papers” 

Davey had only been this confused when his teacher tried to explain that they were going to put letters in math.

“I'll pay you when I sell them?” Davey replied, unsure of how the man would respond.

“Funny joke kid, c’mon cash up front.”

“Oh. okay" Davey paid his dime and dragged his brother to the side. When Davey was flipping through the papers, he noticed that he only got 19 papers. Davey was not about to get cheated out of half a cent worth of papers.

“Excuse me? Sir? I only got 19 papers” This was when Davey noticed the most beautiful boy he'd ever seen in his life. The man Davey bought papers from had said something, Davey didn't hear him. The boy was like if the word “sun-kissed” was a person. This boy had chocolate hair and tanned skin and sepia eyes and, rational thoughts be damned, this boy was golden. Davey could’ve stood there all day, drinking in the gorgeous sight. Then he realized the boy was talking to him.

“I’ll spot ya 50 papes” Davey damn-near swooned at the boy’s accent. But he eventually processed what was said to him.

“I don't want more papes” Davey replied to the golden boy.

“What kind o’ newsie don’t want more papes” 

“Well see, i'm not really a newsie, i'm only here because my dad got hurt an-” Davey stammered

“Well, yous sellin papes. That makes ya a newsie” said golden boy, effectively cutting Davey off. Davey grabbed Les’ wrist to go and sell their 20 papers, but the golden boy stopped them.

“Where are yous goin? We was gonna be sellin’ partners” this made Davey stop short.

“We were?”

“‘Course, i don't got a cute brother to look aftah”

“Davey! He says I'm cute!” Les exclaimed.

“Course you is. say kid, how old are ya?” golden boy asked.

“Wait one second, what is your name? If we are going to sell together, I should know something about you.” Davey asked the golden boy, not because he wanted to sell together, but because Davey needed a name to put to his pretty face.

“That's the famous Jack Kelly, he escaped jail on the back of Teddy Roosevelts’ carriage. Oh, I forgot to tell ya, I’m Crutchie.” says one of the newsies, fittingly holding a crutch. Jack Kelly, that was one of those names that would get stuck inside your head. Jack Kelly would be floating around in Davey’s mind until the end of time.

“Well kid, you now ya knows me. What are yous names?” said Jack

“I'm Davey, and this is my little brother Les.”

“I'm 10! Almost…” Les trailed off.

“Well kid, if anyone asks, yous is seven.” Jack then spit into his hand and held it out to Les. Les excitedly did the same and they shook.

“That's disgusting” said Davey, even though that couldn’t be further from what he was feeling. Watching Jack spit in his hand was obscene in Davey's eyes. Davey felt like he should never look at anyone again, just so the image of Jack stayed burned in his eyes forever. Davey might know more words than his parents combined, but there was no word to describe Jack. He was torn from his train of thought when he realized how he was thinking of this boy. Davey knew what happened to guys that liked other guys. Davey knew that his parents agreed with the “extermination of queers” as his father put it. His mother wasn’t as extreme, but Davey had a feeling that she wouldn’t like it very much if he brought home a boy. Davey knew that his newly formed infatuation had to go, for his and Jack’s safety. Davey shook his head to clear it and Jack gave him an odd look before saying

“Alright newsies, hit the streets!”

Chapter 3: Davey only understands about a half of what Jack says

Davey had quickly discovered that selling papers was not for the faint of heart, and by extension, him. Davey was on the streets the whole day and still hadn’t sold all his papers. Les, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. It seemed that every businessman or woman on the streets of New York City wanted to buy a paper from Davey’s kid brother. At the end of the day, Davey still had one more paper left.

Davey was heading back to Newsie square, where he was going to meet up with Les before they went home. When he was trying to sell his last paper, Jack, the golden boy, had come up behind him. Jack planted his hands on Davey’s shoulder, along with a “rah” to surprise him. It worked very well, Davey nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Goodness, Jack! Are you trying to kill me?”
“Sorry Davey,” said Jack, with a huge grin on his face, not looking sorry at all. Davey was starting to notice the way Jack stood. He seemed to stand with all his weight on one leg and hands shoved in his pockets. With his neckerchief around his neck, Davey thought that he looked rather like a cowboy in the western comics Les loved. So, he told Jack this.
“Hey Jack, you know you look like a cowboy, right?”
“Oh god, don’t tell ‘im that” huffed Crutchie, who appeared around a corner with Les.
“Ay Crutch! Ya bastard, ise a Cowboy! Davey says so!” said Jack, jokingly punching Crutchie in the shoulder. Davey made a noise akin to a mouse at Jack’s choice of profanity, before clapping his hands on Les’ ears.
“There’s a kid right here, watch your mouth!” hissed Davey, not looking forward to explaining to his father where Les had learned such words. Crutchie gave Jack a look that Davey had seen on his mother’s face when Davey let slip a damn at the dinner table.
“Sorry Davey” said Jack again, still not looking very sorry. Davey counted his coins and gave Jack the appropriate amount. He then, using his hands that were still on Les’ head, ruffled his hair before saying,
“C’mon Les, our folks are waiting on us.”
“Davey, you still have a paper! Can I sell it! Please!” said Les excitedly, while giving Davey puppy-dog eyes. Davey knew that he wouldn’t be selling it himself, so he handed it to his brother who was nearly vibrating with excitement. Les quickly scurried off to some woman, who bought it as soon as Les coughed.

“Well, we’d best be heading home. We have dinner waiting for us. Thank you two for everything today. we’ll be back tomorrow unless something really good or bad happens. Do you two have something to eat? Our family might be able to spare a bit of something-or-other.” rambled Davey. He knew the only reason that he kept talking was to see the way the setting sun reflected in Jack’s eyes. Davey wanted Jack to come home with him so he’d never leave Davey’s sight again. Davey thought that he should be allowed to be selfish every once in a while, and that Jack would be his indulgence. As soon as he decided this, Davey remembered that he was a boy and Jack Kelly, resident cowboy, was also a boy. That would make it unlawful to be in love or be married. Davey’s thoughts shocked him, he met this boy today and was already thinking about marriage. He knew he should be rational, but the facts were there. Jack was golden. And Davey, he basked in the glow that reflected off that golden boy.

By the time Davey had neatly packed his feelings back into the shelves of knowledge in his brain, the sun had mostly set. Jack was no longer illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. The brothers were about to start their way back home when they four boys hear a booming voice,
“KELLY!”
Jack looked so very frightened at the sound of this voice. Jack grabbed Davey's wrist and took off running through the narrow alleys of lower Manhattan. Davey grabbed Les’ wrist before he was out of reach.
Only once they climbed into a window from a balcony on the side of a building, did Jack stop running. He still had this look in his eyes, it was a wild look. This look was like when Davey’s mother had brought him to the market to get fresh meat, meat so fresh they killed it right next to the scale. The look in Jack’s eyes looked like he was prey being hunted. Davey decided that he never wanted to see this look again.

Notes:

I haven't decided on any sort of schedule for posting chapters. i just sorta type for a few hours and then post, not a very good work ethic lmao
shoutout to Words Fail from DEH bc I listened to it 4 million times while writing this chapter.
bonus points if you recognize the chapter titles. this one is way more obscure than the last.

Comments and Kudos are always appreciated <3

Chapter 4: And I know, Jack will take you home

Davey was still pretty winded after his impromptu run, and very confused as to why they ran from that guy. He only got more confused when he heard music playing.
“Hey Jack, why’d we run? Are you in trouble?” asked Les, with that weird condescending tone that only a 9 year-old can produce.
“That was Snyder, the spider. He runs a jail for underage kids called the Refuge. The more kids he locks up, the more money he earns. Only problem is that all the money he makes goes straight into ‘is pocket.” spits out Jack
“Jack, did you get locked up in there?” asked Davey, very softly.
“Yea, twice. First time was because I was sleeping on a park bench. The second time, ise was takin some food to give to kids in there. Snyder didn’t spend much on food for a rich man.”
“Oh, Jack, I'm sorry.” said Davey, unsure as to how to reply to a friend that just told you he was arrested for trying to help people. Davey finally took in where he was, backstage it seemed, and realized he had no idea where he was.
“No kids in my theatre! Shoo!” at the sound of this voice, a much kinder than the last one yelling at Jack, and a woman this time, Jack snapped his head around as yelled back
“Even me Ms. Medda?”
“Is that Jack Kelly? Get yourself over here and give me a hug!” exclaimed the woman, who seemed to be called Ms. Medda.

The three boys made their way over to Ms. Medda, and goodness, she was grandiloquent. She was wearing a dress made of many layers of pink and purple fabric. Davey could tell she was rich, purple was very expensive, and the amount of it she was wearing probably cost the same amount as a week’s worth of food for Davey’s family. Jack ran over and gave her a hug, Les, on the other hand, was staring at some actors with very small skirts and pale tights.
“Davey, Les, this here is Ms. Medda Larkin. She's the greatest star in the Bowery, she also owns the place.” Said Jack after he was released from her grasp. Davey went over to give her a handshake, but he was also caught in a very frilly purple hug. Ms. Medda smelled vaguely like lavender, but if it was spicy.
“Sorry to barge in here, Medda, we’s having a bit o’ a situation wit Snyda” explained Jack. Davey guessed that this wasn’t the first time this had happened, because Ms. Medda seemed unphased, though a bit sympathetic.
“Of course my dears, stay a while. You’re with Medda now.”

Jack grabbed Davey, who grabbed Les, and they headed up to the catwalks above the audience. Once the boys were settled, it didn’t take long for Les to fall asleep. After all, it was quite late, and they had sold papers all day. Davey, on the other hand, wasn’t tired at all. He was paying attention to Jack, who had taken out a piece of newspaper, turned it the wrong way so the words were upside-down, and had started to sketch. Davey was interested in what Jack was drawing, but he was more interested in seeing the way Jack drew. He was hunched over to get closer to the light source and every so often, he would tilt his paper to the side. Davey had no idea why, as he never had time or money to draw anything beyond mark-ups on essay drafts. Even now, in the dark of the Bowery, Jack was still golden. The stage lights had cast a faint glow onto Jack’s chocolate curls that reflected and made him look almost blond.

Once the show ended, Jack woke both Les and Davey up. Apparently, Davey had drifted off during the number with the performers in very small skirts and pale tights. When Davey awoke, he saw a person sketched on Jack’s piece of paper. Jack saw where Davey was looking and quickly folded the paper and put it in his pocket.
“That one ain’t done yet. Maybe I'll let ya see it when I get some color.” said Jack,
“C’mon I'll walk yous home. I knows this city better than anyone. perks o’ bein a newsie.”

Davey had ended up carrying Les, because he was too tired to walk. Jack had quietly guided them back to newsie square, where Davey had insisted he could get home from there. That and it was late, and Jack also needed to go to sleep, and Davey didn’t want to keep him up any longer.
“G’night Davey, I'll see yous tomorrow”
“You as well, see you at the gates, Jack”
“Hey Davey?”
“Yes Jack”
“Did ya like the show?”
“I did, we should go a time where your life isn't in peril.” Davey really didn’t know why Jack was still talking. The boy should be tired and want Davey to go away. Unless Jack also wanted to know Davey like how he wanted to know Jack. Nope, Davey was very tired and was imagining the blush dusted across Jack’s face. Maybe he had a fever.
“Hey Jack, are you feeling alright? Your face is pretty red” the comment seemed to make it worse.
“Well Davey, its nearly 88 degrees, if yous ain’t hot in that suit, I don’t know what to say. g’night Davey.”
“Wait, Jack. Why would my suit make you-”
“Goodnight Davey, get ya kid brother home” said Jack, very abruptly cutting Davey off.
“Goodnight Jack, get some sleep.” Davey finally turned around, but not before catching one last glimpse of the boy. Illuminated in the streetlights, he was golden. Golden like water reflected in a fountain with pennies at the bottom.

When Davey got home, he tucked Les into bed and lay awake. He knew that he shouldn’t be calling a boy golden, that was reserved for pretty girls, and flowers in the sun. but Jack rose above the girls that were considered pretty by Davey’s classmates. Also, Davey thought rationally, golden was simply an adjective. Gold was a color. And that color happened to be reflected in a person. And that person happened to be a boy. There isn't any issue with using a color to describe a person, right?

Notes:

Y'all, pray for my laptop :'( this girl is so laggy. it isn't even old, I just got it.

Comments and kudos are appreciated <3
once again, extra points for recognizing the chapter title :3

Chapter 5: when dad was still working, we lived halfway normal

The next morning, Davey and Les were late to the circulation gates because Davey needed to help him and Les’s mom carry some groceries up several flights of stairs, into their apartment. However, once the brothers did get to the gates, Jack wasn't there. This immediately launched Davey into a panic.
“Hey Crutchie, do you know where Jack is?” asked Davey
“Sorry Davey, I had’ta sort somethin out. Ise fine, don’t worry ya pretty head about me”, Jack came jogging into the square, looking thoroughly disheveled. His shirt wasn’t fully buttoned or tucked in, he only had one suspender on, only one boot laced, and his hat was on almost sideways. Still though, Davey thought Jack looked gold. Davey knew he had to stop thinking about how gold Jack was. He knew that if he thought this way, he might accidentally call him golden, which might present several issues.
“Guys look! They’re putting up the headline!” suddenly exclaimed Les.

When Davey looked up at the board, he was confused. “New Newsie Price” didn’t seem like a very good headline. It also didn’t seem like good news to anyone other than Joseph Pulitzer, the man that owned the paper.
“They can’t do that! Can they?” asked a teen with a cigar. Davey thinks that this one is called Racetrack. Why anyone would be fine with being called that was beyond Davey.
“Why not Racer? It’s their paper.” Said Crutchie.
“Maybe they’re messin with us.” suggested Jack, before heading over to the distribution cart. “Funny joke Weasel” Jack slapped down two quarters. “I'll take my usual”
“Didn’t you read the headline, kid? It’s sixty cents per hundred” said the guy everyone called Weasel. Davey still didn’t know his name.

Jack snatched up his quarters and sat down on a nearby crate before motioning for the newsies to gather around him. After a while, Jack finally says.
“Newsies o’ Manhattan, we can’t afford to play Pulitzah’s game”
“I don't wanna cause trouble, let's just get our papes.” Says Crutchie.
“No, Crutchie” counters Racetrack, “Jack’s right, we oughta fight the man”

Now, Davey was probably the most logical of all the newsies present, but he wasn’t being very helpful. He was instead admiring the way Jack’s hair looked as the golden boy raked his hands through it. Davey decided that he should help the newsies. After all, he didn’t want to lose Jack from his life already.

“Hey, everyone. We all saw those headlines about the trolly strikes. What if we did that.” suggested Davey, catching on to the first rational thought that crossed his mind.

As soon as Davey said this, Jack looked up at him like he just hung the sun in the sky and said,
“You all heard Davey. We, the Newsies of lower Manhattan, are on strike!”
This brought huge reactions from the newsies. Most of them being positive.

After a short while, the crowd dispersed and Davey felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Hey Davey, nice idea, the boys loved it" Said Jack, coming from seemingly nowhere. “I was thinking we’s head to this deli I know? Its kosher, if youse was curious.”
A golden boy AND a kosher deli? Davey had never agreed to something so quickly in his life.

Notes:

Im sorry for the cliffhanger and short chapter :(
I have school tmr and I technically should be asleep
Yall, I watched a video of Jeremy Jordan singing Run Away With Me. I think my brain chemistry had changed. :3
as always, extra points for recognizing the chapter titles that don't have much to do with the chapter.
Comments and Kudos are very appreciated and give me so much motivation to right <3

Chapter 6: if Jack knew then, what he knows now

Davey and Jack decided to head to the deli for lunch, and Les went to hang out with some of the other younger newsies. On the way to the deli, Jack was rambling about all sorts of things.
“D’ya think Pulitzer is gonna listen to us? Oh, what ‘bout the other newsies? We’s pretty used ta usin our fists to solve problems, ya’know.”
Davey could tell that Jack was simply going to spiral if he kept talking, so he butted in. “Jack, why don't we do some planning over lunch? My mother says its easier to think when you have some food in your system.”
“Oh, kay then. Good suggestion”

At the deli, which Davey still didn’t know the name of, him and Jack got a booth at a window. They decided to just split some cheap sandwich, because neither of them were in a position to be wasting money. Especially now that they wouldn’t be earning any due to the strike. After the boys ordered, Jack went to say something, but was stopped short by some lady that Davey had never seen before.
“Hi, I'm sorry, are you Jack Kelly?”
A look of shock flashed across Jack’s face, “Depends, who are ya?”
“Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm Katherine Pul-, Plumber. Sorry, I’m Katherine Plumber, I work for the New York Sun”
“What sa matta? Don’ cha know youse own name?” asked Jack. Davey didn’t like this woman, and the hesitance on her name confused him even more. Davey wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she just got married.
“Well Ms. Plumber,” Said Davey, “What does a reporter for the Sun want with some newsies from the World?”
“Oh, sorry,” If she apologized one more time, Davey thinks that Jack might get up and leave, “I heard you all in the square earlier, something about a strike?”

Davey wasn't sure what to make of this lady. Some reporter from the Sun that constantly apologized and that knew Jack. Davey might have only known Jack for two days, but he only wanted to protect him, and he didn’t think anything good was going to come from talking to her.

“Well, youse heard right. We’s striking against Pulitzer”
“And why are you doing this? isn't he your boss?” Davey was liking her even less.
“What is this? Is youse trying to interview me for the Sun?”
“Would that be okay? I'm so sorry for not asking first”
Jack did indeed look not okay with this. “Come to the gates tomorrow, and you’ll get ya interview. Oh, and make sure ta bring a camera.” at least she had the decency to look sorry. “Can you leave now? I'm out on lunch”
“I’m-”
“Lady,” Davey interrupted her, “Don’t say you’re sorry, just go. Please?”
The reporter’s head drooped, and she quickly walked out the door. Jack looked quite relieved at her absence. Jack also looked very tired.

“Hey Jack, did you sleep at all? You look pretty tired.”
Jack seemed to somehow look more exhausted when Davey mentioned this.
“Not too well, there was some fire sirens that kept me up for a while. And afta that, there was too much things goin on in my head. Thats why I was late to the gates, I slept though the bell.”

All of this made Davey have several, very poor ideas. He wanted to tell them all to Jack. He thought that Jack might sleep better inside. You can hear sirens a lot less when you’re inside. Davey thought that his bed was pretty big now that Les got his own. Davey wasn’t used to sleeping alone.
“Would it help if you slept inside? Les just got a new bed, I've got plenty of space in mine." Only when this sentence came out of his mouth did Davey realize what he said. Jack’s face had also turned slightly pink. A perfect dusting of blush covering his cheeks, making him look golden.
“D’ya really mean that, Davey?” asked Jack
“Feeling pretty embarrassed, Davey replied “Of course Jack, you can come around anytime.” Davey was praying that Jack’s mind didn’t leap straight to the gutter at his suggestion, because that really wasn’t his intent. Of course, Davey wouldn’t be at all opposed if Jack wanted to do that, but he didn’t have to know. Once again, Davey realized that he really shouldn’t be thinking about doing anything other than sell papers with Jack. but here he was, planning a strike.
“Earth to Davey, is anyone home?”
“Sorry Jack, just got lost in my thoughts for a second.”
“S’all good. If youse really fine with me comin home with ya, I think I will.”
“Course i'm fine with it. I actually haven’t been sleeping so good now that Les has his own bed. The wonders of body heat, you know?”

At this remark, a waiter brought the sandwich and water they had gotten. The boys ate pretty quick, on account of them being teenage boys that hadn’t eaten since the day before. After they ate, they split the bill 50-50. Neither boy wanted to pay for it in full, or want to ask the other to pay.
“Ay Davey, thanks for comin wit me for lunch. I got some things to do, but ill meet you at Newsie Square at 5?”
“Sounds good Jack, Ill see you then.”

Notes:

I love watching the newsies musical while writing newsies fanfiction whilst I see newsies edits on my instagram reels :D
I have no regrets being mean to Katherine. I dont like her. like, how is she the same age as jack??? their relationship feels evil :(

I just saw a local theater event and got to see 11 plays. all high school theatre, but most of them were very good. shout out to the Outsiders, Vox, and The Price.
per usual, extra points for knowing the chapter tile reference that has nothing to do with the chapter :3
Comments and Kudos are always very appreciated <3

Chapter 7: Dying at all is not allowed

Notes:

This chapter may be a bit graphic to some readers, please check the end notes for more content warnings if you are sensitive! I don't want to spoil much, but there is no sex, if that would discomfort you.

Davey had raced home after having lunch at the deli, he wanted to warn his parents that Jack was going to come over. Once he got inside, Davey saw his father sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper. The World, that is, his father didn’t like The New York Sun for whatever reason.

“Excuse me?” his father looked up from the newspaper “would it be fine if my selling partner could sleep at our place? For tonight at the very least?”
“What’s the lad’s name?”
“His name is Jack Kelly.” Davey could never forget that. “He’s almost the leader, but he still sleeps on the streets like most of the other newsies.”
“And where do you plan on having this boy sleep? Did we get another bed while I was at the doctor's?”
“I was thinking he could just sleep on the other end of mine?” Davey was not thinking of making Jack sleep opposite to him, but he didn’t need to give his father more reasons to think he was queer. “Many of the boys at the lodging house do that. They don't have enough beds in there.”

His father seemed to be thinking quite deeply about this. “He can sleep here tonight on account that you probably already told him he could, but if he’s to stay longer, we’ll have a conversation with your mother and him also in the room.”

Davey went slightly red at his father’s comment. “I'm sorry I didn’t ask before. Thank you for letting him stay the night.” his words seemed to fall upon deaf ears, for his father didn’t answer and went back to the paper. The same paper he would have been hawking if he wasn’t on strike.

Later on, when Davey was headed back to the square to pick Jack up, something wasn’t right. He didn’t know what was wrong, he just knew something was. As he got closer to the square his unease only grew. He tried to be rational, he knew his house was close, and it was still light out thanks to the summer sun. All of these thoughts immediately dissipated when he heard some voices he recognized.
“C’mon Oscar, there’s still people out, just leave him. We’re gonna get caught.”

This shook Davey to his core. Oscar and Morris, the one talking, were two young men that had it out for the newsies. Hearing them talk about someone like they weren’t conscious truly worried Davey. As soon as he couldn’t hear them anymore, he started jogging toward the square. He then turned a corner,

And oh god, Davey felt sick

There was a figure on the ground, and they were bleeding.

Davey had never been good around blood, but this was a whole new level. Davey sprinted over to the person to see if they were even responsive. Then he saw it; a bandanna. A very unfortunately familiar bandanna. It was the same one that Jack wore.
“JACK, Jack! Can you hear me?” He was about to shake Jack, but the part of his mind that wasn’t in fight or flight told him that being rough with Jack would be downright idiotic. Thankfully Jack’s sepia eyes fluttered open, at least as open as they could with his eyelids swollen.

“Hiya Dave, what's with the yelling?
“Christ, Jack, you’re gonna be fine, kay? My place ain't too far.”
Davey took off his vest and wrapped it around Jack’s head, which was bleeding. He slowly sat Jack up, noting how he hissed in pain when Davey touched his side. Once Jack was sitting up, he immediately retched and vomited on Davey's shirt.

“Sorry davey.” Jack coughed again and Davey shifted to the side. “Guess the Delanceys soaked me good?”
“I can wash my shirt, Jack. Let’s get you home so you can get patched up.” Davey didn’t want to wear a shirt soaked in bile, so he took it off. It wasn’t too cold, so Davey was fine without a top. Davey whipped his head right around when he heard a low whistle.
“Slow down Davey, youse ain’t got me dinner yet.” said Jack, slowly clapping, before inhaling sharply and clutching his side. “Ise real tired, are we gonna get goin soon?”
Davey flushed red, before remembering Jack was still bleeding from the head. “Yea, c’mon Jack, you can lean on me while we walk.”

The two boys tried to find a position where Jack could walk more than two steps without collapsing with no avail. In the end, Davey picked Jack up, slightly concerned how light he was, and they made their way to the Jacobs’ house. On the walk, Jack kept drifting off, but Davey just continued waking him up and talking. Davey talked for the whole way home about anything he could think of, from his schoolwork, to boys his sister brought home.

Once the boys arrived at the doorstep, Davey knocked, not wanting to put Jack down. He heard someone in the house call out that they’d be there, so he waited for the door to be answered.

“Davey,” his sister said “You don't have to kno- my lord what happened?” She caught sight of Jack bleeding, Davey’s bare chest covered in his blood, and his shirt hanging though his belt loop, covered in vomit.

Davey and Jack were rushed inside, and Les was sent to his and Davey’s room. He didn’t need to see this much blood. Old blankets were laid out on the couch, then Davey finally put Jack down. Jack was still hovering between consciousness, and not. Davey, with the help of his mom, dad, and sister, cleaned Jack and dressed his wounds. Once he was properly cared for, Davey went to the bathroom and washed himself up. However, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he truly noticed the blood all over him. Now, Davey was no doctor, but he was getting even more worried about Jack. People shouldn’t lose that much blood.

As it turned out, Davey didn’t have to be worried about sharing a bed with Jack. Davey fell asleep, slumped over in one of the kitchen chairs that had been brought to the living room, where Jack could see him when he woke up.

If he was going to wake up after nearly bleeding out in Davey’s arms.

Notes:

Content warnings:
Blood
vomiting
it's specifically a head injury
maybe catcalling? not sure if I need to mention that

Thank you to my good friend Mvllygrvbs, for deciding who should get jumped by the Delanceys :3 they didn't know what they were choosing for.

per usual, extra points for knowing the chapter title reference! <3

Comments and Kudos are greatly appreciated <3 (I love comments sm, even if it's short!)

Chapter 8: I could not save Jack, no I can't even save myself

Davey awoke to the sound of rustling and whispers. He heard quiet muttering that sounded a lot like someone begging to not be hurt.
“Please, I promise I'm going to bed right now, sir, please don’t.”
Davey was finally awake enough to realize who was talking, Jack was. This would be a good thing, because it meant that Jack was alive, but Davey was worried what had happened to Jack to make him say such things in his sleep. After a few more moments of listening to Jack plead and tremble, Davey decided that he should wake Jack up.
“Hey Jack” Davey wasn’t sure what to say, “You’re safe, we’re in my living room right now.” Jack’s eyes opened a sliver, and he let out a confused mumble before going back to an uneasy sleep. So, Davey tried again, “Jack, can you hear me?”
This time Jack woke up a bit, and asked, “W’happened Davey?”
“You're awake, thank goodness. How much can you remember from yesterday?”
“We went on strike, right? Because of the prices?”
“Yes, we did-”
“Now David, what did you do?” Davey immediately froze. His father walked into the room, having been woken up by Davey waking Jack up.
“Who'ssat?”
“Jack” Davey said, “This is my father. Father, this is Jack, conscious this time. Jack, can you remember anything else from yesterday?”
“My apologies Jack, I need to borrow my son for a moment.” Davey didn’t like the sound of that. “Sarah is up, she can make sure he is doing well.”

Davey followed his father into the kitchen. He was trying to find a way to explain why he was on strike, and not making money, without it sounding horrible. Once they were in the kitchen, Davey’s father turned to him and said, “I hear you are on strike.”
“We are.”
“Good, I noticed that these companies aren’t valuing their workers. Did you help plan this?” Davey was shocked. He wasn’t expecting his father to be fine with the strike, much less be welcoming of it. “Yes, I helped come up with it. We still have some logistics to plan out, but we have the support of the other lower Manhattan newsies.”
“Well, once that Jack boy gets better, you’d best be planning that strike.”
“Of course.” Davey could barely believe that his father wasn’t mad.
“That’s all. You can get back to your friend.”

Davey went back to the living room and saw his sister sitting next to Jack. She was perched on the wooden chair that Davey had spent the night sleeping in.

Jack didn’t look very interested in whatever Sarah was talking about, and Sarah looked very interested in any word that came out of Jack.
“Hey Jack, how are you doing?” Jack’s face lit up when he heard Davey, and he tried to turn around to see where Davey had come back to, but he hissed at the pain in his ribs. Sarah lightly pushed him back down into the couch and shot Davey a glare.
“Be considerate David. He got hurt pretty bad.” This made Davey furious. Davey was the one that found Jack, he was the one that had carried Jack back to the Jacobs’ house, he was the one that slept slumped over in a wooden chair, and yet his sister is the one telling him what to do around Jack.
“I know Sarah, I got plenty of looks at his injuries” Davey said with venom in his voice. He went around to where Jack could see Davey, so he didn’t hurt himself any more than he already was. Sarah looked confused as to why Davey sounded mad. It wasn’t like Davey to say things so rudely.

At this moment, Las came bounding into the living room, full of energy. Which made sense considering he was the only person that got a proper amount of rest last night. “Why’s Jack here? Did something happen?”
Davey had no idea what to say to les. Thankfully Jack did. “I’m doing alright Les, I just got a bit roughed up yesterday afta sellin”
“Was it those bastard Delanceys?” of course now his mother walked into the room just in time to hear her nine-year-old son curse.
“Les!” He whipped his head around to look at his mother. “I don’t know where you learned such language” She shot a pointed look to Davey, “But as my son, you will not be using such language”
“Actually Miss Jacobs, I believe the fault is all mine.” Jack decided to take the fall on this one, “Us newsies can get a bit… flavorful with our words.”
“Oh, well then. I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t teach Les anymore words of such variety.”
“Of course, miss.”

Davey was so relieved he wasn't in trouble. He needed to make sure that Jack would be okay, and if he misbehaved, he might risk Jack getting kicked out of the house. And then Jack just took the fall like that. Just simply admitting the truth. Davey wished he could do that. He knew he wasn’t confident like Jack was. Davey was so proud of Jack for just telling the truth, he could kiss him. No… not kiss Jack. Davey could give Jack a respectable handshake between selling partners, and leave his longings for the moments that Jack shined like gold.

Notes:

The AO3 author curse got me <\3 i hate being sick

extra points for recognizing the chapter title (no idea what these points go to) and at the end of the fic, im going to put a chapter that just has explanations and whatnot :3

Comments and Kudos make my year and are greatly appreciated <3 even just silly little comments make me so happy ^v^

Chapter 9: Chapter 8 - It’s a nifty little newsie trick

Around noon, Davey was sitting up on the roof while Jack was asleep inside. Or supposed to be asleep, Davey saw Jack opening the door to join him on the roof. “Jack! You should be sleeping.” Davey didn’t know how he managed to get up to the roof, considering Jack had never been over.
“Lay off Davey, I’m alright. You sound like your sister, she was acting like her purpose for living is to make sure I wasn’t doin’ anything. I finally get away, and youse not even happy to see me.” Jack couldn’t be further from the truth, Davey was thrilled that Jack was able to stand up and walk and talk without passing out.
“Of course I’m happy to see you.” Davey didn’t want to make anything weird, so he added, “I think I prefer you conscious.”
Jack flashed him a quick grin before saying “Sorry I got ya all tangled up in this.”
“Its no problem. It isn’t like we’re selling anything anyway.”

At this comment Jack looked slightly guilty “Davey, I’m really sorry about this, you ain’t got anything to spare and I’m still taking. For fucks sake, youse ain’t making money and youse still spendin it on me.” Jack shut his eyes for a moment before saying “I’ll be outta here by tonight. The rooftop ain’t so bad, and I’ve survived long enough that way. Thanks for the help Davey, sorry again.” Jack turned to head back down into the house.

Davey couldn’t be more confused, “Jack, wait a moment,” when Jack looked up, he looked close to tears. “just… come sit over here for a moment, have some food.” Jack made his way to where Davey was eating his lunch, and tentatively sat down. “I’ll be honest, I don’t have any idea why you’re apologizing right now. I came up with the strike and I brought you here, you didn’t do any of that.” Jack still wasn’t looking up. Davey didn’t really know what to do “if you don’t want to stay, you don’t have to, but I’m not letting you go back to sleeping outside just because you think you are doing me any harm.” Jack really was crying now. Davey decided that he hated seeing Jack like this “hey, please Jack, talk to me, did I make you upset?”

Jack finally looked up but still wasn’t looking at Davey “Sorry. I really am.”
“For what, Jackie, why are you sorry, why are you crying” Davey truly had no idea why Jack was crying, and he hated that.
“Did I ever tell you about Santa Fe?”
That threw Davey for a spin “Like the town in New Mexico?”
“Yea”
“You haven’t, I don’t think”
“so I’se always wanted to go there, take the train out west, y’know?” Davey nodded along to what Jack was saying “it’s because of this comic I saw when I was really young, I still have it though, I’ll show you sometime. But anyway, that’s been my dream for pretty much my whole life, all the savings from hawking the paper goes to saving for Santa Fe. That’s always been my goal,” Jack paused for a moment, “it’s never really mattered if I stayed or went, there wasn’t really anything to stay for. But then you came along and my dream gets torn in half, I don’t even know what to work for anymore.”
“Jack-“
“Davey, you became part of my Santa Fe. I’d never ask for you to leave your life to go west, but that’s what keeps me working”
“Jack” Davey couldn’t stop himself from saying, “I’d go with you if you asked.”
“Davey please, don’t say that just because you pity me.”
“No Jack, I don’t pity you, we could go.”

Jack finally met Davey’s eyes, and they shared a look. One that said more than words. Jack moved next to Davey and inhaled before saying “I’m not the smartest guy on the street, so feel free to stop me, but-“ Jack never got the chance to finish his sentence before Davey cut him off by quickly pecking him on the lips. Jack opened his mouth just to shut it, he took a second and then asked with a grin “can we do that again?”

Davey took no time in connecting their lips again. This time, he brought one of his hands up to thread through Jack’s hair. Jack put his hands on Davey’s waist to pull him closer. They separated again and smiled at each other, Davey couldn’t believe that he got to kiss Jack. He got to kiss that golden boy.

Davey rested his head on Jack’s shoulder and they sat like that for a while, just breathing, just existing with each other. Davey finally spoke up and said, “As much as I want to keep doing this, Jack, we should head inside,”
“Yea, we prolly should.” Jack agreed

Neither of them moved.

Notes:

So sorry this took me ages to get out! I wrote this in a train station of New York :3 I got to see The Book of Mormon and The great gatsby on broadway :)
I’m actually posting this while sitting on the floor, waiting for my train :p

Extra points for recognizing the reference in the chapter title <3
Comments and kudos make me joyous :3 even silly little comments <3

Chapter 10: He's not late, Davey, stay where you are!

Sitting on the rooftop was Davey’s new favorite thing, besides Jack. The two boys were just sitting there, holding hands. It seemed like everything might be okay. Maybe they could get an apartment in the city and no one would care that they lived together and didn’t take wives. Maybe they could make it to Santa Fe and have both of Jack’s dreams come true.

Though, all good things had to come to an end. They flung apart when they heard footsteps coming up to the roof, and good thing they did. Davey’s father had come up because he needed help getting something out of a cabinet, but couldn’t because of his arms. “David, come help me with this” he said “whoa boys, better be careful sneaking off like that. Someone might think that you two are a pair of queers if you know what I mean.”

Davey had to physically unclench his jaw after hearing that. “Good point, I can't go running off with the first newsboy I find.” he made eye contact with Jack, trying not to laugh. “What did you want help with?”

After Davey helped his father, he went to go find Jack. He found Jack talking to his sister, looking very uncomfortable. Davey heard Sarah asking “So Jackie,” she started, “Are you talking to any pretty girls?” Davey froze. Was his sister really hitting on the same person he kissed earlier? Was he allowed to care? Davey wasn’t sure if they were actually boyfriends. He hoped they were.

Jack took a second to think “Well, I’se talking to one right now, aint I?.” Davey’s heart dropped. “a ton of my friends would love ta meet ya. Maybe one of em could take ya to lunch” Davey almost started laughing at Sarah’s expression. He probably should feel sorry that she got rejected, but it was by Davey’s golden boy, so he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad.

“I wasn’t asking about your friends, Jackie.” Davey hated hearing Sarah call Jack that. “I wanted to know if you got an eye on anyone.”

At this point, Jack had finally noticed Davey. “Hey Davey! I’se was wonderin if you could help me wash up a bit.” Davey tried not to blush at what that would entail. “I wouldn’t wanna put Sarah here through that” he laughed.

“Jackie, I really don't mind helping you.” Sarah butted in, clearly not taking the hint or choosing to ignore it.

“Sarah,” Davey interjected “Father would kill Jack and ground you until a respectable and rich young man comes along and weds you.” Sarah looked very offended, and now Jack was trying not to laugh. “Jack, I’ll help you after we all have dinner.” Davey was still trying very hard to not think about Jack. First in the bathroom, Davey running his hands gently through Jack’s hair, and then washing Jack’s body, and then – Nope. Davey was not thinking about anything other than making sure Jack’s wounds weren't getting infected.

Jack was now slightly pink, seemingly finally realizing what he had asked. “Thanks Davey.” he said quietly, averting Davey’s gaze.

Unfortunately, Sarah had also noticed that Jack was blushing. “Jackie! Are you alright? Do you have a fever? You are looking a bit red.”

“Sarah.” Davey spat out. “Let him rest, you don’t need to coddle him. He's my age, and I can take care of my friend. Just go help mom with dinner, it's getting to be that time.” He said dismissively. Davey didn’t want to be mean to Sarah, but she tended to be pretty overbearing sometimes. This comment, however, did not go the way Davey thought it might go. Sarah grabbed his forearm and dragged Davey to the hall, away from Jack.

“David, I don’t know what the hell you are doing, but you need to stop. I finally have a chance with a guy, and you’re trying to sabotage it. Just because you have to be tragically single doesn’t mean I also have to be.” Sarah seemed to be taking all this very personally, “You always come along and wreck my chances. Just stay out of the way and Father might give Jack an opportunity to prove himself worthy.

Davey was really done with how dramatic Sarah tended to get over small things.“Oh my god, Sarah, he clearly isn’t into you.”

“No, I know he is. You just need to stay out of my way.”

“Give up on him, I don't want you to get hurt.”

“Fuck off David. God, why are you so bad at being a brother.”

Davey’s eyes stung with tears. Of course, he and Sarah had fought before, but this was a new level. Sarah never cursed except when she was really mad and meant it. He hadn’t realized they were yelling until they both stopped speaking. Now they stood in the hallway, breathing heavily and glaring at each other. However, this peace was short-lived. Their mom had heard most of the argument. “Will people stop cussing in my house! What must a woman do to get some peace?”

Notes:

ignore the fact that my writing style changed :3 I finally found a way that I like writing dialogue. my brother is under vocal arrest bc he's auditioning for Les Mis :( lucky bastard (lovingly).

extra, extra! get some (meaningless) points for recognising the chapter title!

Per usual, I and joyous when I receive comments and kudos <3

Chapter 11: Then I heard his silver call

Summary:

they do not get freaky :) btw Davey washes Jack's injuries but it's not graphic

Davey needed to get out of the house. Whenever he fought with Sarah, it tended to feel like her mood was seeping into the whole building. Her moods had a tendency to poison the house and spoil everyone’s day. This was Jack’s first time witnessing one of Sarah's moods, however, it didn’t seem like he was affected by it. Jack kept making stupid little comments and flashing his stupid little grin when he said something clever.

Dinner ended up being a near silent event. The only sounds were forks being moved around and Les drinking his water very loudly. None of the Jacobs would dare say something and risk setting Sarah off. After dinner, she went straight to her room. Due to the fact that she normally helped their mom clean up, Davey was the one moving everything to the kitchen while his mom washed the dishes.

Once Davey was done cleaning up from dinner, he went back to his room and found Jack sitting on his bed, reading what looked like a very worn copy of a comic. “Hi Jack, what are you reading?” Jack clearly didn’t see Davey enter the room and jumped when he spoke.

“Give a guy a warning, ya keep sneaking up on me.” Jack said, putting his comic down.

“It’s payback from when you scared me, remember? My first day selling papers and you came up and spooked me.”

“Sorry Davey” Even though the apology Jack grinned. “This is that comic ise was tellin you about.” Jack held it up to show Davey “That's Santa Fe.”

“Are we going to go there?”

“Shit Davey, are ya bein serious with me?”

Davey knew that he was. “Yes, Jack, I am being serious.”

“You'd really leave all this behind to go with me?”

“As I said, I will.” Davey took a deep breath in before explaining, “I need to get out of Manhattan. I don't care where, but I'm going insane here. Of course I love my family, but I’m not really living here. I’m a drone here.” Jack was looking at Davey like he hung the stars in the sky, Davey thought Jack looked absolutely gold. Davey wanted to live in this moment forever, “But enough of this talk for now. You need to get washed up and your bandages need to be changed.”

“You’se prolly right.” said Jack, flushing pink

“What the matter? Don't wanna take a shower with me there?” asked Davey, just to make Jack flush even further.

“...shaddup” Jack grinned and did, in fact, flush more

The two boys made their way to the bathroom, Davey holding clothes for both of them and bandages. Once the tub was full, Davey went to the kitchen and boiled a bit of water to pour into the cold water, hoping it would even out the temperature. Jack hadn’t stopped blushing the whole time. “Jack, how's the water?”

Jack stuck his hand into the water and answered “It’s nice”

“That's good.” Davey was sure he was also blushing. “Do you plan on getting in the water?” Davey couldn’t help but tease Jack a little bit, “Or do you want me to turn around?”

“Actually, mind helpin me with this damn shirt?”

Davey went over to Jack, not that there was much space between them to start with, and started helping Jack undo his buttons. Davey carefully peeled off Jack’s shirt, not wanting to irritate any cuts or bruises. Davey then made quick work of his own shirt. “What the matter Jack? Need a formal invitation to take off the rest of your clothes?”

“I.. Um, just.” Jack’s mouth seemed to not be in agreement with the rest of him “Fucking hell Davey you’se too pretty for this shit.”

Davey, now only in a pair of boxers and a gold Star of David around his neck, shot back “Look who's talking. Jack, you’re golden.”

Jack suddenly grabbed Davey’s waist and brought him flush to his chest and kissed him. This one was nothing like the kiss they shared on the rooftop, this kiss was urgent and messy. Davey let out a gasp and Jack took the opportunity to dart his tongue into Davey’s mouth. Davey felt like he was floating, he had never kissed any girls like this. He had only ever pecked this one girl, very quickly, just so he could confirm he didn’t like it.

Once they parted for air, Davey remarked “If I didn’t know better, I'd say you’re avoiding the water. Are you really a cat?”

Jack let out a huff, and said “Am I not allowed to take it slow?”

“Too late, you need to get in the tub.” and with that, Davey yanked down Jack’s pants and boxers in one go, picked him up, and put him in the water. The water had cooled down a little bit, but it wasn’t unbearable.

At this, Jack let out a yelp and tried to cover himself. “Christ, Davey, and if I didn’t know better i’d say ya just want to see me naked.”

“Nah, I just want to see you healthy, which means your injuries need to be cleaned.”

Davey tilted Jack’s head back to gently pour water on his hair. He ran shampoo though his chocolate coloured curls, washing out the blood. Jack was wincing slightly, but Davey soothingly ran a hand along Jack’s jaw, who melted into his touch. Davey then carefully washed out the soap, making sure it didn't get into Jack’s eyes. Next, Davey lathered up some soap on a sponge and washed Jack’s body, who was still embarrassed about now having any clothes on.

Once Jack had all the grime washed away, Davey got rid of his boxers and got into the tub. He quickly cleaned himself and was very aware of Jack staring. Davey then drained the tub and helped Jack up. They both dried off, and Davey winded bandages around Jack’s injuries, which didn’t look as bad now that they were clean. Finally, they both got dressed, Jack only wearing Davey’s clothes and nothing he owned. Davey thought that Jack looked quite cute, draped in an oversized sleep shirt.

Davey gave Jack another kiss before they headed to his room. Davey fell asleep thinking about how golden Jack was. This time, he didn’t have any shame about it. Sure, Jack was a boy, but Jack was the prettiest boy Davey had ever known.

Notes:

how was this? i dont have a boyfriend, I dont live in 1899, and ive never kissed anyone :3 hopefully it turned out alright. I have washed injuries though, I dont think id recommend shampoo.

YALL I realised that Les Jacobs is two years older than Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby, i did the maths :p

As usual, points for recognising the chapter title. this time it is actually sorta relevant to what happens :3
also, as usual, I am a fiend for any sort of interaction with my work <3 I love hearing yalls comments <333

Chapter 12: I've just kissed a boy named Jack Kelly

Summary:

quick cw! Jack gets called a fag, just thought to let yall know :)

Davey woke up to yelling. Not someone yelling at him, but to people arguing. He’s been woken up by someone yelling at him before, but this wasn’t directed at him. Davey couldn’t really hear what was being said, just the sound of aggravated voices, becoming more angry. It sounded like the time Les trapped a wasp in a glass jar, just becoming angrier by the second.

Davey quietly made his way towards the voices, making sure to not step on any creaky floorboards. As he got closer, he distinctly heard his father yelling at someone. “I'm not gonna have a goddamn queer stay in my house! And certainly not sleep with my son!”.

Davey froze.

Alarm bells were going off in his head, yelling that his father somehow knew what happened between him and Jack. The buzzing of the wasp only got louder the closer he got to the yelling.

When he finally entered the kitchen, Jack was standing there, head still held high as it always was. “I’m sorry Mr. Jacobs, but I have no interest in your son.” He said in a smooth voice, like he had rehearsed to say this line. That hurt Davey, he knew that Jack was probably just trying to live another day, but it still hurt.

“Good morning” Davey said like he hadn’t heard any yelling.

Mayer turned to look at Davey and spat “Are you sleeping with this fag?”

Davey pulled a face, something that would look like disgust to his father, “...no” he said, with as much revulsion as he could muster. “Ask Sarah, she’s the one that wanted to sleep with him” he muttered under his breath.

Thankfully his father didn’t hear. His father had turned back to Jack and said “Get out of my house.”

Jack walked dejectedly out of the Jacobs house, and he was just standing on the curb, looking up at Davey’s window. Davey gathered up Jack’s few items along with some food and climbed down the fire escape, saying that he just wanted to walk around the city for a bit. He had said to his father “I just need to clear my head, a guy just tried to sleep with me”. His father had deemed that Davey wasn’t in any relationship with Jack and let him go.

However, by the time Davey made it outside, Jack was gone. He walked to the lodging house, hoping to ask Crutchie or maybe Race if they knew where Jack was. When he made it to the lodge, he noticed that many of the newsies had various cuts, bruises, and seemingly broken bones.

Race saw Davey come in and said “bout time ya shows up!” Another boy laying nearly under Race just put his hand back in Race’s hair and shushed him. Race was still persistent “So where’s Cowboy at?”

“Wait, I thought he went here?”

“I haven’t seen ‘im since us decidin to strike.”

“Shit, do you have any ideas where he would be?”

Race let out a whistle “you know Mouth’s got it bad when he cusses.” he says knowingly to the other boy

The boy petting Race’s hair pipes up, “Maybe try the Bowery? Cowboy’s always painting somethin or other.”

“Good idea, thanks,....” Davey trailed off realizing he didn’t know the boy’s name.

“Spot” the boy offers

“Right, Thanks Spot”

 

As Davey makes his way to the Bowery, he notices the amount of people with a lover on their arm. A rich looking guy with a girl in blue, a girl squealing at the flowers her man just got her. Davey wonders if he should get Jack some flowers or maybe get Miss Medda some. Either way, Davey finds himself stopping at a flower girl, no older than 14. He noticed a very pretty bouquet with some yellow flowers.

The flower girl notices him looking and says “no one goes for the yellow”

“Really? I think they look rather dashing”

The girl looks at him strangely “Buy something else and I'll give you that bouquet for free. The flower girls are also benefiting from the newsboys striking. You know that, right?”

“Oh, I didn’t know.” he looks at the other flowers she has, “I'll go with those white ones” he says, pointing to a small bundle of delicate white flowers, each with three petals.

“Careful, your girl might think you’re queer if you give her some pansies.”

“I'm fine with that, they're pretty”

Davey hands the girl some coins and she picks up the yellow bouquet and arranges the pansies into the yellow flowers.

“Good luck” the flower girl says. Davey notices that she has pansies in her hair.

Davey nods his head before continuing his walk through the city, now seeing those little purple pansies everywhere. Davey looks down at the white ones he bought, neatly nested in between the yellow flowers he still doesn’t know the name of.

When he gets to the theatre, Jack opens the door. When he sees the flowers, his face splits into a wide smile. He says “How’d you know gardenias are my favorite?” he continued looking at the bouquet, “Oh and pansies, nice touch.”

Davey gets pulled into the empty theatre and a kiss pressed to his lips.

Notes:

Sprace cameo!
So sorry it took me ages to get this chapter out, I dont have an excuse, i was just lazy :3

also I_Am_A_Guest ily <3 your comments finally got me to write something :3
as usual, extra points for recognizing the chapter title :3 btw Im trying not to repeat any musicals, so its none of the ones ive already used
yall, I THRIVE off of the comments you leave <3 feel free to even just leave silly little notes :)

Chapter 13: There in the west, we'll start again

In the theater, though Davey wants to kiss Jack again, he restrains himself long enough to plead to Jack “Please tell me you were only protecting yourself when you were talking to my father. Please”

Jack takes a step back from Davey to properly look at him and says “Of course it was. Davey, I’m cap- what's that word, capivale? Yeah, I’m capivaled with you Davey.”

“Do you mean captivated? Like being engrossed with something?”

Jack seemed offended at this comment, “Youse aint gross!”

Davey sighed, “Jack, it means being interested in something”

“Oh yea, I knew that. I was quizzin ya for school.” Jack said with a cocky smile. Davey knew quite well Jack had never stepped foot in a school unless he was delivering papers to the teacher’s lounge.

Davey pulls Jack close and wraps his arms around his waist. They both close their eyes and let their foreheads touch. “I’m pretty enamored with you myself.” Davey whispers.

Jack whispers back, “Ise pretending to know what that means.”

Davey giggled, “It means I'm pretty sure I love you.”

“I’m pretty sure I love ya too.” Jack said looking back up into Davey’s eyes.

At this moment, the orchestra started playing some piece of music for an upcoming show. There were lots of violins, and it overall had a very magical sound. Jack put the flowers down on a nearby table and went back to holding Davey. They swayed to the music, keeping each other close. At some point, Jack decided to twirl Davey. It was a bit of a struggle with the height difference, but they made it work. They would always make it work. As the music went on, they became bolder. They started to make bolder movements across the room, making grand sweeping steps across the floor. The music eventually came to a dramatic end, and so did their dance. Davey dipped Jack low and kissed him deeply. Jack chased Davey’s lips when he came back up.

“I have to go back, it’s dark out.” Davey didn’t want to leave Jack’s embrace or the safe space of the theater. “I’ll get outta that house soon, we can make it out west.”

Jack’s eyes sparked and he broke out into a grin at the mention of the west, “You’d really leave your family to come be a cowboy with me?””

“Jack, you are my family.”

Jack pulled Davey in for one last kiss before he left. It was a golden seal on their dance, given by his golden boy. The golden boy Davey could finally call his.

 

When Davey got home, his father was waiting for him. “David, you are late for supper. Where have you been?”

Davey hadn’t realized that his absence would have been noticed, so he struggled to come up with an answer. “I got flowers and went to the theater.”

“Did I really raise a nancy-boy who goes to the theater to mope after I kicked a queer out of my house?” Yes, Davey thought. You did raise a queer, imagine what would happen if you knew.

“I went with a girl.” Davey supposed Medda might have been in the theater, she probably counted as a girl.

“Well, where is she?”

“She had to go home after the show, her dad wanted her home for dinner.”

After Davey’s father was done questioning him about a non-existent girl, Davey went to his room. Davey looked around and started realizing that he wouldn’t care if he had to leave all of this behind. As a matter of fact, he wanted to, he just hadn’t realized that leaving was an option.

That night, Davey stayed up thinking. He started making plans on how to get money. He started tracking what trains went where for how much. He started accounting how much stuff they could bring, and if any of the newsies would come with them.

For once in his life, Davey had true hope for his future. He never had real plans for what would happen after he finished school, it was always “Maybe become a teacher, maybe get married?” but now, Davey knew that he had control over his life. Davey could move out west and become a teacher and never officially marry anyone, he could just live with Jack. Davey could marry Jack, maybe not by the church, but by every way that it mattered.

Right as Davey was on the cusp of falling asleep, he heard someone on the fire escape. Davey immediately froze, and he heard some paper being slotted though his open window. Once Davey was sure the person was gone, he opened the paper. It read, in a messy scrawl, “We won the strike, turns out Racetrack is quite the leader when he wants to be responsible. - Best, Jack.” And at the very bottom of the paper, there was another note, “Some friends in the trolley system owe me some favors and want to help out. XOXO”

Notes:

So sorry for taking a while on this one! I've lowkey been sick for a week (might be a sinus infection lmao I haven't been to the doctor). Did any of yall watch the tonys? I'm OBSESSED w/ dead outlaw rn and I loved their performance :3

also for the song they're dancing to, I had Drink With Me playing so something like that, instrument wise (idgaf if its period inaccurate, i LOVE that song)

Points for knowing the reference in the chapter title :3

Comments and kudos are loved with my ENTIRE soul<333

Chapter 14: I'll wait for you till you meet up with me

The next morning, Davey woke up to yelling again. This time, however, someone was yelling at him. It was his sister yelling, “David! The girl from the theater wants to see you!” Naturally, Davey was pretty confused, considering he only talked with Jack at the theater. He threw some clean clothes on, having fallen asleep in his day clothes.

When he made it into the kitchen, he saw the flower girl he had talked with yesterday. She was looking very uncomfortable with everything, especially Davey’s father. As soon as she saw Davey, she seemed to relax. “There you are!” She said, nearly throwing herself into his arms, “I told my dad all about yesterday and he wants to meet you!” She turned towards Davey and mouthed “sorry” then pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Davey looked at his father and said, “Would it be alright if I went to lunch?”

“Just be back by dinner.”

“Of course.”

When the two got outside, the flower girl yanked him into an alleyway. Davey hit the stone wall with an embarrassing squeak that he would surely deny if anyone brought it up. He turned to the flower girl and realized that he didn’t know her name. He went to go ask, but was then cut off by the flower girl saying, “God, your boyfriend is insufferable. I’m selling my flowers and he comes up and starts drooling over you and I'm losing my customers because he won’t leave me alone. So anyway, you should go meet up with him as soon as you can so I don’t have to talk to him anymore.”

Davey was pretty confused, “Wait, you know Jack? And what even is your name?”

Flower girl pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a long sigh. “My name is Ruth, and your pathetic boyfriend takes me for granted in all of his romantic disasters, no offence, but his past relationships have not gone well. You seem better though, good luck with him.”

“Thank you?”

“Just go meet up with him in his penthouse.”

“Thank you Ruth!” Davey shouted as he started in a brisk pace to the roof of the lodging house, where Jack slept and called his penthouse.

Once Davey made it to the lodging house, he noticed how high the spirits of everyone there were. It seemed like no one was in a bad mood. Someone barreled right into him and excitedly said “Hey Davey! Did’ya hear? We won the strike! The one you came up with!” Davey’s mind flashed back to the letter he had gotten from Jack last night, mentioning how Racetrack could be responsible.

“Oh yea,” he said, peeling the younger newsie off of him “Congrats!” The kid smiled at him and then ran off to do whatever he was doing. Davey climbed the ladder to the roof and saw Jack holding a stack of papers.

Jack looked golden, more than he would ever know. His curls were framing his eyes and he had a light dusting of freckles that Davey hadn’t really noticed until now, and now he wanted to kiss them. Then he realized that he was allowed to because this was his boyfriend, at least according to Ruth. Davey strode over to where Jack was standing and gave him several soft kisses on his nose and cheeks. Jack was now blushing slightly, which made him look even cuter.

“Oh, hello there. Special occasion or do I just get kisses all the time?” Jack said, finally looking up from his papers.

“I think seeing you is a special occasion, so both.” Davey quickly replied. “So you sent Ruth after me, what for?”

“I don’t wanna rush you, and I’m not forcing you or anything. And I know how-”

“Jack, just spit it out.”

Jack seemed to double take at Davey’s directness, but then took a deep breath and said, “If we’re going west we gotta leave tomorrow. Some friends said that they could throw us on the train unnoticed.” Jack looked like he was ready for Davey to yell at him.

“Really? That's amazing Jackie.” The nickname just slipped out of Davey’s mouth and he was ready to apologize until he saw the pink dusting Jack’s ears.

“You really wanna come with me?”

“Jack, you’re saving me as much as you’re saving yourself. Of course I'm coming with you.”

Jack smiled at this and wrapped his arms around Davey’s waist and pulled him close. “You’se perfect Davey.”

Davey put his arms around Jack’s shoulders and whispered into his neck, “And you’re golden.”

“So Davey,” Jack said, slightly pulling back, “You can bring ‘bout a messenger bag full o’ stuff. We gotta make sure we can move quick and that we don't take up too much room. Meet me back here tonight, we’se gotta do a bit o’ walkin to get to the station, but it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Finally, Finally Davey would be leaving the horrible city of Manhattan and he would be out west with his golden boy. Finally Davey would get to live and not just survive. Davey could be his own person, not just the shell of a son he pretended to be around his family. Now Davey would get to live with people that loved him and that he loved, no more tip-toeing around his sister or dad, no, now he could just live.

Notes:

Sorry this took forever to post!! I don't even have an excuse, I just procrastinated writing this :( Happy summer break tho!

Yall... I just dyed my 74 y/o grandfather's hair ginger.... what I doing with my life o.o

I hope you enjoyed this chapter :3 we're getting close to the end!!! <3

Extra points for recognizing the chapter title reference!! >:3 reminder that I don't re-use musicals so just keep that in mind for the chapter titles

I LOVE y'alls that comment (and the ppl that just read ily2) :3 u guys are legiterally fule my existence! <333

Chapter 15: Davey Jacobs and Lester Jacobs were a notorious couple of sons

Notes:

Hey yall! quick warning, this chapter has some VERY negative attitudes toward Davey for being gay!

Davey had hung out with the other newsies in the lodging house for the morning. Most of them were there, he had learned, because Weisel was somewhere finding his lost pride and without Weisel, no one would sell the papers to the newsies. Once it was around lunchtime, Davey decided to go back home, maybe say Ruth’s father didn’t like her or something similar.

Walking into the house, Davey immediately could tell something was wrong, he could only hear hushed voices that belonged to his parents and sister. Walking into the living room, he saw the tree of them all sitting, his mom and sister on the couch and his father in the chair he always sat in. His mother seemed to be close to tears when she said, “David, please, come sit down.” And she gestured to the other chair, the one he slept in when Jack was half dead and sleeping on the couch. The chair technically belonged in the kitchen, but it hadn’t been moved back since Jack’s stay.

Davey settled himself on the hard wooden chair, fighting the urge to bring up his legs and sit criss-cross. He looked up to his parents, expecting to be lectured for fighting with Sarah. “David,” his father said sternly, “Care to explain this letter your sister found while cleaning?”

That was when Davey saw what was in his mother’s hand. It was the letter that had been slipped through his window last night.

“A letter from Jack telling me that we won the strike.” Davey said in the most even voice he could muster.

“I know that, David, I can read.” His father spat.

Davey knew he shouldn’t be rude to his parents, but he was so close to freedom. “Then what did you need me for?” He asked, almost mockingly.

“David,” His mother pleaded, “Are you leaving?”

Davey was pretty shocked, he wasn’t expecting his mom to guess so soon. He knew he was leaving no matter how this conversation ended so he supposed it would be a bit funny to say what he was doing. “Yes, I’m leaving.” he said simply. His mother gasped and his father started to say something, but Davey cut him off. “Nothing you say is going to make me stay. Though this is a nice life, I’m not living here any longer. I hate hiding for every second of my life here in Manhattan. I’m not telling you where I’m going because I will never see you guys again.”

His mom was definitely crying now. “David, please stay! I can’t have one of my babies leaving so soon.”

“Yes David, stay,” His father added, “Maybe a nice girl will help you settle. Won’t you miss Ruth wherever you're going?”

“No, I won’t miss her.” Davey took a deep breath in, preparing himself for what was coming, “I’m queer, and I’m running away with my boyfriend.”

His mother gasped again and his father said, “Good that you’re going away, I won’t have a queer in my house, staining my image!”

Clearly, his family had more to say, but Davey just got up and went to his room to pack his bag. He methodically folded his practical clothes, nothing fancy, and put some other small things he wanted to keep. In all, he had clothes, money he had been saving for ages, some paper and ink for writing, and a blanket Les got him for his bar mitzvah.

Davey felt slightly bad about leaving Les behind in this house. Davey loved his brother dearly but he didn’t know if it would be possible for him to come with Jack and Davey. Maybe he could send for Les once they were settled? Davey knew Jack was going to come back and collect some other newsies, especially Crutchie and Racetrack because they were the ones Jack truly grew up with. Maybe Jack could also get Les when he visited Manhattan in the future.

When he finished packing, Davey picked up his back and tied his jacket onto the strap. He left through the fire exit, not the front door. He was about to go down the stairs when he was struck by the idea to write a letter for Les and hide it in his room. Davey placed his bag back in his room and pulled out a piece of paper.

Dear Les,

Please forgive your dear brother for my actions, you are the only one in this family whom I would appreciate the approval of. I am heading west with Jack and you might not see me for a long time. However, once we are settled and are able to, I would like to come back to Manhattan and take you back west to live with us. Only if you would like to, of course. I am leaving because there isn’t a life here for me, and out west, I can freely love Jack as I wish.

Lots of love and best of luck,
Your brother,

Davey Jacobs

P.S. If you might need ANYTHING, go to Racetrack, Crutchie, or Ms. Medda

 

Davey sealed the letter and placed it in his brother’s English textbook because it was the only one he ever opened. Les might only open it to see what Davey wrote in it, but he still opened it. Davey then picked up his bag, went down the fire escape, and started making his way to the lodging house.

He didn’t feel any remorse walking away from the house, only anticipation for what would be coming next.

Notes:

SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO GET THIS OUT :(

The author curse didn't get me, life did :3 so pretty much (not in order), i had my birthday, two weeks of intensive dance camp, at least one panic attack (maybe 2 idk, perchance 3 now that im thinking), my brother found out I write and read musical fanfics, my laptop stopped working, and then my mom went to fix it and an ao3 tab was open so she almost saw an age gap rpf, I built 3 lego sets over five days (one of them was the Technik RB20), my brother got me a newsie hat and suspenders for my birthday so everything is fine (EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU TO MY BROTHER) :3

ANYWAY

we're almost at the end! there are probably around 3(?) chapters left, but I might write some oneshots set in the future. or maybe a whole ass sequel, idk yet

as always, extra points for recognizing the chapter title reference! I will post a chapter or another work in the series for what all of them come from! (so many of them suck ass lol), ALSO i live off of comments :3 I will try to reply to all of em but dance might make me late to doing so!

Chapter 16: I met this perfectly marvelous boy, in this shockingly horrible place

Davey walked in the glow of the setting sun to the lodging house and Jack’s “penthouse”. As he walked, he thought about life in Manhattan, and the more he thought, the more he was glad he was leaving. He needed a new start, Santa Fe would be so perfect.

Once Davey got to the lodging house, he almost ran into Jack, who was waiting outside. As soon as Jack saw Davey, he lit up. “Davey!” He said, rushing over to tightly hug Davey, “Ya got me worried for a sec, Dave, thought you wasn't comin.”

Davey held back onto Jack like he never planned on letting go. “Never, the only reason I’d miss this is if,” Davey paused, trying to come up with something and failing, “Actually I wouldn’t miss this if I was dead, you’d bring my ashes with you” he finally said.

Jack grabbed Davey by the hand and started pulling him in the direction of the train station. They walked in silence for a while, just basking in each other's presence. When they arrived at the train station Jack started talking. “So pretty much we’re goin to Chicago and my buddies are waving our fees till there. That doesn't have anything to do with the trollies, they think my mom died out west and my dad doesn't have enough money to send for me.” Jack stopped talking for a second to look at Davey's expression, “C’mon it's free travel, just keep with the story. And it's not like we’s gettin first class, we’s gettin a wood bench.”

Davey was pretty unsure about the plan, so he told Jack, “I know, I still feel bad for lying to them. Like what if someone said that their parents are dead and expected you to give them a paper for it.”

Jack thought for a moment and then said, “Davey, the trains goin there if we’se on it or not.”

“Oh.” That silenced the voice in Davey’s head that made him feel bad.

Just then, the train pulled up to the station and some guy that looked around Davey’s father’s age met them at the window. He looked at the two boys and then at the paper sitting at the desk. “Are you Francis? Who's the other boy?” the man looked back down on the paper. “I only got directions for one of ya.” Davey looked to Jack, and Jack just froze.

Realizing that Jack didn’t have an explanation, Davey spoke up. “If I may, sir?” The man at the window nodded for him to continue, “His mom helped my mom deliver me, she was a midwife. I woulda died if she wasn’t there. I owe my life to her, I just feel wrong not bein able to pay my respects.” Davey had always felt that he was too good at lying for his own sake. He hated how people would just take everything that came out of his mouth.

The man at the window looked pretty sympathetic. “My brother died when he was born, I get why you’re going. Kid, just don’t cause problems.”

“Thank you, sir!”

Jack and Davey made their way to one of the third-class cars on the train. Jack was right, it was just some wooden benches. The interior was mostly wooden, the benches were wood, and there weren’t any partitions. If anyone else was in the same car, they would be able to see two mildly disheveled 17 year olds. Davey started laughing at the thought. Jack elbowed him, but that only made him laugh harder.

“Daves, whatcha laughin about? We’re here for a funeral.”

“Wait, Jackie” Davey said in between breaths, “Imagine if someone came in this car.” He started laughing again, “And just saw us two in the corner. We look like absolute shit.”

 

“Davey!” Jack said in a fake-scandalized voice, “Watch your language young man!” But he has also started to crack up.

Apparently, they had been laughing too hard, and the guy from the window came in to see what the noise was. Davey noticed him and immediately tugged Jack into the crook of his neck and then started rubbing his back while saying, “It’s gonna be okay, she's with god now. She was a good woman that had a beautiful life.”

Jack was still laughing a little bit, but now it just looked like he was sobbing into Davey’s shirt. Davey gave a bittersweet smile to the attendant before leaning back down to whisper into Jack’s ear. “Stop laughing goddamnit.” Obviously, Jack started laughing harder. Thankfully it still looked like he was crying. The attendant deemed it normal and left to go to the front of the train to make the announcement that they would be leaving now.

“Holy shit Davey we’re actually going to Santa Fe.” Jack was shaking, “Davey we’re gettin outta Manhattan, we’se free.”

Jack suddenly gasped which made Davey very concerned, “Are you alright?!”

“Will you wear a cowboy hat when we get there?” Jack looked at Davey with big pleading eyes that seemed to catch the light even though it was dark out.

“No.” Davey stated and then gave Jack a kiss on the nose.

Davey fell asleep to the rhythmic shaking of the train and whatever Jack was rambling about. Probably something about cowboys and Horace Greeley and being able to see the stars in the sky when they lay in a field together in the early hours of the morning and watching the sunrise and the sunset.

Notes:

HELL YEA WE ARE SO BACK (my laptop works again)

guys... its almost the end... of my first ever fanfiction... Im prolly gonna end up going back and reformatting the first few chapters (just before I found a style I like writing in)

moving my brother into collage tmr and the collage is west of me so ive said "Go west young man" "Even horace Greeley came back to new york! then he died." soooo many times :3

I wrote this note while listening to Money from Cabaret and its terrifying bc its feels like there is so much pressure on you to keep up with how fast Emcee is singing... fun times

I HAVE A TUMBLR NOW! come yap with me! im whatsisname-is-gay (My ass cant figure out how to insert a link so you gotta search me up manually)

anyway! hypothetical points towards a hypothetical goal if you recognize the reference in the title :3

Chapter 17: Till I'm with you, then I'm with you there

Davey awoke to Jack shaking him, “Hey Daves, guess where we are?”

Davey had no idea where he was, or how he got there. All he knew is that he felt horrible, like everything hurts levels of horrible. “Pitts of hell. Or I'm being tortured.”

“Nope!” Jack said brightly, “Chicago!” Then he seemed to finally take in that Davey looked quite sick, “Are you okay?”

“I feel horrible,” Davey paused, his mouth having flooded with saliva, “Oh goodness, I’m going to be sick.” He ran to the window and promptly threw up. “Ugh, I’m never going on a train again.”

Jack looked absolutely confused, “Davey, what the hell are ya talking about? What’d the train do to ya?”

Of course, Jack would be fine on trains, he probably went on trolleys and trains all the time. Davey, on the other hand, had been on a train once, and he thought that he was going to die. Even his dad was thinking about bringing him to a doctor, which was something. Obviously, when Davey woke up the next day, he was completely fine. “I don't know, Jack. Whenever I go on trains I just get really sick.” Davey explained

“Oh… so this isn't a good time to mention that we’re a bit less than halfway?” Jack stopped talking for a moment when Davey wrapped his arms around Jack’s shoulders. Jack instinctively put his arms around Davey’s waist. Jack waited a moment before saying “Well we’re going to be in Chicago for a couple hours so you can get some bread or something.”

The two boys departed the train with their bags and just took a moment to take in the city. Chicago was so different from New York. Even though they were both cities, New York was bigger but also denser. Obviously, Chicago was big, but it wasn’t big in the way New York was.

Davey and Jack walked around Chicago for their few hours before the next stretch of train. Davey got his bread. Jack had bought two paints, a few pencils, and a new sketchbook, and said, “Look, Davey, this one’s the color of your eyes.” When Davey asked about the other color, Jack flushed and said, “I use too much pink, I don't have any of it left and I can’t waste any white.”

While Jack was buying his art supplies, Davey was wandering around the bookstore next door. He meant to get something small, light, and cheap. He ended up getting a rather hefty volume that the clerk sold him for 7 cents, instead of the normal 20 cents it would be. The clerk had gone on and on about how it was his favorite book even though it was quite long.

When Davey met back up with Jack, he had snatched Davey’s new reading material and immediately flipped to a random page. Jack stared at the book for a while and finally said, “I know why it was cheaper, they printed it all wrong.”

“Really?” Davey had read the first page in the shop, and it seemed fine, “It was fine in the shop. Are you holding it wrong?”

“I know how to hold a book, Davey. You should go get your money back. I can’t even read this!”

“I can see it from here, Jack! The book is fine!”

“It definitely isn't! What is a… on observe donc???”

“Jack, read the next word in the sentence.”

“They spelled fountain wrong!!! I’m going back to the shop.”

Davey grabbed his book back, normally he hated flipping to random pages. What if he got a spoiler!? But Jack clearly wasn’t going to let up until he read part of it. He cleared his throat and said, “On observa donc Fantine. Jack, Fantine is a character name. See, my book is fine.”

Jack still looked exasperated, “And what the hell does that mean!” he said, throwing his hands up.

“It means that Fantine was being observed! I’m not reading anymore from the middle of the book. If you want, I’ll read from the beginning, but I don't want any spoilers! I don't know who Fantine is yet!”

“Well I certainly won't be able to understand it! I have no idea what any of it says! It's not English!”

“Of course it isn’t English, Jack! It's a french book, that's why it was more expensive.”

Jack looked at Davey for a moment, “You know French?”

Oh, Jack didn’t know French. Jack didn’t go to school. Davey cursed himself for the pointless argument. “Sorry Jackie, we all learned French in school. I'm really sorry, I forgot.”

Jack grabbed Davey’s wrist after he put his new book in his bag, “We’ll keep talking about the fact that you know a whole nother language on the train. To Santa Fe!”

The two had gotten settled on the train, a similar situation to last time, some wooden benches in the open in a train car. Jack propped his legs up in Davey’s lap, and Davey pulled out his book. This was the last leg of their journey to Santa Fe, they would be free soon.

Notes:

Just sittin on my bed, looking at the brick and its ominous presence on a footstool :3

soooo I mildly couldn't see outta my left eye for writing like half of this chapter (Im sure its fine)

had three days of school this week! I went to the first day, missed the second day, and then went home before the last block today :3 (Literally havent been to ela yet :3) Shoutout to my dad! he dealt with me on thursday while I played a bunch of musical songs that have someone dying in them (my ass was in pain) and he was just showing me car videos and asking my opinion on various cars :3 (If u like the dodge charger ur wrong) (dodge charger is my #1 opp)

Had auditions on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL and i'm part of the pirate ensemble for peter pan :3

GUYS... its almost the end of my first ever fanfiction... *sheds a single tear*

ANYWAY, points if u know the chapter title (my ass is running outta musicals) (shocking)

Chapter 18: You're still our brothers

Pulling back into the station, Davey swore that he would never even look at another train in his life. From Chicago to Santa Fe, he had thrown up twice more and now he had a pounding headache along with his twisting stomach.

“Here we are!” Jack said with a flourish of his arms, “Welcome to Santa Fe. We actually did it.”

Davey was in shock, they were in New Mexico. New Mexico, they had traveled 1,760 miles from Manhattan to Santa Fe, and they were in New Mexico. Davey turned to Jack and pulled him into a hug. “We made it,” Davey said, still not really taking it in.

Jack pulled a map out of a pocket in his bag and unfolded it, carefully looking at it. Davey watched as he traced a finger along a route. “So,” Jack started, “We’re actually pretty close to where we’re going.”

Jack and Davey walked for a little while before eventually turning down a dirt road that led to a farmhouse with a barn next to it. When Jack knocked on the door an old man answered. “You must be Sullivan’s boy?”

Jack took off his hat and said, “Yessir”

The man looked at the two for a moment before saying, “Who’s your friend?”

Davey stuck out his hand and shook hands with the man, “I’m Davey, he saved me.” Davey said, gesturing to Jack.

The man opened the door more and stepped aside to let them in. “I’m Julian, my wife, Ellen, is making dinner. Sullivan, you come with me. Davey, you can go see if my Ellen needs any help with dinner.”

Davey went to the kitchen to help Ms. Ellen with dinner. They were having a nice Sunday roast with chicken and potatoes and whatnot. Davey helped Ms. Ellen set the table with the nice plates. Even though there were only four people in the house, Ms. Ellen told Davey to set out an extra plate.

“Excuse me miss,” Davey said, putting out the extra plate, “Would you mind me asking about the plate? Are we waiting on someone else?”

Ms. Ellen thought for a moment before responding, “Not at all dear,” she said with a kind smile, “I put a plate out for my son, he would always be off givin food to anyone that needed it. The plate is for anyone that might be hungry or if my son comes home. He went missin ages ago. He woulda been right around your age.”

“He sounds like a very nice boy, It's good of you to keep giving out food.” Davey knew that it had to be hard on Ms. Ellen, talking about her son like that, but Davey was nosey so he added, “What was his name?”

“Sean. He was me and Julian’s baby, little Sean Conlon.” Ms. Ellen stated, holding a dishrag with both hands.

Davey froze. Obviously, he didn’t know if this was the same Conlon as Spot, or if Jack knew and Spot sent them. Just then, Julian and Jack came out of whatever room they were in to sit at the table.

Dinner was amazing, Davey couldn’t remember he had so much good food. Throughout the meal, he just kept complimenting Ms. Ellen on everything. Jack also did the same. Ms. Ellen looked like she was ready to cry having two boys at her kitchen table and her husband across from her. After they finished the roast, Davey washed the dishes and then Ms. Ellen brought out some brownies. Davey had never had a brownie, he quickly decided that they were his favorite.

After all the plates were cleaned up, Julian and Ms. Ellen went into another room and left Jack and Davey to sit at the table. They just sat there for a little while in the peaceful quiet. Eventually Davey got done with the peace. “Y’know” Davey said, unable to keep it to himself anymore, “Ms. Ellen has a son.”

“Really?” Jack asked, “Where was he at dinner?”

“He’s missing.” Davey paused for dramatic effect, “Anyway, do you know Julien’s last name?”

Jack seemed to think for a moment before saying, “Actually, I don’t. He was all buddy with my dad but they had a fight. Julien wanted to stay here so they could run the farm together, but my dad thought he could make it big in New York.”

“Well, we just met Julien and Ellen Conlon.” Davey watched Jack for the realization to hit.

“Wait, you mean like Spot?”

“I don't know about Spot, but their kid is Sean Conlon.”

Just then, Julien and Ms. Ellen came back into the room. Ms. Ellen sat down, but Julien stayed standing. After about a minute, he started speaking. “Well, you boys need to help out. Jack, you can help with farm chores. Davey, you will mostly help my Ellen with things around the house. Got it you two.” Davey and Jack nodded vigorously. “Now that that’s sorted out, welcome home boys.”

Notes:

OKAY HOLY SHITTTTT THIS IS THE LAST FULL CHAPTER

so I lowkey started getting pissed asf with this fic towards the end bc i waas just so done with writing itttt :3 I didn't abandon it bc of yalls that have been reading it <3

This is the last guess the chapter title!!! you should recognize this one :3

Chapter 19: Epilouge

Ask anyone of the townsfolk of Santa Fe and they'd tell you, without a doubt, that Davey Jacobs was the most caring boy in the town. Anyone except Davey, that is. Davey knew that he wasn’t the kindest. He sometimes wouldn’t do something the first time Ms. Ellen asked him to do it, he would sometimes raise his voice at Race or fight with Spot, but hands down, the rudest thing Davey ever did was run away with Jack Kelly.

Jack Kelly was the most loyal farm boy in probably the whole state of New Mexico. He was like the king of the barn, as Race would tease him. Jack was an inspiration to all. He was heroic and charismatic and creative and was an amazing leader. He also thought Davey was the kindest person you could meet.

David Jacobs made Jack Kelly feel alive

Notes:

okay guys this IS the last chapter of my very first fanfic!!!! look how far we've come!!! I literally met a whole ass nother person and now I consistently text them and we've (hypothetically) hung out! all because we just kept yapping in the comments of ao3 fics <3333

come yap with me on tumblr!!! Im whatsisname-is-gay over there :3

If you've been here since the beginning or you've just read the whole thing, please leave a comment! I love hearing what you guys have thought of my firstborn

ALSO I do plan to keep writing :3 dw yall still will be getting fed

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of TMBALH universe