I wrote a Jack & Crutchie story for @loiteringandlurking re: his post about Jack who is an amputee.
In the circulation yard, Crutchie watches the new kid with the knotted-up shirt sleeve, watches how he holds the top of his bag open with his stump and then shoves the papes in one-handed. Crutchie knows that dance; he's got two good arms himself, but one of 'em's always occupied. It ain't as easy as it looks.
Kid says his name is Jack. He's straight from a factory job -- by way of the charity hospital on Hudson Street -- and can't hawk a headline for shit, but he can tie a bootlace real tight, a hard-won skill he's clearly proud of. First, he does up the dangling lace on Crutchie's bad foot. Then he tackles the other side for good measure. Double knots on both scuffed boots. And Crutchie lets him. For once, he don't care who sees him getting help because it makes the guy so happy.
Crutchie lets Jack follow him around, too. Teaches him the ropes. Why not?
::::
August in the crowded dormitory bedroom, hot and airless. Most of the boys have stripped to their undershirts, including Jack, sprawled out on his bottom bunk. Crutchie glances quickly away from the place where his right arm ends, the scar still red and angry, and looks down at the sketch slowly developing. A nighttime scene in a desolate place, a wolf howling next to twin pine trees, mountains in the background, a crescent moon riding overhead. Jack scratches his pencil along the wolf's back. His neck flushes with frustration. He still ain't used to being a lefty.
"Looks real good," Crutchie says quietly.
Jack spits out the rubber eraser he's been holding in his teeth. It lands on his pillow and Crutchie waits for him to say something mean. But he only uses the eraser to rub at some of the smudges. "Not every day you gets to see talent like this up close, huh?"
::::
Someone sends word that Jack's old man is doing poorly, so he stops by with a carton of cigarettes he bought. The place is a tenement on Mulberry, prostitutes coming and going. Jack insists that Crutchie wait on the stoop to protect their pile of newly bought evening Worlds. He's back in less than ten minutes, looking slightly out of breath.
"If he lives so close, how come you don't stay with him?"
"Well, I used to," Jack says, though that don't answer the question at all.
"He hit ya?"
"Nah, never." Jack seems to realize he's walking too fast and slows his pace. "Sorry. I think maybe ... I think seein' me makes him feel bad. So I just don't go by there too much."
Crutchie knows exactly what Jack means, and it makes him mad. He stops in the middle of the street to call the headline to an old woman in a kerchief. Jack waits, lighting a cigarette one-handed, while Crutchie juggles his crutch to make change. "You're still a kid. Your pops should be helpin' you out. If he ain't gonna do that, the least he could do is be proud of how good you is doin'."
"He don't need to be proud. I's just livin my life," Jack says. "Not everybody's gonna understand." He slings his good arm around Crutchie's shoulders. "But I got you."
::::
Ladies like Crutchie. They always have. They want to help him; they buy his papes and sometimes they gives him food and things. But it's girls that like Jack Kelly -- girls their same age.
And Jack seems to like them back, too. He'll pick someone out special to pass the time with, take her to the music halls -- he can sell a hundred twenty papes on a good day and always burns through his money -- draw pictures for her, tell her all about the Wild West. When the boys at Duane Street tease him, Jack tells them to shut up: this is the one.
Somehow, none of them girls ever is. But when it ends, Jack don't seem too heartbroken. Nothing bothers Jack, nothing Crutchie has ever seen.
Maybe he is the wolf in the picture. Maybe he is the moon.
::::
When Jack talks about New Mexico, Crutchie can't help but worry. He's been working to support himself ever since he was eight, but he's only ever done the kind of jobs people think a cripple can do. Who says anybody would hire guys like them them for farm labor?
Jack hooks his right arm over the top rung of the fire escape ladder and reaches his hand down to take the crutch. He says, "Well, we'll show 'em, pal. We can find a way to do most anything we wants to. Can't we?" And he pulls Crutchie up behind him.
They stand together on top of the world. No mountains, no majestic pines. Just them and the buildings that crowd all around them, the landscape of the city where he was born. Life ain't fair; he's always knowed that. But in this moment, Crutchie thinks what Jack says might be true.
Because he ain't never felt sorry for Jack, not for a minute. Why would he? Maybe there is folks out there who won't feel sorry for him neither, who will see him for all that he is.
FIN.
What would the Newises do if they saw the Delanceys showing their brotherly affection with each other?
Interesting question…
I think all the newsies would react in different ways.
Jack would leave it alone. He wouldn’t say anything about the way morris tussled Oscar’s hair, but he would watch the exchange and wonder why they had decided to be as cruel to him as they were.
Race would speak up and ask them if they were going soft which would end in him getting chased all the way to Brooklyn
Crutchie would smile at them and say good morning as he bought his papes and he’d tell them they were lucky to at least have each other
Albert would use the opportunity to slip himself an extra pape or two because Morris would be making sure Oscar was alright after he slipped and fell
David would be too distracted managing his own brother to notice.
Specs would clean his glasses to make sure what he was seeing was actually real.
What do you guys think?
just a few quick doodles from class periods featuring the gayest scene in newsies aka once and for all
---
There had only ever been two deaths in the Manhattan Lodge House.
13 years ago, a 12 year old boy named Rocky. A kid who'd been in the refuge for 8 years of his life and seemed to have contracted every virus he could've caught.
He went out quietly, passing away in his sleep and never waking up. An older girl, Nifty, was the one who found him and quickly informed Kloppman, who had him buried later that week in the patch of grass outside.
The second time was after the fight.
Everybody was sleeping soundly, aside from Race and Albert. Jack was nowhere to be found, so until further notice, they were now the ones in command throughout the house. They couldn't bring themselves to fall asleep in case something were to happen, so they were trying to keep themselves awake as long as possible.
They were simply lying there, Race tracing random patterns onto Albert's thighs with his thumb, while Albert smoked his cigar, trying to relax after such a rough day.
At around 01.36, Tommy Boy rushed over to their bunk, tears spilling down his face and panic in his eyes.
"Jesus Tommy, what's happening?" Albert asked, quickly showing himself to a sitting position. "You look like you saw a ghost."
"I think I did-" He stuttered out. "Splasher ain't waking up. We shook him, said his name, slapped him a few times but he still ain't wakin' up-"
Race swung himself off the bunk, Albert following suit and running to Splashers bunk, praying to whoever was up there that the situation wasn't as bad as they were thinking.
At the bunk, Buttons could be seen holding Splashers limp body in his arms, sobbing to himself.
"Buttons...is he-" Race began, before being cut off by Buttons slowly nodding his head.
"He's gone." Buttons whispered, wiping his cheeks as dry as he could get them. "My baby brother is gone."
A few more people were starting to wake up at the noise they were all making. JoJo had caught onto what had happened, and while his shake had come back, he was ushering some of the younger kids out of the room, making the situation easier for the ones in charge.
"C'mon Ike, outta bed." He whispered, Mike asleep on his back and Mush at his side. "Yeah, we's gonna go on a little midnight walk, aye?"
"Jo, yous are shakin'." Specs uttered, putting a hand on the other boys arm. "That ain't happened in a while, you sure you's are good?"
"I'm fine." JoJo replied, walking the kids out of the room. "Call for me when we can come back in."
Specs nodded, walking over to the group at the bed.
Albert had run downstairs to go and grab Kloppman, let him know about the situation on their hands, leaving Racer, Buttons, Tommy Boy, Specs, and poor Splish-Splash.
Tommy Boy was holding onto Buttons, who was now sobbing into his shoulder. Racer had Splashers body covered with a bedsheet, a few specs of blood from his injuries seeping through.
"Christ." Race sighed, unable to break his watch on the body. "Kids only what, eight? Still had everythin' ahead of him."
Soon enough, word had spread to everybody in the room about the death, Kloppman running in with Albert beside him, confirming the fact for everyone.
That night, Splasher stayed lying on that bed with the sheet remaining atop of him.
The next morning, Finch and Henry were sent outside to dig another spot in the ground where they'd lay Splasher just a few hours later.
Much like with Rocky, it was only some of the older Newsies who went out to witness the burial.
Tommy Boy and Buttons were crying again. They'd just lost their little brother, the kid they'd practically raised throughout their childhoods. Now he was gone, just like that, all because of that stupid rally. Kind words had been said, but that doesn't bring back the most important person in their lives.
Race and Albert were dead silent, practically unable to speak from shock and fear. How had Jack done this for so long without cracking? It was their first day, and a kid had just died. They'd been told that it wasn't their fault by Kloppman numerous times, but it just couldn't sit right with them that a child died under their supervision.
JoJo was leading a small prayer service. He hadn't stopped shaking, making a short note to himself to tell the nuns how long this one seemed to be going on for. He'd been in charge of keeping the little kids occupied and distracted, but he knew deep down that there was only so long he could hide the death of one of the loudest kids in the house. He was just praying the day wouldn't be sooner but much later.
For multiple years after, they would look out the window and see the graves of Splasher and Rocky, remembering two kids who ended up dying to fend for themselves and their families.
It wasn't about pennies from that moment onwards. It was about remembering the newsies lost selling to help their family and striking to help future generations.
my top post ever is the “nUWUsies” one and honestly I’m not even ashamed
davey talking to jack in French bc he knows it makes jack weak in the ole knees ...... however consider jack rebutting by pulling Davey in real close by the collar and teasing him with the whisper of a kiss ... however consider Davey continuing to say sweet nothings in French and jack folds ... he just cannot beat davey's confidence and put-together ness at all times .... in short confident davey who knows how to get jack wrapped around his little finger and jack who is unaware it's happening until Davey has him (literally? figuratively? you decide) pinned against a wall and he looks up into daveys grey-blue eyes and /god/ that smirk of his and he's weak at the knees but davey has him completely cornered ...... 'i win, Jackie.' 'IT WASNT A COMPETITION?????'
If my mutuals can’t rb this then we can’t be mutuals
sorry to send 2 asks in 1 day but im reading thru all of ur drabble things and GOD your writing is so ELEGANT ....... idk how to describe it but reading it is like the same as floating through clouds ... like that makes no sense but it's genuinely like the best shit I have ever read ........... how the FUCK do you do that ...
PLEASE my guy i am only one man i am not wired to take this many compliments :(( but seriously that's really kind of you, sometimes i get a little embarrassed or feel like i'm being way too pretentious with the way i write so it's comforting to know people connect with it! i've been chugging along since i was,,, i think twelve? so almost nine years now? so it really does mean a lot :)
jack who loves spicy food x davey who can't even kiss jack after he eats anything remotely spicy ... now also consider davey who loves horror movies x jack who has to cling onto daveys arm when they watch the fnaf movie together ...
you wouldn't get it, kid ... *goes to take a puff of my cigar* *TOOT*
“once and for all we won’t carry no banners that don’t spell freedom” might be the craziest lyric i’ve ever heard are you kidding me
he/him media enjoyer • roman/rome • australian, 17 • javey&ralbert centric • always down for a chat !!
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