I Never Planned on You // Davey Jacobs

Twenty-One

I'm so so so sorry this is so late. Please forgive me.

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It wasn't Jack who appeared.

Brooklyn had arrived.

Its self-decreed king had come to slum it in Manhattan and save the day. The sight of him still wanted to make me kick down a door but the fact that he came to help us, whatever his motivations may be, lessened my urge to shove my foot up where the sun doesn't shine. Assuming his gloating was kept to a minimum, I was happy to let him have his moment.

Taking a deep breath, I left David, who was currently occupied by Les tugging on his shirtsleeve, and made my through the cheering crowd, aiming for the one in the center of it all. Pushing through, swerving to avoid a swinging elbow and ducking under various arms, I found a relatively calm area to shout out to a certain someone to grab his attention. It worked.

"I could've sworn that you told me you would never step foot in Manhattan again"

Distracted, Spot whipped around, eyes narrowing in recognition before another smug smile reappeared, "Yous really think I'd miss this golden opportunity?"

"Yes." An honest answer.

Spot seemed only concerned about himself and his side of New York. What drew him here is unknown but it hardly matters. All that concerned me was that he showed and brought Brooklyn with him.

"Now come on! Ise thought we were friends, Doll."

"That's something you gotta earn, Doll" I put as much spite as I could into the last word, gritting my teeth hard enough to make my jaw twitch.

"Hows about I make you a deal then?" He shifts on his feet, crossing his arms as he cocks his head to the side.

"And what would that be?" I mirrored his actions, wary.

"Hows about if I help yous out with ya little problem then you and me can be friends? That little fire yous got is amusin' to me."

The odd compliment stops me for a moment. Internally and externally I wasn't sure how to react to it. Nevertheless, I continued, "Uh, sure," as an afterthought I added, "I guess."

"Nows that's what I like to hear."

Watching as he spit on his hand and held it out to me, I hesitated before doing the same and shaking hands. If it got him to join the strike then I'd shake his damn hand. With the newsies from Brooklyn combined with Manhattan, Flushing, Richmond, Woodside, and even the Bronx might just be enough to bring this city to its knees.

Before he could pull away, I took my chance to tighten my grip and lean forward, whispering, "If I hear the word "doll" one more time then I'll make sure Brooklyn watches as I toss you into the river. I hope you can swim."

His smug smile faltered, a bit of fear creeping into his eyes. Satisfied, I gave him a sugar sweet smile before letting go. Turning back, I lifted my hands to shout, "Brooklyn's here!".

Cheers echoed, the crowd growing louder as the shouts spread throughout the crowd. Grinning, I stepped aside and allowed Ms. Medda, who had come up behind me, to take my place in the center, not sparing Spot a second glance.

Ever the performer, Medda lifted her hands to the sky and called out in a grand fashion, "Welcome, newsies of New York City. Welcome to my theater and your revolution!" Medda accepted the praise from her audience like it was second nature, with a graceful wave of her hand and a striking smile.

Tuning out the crowd as Spot took over to give a speech, I giggled as Ms. Medda shooed me out of the center and weaved my way back to where David stood, looking too cheerful for my liking.

"Did you have fun with your new friend?" David asked, wiggling his brows and doing a poor job of holding back a chuckle.

Rolling my eyes and ignoring him, I glanced back over at Spot, thinking out loud, "I wonder what changed his mind"

"Maybe he just had a change of heart."

I snorted at his answer, not convinced, "Unlikely. Spot wouldn't show up without some personal motivation."

"Maybe he realized that it was best for his image and for Brooklyn's to show up. That the rally was happening with or without them and he needed to decide if he wanted his newsies to be on the winning side. To reap the rewards," David cleared his throat, his hand rising to scratch the back of his neck, "But, uh, how would I know? That's just my opinion."

Frowning at his motion, a dead give away that he was nervous, I turned towards him. His "opinion" was too specific to be a guess. He was hiding something.

"David Jacobs, what did you do?" I questioned.

"Nothing."

"Liar" I stepped closer, poking at him as if that would get the answer out of him.

"I'm not! Promise." He batted my hand away but I kept at it, laughing each time he frowned and tried to squirm away.

"David. Don't lie to me. You're terrible at it."

Finally, David threw his head back and groaned, a smile appearing at last. "Fi--FINE, I tell you! Just stoppp!" He gave up, throwing his hands up in surrender.

Triumphant, I moved back and waited for him to give an answer.

"Alright," He stopped himself, sighed, and started again, rushing through the words as fast as he could, "I might have gone to Brooklyn and convinced Spot to join the strike. Probably the most stressful thing I've done in my life. He's short but scary" He finished with a nervous laugh, although it was more of exhale than a laugh.

"HOW?" My jaw dropped. I'm sure I could catch flies if I wanted to. The fact that Brooklyn showed was unexpected but discovering David was the reason took my breath away. It showed a quiet strength that was impressive.

"Can't I keep that a secret?"

"No."

"You're not doing a good job at convincing me to change my mind."

Before I registered what I was doing, I was already pulling him towards me, fingers clutching his shirt, and, without hesitation, I kissed him, albeit harder than I intended. His body froze against mine. I panicked and started to pull away, heartbeat rising as worried that I went too fast, that I made the wrong move but relief flooded my body as I felt him kiss me back, slow and sweet. Now my heart was racing for a different and better reason. A warm feeling stirring in my chest at his touch. His arms reaching out to grab my waist and hold me firm, refusing to let me move away as we continued to kiss.

Pulling back a fraction, still close enough to feel his breath fan across my face, I stopped the kiss to catch my breath, lips still tingling. My eyes fluttered open to take in David's flushed face, his breathing just as uneven as mine. I couldn't stop myself from biting my lip, recalling the feeling of his lips on mine moment ago, smiling as his wide eyes flickered down at that movement.

"So did that convince you any?"

"Hm... I'm going to need to try that again to come to a proper decision."

"With pleasure."