Newsies One Shots

Suckers - Javey

A few people caught his eye that day; an older man, tucked in the corner with a hunch to his shoulders that spoke of an emotion Jack couldn't even begin describe, a young couple laughing brightly, all smiles and shining eyes and held hands, a woman who looked like she had been pulled straight out of a mystery/thriller movie, shifting eyes and a stiff back that made his neck prickle. Jack scanned all of these people, smiling and nodding at the waiter who brought him his coffee in a chipped cup. He thanked him, and then the bell rang again above the door and Jack looked up.

And stared at the person who had just slipped into the café.

He was about Jack's age, in his early twenties and tall, with dark hair that fell into one of his eyes in a curling loop. The stranger pushed it back in an unconscious looking manner as he moved between tables with a curve to his shoulders that made Jack thing he didn't want to be noticed. He was wearing a coat that fell to his knees, a dark brown thing that looked like it belonged in Sherlock, and there was a yellowed book tucked tight under one of his arms.

Jack blinked, looking at the man's features, his face of all planes and angles, a defined nose and upward curving mouth. His eyes avoided focusing on one thing, flitting around the room constantly with a shine of quiet intelligence that sent a spark of curiosity through Jack. He watched the man order something and then seem to fall back, sliding into a chair, opening his book and propping it against the sugar rack. Jack pulled his sketchbook towards him and glanced back up, his hand moving across the page as he started sketching this beautiful stranger.

And that's what he was. Beautiful.

Jack smiled a tiny bit, getting lost in his drawing as the stranger seemed to get lost in his book. Jack's gaze regularly flickered upwards, scanning his muse, his relaxed expression and curling hair, capturing it on his paper in tones of grey and black. Both of them stayed until the café closed, though Jack left first, braving the November chill with a twinge of reluctance and lead smudged across his hands like usual; Jack was no where near a neat drawer.

The temperature had dropped significantly by the time he went outside and Jack glanced once over his shoulder, already wishing he could stay longer. But no, he had an essay to finish and Charlie probably was waiting for him at their flat. Penthouse, they called it. Jack smiled and started walking and his mind went off on its own path again. He was thinking about the stranger once more; his face kept floating across his vision and Jack swallowed but smiled again, softer this time, quickly smothered.

I'm not going to fall in love with another stranger, he told himself firmly, but part of him couldn't help but hope he'd see the man again, even from across the café, from a distance.

•••

When Jack next went to the little café, it was still cold, but the sun shined weakly and there were barely any clouds scudding across the sky. It was late afternoon as usual, and as usual, Jack walked with his sketchbook under his arm and his mind a million worlds away. This time as he shouldered open the door and was immediately assaulted  by the warm scent of coffee and old books, he was thinking about ideas for sketches, character designs for a graphic novel he was trying to write with Charlie. 'Trying' being the key word.

It was a slow process, but it was fun and was something to do other than crawl through endless papers and textbooks. It was also rewarding whenever they decided on something, a name here and a plot point there. But man it was slow going.

There was also a part of his mind, a thought that swirled unchecked among fantasy names and far off lands, that still hoped he would see the stranger again. Unusual for Jack, but it was there. Jack had drawn him a few more times, filling the gaps he had left on the page of the original drawing and glanced at them now. Jack thought about the unlikeliness of this as he slid into his usual booth and ordered a coffee. He shook his head at himself and did his usual show of scanning the café, looking for someone else to draw when a smile split his face and his heart did a jumpstart.