Newsies One Shots

Uphill Climb - Javey

Prompt - Hope
Au - None
Triggers - Injury/violence mention, mild swearing, implied death

•••

"Idiot, idiot, idiot," Jack muttered to himself. He massaged his temples with his head in his hands and sighed shakily. He was on the rooftop once again and rain was spitting down in almost a mist. He barely noticed it, too wrapped up in his thoughts. It wasn't cold by any means so the rain didn't bother him much.

He sat on the little wall that ran around the edge of the roof, the dizzying drop to his back; that drop didn't phase him anymore. The sun was just starting to dip as daylight bled into dusk and a slight breeze lifted the hair from his forehead, carrying more water droplets with it. He ignored them.

Jack was angry. Angry with himself, mainly. Angry with the world, with the way everything seemed to be pitted against him, against them. Angry at the ever stacking odds that made life a constant uphill climb that got steeper with every passing day, that little bit more treacherous. It was hard enough to make ends meet on a day to day basis, hard to scrounge enough coins to eat, and now this.

It had started with Button's showing up back at the lodgings with his face as white as a sheet and his entire body shaking. There was a bruise blossoming on his temple and his lip was split, which immediately freaked Jack.

His injuries hadn't seemed to bother him though, as he'd said in a rush, "Racer's hurt. He's hurt bad,"

Jack had immediately scrambled to his feet, along with Albert, Tommy Boy, JoJo and Sniper. The rest of the newsies where still out selling. Button's led them to where he and Race had been selling at a run. It was further away than where most of them sold, more remote almost. As remote as you can get in New York anyway.

They had all been out of breath and wincing from stitches by the time they had found Race, all but curled up behind a stack of empty barrels in the mouth of an alley. He'd been bleeding from a gash above his right eye, which was still swollen shut near four hours later, and his hands were cut and bloodied. He'd made no move to get up when Jack dropped next to him and winced when Tommy Boy and Albert had lifted him, hissing through his teeth.

They'd taken him back to the lodgings and Jack had fixed him up as best he could whilst Albert and the others hovered anxiously around them. Race had been completely quiet, though his gritted teeth spoke measures of the pain he was in as Jack wrapped his knuckles in a scrappy bandage; they seemed to be dislocated, and tried to take down the swelling around his eye with a cold rag.

Race's toro and arms where scattered black and blue and his back was covered in scrapes. He was asleep now and Jack had managed to get from Button's that some guys had stolen Button's cash and would've beaten the living hell out of him for kicks if Race hadn't stepped in. Poor kid was distraught.

It looked like Race would be ok, just about, but that didn't stop Jack from worrying, and from cursing at himself. He'd been the one to suggest they try that new spot; they'd never had issues with scabs and the like anywhere else, and now Race was bust up bad. He wouldn't be able to sell for a few days at minimum, though Jack knew he'd try. Race was as stubborn as a damn mule when he wanted to be, especially when to came to being hurt.

Jack had left the lodgings as soon as he'd been content that Race was ok. As ok as he could be. The place became oppressive, especially when he was worried like this and he needed to get out. He cared so much for all the newsies and seeing them hurt dug deep; the guilt and fear and worry that came with it had barbed edges that hooked into him and refused to loosen, dragging him down.

That was the downside to caring as much as he did; people got hurt, that was inevitable, and Jack knew that. He knew he couldn't protect everyone, he couldn't keep them all safe and that knowledge rested heavy on his shoulders. He'd tried to lessen it, to tell himself it wasn't his burden to carry and that blaming himself all the time just caused more harm, but to no avail.