When Will My Life Begin || A Newsies Royals AU

Chapter 7

TW: Gambling.

"Hey, Antonio, can you play poker?" Finch asked, shuffling the deck when Antonio came through the door.

"Yeah. I've been playing it since I was young."

"Really? I would've thought that'd be banned or something."

"Oh it was," Antonio said with a grin. "That was just one of the rules I chose to ignore. I'd sneak out and go to the Sheepshead."

Finch grinned. "Did you win?"

"Sometimes, yeah. You know those illegal poker games in the back alley? I basically always won those," Race said proudly. "They were full of stuck-up rich men so I took all their money and gave it to the hospital."

"I think I'll sit this game out." JoJo stood up from the table suddenly. "I always lose to Finch and I feel like you'll beat him."

Antonio shrugged. "I'm not that good. I think it's mostly just luck."

"Come see how your luck is then." Finch started to shuffle the cards. "I always like a challenge."

Antonio sat across from Finch and took his cards as Finch placed the cards in the centre.

Antonio bet Finch easily. As he did their second, and third game. Finch was just about to challenge him to a fourth game when Jack came in to put a stop to their activities.

"Get a move on boys. We're going to Miss Medda's," he announced. "Wear your nice clothes and Albert wear something with sleeves."

Albert groaned as all the Newsies laughed.

Antonio leaned over to Albert. "I think you look great without sleeves. Your arms are really hot."

Albert blinked. "Um, thanks. I think."

"Your welcome," Antonio grinned.

"Antonio, stop flirting with Albert and go get changed," Jack told him.

Antonio grumbled as he walked to get changed.

By the Newsies' standards nice clothes was anything that hadn't been patched up with multiple different colours and had sleeves, apparently. Albert didn't particularly like the second part all that much of the qualifications.

After so long in the palace, it took him a while to get used to the clothes but he found himself strongly liking the way the Newsies dressed. It felt so free in comparison to the tight, stiff clothes he'd been forced to wear since he could walk.

"Antonio." Jack shook his head around the doorway. "Get a move on."

Antonio let out a breath and pulled the shirt over his head, not even noticing that Davey had entered the room.

"What's on your mind?" Davey asked.

Antonio jumped, startled by his long-time best friend tearing him from his mind. "Why would something be on my mind?"

"You always notice when someone enters a room. You didn't."

Antonio sighed and sat down onto his bunk. "I really like Spot but Jack started saying that he's got a temper and all and it's illegal and I don't know." He sighed defectively. "I just don't see the point in love."

"Don't say that, if you truly like Spot, then you'll end up with him. Even if it involves breaking the law but think about it, what isn't illegal here? You've broken the law lots of times before, I even break the law so what does it matter?"

"You, the perfect David Jacobs, break the law," Antonio said in fake shock.

Davey rolled his eyes at the blonde's antics. "Get changed. We're all leaving soon."