His Thing

Chapter 23

Davey walked with determination to the theater, the very place he avoided for weeks. He couldn't avoid it now, he didn't want to. A man on a mission.

Jack followed after as quickly as he could before they reached the door at the side of the theater. He recognized the alley very quickly. "Wait", he demanded before pulling Davey away from the door and to the wall, kissing him intensely, with passion and love.

He owed the boy about a month's worth of kisses, and he decided he might as well start now. Plus, watching Davey melt was just so sweet, like a popsicle dripping down your hand.

Davey hummed, pulling away quickly. He gasped for air, although he wasn't exactly complaining. "What-"

Jack shrugged, looking around the alley. "Full circle."

Davey pushed him away, making Jack laugh as he opened the door to the theater. Their friends were all sitting around with Katherine and Sarah, working out the next move. "Aw, man. You guys didn't start without us, did you?"

Everyone looked to the door and gasped. "Jack!" Crutchie was the first to stand up and walk over to his best friend. He wrapped him in a tight hug. Jack hugged him back. He definitely missed his little brother's hugs.

"Hey, man", JoJo greeted, patting his shoulder. Jack smiled as everyone came up to him.

"Si alguna vez te vas de nuevo, te mataré but it's good to have you back", Ike shrugged, pulling Jack into a side hug. The taller chuckled at the small threat, making sure to keep it in the back of his mind. "Nice to see you again."

"If your ever leave us again, you'll be the one eatin' a knuckle sandwich", Romeo threatened, pulling Jack into a hug. "It's good to see you again, man."

Jack hugged him back, a smile on his face. He looked over at Davey, who was getting his own round of hugs, and patted Romeo's back. "Let's get you back to Specs, alright? You two don't look good without each other."

Romeo punched him in the shoulder. He was happy to have Jack back, and he was glad to spend time with him, but there were more important things to discuss. "So? What do you want us to do?"

The room settled down, looking towards Jack for guidance. He looked at every single one of their faces, the hope in their eyes shining bright.

Jack smiled at them, nodding. "Let's get to work."

———

"So, everybody knows what we's doin'", Race tells Jack and Davey. "It's a bit more, uh, complicated because you two was gone-"

"Babe, you's bein' passive", Spot reminds his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his waist. Race rolled his eyes.

"Sorry. Point is, almost everyone knows about what we's doin'", Race continues, crossing his arms. "We got secrecy on our side."

"Great", Davey nods, writing that done. He sat with Jack, practically on his lap, but no one was all that bothered. Jack had made a point to never let Davey go again, and no one decided to question it. "So we could just sneak in?"

"It ain't that simple", Mike sighed, crossing his arms. "Remember how Albert tried the same thing? Where is he right now?"

"He didn't have an army of kids with him, pendejo", Ike retorted, making Mike roll his eyes.

"¿Puedes, por favor shut up—"

"You shut up!"

"Hey, enough of that!" Jack furrowed his brows, staring at the twins. "When we're done, you two will be nice to each other or, so help me God, I will find a large t-shirt for you to hug in. Do you hear me?"

Ike and Mike nodded, glaring at each other but stopping their bickering. He sighed and shook his head. "And Ike's right. Albert didn't have a bunch of kids with bats and rotten fruit on his side. But we also have to think about this. Plus, I'm the only one who knows where the police station is."

Davey hummed. Romeo raised his hand. "You guys are wrong."

"Excuse me?"

"Not everyone knows about this", he pointed out, looking around the room. "West Side."

Everyone groaned at the mention of Jet and his goons, already knowing what was to come. "We don't really have to", Mush shrugged. "No one wants 'em here anyway."

"Plus, that's just more trouble for us if Jet starts somethin' again", Blink added, an arm around his boyfriend.

"More trouble for him, anyway", Spot mumbled, making Race snicker. Others added into to what he was saying, and Jack sat and listened.

"I'm not sure who Jet is", Davey started, looking around at his friends, "but this could've been happing to him just as much as it's been happening to us. And none of you care."

They mumbled, discussing it among themselves. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, Dave's right", Jack agreed, nodding. "Believe me, I'm the first person that wants to knock Jet's teeth in but right now, there's about one thousand of us, and it doesn't hurt to have a thousand and one."

Race rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "This is the dumbest thing we will ever do, but I'm in."

"Yeah, me too", Spot sighed, chuckling. "I can't promise I won't fight him, but I'm willin' to be civil."

The boys all shouted their agreements as Davey smiled. "That's great! Who's going to come with us to get him?"

Everyone went silent at the sound of actually stepping into West Side, seeing Jet face to face. Jack rolled his eyes.

"It'll just be us, Dave. I'll send everyone else home, and the leaders and seconds will go."

The leaders voiced their disappointment and lack of wanting of this deal, but Jack shut them up. "Why the hell would we need three thousand kids marchin' to a police station? We'll fill up half the island."

"It's a brotherhood thing, man", Race explained, looking at all of his friends. "I know that not all of us is here, and not all of us will show up, but we should be there together. Not as individuals, but as Newsies."

Jack smiled at him, proud of the speech he just spoke. He placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly.

"Spoken like a true leader." Race smiled at him, punching him in the shoulder.

"Racetrack Higgins for President", Blink joked, making everyone in the room laugh. Jack shook his head.

"Fine", he decided, grabbing everyone's attention. "You all can come. We'll need someone to block off the streets, and I plan to be in Pulitzer's first line of sight."

The boys shouted and cheered, making Davey look over to Katherine and Sarah. He imagined they felt a bit out numbered, seeing as they are in a room full of a boys and a little out of their element.

"Kath", he called, making sure he had her attention. "You good with this?"

Katherine a took a deep breath before nodding her head, smiling. "Yeah", she shrugged. "I didn't come all the way here for nothing."