A Painted Crutch

2 - Friends

Criticism spot!

Third Person POV

Crutchie was the first to wake, getting up before the bell. He was too excited to start being a newsie to sleep any further. He very quietly got up, being sure he wouldn't wake Jack, and went to get cleaned up.

After Crutchie had left, the bell rang, waking Jack up. He immediately got worried when he saw Crutchie was gone, which was something he hadn't ever quite felt before. To his own confusion, he got up, heading to the group bathroom.

"Crutchie? Youse in here?" He called out, unable to see him from the doorway.

"Yeah! Just gettin' washed up- if that's alright," he said, peeking out from around the corner and looking at Jack.

"'Course that's alright, I was just uh... Ise was just making sure," he smiled, leaving the room to go and change.

The two boys were ready quickly, Crutchie beaming with excitement. He followed Jack closely, looking around as he saw all the other newsies messing around with one another on the walk. They eventually reached the gate, the Delancey brothers, Oscar and Morris, opening it for them all. As Jack and Crutchie passed, Oscar looked them up and down, smirking.

"Fresh meat, huh, Morris?" Oscar spat, now eyeing just Crutchie. 

"Looks like it," the other brother replied, Crutchie growing visibly uncomfortable. Jack stepped in front of him, clenching his jaw.

"Shut it," he said angrily, balling up his fists. 

"It's fine, Jack," Crutchie said in a whisper behind him, trying his best to smile. Jack looked at him, confused by his reaction. Since the two weren't close by any means yet, he decided to drop it at that and not make his new friend any more uncomfortable than he already was.

Crutchie's POV

I got in line behind Jack, staying silent and simply taking in my surroundings. Obviously, I gauged quickly that the two brothers would be an issue for me, but it wasn't anything that I hadn't experienced before. 

Jack spent the day teaching me how to sell, and I mostly just watched. I was too scared to approach anyone yet, and was also caught up in watching Jack's expertise at it all. By the end of the day, I was exhausted, and I practically collapsed in bed. Jack laughed, walking in the room behind me.

"Youse tired?" He asked through his laughter, sitting on his own bed.

"Exhausted," I laughed back, sitting up to look at him.

"Get some sleep then, okay?" He smiled sweetly, and I nodded, getting comfortable in bed. I fell asleep just minutes later.

Jack's POV

In the middle of the night, I heard stirring from Crutchie's bed. I leaned over and turned the gas lamp on, waiting for my eyes to adjust. I rubbed them, trying to focus on Crutchie.

"Crutchie?" I whispered, not wanting to wake him up if nothing was wrong.

"Don't... Don't hurt..." Was all I could hear him mutter. I got up and sat down on Crutchie's bed, now noticing that he was also crying and hyperventilating. As gently as I could, I nudged him.

"Crutchie, hey," I said a bit louder, his whimpers breaking my heart. This all reminded me of my time after staying in the Refuge. "Wake up for me."

He sat up suddenly, making me jump back a bit. His breathing was worryingly harsh, his eyes darting around the room as if they were searching for anything familiar. Eventually, his gaze met mine, and he threw his arms around me. I didn't hug him back for a moment, in shock. Slowly, I put my arms around him, gently hushing him. After a few minutes, he hadn't improved, so I knew I had to do more.