Aaaaa I'm so excited!!
I'm having Javid, Blush, and Sprace--no particular order--here and I'm excited for it :)
Enjoy! :)
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The doorbell to Tibby's rings as Denton pushes through the door, smiling, a copy of the latest edition of The Sun in hand.
Everyone gets excited when they see him enter. Everyone is smiling.
He sets the paper down on the table. They all crowd around.
They stare at it in wonder and amazement.
Because that's them in the paper. That's them under the bolded headline:
CHILDRENS' CRUSADE
NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD
They did this.
They're showing the World all that they can do, and what they will keep doing.
This is so, so wonderful.
"You got us on the front page!" David exclaims to Denton, away from the crowded table.
"You got yourselves on the front page," Denton responds. "I just need to make sure you stay there."
Everyone at the table is talking at once.
"Where's me picture? Where's me picture?" Spot demands.
"All them words there are written 'bout us?" Boots asks incredulously.
Mush points at Jack's face in the picture. "Look, it's Jack lookin' like a general!"
"Wouldya get your fingers off my face?" Jack brushes Mush's fingers away.
"Where does it say my name?" Spot demands, hovering over Jack's shoulder.
Jack turns around in his chair. "Quit thinkin' 'bout yourself, will ya?" He shakes his head and turns back to the table and the paper.
"Nah, that's all he knows how to do," Race jokes with a smirk.
Spot turns to glare at him. Race returns his glare with a smirk.
"You get your picture in the papes, so what?" Skittery asks pessimistically. "Where does that get ya?"
Race can't believe what he's hearing.
Nor can anyone else.
"What are you talkin' about?" Mush asks reproachfully.
"Come on, you've been in a bad mood all day!" Jack complains over the rising clamour.
"I'm not in a bad mood," Skittery replies.
"Yeah, you kinda are," Tumbler supplies from behind him. Skittery just scoffs at him goodnaturedly and ruffles his hair.
"You're glum and dumb," Race tells Skittery. He lightly slaps his face. "What's the matter with you? You're in the papes, you're famous. And when you're famous, you get anything you want." He slaps his hand on the table. "That's what's so great about New York!"
Several others are agreeing with him.
Oh, what would it be like to just get whatever they wanted?
Oh, what it is to dream.
"A pair of new shoes with matchin' laces," Mush says.
"A permanent box at Sheepshead Races," Race fantasizes, closing his eyes for a moment to picture it. He never was one for small dreams. And a box at Sheepshead? All he could ever want.
"A porcelain tub with boilin' water," Spot adds on.
Kid Blink gets up on the table. "A Saturday night with the mayor's daughter!" His eyes flash at Mush. Mush just playfully hits Blink's shoe. They both know he would never want a night with the mayor's daughter. Kid Blink doubles over on the table as they both succumb to laughter.
Meanwhile, Race gets up on another table, raising the paper high above his head. "Look at me! I'm the king of New York!" He does a little tap dance and spins around. "Suddenly! I'm respectable, starin' right atcha, lousy with stature!" He's got a wide grin on his face.
Jack takes the paper from him. "Nobbin' with all the muckety mucks, I'm flowin' my dough and goin' deluxe." He leans back on a different table.
Race jumps down from his table and snatches the paper back. "And there I be!" He points at himself. "Ain't I pretty?"
Spot nods.
Then, realizing what he did, he blushes and looks away. Hopefully no one saw that.
But it's true. He does think that Race is pretty.
"It's my city," Jack says.
"I'm the king of New York," Jack and Race finish together.
More people want a closer look at the paper. It's way too many hands at once, though.
"Don't rip it! I SAID DON'T RIP IT!-"
"A corduroy suit with fitted knickers," Boots adds on to the growing fantasy.
"A mezzanine seat to see the flickers," Les says beside him.
"Havana cigars that cost a quarter," Snipeshooter adds with a grin.
Then there's David. Kind, selfless David. "An editor's desk for the star reporter!" David, who looks up Denton.
Denton does deserve an editor's desk, though. And more.
"Tip your hat!" they all shout. They gesture at Denton. "He's the king of New York!"
"How 'bout that?" Denton smiles. "I'm the king of New York!"
"In nothing flat," the newsies continue confidently, "He'll be coverin' Brooklyn to Trenton, our man Denton!"
Kid Blink gets back up on the table, hands above his head. "Makin' the headlines out of a hunch!" He jumps back down.
"Protecting the weak," Denton adds.
"And payin' for lunch," Race throws in.
"When I'm at bat," Denton continues, "strong men crumble!"
"Proud yet humble!" Race chimes in again.
"I'm/He's the king of New York."
More people get on tables now.
"I gotta be either dead or dreamin'..." they murmur. "'Cause look at that pape with my face beamin'. Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star for one whole minute!"
They all jump down at once.
Spot, Dutchy, and Skittery all narrowly miss a ceiling fan.
Of course, there are those who stay on the tables and do a little more happy tap dancing.
Kid Blink grins watching Mush, who has a huge smile on his face. He's amazing. I love him.
Who needs the mayor's daughter? Mush is mine.
Mush smiles back at Blink.
Still, everyone has a celebration to finish.
"Starting now, I'm the king of New York!" they all shout.
"I'm the king of New York!" Denton repeats, on a table.
"Holy cow! It's a miracle! Pulitzer's cryin', Weasel? He's dyin'!"
Things are going so well.
"Flashbulbs are shootin' bright as the sun! I'm one highfalutin' son of a gun. Don't ask me how! Fortune found me, fate just crowned me, now I'm king of New York!"
"Look and see! Once a piker, now a striker, I'm the king of New York!"
Now for the grand finish. "Victory! Front page story, guts and glory, I'm the king of New York!"
Bumlets hangs off the ceiling fan.
Everyone starts cheering.
Then they gather around. It's time to form a plan.
"We need something big," Jack starts. "Something so big, that the other papers are going to be foolish on missing out. Like a rally!"
"Yeah!" everyone agrees.
David can't stop staring at Jack. He's nearly startled when Spot comes over to where he's standing and puts a hand on his shoulder. Does this mean that Spot is warming up to him? Or that he's fine that he and Jack had a past? Or that he's showing respect to him? No matter what it is, David decides it feels nice.
Race looks tiny beside Jack. That's a combination of him slouching and not being that tall to begin with. Well, to be fair, Jack's not exactly average height either.
"We'll make it the biggest, noisiest, rally in the history of rallies," Jack continues. "We'll get every newsie in New York. No one will ignore us then."
"Yeah!" everyone cheers.
"Tomorrow night," Jack decides. "Now we need to spread the word to every borough."
Everyone is excited. This is going to be great.
There are drinks on the table. Jack picks up the first glass. "To our man Denton."
They all pass around glasses. Race passes one to Blink and Mush. They can share one, he figures. I mean, sharing a cup isn't going to give them any germs that kissing passionately wouldn't.
"To our man Denton!" everyone repeats, raising their glass.
They have a plan now.
This is all going so well.
Maybe this story will be forgotten over time. Most things are.
For now, though, every single person in this room is the King of New York, and nothing can take that away from them.
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I loved ending like that.
I didn't include it, but at the I gotta be either dead or dreamin'... part, there's a waiter in the back who is dancing to the music, and I always find it so funny.
You could tell that Aaron Lohr was enjoying all of Mush's choreography in the second half of the song.
Spot nods when Race asks ain't I pretty? and I squeal every time I see it.
He also does nearly hit the ceiling fan haha.
If you aren't thoroughly impressed by Dominic Lucero (may he rest in peace) hanging on the ceiling fan then I've got nothing more to say.
Spot actually does put a hand on David's shoulder in the movie. And when Jack is talking about the rally, Spot looks up slightly, seeing it. Gabriel Damon is such a great actor. I wish he had more screen time.
And Race did look absolutely tiny standing next to Jack. I just had to add that detail haha.
Oh, and when Kid Blink and Mush share a glass ... you can see them smiling and laughing at it. Everyone in the fandom is like they shared a glass because there weren't any left, but if you look at the tray, there's still at least one there. So for some reason, Race just handed them one cup to share. How the heck do people still think they aren't canon?
Max Casella's solos are my favorite. And just everything he does in the song haha.
I just love the song King of New York, okay? And the entire scene.
It makes my day.
I think it's obvious I pay close attention to detail in that one scene haha.
And I'm not even saying everything I observed.
...Okay, I think it's obvious I pay close attention to detail throughout Newsies haha.
I love how that whole song was created on a whim and was the last thing they filmed. That's honestly the best note they could end on.
The funny thing is, though, that 92sies is 2 hours long, and the King of New York scene is at around the 1 hour mark, so it's literally half way through the movie. So, we are half way through the movie. I imagine this story having 20 chapters. I don't know if that'll stay true or not. But for now, let's just say we're half way through the movie, and the story.
I wanted to end on a good note, since I don't know when the next time I'll update is.
I hope you all are enjoying this story so far! :)
Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.
Best,
~Your Beloved Author (who could--and would--listen to King of New York forever)