Jack glanced around at the boys as they waited for the distribution center to open. As the oldest, he felt responsible for making sure every boy was okay, and last night he had failed. His dark eyes slipped over to Sniper, who was playing Ringer with Tommy Boy.
"He's okay, y'know," Crutchie said from his side.
"I know, I just feel... I just.... I wasn't there for him." Jack spoke carefully, not wanting to draw any attention to them.
"You can't be everywhere at once," Crutchie said. "And no one blames you, Sniper's okay. Everyone's fine."
"But he thought that he'd have to sleep outside! All I've ever tried to do is keep all of you safe, and make sure that you all know that wese a family, but Snipe thought he'd have to sleep on the streets! What am I s'posed to think, 'cept I ain't been doin' things right?"
"Jack, youse doin' as good as you can, and it's more than enough," Crutchie said sternly. 'Sides, your job is sellin' papes, not takin' care of us."
Jack smiled at the shorter boy. "Thanks Crutch. I need someone to talk some sense into me every once in awhile."
"That's what brothers are for," Crutchie smiled softly.
"That's right, that's what brothers are for," Jack squeezed Crutchie's arm and turned back to the group, waving Davey over when the Jacobs siblings came into sight.
Davey made his way over to Jack and Crutchie as Les ran over to watch the game of Ringer.
"Hey Jack, Crutchie," Davey gave each boy a nod and a smile.
"Good morning Davey," Crutchie said brightly from Jack's right.
"Hey, Dave. I need to talk to you real quick," Jack said, stepping to the side. Davey gave a confused nod and followed him even further from the group of boys as Crutchie hobbled over to join a conversation with Mike and Ike.
"What did you need, Jack?" Davey asked when Jack had stopped at the corner of the square.
"Ya see Snipes ova' there?" Jack nodded to the boy he was speaking about. Davey spun his head around, and Jack quickly grabbed his chin, whirling him back around.
"Not so obvious, Dave! You gotta be discreet." Davey looked over more carefully, glancing out of the corner of his eye. "That's better."
"Okay, Jack, I see him. What about him?"
"Yesterday he had a run in with some guys from the Bronx. They stole his papes, so keep a close eye on Les, okay?"
"I will. Thanks Jack." Davey said, facing his friend.
"Hey, I'm just tryin' to make sure my partners are makin' all the money they can. If Les loses his papes, that's less money in my pocket tonight." Jack said, passing Davey and heading back towards the center of the square. Davey rolled his eyes and followed him over.
***
"Jack! I already sold all my papes!" Les stated proudly, puffing out his chest as he grabbed Jack's sleeve.
"See, I knews you was a natural!" Jack reached over and patted the kid's shoulder. "Youse gotta be one o' da best newsies I know!"
"Really? Even better than Romeo? Cause Albert said that he's handsome so all the ladies like 'im."
"They like you too, cause they like cute little kids."
"And that's why Davey doesn't sell very much, cause he ain't cute!" Les grinned.
"Don't let him hear you say that! You might hurt his feelins!" Jack chuckled. "It ain't his fault, not everyone can have a face like dis."
Les laughed as they made their down the crowded streets. Jack kept a hand on Les' arm, not wanting to lose the small boy in the throng of people. Jack moved skillfully through the streets, dodging carts and squeezing between people, earning himself a few dirty glances.
"Watch where your goin'!" A man exclaimed as Jack bumped his shoulder.
"I'll knock ya over next time," he muttered quietly. Les looked up at him in slight surprise, but extreme admiration.
"Would ya really Jack? 'Cause he was pretty big."
"Course I would, I don't let no one push me around, and you better not either," Jack said sternly with an eyebrow raised. Les shook his head quickly and straightened his hat.
"Nobody's going to tell me what to do... 'Cept my mother and father. And sometimes Davey, but no one else."
"That's good. You remember that, alright?"
"I promise."
***
Katherine stood near the door to the lodging house, her fingers curled in her skirt as she watched for Jack. She tried not to imagine what his reaction might be. If she was lucky, things would go well, but him getting upset seemed more likely. He would have every right to be angry, she acknowledged with a sigh. After what he'd given up for her it would only make sense for him to expect the same. Katherine groaned again, she hated being nervous.
"You waitin' for Jack?"
Katherine looked behind her to where Romeo stood, having come out of the lodging house unnoticed. "Yes, I need to talk to him."
"Only talk?" Romeo raised an eyebrow skeptically at the red haired girl.
"Yes Romeo, only talk," Katherine rolled her eyes at him and ignored the look he gave her.
"Then why do you look so sad? You ain't gonna leave 'im, are you? 'Cause if you are, you better get it over with quick. Jack loves you, and none of us need him to be whining over a broken heart."
"That's really nice of you Romeo, but that's not what it is."
"If you're sure." Romeo leaned back against the door frame and closed his eyes, relishing the soft afternoon breeze.
It really was no surprise that he'd been nicknamed Romeo, Katherine thought as she watched him. His dark hair was messy and fell over his forehead and the small grin that he always wore oozed charm. He took extreme pride in his looks and his face which, even after years of skirmishes in the streets, remained unmarked. Though Katherine herself found Jack to be the most handsome of the boys, she couldn't deny that Romeo was the kind of person who would catch your eye on while walking down a street.
Romeo seemed to have felt her stare and he cracked open an eye to look her, sending her a smirk, followed by a wink. Katherine rolled her eyes, which she tended to do a lot around the boys, and went back to imagining what she would say to Jack when he finally showed up.
"Kath, here he comes." Romeo nodded down the street as he lightly touched her shoulder. "I think he's got Les with him. You're gonna have to pry that kid off o' him. He worships Jack."
"Jack!" She called, drawing his attention. As soon as he saw her a grin lit up his face, only adding to the guilt.
"Ace! I didn't know you was droppin' by! Miss me already?"
Katherine gave him a weak smile as she made her towards him. As she drew closer Jack wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him.
"Les! How about youse come into the lodge and I'll teach ya how to play cards!" Romeo called. Les, who had still been standing by Jack, raced toward the lodge, eager to play a game that Davey never allowed him to learn.
"Now wese all alone," Jack smirked at Katherine and leaned down to give her a proper greeting, but Katherine turned away, his lips meeting her cheek instead.
"We need to talk, Jack."
Jack pulled away from her, his eyes crinkled in confusion. "'Bout what?"
"About us. My father and I were talking and he thinks-"
"You ain't leavin' me are ya?" Jack looked at her carefully. "Did he pick out some rich boy for you to be with instead? Is it that Darcy kid, I knew there was something about him that I didn't like."
"Jack!" Katherine huffed, crossing her arms. "First of all, Darcy is a perfectly fine boy and I happen to like him very much. Secondly, if you don't know what's going on, you shouldn't open your mouth. Let me finish."
Jack took a deep breath and nodded, allowing Katherine to continue.
"My father was saying that he thinks I should spend less time with you, but not because he's found someone else. Even if he had, I wouldn't leave you Jack." Jack noticeably relaxed at that. "He just thinks that I have a future as a journalist, and he said if I start working more on writing my articles that I'll probably be given bigger stories to write!"
"That's great Ace."
"You really think so?" Katherine asked, her eyebrows raised as relief spread through her.
"'Course I do. This is what you want, what makes you happy, why wouldn't that make me happy? Besides, if I didn't like it, you'd still do it anyway."
Katherine laughed and leaned up to press her lips against his. "Thank you," she mumbled as she pulled away from him.
"You wanna come in?" Jack motioned toward the lodge, but Katherine shook her head.
"I promised my father I'd be home early today. But if you're not too busy, I could use some company on the way home," Katherine suggested.
"You need someone to protect you?" Jack joked as he took her hand.
"No, I think I can handle protecting the both of us on my own."
Jack pressed a gentle kiss to Katherine's temple. "I love ya Ace."
"I love you too Jack."
***
Specs stormed into the lodge, slamming the door behind him.
"Oh no!" Albert said in mock disappointment. "The door didn't break! Maybe you should go back and slam it again!"
"Leave him alone," Henry groaned.
"What's got you in a bad mood?" Elmer asked as Specs slumped into a chair at the table.
"Nothin' much. Just caught some guys tryin' to sell on my track."
"That's alright. No one likes sellin' in Harlem anyway. Now you can find somewhere closer to here."
"That's not the point Tommy Boy. Someone was sellin' in my spot and they wasn't from 'Hattan." Spot took his glasses off and rubbed the corner of his shirt against them as he spoke.
"How do you know they wasn't just from Harlem?" Buttons asked skeptically.
"I just know," Specs replied.
"Real convincin'," Jojo teased from his seat in the corner, where he Romeo, and Race were engaged in a game of Skat.
"What did ya say?" Mush had come into the room and was listening intently as he pulled out an empty chair from the table.
"I told 'em that it was my spot and that they needed to leave. They just laughed at me."
"Then what?"
"Please say ya hit someone!" Albert said excitedly.
"No, I left."
"What?" The boys all looked at Specs in shock. Buttons shook his head and Albert's face dropped to the table as he groaned.
"You left?" Race stared at Specs, confusion printed across his face. "What would ya do that for?"
"Yeah, once you let someone have your track, you're not gonna get it back."
"I know that Romeo, but there were three of 'em, and I didn't trust my chances if somethin' happened."
"It's better than just lettin' 'em have it," Albert grumbled.
"Well I'm glad that Specs here uses his brain," Buttons said, placing a hand on Specs' shoulder. "It's better to find a new sellin' spot than it is to get your face busted up. I would've done the same thing."
"That's 'cause youse a chicken." Buttons rolled his eyes and slid into a seat next to Mike.
"What are you gonna do if you see 'em again?" Mush asked.
"Probably ignore 'em. What else can I do? It's better to just forget about it than start anything with 'em."
"Yeah, I guess," Mush agreed, reluctantly. "But where are you gonna sell now?"
Specs paused, "I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."
"Don't worry about it, you can come to Brooklyn with me until you find somewhere else." Race said as he lit his cigar.
"I don't know about that Race. Spot won't like it."
"When have I ever cared what Spot thought? You stick with me and you'll be fine."
"Alright. I'll take your word for it."
Race went back to the game, easily beating Romeo and Jojo. He grinned as he swept his winnings across the table toward himself, counting it out and slipping it into his vest pocket.
"It was nice playin' with ya boys, but I've got some races to go watch. I'll be back later."
Jojo watched him go, then leaned over to Romeo.
"He bets too much. It's gonna get him in trouble one of these days."
Romeo sighed, "Nothin' we can do."
Jojo looked at his friend for a minute, thinking, before he shook his head. "I think you're wrong," he said, getting up from his chair. "Hey, guys, I'm gonna head out too. "
"See ya later!" Romeo said as Jojo grabbed his hat from where he had set it on the table.
"Don't stay out too late!" Albert called.
"Yeah, don't get lost!" Elmer added.
Jojo ignored them as he left, closing the door to the sound of laughter from all of his friends. He looked down the street and saw Race was still close, having gotten caught up by some girls walking down the street. The blond boy had returned to walking toward Brooklyn, but Jojo quickly stopped him.
"Race! I'm comin' too!" He called, rushing down the steps toward his friend.
"Hurry up! I ain't got all day!"
When Jojo caught Race threw an arm around his shoulder, grinning around his cigar. "Let's go make ourselves rich!"
It's been almost two weeks since I last updated, and I feel kind of bad, but this week was my last week of school, so I had final exams to study for. But now it's summer, so I can write more!
Also, I know this chapter is really sucky(especially since I can't write Jack or Katherine to save my life! Tips are VERY welcome), but I was kind of stuck. I've been planning, and I know where I want the story to go, but this part was the gap between what I'd already written and what I was planning to write, and I had no idea what should happen, so I'm sorry.
Good news, I've got most of the rest of the story figured out and meticulously planned(I'm one of those people), so it will get better.
Thanks for reading! And, if you're on summer vacation, have fun!!!