Just warning you of some brief homophobic language. But don't worry: nothing that is going to stand in my way to write gay ships.
~ F
"Come on, Jack. Just for five days. Monday till Friday." Race whined.
"Alright. One week, but I won't have them Brooklyn boys here longer than that." Jack was rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Race and Albert cheered. "And as long as I can keep Davey here." Jack had already regretted with what he had just agreed to. Albert and Race came up with the idea of switching from leaders and turf for a week, they had already ran it through with Spot and the leader had agreed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure. We got to tell Elmer and Spot." Race pulled Albert away from their leader who looked after the two. The change of leadership was mostly blamed on 'we can learn from them and they can learn from us', but Jack just thought it was just them wanting to have a week long with the four of them in one place. The door opened again a few seconds after the red head and blond had left. Davey's head popped into the room and the rest of his body followed soon after.
"Hey, Dave." Jack sighed. He was already tired and the week had not even begun yet.
"So they talked you into it?" Davey walked up to his boyfriend and kissed him on the lips.
"Yeah." Jack sighed again after they pulled apart.
"You'll still have me, you know." Davey held jack's hand as he led the boy to the bed. He could see how tired Jack already was. Being leader of some hyperactive teenage boys wasn't as easy as he made it look. "Get some sleep. The switch is tomorrow and you'll need to be fully aware for it." Jack laid down on the bed and pulled Davey with them, who chuckled as he landed on top of Jack. The boy wrapped his arms around the boy on top of him and was almost immediately asleep.
<>
He was surrounded by the darkness that had suppressed him his entire life. His family came into few, all of them were laughing at him as he was bleeding on the ground.
"Fag!" His father yelled at him.
"You don't belong here." His mother looked at him with anger in her eyes. All of his siblings were standing behind their parents and laughing at him. He could taste the blood that was slowly dripping in to his mouth and out of his mouth. He wanted to scream, but nothing came out of his throat. Sweat was everywhere over his body and his hair was sticking against his head.
"Elmer?!" A voice that didn't belong there got his attention.
"Elmer, wake up." It was another voice.
Elmer shot up with tears in his eyes. The water was blurring his vision, but he could make out the red hair and blond curls that he loved so much. Two pairs of arms wrapped around him quickly, en golving him in warmth. And even though it was warmer than he was at first, he still felt cold. A soft kiss was placed against his temple by Albert before the two pulled away from the still softly crying boy.
"Nightmare?" Race questioned. Elmer just nodded, not feeling the need to talk. Albert placed the back of his hand on Elmer's forehead and took in a sharp breath.
"You're burning up!" He exclaimed, leading to Race also placing his hand on Elmer's head.
"We could just call the switch off." Race offered as he lowered his boyfriend back down on the bed.
"No, no. I- I want to." Elmer muttered softly, earning worried glances from two of his boyfriends.
"El, I don't know. It's cold outside." It was true what Albert had said. It was the middle of november and only around 41 degrees outside (Fahrenheit, so it's 5 degrees Celsius.).
"Please, just let me-" Elmer closed his eyes again. He was tired, sick and weak.
"I'll talk with Spottie. You need to stay here." Race told the red head, who nodded in return. Race practically ran out, leaving Albert sitting on the side of Elmer's bed. He ran one hand through the sweaty hair, moving it out of the sick boy's face.
"Is Spot here yet?" Elmer asked mumbling.
"Get some more sleep, baby. You will see him soon." Albert gave a quick kiss to the almost asleep boy before walking out of the room to get a wet rug.
<>
"Spot?!" Race called out into the Brooklyn lodging house. Said boy came walking down a few seconds later. He looked at the boys with glee.
"Hey." He greeted before placing a quick kiss on the boy's lips. "Did you convince Jack?" Race nodded, but his mind wasn't there right now. He was worrying about his sick boyfriend. "What's eating at you?"
"It's Elmer. He's sick. I don't know if it is a good idea to do it now, but he really wants to and he wants to see you." Race started rambling.
"We can move it a week-" Spot was worried too. It hurt him to not be able with his boyfriends all the time and especially when one was sick or was hurt, but he was the Brooklyn leader and couldn't just stay away for long.
"No, we already asked him and he wants to do it now. He wanted to see you." Spot nodded in understanding.
"I'll come over tomorrow and help you. You should head back now. It's getting dark." Spot looked through one of the half covered windows. Race placed a quick kiss on Spot's cheek and ran back to Manhattan.
<>
Jack woke up to a lot of noise coming from his newsies. The sun wasn't up yet, which ment it was still early.
"I'm so excited." He could hear JoJo whisper yell. He walked out of his room and looked at the total chaos in the lodging.
"Morning, Jack." Finch gave a small smile to their leader before walking back into their dorm room. Jack looked confused, only now noticing that he hadn't slept in said dorm room. He turned around and read the sign above the door.
'Kloppman's office.' The old man had died a year ago, but told Jack not to inform the authorities when he died. Kloppman had cared for these kids and didn't want for any of them to get hurt or send back to the refuge. Now Jack used it when he needed somewhere to think and the rooftop was too cold.
"Jack, I need a few extra blankets." Race's voice got him back out of his thoughts.
"Brooklyn has enough blankets, don't they?" Jack questioned confused as he didn't know why they needed more blankets for.
"No, I need them like now. Elmer's sick, but wants to go an-"
"Shit." Jack cursed and nearly ran towards the dorms. Race was right behind him, but didn't say a thing. It was a bad thing when someone was sick. In the way they lived, even a simple low fever could kill the strongest boy. When he opened the door, he could already see Albert sitting at Elmer's side. The Polish boy was sweating and tossing and turning. It was obvious that he was still asleep, but had a nightmare, which wasn't rare for him, since he had been kicked out of the house very recently after his parents had found out about his relationship with the boys. Race sat down next to Albert and held on to both boys' hands.
"Hey, Jack." Albert greeted when he saw the brown haired boy.
"How is he doing?" Jack asked while sitting down on the bed opposite.
"The same as yesterday, not worse, but definitely not better." Race answered.
"I'm fine." A grumbling voice came from the beds. The dark haired boy was laying with his eyes halve open and tears prickling in his eyes.
"Why don't you stay here with me and Davey to help with the Brooklyn kids, yeah?" Jack suggested, but he knew that wasn't going to work. Elmer was one of the sweetest boys he had ever met, but once he had set his mind on something, nothing could stop him from doing it. Not even his own well being.
"I'm fine. I just need to-" he tried to sit up, but had to be helped by Race and Albert in the end.
"We can go another week to Brooklyn. After this whole exchange. Just the three of us. We'll stay with Spot and he'll surely let us sell papes in Brooklyn for those few days." Albert suggested. But Elmer just shook his head. He slung his legs out of the bed and stood up, grabbing the bunk for support and it was only a matter of seconds before Race and Albert were on either side to support their boyfriend. Jack stood up and threw a blanket over the small boy's shoulder.
"I'm not going to stop you, hell knows I can't even if I wanted, but you need to stay in the Brooklyn lodging until you get better." Jack looked at him with his best 'mother' look.
"Believe me, he will." Another voice joined them. They all looked at the doorway to see Spot standing there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, making his biceps look even bigger.
"Spot!" Elmer smiled at his third boyfriend and walked over to him without support, but once he got there he fell against the boy, so Spot had to support most of his body weight. Spot kissed the boy on the cheek before taking him with him towards the entrance. Albert followed, but Race was stopped.
"If anything happens, you're my second, which means you have to deal with it and you have to take care of any situation. I believe in you." Jack told the younger boy. The blond looked up to him and gave a small smile.
"You know me, Jack. I can do this. And besides, I have Spottie with me." Jack watched Race leave before finally going after the boy himself. Davey was standing out side the room smiling.
"You're a good leader, you know." He smiled at Jack. Jack kissed him and took his hand. They walked down to now meet the Brooklyn boys that had come with Spot. There were a total of 19 newsies dressed in red. There were: Skittery, Hot Shot, York, Dutchy, Bumlets, Itey, Pie-eater, Ten-Pin, Snitch, Boots, Tumbler and a few others from which he didn't know the name. He watched as his newsies grouped at the other side of the hallway. Jack and Davey stayed at the top of the stairs, looking down at everyone. Jack made eye contact with Crutchie, who was looking really exited. He then looked at Romeo and Specs, who were holding hands, both obviously nervous. Finch, Mike, Ike, Sniper and JoJo were talking happily. Kid Blink and Mush were making out in the back, so Jack looked away rather quickly. Henry and Buttons were talking among themselves, neither seemed really happy about the exchange, but they didn't seem to really bother. Then there were Albert, Race and Elmer, who were standing at Spot's side in the middle.
"I'm so glad we left Les out of this." Davey murmured and Jack nodded in agreement. He then locked eyes with Spot and gave him the signal to take the Manhattan boys with him. The four of them went in front, Elmer being held up between Spot and Albert. The rest of the group followed loosely behind them. The only pro for them being as poor as they were was that they didn't have much to take with them, so only a few things were stuffed inside their pockets.
"Alright, boys." Jack spoke to the Brooklyn boys from his place on the top of the stairs.
"Pick a bed and lay down some stuff in it to mark it as your own." He had also done that a moment before. The group of boys sprinted up, nearly pulling the others down.
<>
It had taken Jack half an hour longer than usual, but they got in time to the circulation gate.
"What happened, Cowboy? Your guys finally left you?" Morris laughed.
"No, just an exchange with Brooklyn. You'll find these boys a lot fiercer than mine." The boys around Jack, who had heard the conversation smirked and slammed against the bars. The Delanceys took a step back out of reflex, but came back a few seconds later to open the gate. Jack smirked at how the boys already felt like they helped him, but he didn't know how long that would last. All the boys stormed in, which made Jack almost fall over. The boy looked at Davey who was holding back a laugh. Les didn't though. The little boy was laughing his lungs out while holding on to Davey's hand.
"Don't you dare." Jack threatened light hearted.
"I would never." Davey raised his free hand in surrender, but smiled the most beautiful smile Jack had ever seen.
It took a while before all of the boys had gotten their papes, but they now stood all circled up around Jack and Davey.
"Alright!" Jack yelled over the noise of the Brooklyn boys. "Who are your best sellers?" Hot Shot, York, Boots, Skittery and Dutchy raised their hands.
"Alright. Who wants Broadway?" Davey questioned. Dutchy was the first to raise his hand.
"Gotta go somewhere that still reminds me of home." He poked Boots in the side with a small smile. He was obviously hinting at the Nederlander Theater and the New Amsterdam Theater, since it was the Netherlands where he grew up before his parents decided to move to New York.
"Yeah, maybe they are just as stupid as you are over there." Boots shot back.
"We should send you back to Amsterdam! Give you back to them!" It was Ten-Pin that made the comment. All of the boys laughed, except for Dutchy, Davey and Jack, who was sighing at the total chaos it had already become.
"Saint-Partick's Cathedral?" Davey questioned when the commotion had finally died down. It was now Skittery who raised his hand.
"Trinity church?" Jack questioned. Hot shot yelled for his new spot, though he didn't have to since he was the only one that wanted it.
"Washington Square Park?" Davey went on. York raised his hand and headed away immediately, Dutchy, Skittery and Hot Shot followed after him, all realizing that there was no reason for them to wait.
"Central Park?" York turned around, signaling Jack and Davey that he had taken that spot.
"Boots, you get to stand on our side of the Brooklyn Bridge." The boy nodded and left. Jack than turned to the other boys. "You all can spread over the rest of Manhattan. The boys nodded and left. Jack let out a sigh before walking to his selling spot with Davey and Les walking right behind him. They parted ways as they came to the crossing that led to their separate places.
<>
"No, Elmer. You can't go selling today." Spot was standing with his arms crossed in front of the sick boy.
"I don't care about what you say!" Elmer yelled at him, but it came out quite soft, because his throat was to raw to actually yell.
"You can't even call out headlines if you sound like this." Spot argued.
"You're not the boss of me." Elmer now crossed his arms. Going to Brooklyn was for him an opportunity to not lie in bed all day, but it looked like that Spot disagreed with him.
"You're in Brooklyn now, so yes I a-" Spot was cut of by the door opening, letting in all the noise that came from the halls.
"FINCH! DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING SHOOT ME!" They heard Kid Blink yell.
"Calm down!" Crutchie tried to come in between them.
"Specsie, have you seen my cap?" Romeo asked his boyfriend.
"Tommy Boy! Stop making fun of JoJo. Mike, Ike, don't you dare pulling pranks on anyone as long as we're here." Race already sounded tired.
"Hey, Spot. I think Race might need your help." Albert walked in to the room. The door closed after him, leaving the whole room silent again.
"I will help him as long as you get him back in bed." Spot pointed towards the slightly taller boy in front of them.
"Alright. Back to bed." Albert walked up to Elmer as Spot snuck out of the room.
"Enough!" They heard Spot yell and the whole house went silent. It was evident that Spot had lost his patience. The door closed again, leaving the boys in complete silence, since they couldn't hear Spot anymore.
"I'm selling today." Elmer tried to walk past Albert, but the red head stopped him by wrapping his arm around Elmer's chest, blocking his way to the door.
"You're selling again when you can talk with your normal voice again. I like that one better." Albert kissed the top of the smaller boy before dragging him back to the bed.
"I hate you." Elmer said as he was pushed back on the bed and faced the wall.
"I know." Albert whispered as he kissed the dark brown hair that was a mess on top of Elmer's head. Elmer pushed him away with one arm. He didn't even look up. Albert could hear him sniff, but he didn't know if it was because his condition or that he was crying from anger, which he did often when angry. Albert sighed before walking out of the room. He was met by a calm aura. He could see the boys standing by the door, ready to go out. Crutchie was in front talking with Spot while Race was in the back, scolding Finch for shooting Kid Blink on the back of his head. Albert walked down the stairs. Both of his boyfriends walked over to him. Crutchie had obviously been told where to go as he began leading the rest outside.
"How was he?" Race questioned the red head.
"He was quite upset." Albert sighed as he looked to the ground.
"It's alright. Better have him better in a warm bed and be angry with us than have him on the cold streets." Race looked up at where Elmer was behind a closed door.
"Should one of us stay here to watch after him?" Spot asked worried.
"No. he needs to be alone right now. I don't think him being angry and sick will make him any better." Albert told the Brooklyn leader.
"Besides," Race was starting to walk outside with the other two right behind him. "we'll get right back here as soon as we're done and we'll get the other boys to do the same."
The three boys walked up to the rest of the group who already had their papes.
"You're guy is so much nicer than Wiesel!" Henry exclaimed as soon as he saw the Brooklyn leader. Spot just smiled a little before getting his own papes.
"How is Elmer?" JoJo stopped Race from getting his papes. It wasn't a surprise that JoJo asked since the two of them had been best friends since the moment they had met and even sold together on occasion.
"Let's say he's a little grumpy, but still very sick." JoJo chuckled at the answer he got.
"That does sound a lot like Elmer, doesn't it? I could sell less today and go back to the lodging if you want. I got enough spare money to get by for now."
"Yeah, that would be nice." Race sighed. He was happy that Elmer had such a good friend in JoJo.
"Here, have 30 papes from me. I'll sell the other 20 in no time on the way back." Race nodded at JoJo and said boy began his way back while calling out random headlines.
"What's he doing?" Spot asked as he came back with Albert right beside him.
"He's going back to look after Elmer." Race sighed with a sad smile.
"All right boys! Let's spread. You each have eight hours. Good luck!" Spot yelled at the crowd of boys who then started to run off to random places.
<>
"GUYS!" Jack yelled to get the attention of the boys that were either fighting, yelling or peacefully watching the chaos around them. The fighting and yelling stopped slowly, but Jack had become rather impatient. Davey had gone home after selling, something about a family matter, so Jack was on his own now. Jack had taken them to Jacobi's, which went just as well as he had expected: terrible.
"What is it, Jack?" Boots was standing next to the Manhattan leader, looking at the other boys.
"Get to bed boys. It's late and we got a lot of papes to sell tomorrow."
"Nah, we aren't tired yet!" Ten-Pin yelled as he slammed York on the back, who in reaction hit the other boy on the back of his head.
"Now, please." Jack sighed.
"C'mon Jackie boy. Don't be so boring." Dutchy chimed in, getting a glare from the leader.
"God, I long for the day Conlon takes you back." Jack sighed as he walked over to the ladder that leads to the penthouse. "If you need me, I'll be up here." He told Boots, the only actual behaving one of them all.
"What will you be doing up there with this temperature?"
"I don't know. Get away from you lots." Jack started his climb after that.
As Jack was drawing, underneath a lot of blankets that Crutchie and him had put up there. The longer he was drawing, the quieter it became. Jack let out a relieved sigh. They were actually well enough behaved to listen a little.
<>
"JoJo?!" Race yelled as he came back into the lodging house, he was early due to having the best selling spot in Brooklyn (and Spot taking some of his papes, but he wouldn't tell anyone that). JoJo's head popped out of the room they had left Elmer in.
"In here." He reacted before getting back into the room. Race made his way quickly up to the room. He opened the door a little further and looked into the room. Elmer was sleeping peacefully with a wet cloth on his forehead.
"How is he?" Race questioned his boyfriend's best friend.
"Lot's better than this morning. I think he might be better by tomorrow morning." JoJo had a small smile on his face, which also crept on to Race's.
"So no problems today?"
"Well, there was this one nightmare and he started speaking Polish, but I go him back in to a peacefull sleep." JoJo seemed proud of himself.
"Thank you." Race whispered.
"I'll leave you two alone." JoJo excused himself while looking at the not so very much asleep boy.
"How long have you been awake?" Race looked at his short boyfriend with a raised eyebrow.
"From the moment you sounded worried." Elmer smiled up at him. He opened his arms as an invite and Race took it gladly. Now both boys were laying on the bed that was actually Spot's.
"Feeling any better?"
"Yeah. I'm going to sell tomorrow." Elmer nestled his head in Race's neck.
"Been a long time since it was just the two of us." Race commented as he wrapped his arm around the boy.
"Yeah."
"So we aren't welcome anymore?" Albert's voice sounded from the doorway. It was at that exact moment that the whole house seemed to explode with over exited newsboys. The fuss dimmed down as the door closed after Spot.
"Of course you are." Race said while opening his arms, but Elmer did not.
"Are you still mad?" Spot asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I hate you." Elmer said with his face turned into Race's neck.
"Why Race and not us?" Albert questioned.
"He didn't keep me in here all day."
"He didn't disagree with our choice." Spot commented.
"Hey! I don't want to be on his bad side!" Race laughed at his boyfriends. Which earned him a hit from Elmer before the boy turned his back on them.
"O, come on, Ellie. Don't do that." Albert pleaded as he sat on the side of his bed.
"Fine, but if you do this to me one more time-"
"Then we'll lock you up in a cell, because I don't think there is anything holding you back." Spot joked as he climbed over Race and Elmer so he could be on Elmer's other side. He smiled as the boy was facing him. Elmer didn't look up at him though. He just wrapped his arms around Spot and curled up against his chest. Race turned half way so he could now hug Elmer from behind and Albert took the opportunity to lay down on top of them. They all chuckled before setteling in the position they now were. It was not long after that Elmer fell back asleep.
"What are we going to eat?" Henry came in to the room, but paused as he saw the glares of the three boys that were still awake. "I'll leave you four alone." He said chuckling while walking back out of the room.
<>
It was Friday morning and Jack just felt like he could be dead. He was tired since all of the boys kept fighting, with each other and strangers, and were so damn loud. You would think that the Brooklyn boys were at least a little behaved since the famous Spot Conlon was their leader, but it seemed like they had lost all their manners as soon as they stepped of their turf.
"JACK!" Jack woke up to Boots shouting in his ear.
"What?" He questioned grumpily.
"We're switching back in five minutes, remember?" The boy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"O thank god." Jack looked up at who was standing behind Boots. It was Davey, who had come early to make sure Jack wouldn't collapse in on himself.
"Don't be mean." Davey commented with crossed arms.
"Alright, you, Boots, were the least annoying." Jack said as he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head.
"And you weren't as bad as I thought you would be." Boots commented as he walked out of the room.
"Don't lie, you enjoyed my pain." Jack looked up at his smirking boyfriend.
"Alright, I won't lie. I like it when they make you work a little harder." He leaned down and kissed the boy before dragging him out of the room. At the exact moment they descended the stairs, the door flung open, revealing the tired looking Manhattan newsies.
"Morning." Romeo greeted with a yawn.
"Crutchie, o my god. I missed you." Jack threw his arms around his best friend as soon as the crippled boy made his way over to him. "How did Brooklyn treat you?"
"Brooklyn is, how do I say it, not Manhattan." Jack laughed at this.
"How was Spot?"
"Would've known if we saw him more often." Kid Blink joked from where he stood behind Crutchie. Mush hit him on the back of his head and Jack just shoved him away in a playfull way.
"Did you treat them well?" Jack looked at Spot who had just come over.
"They got nothing to complain about."
"Except your lovey dovey behavior!" Blink yelled as he was pushed into another room by Mush.
"Yeah, I'm glad to have my boys back." Spot smirked a little as he looked at the boys behind him.
"BUT YOU LOVE US!" Race yelled from the other side of the room.
"Sadly!" He yelled back.
"Don't say that!" Elmer pouted from where he stood at Race's side.
"He looks better." Jack said while watching Elmer interact with some of the Brooklyn newsies from the corner of his eyes.
"Really have JoJo to thank for though. He got angry at me and Albert, so JoJo stayed behind with him. You should be proud of your boys. They handled Brooklyn well."
"Yeah, I'm proud of them." Jack said as he ruffled JoJo's hair. The boy was just passing by as he made his way to his bed. "You did good, kid." He whispered in the boy's ear. JoJo looked up at him and mouthed a little thank you.
"And how did the boys do it here?" Spot asked with honest curiousity.
"Let's say that they almost wrecked it." Jack chuckled, but he hadn't lied. Even the Delanceys had backed off at one point. "It was like having a lot of bodyguards that are worse than the bulls." Spot laughed. He knew that it was true, but he wasn't going to trade his boys for anything in the world. Neither of them were.
I hope this one is good enough! It's currently 11:30 pm, so if there are many spelling/grammar errors, I'm sorry. I will change those when I'm a little more awake.
Have a lovely day and keep going. Love you guys.
~ F