| Well, guys, this is my first ever (formerly unpublished) "attempt" at a fanfic. After writing it I was to shy to post it, and now, well, I'm glad. It's pretty bad, to say the least. To those of you who have read my recent writing, I hope you can see at least a little improvement. So take this the way you want it, either read it as something dumb and funny or use it as a template for how not to write a fanfic. Either way, here's my unedited original version with my new commentary in black italics. Oh, and at first it doesn't seem that bad, but just keep going until you get to the end. Trust me, it gets worse. Always Have a Family By Sarol December 16, 2001 Jack groaned and rolled over in his bunk. He hadn't gotten any sleep that night, and judging from where the moon was in the sky he still had about two hours before the sun peeked up above the horizon and he'd have to get up. He'd seen this poor orphaned girl earlier today- or yesterday, now, who he just couldn't get out of his mind. Sure he was used to seeing poverty and homeless kids, but there was something about her face… Hrm....I don't think he'd be losing sleep over an orphan, considering basically all the newsies are orphans, but whatever, I'll go with it... No, don't think about it, he thought, flipping his pillow over and burying his face in the cool fabric. Yeah, just don't think about it. You'll get up in an hour or two, sell yer papes, and then you can come back here and get to sleep. At least ya have a place to go, not like… Jack sat straight up. Why on earth was he obsessing about some kid? She was probably ten years old, old enough to take care of herself. Besides, she probably had someone looking after her. He laid back down one more time and shut his eyes with determination, willing sleep to come over him with all his might. A few seconds later he slowly opened one eye, then the other. It was pointless. With a sigh, he swung his legs off the side of the top bunk, accidentally kicking Race's arm. "Heya, watch it Cowboy," Race mumbled sleepily, rolling over. Careful not to disturb anyone else, Jack made his way through the lodging house and out into the cool air. Taking a deep breath, he walked a few blocks back to where he had seen that girl. Once I see that she's still not there, I'll feel betta, he reasoned. Turning the corner, he spotted the bench he had seen her sitting and a sick feeling rose in his throat. She was still there, sitting upright, the same look of fear, sadness, and anger on her face. Hearing footsteps, she whipped her little blonde head around. "Who are you?" Her small voice pierced through the quiet night. "Shh, I just came to make sure yer all right," Jack replied, feeling foolish. The girl jumped off the bench, fists raised. "You leave me alone! I ain't afraid a' you!" Seeing the look of toughness and anger in her blue eyes, Jack couldn't help smiling. "Hey, now, take it easy. Come 'ere, where ya goin'?" Okay, I'm still on like the first page and already the accents are starting to bug me. Especially in the thoughts, does Jack really need to think with an accent? The girl was tearing down the street. "Kristy, KRISTY!" she shouted. Jack easily caught up to her, and grabbed her shoulder. "Whatsa matta? You'll wake someone up!" The girl was hysterical. "Please leave me alone! Please! Kristy'll come fer me, she's finding us a place, please, she told me to wait for her here!" Jack was very confused. "She told you to wait by yerself in a deserted New York alley at night?" The girl was starting to calm down. "She said she'd be back before the sun set, but it's just takin' her awhile. She'll come back fer me. I know she will." Jack nodded. "What's yer name, kid?" The girl hesitated. "Oh, no way am I going to tell you. This morning, a'fore we ran away, Kristy said to me, she said, 'Betsy, now, while I'm finding us a place you stay right where I tell you to and I'll come back for you later. Don't talk to anyone and don't tell them yer name.' So I ain't gonna tell you my name." Jack smiled again. "I think ya just did." Uh...sorry, but no one's that dumb to accidentally give away their name like that. Honestly. Betsy gasped and that look of fear came back to her face. Jack didn't want her to get all crazy again, so he quickly said, "Listen, it's okay, you can trust me Betsy. I ain't gonna hurt ya. I just wanna make sure yous okay. Do ya wanna tell me what you an' Kristy are doin' out on the streets?" Betsy thought for a minute, then deciding it was okay to trust this boy, said, "Well, me name's Elizabeth, only Kristy can call me Betsy. We ran away from Ma and Pa today. They was so mean. All's we did was work, and they beat us. They always found something wrong in everthing we did. Today was me birthday. I'm nine now. So this mornin' Kristy, she's me big sister, says to me, 'Betsy, we's goin' to run away today. After today, we'll be free.' So's I ran away with her, and she's findin' a place fer us. And Kristy said not to trust strange men so's I really think you should go." If this Kristy is so protective why would she leave a nine-year-old alone on the streets? Jack nodded. "Listen, Elizabeth, what da ya say ya come ta the Lodging House fer the rest of the night. The sun'll come up in about an hour. Then when we's all off sellin' papes, you can get some sleep." "Lodgin' House?" Elizabeth asked. "Yeah, where we newsies stay." Elizabeth's face brightened. "Sounds like an adventure ta me. I always dreamed of havin' an adventure." Jack smiled. "Well, I don't know about an adventure, but it's safe and warm. C'mon now, I'll show ya the way." Elizabeth took his hand and they began to walk back towards the Lodging House. After a few steps she stopped and looked up at Jack. "Wait a minute! What's yer name?" "Me name's Jack. In the mornin' I'll introduce ya to the other guys." After a few more steps Elizabeth stopped again. With a yawn, she said, "Jack, I'm getting pretty tired. Will ya carry me awhile?" Wait! What is this? Whatever happened to not trusting strange men? Man this kid is dumb. "Sure," said Jack, hoisting her up onto his back. By the time he turned the next corner she was sleeping. When he got back to the Lodging House, Jack laid her in an open bunk and pulled himself up onto his own, once again stepping on Racetrack's arm. "Hey, Cowboy, cut it out!" Race yelled, blindly swatting out at the air before his snores resumed. Jack closed his eyes and drifted into sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. What seemed like a few seconds later, Kloppman was standing over Jack. "C'mon Cowboy! Ya gotta get up! The others are already off carryin' the banner. And you've got some explainin' ta do. Who's da kid?" He asked, gesturing toward the bunk where Elizabeth laid, breathing softly. Jack rolled over. "Just some kid," he mumbled. "Needed…a place…" Kloppman shook Jack's shoulders again. "C'mon, wake up. You can explain when yer done sleeping. But fer now get outta bed!" With a loud sigh, Jack stumbled out of bed, yawning and running his hand through his greasy hair. "Uhh, I musta gotten half an hour a sleep last night," he mumbled, mostly to himself. "Well ya better hurry if ya wanna get some papes," said Kloppman. Suddenly Jack snapped awake when he saw where the sun was in the sky. It was almost noon and he wasn't even out of the lodging house. Yeah right. Kloppman wouldn't have let Jack sleep in that long, you saw the movie when Kloppman kept trying to wake him up. Swearing under his breath, he ran towards the door. "Keep an eye on the kid!" he yelled back at Kloppman. "I'll explain later, just don't wake 'er up and don't let 'er outta the house." Jack wasn't sure Kloppman heard him because he was out on the street when he finished his sentence. It was too late to buy papes from Weasel now, so Jack borrowed a few from some of the other newsies. He wouldn't make much money today, just enough to get Elizabeth some supper and himself a bite to eat. When it was almost time to head back to Tibby's for supper, Jack turned onto the same street he had found Elizabeth the night before. A fat woman with stringy brown hair with gray streaks was clutching the arm of a tall girl with the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Elizabeth. In fact, they looked almost exactly alike except this girl was seven or eight years older. The fat woman, who Jack assumed was the blonde girl's mother was now screaming and shaking her. "Mrs. Johnson told me she was sitting right on this bench. Now where is she? Where is she, Kristy?" Jack didn't know what to do. He could tell this was a very cruel woman and would definitely beat Kristy and Elizabeth once she got them inside where no one could see. But he couldn't leave Kristy with this woman, could he? Turning around, he ran a block and a half backward and got Race's attention. He quickly told him to create a diversion to get the lady's attention. "No problem, Cowboy," Race nodded and took an alternate way back to the alley where Kristy and her mother were. Race picked up a garbage can and smashed it through a window half a block down from where they stood. The woman let go of Kristy's arm for a second and ran toward Race, yelling something about Mrs. Johnson's window. Jack took that opportunity to grab Kristy's arm and pull her away. She started to scream but Jack covered her mouth and whispered, "Just run!" Then the mom's pretty dumb to let her go because of a loud noise. You'd think she'd be used to loud noises, considering she lives in New York. But it works for plot reasons, so let's go with it. A few minutes later they arrived at Tibby's. Race was already there, smoking a cigar. "Way ahead a'ya, Cowboy. What took ya so long?" "Well I had da goyl wid me." Kristy glared at Jack. "You have some explaining ta do. Do ya know that what ya just did is considered kidnappin' and" "Saving yer butt?" Jack interrupted. "Look, thanks fer getting me away from me mudda but I gotta find me kid sister," she said, turning around and walking towards the door. "Elizabeth?" Jack said. Kristy froze and slowly turned around. "How do ya know about Betsy?" "I found 'er last night on da streets." "And ya kidnapped her, too?" Kristy was furious. "She better be okay!" "She is, no thanks to you, leaving her on da streets a' New York at night!" Jack was starting to get angry at this girl. After all he did, she sure wasn't very grateful. "Where's me sister?" Kristy asked. Jack rolled his eyes. "Wait here. I'll get her for ya." "I'm coming too!" Kristy said. When Jack saw the stubborn look on his face he mumbled fine and they left, Kristy yelling at Jack the whole time. "Have fun, Cowboy!" Race yelled after Jack, laughing at his misfortune and joining Blink and Mush for a game of poker. A half hour later, Jack and Kristy returned, with Elizabeth on Jack's back. The other newsies couldn't believe their eyes. Kristy was a completely different person, smiling and laughing happily. "Hey, what got into her?" asked Mush. Jack shrugged. "I dunno. Somethin' about da kid. Da minute Elizabeth ran to da door, her face lit up and she's been like dis since" "So, Jack, what's up wid da kid?" one of the newsies asked, gesturing toward Elizabeth, who was now whispering to Race about Blink's cards. "I found her yesterday. She was" "I'll explain," Kristy interrupted. "I'm 'er older sister. Yesterday we ran away to escape from Ma and Pa. Then I set off lookin' fer a place fer us. I was gonna take Betsy along wid me, but she was slowin' me down and I had to carry her. (Dude, she's nine years old. Why would you carry her?) And since I had to find a place by sundown or we'd have to go back ta Ma and Pa, so's I just told 'er to wait at da bench while I was gone. Well, I had to get far away to where no one would recognize us, so I started walkin' to Brooklyn. I looked around fer a bit, but it was startin' ta get dark so I gave up and started to come back to Manhattan and me and Betsy would have to go home fer awhile longer. Soon it was dark and I still hadn't left Brooklyn when this man pops outta nowhere and starts chasin' me. Then dis guy wid a slingshot came an' saved me. 'Is name was Spot Conlon. He asked me if I was crazy, stayin' out on da streets so late at night. I told 'im I had ta get home to find Betsy, but he told me ta come back ta da Brooklyn Lodging house fer da night. He said Betsy would be fine, one a' Jacky-boy's newsies would pick her up." Laughing, Kristy added, "I guess he was right. So here I am, and I'm much obliged to all a' ya, but I really should be goin'. C'mon, Betsy." "Dat's quite a story," (Yeah, and quite the cliche too. Run away from abusive parents, that's original...) said Jack, "But are ya sure ya don't wanna stick around fer da night? Ya don't got a place ta go, an pretty soon it'll get dark. Don't ya at least want a bite ta eat?" "Nah, I need ta find a place fer Elizabeth," Kristy said, gesturing over to where Elizabeth sat. All of the newsies were back to their games, food and talking. Then, noticing what Elizabeth was doing, she added, "You get dat cigar outta yer mouth dis second!" Jack laughed. "A, c'mon, da kid likes it here." Reaching into his pocket and quickly counting the change, he added, "Hey, someone wanna spot me a couple a bits?" Catching the quarter Blink flipped him, Jack ordered some food for himself and the girls. A few hours later, it was pouring rain and dark outside, and everyone was still at Tibby's, laughing at some joke. Suddenly, Kristy looked out the window and noticed that it was dark. "Oh, no," she said. "C'mon, Bets, we gotta go home." At this Elizabeth began to cry with long, shrill sobs. All the newsies were silent, shocked at the sudden change of mood. Jeez, what a brat. Why do they all like this kid? Breaking the silence after a few uncomfortable moments, Jack said, "Uhh, Kristy? Ain't ya just gonna stay at da Lodging House?" "Well, I don't know, I think maybe" Kristy began. "Ahh, c'mon," said Mush. "Yous just gonna take da poor kid home in da rain?" Well, she left her in an alley all night... "I don't even know you!" said Kristy. "Well then let me introduce ya," said Jack. "Dis is Mush, Race, Blink, David…" Jack went on, introducing each newsie in turn. "So now that we's all friends, c'mon, lets go back. Tibby's will be closin' soon." Kristy finally agreed, and the happy group walked back to the Lodging House. By the time they got there, they were soaking wet and absolutely freezing, but Kristy and Elizabeth were happier than they had been in a long time. They all sat for a few minutes in the main floor, then filed one by one up to the second floor to bed. Finally only Jack, Kristy, and Elizabeth, who was fast asleep in Jack's lap, were the only ones who remained. "Look, I wanted ta thank ya fer helpin' us and" "Ah, don't mention it," Jack interrupted. "No, it needs to be said." Jack shrugged, and Kristy went on. "I know I wasn't very nice ta ya at first, but ya understand how important Elizabeth is ta me, don't ya? And if it weren't fer you, we would've been back at home bein' soaked by Ma and Pa." Jack nodded, then noticed the bruises on Kristy's arm. "Did she hurt ya dis mornin'?" Kristy shook her head. "Nah, not any worse than usual." "She do dat to Elizabeth, too?" Jack was already very protective of Elizabeth and treated her like a little sister. Kristy hesitated, not wanting to make Jack mad. "Worse. She and Pa was harder on Elizabeth than all our other bruddas and sistas. I told Elizabeth we were running away fer an adventure, ta be free. But ta tell da truth, I did it 'cause… 'cause I didn't want Pa or Ma ta get mad and…really hurt her. So today we packed up our things and left." Jack nodded, noticing the only 'things' they had were the clothes on their backs and a small, beaten up doll with a missing leg and torn up dress in Elizabeth's pocket. "So we can't go back. Not ever. Sure, dey'll come looking fer us. So I can't stay here fer long. Ya understand, right?" Jack shook his head. "Listen, as long as yer here, yer safe. Yer family now, just like our sistas. Yous got all us newsies lookin' after ya. Ya don't gotta worry about no one comin' after ya." Tears filled Kristy's eyes. "Thanks, Jack, dat really means a lot." Jack gave a small smile. "Well, we should get da kid ta bed." "Where are we gonna sleep?" "Dere's bunks upstairs. We got an open one next ta mine an' Race's." Jack lifted up Elizabeth and carried her upstairs, Kristy following behind him. Laying Elizabeth in the top bunk, he gestured toward the one underneath it. "Dere ya go, miss. May I be of any more service ta ya?" "Yes, you can give me a kiss good night." Jack leaned forward and gave her a kiss, a little peck on the cheek. "How's dat?" "Is dat da best ya can kiss?" Jack gave her a better kiss. "Night, Kristy." Sick, didn't I just say they were like brother and sister now? You don't give kiss your family like that... "Night, Jack," she said, rolling over and falling asleep. Jack stood there for a few moments watching her sleep, then walked around to the other side of the bunk so he wouldn't step on Race again.(uh...so Race only sleeps on one side of the bunk?) Pulling himself up onto his bunk, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. The next few weeks passed quickly and happily. They were filled with fun and laughter. Kristy and Elizabeth were like sisters to the newsies, and sometimes they would go out with the newsies to sell papers. Kristy was never very good at it, but she enjoyed walking with Jack. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was a very good actress. Her cough was heart-wrenching and was enough to pay for her and Kristy's meals. One night, everyone got back to the Lodging House late. They were celebrating Blink's birthday at Medda's, and they were all very tired. All the newsies went to bed right away, but Jack and Kristy stayed up longer in the main floor of the Lodging House talking about the past few weeks and what would happen in the future. Kristy decided that she was going to travel west with Elizabeth so her parents wouldn't find her. Jack was sad about that, but remembering how he had once wanted to go to Santa Fe, he knew he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it if that was what she truly wanted. So he decided to enjoy the time he had left with her. Kissing her on the cheek, they went upstairs and went to bed, both falling asleep right away. It was still dark when Jack's eyes snapped open. He had that strange feeling running down his spine, a feeling that told him something was wrong. Sitting up, he glanced over at the bunk next to him, then did a double take when he noticed that Elizabeth was gone. He jumped out of his bunk, spraining his ankle. Still he limped over to Kristy and shook her awake. "Kristy! It's Elizabeth! Kristy!" he whispered loudly. Kristy didn't answer at first, so Jack shook her harder. "KRISTY! Elizabeth is gone!" At this Kristy's eyes fluttered open, and she, too sprang out of bed. "Where is she?" "I don't know," said Jack, "but we gotta find her. Da streets can be dangerous fer a kid like her." Kristy nodded and started to run toward the door. Jack, forgetting his ankle, started after her and stumbled, searing pain shooting up his leg. Oh, so now she's worried about having the kid alone on the streets at night, when before it was okay. Heh, that makes sense... Kristy turned around impatiently. "C'mon!" "It's my ankle!" Jack said. "I hurt it jumping outta da bed. It's okay, though, I'm comin'." And with that, Jack took off running behind Kristy, wincing with each step and gasping with pain every time he brought his weight a little too hard on it. So they tore their way through the deserted streets, looking frantically for Elizabeth. Awhile later, Kristy gave up and leaned against an old building, sinking to her knees, crying softly and gasping loudly for breath. "Aw, don't cry," said Jack, looking uncomfortable. "We'll find her. She's a tough girl. She'll be okay." "No she won't!" Kristy wailed. "Ma found her and is beatin' her by now! Why did she leave? How could she be so stupid?" "Listen," Jack said. "Your mudda ain't da only one who can find and beat her. Dere are plenty a' maniacs on da street. Dere ain't time ta sit around, c'mon!" "You go on ahead," said Kristy, warily. Jack could tell she had given up. "Gimme some time ta rest, den come back fer me in a bit." Jack didn't want to leave her like this because she was in no condition to defend herself if someone came after her, but the thought of Elizabeth all alone on the streets, or worse, with her mother and father, convinced him. "Okay, I'll come right back, soon as I find her. You'll be okay Kristy. Everything will be okay," Jack said, trying to convince himself as well. Then he continued to limp as quickly as he could up and down the streets, yelling Elizabeth's name, the pain making his voice crack at times. Finally, spotting her golden blonde head shining in the moonlight behind a trash can, he stopped, almost passing out from either the pain or relief, he couldn't tell. "Elizabeth, thank God!" he yelled. "Why did you do that? What were you thinking?" When he got closer he could see the tears on her face and his voice softened. "Are you okay? What happened?" "I was lookin' fer Christopher," Elizabeth said, shyly when she saw how much trouble she had caused. "Who's Christopher?" Jack asked, more curiously than angrily. "He's a cat da neighbors had a'fore I ran away. I saved some a my supper every night ta feed 'im cuz da neighbors neva fed him enough, so I worried dat he was hungry." Man, how stupid can this kid get? And who names their cat Christopher? "All dis fer a cat?" Jack was mad now. "You risked yer life fer a cat? Lookit dis. I was so worried I sprained me ankle when I jumped outta bed ta find ya. Know where Kristy is? She was so worried she sat down and cried so I had ta leave her dere and keep lookin'. Why didn't ya ask me ta help ya?" "I- I dunno," Elizabeth stuttered. "I didn't want ta trouble ya." Jack gave a quick, cruel laugh and Elizabeth's tears resumed. "After I found him, I started ta carry him back ta the Lodgin' House but I heard a crash and started runnin'. Christopher got scared and jumped outta my arms, so I took off chasin' him. Finally I lost him but I didn't know where I was, so I just kept walkin' and finally I just came back here and sat down. I figured one of da newsies would find me in da mornin'." "Well, c'mon." Jack grabbed her arm and was pulling her down the street. "We gotta go find Kristy. Don't ever do this ta us again, ya hear?" Elizabeth nodded and walked quicker, having to take more steps to match Jack's long strides. The sun was starting to rise when suddenly Jack stopped, swearing under his breath. "She's gone." "What?" asked Elizabeth, not knowing if Jack's voice was shaking with fear or with the pain of his injured ankle. "Kristy's gone! I left her right here, she looked so weak, and she was cryin', but I had ta leave her. I had ta find you!" "Well, dat was a big mistake," said a voice from behind him. "Gimme my daughter right now or I'm gonna take ya to the police fer kidnapping." Jack turned around to see a tall, muscular man holding on to Kristy's arm and her gray and brown-haired mother. Jack thought of what Kristy had said about how Elizabeth was beaten the worst, how mad her father looked, and the damage he was capable of doing to a little girl, or to a guy like himself if provoked. Pushing all concern for himself out of the way and mustering up his courage, he said, "No." Kristy gasped, remembering what had happened last time someone had said no to her father. Elizabeth started crying, tears silently running down her face as if she knew what was about to happen next. Their mother had a smug look on her face as if anticipating what was about to follow. Their father raised his eyebrows. "No?" "Dat's right," Jack said. "No. I love Elizabeth like I'd love a little sista. And I love Kristy in a different way. And I'm not about ta hand 'em over fer you to soak. No way. You'll have ta get by me first." "Oh really?" Kristy's father was looking at Jack in a way she had never seen before. It could have been extremely intense anger, it could have been surprise, for he had never been stood up to before. It could be the calm before a terrible storm, or it could be something else. It could be respect. "Yeah, really," said Jack. There was no way he was going to back down now. He had overcome many more difficult battles in his life, and he wasn't going to let this man intimidate him. "I know how you've been treatin' dem. And I want it to stop." "Do you?" Even his own wife couldn't read his face now. "Yes. 'Cause if it don't, dere comin' back ta live wid me. Can't ya see what yer doin' ta dem?" asked Jack, gesturing towards Elizabeth's thin, tear streaked face and bruised arms. (Wait...why are her arms still bruised? She's been living with the newsies for a few weeks, right?) "If ya can't stop mistreatin' dem, dey ain't gonna stay wid ya. And if ya come after 'em, we'll keep runnin'. I ain't neva gonna let ya mistreat 'em again." "You finished, boy?" asked the father, oddly composed. Jack shrugged. "Yeah. So what ya gonna do about it?" "I'm gonna give ya somethin'." said the father, holding up his fists. Kristy gasped and buried her face in her hands. Elizabeth stared at her feet, crying. Jack's thoughts were racing nervously. He couldn't run away because of his ankle. This man would easily overpower him, especially since he couldn't shift his weight onto his sprained ankle without his knee buckling with pain. He would be beaten, and possibly knocked out. Then Elizabeth and Kristy would be taken home. Jack shuddered to think of their punishments. Kristy's father slowly walked up to Jack, and there was an uncomfortable pause while Jack looked up and he looked down, meeting each other's eyes. Without warning, he embraced Jack. "Thank you!" he said. "Thank you so much! I realize now what I've been doin'. Dese poor goyls are afraid of dere own home 'cause of us. If dey'll stay, I promise ta make it up to 'em." Oh please. This big tough guy who formerly beat his kids is crying because Jack said he wasn't going to let him mistreat "dem goyls"? Kristy's mother was crying. "Me, too! Please stay, goyls. We won't beat ya ever again. And we promise, if ya ever want ta leave again we'll give ya money so ya don't have ta hide." Uh...right... "Just give us one more chance," said the father, meeting Kristy's eyes and silently pleading with her. After a moment, Kristy said, "Okay, Daddy," and ran to him, crying. Elizabeth was crying too, and for several minutes, the whole family stood there embracing, something they had never done in all their lives, while Jack stood there uncomfortably. Finally, they broke apart. "Thank you so much for helping us back together," their mother said. If there's ever anything we can do ta thank ya, anything at all. Do you have a family? Please, if you ever need help" "Nah," Jack interrupted. "It's okay. I got da newsies. All I ask is dat da goyls come visit us." "Of course," said Kristy. "I could never forget you guys." Jack nodded and started limping back toward the Lodging House, emotions swirling in his head. Even though Kristy had promised to come visit, he inwardly knew she and Elizabeth would visit less and less over time and eventually stop coming. He knew they would soon adapt to their new family life and wouldn't need the newsies anymore like he did. Also, seeing other people with happy families was always hard for him, since he had no family of his own. (Don't worry, Jack, they're not a happy family. People don't change instantly like that.) Sighing, he limped painfully up the stairs to get some sleep. The other newsies were already dressed and ready to leave. "Hey, Jack, where were you?" asked Mush. "Just takin' care of some family stuff. I ain't gonna be sellin' today," he replied, gasping with severe pain as he climbed up on his bunk. "How come? And where are da goyls?" asked one of the newsies. "Dey're at home." At this all the newsies went crazy, all hurtling questions at Jack at once. "What about dere parents?" "You okay Cowboy?" "What's wid da leg? Did dere fadda hurt ya?" "Why'd dey go home?" Warily, Jack took a deep breath and explained the whole story. Finally the newsies left him alone and he slept through the day. He can't just go without selling papers because a girl he knew for a few weeks left. Selling papers is his only source of income, and without it he'll starve... Jack went on like that for the next few days, not selling papers, sleeping a lot, and eating little. Then Kristy and Elizabeth came to the Lodging House to visit. The laughed a lot and told their stories of how wonderful it was to have a loving family. Jack smiled, convincing Elizabeth everything was okay, but Kristy saw right through it. Okay, is anyone else seriously not buying this? "What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing," said Jack, but when she just sat there looking at him, eyebrows raised, he went on. "Okay, it's just that I know ya guys ain't gonna keep visitin' forever, and it's hard ta lose ya. And it's hard ta not have a family. When you and Elizabeth was here, it was like we were a family." Kristy nodded, understanding. "Jack, remember when you saved me from my fadda and ya said ya loved me?" Jack nodded. "Yeah," Kristy continued. "Well I love you, too. Nothin' will eva change, 'cause I'll always love ya. And anytime ya need a family, ya can come ta my house. We'll always be dere." Jack nodded. He remembered a similar conversation he'd had with his old girlfriend, Sarah. Times change and people drift apart, he thought. While David, Sarah's brother, was still one of his best friends, he felt uncomfortable around David's family after he and Sarah broke up. Kristy sensed what Jack was thinking. "Jack," she began. "You'll always have a family. You'll always have the newsies. And you'll always have me. Even if I won't always be yer girlfriend, I'll be somethin' more. I'll always be your friend. No matta what happens, dat won't change. You will always have a family." Aww...isn't that cute? Heh. I think I probably could have picked a better line to turn into the title though... And Jack knew she was right. Sorry to burst your bubble, Jack, but she's not really right. Honestly, people do break up sometimes, and I'm sure once you two break up it would be pretty awkward for you to hang out with her parents. She's just telling you that so you quit crying, bui whatever... The End So there you have it, my first fanfic. I wrote this a few weeks after watching Newsies for the first time, can you tell? Oh, and no offense is intended to anyone who has similar plots/characters/whatever in their stories. I was just trying to poke fun at myself, and maybe point out cliches and stuff that make stories worse. Email me if you find anything else in my story that you think is stupid and want to point out. I swear I won't get offended... Writing Fan Fiction Page Sarol's Fanfics Home |