Author's Note: This is a one-shot fic from my good friend, Rose. She's one of the best people in the world, and I thought she deserved a fic for her birthday. Her birthday was May 21, but I thought I had already written her one. Turns out, the only other fic I wrote for her was on Christmas. So, I whipped this baby up last night, and then went on to watch the MTV Movie Awards.
I hope you all like it. I'm sorry for ANY spelling mistakes and/or grammar mistakes.
The Reason She Cries
Knots James stood outside on the fire escape of the Manhattan Newsboys Lodging House. She held a single rose in between her delicate fingers. Softly, she stroked its stem, every once in a while smelling the sweet aroma it gave off. It was her sixteenth birthday. The twenty-first of May. The wind softly pushed her curly locks of blonde hair out of her face. A single tear ran down her cheek, sliding down onto a petal of her flower. It had been a gift from Kloppman, the old man who owned the lodging house. He'd limped up to her, and had handed it to her.
"Here ya go Knotsy." He had said, playing with a curl that hung around her face. She took it gratefully, and smiled atit right there in front of him.
"Thank you Kloppy." She said, using an old nickname she had given him. He smiled and nodded at her, walking back to tend to the front desk. And she ended up there, on her perch, where she overlooked New York City's streets. She smiled at the thought of being the queen of the world, but it soon vanished as a frown etched across her face.
A queen, isolated without her king, is nothing but a woman who pretends to be happy. And Knots was one such queen. Another tear escaped her blue irises. It's not that she didn't have someone. He was miles and miles away. Another lifetime away, or so it seemed.
Jack Kelly, wanna-be cowboy, had followed his dreams of becoming just that, a cowboy. He had hitched a train to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
"Jack, please. You don't have to do this. We know you. I know who you are. You're a cowboy, my cowboy. You have nothing to prove." Knots had pleaded with him that fateful day. He wouldn't listen.
"I know you know, but I want to know. I have to know if I can do this." He told her, kissing her forehead gently.
"Then take me with you." She tried again. He shook his head sadly.
"I only have enough for a one-way ticket." He told her mournfully. Her lip quivered. One way?
"You'll be back. Right?" She asked, holding back her salty tears. He only looked into her eyes. Without a word, he kissed her now trembling lips and turned, his bag slung over his shoulder, and hopped onto the train.
She shook her head, trying to erase the memory completely. He'd been gone a whole 5 months now. A letter almost everyother week for the first two months of his absence. But after that, they were few and far between. Lately, there was nothing. Her voice quivered in the back of her throat everytime she thought about it. Today was no exception. Heaving a sigh, she smelled her rose once again. Right now, the smell was the only thing keeping her from bursting into tears.
"Knotsy! Knotsy James! Come 'ere quick!" An excited voice called from inside the window. She identified it as belonging to Racetrack Higgins, a small Italian with an unhealthy addiction to gambling and horse-racing. She turned around, taking another small wiff of the rose. Race's head quickly appeared poking out of the cramped window. "You'se got a package!" He beamed at her, taking her by the hand, pulling her inside.
The old musty smell of the lodging house filled her nostrils. She quickly laid down her rose on the nearest bed and scrambled out of the room behind the happy Italian. Did he say a package for her? She didn't have much time to think. Race thrust her forward in front of him. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked down. It was a smaller package, but a package none the less.
Knots
That's all the package said on it. It did not say who it was from, and did not have a return address on it. She eyed it up carefully, before she felt a slight nudge on her back. It was one of the smaller newsies, just as excited as the rest of them, impatient for her to open it. She took it in her hands. It was light. Very light actually. The only thing she could feel was the package lining, to keep whatever it may contain safe. She wondered where it came from. Perhaps there was a letter inside that explained it.
She carefully unwrapped the adhesive around it, and opened it up. The only thing inside was a faded, flat, red bandana. She pulled it out with care and examined it closely. She knew instantly who it was from. The tears were already welling up behind her eyelids, some poured over. They weren't fast and steady at first. But they were mixed with happiness and sadness.
It was Jack's beloved bandana.
The younger newsboys, seeing what it was, groaned quietly, and went back to their business. But the older ones, the ones that had known Jack well, had known the two of them well, knew what it was, and what it ment to Knots.
Knots didn't move for a long time, just standing, eventually kneeling onto the floor, embracing the precious bandana. He hadn't forgotten. He'd remembered her birthday, had remembered her. Memories flooded back to her.
Their trip to the park with a couple of the other newsboys. It had been a picnic, and Knots and Jack and snuck off to be alone, down by a little stream. They were 'lost' for hours. But neither minded.
Then there was the time that the ankles of Jack's pants had caught on fire, and Knots had to work furiously to calm the fire, dousing it out with water, as Jack rolled around, helpless on the ground. He only had minor burns, and the hair of his ankles had been completely burned off. They had only started to grow back when he had left.
Or the time when Racetrack had gotten himself into trouble with a local gang. Half of the Manhattan newsboys had to bail him out. That was a whole other story, but it brought a smile to Knots' face when it crossed her mind. She remembered their last sunset together, holding hands, Knots clinging onto Jack like they would never see each other again. He had stroked her hair all through the evening hours, all the while, promising her that it would be alright.
A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. It was Tumbler, one of the younger newsies, but he was growing up. Again, memories of days spent with just her Tumbler and Jack came rushing back to her, but there was no time for that. She wiped her eyes for a moment and then looked at him, the bandana still clutched to her chest.
"There's someone here to see you." He said quietly. She nodded, sniffling up her tears. She stood up and walked behind Tumbler, who took her to the back door of the lodging house. Pushing the hair out of her face, Knots looked up at the figure in the doorway. Her breath caught in her chest.
"Jack."
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