David was avoiding him. That much was clear.
Jack wandered down the street, drifting toward the Jacobs' place. He had to talk to David. For two weeks now, Dave just hadn't been talking to him. Every time Jack tried to talk to him, David would ignore him. Some days he didn't even show up to sell papes. What was wrong with David? Was he sick? Was he mad at Jack for some reason? Jack just had to find out.
He caught David walking out the door. He called, "DAVE!" and as soon as Dave saw him, he started to head back inside. But Jack caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "Dave, you're not escapin' that easy. What's wrong with ya?"
David shook his head. "I don't know what you mean."
"Damnit." Jack said, his grip tightening on David's arm. "You're gonna talk to me and you're gonna talk to me now."
"No." David said, trying to break free from his grip. He wasn't very successful. "Can't you leave me alone? We won the strike. My father's arm is healing. I can go back to school soon and then we can stop bothering each other."
Something about what Dave had just said made Jack freeze in his place. Bothering each other? Sure, first they had bothered each other, but now? Now David had actually grown on Jack. He was useful to have around, and believe it or not, Jack had come to think of David as a really good friend. He could hardly come up with an idea without asking David's opinion on it. After all, he knew all that school junk. Also, even though David made it pretty obvious that he'd had schooling, he didn't treat Jack like he was dumb or below him. They'd been equals during the strike. Until now.
"Ya mean ya don't wanna be friends with all of us? Me? Is it because you're goin back to school and from a different world than us?" Jack asked, still not completely sure.
Dave's face was troubled but it was in a way that Jack couldn't identify. "I just think it's best."
"Fine. See ya around Dave. Or not."
As Jack walked away, he couldn't understand why this whole thing made his heart feel heavy. Why did the fact that David started to act like a jerk give him this feeling? It was almost like his heart was breaking. But it wasn't allowed to. He wasn't about to let it happen. That was why he walked away first.
o O o O o O o O o
Jack didn't get over it. For weeks, the whole David situation was burned into his brain. He was busy thinking about it when he was supposed to sell papes. He thought about it when he hung out with the guys. Clearly he did not want David out of his life... but David wanted it that way. He was obviously much too good for Jack. But whatever. Jack didn't need him. That was what Jack kept telling himself. They had only been selling partners, but Jack had been selling papes long before David started to. He could sell them without David. That was all they'd been to each other anyway. Really.
He didn't want to tell the guys any of the stuff he was thinking. He didn't want them to know he was obsessing over Dave. They would make fun of him and accuse him of wanting to be more than David's friend. Jack didn't want them to think that.
Still.
He wasn't happy. He did want to be around David, and he wouldn't mind kissing him or anything like that. At one point during the day they won they strike, when all the kids showed up, he almost did. He stopped himself, but it'd been in the moment. He wouldn't do it when everything was normal.
Would he?
He'd kissed Sarah that day for two reasons. First, to prove to himself that he didn't want to kiss David. Second, because he wanted to like her. But he had felt nothing. And now that he was thinking about this again, he was more confused than ever.
o O o O o O o O o
One day Sarah came to the Newsie Lodging House. No one expected it, but when the other newsies saw her they concluded she was coming to see Jack and scattered. When Jack saw her, he sat up in bed (he hadn't been doing much except for laying in bed and selling papes lately) and said, "Sarah, what are you doing here?"
"Jack, you have to talk to David. He's getting impossible to live with." she replied.
He shook his head. "Can't. He doesn't want to talk to me. He doesn't even wanna be friends."
"He's ridiculous." Sarah said. "He won't eat much anymore, and he doesn't sleep. He stays out till all hours of the night. He's not doing well in school. Mama and Papa are getting worried and so am I. He doesn't even seem to care about Les anymore. He's lost in his own little world. Mama and Papa are worried that he's going to have to be put in an institution." She whispered the last word so that no one would hear if some were evesdropping.
"Why do you think he'll listen to me?" Jack asked as he got off his bed.
"Because if he's acting like how he is acting, you guys listen to each other. You made him feel important, Jack. He's not going to forget that so easily."
"If I made him feel important, why doesn't he want to be my friend?" Jack asked, confused.
Sarah didn't answer that question. She just said, "Just come with me. Talk to him. Maybe you can stop him from acting like this."
Jack agreed to go with her only because he knew she wouldn't leave him alone. They walked in silence until they reached the Jacobs' apartment building. As they approached it, Jack felt a knot forming in his stomach. How would David react to his coming over? How would they react to seeing each other?
They walked to the front door. David wasn't in the room when they opened the door. Sarah told him to go to the bedroom because he was probably in there. When he opened the door, David was sitting up on his bed, reading some book. Always the smart one. He looked over at the door and threw down his book. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to snap you out of whatever's wrong with you." Jack replied, boldly sitting on the bed next to David.
Shaking his head, David threw his book down, got off the bed, and climbed through the window on to the fire escape. Jack climbed down after him. He decided that once he caught David, he wouldn't let him escape, and this time he would not walk away.
Once he reached the bottom of the fire escape, David started to run away, but Jack caught up to him and got him by the arms. "Dave, you can't do this. Just talk to me. Remember that night we talked on the balcony? Talk to me just like that."
"I can't."
"Why not? What the hell's wrong with ya?"
David turned around to face him, and then said angrily, "You kissed Sarah."
"What? What does that mean?"
David could not look him in the eyes. "You. Kissed. Sarah. Sorry, but this is the way it has to be."
"What are you talking about, Dave?"
He mumbled something in response, and then looked at Jack again. "I thought you were going to kiss me the day the strike ended. And I thought you came back for me... but you came back for Sarah. And you kissed her." Then, as if he realized what he'd just said, he continued. "That's why I can't be your friend. I can't deal with it. I know it's supposed to be wrong. I'm sorry, Jack, really, but I just can't."
Jack knew he must have had the dumbest smile on his face. That was what was wrong with Dave? That was what was wrong all along? "Dave, your family thinks you're sick or somethin'."
"Sorry." David said. "I know this is probably awkward for you."
"Come here." Jack didn't wait for David's response. He took him by the arm and led him down the street, finally finding one of the alleys he knew so well. He dragged David into one of them, and took both of David's wrists so that they faced each other.
"What are you doing, Jack?" David asked, obviously perplexed by the whole situation.
Jack didn't say anything. Instead he let his hands wander up David's arms. One stayed on his arm and one found its way to David's back. David stood there unable to relax, but Jack wanted to fix that. He needed to. He also needed to see if wanting to kiss David other than when it was "in the moment" was okay. He leaned in and his mouth found the other boy's. David not only reacted, but kissed him back. Jack could not get over how good this felt. He hadn't cared about kissing Sarah at all, but with David, he not only cared about it, but he wanted to make sure David was okay. David then began to kiss him harder, which caused Jack to do the same.
Jack realized that they matched each other.
When they finally pulled away from each other, Jack told him, "It ain't wrong at all. It's right."
David smiled.
Together, they walked back to the Jacobs' apartment building. Jack knew he was going to be there a lot more from now on.
End.
o O o O o O o O o
Hey guys, for anyone who doesn't know what I was talking about with the whole "Jack and David were going to kiss" thing, watch the whole "The World Will Know (Reprise)" scene again. Keep an eye on Jack and David. At one point they face each other and are pretty close, but then they turn away from each other as if they're embarrassed. This totally confirmed the Javid pairing for me.