Hey guys, this is a short one-shot of an idea I had from Newsies. Synder and everyone always seem to call Jack by his last name or full name, so what if when someone using his last name he gets all jumpy? I don't know, just a short little idea I had. I hope you enjoy!
There's a reason everyone calls him Jack. Not Kelly. Not Jack Kelly. Just Jack.
No one saw the barely visible twitch in Jack's hand when Race introduced him as "the famous Jack Kelly!" Jack had talked with Race and he knew the kid meant well, but he couldn't help it. His last name felt like a bad omen, it had only been used when he was in trouble. It was like a mom calling her son by his full name when he got dirt on his best Sunday shirt. Except he wore the same shirt on Sundays the rest of the week. And he didn't have a mom.
But Synder only ever shouted his last name as a curse as he chased Jack down the back streets, or his full name as a taunt during the rare time Synder actually caught Jack and signed him into the Refuge.
So when the strike finished, everyone went back to the lodging house, laughing and taunting each other. Jack hung in the back, just watching. He was so proud. Race and Davey had come back to playfully fight him, hollering all the way before running back up to the front. Katherine had come next had planted a gentle kiss on his cheek before running as well. Part of him wondered why the Newsies were so anxious to get back to the house, but the other part of him didn't care. He was just glad everyone was ok.
The lodging house wasn't much, but it was theirs. Jack stood outside on the sidewalk looking up at the building from the sidewalk while all the other Newsies broke through the door in a mad sprint. Jack took his time, walking through the front door, his hand running over the peeling trim on the wallpaper as he walked up to the stairs. Rooms were on the second floor, right above the main floor with the tables and general space for relaxing. Not like they got too much of that anyway.
At the top of the stairs, he stopped with his hand on the handle leading into the sleeping quarters. It was almost silent, except for a few frantic whispers. Suspicious, and the only thing that made Jack wary was the fact that there was no screams or shouts from boys running around. If they were all quiet, something was up. Twisting the door handle he pushed it in and was instantly met with a surprise he definitely wasn't expecting.
All the Newsies were inside, spread out on the floor, standing on beds or other Newsies to get see. Race, Davey, and Katherine stood in the middle of the chaos, holding handmade posters made off the newspapers. Around them, the rest of the Newsies hollered and yelled various cheers or congratulations. Jack couldn't keep the smile off his face, happy and slightly sheepish. He didn't really like this much attention. Then again, who would've guessed that he led a strike that changed New York?
"Jack!" The cheers were random and sporadic until Race slammed his fist down on the table, shaking the wood pole of the bunk bed and starting off the chant. The rest of the Newsies joined in while Race keeping the beat, getting faster and louder with each shout.
"Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack!" It turned into more cheers, resounding around the wood walls and nearly shaking the building until Davey finished it.
"Let's hear it for Jack Kelly!" Davey shouted as he lifted his water glass in a toast, the rest of the Newsies echoing it. At every scream of his own name, Jack flinched and involuntarily took a step back, fists clenching tightly at his sides and he shoved them in his pockets. He couldn't catch a breath and he quickly scanned the room for Synder. A voice in the back of his head told him Synder wasn't there, he was safe in the Newsies lodge house, no one was going to get him. But Jack couldn't listen to himself.
In a spilled-second his face was back up in the typical Jack mask, playing it off as casual while a nervous sweat broke out. He kept up that fake smile, pushing his way through the crowd of newsboys, giving out high-fives and fist bumps when prompted.
"Hey, Jack! Where ya going?" Les asked, surprising Jack when he popped up in front of the older boy. Les barely came up to his chest, but the kid had more gall than almost all the Newsies his age. Jack had never seen a kid so eager to take on Pulitzer, and hold up so well in the fight that he shouldn't even have been in.
Jack's smile was a little more genuine and he gingerly ruffled Les' hair. "To be honest, kid, I'm getting pretty tired," Jack lied, knowing Les wouldn't know the difference. "Go enjoy it, but don't have too much fun…" Jack said with a wink that sent Les off laughing back into the crowd.
Everyone else followed Les and Jack was given a clear path to his bunk in the corner of the room, and he couldn't move fast enough. He didn't fully lie, he was actually tired, but it was more too it. He was exhausted, his body ached and all he wanted to do was fall down on his bed until who knows when.
Jack tripped over a shoe laying on the floor, probably Spec's, and nearly barreled headfirst into the bunk bed, only to catch himself with the wooden supports. He leaned forward, forehead pressed against the wood in an effort to catch his breath and steady himself. He was caught off guard when he heard steps behind him and a hand laid down on his shoulder.
"Hey, are you alright, Kelly? I saw-" Davey didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Jack instantly tensed up underneath Davey's hand. Before Davey could blink Jack whipped around, grabbing Davey's arm and twisting it up Davey's back.
"Kelly, what the-" Jack's heart skipped a beat and sweat trailed down his cheek, suddenly not able to get enough air in his lungs. Davey couldn't help but let out a pain-filled grunt when Jack unconsciously twisted harder.
"Don't call me that," Jack growled, his face pulled tight in anger and nervousness before he relaxed and loosened his grip slightly when his voice lost the edge. "Please."
Race had noticed Jack's agitation when Davey had first used his last name, and instantly knew they were going to be in for a long night. Davey was a quick learner, but there were things that only people that had grown up together knew about. He would learn soon, but it would be an experience. So when he saw Jack start to take down Davey, he needed to butt in fast.
"Hey, fellas, what's happenin'?" He asked nonchalantly, taking the cigar out of his mouth and putting it up over his ear.
"Get him off me," Davey hissed, his arm cramping painfully. Race looked up at Jack, seeing his wild eyes and labored breathing to take a slow step forward. No fast movements, nothing to make it seem like he was a threat. It was the same with most of the Newsies. Everyone had a different story, but all come from equally horrible backgrounds. Nearly every newsboy had been to the Refuge at least once, some of them multiple times. There wasn't a night that somebody didn't wake up screaming from a nightmare. While he was the strongest one there by far, but even the strongest had their moments.
"Hey, cowboy. You're alright Jack, it's okay. Jack, you're fine," Race said calmly, making sure to use the names only the Newsies called him, nicknames only they knew. Slowly, he grabbed Jack's wrist and pulled his hand off Davey's arm. Once he was free, Race grabbed Davey by the collar to pull him behind him. Race kept calmly taking to Jack, who brought his hands back down by his sides, clenching and unclenching his hands in a pattern that was supposed to calm him down. Race and Jack stood directly across from each other with Davey slightly behind Race.
"See, Jackie-boy here doesn't really like it when we say his last name-" Race explained to Davey without breaking eye contact with Jack.
"What, Kelly?" Without even thinking, Davey said it again, cringing when he realized what he did. Whatever progress Race had made was thrown out the window as Jack went wild again and Race prepared himself for the worst. Jack's hand curled into fists and he swung wildly, fighting invisible enemies of Synder and the Delancy's. Race caught the punches to keep anyone else from getting hurt, so Jack turned towards a threat he could actually hit.
Race blocked almost all the punches, dodging stray ones but unable to stop all of them. A particularly hard one caught him in the jaw, but Race ignored it. He had been hit harder, this was nothing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Davey step forward to help, but Race turned around.
"Back up!" He shouted and Davey stepped back to where he was, hands raised in the air. Jack took this distraction to his advantage and sent a fury of punches he didn't even know he was throwing at Race. Race blocked them and held back from throwing his own.
"Don't make me fight you, Jack," Race growled gently, knowing that the fistfight was going nowhere. It was time to put an end to it. In one smooth movement, Race blocked the punches thrown and hooked one of his legs around Jack's, pulling them out from underneath him and sending Jack sprawling on the ground. Hitting the ground seemed to take him out of fight mode, and he laid panting on the ground.
Race stood breathing heavily, gently touching his jaw where one of Jack's punches caught him and throbbed painfully. It would probably bruise, and Race would make up an excuse that roughhousing with some other boys got a little too rough. No need to worry him with another problem. Davey stood next to Race, mouth agape as they stared down at Jack.
"Ya know, for a smart guy you really are an idiot sometimes," Race said casually to Davey who could only stare.
"Why doesn't he like being called-" Race raised an eyebrow and Davey changed his wording,"-his last name?" Race shrugged, gently shaking his head.
"Dunno. Only mentioned it off hand once. Somethin' with Synder using it or whatever." Davey stayed silent as Race reached down for Jack's hand to pull him up.
"Alright, up you go, Big Guy. Let's get to bed," Race said, helping Jack up and walking him to his bed. Almost as soon as Jack's head hit the pillow he was out. Jack was alright. Just Jack.
I hope you guys enjoyed! I certainly was fun to write!
Stay Hilarious, Be Awesome, Trust God and Love Avengers!
-avengersashley