Author's Note: So. I don't really know what to say about this story. It's not very good, at all, but sometimes, a girl just needs to project her problems onto Davey Jacobs. I might end up deleting this, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and if you do, reviews are very much appreciated. :)
Davey Jacobs was an uptight person. There was no denying that. He had every right to be, too. I mean, the boy was basically supporting his whole family by selling newspapers at this point, while still trying to keep a stable education, and taking care of his little brother. It was a lot to take on, so Jack couldn't blame him for being uptight.
But, Jack also couldn't help but notice that he'd seemed to be even more stressed than usual lately. It was in little things, like how he seemed quieter than usual. I mean, the Walking Mouth was quiet. That had to be impossible, right?
So, Jack probed. He tried to be subtle. He just asked how Davey was each morning, to which Davey would respond with a simple "fine." But, Jack could see right through him, and this was incredibly frustrating. After all, it was in Jack's nature to fix things. He was the leader, so he solved all the problems, but he couldn't solve problems if he didn't know what they were to begin with, right?
So, he changed his question.
"Hey Davey," He said one morning. "Are you okay?"
Davey looked startled. "What do you mean, am I okay?" He asked, slightly defensively.
"I mean, you'se been actin' weird lately," Jack replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"Weird how?" Davey questioned, looking anywhere but at Jack.
"You just seem...off, I dunno," Jack replied as Davey shuffled through his papers. "Like, you'se always thinkin' about somethin'."
"I am always thinking about something," Davey said, still shifting his papers around. He lowered his voice and joked, "I'm thinking, 'Is Wiesel gonna give me 19 papes and Jack Kelly's gonna come and throw 50 more papes on me again?'"
Jack chuckled as Davey smirked at him. "Look," Jack said with a laugh. "I just wanna make sure everything's okay. You sure you're alright?"
Davey seemed to consider something for a moment. After a pause, he answers firmly, "Yes. I'm fine."
"You sure?" Jack asked doubtfully.
"Yes," Davey insisted. He was smiling, but he didn't sound like it. "You're worrying too much, Cowboy."
"You're tellin' me this?" Jack asked incredulously. "Excuse me? Do you know who you are, Davey Jacobs? You're King of the worriers!"
Both teased each other and let the conversation go, but Jack still eyed Davey with concern. Because, in the days after this discussion, Jack noticed the bags under Davey's eyes. It became regular for Davey to arrive to the Distribution Center looking like he hadn't slept in days. And, Jack wasn't the only one noticing. Soon, the others boys began to catch on.
"Hey, Davey," Crutchie said one day. "You know, I can take care of Les today, if ya need the day off."
"Why would I need the day off?" Davey had asked vaguely.
"You don't look so good, Dave," Crutchie answered honestly.
"Gee, thanks," Davey replied with a roll of his eyes.
"Crutchie's right, ya know," Jack chimed in. "You look exhausted."
"I'm fine!" Davey snapped suddenly.
Jack and Crutchie looked taken aback. Jack was clearly about to snap back, but Crutchie gave him a warning look, as if to say, "Give him some space." Jack begrudgingly obliged and settled upon saying, "Well, if ya need anythin'...we're here."
"I don't," Davey muttered, and bought his papes.
So, they went on like that for weeks, with an elephant in the room as they all ignored the clearly changed Davey. But, elephants can't be ignored for long.
It was a rainy night, much too rainy for Davey and Les to make the journey home after selling their papes. So, they decided to stay in the Lodging House to wait out the storm.
All the boys had settled in one corner of the room as Romeo boasted about his latest sweetheart.
"She's just a doll," Romeo grinned. "Eyes bluer than the sky, I tell ya!"
"You're so corny, Rome," Race sighed, shoving the younger boy.
"Oh, what, like you don't all have the sweets for someone!" Romeo retorted.
Race turned to Davey. "You know who I've never heard talk about a girl?"
Davey's head snapped up. "Oh no, I don't have any..."
"Oh, come on, Dave," Jack smirked. "Sure there ain't someone?"
Davey shook his head. "No, there's no... I'm not..."
"Oh, psshh!" Albert scoffed. "You'se the worst liar, Jacobs!"
As the boys around him laughed, Davey remained stone-faced. "Guys, stop. I don't like any girls." He mumbled.
Crutchie seemed to be the only one to notice that Davey wasn't joking along. "Hey, guys, you ain't heard about my girl, yet!" Crutchie tried to draw the attention away, but it was no use.
"No, no, not until we hear about Mouth's sweetheart!" Race laughed.
Jack noticed next that Davey seemed to be shaking slightly. "Hey, uh, I got a real good story 'bout Ace and I," He mustered up a grin.
"Yeah, how's Katherine?" Davey asked. "I haven't heard about her in a while. Besides, I don't have a sweetheart."
"Oh, come on!" Romeo exclaimed. "Everyone's got a sweetheart!"
This was apparently the last straw.
"No, not everyone has a sweetheart!" Davey exclaimed.
"Just tell us who your girl is!" Finch called.
"Maybe I don't have a girl!" Davey's voice shook dangerously.
The room fell silent as they seemed to collectively realized that Davey was a lot more serious than the rest of them. "Hey, y'know, it's alright if you don't got a girl," Romeo said. "A smart guy like you will get one eventually,"
"Maybe I don't want one!" Davey shouted. "Maybe-maybe I don't like girls!"
Silence smothered the room again.
"Dave, what do ya mean?" Jack asked quietly.
The anger written across Davey's face was quickly replaced with anxiety. "I-I...never mind," He stammered. He held a shaking hand out towards Les. "C-c'mon, Les. We should get going."
Les didn't move.
Crutchie's eyebrows knitted together with concern as he asked, "Davey, are you-"
"I'm not anything," Davey cut him off. "Stop staring at me." There was another pause. "I...gotta go."
And, with that, Davey stormed out of the room, leaving the Newsies in a shocked silence.
"I figured you'd come up here,"
Davey looked over his shoulder to see Jack standing behind him, looking sheepish. Jack strode across the roof and continued, "It's a good place to go to collect your thoughts. Heck, if I had a nickel for every time I came up here after lashin' out, I wouldn't have to sell another pape ever again."
Davey remained silent, staring in the direction of the rain, but probably so lost in thought that he didn't see it
Jack sat himself down next to Davey. "So, do you wanna...talk about it?"
Davey shook his head.
Jack began to push himself up, but Davey stopped him," That doesn't mean I want you to leave." He glanced at Jack and added, "I understand if you want to, though."
Jack sat back down. "Why would I want to leave?"
Davey didn't answer. He stared back at the rain, getting lost in thought again. A good fifteen minutes had to pass before he mumbled, "So, you're not gonna be mad? You're not gonna laugh?"
"Why would I do that?" Jack asked.
Davey looked at Jack nervously. "Because, I'm-"
"My brother," Jack cut him off. "You're my brother. "Ain't nothin's ever gonna change that. No matter who you like."
A shaky smile appeared on Davey's face. "You really mean that?"
"Yeah!" Jack assured him, swinging am arm around his shoulders.
"Isn't it wrong?" Davey questioned, sounding more vulnerable than Jack had ever heard him.
"No," Jack said firmly. "Don't you ever think that either."
A tear slid down Davey's face. "Thanks," He whispered after a moment of silence. "Thank you."
Jack smiled. "Come here," He held out his arms, and soon, Jack had Davey enveloped in hug. Davey cried freely, letting out months and months of pent-up stress in one night.
It took a while, but eventually, things calmed down. They'd returned to the position of just sitting next to each other on the wet roof as Jack asked, "So, does anyone else know?"
"Sarah just kinda figured it out," Davey chuckled. "Sibling connection or something, I don't know."
There were a few more moments of a now-comfortable silence before Jack said,"Now, come on. You got a ton a brothers all worried 'bout you now. You wanna let 'em know you're okay?"
Davey froze. "Are they okay with...it, too?"
"Of course, they are," Jack scoffed. He grinned and added, "You're worrying too much, Mouth."
Davey grinned back. "I am the King of worrying, aren't I?"
"Well, maybe you'll sleep easy tonight, huh?" Jack asked. "You won't be comin' in the mornin' with bags the size of Santa Fe under your eyes anymore, right?"
Davey took in a deep breath. "I think so."
With that, they headed back inside, and Jack had a good feeling that there'd be a lot less silence from the Walking Mouth now.