Disclaimer: Newsies, and all it's characters,belong to Disney. Shame.
Chapter 1: Photograph
Look at this photograph,
every time I do it makes me laugh.
All David has is a photograph. One tattered piece of newspaper, yellowing way before its time (he had accidentally spilled water on it just a few weeks ago). One photograph that held every memory, every minute, every second of the short time that he had been a newsie. Short as that time was, it had been the prime of his life. And he would do anything to get it back.
It had only been two months since David had returned to school. When he had gotten home from carrying the banner one day, his father has walked in the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. David would never forget that moment. For his father, it was his triumph, but for David, it was his nightmare. He had once tolerated school- maybe even enjoyed it, but now he couldn't even stand the idea of going back. After the three months he had spent in the real world- doing real things, making a real difference even it was in the lives of a few young boys- he had come to realize that he couldn't just sit in class anymore. His father had said to him, "David, I have some great news! You won't have to sell newspapers anymore. I got my job completely reinstated."
David had grinned and hugged his father, pretending to be thrilled. Les hadn't been such a good actor, though. He had thrown a fit, and cried for hours about how he couldn't possibly go to school. David wanted to throw a fit too, but he had to be the grown- up now. So he had agreed to go back to school, agreed to sit in a desk all day. What else could he do? But he hadn't been thrilled about it.
He remembered telling Jack the news that he'd be returning to school. He remembered Jack's expression- hurt for a mere second. But Jack had understood, especially after David had explained to him that he wanted to do nothing less. It wasn't even that he loved selling newspapers, all that much anyway, although it was still better than sitting in a desk. He liked the importance of it, he liked the fact that he was doing something, and most of all, he liked the friendships he had made.
He had always had friends- at school- but not close ones. He was never a very outgoing person, and for that most of the boys didn't like him or spend much time with him. But being a newsie, that had all changed. He had met them all- Jack Kelly, and Racetrack, and Skittery, and Mush, and Dutchy, and Specs, and so many more, and he wasn't friends with every single one, but he knew them all, and he had felt comfortable in their midst, especially after the strike was over, and he was revered almost as a hero by them. So, understandably, David couldn't stand the idea of losing them, and he swore that even though he was no longer a newsie, he would still stay close with them.
It hadn't worked out, though. Not that David was really surprised. It was two different worlds. David wasn't paying for his room and board every night. Whenever he went to visit the lodging house, and saw boys cramming into the beds- it was winter, and there were far too many boys to fit- he was painfully reminded of that. He had nothing to talk to them about- they didn't understand or care about the world of school and he no longer fit into the world of selling papes to get by. He had stopped coming back eventually because he got the feeling he just wasn't wanted.
He had had a sort of fight with Specs too, on one of his last visits to Tibby's. He had been talking to Specs about how he didn't like school, and he had blew up on him, shouting that if he didn't stop complaining about school that second, he would soak him. This wasn't particularly characteristic of him, which was strange. He had continued by shouting that he wanted to go to school more than anything- but would never be able to. David felt incredibly guilty and stayed away from the lodging house after that.
So now David was alone. His first day back at school, he'd seen his old friends, and was immediately reminded how he had less in common with them than he had with the newsies. They had been chattering about what they would be doing for Christmas break- it was coming up, after all. David didn't know what his family would be doing, probably staying home, as his pop was still weak and they didn't want to run a risk of him losing his job ever again. Not to mention that they still weren't back on their feet again- they certainly didn't have enough money to just blow it on a vacation. But while his classmates discussed their plans, David found his mind wandering to what the newsies would be doing. Selling papers. David realized that he had changed too much to ever be real friends with them again. It seems he was right, because they had stopped trying to communicate with him. He was alone.
He looked at the photograph in his hands, and had to stifle a chuckle at his former friends antics, just like he always did whenever he saw it. The only one who was looking at the camera was Jack. Everyone else was talking and moving and laughing and rejoicing. David felt a pain in his chest- he wanted to go back to those days more than anything.'
After Jack and Sarah had broken up- their relationship wasn't meant to be either, clearly- even Jack had stopped coming for dinner. David could hardly blame him. Those dinners would have been pretty awkward. Who to sit next to? Your ex-girlfriend or ex-best friend?
Sighing, David put the photograph away and pulled on his coat. He didn't know exactly where he'd be going, but it hardly mattered, did it? He yelled to his ma, "I'm going out.", and exited his family's apartment. He found himself walking subconsciously towards the lodging house, and quickly turned in the opposite direction. It was early- 11:15- and chances are the newsies would still be out selling, but he still didn't want to take the risk of seeing them.
It was funny. After he had stopped going to the lodging house, he had started making a point of making sure he never saw a single newsie. Of course, that was impossible, if you were going to walk down the streets of Manhattan, but he could at least try. He avoided all of his old friend's usual selling spots. Once, he saw Racetrack in the street, trying to hawk a headline about inflation or something equally uninteresting, and quickly turned the other way so Racetrack wouldn't see him,. For some reason, David couldn't stand the idea of seeing them. It would remind him of everything he had lost.
David finally found himself walking towards central park. He knew there were always newsies around here, but he was hoping it wasn't any of the ones he knew. David wasn't looking where he was going, just strolling down the sidewalk, thinking, and suddenly he bumped into someone. A stack of papers fluttered to the ground, and David could've kicked himself right there. He didn't look up until he absolutely had to, and he found himself looking into the face of Crutchy. Of all the newsies to bump into.
David apologized profusely. "Sorry, Crutchy. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"
Crutchy nodded, and as he recognized David, a wide grin split his face.
"Heya Davey! Haven't seen yous around, much!"
"I've been busy." David said lamely.
"We all miss yous." Crutchy confided. " It ain't the same without yous and Les."
David smiled. "I miss you too."
"Why don't yous ever come by?" Crutchy asked. "I know yous ain't selling papes anymore, but yous could still come to see us."
David didn't have a response to that. Instead, he got on his knees and helped Crutchy gather his papers up. There was an awkward silence as David handed the papers back.
"I don't know." He said truthfully.
"Well… I guess I'll see yous around." Crutchy said, sensing that David didn't want to talk anymore.
"Yeah." David said. "Um, I'll buy a pape first." David felt kind of weird using the word pape, like it didn't belong to him anymore.
Crutchy smiled. "One penny." He said, as if David didn't know that.
David handed him one and took the paper. He wasn't really interested in reading it, but he thought it would be kind of rude of him not to buy one. He waved tentatively at Crutchy. "Bye."
As David walked away, he heard Crutchy shout something, but assuming it was just the headline, he didn't stop.
David felt strange carrying the paper around the streets of New York City, thinking he should probably be getting rid of it already. He wondered if he could sell it, and then laughed at the thought. He supposed that if he really wanted to, he could. It wouldn't be a profit, though, and plus he'd take one more customer away from someone who would be making a profit and would be appreciating it. He stared at the paper in his hands, trying to think of an interesting way to twist the headline. Back in his newsie days, he had always stopped short of actually lying, but he'd become quite adept at twisting the truth. He wasn't actually gonna sell it though. David couldn't believe he was actually putting thought into this.
He decided to just go home. Maybe his ma would appreciate the paper. He turned around and headed towards his family's building. What a pointless walk.
A/N: It will get more interesting, I promise! This is my first newsies fic.