Author's note:
To the followers of my other stories, don't be mad! I hit roadblocks on my main three and had a plot bunny, okay?
This is not meant to be taken as my real writing style (seriously this is crack crap), I just thought it would be fun to piece together the mental image of this situation for a quick one-shot.
~CW
...
The drapes swung closed with a clatter of rungs, enveloping the chamber in a shroud of darkness. A pristine bowl of fresh microwave popcorn sat pretty on a stack of books on the coffee table of the humble flat. Light from the immense screen before the spacious couch cast crooked shadows across the arrangement. Music swelled in the background as the meager audience assembled for a night of song and quality family entertainment.
"Who farted?" Romeo blurted out.
Katherine, Jack, Crutchie, Davey, Les, Race, and Specs all sighed.
It was Disney Movie Marathon Night for the newsies of Manhattan.
...
7:30 PM
Jack's Pick
Aladdin
The line-up was standard for whenever the boys and Katherine came over to Jack and Crutchie's dorm; Katherine sat up on the corner of the sofa, hugging the fleece throw pillow. Jack was next to her with the usual handhold, as if just assuring himself she was there. Davey and Race took up the other half of the couch. Crutchie, Specs, Romeo, and Les were on the ground in front of the table amongst a fortress of pillows and blankets, taking turns hogging the popcorn.
"Davey," Les whined, yanking the plastic bowl from Romeo's grip. "Can we skip this part?"
Upon the screen glowed an angst-ridden Princess Jasmine, pacing her palace quarters as she contemplated her fate to be wed to a pompous prince.
Davey shrugged. "I dunno, Les. Jack has command of the remote."
"That's right, young one," Jack teased, lifting the controller to the sky. "I hold the great an' powerful remote control, an' I dictate how it's used."
"Please, Jack," Crutchie turned and said back to his friend. "Jus'... Please."
Jasmine approached her balcony to the charming Prince Ali, who hovered two stories up just to meet her face on his magic carpet.
"What, too mushy?" Katherine asked. "Or not enough violence for you squirrel-sized attention spans?"
Jack glanced down. Crutchie, Les, and Specs all kneeled pleading back to him.
"Skip the scene," Specs begged. "Right. Now."
Orchestration bloomed as Jasmine stepped down onto the carpet.
Jack looked about. Someone was missing...
"Guys," He began, unsettled. "Where's Rom-"
Romeo leaped up from behind the couch in character. "I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD..."
"Oh my God," Specs groaned.
"What have you done?" Les sighed.
"SHINING, SHIMMERING..."
Romeo's voice threatened to crackle as he serenaded Race and stroked his face with the back of his hand. "SPLENDID. TELL ME, PRINCESS, NOW WHEN DID YOU LAST LET YOUR HEART DECIDE?"
Crutchie and Specs laid side by side on the floor with their fingers up their ears. Les writhed in pain.
"I cnn uhhhpnnn yrrrr eyeeees," a small voice began murmur-singing. Jack looked around. Race was deadpanned, way too used to Romeo's outbursts to even react. The boys agonizing on the ground were too busy... Well, agonizing. He exchanged a glance with Katherine, who was just trying to watch the movie. "Take you wnndr by wnndr..."
Crap. It was Davey.
Romeo hurried to his side and grabbed both of his shoulders from behind.
"OVER SIDEWAYS-" Romeo belted.
"AND UuUUuUuuNDER-" Davey riffed back to him.
"ON A MAGIC CARPET RiiIIIIIiiIIIiiiIIIDE!"
"Dave, don't encourage him!" Jack jutted in before the next chorus.
"It's a catchy song, okay?! -A WHOLE NEeEEeeeEW WORLD..."
"Jesus, Dave..." Jack moaned.
"Wth nww hrrizns to prsue..."
"Crutchie, don't even think about it!"
...
Approximately 16 bars later...
...
"IN AN ENDLESS DIAMOND SKyyYYYyYYyyyYY!" Davey sang out, stepping dramatically across the living room.
"A WHOLE NEEEWWW WORLD..." Specs joined in, hugging Crutchie from behind as if he were his Jasmine.
Jack leapt onto the coffee table and cinched his shoulders up, hiking his part an octave higher than originally written. "DON'T YA DARE CLOSE YER EYEEEES!"
Katherine laughed as he reached an arm down to her on the couch. She grabbed it by the elbow.
"A HUNDRED THOUSAND..." Specs picked up.
"HOLD YER BREATH, IT GETS BETTER!" Jack replied in a mezzo belt.
Crutchie chimed in with the melody as Jack strained to catch the tenor harmony.
"I'M LIKE A SHEEEWWWWTIN' STAR!"
...
8:40 PM
Romeo's Pick
Beauty and the Beast
"Yes!" Katherine shouted, more in relief than excitement. "Finally, a princess that isn't completely helpless!"
Belle rode gallantly through the woods to return to her father back in the nondescript village of France, dramatic score soaring around her.
Davey returned from the kitchen with the last mug of tea and gave it to Crutchie to remedy the boys' cacophonous rendition of "Be Our Guest," complete with Specs' operatic high C at the end.
"That's it," Katherine decided. "Belle is my favorite princess, hands-down."
"'Cause you think you're most like her?" Davey inquired as he sat back down on the couch. "You see a bit of yourself, don't you?"
"Oh, plenty," Katherine replied. Gesturing grandly to the screen. "Look at her! She's powerful and witty, and not to mention on the fashionable side."
"An' she sure loves her daddy," Race called over from the other side of the couch.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Okay, so it's not the best comparis-"
"And who would Jack be?" Specs twisted around to question. "Ain't you calling 'im the Beast?"
Jack looked to her with a mock-aghast expression. "How dare you!"
"It's either that or Gaston, Pretty Boy," Katherine replied.
"Can I be Chip?" Crutchie asked, shoving a handful of batch number three of popcorn down his throat. "He's a funny fella."
"No way!" Les piped up, swiping the bowl back just as Crutchie set it down. "I'm the adorable comedic relief character!"
"Who's Lumiere, huh?" Specs followed up.
"The French romantic?" Crutchie replied, smiling. "You're kiddin', right?"
"SO IT'S TIIIIME TO TAKE SOME ACTION, BOYS-" Romeo sang along with Gaston, marching circles around the couch.
"IT'S TIIiiiIIiIiiiIIME TOooOOOoOO FoOOoooOLLOOoOW MEEeeeEEeEeeeEE!" Davey followed, holding one ear as he riffed.
...
10:10 PM
Davey's Pick
Hercules
"Who put the 'glad' in 'gladiator'?" The sassy muse Calliope onscreen sung. "Her-cu-les!"
"Just skip the songs and get back to the story, lady!" Les whined. He had cocooned himself entirely into his camouflage Snuggie and was downing his eighth cream soda. "You're a hot mama, but just get to kicking Hades' butt already!"
"Okay," Davey chided, getting up from his spot on the couch and scooping the glass bottle out of his brother's hand. "That's enough of that."
"This guy thinks he's so hot," Race commented. Now he laid on his stomach on the ground next to the younger boys. "He can lift heavy stuff. Big whoop. Don't hafta be a jackass about it."
"The accuracy is still driving me crazy," Davey said, sinking back into his seat. "Hera wasn't even Hercules' mother. His trainer was Chiron, not Philitetes."
"An' Megara barely has anything ta do with that myth," Specs added.
"How'd you know that?" Davey asked. He leaned down to Specs' level.
"I'm broke and blind," he replied. "Not uncultured."
"All in favor a' skipping this cheese-fest?" Crutchie asked.
"Aye!" Chimed a mass majority of the room.
"Veto," Katherine countered. She raised the remote. "I have the controller."
She was met with a grand choir of groans.
...
11:02 PM
Crutchie's Pick
"Okay, I picked out this next one, and I think it's gonna be a winner for everybody."
Crutchie knelt by the base of the TV stand and shuffled through the pile of DVD's the gang compiled until he found it. Les lay upside-down on the couch where Race previously sat, legs draped over the top and letting the blood rush to his head. Davey had a hand on his chest to keep him from falling.
The screen lit up in a deep, royal blue. A snowflake fluttered onscreen.
"Nah nah nah heya nah..."
Romeo whooped. Specs, Davey, and Katherine cheered.
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed. "Great pick, Crutchie."
The screen froze up and jumped to a castle hall. Someone skipped the opening scene. A few startled yells of "No!" Rang out.
"A'ight, who has the remote?" Jack demanded, crossing his arms.
"This part's boring," Les explained, holding up the controller backwards.
"Elsa?" A little bronze-haired girl called as she approached a white wooden door. Five knocks followed.
"Y'know what? It's fine," Crutchie forgave with a passive wave. "Everyone gets a turn wid' the remote. Plus, I've seen this one plenty a' times."
...
11:05 PM
Still Crutchie's Pick
Still Frozen
"Please, I know you're in there...
People are asking where you've been."
Silence had enveloped all of the boys and Katherine. Their eyes were all glued to the despair-filled Anna as she pressed against the door.
"They say 'Have courage,' and I'm trying to. I'm right out here for you, just let me in."
Jack squeezed Katherine's hand tight. She glanced over through watery eyes to catch a single struggling tear rolling down his cheek.
Specs' glasses fogged up. Even Romeo was quiet, a single arm hugging Race. Race eventually swung his arm back around the little twerp, wiping the hot tears from his eyes.
"We only have each other. It's just you and me. What are we gonna do?"
The entire room was completely still, waiting on Anna's final pathetic pleas. Her lips slowly began to open. Finally...
The scene froze once again.
"OKAY, CAN I JUST SAY SOMETHING CRAZY?" An older and more spastic Anna inquired of Prince Hans.
"YOU LITTLE-" Race leapt up and lunged towards the couch at Les. Davey held him back as he trashed and bared his stubby, dirty fingernails. "WHAT THE HELL? KID?! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL CLAW YOUR FREAKIN' EYES OUT AND PLACE 'EM IN THE MICROWAVE AT THEEE HUNDRED FOURTEEN POINT FIVE DEGREES FAHRENHEIT UNTIL THEY EXPLODE AN' USE THE LEFTOVER JELLY ON MY CONCRETE DONUTS SPRINKLED WITH TWO YEAR OLD FREAKIN' MOLD AND THE BROKEN HOPES AN' DREAMS OF A CHILD WHO SKIPPED THE LAST LINE OF 'DO YOU WANNA BUILD A F€$?&! SNOWMAN'?!"
"Okay!" Crutchie declared as he desperately searched the DVD stack. "Bad choice then. Let's skip to the next movie. We just got our microwave fixed after last time."
...
12:40 AM
Race's Pick
Newsies
The entire movie-watching experience was comprised mainly of awkward glances between Davey and Jack and endless trans jokes from Romeo to Katherine.
...
1:50 AM
Katherine's Pick
Tangled
Flynn and Rapunzel frolicked around the kingdom of Corona (Race had complimented the name) without a care in the world.
As the theif and lost princess danced in circles with the subjects of the kingdom, staring longingly across the courtyard at one another...
"It's gettin' late, ain't it?" Jack asked no one in particular. He raised his arms in a stretch as he yawned. "I'm gettin' a bit tired." He way-too-obviously let his arm fall down around Katherine's shoulders, grinning slyly at her. She smiled back and leaned into him.
The scene segued to the docks of the lake overlooking the grand palace. The lights were about to come out, as they did every year, and Rapunzel eagerly boarded the canoe to see them up-close and in person.
"You know what?" Davey said, getting up. "It is pretty late - and way past Les' bed time. We should probably get goin'."
"All right," Les reluctantly agreed.
Davey patted him on the back and led him to the door calling, "Thanks for having us over, guys."
"No problem, Crutchie replied. He turned around. "Jack, I actually gotta go hit the hay m'self. Don't wanna get a late start on a Sunday."
"Uh... Okay," Jack replied, though Crutchie was known for pulling all-nighters easily before. "See ya in the mornin', Bud."
He climbed up onto his crutch and limped off into the corridor to his room. "Night, Jack."
"Specs," Race prompted to his friend sitting next to him on the floor. "Don't you got somethin' ta study for?"
"What?" Specs replied in confusion.
Race slapped his arm. Hard.
"Ow! I mean, uh, yeah! I got that... Thing. I gotta go."
"Great. I'll go with ya." He hoisted Specs up by the arm and practically dragged him out the door. "Thanksforthepopcornandfamilyfunjackokaybye."
"And I gotta date," Romeo said, jumping to catch up with the group as they hurried out the front door. It slammed closed behind them.
"Huh," Katherine said. "That was abrupt."
"Yup," Jack agreed. He looked over to her. "And then there were two."
She took his hand again as he held her close. "I'll admit one thing," he said as the music began to lift. "This isn't the sappy pile a' junk I thought it was gonna be."
"Thanks, Jack," Katherine responded with sarcasm. "Your faith in my decisions means the world to me."
"Hey, I'm jus' bein' honest," he defended. "But, in a way... Y'know how you said Belle reminded you a' yourself?"
"Yes," Katherine replied.
"Well, in the strangest way..." He shrugged. "I dunno, it jus'... Flynn an' Rapunzel. They sorta remind me of us."
"How so?" She questioned.
"Dashing one-man wolf pack convict meets a tough-as-nails isolated princess." His brows furrowed. "I guess I mean heiress."
"I think I prefer princess," she assured him. He gently laughed.
"And honestly, after all that Santa Fe nonsense," he continued. "You were my new dream."
"And you were mine," Katherine replied.
"That reminds me," Jack began a new thought. "You're the only one who hasn't sung yet."
Katherine sat up. "Jack, I'm not going to-"
"Come on, Katherine, how many times have you seen this movie? Be honest," he said as he shook her shoulders.
She looked up to him with a nervous grin. "Way too many."
Jack made a conductor's gesture for her to begin. She laughed. "Come on," he encouraged. He synched up to CGI Zachary Levi.
"If she's here, it's crystal clear, I'm where I'm meant to go..."
Katherine's voice was delicate at first, timid and sweet.
"And at last I see the light..."
Jack pulled away and knelt facing her on the sofa, persuading her to pick up the volume. "And it's liiiIIIKE THE FOG HAS LIFTED..."
Katherine grinned wide. "And at last I see the light!"
They grabbed both hands. "And it's like the sky is new!"
Jack faltered out just to listen to her beautiful spirit, lost in her enthusiasm.
"And it's warm and real and bright!" Katherine sung out proudly, closing her eyes. "And the world has somehow..."
She opened her eyes when she didn't hear Jack. "...Shifted?"
Jack slowly brought a hand to her cheek, softly brushing her face with his thumb. "All at once, everything is different," he chuckled.
"Now that I..." Katherine chimed back in.
"See you," they sung together.
Katherine smiled and threw her arms around his neck. Just as they closed their eyes and their lips were about to meet-
"EN GUARDE!"
A volley of cold, adhesive paste showered over the two lovebirds. They yanked back.
"What the hell?" Jack demanded. He cleared the colorful goop from over his eyes and glanced around. The six boys were all crouched around the couch (including Les, piggybacking Davey), each armed with a can of Silly String.
"We gotcha good, didn't we?" Romeo teased.
Katherine, soaked head to toe in spirals of String, stood straight up and tried to claw it out of her curly hair. "You know, Jack, it's been fun, but I really think I oughta get going now."
"But Katherine..." He weakly attempted as she stormed out the door. He chased after her and stood in the open doorway, watching her march down the hall of the complex and to the elevator.
Jack sighed and looked back into the living room at the boys, who were carelessly chatting to themselves. Then he heard the staccato clack of Katherine's shoes approach him. He turned and, sure enough, she was right in front of him again.
"I really do have to go. My father will kill me when he realizes I wasn't in at curfew. But thank you for tonight. I hope we can do it again some time."
"Sure," Jack confirmed.
As Katherine walked away once more to the elevator, she remembered that she forgot something important.
When she turned on her heels and returned, the door was still open, but Jack was saying something to the boys from the doorway. "All right, guys, so-"
Katherine grabbed Jack's sleeve and tugged on it like a little kid. When he turned, she grabbed his face, brushed some of the Silly String off of it, and pecked him on the cheek before striding away.
Jack just stood there and smiled with one side of his face as he watched her go down the hall, into the elevator, and out of the night, leaving a trail of polymer goo behind her but sporting it like the latest 1900's fashion.
"Come on, Eugene, we still got The Little Mermaid ta get through!" Race shouted.
"A'ight, fellas, who's up for round ten of popcorn?" Jack asked as he returned into the living room. The boys all moaned with stomach ache.
...