A/N: this is for my best friend ever, Grim Lupine, as a thank-you for all the het she has been writing me. you are a warrior to plow through all that r/hr for me.

that said, it has been quite a while since i've seen newsies (or written slash of any kind) so bear with me.

much love.


Sarah feels alone.

With a house that is constantly full of people, it seems like loneliness would be rare, something you wish for to replace the bustle and noise. But she always feels lonely.

Sarah hates feeling alone.

Her days have been reduced to mending, and cooking, and various needlepoint projects. Before, Jack would run in and kiss her until her cheeks were pink and her knees were jelly. They'd sit at the dinner table and her parents would smile good-naturedly, and her brothers would joke, and Jack would reach for her fingers under the table and Sarah would have to bite back a giggle. Not anymore.

Sarah feels irritated.

Jack is weirdly distant, at least to her. She's still expected to mend his clothes and help cook his dinner, that's for damn sure, but the kiss has become a peck on the forehead. Her parents still smile, but it's uneasy, like something's wrong. Her brothers and Jack joke, and Jack isn't holding her hand because he's lightly shoving David, or picking up things David has "accidentally" dropped on the floor, or he's, as of this evening, playing with a stray curl of David's hair. Sarah tried to start a conversation about something she'd overheard at the market, and her parents had listened, but Jack seemed disinterested.

Sarah feels betrayed.

Today was supposed to be her and Jack's six-month anniversary. That's half a year. He came home late. "I had extra papes today, Sarah," he'd said. "I got hungry early, Sarah," he'd said. So had David. "I had extra papes too, Sarah," he'd added. "We went and bought some food, Sarah." Jack tosses her a chocolate bar. It's her favorite. She forces a smile. "Know you love 'em," he says, and kisses her on the top of the head. "Sorry." Something is wrong, but she can't put her finger on what it is.

Sarah finds a love letter.

The letter is not addressed, but it is sitting underneath an old newspaper in the corner of the room that she and Jack share. The manner in which it has been shoved under the paper and behind a book (not to mention the various bits and bobs that have been orchestrated around it) tell Sarah that he did not want her to find it. It is a letter to Jack, and not one that she has written. It talks about secrets, and going out and buying some food, and the same wonderful hair and eyes and swagger of Jack's that she herself had fallen in love with. And it talks about his lips, his beautiful lips, and then other parts of Jack, and suddenly Sarah's face is very hot. No wonder he had hidden this letter- not only had his girlfriend not written it, but it was also very...it is a racy letter. She feels almost embarrassed to be reading it, but she's also angry, and confused. No wonder he'd been so distant, no wonder he'd been so...

Sarah feels shocked.

"All my love, David."

Sarah's heart is broken.