Davey to the Rescue
By Morning Glory
Inspired by Carryin' Da Bannah RP
"Get your hands off me!" A feminine voice screamed from the midst of the crowded and loud abandoned warehouse. It was a cause for celebration the strike had ended and the newsies were now returning back to the streets hawking the headlines of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, as well as other newspaper tycoons of New York City . All of Manhattan was there from uptown to downtown, even the Battery Park newsies where there to celebrate the small victory on their part. Various newsies brought their talents to the festivity; the few who could play instruments provided the music as the newsies from all over New York danced merrily. Mischief stood with her violin, playing a cheerful melody as Solo accompanied on his wooden flute. Two other boys in the background played as well; one on the Bodhran and the other playing the Uilleann pipes.
For once all the boroughs were working together along side of each other, no one knew how long that would last, but for tonight every newsies was a friend. It was also the last night of freedom that David Jacobs would enjoy with the newsies before returning to his humdrum life and the four confining walls of school. Tonight however, he was going to have a good time.
"Ah, come on, dollface." The large bulky newsie slid up next to the petite, dirty blonde haired girl, his hands wandering south, grabbing at her butt.
Slick instantly tensed up stiff as a board feeling the crude boy's warm breath; her hair tied back in a loose ponytail leaving her neck exposed. Slick swallowed hard, her nervousness clearly written across her features.
"You know we'd have a good time," he whispered in her ear.
Slick removed his hand from her backside, and moved a pace away from him. She could smell the homemade liquor on his breath, "If you don't leave me alone…I'll get my boyfriend to make you!" Slick suddenly had a sweep of bravery take over her as she straightened up, making herself taller. She looked up at the guy, hoping the words that had spilled unchecked from her lips were enough to keep the large ape at bay.
"Oh yeah?" The guy didn't buy the sudden courageousness that Slick was now exhibiting. If her statement had been true, it would have been the first thing she threatened him with.
"Yeah!" Slick glanced to her left to the first person her eyes settled on, Davey. David stood a few yards away, joking around with Jack and Spot. A broad smile spread across his face as he relaxed for the first time in days, "He'll make sure you don't touch me again!" Slick hadn't been able to stop the words from flowing from her lips.
The guy standing in front of her followed her gaze over to the tall, lanky, curly haired boy, and he gave a snort, "That guy there?" He questioned shaking his head, "Well then I think I'll just go have a talk with him. Let him know you aren't interested in him any more."
Slick spun around facing towards David now, her eyes gone wide. She had done it in for him now, "He won't let you get away with it!" There it was again the words coming out of her mouth on their own, she hadn't meant to get David in any deeper. Slick just couldn't stop herself.
She felt her shoulder jerk forward as the newsie brushed past her, heading over towards where David stood, unaware of his fate. Slick knew that she should warn David about what was about to happen, but she felt as if her feet had just been nailed to the floor. Finally Slick rushed over to David, her thin frame making it easy to slip through the crowded room, "Davey," She hissed, "I uh…I did something bad."
Jack and Spot, who were standing with David smirked a bit, and then turned towards each other to continue their conversation. David cautiously placed a hand on her upper arm, "What did you do Slick?"
"I well told some guy you were my boyfriend so he'd leave me alone. He doesn't believe me now he's headed this way!" Slick didn't dance around what she had done.
"You what?!" David found himself looking for the guy to see what he was up against now, "What'd you do that for?!"
"Well he wouldn't stop grabbing me!" Slick admitted feeling her cheeks turn pink, "And you were the first guy I thought of when I lied to him… You should be flattered I thought that much of you Davey.".
David glanced over at the big oaf making his way through the crowd, being larger than Slick he had a harder time slipping through the crowded room. This gave David and Slick a bit of the advantage.
David began to wonder if Slick was telling him the truth. He knew that she was a petty thief and couldn't keep her hands from wandering, or if the guy really was bothering her. Either way the guy was growing closer, "C'mon." David clasped a hand around Slick's thin wrist and started to pull her towards where Spot and Jack had gone off, at least if it did end in a fight David would have a little back up, "Hey guys we got a small situation." David managed to gain Spot and Jack's attention now.
"You with that girl there?" A gruff voice called over the David's shoulder as he thumbed towards the trouble making girl who now stood next to David.
David turned around to face the guy who had now caught up to the pair; he stood about three inches taller than him and two inches broader. David swallowed hard mustering up courage, "Yeah, she's my girl." David found himself placing his arms around Slick's waist. It was purely for show, he had no feelings for Slick other than a younger sister who got herself into trouble.
Jack straightened up a bit when the larger guy approached, he recognized the guy as Rex, a Long Island newsie, and he was always causing trouble at these parties. He nudged Spot as he jerked his chin forward in Rex's direction. Spot's steely blue eyes followed Jack's indication, "Up to no good again." He spoke in a betting tone as he folded his arms over his chest glaring at Rex now.
"See I told ya!" Slick gave Rex a cocky smirk.
This only provoked Rex to prove his masculinity, "Oh yeah she's yer girl?" His words were slightly slurred, cheap homemade booze with a high alcoholic content, "Well she ain't interested in you no more." Rex reached over and grabbed Slick by the upper part of her arm, pulling her away from David. He didn't pull her next to him, but rather pushed her off behind him. He staggered forward a couple of steps until he was less than an arm length away. Rex completely missed the fact that Jack and Spot were there to back David up at any sign of trouble.
Slick's forehead creased as she stumbled back behind Rex. What was with this guy, did he not understand that she wasn't interested. Slick slowly stepped away, hiding her thin framed body behind Jack. She bit her lower lip feeling a bit of remorse for what she had gotten David into.
David gritted his teeth as he narrowed his eyes, not at Rex, but at Slick as she slinked off. However, Rex thought that David was challenging him. In his drunken state Rex reeled his fist back sending it crashing into David's jaw. David's eyes went wide he rubbed his jaw as a searing pain resonated through the left side of his face, "Damn it!" He muttered through his clenched teeth. He made a mental note to have a little chat with Slick once this was over.
Rex gained his composure; the impact of the punch had caused him to become even more unsteady on his feet. He snickered and took his stance once more. David didn't waste much time, he took what he had learned from Jack and the other newsies during the strike about fighting. David sent and uppercut into Rex's nose.
Between the forces of David's first blow, followed quickly by a second, and the copious amounts of alcohol that had been consumed was enough to knock the tougher large newsie back to the ground with a hard thud. Rex placed his hand up to his nose as the blood spurted everywhere dripping down on his cotton button up shirt.
Jack placed a hand on David's shoulder in congratulations, and then produced Slick who had been hiding behind him. Peering over his shoulder once and awhile to see what was going on. The fight had been quicker and a little less bloody than Spot and Jack had expected to, "Didn't think ya had it in ya kid." Spot gave David a smirk before heading over to a group of curious newsies for a bit of story time. Both Jack and Spot began to reenact the short fight that had just gone on, complete with exaggeration.
"Yeah thanks." David massaged his knuckles, rolling his eyes as Spot called him kid. Fighting wasn't his kind of thing, but he had to admit it was a good feeling to be congratulated for punching a guy out, especially in the honor of a girl.
Slick stood in her spot sheepishly staring at the ground as she dug the tip of her shoe into the wooden floor. David walked over to Slick clearing his throat. He waited until she looked up at him, "You okay?"
"Yeah, m'fine." Slick meekly spoke. She twisted her face a bit, "Sorry about your jaw and everything…thanks though…you know for knocking the guy out and stuff…"
David chuckled quietly as Slick stuttered her apology and thanks, "Yeah, you're welcome Slick." David rubbed the back of his neck a little as a soft smile crossed his lips, "Next time though, you want to pick a smaller guy to beat me up?" David had had full intention of being angry at Slick, but when he had hit Rex David realized that it was probably Rex's fault this whole thing had transpired in the first place. David had also thought what if it had been his sister Sarah in need of help. He would hope that the others would have been chivalrous enough to defend her.
Slick smiled, "Yeah, no problem Davey."
David slung an arm around Slick's shoulder, "C'mon I'll walk you home." He offered seeing as the party was beginning to wind down now. With that the two headed out of the warehouse walking back to the Battery Park Lodging House.
- A kind of Irish music instruments, it's also one of the most complex. It boasts a range of two chromatic octaves and up to seven-part harmony.
Bodhran- The hand-held goat skin frame drum is the main staple of Irish percussion. The name is pronounced bow-ran. It's struck by the hand or (more often) with a short dumbbell-shaped stick called tipper