Newsies belongs to Disney. This fic was inspired by Coldplay's "Fix You". Enjoy!
They had done it. The strike was won. Or, partially won, at least. A compromise was better than nothing at all. Darcy observed the newsies with a bemused expression as they whooped and cheered together, some of them with grins on their faces and others with tears of joy glistening in their eyes. Darcy knew he should probably be celebrating along with them; this was all made possible by him and Bill, after all. If they hadn't helped, the newsies would never have been able to print their newspapers. Darcy should have been happy. He should have felt like he finally succeeded at something in his life and that he'd made a difference, but he didn't feel that way that all. Darcy couldn't possibly feel that when he saw Jack with Katherine. His Katherine.
Surprised? So was Darcy. He knew he was in love with Katherine. He always had been, but he had convinced himself that if she got together with anyone else and she was happy, Darcy would feel happy for her, put on a brave face, and move on with his life. The only thing Darcy felt was a horrible, painful anger boiling in the pit of his stomach and twisting in his shattered heart. He had been so sure that he had been making progress. Darcy had been so close to telling Katherine how he felt, but now everything had sped back in reverse and he was back to square one.
Darcy stayed with the newsies to celebrate. All of the boys pitched in to buy candies and things for them all to share. Race and Specs, who were surprisingly good singers, performed folk songs and other hits for their friends at request. Darcy sat next to Katherine, but she was too busy fawning over Jack to pay him any attention. He just sat quietly, taking occasional sips from his glass of water and fighting back tears whenever he saw Katherine's loving smile directed at the last person Darcy ever thought would receive it. He eventually had to excuse himself to cry where no one would see, but nobody really noticed anyways.
That night when he returned home, his parents were fighting over none other than him. Darcy locked himself in his room, utterly exhausted from staying up late with the newsies, crying, and having to watch Jack suck Katherine's face off. Darcy would never kiss Katherine like that in public; she was never big on expressing affection in front of crowds until Jack had come along. Darcy dressed for bed and placed his glasses on his bedside table, rubbing his eyes tiredly and hauling himself into bed. Darcy was exhausted after the day's events, but he couldn't sleep. His parent's yelling wailed on into the night as loud as ever and Darcy felt tears begin to brim in his eyes. Things had been getting better between them. They were being sweet again, and even happy with each other, but Darcy just had to ruin it. The stupid strike and his stupid printing skills and stupid Katherine had made him rebel against his parents and now they blamed each other. Things were never going to get better.
Darcy was terrified as his father called him out of his bedroom the next morning. He was trembling violently as he stood tall in front of his parents, his head held high and wearing his usual ironed suit and dress shoes. His father stared at him with no expression, making Darcy's stomach churn. He hated when he didn't know what his father was thinking. Silence screamed in the parlor as the two Reids looked at their son, the mother clearly in disappointment and the father in hatred and indifference.
"We put a roof over your head," Mr. Reid started lowly, his voice ominously quiet. "We feed you. We clothe you. I work hard everyday to provide for this family! I taught you everything you know. And this... this is how you repay us?!" Mr. Reid snarled, holding up one of the Newsies Banners in his hand. His face, calm only moments before, was twisted with rage and pure loathing. Darcy felt tears well up in his eyes as his father and mother looked upon him as if he were a stranger.
"I-I... I thought it was the right thing to do," Darcy replied weakly. "After all, they just wanted rights. I didn't even help on that much, I just printed their papers for them when Katherine asked me too." Darcy's heart flipped at the mention of his friend, but the momentary bliss was ripped away from him as his father grabbed his arm, twisting it uncomfortably and yanking him towards the door. Darcy screamed and tried to get out of his father's firm grip, looking back at his mother with pleading eyes. She stared right back at him, her eyes glinting coldly as a humorless smile played across her lips. Darcy's eyes widened but he never got the chance to say anything as Mr. Reid opened the door and shoved him out into the dirty streets of New York City.
"You are no longer my son. Now get out of here and go to those street rats you love so much before I call the police," Mr. Reid said coolly, as if he were telling Darcy the time of day. Darcy looked up at his father, white faced, and slowly shook his head. "F-Father... Please, don't do this," he begged silently, clasping his hands together and looking down at his feet; he didn't dare meet the other man's eyes. Darcy heard the door slam shut and all hope vanished.
Darcy cried. Darcy cried so hard his body shook with his wailing sobs and he collapsed to his knees on the pavement. He screamed in agony, fear, pain, grabbing at his hair as the tears came streaming down his face. This couldn't be happening. His parents loved him. He loved them. Surely, they understood why... they had to. Darcy couldn't lose the only people he had left. But the door stayed shut, Darcy's parents still hated him, and he still cried.
Darcy felt a hand on his shoulder and he cried out in fear, scuffling away kicking at the mystery person before curling up on the ground and hiding his face with his hands. Someone bent down and gently pulled him to his feet, grabbing his shoulders and cupping his face in their hands. Darcy looked at the person though his tears and smeared glasses and was met with a concerned look, a head of red curls, and a very familiar face.
"K-Kathy," Darcy gasped, using the childhood nickname from years ago. He collapsed in Katherine's arms and started to sob hysterically, not caring that his friend had no idea what was going on with his parents or with his thoughts or with her. Darcy just needed to be comforted, to be held and loved by someone. Katherine didn't panic or question her friend's actions. As if reading Darcy's mind, she wrapped her arms around him and guided his head to her shoulder, letting her hand rest on the back of his head as he cried. Darcy returned her silent embrace and gripped the back of her dress, his body still shaking as his sobs quieted and he cried silently. He was broken, tired, and afraid. He didn't know what was going to happen to him or where he was going to be or anything. He was so scared...
"Darcy, what happened?" Katherine whispered as she continued to run her hand through Darcy's blonde locks, her concern growing as the right shoulder of her dress became drenched with her friend's tears. Darcy let out a shaky sigh and buried his face deeper in Katherine's shoulder. He told her about what had just transpired in the parlor of his old home. Home... He didn't have a home anymore. Darcy started to sob softly as he finished his story and when he looked up at Katherine, tears were in her eyes as well.
"Everything's wrong. This wasn't supposed to happen," Darcy managed to choke out, trembling slightly as he gripped Katherine's arms slightly for support. Katherine's eyes softened and a tear trailed down her cheek as she rested a hand on the side of Darcy's face, rubbing his cheek lovingly with her thumb. Darcy closed his eyes and placed his hand over Katherine's, pretending in this moment that she was in love with him. He had to comfort himself somehow.
"You can stay with me, alright? I'll fix this. I'll fix you. No more crying for you if I have anything to say about it," Katherine said with a slight smile, making Darcy chuckle. He opened his eyes again and kissed one of Katherine's tears stained cheeks, his own tears still falling.
"Thank you," Darcy whispered.