Worth A Shot

By Molly The Monster

Setting: The fire escape and apartment
of Katherine Plumber, 1899

The boy's hand moved across the page quickly, deliberately. His eyes were glued to the page, except for when he would look up for a quick moment to glance through the open window at the girl moving about inside her room.

The girl was acutely aware of his presence, even though he had barely said anything since he arrived. It was late afternoon and she was taking care of some things she hadn't had the chance to do that morning–making her bed, putting clothes away.

The silence was killing her. Jack Kelly was never one to be silent. As soon as he got there he just started with his pencil and paper, sitting on the fire escape, quietly sketching.

Not able to handle it any longer, Katherine went to the window, kneeling on the ground and leaning against the frame. "Are you working on the same drawing you were working on yesterday?" asked Katherine.

"Mmhmm," Jack responded without even looking up.

"Is it of me?" she asked, a small smile forming on her lips. Katherine learned long ago that she was one of his favorite subjects when it came to his art.

"Mmhmm," mumbled Jack, still not looking up. He could be so difficult sometimes! He must have known how much it was torturing her. He was always so focused and concentrated. She just wanted a little peek.

Katherine bit her lip. "Can I see?" she asked. She knew it was a bold gesture–Jack never let her see anything until it was done, but it was worth a shot.

Finally, the boy glanced up from his drawing. Katherine didn't like the small grin he had on his face. "Can I see the inside of your room?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Jack already knew the answer to that question, but he figured it was worth a shot. He'd been to the apartment nearly every day since the end of the strike and every day she told him he couldn't come in. ("It's just not proper behavior!")

A sigh escaped Katherine's lips. "You can see the inside of my room just fine from out there," Katherine told him. She couldn't understand what his fascination was with seeing her room. She supposed it was more than just seeing, because he really could see everything of importance from out there. It seemed he just wanted to be in her room, though she didn't know why.

"And you can see my drawin' just fine from in there," said Jack with a teasing grin.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You are impossible," she declared, standing up fixing her skirt as she did so.

She was so cute when she was angry. Jack couldn't help but be amused. He tapped the end of his pencil against the paper, watching Katherine as she fluffed the pillows on her bed. "Ya know, I might be willin' ta show you this," he said, holding up the paper in his hand. "For a price of course."

When she heard Jack's voice, Katherine turned her attention back to him. By the look on his face, she knew exactly what was on his mind. Especially considering he was putting down his drawing and coming toward the window. Even now, after all this time, he could still make her blush like she was a young girl. "And what would that price be?" asked Katherine with a shy smile, kneeling by the window.

Jack Kelly could sit around looking at Katherine Plumber all day. Her eyes, her hair, her beautiful, soft pink lips. He would be content to stare at those lips for the rest of his life. Even now, he just wanted to take a moment to admire them, so up close, so personal. No matter how many times he'd kissed her, he enjoyed every last second of it.

And as happy as he was to drink in those lips, he figured he shouldn't leave his lady waiting any longer, so he leaned in closer, kissing her gently at first. Kissing her was unlike kissing any other girl. With Katherine, it was an adventure. It was always new, exciting. He leaned in closer, weaving a hand through her hair to pull her in...

But alas, Katherine Plumber knew exactly how to leave him hanging. She broke the kiss abruptly and he let out a soft moan. Katherine grinned, biting her lip a bit sheepishly. Never breaking eye contact with him, she held out her hand expectantly. "Hand it over, Kelly," she teased, raising her eyebrows in an almost challenge.

Jack sighed and reached back for the pad he was sketching on. He handed it through to window to Katherine who took it giddily, sitting on her bed to admire it. When she flipped it over to see what Jack had been drawing, the smile slowly faded from her face. Katherine pursed her lips together. "Jack?" she said, looking up, her gaze meeting Jack's bemused expression.

"Yeah?"

Katherine held the pad so that the drawing was now in his view. "This page is blank," she said, showing him the page. There were a few lines drawn across the page, but not much else.

"What are you talkin' about?" asked Jack, feigning hurt and surprise. He came closer to her, pointing at the lines on the page. "Look, this line is gonna be your arm. Yeah, and these is gonna be your hair."

Katherine pulled the drawing toward her, trying to give Jack and angry stare but finding she couldn't. "You said you've been working on this since yesterday!" she cried, trying to sound upset but finding she was just laughing slightly.

"The artistic process takes time," said Jack with a shrug and a smile.

Katherine just shook her head, pointing a finger at him. "I want that kiss back," she demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ya know, I think I can help you with that," said Jack, leaning against the window frame. "I hear the only way to get a kiss back is to kiss again."

"Is that so?" she played along, kneeling next to the window.

"Yep. I think it's worth a shot," said Jack, not even bothering to try to hide his intentions.

"Oh, you do, do you?" asked Katherine. She was certain she was blushing, but she didn't care.

"Mmhmm," he mumbled, his eyes gazing at those beautiful lips once again before leaning in to close the space between them.

I may actually be obsessed with Newsies, and it's starting to become a problem. The amount that I ship Jack and Katherine is unreal. I actually have a ton of fic ideas for them. And I want to write them instead of doing my schoolwork, which is a problem. I tried really hard to find whoever made the image I used for the story. It wasn't me. I found it on Tumblr and I will continue to search for the maker. :)

This story is dedicated to laxgrl21 and becc-gallanter for reviewing my last one-shot, A Promise Worth Keeping. Thank you two for being so sweet. :)