A/N: Hello, all! I apologize that I haven't updated since…October… I have a good reason for that…it's called "college". I just had an entire mountain of homework pile up, and I have dress rehearsal for a musical I'm crewing for next week, and just general explosions of crazy…hopefully, it should settle down soon…..plus, I'm procrastinating on a paper that I should really start writing… Anyways, we'll see how this goes. I have my plan right beside me, so I know where I'm going with this story, so… Hopefully I'll get it all done in one day. Maybe.
DISCLAIMER I DON'T OWN NEWSIES AND NEVER WILL I JUST LIKE TO WRITE STORIES WHERE I DANGLE MY READERS OFF OF CLIFFS!
Responses to reviews:
Biankies: Yeah, Jack is always taking care of them…now it's their turn to take care of him. Sweet-I liked it, but I didn't know how well you guys would. Yeah, they probably don't like it much…I was on one the other day (Tuesday, I think), and I figured I shouldn't start the chapter then, since I didn't want to accidently murder a newsie or anything while I was so hyper I couldn't see straight. Me too-and I agree, I'm very attached to Dello. Eugh…I feel for you. At least you're not dealing with them now! No problem! I figured that they'd be very good at it, since they've only got each other to rely on. Me too-I wanted to show how they take care of each other, since even leaders have issues…hopefully I'll get to show off some more of them taking care of each other! (I know at least Race is going to have a "situation"…I haven't decided about Davey or Crutchie yet. After all, Race is in charge of the entire family when Jack isn't there…hint hint.) I hope you enjoy this chapter!
FansieFace: Thanks! I figured that a newsie party would get pretty loud…especially since they don't have a lot of money to buy anything. I bet they are! I'm so excited to go see it in Portland…even though it won't be until April. Dang it! Do you know if Evan Kasperzack is still in the touring cast? That is super stressful! That's why I make sure to buy my tickets ahead of time…I'm going to see "Once On This Island" at my old high school tomorrow (November 7th), and I bought my ticket a few days ago…and have a really good seat. I had a decent seat for Wicked, but I should have bought my tickets a bit earlier. I'm going to watch it too, even though I don't know when it premiered/premieres. I'm definitely going to watch it, though. I will, and I'm hoping to get the Leah Chronicles going again soon too! Well, Hulu shouldn't have any tantrums for the next few chapters…the CHs don't come back until Chapter 7, so there's a bit of a break. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
S. Castro: OH NO YOU MISSED A CHAPTER! DON'T LEAVE ME! ;) Haha…I hope you liked this chapter-and the last one as well!
Please enjoy "When Jack Cried" Chapter 4!
They would make sure-while Jack was watching their backs, they would have his. Forever."
"We have to get it back." Daniel said. He and the other Terrible Five were sitting outside at a coffee shop. He sighed, running a hand through his short hair. "If we want to make sure that we can't be arrested and no one can come after us, we have to get it back from Jack."
"You know him-he's not going to give it up without a fight. If we want to get it, we're going to have to break into the Lodging House and take it." Ashely replied. Daniel shook his head.
"You and I both know that the moment Jack saw us, he decided that we weren't getting anywhere near the other newsies, which includes the Lodging House. Yes, I know that we could try to sneak in and get it, but we all also know that we have the stealth skills of a hyperactive bull in a china shop. The only way we'll be able to get it is if the newsies are completely out of the picture…or if we somehow manage to get Jack to give it to us." He sighed darkly.
"Don't worry…" Stan murmured, "we'll figure this out somehow. We'll find a way to get to it, and we'll make sure that no one can tie us to that boy's death, or come after us once we leave the city. Jack won't keep it from us any longer."
Jack was going to pay for what he had done. As would the rest of his wretched newsie family.
The Terrible Five would make sure of it.
And there was absolutely nothing Jack could do to stop them.
The next day, the newsies were out selling. It was a hot day, but thankfully wasn't too humid. Jack had made sure to instruct every single newsie to sell in the shade as much as they could, and to take breaks and get water. Some of the younger newsies refused to think that they needed a break and almost succumbed to heatstroke before Race would bodily shove them into some shade and have Les and Snitch get them some water. They couldn't afford to lose any newsies to sickness, and they didn't want any of their siblings to get sick in general.
It was about two-thirty in the afternoon when the Terrible Five were first spotted. They were walking around the streets when they ran into Race and Davey.
Literally ran into them.
"'Ey, watch were you's…oh. It's yous." Race growled, finally noticing who had smacked into him. "Ya better git outta here-we ain't gonna take no crap from ya, an' ya knows dat Jack won' either."
"Oh, come on, now…you know that we're going to get what we want eventually. Why don't you just give it to us now, and we won't cause any trouble. We'll just take what we came for and then vanish, and it'll be like we were never even here."
"And we're supposed to believe that? First off, we know better than to trust anything that you all say. Second, we have no idea what it is you're looking for, or where it is. The person who does is keeping it safe from everyone. Especially you. Now, why don't you hightail it out of here, before Race takes all of you down? Cause I wouldn't want to be you in that situation." Davey glared at them as he spoke.
"Of course you know what it is-Jack would have told his lieutenant and…whoever you are…where and what it is we're looking for, so that there would be more than one person guarding it."
"Lady, we's all guardin' it, even iffn' we don' know it or not. Or wat it is. So why don' ya vultures jus' back up a ways, 'fore we come aftar ya-an' we gits Jack comin' aftar ya?" Race stared them down, and the Terrible Five stared right back.
Finally, Karen sighed. "Alright-we's gonna go away for now. But, we's gonna come back, an' ain't none a ya gonna like it!" She stalked away from the two boys, followed more slowly by her four friends. As soon as they were far enough away, the two boys looked at each other.
"We should warn Jack. If they came after us, they'll probably come after the others-and not all of them will be able to push them away like we did." Davey murmured to his brother, who nodded.
"Yeah, it's probably time ta start closin' up anaways. Most peoples ain't stickin' outside much longer…cause it's too dang hot!" Race complained. Davey chuckled, and the two friends started off.
On a corner a ways away, Jack was getting the same idea as his brothers. The sun and heat was starting to die down a bit, and so he gratefully headed over to a windowsill in the side and sat down. He had to set an example for the other newsies, which meant he had to sell harder than all of them-which usually took its toll right about now. He was glad for the chance to simply sit and rest.
It seemed that he was more tired than he thought, for he woke up a while later to someone placing a cool cloth to his face. Well, woke is a weak word…more like he startled awake, jumped off of the windowsill, and ended up sprawled across the sidewalk.
"Oh, I'm sorry-I should have woken you beforehand." A rather feminine-sounding voice came from above him, and he blinked a few times to bring the figure into focus. "Oh, hello, Katherine-ain't no trouble at all. Wat're ya doin' here?" He slowly levered himself back up to sit with his girlfriend, who handed him the wet cloth she had been holding. "I had nothing else to do today, since all of my stories are being printed tomorrow, so I figured I'd come out and see all of you. I haven't gotten out of the warehouse in around three weeks…" She grinned, subtly watching as Jack rubbed his face with the cloth. "I checked with some of the others, and they let me know that you would be here-and probably not taking a break."
"So dey told ya ta come an' force me ta take a break?"
"Actually, it was the other way around-I told them that I would before they even asked." Jack grinned, drawing Katherine into his side and gently kissing her temple as they sat and watched the passerby. "I'm glad ya came. Whatevar da reasons were." They sat comfortably for a while, before Katherine quietly squirmed a little, clearing her throat.
"Jack?"
"Hm?"
"There's another reason that I came to see you…" As she trailed off, Jack looked down at her. "Wat is it?" he queried softly. Katherine looked towards him nervously, but then sighed, recognizing that he was waiting for her to talk. "When I talked to Race and Davey earlier, they told me to tell you that these five people, whom they said that you know very well, were giving them a hard time today about some object, and that these people were probably going to try to come after you." Jack scowled darkly, growling under his breath.
Why couldn't they just leave his family out of it?
"Jack? Who are the people Race and Davey were talking about?" Jack began to respond to her, but suddenly stopped, as he noticed some shadows heading towards them. He slowly stood, gently holding Katherine down with one hand. "Well, would ya look at wat da cat drug in! Why cain'tcha jus' go back ta wherevar ya came from an' leave me an' my family alone? You's caused 'nough trouble in da world-jus' go an' do it somewhere else!"
"Jack-who are they?" Katherine whispered. Stan laughed, looking towards the two. "Well, well, well-you never told us you had a lady friend, Jack! How's about you introduce us to this fine young lady here?" He started walking up towards Katherine with a creepy look in his eyes. Jack moved in front of Katherine, and glared at the other boy. "Dat's as far as ya git. Iffn' ya wanna keep breathin', I suggests ya take a hike. Otharwise…otherwise I might not be responsible for my actions, an' I don' really wanna drag Davey inta another lawsuit when we's gone through two in da last year. So take a hike-NOW."
"Oh, come on, Jack-this is a pointless distraction! Simply give us the object, or tell us where it is and let us obtain it, and then we will be out of your hair for good."
"Ya think I's jus' gonna let ya waltz outta here with da thing dat can put all a ya away for murder? Not a chance. Y'all is gonna git arrested, an' get sent ta jail like all dem othar idiots dat we's had ta deal with." Jack didn't budge, staring them down. The six stood there staring at each other for almost five minutes before Stan sighed and his eyes hardened, almost as if to say, "You asked for it, then." A few seconds later, he and the others slowly stalked away, glaring back at Jack all the while. Jack didn't relax until he visibly saw them round the corner and exit his line of sight.
"Jack?" Katherine queried, tugging on his sleeve. "Who were those people? And what did you mean, murder?" Jack started, almost having forgotten that Katherine was there with him. He sighed, helping her to her feet. "I can explain…but right now, we's need ta git ta da Lodging House. I'll explain everything ta ya dere." Katherine nodded, and the two of them headed off.
A/N 2: Well…this wasn't finished in one day…more like 6…but oh well. I've been incredibly busy lately with college and Bye Bye Birdie and everything…and my brain feels like it's turned to mush. My sleep schedule is also incredibly screwy at the moment…augh…but hey, at least I somehow managed to get this chapter out, right? (FansieFace, "Leah Chronicles Chpr 3" should be arriving at some point… ) The next chapter probably won't be out until I have a bit more time to write…but hey…winter break is in almost 1 month…and I won't have to work from December 18th-January 11th…SO EXCITED! AN ACTUAL BREAK! Haha….sorry, this is one of those weird authors notes when I'm hyped up on some caffeine…I need sleep…
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all soon!
God bless,
1monster2