Whew. You guys, it's here. The third and final story in my newsies "For Sure" Trilogy. It's taken a lot longer than I expected, and I'm still not done with this story, but I'm having too much fun writing it and I can't not post it any longer. This was the multi-chapter fic I was supposed to be working on with Camp NaNoWriMo I was talking about in the A/N for "For Sure", but surprise, it's taken me longer than camp.

Anyway...

This is the final story guys. We did it. Obviously I'm not done with newsies for good, and I may work on continue this particular series sometime in the future but we'll burn that bridge when we get to it. For right now, I'm working on new chapters and editing these ones as I post them, so I want to apologize for mistakes first so we can get that out of the way. So this is pretty well connected to my other two stories, "Jack" and "For Sure", so you should probably read those first. It's not necessary too, but things will make more sense if you do.

*And I want to let you guys know one more thing, and this is IMPORTANT! Because of certain events that are going to happen in this story, I need to play around with time a little bit (you know, break the time-space continuum and laws of physic, all that jazz) for everything to line up. So while I know the real newsboy strike happened in 1899, I'm moving it a little earlier and have the strike here in 1890. It will make sense later, but it will make sense when the so-called certain events actually start happening. *

Sweet. That's enough from me, at least for now. Here's the final story in the trilogy guys! I hope you enjoy, and I will try and get those out as fast as possible. Until then, thanks guys! Let me know what you think of this first chapter!

See ya soon!

"It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root.

This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history."

-"Devil in the White City", Erik Larson

Manhattan, New York

May, 1892

"Jack?"

To say that Katherine was surprised to see her boyfriend standing on their porch was an understatement. He was casually leaning against the wall with his hands tucked into his pocket and hat tugged low on his head. His face lit up in a smile as he saw her, leaning forward to give her a hug and quick peck on the cheek.

The couple had been dating for a little over two years now, ever since the strike ended, but rarely did Jack show up at the Pulitzer house unannounced. Or at all really. Though they worked through their differences, Pulitzer still wasn't a fan of the newsboy. So the less contact they had, the happier her father was.

"Heya, Ace." Katherine held the door open for him and he walked into the Pulitzer house, once again marveling at the sheer elegance of the house. Jack had never seen houses so big, let alone be let inside one. Invited inside. The few times he actually made it to Katherine's house, he tried to get himself as clean as possible, wiping the dirt off his shoes and grabbing his cleanest shirt. It wasn't much, but every time he stepped on their plush carpets, he cringed as he imagined tracking in dirt inside. Katherine never made a fuss, telling him not to worry about it. But Jack couldn't help but feel nervous.

Just walking through the front entrance was a big enough deal for him. Jack had grown up on the streets - memories of living with his parents in a house were long gone - and he only ever saw houses from the outside. Their looming structures towering over him always made him feel small and worthless, almost more so than the people who kicked and spat at him did. Lengthy columns almost reaching up to the sky. Floor-length drapes on the insides of windows with multiple colors. When he was first in the newsies he would avoid the big houses as much as they could. They were too much of a temptation; too much of a thought about what he could've had if his parents were there, if they were working, if they weren't poor, if he had just done better. So he bowed his head and sprinted across the sidewalks avoiding them as long as he could. The young Jack ran.

Sooner or later he grew out of that stage, and Jack held a resentment for the houses. Their tall, heavy, locked, doors, keeping out the rest of the world and people like him out. Their barred windows made sure no one got through to the luxury the inside held. Fancy butlers and doormen with their upturned noses and perfect little mustaches kicking them to the curb when they got to close. Jack would walk by them, kick up some grass, wipe the mud on his shoes off the stair steps and laughed until the doorman would chase him off the property. One time he threw a rock through the window, right between the bars and smiled as the glass shattered. A woman screamed and a man stepped back as glass rained down on the sidewalk. Jack stood with a gap-tooth grin behind a car, another rock prepped in his hand before someone caught sight of him, then the police were there. That was the first time Jack learned that the police weren't on his side, and would never be on his side. So the rebellious Jack hid.

Then he just ignored them. He learned to accept that he was a different breed. Those people got to live in their fancy houses, clean carpets and insect-less rooms. Their warm beds and strong doors to lock out the rest of the city, closets full of clothes and never going hungry. Their clean clothes and bright shoes. He learned that he would never be one of those people. When New York saw the big-house people, it showered them with praises, throwing parties and money at them, congratulating them on their American-made men. When New York saw the little guys like Jack, it reigned down insults, throwing mud and punches at him, criticizing his every move. Never catching a break. So the outspoken Jack stayed quiet.

Now… Jack was amazed by the house. Every single time, without fail. Somehow all of those feelings mixed into one big feeling of awe. The daunting fact that he didn't want to make a mistake: slip up, make a mess, somehow ruin the perfect picture. The anger that something so nice was just out of his grasp, and the ignorance of the people who passed him as he stood in those halls. The dirty stares they gave him were hard to ignore when the voice in his head was saying the same thing.

You didn't make it. You aren't here yet. This is someone else's dream. She's just taking pity on you, there's nothing you can offer to make her love you. You're nothing compared to her. The carpet you are ruining is worth more than you are.

You. Are. Nothing.

Jack did his best to block that voice out. Some days it worked. Other days the voice won.

Katherine must've seen the familiar conflict written across Jack's face and her smile dropped down into a frown. Jack had only told her his concerns once, but she remembered them. Every single one of them. She made a conscious effort to let him know that he wasn't going to hurt the house, the carpets would survive, and people weren't giving him looks (even if they were). She made sure she told him that she loved him, and nothing would make her stop loving him, and he was worth something. Some days were harder than others.

"C'mon, I know that look. Let's go up." Katherine grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the grand staircase, but Jack let his hands slip through. She frowned and he smiled apologetically, shrugging his shoulders gently.

"Sorry, Kath. I wanna, but I's here on… business." Katherine's demeanor changed in an instant.

"Oh. My father?" Jack nodded once and the frown on her face turned into a scowl. "What does he have you doing now? Is he threatening you again? I told you, if my father-"

"Whoa, Ace, slow down. He's not threaten' anything. I wanted to meet."

"You… wanted to meet? My father? We are talking about the same man, here right? Joseph Pulitzer?" Jack let out a low chuckle. Whether or not she knew she was doing it, Jack could always count on her to make him feel better.

"Yes, Katherine. Your father. It's fine. I's just gotta talk to him. It'll be quick, I promise." Katherine had her eyebrow raised in suspicion and Jack flashed his brightest smile to combat her worries.

"Kath…"

"Fine." Katherine threw her hands up in the air, trying to keep the amused smile off her face. "I'll show you the way," she said over her shoulder as she started walking without Jack, who had to jog to catch up with her.

"Thanks, Ace," Jack whispered and repaid her with a kiss on the cheek, before linking their hands together and swinging his arm slightly as they walked down the hallways.

Katherine's mind raced as she led Jack to her father's office. She knew the twists and turns by heart after years of wanting to know what her father did all day, to years of running errands for him. She could name all of the paintings on the wall by heart, and rattle off random facts about each of them. After she went through tutor after tutor - spitfire attitude and natural intelligence making them all quit - there wasn't much left to do in the gigantic Pulitzer mansion. Her father always told her that staying in the house was best.

"A life of wealth and leisure," he said. It was better to live comfortably in a giant house with nothing to do than fight to survive on the streets. For a while she believed it too. Up until her mom was gone. Once she was gone, Katherine changed. She saw her father change too. Her father had always been a decent man, a little strict sometimes, yes. But after her mother left, he was harsher than she remembered him. Katherine became strangled by rules and sayings of his. Don't go there, eat this, don't eat that, say hello, don't contact them. She knew he had good intentions, but suddenly the mansion that she once thought spanned the world became suffocating.

After helping a small band of boys rebel against one of the biggest newspaper companies in the country, she couldn't imagine settling back down in the life she pretended to like.

So she picked up and got a job. She wanted to move out, but her father insisted she stay at the house. It was the least he could do if she truly wanted to go out and make a name for herself in the real world. Reluctantly she accepted, but she had been saving cash ever since to get her own apartment. One day she would move out and live on her own, in her own little castle.

She couldn't say whether or not she would miss the mansion. Seeing what Jack and the rest of the newsies lived in, she definitely wasn't going to take anything for granted. Every time she saw a mess on a carpet and turned her nose up at the thought of cleaning it up, she remembered that she actually had carpets and had food to make a stain. Once those thoughts rolled through her head, she was on her hands and knees trying to rub it out. The newsies taught her humility more than anyone could. She never ceased to be amazed by the boys, they surprised her every single time

By the time Katherine and Jack had reached the heavy wood door that separated the rest of the house from Pulitzer's office, Katherine realized how uncharacteristically quiet she had been. Jack had his own way with words, but Katherine would almost never shut up. Jack was watching her a bit concerned and a bit intrigued.

"Sorry," Katherine apologized quickly, tugging some strands of hair behind her ear. "I was just thinking." Jack smiled and brought her in for another hug, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Tha's alright Ace. Somethin' good always comes when yous thinking," Jack whispered. Katherine couldn't help but smile with her face pressed against his vest. What did she do to deserve him?

The moment was broken as the big heavy oak door cracked open and Pulitzer's secretary stuck her head out.

"Mr. Kelly?" Hannah pushed her glasses a little farther up her nose and looked him up and down with a small smile on her face. Hannah was the least judgmental of Pulitzer's staff and actually liked Jack. She was also the friendliest with Katherine, so they often spent nights gossiping about life. Jack let out the tiniest wince but recovered quickly, giving Katherine one final kiss on the cheek before walking towards the door.

"I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting," Katherine replied, totally honest. She had no idea what Jack could be meeting her father for, and the curiosity was killing her. Jack winked as he turned and went for the open door. Hannah was holding it open for him, but he grabbed it and held it open for her.

"Ladies first," he said, throwing a wink back to Katherine. Katherine tried to hide her smile with her hand as Hannah giggled like a teenage girl, walking through the door. Katherine watched as Jack disappeared through the door and it shut with a heavy click.

"Mr. Pulitzer will be right with you, you can take a seat," Hannah said as she returned to her desk. "Candy?" She offered, pushing a clear bowl toward him.

"Sure," Jack said automatically, taking a piece and unwrapping it, sticking the wrapping in his pocket and chewing on the candy absentmindedly. He was there, but now his mind was running. His lips moved without making a sound, running over what he was going to say to Pulitzer for the fiftieth time. When he finally decided he was going to do this, he broke out into a sweat just thinking how Pulitzer would react. Whatever happened, Jack knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Anything with Pulitzer wasn't pretty.

Jack took a deep breath and shoved his hands in his pockets trying to calm his shaking hands and nerves. Time slowed until he could all but hear each distinctive "tick" of the hands on the clock behind Hannah. What was minutes before dragged on until they felt like hours, moving as slow as selling papes on a rainy day. If he closed his eyes he could actually feel the rain pelting down on him, rolling down his face and neck. When Jack opened his eyes and wiped his forehead he found it wasn't rain but sweat. He wiped it on his sleeve, trying to get rid of it right as the door opened. Hannah looked up then over to Jack, nodding.

That was his cue.

Jack took a deep breath, straightened his vest and adjusted his hat. This was it. He walked through the door and faced Pulitzer one more time.