Wow wow wow, she lives.
Gonna hop right to the reviews because I have A LOT.
Review Responses:
JustVildaPotter: Okay now I get why you go to bed at a reasonable time, your brain after 10 pm is chaos. BUT ANYWAY YOU'RE QUITE WELCOME HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER
DylanQuagmir: Double review when you can't read immediately, we stan. (Potential triple but they never returned to write a third.) MORE WAN MORE WAN is the best way to begin a review. Yes, Jack is Cowboy, nothing else, and shh about the typos.
Huffelpufdraws: Welcome to the party! Your first review is much appreciated. YEAH WHY DARCY OF ALL PEOPLE? *applauds for Delancefist* I WILL JOIN YOU IN GIVING DAVEY LOVE SO HELP ME
Emz (Guest): How dare FFN prevent you from making an account! Do they not wish for you to read WAN? SPOTTY CON-CON PLEASE THAT KILLED ME *joins celebration of new chapter* It's always Darcy appreciation hours in my house.
Mol (Guest): Firstly, thank you for all the reviews! (Yes I'm being formal because I can) Now to respond to them individually, as I do. (Chapter 2) Sarah with a personality is *chef's kiss* (Chapter 3) AL AND RACE CHAOS IS LIFE (Chapter 4) SMALLSPEEER (Chapter 5) Jack-Smalls bonding is my life. (Chapter 6) WE DO STAN HANNAH *applauds for confused Davey* (Chapter 7) RACE YOUR CHILD (Chapter 8) Of course Jack and Sarah are both in love with Kath, thank you for appreciating it. (Chapter 9) JATHERINE IS BAE (Chapter 10) One does not simply choose a single Jack ship. (Chapter 11) LESALLYYYY We do love that Jacobs boy. (Chapter 12) Albert singing Annie is truly iconic. (Chapter 13) Thank you Mol! Glad you love it! (Chapter 14) Always Kath supremacy. (Chapter 15) SPRACE INDEED Good guess, but not Les. (Chapter 16) *hides at the mention of Crutchie bc you'll be mad at me next chapter* Thank youuuuuu! I'm very proud of how I've adapted the Refuge!
Alright, I've talked enough.
Go read, you lovely people!
Chapter 54- Buttons
Monday, September 20, 1999, 10:50 a.m.
Buttons did not have time for this. They did enough babysitting as it was, with eight younger siblings to take care of. Having to look after his friends and prevent them all from killing each other was not on his list of plans for the day. And yet, here Buttons was, back in the journalism classroom, watching Albert get in Smalls' way as she tried to pay for writing time.
"Move it, Al," she ordered, trying to edge past him.
Continuing to block her, Albert stated, "I ain't lettin' ya give up."
Smalls tried to duck around Albert's other side, but Specs appeared there, pleading, "C'mon, don't be a scab. What about seizin' the day?"
Davey, who stood in line in front of Buttons, stared determinedly at his feet while Specs quoted him. The relative newbie had barely said two words all day the few times Buttons had seen him. He, like half of the newsies, was still hung up on the disappearance of Jack. Buttons, meanwhile, had been waiting for someone to ask them how Elmer was doing. But no one seemed to care about that.
"Yeah Smalls," Romeo joined the barricade of boys. "Carpet diem, rememba'?"
With a glare, Smalls corrected, "It's carpe," and pushed Romeo aside so she could slap money down on Weasel's table.
As her request for fifty minutes was marked up, Albert groaned overdramatically to signify his displeasure. Specs gave a resigned shrug and fell into line behind Buttons, while Romeo climbed on top of one of the many empty tables and sat cross-legged.
Davey went up to pay next. When he mumbled a request for thirty minutes, Weasel sneered at him. "Where're the rest a' yer little friends?"
"Resting up from the riot."
"Ah, yes. I heard youse lost that fight."
"Like you weren't there," Buttons put in.
"I dunno what yer talkin' about."
"Is that so?" Davey questioned, "I bet the principal would be interested in knowing where ya got that black eye." Buttons followed Davey's gaze to the nasty shiner on Weasel's face, and vaguely recalled Katherine punching the man just there two days prior. It had brought him great joy to see that happen.
Weasel, however, was less joyous about his injury. "Please," he grunted, annoyed. "Ya got no proof."
"We all saw you on Saturday," stated Buttons. "Specs even fought you."
The guy being referred to hissed, "Shut up!" but Davey and Buttons ignored him.
"As I said before," threatened Davey, "We could tell Principal Hannah everything."
At this claim, Weasel scoffed, "An' get yerselves in trouble too? Right. Principal ain't gonna listen ta the most problematic students in school."
"She might," Buttons reasoned, thinking of Elmer. "One of 'em's her little brother."
"Psh, that don' matter fer nothin'." Weasel said this, but there was something in his face, an anxiousness that could have almost been labeled as fear if Buttons hadn't known better. However, they were well aware that the man didn't get scared, especially not by teenagers less than half his age. With a disgruntled growl, he ordered Davey, "Pay up."
To Buttons' surprise, the newbie didn't make a move for his money. "Actually, I've changed my mind," he told Weasel, backing away from the table. "I'm not going to write today."
Buttons stepped back too. "Me neither."
"Whateva' youse say," Weasel replied, turning his authoritative gaze on Specs. "Yer up."
Specs put up his hands. "Nah. Don't feel like it anymore."
"Oh c'mon. Albert?" Buttons smiled to himself as the redhead stood. Weasel truly was grasping at straws now. "Ya gonna be an idiot like the rest or are ya gonna pay up?"
"Dude, do ya even know me?" Albert gave the man a disappointed look. "I ain't neva' paid in da first place. Now way I'm doin' it now just ta give you a heart attack."
Looking as if he regretted any and all decisions regarding Albert, Weasel moved on to Romeo. "How 'bout you, kid?"
"Oh, sorry..." Romeo pointed to his bandaged head. "Bit concussed ova' here."
"What difference does that make?"
"I ain't s'posed ta do any schoolwork, it'll hurt my brain or somethin'."
"Tha's no excuse in my book."
"Sorry," Specs apologized with a smirk. "Doctor's orders."
Romeo having let him down, Weasel scanned the room. It was clear to Buttons that he was searching for someone, anyone that might obey him as the newsies used to. But his efforts were fruitless; everyone else was at Jacobi's.
"C'mon fellas," Buttons directed, opening one of the classroom doors. "Let's get outta here."
From behind her computer, Smalls rose. "What are you doing?"
Albert shrugged. "Strike ain't ova'."
"Yes it is."
"No it ain't."
"Yes, it is," Smalls insisted, "Jack's gone."
"I'm aware."
"We lost Crutchie."
"Yeah, we know," Specs butted in, looking uncomfortable about that particular topic.
"Don't any a' you care?" demanded Smalls, beginning to shout. "Look what happened ta Romeo!"
Buttons said, "We've looked."
"An' forget me," Romeo pointed out, "How 'bout what 'appened ta Elmer?"
"You's right, El's way worse off."
Smalls added, "An' that's another thing! Because a' the strike, Elmer can't be here! Why won't any a' you think a' that?"
"We have thought about it, believe me," said Davey, scratching nervously at his wrist. "An' if you do think about it, well... It could a' been worse."
"Right," agreed Buttons, "but it wasn't, thank goodness."
"So none a' youse care?"
"Hey," Albert protested, "Nobody said we don't care. We's sayin' we got bigger problems than a few missin' people."
"Yes," said Smalls bitterly, "I suppose you's right. Katherine is blacked out. We have no press. And yet youse still wanna continue-"
"Yeah, we do!" Albert threw his hands up. "Why're ya so against that?"
"Because it's ova'!"
"No, it ain't!"
"Yes! It is! We're done! We are nothing but a bunch a' angry kids with no money, an' we have no one!"
"Maybe that's just you!"
Buttons could hear how sharply Smalls' breath caught, and they watched her face fall. Suddenly, she looked like she was going to cry, which was not a trait that girl ever exhibited if she could help it.
"Smalls," reassured Buttons, trying to cut the tension, "he didn't mean it like that."
"No, I absolutely meant it like that." Albert cut in with a harsh laugh. "Smalls, I know some shit's goin' on with you an' yer foster parents righ' now, an' I'm sorry 'bout that. It sucks. An' I'm sorry ya ain't in control a' da Bronx anymore, we can all tell that's been makin' ya feel like crap, but we've tried ta care about yer problems an' we just don't got time anymore."
Smalls' nostrils flared. Clearly trying to appear intimidating despite being a foot shorter than him, she marched up to Albert. When she spoke, her tone was icy. "Y'know, this is why yer family an' everyone else hates yer guts."
"What's that s'posed ta mean?"
"You's a useless asshole, an' ya don't care 'bout no one but yerself."
Albert lunged toward her, but Smalls stalked past him and out of the room. As she went, he called after her, "Fork you!" although of course he didn't actually say 'fork'.
With both hands, Smalls flipped Albert off before vanishing. Once she had gone, Specs snapped, "Well, that was nicely handled."
Still appearing battle-ready from Smalls' words, Albert growled, "I ain't useless," to no one in particular. "I ain't."
"Honestly, I can't say at this point. "Butcha are bein' the most impossible person eva'."
"I can't help that Smalls is bein' a brat!"
"No, but ya can help yerself, an' realize that everythin' ya say only makes it worse."
"Well fork you too." Once again, he did not actually use the word 'fork'.
"I'm only tellin' the truth."
"How aboutcha try shuttin' up instead?"
Buttons rubbed their temples. "Guys, can we not start the week off by doin' this?"
Albert ignored that request. "You can shut the fork up too."
Exasperated, Specs said, "Language, Al, for god's sake."
"Oh, stop tryin' ta parent ev'ryone! No one 'ere cares what I say!"
"Um..." Davey raised a hand hesitantly. "Actually, I do-"
"See, Davey does," declared Specs.
"Then Davey can ask me ta censor myself, since he's got da damn authority here."
"Did I miss somethin'? 'Cause last I checked, I'm older an' I been 'ere longer than Dave."
"Then take freaking control, don't complain ta me! Eitha' lead us or don't; quit bouncin' in between!"
Specs pressed his lips together, and Buttons watched in nervous anticipation, scared of what he was going to say. The older boy looked to Davey, but he offered no input. So then, keeping a calmer tone than Albert's, Specs spoke. "Jack wouldn't wantcha talkin' ta Smalls that way. It was outta line, an' I think you know that."
"If Jack's got an opinion, why's he not around ta say it?"
"I don't know. You know I don't know."
"You might know I know ya don't know, but I don't know I don't know."
"What?"
Albert laughed hollowly. "I don't know!" But this time when he said the phrase, it had more of a what-the-hell-is-going-on quality to it. "I don't effing know!" He leaned against the wall, tilting his head up toward the ceiling. "We're so messed up."
Specs linked his hands behind his head as he backed up next to Albert. "Tell me about it."
"And we're in way ova' our heads wit this strike thing."
"True."
"But that's what Dave's here for," Buttons nudged the guy forward.
Unsureness was all over Davey's face as he stared at the other four boys. "No. I- I'm not."
"Not what?"
Davey shrugged. "Not here ta save you guys, or take over everythin' or anything like that."
"But that's what you've been doin' this whole time!"
"I know, but it wasn't like that. It wasn't just me, now was it? I mean, you guys had your leader already, an' I only got into this to help him out. Jack an' were a team, ev'ry step a' the way, but now he's vanished, and I... well, I'm not Jack. I can never be him."
"So what?" Romeo challenged, hopping off his table. He walked up to Davey, then stood on tiptoe in a failed attempt to make himself taller. "We don't needja ta be Jack, we needja ta be our common sense." Davey grinned slightly at that, though Buttons could see he was trying not to. "Seriously, who cares who ya are?"
"Everyone, unfortunately."
"C'mon, Dave!"
"It's true! An' you guys can deny it all ya want, but I know you're thinkin' it."
"Well," interjected Specs, "if ya ask me, I'd say you been holdin' us togetha' pretty well."
Buttons added, "As well as ya can, considerin'."
Still fighting a full smile, Davey turned up one corner of his mouth. "But I'm still not Jack."
Albert launched himself off the wall. "If ya want Cowboy around so bad, then go find 'im!"
"I would, but- I dunno, Katherine says he might be at Medda's, but uh... where is that?"
"An excellent question, David."
Buttons, along with the others, waited for Albert to elaborate. Following five seconds in which he didn't do so, Davey said slowly, "You don't know."
"Please. Ya think she'd tell us where she lives?"
"Well, you all seem really close with her, so I figured-"
"Yeah..." Specs interrupted, elongating the word for far longer than was necessary. "No. If she told us 'er address, we'd be there all the time."
Albert provided an example. "You's seen Jacobi's."
"Ah." Davey nodded. "Wait, but if none of you know where Medda lives, how would Jack-"
Romeo answered, "Easy. He's Jack."
"That barely makes sense."
Buttons told him, "Just go with it. We need this figured out, or nothing's gonna progress."
This Davey understood. "Good point. Okay, so assuming Jack's with Medda, I guess I could ask her later, since she'll be here at school at some point."
"Should be," Specs agreed.
"Right. Okay. It's a plan."
Albert patted Davey's shoulder. "Ya got this, Dave. Bring da Cap back." He made to leave, but Davey pulled him back.
"Hold on, what're you guys doin' now?"
"Joinin' the others at Jacobi's."
"We meant to stay at school, but we gotta get to the strike planning now that we've stood up ta Weasel," Specs explained.
"Fair enough." Davey allowed the other four to exit the classroom, only to run right after them as he apparently remembered something. "Oh! Can one 'a you get Les for me on the way there? Since I'll be tracking down Jack later, I can't get 'im, and I know he'd like to miss more school."
"Buttons can do that," Specs proposed. "They're good with kids."
"I'm not," protested Buttons. "An' anyway, I don't got time for that."
"All you gotta do is bring Les to the restaurant; it ain't that hard."
"Ugh, fine."
"Thanks, that's really helpful," Davey said, completely serious as well as oblivious to the annoyance exhibited by Buttons.
"I have other purposes, you know."
"No one asked, and no one cares." Romeo deadpanned. "This is your role now."
Buttons pouted. "This sucks."
"Yes it does," said Albert, "Butcha gotta do it."
And with that, the quartet left Buttons alone in the hall, to question their purpose.
I don't like this chapter very much. It's filler. That's really all. (And Buttons needed a chapter so here's them getting one.)
But... NEXT CHAPTER IS THE REPRISE MY GUYS
Do tell me what you enjoyed or inform me of any typos you spotted (not that I'll fix them but hush). You'll get a virtual cookie if you review!
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See youse next time!