Be impressed, your girl Ron just got back from her second Homecoming this year! (There were guys in newsboy caps and cowboy hats, it was quite a vibe.)

Anyway...

Review Responses:

Dylan Quagmir: *giant applausefor you being the first to review last chapter* We love an icon. We love a review theme. We love Smalls being pissed and emotionally complicated. We stan a queen. (And yes yes I had a date with a fella and went to his Homecoming and willprobably ask him to mine, it's swag.)

citysfinallysleeping: (Chapter 24) Tommy Boy is my soft-spoken man, I love him. (Chapter 25) GO DENTYYYYY (Chapter 26) Thank you for disbanding your Davey hate club! (Chapter 27) Writing drama is my life. (Chapter 28) As I told you... WE STAN A KING (Chapter 29) *throws Morris and Oscar into the pit of starving lions* (Chapter 30) Oh yeah, Chuck... a doggo that'scompletelyrelevant to this story... *nervous laughter* (Chapter 31) Yeah geez Kath, respect Jack trying to parent people. (Chapter 32) Don't we all wantsomeone like Jack to flirt with us? And accents are bae, thank you. (Chapter 33) Finch will find someonelike you someday, probably. And yesss Race spill the tea! (Chapter 34) Race is knowledgeable about both tea and big words, like the iconhe is. (Chapter 35) The relationships did, in fact, say downhill. (Chapter 36) Apologies for the newsie harm, my friend. (Chapter 37) SORRY AGAIN I SWEAR I DIDN'T KILL ELMER (Chapter 38) You should be afraid for your sadness level, because... (Chapter 39) Whoop, there it is. (Chapter 40) Jojo will give you a hug and some snacks! (Chapter 41) Finch would love a hug too. (Chapter 42) Yeah... Jack's freaking messed up. He should really talk to someone.

Emz: AYOOOOO! CHAPTER! (Can I just sidebar and say that you stanning best girl Sniper and best boy Finch in the same way I do brings me all the joy in the world? Never stop, I love it.) You're of course right, Smalls needs an attitude adjustment. And don't you worry, Sniper will get a chance to say that, in a way. *claps* BECAUSE STANDING UP TO DOMESTIC ABUSE IS NOT EASY (Louder for the people in the back.)

Huffelpufdraws: I feel like I should explain that Jack is in a really awful place mentally and is taking it out on everyone. This was gonna come across in the story anyway, but in case you didn't get it for some reason, there it is. SMALLSPER IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN YET I AM SORRY YOU GOTTA WAIT A WHILE LONGER! I did not betray you, I tricked you. There's a difference.

Newsies Square: Noooo she totally has enough self-control to be done with the strike... Stupid cowboy, honestly. But stupid everyone in this chapter, really. (Aside from Sniper. She did nothing wrong. She is bae.) Vil, you knew it wasn't Smallsper time yet, c'mon.

Right, chapter time, let's a go!

Chapter 57- Romeo

Monday, September 20, 1999, 5:00 p.m.

All day, Specs had been on edge. More on edge than the other newsies were, somehow. If Romeo could just figure out why, he thought maybe he could help, but that would require talking to Specs. Actually talking, one-on-one, not just being part of the same conversation. Specs had also been avidly avoiding private conversation with Romeo all day, so... he was probably the reason the older boy didn't really seem present.

If they could just talk about what had happened between them, Romeo would be able to set things right. But it seemed Specs would rather go the way of Finch and Sniper when it came to resolving uncomfortable issues, which, fine. Romeo did like the dramatic. However, he also liked Specs, and would have preferred to not be on bad terms with him. Not that they were on bad terms per se; Specs wasn't being mean, simply ignoring him. Although that did feel kind of mean, given Specs blatantly wasn't speaking to him. Even Albert had gotten more interaction with just himself and Specs than Romeo was getting. Of all people, why Albert? What did Albert have that made Specs want to talk to him so much? And how could Romeo get access to whatever quality it was Albert had? What did he have to do to get Specs' attention?

Ugh. Jealousy was not a good look for him. Romeo drew himself back into the conversation, trying not to stare at Specs sitting a few chairs away.

"I can't wait for you guys ta meet Sally," Les was saying to his semi-interested audience of Tommy Boy, Mush, Blink, and Buttons. "Afta' our date, I gotta bring 'er by Jacobi's. She's seriously the best. Unless..." he gasped excitedly. "We could have our date at Jacobi's!"

Why was the world so cruel? A nine-year-old had a more consistent love life than Romeo did. This was absurd.

"Congrats kid," said Mush, in a way that sounded like he was trying to end the conversation.

"First date's a big deal," Blink told Les. "You sure ya want it happenin' this early?"

"Of course I do!" Les exclaimed, looking overjoyed at the prospect.

"Just sayin', maybe ya shouldn't label it as a date 'til ya get a bit older-"

Tommy Boy scoffed, "This, comin' from the guy who got with 'is boyfriend in sixth grade?"

"Shut up, it's different."

"In what way?"

Romeo suggested, "Maybe Blink's tryin' ta make you not feel bad, Tommy. Y'know, since you got no dates, but the kid has one."

"Kid can keep it. I don't want any dates."

"Oh." Right, that was Romeo himself who wanted what Les had- not with Sally, of course, but with other people. "Good for you, then."

Mush made some comment about Tommy Boy needing only dogs in his life, and the discussion between the other four turned to all things canine, which wasn't particularly intriguing. Romeo got up, located Specs at another table nearby, and headed over to where the older boy was sitting, engaged in conference with the other designated leaders of the strike.

Or that's what Romeo assumed was going on until he got closer. Davey was laying out the plan for his rally idea, but no one was paying him much attention. Meanwhile, Race and Spot were going head-to-head about the most random thing possible: why Spot wore so much red.

Race was interrogating him, forcing answers to questions such as: "Don'tcha own any otha' color?"

Spot dragged Jack into the debate right as Romeo arrived, stating, "What about Jackie-boy? He wears da same sweatshirt ev'ry day."

Race brushed this off. "Jack is Jack. He don't change his ways eva'. But you should."

"Cowboy, please tell da Racer 'is argument makes no sense."

And Jack, who had been staring at the wood grain of the table, snapped his head up. With a grin and a laugh, neither of which appeared genuine, he lightly swatted Race's shoulder. "You's crazy, Racer. And ya got us off track again."

"Fer like da fiftieth time," Hotshot remarked, "Not that anyone's countin'."

"How is it we spent all this time talkin' in here, an' accomplished nothing?" Davey wondered.

"No clue," Jack shrugged. "But whateva'. We can talk about important things now. Specs?"

Specs, who had been turned awkwardly sideways, absorbed in talk with Albert- Again? -rearranged his sitting position into a more normal one. "What's up?"

"Ya got some important news, don'tcha?"

"No..." Romeo watched as Jack's eyes relayed an unreadable message to Specs. "Oh, that... Well, uh, that's actually still bein' worked out. Ain't nothin' ta be concerned about."

"I think everyone else needs ta know," said Jack, with an unusual amount of emphasis.

In the same kind of tone, Specs replied, "Anybody who needs ta know already does."

"Not all a' them." Jack glanced at Race.

"Not everyone needs the information in my opinion. But if you think otherwise, ya can go ahead an' tell 'em. You's the leada'."

"I ain't tellin' anyone nothin'. Yer the one who knows da situation."

"I'm confused," said Spot.

Race patted the top of his head. "Welcome ta my world." He continued touching Spot's hair after the sentence was finished, and the King of Brooklyn smacked his hands away.

"Jackie-boy, ya got somethin' ta tell us or not?"

"I don't. Specs does."

"Right." Spot redirected his focus. "What's happenin', Sammy-boy?"

Making a face at the nickname, Specs sighed. "Situation's still developin', an' right now it's on a need-ta-know basis. Sorry Spot, but I don't feel like ya need ta know."

"Fine wit me."

"I don't care if ya know eitha', Spot," Jack said, "but there're certain people I feel should be aware a' what's goin' on." Again, he looked at Race.

"No one's stoppin' ya from tellin' 'em!" Specs snapped. "By all means, tell whoeva' ya want!" Jack groaned, which only seemed to piss Specs off more. "You know what's goin' on, no one's stoppin' ya, why won'tcha just-"

"Yer betta' than I am at these things."

"Scared, huh?"

"Pff, no."

"I gotta tell everyone everythin' 'cause you don't wanna look like the bad guy. Easia' if they all blame me, ain't it? No skin off yer back. Y'know, that's great, Jack, it's great. Lovely system, but I don't wanna break the news anymore than you do, so eitha' you play the villain or no one does."

"The hell is goin' on?" Spot asked.

Not answering, Jack leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. He and Specs exchanged another look. Romeo couldn't read it this time either, but it seemed to settle things, because Specs looked fairly satisfied, though still angry.

"It's nothin'." He pushed his chair back from the table and stood. "Like I said, need-ta-know basis. I'm done here fer the day."

"Alright," said Spot, standing up too. "Mouth, ya good wit callin' it a night? I know we ain't got nothin' done, but-"

Davey shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We would've had to fill Katherine in tomorrow, anyway. Might as well hafta keep brainstorming. An' anyway, it's not like there's any rush, we've got plenty of time to set this rally in motion." Rising to his feet, Davey gathered all the water glasses on the table into a cluster in the center. At the same time, he announced to the newsies at large that they were free to leave.

Spotting Specs slipping out the restaurant door, Romeo weaved through the crowd to catch him. He finally called out "Hey, Specky!" after following the older boy outside and half a block away from Jacobi's.

"Ro! Hey..." Specs greeted with a grimace he didn't bother hiding. "Look, I'm headin' home, so if ya need somethin', make it quick."

Quick, sure. Romeo could do that. "Couldja walk me home?"

"Sure." Romeo pretended not to notice Specs' slight hesitation before his answer.

They covered the next two blocks in awkward but companionable silence. It was a strange thing, the way a pair of people could be mouse quiet while the city around them roared like a lioness. Buildings could be crashing down around them and there would still be a little pocket of silence, just Romeo and Specs.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Romeo walked in a quick, bouncy way, matching pace easily with his older friend. Any other tall person would surely have walked too fast, but Specs actually made a point of confirming Romeo was still beside him as they went along. Each time he looked to the side, he gave Ro a little smile, which sent his stomach tumbling. God, being in love was weird.

Three blocks, then four, then half a dozen smiles more. If Romeo didn't do Davey's day-seizing thing soon, the moment would be lost. He had a question to ask Specs, and now was the time to go through with the asking.

"So..." he straightened his shoulders, preparing himself. "Can I ask... what was that back there wit you an' Jack?" Shit, wrong question. But now it was too late to backtrack; the subject had been breached.

"Just a silly argument, tha's all. Nothin' you gotta worry about."

Dude. "Obviously it was an argument, but what about? You don't fight wit people fer no reason, Specs." Or did he? "Unless you do. I guess I don't really know ya that well yet." Certainly not well enough to be kissing him.

"Yer assumin' right," Specs conceded. "There was a reason."

"I know ya said need-ta-know only, but-"

"You really wanna know?"

Romeo had expected a great deal more resistance. "Sure, if you'll tell me."

Specs adjusted his glasses. "It's only you, an' I do feel like tellin' someone, jus' not ev'ryone at once, if that makes any sense."

"It does. So what's goin' on?"

"First promise ya won't blab ta anyone. A couple a' the guys already know, an' some might've assumed, but I don't wanna be in charge of explainin' all this ta those who don't. Not right now."

Romeo made a zippering motion across his mouth. "Ya won't get a thing from these lips." Wait. No. That wasn't how he'd meant that to come out. They needed a proper discussion, not something that started from awkward phrasing like this. Oh god, what can of worms had he just opened-

Taking a deep breath, Specs confessed, "Okay. It's Crutchie. He's in the Refuge."

Oh, okay then.

Wait. No. Not okay. Absolutely not okay.

"That the place wit that Spider guy?"

Specs nodded. "Snyder arrested him back at the riot. Found Crutchie touching up Jack's art... y'know how he was drawin' on the wall? So Crutchie was helpin' wit that, an' I guess he didn't run away with the rest a' us when the bulls showed up, so... the Spider got ta him."

"You tellin' me Crutchie, of all people, got arrested fer... doin' chalk art?"

"And fightin' the Delanceys, or at least Oscar. Tha's what the police said, anyway. But I bet it was the otha' way around."

"Of course it was da otha' way! Couldn't they see that?"

"Not Snyder."

"That's bullshit!"

Startled, Specs laughed, "Romeo!"

"It is! It's complete bullshit! Didja tell the officer it's bullshit?"

"Ya know that'd go over horribly."

Romeo sighed. "Yeah... I do know that. 'Specially now afta'..." he gestured vaguely to his head. He didn't think it was Officer Snyder that had inflicted the injury upon him, but the man was still a bastard regardless. "Wish da whole police force wasn't made up a' assholes."

"Yeah, me too."

"Then they'd fire Snyder, an' save all them kids at da Refuge."

"Well, miracles happen sometimes..."

"But not wit this."

"No."

They traversed the next block for a bit, and then Romeo said, "So how long's Crutchie s'posed ta be stuck in da Refuge?"

"That's the thing. His sentence is six months, but Kloppmann an' I are tryin' ta bring 'im back. Hopefully we can convince 'em ta let Crutchie go. I mean, we gotta try, right?"

"Everything'll be alright then, once youse get 'im back."

Specs bit his lower lip. "I- I'm just not so sure we can pull it off. It's complicated, see, they's already pulled 'im from Duane Street for a reason, even if we made a convincing point to remove Crutchie from Snyder's custody, I dunno if they'd let him back here."

"Oh. That does complicate things a bit."

"Yeah," breathed Specs. "An' I'm kinda thinking, maybe it's better not to try at all? If getting Crutchie outta the Refuge means losing him completely..."

Romeo didn't know what to say to that.

"It's not like I want him to stay stuck there, a' course I don't! But I don't wanna see what losing Crutchie would do ta us, particularly Jack. You saw him already with how it is now. If Crutchie had to move to some entirely different home in a far away neighborhood, or outta the city..."

"Jack would follow 'im, wouldn't he."

"I wouldn't put it past him. He loves that kid to bits."

"Jack's gonna leave 'ere anyway though, right? Wild west or whereva'?"

"Yes, but that's not s'posed ta happen now. Not this early. A lot a' us need time ta adjust to the concept, myself included. If somethin' happened with Crutchie tonight, and Jack up and left now, right now, I know he wouldn't give so much as a word a' notice ta any of us. I'm scared it would break everyone."

"That's an interesting relationship youse all have."

"Yep. See, we're like a machine. If one thing's outta wack, it all comes crashing down."

Romeo made an explosion gesture with his hands. "Kaboom."

Specs gave a grave nod. "Kaboom is right." He sighed, taking off his glasses to massage his face. "You got any idea what I should do, Ro?"

"Me? Why would I? I'm just a kid, I don't know nothin' about Snyder or custody or anyplace like the Refuge."

"Just a kid, huh?"

There it was. The topic. And Romeo hadn't even been the one to bring it up.

"I mean... just a kid in terms of, uh... bad foster home experiences? Yeah, 'cause I'm pretty innocent there. But everywhere else in life, I'm older than I look, I swear."

"I think I've figured that out."

"Yup." Gah, now what was he supposed to say? He wasn't about to apologize for the kiss, because that was neither applicable to the situation nor something he could honestly do. Why. Was. This. So. Hard. "Oh look, we're here." Romeo waved both hands to display his building, which they had just arrived in front of.

Specs glanced from Romeo to the front door, then back to Romeo before he sprinted the five large steps leading to the porch landing. Once there, he took a seat on the top step and patted the cement next to him. "C'mere."

Slowly climbing the stairs, Romeo hesitated, awkwardly directing Specs' attention to the front door with both pointer fingers. "But I'm home, so..."

"This won't take long, come sit."

"Alright." Romeo dropped down next to Specs. "'Sup? How you doin'?"

Pushing his fists slowly down his knees, Specs started his explanation. "Here's the thing, Ro. That kiss the other night-"

"It was bad, wasn't it? Dammit, I knew it wasn't a good idea!"

"No, it was fine."

"You don't gotta lie."

"Seriously, it was great! I think you're very good at kissing."

Romeo beamed, pleased with himself. Then he realized Specs wasn't finished.

"Ro... you're a great guy. And I like you, I do."

"I don't like where this is goin'."

Specs stopped mid-breath, appearing to reconsider his words. "Ah shit, that sounds like a breakup, doesn't it?"

"Little bit, yeah."

"Ahhh... okay okay, lemme just... rephrase. I like you, as a person, and I'd love to have you as more than a friend, but-"

Oh no. Romeo had heard this speech before. "You don't like boys..."

"What? Did I say that?"

"No, but I figured-"

"Hush! I'll have you know I do like boys, quite a lot, thank you very much."

"Oh. Sorry."

"But what I was going to say is... you're too young for me."

Now that one, Romeo actually hadn't heard. "I- oh."

"And god, I hate to put a damper on everything, 'cause this has been cool, an' like I said, I'm love fer you ta be more than a friend, but the fact is... I can't. The age difference... it's no good."

The practically of the statement hurt more than Romeo would have ever thought. He suddenly felt like crying. Specs' truth could not be denied, not with the roughly three year difference between them.

"I have a birthday soon," he protested. "Just a couple months from now, I'll be a bit older, and then-"

"Then I'll be a few months older too."

"But see, then I'll be fifteen, and you'll still be sevent-"

"Nearly eighteen. Almost a legal adult."

Oh, come on! "That's bullshit..." whined Romeo.

"I know it sucks, but those are the facts." Specs paused to push up his glasses. "However, if you think about it, maybe it's fer the best."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"Look at it this way: You start dating me, and we have to end things before we've even got started. Or, we stay together in secret and don't get to go out in public or show that there's any chemistry between us."

"I guess that would suck..."

"Exactly. Now, consider the other option: We don't do anything now, and we both see other people our own age. We get dating experience, and then, in a couple years, if you somehow still have feelings for me, and I you-"

"Ya mean you plan on waitin' around fer me that long?"

"If you'd like me to."

"Is it gonna make me sound like a total baby if I say 'yes please'?"

"Not at all." Specs offered his hand. "That sound like a fair deal ta you?"

"Yes sir, it does." Romeo took the hand and pumped it enthusiastically. With less vigor, he let go and stood, saying with disappointment, "Foster parents'll be wonderin' where I am." he pointed at the door behind him. "Wanna stay fer dinner? Meet my folks?"

"I met them when you was in the hospital."

"Wanna see 'em again, then?"

"Uh, I dunno... the guys'll be waiting fer me, I'm sure."

"You mean Albert, Race, and Henry?"

Specs closed his eyes, failing to hide a smile. "Ya got me there. Kloppmann will actually be wondering though. We still gotta deal with that whole Crutchie thing."

"Can't Crutchie wait a few hours?" Sensitive, much? "Sorry, I know he's kinda in a really bad place, but Kloppmann can handle the whole thing, can't he? He is the adult, after all. And if ya ask me, you deserve a break."

"I s'pose..."

Romeo grabbed Specs' arm, tried to tug him to standing. "Come 'ave dinner, alright?"

"Alright, I'm comin'!" Specs let Romeo drag him up, laughing as he did so.

Wooooooooooo! Finished! (With the chapter, that is.)

I love a little Spromeo now and then, always will, but most everyone I know strongly dislikes it, so... here I go putting it aside right now. What can I say, I like to please people.

I'm gonna go pass out from exhaustion now, but I'd love to see a review or two or three when I wake up. So please leave some thoughts, if you're so inclined, and I shall see y'all next time!