I really apologize, fellas. I meant to update Sunday, but I had an essay to finish. Then there was homework yesterday, but here I am now, at 10:30 pm, making this intro.
Who needs sleep when there's WAN to update?
Review Responses:
citysfinallysleeping: (Chapter 50) You were right! Also ma'am, don't listen to sad Hamilton songs while reading sad fanfic. Unless you want to cry... (Chapter 51) Lesally. Is. Always. Endgame. (Chapter 52) Maybe you just need to find yourself a Jojo. (Chapter 53) Nope, sorry, I love the drama. (Chapter 54) Honestly same, I wanna work on WAN during school and by the time I get home all my motivation to edit says "eff this I'm out". And Albert showing emotion is indeed a beautiful thing. (Chapter 55) Welcome to the "hugs for Jack Kelly club", have a complimentary button! (Chapter 56) I'm so glad you enjoyed the responses! (gives me purpose to do them) Heh yeah, in this chapter I just edited I realized I get Finch a bit too much... we love things resonating with readers though! (Chapter 57) Literally, Les is better than all of us- Hotshot headcanon 100% accepted, I love it. (Chapter 58) STAN YOU CATCHING UP AND STARTING TO LEAVE LONG REVIEWS! You should dust off your trophy shelf for being the only one to even mention Tomarah. Okay but, the amount of times I zoned out in therapy today thinking about Jack Kelly...
Dylan Quagmir: (Chapter 58) BLUSH BLUSH BLUSH BLUSH BLUSH BLUSH and shuddup, let me have the award for no typos. (Chapter 1) *smirking* So hey, how's that reread going?
Hufflepufdraws: School always comes second to Newsies. 'Tis a fact. I'M SORRY JONNIE I CAN'T STOP MY NEED FOR DYSFUNCTION BUT HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER NOW
Newsies Square: (Chapter 57) Gotta be honest, part of me thought you'd stopped reading this... BUT GLAD TO HAVE YA BACK! I discovered, editing some future chapters, that I started mentioning the sweatshirt way too much... (Chapter 58) Davey is not jealous Les is better than him at dating, no way. Blush calls each other by their real names because they are the bestest boys. You should be scared. *maniacal laugh*
Next time I swear the responses won't be this long.
Chapter 59- Finch
Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 1:30 p.m.
Sniper and Finch were going to be epically late to today's meeting. Already, they were running more than an hour behind. But to be quite honest, neither of them gave a damn. Finch certainly didn't. There were bigger things to worry about than whatever his friends were discussing in the school theater. And anyhow, they had a good excuse for not being on time.
Sniper's father- she'd gone back to him after the previous evening because of course she had- had discovered her skipping school, and as punishment had pulled her out of it entirely, forcing her to work at the laundromat all morning. Finch had seen Sniper there, up to her elbows in washing each time he'd stopped by, attempting to grab her and get to the rest of the group. For a Tuesday morning, there seemed to have been a lot of laundry to do. Of course, a lot of that could have been work Sniper had missed in her last few afternoons away from home. The scrubbing didn't look at all pleasant, and judging from the reddish-purple lines on Sniper's hands, the laundry wasn't the only method of discipline Mr. Wah had inflicted on his daughter.
Finch dearly wanted to turn back and give that man a piece of his mind; if anyone was going to treat his best friend like that, they would have him to reckon with. But, it had been so much work just for Sniper to sneak out during the one time her father took a break that doing so would've been idiotic. That aside, Finch didn't know what he would've said to Mr. Wah. The man didn't like him much. Never had, actually. He probably liked him less still after their last encounter, with all the things Finch's mother had been saying.
Speaking of Ms. Cortes, Finch had yet to do what he'd promised and show up for dinner at her apartment. Sure, he'd thought about it, especially for quite a time after she'd last hit him, but no matter how much he tried he couldn't force himself to make that trip. This was potentially a good thing; if he went back, there was the chance he'd end up trapped like Sniper.
No way that was happening. Absolutely not. Better to keep lying low at Jacobi's, the way he'd been doing. Fly under the radar until she goes back to Brooklyn and it'll work out. Just don't do anything else stupid.
"Stupid!" Sniper kicked a rock as they got a few blocks nearer to Roosevelt High.
Startled, Finch watched it skitter across the sidewalk ahead before the friction brought it to a stop. Sniper had been quiet until this point, evidently lost in thought as Finch had been. He'd not dared to ask her about the night before, hoping against hope that she might have forgotten all about it.
"Stupid stupid stupid!" A person passing by on Finch's other side gave the pair an odd look before continuing on their way. "It was the worst possible time I could a' told her 'bout my feelings, what was I thinkin'?"
Ah yes, of course the Smalls conversation hadn't evaporated from Sniper's mind. Tentatively, Finch said, "Well, ya needed ta tell 'er, an' if ya hadn't done it then, wouldja ever have?"
"Probably not," sighed Sniper, calming slightly.
"An' ya knew there was a chance it'd go badly, I mean, come on. 'Course, Smalls bein' Smalls, ya wouldn't expect it really... but then again, she's got a temper, and I even warned ya, so y'know..."
He wasn't truly saying anything, not to mention anything helpful. The confusion in Sniper's expression was evidence enough for that. "You got a point ta that speech?"
"Smalls is stupid an' you deserve better."
"She ain't stupid, you saw the way Jack treated 'er. He was bein' an ass to her, she got mad, and took it out on me."
"Shouldn't a' done that if she loves ya."
Sniper's face turned stony. "Oh, are you the expert now?"
Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Finch kept finding things he had in common with Smalls, and it was rapidly pissing him off. If he was so like the girl in Sniper's eyes, how come she didn't-
Nope. Not going there. That subject was closed.
"Snipes, I think there's gotta be some difference between the reasons ya keep around a best friend after he's been dumb, an' the reasons ya wanna date someone even if she's an idiot. Does that make any sense?"
"...I think so?"
She still looked confused, so Finch prompted, "Why do you love Smalls?"
"What?"
"You told 'er you might, so why do you?"
"Because... because I just do. I like her, I love her, that's just how it is."
"Yes, but why? There has to be a reason."
"I don't know!" Sniper threw up her hands. "I love her because I love her, stop tryin' ta get all deep about it! It ain't like you got a reason fer likin' me."
Finch chuckled, but he could feel the pit of jealousy opening inside him as he did. "Please. I got reason."
"You just think I'm pretty."
"No, c'mon! I mean, yeah, you are, I do think that, but that's not da entire reason. You hafta gimme a little more credit than that."
"Alright, spit it out then."
"It's because you..." he thought his words over for a minute before letting them all tumble out, rushing into each other in a massive wave. "You're strong, you'll win any fight if you have to, you take more time to think things through than most people do, even if that's not all the time. And ya don't talk about it, but I know ya love people, an' you believe that even if they mess up over and over again, maybe if you keep standin' by 'em, they'll love ya back." He swallowed, lifted his eyes so he was looking into Sniper's and not lower on her face. "An' that's it, ain't it? You love Smalls 'cause you can't help it, 'cause ya don't know betta' than ta chase afta' someone who's only gonna hurt you."
"She's not hurting me. Not intentionally."
"Not intentionally, yeah, that's some real believable shit." The jealousy burning inside Finch flared up, and he wished he could put it out, but it was too late now. "Why can'tcha pick anyone betta', huh?"
"Better? Who, exactly, is better for me than someone I know wants me as much as I want her?"
"Gee, I dunno! How bout-" Don't. Let it go, Patrick. "...I dunno what I'm sayin'. Sorry."
Sniper suddenly became highly intrigued by her own fingernails. The pair of them stayed silent for a minute until she finally admitted, "You do... have a point though. Smalls can be... intense. But I love her, and I can't help that. She doesn't care what anyone thinks of 'er. She doesn't care what people say, unless it's someone like me or Jack, then she does, but she don't wanna show it. She'll rush into things and only realize afterward that they were idiot mistakes, but then she'll get 'em fixed, and it'll work. Stuff works out fer her. She knows what to do no matter what. She can lead and get people's attention and stand up for herself, and- I guess, if I'm bein' honest... she's a lot that I'm not."
"And she loves you."
"Sure, that too."
"No, Snipes, listen," explained Finch. "You was sayin' it yerself before. Smalls has loved you fer a long time, she toldja so. An' that's the whole reason."
"Reason I love her?"
"Yes, idiot! She loves ya back, and nothin' is ever goin' ta stop that. No stupid petty fight could eva' break da faith you got in her."
"That's really... astute of you, Finchy."
"Yeah, well, when you's crushin' on someone who don't like you back 'cause they got eyes fer someone else, ya tend ta wanna know what yer competin' against." He laughed this off, and it felt like a knife pressing into his stomach.
"Y'know I care about you, too. Nothing's gonna take that away eitha'."
"But ya don't care like ya do fer Smalls."
"Well-"
"It's alright! I'll get over it eventually!" Will you? "It's okay, I swear. I know it's gotta be da way it is. You an' Smalls together, two pieces of a puzzle." Finch threaded his fingers together in demonstration, interlocking them all like the tapestry that Sniper was supposed to be with Smalls one day.
That he wasn't going to be part of. And yep, he still felt massively jealous. That wasn't going to go away. Maybe it never would. But he knew now that Sniper wasn't his. If he'd been more observant from the start, he would've realized she was never meant to be. She was Smalls', and Smalls was hers. It just wasn't official yet.
"Some puzzle we are," Sniper muttered, entering the high school courtyard, which was a fair buzz of activity with it being lunchtime. "It's more like half of it's done in one place and the other is god knows where with no hope a' gettin' the pieces in the right order."
Finch gently punched Sniper's shoulder. "So go talk to 'er, dummy! Go put it all together!"
"I neva' been much good at puzzles..."
"Good thing this one's a metaphor then, huh?"
"Yeah, since when d'you come up with metaphors?"
Finch shrugged. "Love has made me a nerd. An' I hafta say, it has not been worth it."
Sniper grinned at him. "Aw, we'll find you someone eventually."
"Sure thing." He didn't smile back. "Right now, you-" he nudged Sniper toward the school- "gotta get yerself a girlfriend."
"Alright. We'll try this again."
"An' if Smalls rejects ya a second time, I will kill her."
"Not if I kill 'er first!"
"That's not happenin' though, not this time."
"Ya sure?"
"Sure as hell. Come on."
Finch started out leading Sniper up the school steps, but she crossed in front of him, her pace becoming faster, being more eager to reach their destination. He continued in her tracks until they came to the entrance at the top, where there happened to be... an obstacle.
"Just where do youse think yer goin'?" Morris Delancey snarled, roughly grabbing hold of Sniper's arm.
Finch and Sniper, guys. Just- THEM.
And yeah... I've been evil again. Y'all will see.
As I remembered it happened, I'm gonna real quick call out Mattie for throwing me into the existential crisis that led to the Sniper and Finch conversation above. They made me really think about Smallsper dynamics, and why, in a world where Finchy loves Snipes, she would choose Smalls every time regardless of anything else. So thanks for that, Mats.
And that's done, so I did do that. Now I'll be retiring to bed, and we'll see when the next update is.
Leave a review for me to find in the morning, if so inclined!