Hello, hello, hello! Have this story of almost a thousand words! I know this is kinda really bad, but I still wanted to share it for some reason. Part of it is projection, part of it is not... also did not check this on any mistakes... ANYWAYS ENJOY

An important note is that the song 'Terug Naar Nu' by Glen Faria and Jaïr Faria inspired me to write this entire thing. I quoted some of the lyrics (but translated to English, of course), in the conversation Specs and Romeo are having. Then after that I quoted a musical and I will give you a cookie if you can guess which one.

Review Responses:

VeronicaWeasley: Romeo's life is... complicated. I mean, Daniel is not a great name, but my friend decided that was his name (I let her choose, as you know I can never choose between Samuel and Daniel). KING ROMEOOOOOOOO! AND YAYYY

Terug Naar Nu

No one had expected Jack to betray them like this. Not a single newsie had seen it coming. Maybe that was why his actions that day had hit everyone this hard. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made to Specs. Of course Jack had turned his back on them. Anyone with half a brain would've. Besides, Jack had done it before. This whole strike, it had been a bad idea from the start. What were they expecting? This wasn't a fairytale. This was not like the books he read. This was reality.

He looked around Jacobis. Most of his friends still had visible injuries from their strike. They seemed so much worse now. Albert's black eye seemed darker than it had just a few hours ago, and Romeo's concussion looked like it was really affecting him for the first time in two days.

What had he done wrong? It must've been something, because otherwise things wouldn't have turned out like this. He had helped convince Tommy Boy, Blink, and Sniper to join. He'd gathered newsies from Queens. He'd helped Davey organize the rally. He'd tried. He'd tried to help. To make sure everything would turn out alright. He'd done everything he could and look where it had gotten him. Most importantly, look where it had gotten his friends. Injured, imprisoned, betrayed.

How in the world could he fix this?

"Specs?" Romeo was standing next to his friend, tugging lightly at his shirt.

"Hm?"

"Can I talk ta you for a second?" Romeo asked, his voice was small.

"Yeah, of course." Grabbing Specs' hand, Romeo led him outside. They sat down on a bench, not far from Jacobis. It was late. The sun was barely visible behind the tall buildings surrounding them. The streets were almost entirely empty.

A deep sigh escaped the younger boy's lips. "Specs… I been thinkin'... Quite a lot has been happening ta us these past few days." He looked up at Specs, as if he was asking him if he agreed. When Specs nodded he continued. "And I can't explain it. I don' even know if there is an explanation, but it's been botherin' me. Why is all this happenin'? I'm a fighter. I can take quite a bit, but this time… this time it's so much harder." Romeo's voice broke a little. "And, and it's not like me ta feel like givin' up this easily. I neva' give up unless I hafta, but now…. I don't know if it's the things that have been happenin' ta us, or if it's the fact that we's havin' ta stick togetha' more than ever, maybe it's that goddamn concussion, but I just… I wanted us ta have a moment. Just a moment for ourselves to just sit here, 'cause I know, I know, we'll neva' be able to return to now."

There was a moment of silence. Specs looked up, the sun was completely gone now and a vague moon had appeared. There were no stars though, those were rarely visible in New York. Sometimes Specs wished they appeared more often. He often read about their beauty in books or heard people talk about it, but never had he experienced seeing a sky full of stars himself.

"Nothin' is going like how I wanted it ta go." The words had escaped Specs' mouth before he'd even realized it. "It's nothin', nothin' like my dreams, but I'm trying. I'm trying so fucking hard." He let out a humourless chuckle. "I'm trying ta get Crutchie outta that god damn Refuge, I'm tryin' ta help Davey lead this strike, I'm tryin' ta keep everyone from murderin' each other. I'm trying. I'm doin' the best I can, but it doesn't seem ta do anythin'. You weren't supposed ta notice it… you weren't supposed ta worry 'bout all the shit that is goin' on in my, in our, life…. but I guess I'm just a really bad liar." Specs adjusted his glasses and looked at his shoes. "And some part a' me knows it's all gonna work out in the end. It has to work out. I just… I just need a little more time. Everything needs more time…."

"Our lives are pretty fucked up, aren't they?" Romeo asked.

"Yeah… they are." Specs looked at his friend. "But maybe someday, they'll turn into somethin' nice…."

"I hope they will…. I don't want life ta stay like this foreva'." Romeo took a deep breath, taking in as much fresh air as he could.

"Me neither, but ain't moments like this what make us... us?" Specs wondered out loud. "If all the shit that happened ta me, and you, didn't happen, who knows what we'd be like now. We probably wouldn't even be friends, and if there's anythin' that I can't lose right now it's our friendship."

"Yeah… I'm glad we's friends." Romeo smiled and scooted closer to Specs. "We got each other, right?"

"Of course! We've got each other. We've got each other, and we've got Albert, and Race, and Henry…." Realization finally dawned on Specs. "We're not alone."

"We never were, were we?" Romeo asked.

Specs shook his head. They'd never been alone. "Someone is on our side, someone is else is not…. No one is alone."

Specs hadn't even seen the tears flowing down Romeo's cheeks, until that moment. "I just wish-" Romeo couldn't finish his sentence.

"I know." Specs carefully hugged the younger boy. He might not have had a sky full of stars, but he had Romeo, and for now, that was enough. He breathed in, taking in the moment, for he knew that he would never be able to return to that moment. He could never return to now.

BOOM!

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