Look at me! I'm making consecutive updates! Disney Newsies TWC Moulin Rouge Sapphy Sapphy...ya'll know the deal, so lets cut the legal crap and get to the goods!
Nearly a week had elapsed since Jack first met Roxanne. His life continued on ordinarily enough on the surface as he worked by day and spent time with his friends by night. But each day he took what was left over of his earnings after paying board and food and put the spare coins in an empty cigar tin on his bedside. He was determined to save enough money to buy a gift that would entice the fiery dancer to his side. Night after night Jack lay awake thinking of her long after the others had slipped from consciousness. Her ringing laugh laced through his mind, those eyes, eyes like liquid onyx smoldered in the darkness of his brain, a ghost of jasmine seemed ever just beyond his reach. If it took him six months Jack would see Roxanne again.
It was a typical quiet evening at the lodge just before sunset. The room was full of boys lounging across bunks, sitting on the windowsills; the chattering filled the room like the bubbling of a stream. Spot Conlon was there as usual, sitting with Ireland on her bunk, her legs slung over his knees. Despite their cozy posture, the two were engaged in a raging match of gin. Sapphy leaned over the edge of the upper bunk watching, making the occasional remark and giggling as all the blood rushed to her face.
Meanwhile her estranged boyfriend was the last player in a poker match against Jack. The stakes head gone sky high, with all of Race's earnings from the week in the center of the table. For a moment all other activity in the room stilled as the tension reached an ultimate. From her place on the bunk, Ireland had a perfect view of Jack's hand. She shook her head despairingly, Jack held the winning cards without a doubt, Race was about to lose a whole week's wages. Serves him right, the dumb gambler she thought to herself even as she gave him a sympathetic glance. It was highly likely that he was going to be able to eat or pay weekend board now.
Jack flicked his eyes between his cards and Racetrack. The other boys face was completely emotional, but he saw confidence in his eyes. Jack's glance shifted to the pile of money on the table, a considerable sum which consisted of all of his friend's money, wages and track wins, from the week. "I fold." He laid his cards face down on the table without so much as batting an eyelash, "Good game Race."
"You're too kind Cowboy," Race tipped his hat to the other and began to gather his winnings as the conversations picked up again. "Hey Sapphy," he called over, "Look at this! Come out with me, I'll buy you a cookie."
"Why don't you go ask your friend Giselle if she wants a cookie?" Sapphy's voice sounded as though it were being hacked off a block of ice, but her eyes simmered with a deep, bleeding pain.
Race crossed the room in seconds, completely oblivious to the presence of Spot and Ireland on the lower bunk. "Sapphy," he murmured his face close to hers.
"Go. Away." She muttered angrily
"Sapphy, nothing happened that night. It really was 'just dancin.' God, you know I'd never do anything to push you away from me." He stroked her cheek with his fingertips, "You're the best part of me." Leaning closer so his lips were against her ear he whispered, "Non sono degno di uno così bello come voi. Se non lo perdonate allora la mia vita sarà sterile. I vostri occhi sono la luce della mia anima e se non lo lasciate comprarlo un biscotto io saranno deolate."
Her forget-me-not colored eyes met his chocolate ones, stark emotion glittering in them like sunlight on a clear lake. Racetrack eased his lips over hers, kissing her sweetly; long seconds passed before they broke apart. "So are we okay again?" he asked timidly.
"It better be a big cookie." She swung her legs over the bunk and landed on the floor with a resounding thump. Barely pausing, she flung her arms tightly around his neck. "A really big cookie." And with that she headed for the bunkroom door, sighing with relief, Race followed her out.
"That wasn't too bad." Jack commented with a grin as he leaned against the bunk.
"Yeah," Spot nodded, "I definitely gotta remember that trick."
Ireland gave Spot a sideways glance but chose not to comment, instead she turned to Jack, "Hey, Cowboy," she looked up at him, "You could have won that match hands down, why'd you let it go?"
Jack shrugged good naturedly, "Race was gonna be spending the weekend sleeping in the park if I didn't. He needed it more then I did." He cast a wistful glance out the window, "Even though I would've been able to go see Roxanne if I'd got that wad of cash."
"You still hung up on her, Jack!" Ireland raised an eyebrow, "My God, it was one night; you can't be serious about trying to see her again!"
He carefully avoided her gaze, "She said I could come back."
Ireland's expression was incredulous, "She did?"
"Yeah, you know what, as a matter of fact she did, Ireland." His voice edged in hard resentment.
"God, sorry! Don't be so touchy."
Jack ran his fingers back through his hair, "I'm not touchy, I'm just..."
"Pining?" suggested Spot
"Yeah, that's it. I'm pining."
"Then why don't you just go see her?" Ireland inquired
"I can't just go!" Jack exclaimed, "You don't go see a girl like that empty handed." He sighed pensively, "What do you give to a girl like Roxanne?"
Boots had been playing marbles on the floor nearby, now the younger boy looked up, "You give her something shiny," he advised, "I gave this girl Mimi a marble and now she never goes away."
Spot grinned, "My advice," he said casually, "Keep it simple, most girls like it better that way." Jack looked skeptical, "Look," Spot continued, "You wanna stand out to her right?" his friend nodded, "So be different. She's got a million guys bringin' her flashy gifts, so go the other way. Bring her flowers or something little."
Jack mulled this over for a moment. Suddenly, he reached down and hauled Ireland off the bed, "Come on."
"Where are we going exactly?"
"To buy flowers for Roxanne." He sounded as though it should have been obvious to her.
"So why do I need to come?"
"You're a girl, Roxanne's a girl. You'll know what she'll like."
Ireland rolled her eyes, sighing heavily, "Fine."
Jack caught the corner flower seller just before he closed up for the night. He barely noticed the murderous glance that the man behind the stall gave him before he began searching the pots in earnest.
"What kind of flowers do you think she'd like?" his gaze swept across the riot of shades and varieties.
"I don't know Jack, I never met her." Ireland leaned against the streetlamp watching her friend with a hint of a smile.
"Well what do you like?" He cast the eager glance of a puppy at her and she couldn't resist grinning.
"I like Roses personally."
His eyes lit up, "Roses! You're completely right, they're perfect for her.!"
After a moment's deliberation, Jack had selected a single pink rose. Ireland stood beside him as he paid the grumpy owner.
"Look, Jacky-boy," she began carefully, "I'm sorry I was on your case earlier,"
"S'okay." He replied, draping an arm over her shoulders.
"It's just that we've been friends for a really long time, and I worry about you." They turned to leave the stand together, "And because I worry about you, I just want you to be really careful dealing with Roxanne."
Jack stopped short, "What are you talking about?"
She spoke very gently choosing each word with the utmost care, "Look Jack, she may be beautiful and smart and interesting. She may genuinely like you, but just remember who she is. At the end of the day all she wants from a man is his money." She paused to let that sink in, "I just don't want you getting hurt."
He shook his head, grinning a bit, "You're wrong about her Ireland. There's so much more to her than that." He kissed her cheek in a brotherly fashion, "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself when it comes to girls."
He turned from her and walked briskly in the direction of Verte Violette. Ireland watched him go, an unknown nervousness climbing up and down her spine with icy fingers, "I know you can handle the girls Jack," she whispered after his retreating form, "I just don't know how you do with tigers."
It was a rare quiet night at the infamous brothel. Every now and then the place closed for a night just to prove that they could. Jack was lucky to have caught it on such a night.
Rather then try to get in the heavily attended main door, he circled to the back where the stage entrances were. With no performance going on there was no one but a sleeping elderly gentleman to watch those doors. Jack slipped easily through the closest one and disappeared into the shadows of the wings.
Rehearsal was taking place on the main stage. Roxanne, clad in nothing but her corset and shift was practicing with the corps. Jack stopped, forgetting to hide himself in the shadows, fixated on her moving form. She danced across the stage as lightly as a butterfly, her glossy black curls coming unbound and fluttering in her wake. She her torso rippled snakelike as she twined her arms about that lithe waist, arching her back just so. Jack fought to breath.
Suddenly, the music stopped abruptly, and he became aware of a small, wiry man with salt and pepper hair yelling at him, "What do you think you're doing here?" the man stormed over to Jack, "We're closed tonight, your not allowed to be here. Security!" A pair of beefy thug-types clambered onto the stage, skulking towards the young man. Jack's eyes widened in alarm
Roxanne stepped in their path abruptly, "It's alright Albert." She said to the short man, her eyes never leaving Jack's, "I asked him here."
Albert glowered, "Fine then, but next time tell me if you've got guests." He spun on his heel and returned to rehearsal; Roxanne made her way over to Jack, a wry smile on her lovely mouth.
He released a sigh of relief, "Thank you." He whispered sincerely
She folded her arms across her chest, "So we meet again, Jack Kelly." Her eyes sparkled, "I can't say I'm disappointed." He glance flickered to the rose he held.
"Oh!" he mentally kicked himself for forgetting, "This is for you." He shrugged, "It's not much but..."
"Its beautiful," she interjected with a laugh of pleasure, "And so thoughtful." Jack felt his cheeks grow warm as he basked in the warmth of her approval. "I truly appreciate it," she continued, "But I know you didn't come all the way over on a Saturday night to deliver a flower." She smiled, waiting for him to explain.
Jack suddenly felt very nervous, "I just thought, if you want to, that maybe we, I mean you and I, we could, um, we could go for a walk or somethin'." He scuffed his foot along the floor avoiding her eyes.
Roxanne grinned silently, letting him dangle for a moment that seemed an eternity. Finally she spoke, "That sounds lovely. Just let me get dressed, you can walk me home."
Jack felt dizzy with relief as Roxanne made for the dressing rooms. Ireland's wrong he thought gleefully, she's different from the others.
Moments later, she reappeared dressed in a flattering slate gray suit. This time, Jack remembered to offer her his arm, "So he can be taught," Roxanne commented teasingly as they left.
They walked along for a few moments in silence. It was Roxanne who broke it in the end, "So why did you decide to come and see me again Mr. Kelly?"
Jack smiled, "To be honest I couldn't stop thinking about last week." He confided, "You're pretty unforgettable."
She snorted slightly, "I've heard as much from dozens of men," she looked straight at Jack, "But I did not provide with a full service, Jack, so what is it that you like so much in me?"
He struggled to verbalize for a moment, completely caught unawares by the starkness of her inquiry, "Well, you're beautiful," he thought he saw a hint of disdain pass over her face and hurried on, "But you're a lot more too. You're smart, and you've been places...I guess I think you're interesting."
Her smile was back now, "I'm 'interesting'" she nodded in approval, "I don't think I've ever been told that before. I think you and I will get along fine, my young Cowboy. You are very different, that intrigues me." Jack felt as though something warm and fizzy were bubbling inside his chest. "This is my house." Roxanne informed him as they drew level with a stately townhouse.
Jack was thoroughly impressed, "You live here?"
"Me and several other dancers from Violette." She turned to face him, "Thank you for escorting me."
"Any time," Jack assured her hastily, "I'm always available."
She touched his cheek with a grin, "You'd better be," she informed him, "I will be extremely put out if you don't come back."
He felt a silly, ecstatic grin stretch over his face, but did not care. Leaning down, Jack meant to kiss her goodnight, "Not so fast," she took a step away from him, "I don't think we've been courting long enough for me to allow that." She feigned a sigh, "I suppose you'll just have to come see me tomorrow." Her eyes danced, "Good night, Mr. Kelly."
With that, Roxanne sauntered up the steps and inside, leaving Jack watching her rapturously, inhaling the hint of Jasmine lingering in her wake.
One of her housemates had been watching from the front window, "And who was that?"
"His name is Jack Kelly, he's a newsboy. I've decided to let him come and see me."
Her friend's eyebrows arced up, "You don't actually like him that way do you Rox?"
She rolled her eyes, "Of course not." Roxanne lifted the edge of the lace curtain to watch Jack finally walk away, "But he is terribly amusing."
"Don't play with people's emotions, Roxanne," he friend admonished, "It can get very messy."
Roxanne grinned, "Oh don't worry so much. It's only a little fun."
WAHOO! I made an update within two days! I. Am. Awesome!!!!! Well my loves, I hope you are all proud of me, go out and tell your friends and I'll see you here next time, I'm off to eat macaroni and watch Singing in the Rain, reviews would be much appreciated! ;)
newsiemoseph- You love me that much! I'm so happy to hear that!!!! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. Tango de Roxanne if my favorite part of Moulin Rouge and when I started writing the cross-over I wondered how people would feel. But the response had been 100 positive, so I take it I'm doing okay. I really shoot to be original. Thank you so much.
LadyRach- I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. And hey, reviewing multiple times is HIGHLY encouraged (especially given the low stock of my readership). I'm very excited that I got another fan of the story. Yeah, the Tonys were totally amazing; I can't wait till the day when I perform in them! ;) Thanks for the review love.
love97- Thank you! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it, really you can't get much better than Moulin Rouge and Newsies, but I worked very hard to make sure that my story was different from both movies. Thank for the compliments.
My Dog Ate My Penname- Thank a million darlin'! Yes, Roxanne and Jack definitely have something developing, and it's going to be vedde vedde interesting, so I hope you keep reading. I have every intention of seeing this story through to the end, especially since now I have an outline for it so I know what the heck I'm doing! Thanks for the review.
Sapphy- Now Sapphy, you know, and I know, that if bad stuff doesn't happen my story will die of dullness. Who in the world want to read about a happy couple? I mean seriously, come on. Yeah, I thought you'd love being in here, call it a gift for faithful readership. And don't worry about Race, he (as you have probably already read) was just being a stupid guy and bluffing shamelessly. Betcha wanna know what he said in Italian huh? ;) Okay, so here's the tough translation: I'm am not worthy of one so beautiful as you. If you do not forgive me my life will be barren. Your eyes are the light of my soul, please allow me to buy you a cookie or I will be desolate. Isn't that just sweet. I sighed with longing when I wrote it! We so need to go to NY together! That would be ultimate! ;)