Ok, part 2 is up! This gets a little more into the story now and definitely into the action. The next chapter will be out tomorrow!

Leave a review if you like it! Enjoy!

"Alright Newsies, pack it up! Let's head home!" Conversations tapered out around Jack as the newsies dropped and paid for their leftover papers. With memories of the Refuge haunting his headspace, Jack slammed his leftover change on the barrel extra hard, Wiesel sneering after him

"I'd watch that attitude if I was you, Jack Kelly," Wiesel said, snapping his fingers. In a blink of an eye, the Delancy brothers materialized out of thin air and jumped in front of Jack, blocking his path. Jack met their eyes, pulling himself up to his full height. Even with all three of the boys of equal height and build, Jack knew he could take them. He'd done it before, he'd do it again. This time, Jack didn't miss the slip of Oscar's hand into his pocket, pulling out his beloved pair of brass knuckles.

"Yeah, ya know how dangerous these streets get at night, don'tcha, Kelly?" Morris taunted, taking a step forward until he was almost nose to nose with Jack. Jack prayed that Morris didn't notice the tiny wince but held his stance firm.

"Back off, fellas," Jack growled, "tonight's not the night."

"Oh, well in that case," Oscar sneered, a creepy smile slowly spreading across his face. "Right this way, ya majesty." Jack duplicated his smile and walked through the makeshift opening they had created for him, keeping his fists tightly balled at his sides. He didn't need to start any fights tonight. Once Jack was sure the Delancys were far enough away, he let out a sigh of relief. Another crisis averted for the time being.

Everyone made their way to the lodging house, but Jack had one more piece of business to attend to. He jogged over to the two new kids, who hung in the back awkwardly. Jack knew the feeling. Hawking the pape was hard to get used to, but it didn't take long to warm right up to it. Jack had been careful to keep the kids under his watch and helped them all the papes they could. Rarely did any new newsie sell all his papes the first day, besides Jack of course. There were legends shared throughout newsies all over New York about the big ones, Jack and Spot Conlon. They were modern-day gods for the poor orphan boys living on the streets. Just like Crtuchie said, the chance to sell with Jack was the chance of a lifetime.

"Good day out there fellas, let's get you's some food and a place to spend the night," Jack said while he divided up his portion of the money and shoved it in his bag. Jack turned and waved over his shoulder, intending for the new kids - David and Les - to follow him. He paused when there wasn't an answer and he didn't hear anyone walking behind him. David stood back holding Les's hand awkwardly, making no motion to follow Jack.

"Ya coming?"

"Oh no, thanks," David rejected politely, leaving Jack with his mouth hanging open like a fool. What newsies turned down food and a place to sleep? Before he could ask, David continued without prompting. "We've got to get back home. Our folks are waiting on us for dinner." If Jack had been surprised before, it was doubled now. The carefree, lazy mask Jack kept on all the time slipped, just a fraction, and David looked alarmed. Suddenly, that didn't feel like the right thing to say.

"Oh. You's got folks," Jack said somewhat dejectedly, and the situation was made one hundred times more awkward with the silence that followed it. David tugged on Les's arm to get them out of the silence, but he wasn't fast enough for the curious little ten-year-old with no filter.

"Don't everyone got folks?" Les asked, bright and innocent and confused. He didn't think before he spoke, not when he just spent the whole day lying about the headlines. Besides, he was barely ten. Who was he to think about the implications of such a simple question? Jack forced a fake smile, put back on his mask, but David saw right through it. David pulled Les backward, keeping a tight grip on the littlest newsies' shirt. David tried to make up for the silent situation with an offer he had been debating anyway.

"You're welcome to come home with us, our mom's - "

"No, no, it's alright," Jack stammered, shaking his head and cutting David off. He appreciated the offer, really. But words couldn't seem to form, and Jack didn't know how to answer. He stepped backward, his fight or flight response going with the familiar: flight.

"I'm sorry, I just remembered I gotta go meet a… buddy and…" He dropped the end of his sentence, running out a reasonable enough lie. He stared at his feet as they continued to move backward, out of his control now. Eleven years of being a newsie, five years of being the Manhattan leader, Jack learned to keep things under control. He had to, for the sake of the boys. All those years and he got flushed one time someone brought up family.

"Is that the guy you're meeting?" Les asked sweetly, pointing to a shadow sneaking around the corner of a nearby building. Dark suit blended in with the shadows bouncing off the walls and the side of the man's face lit up by the dying light of the streetlamp. Not enough to recognize a stranger, but Jack knew that face from anywhere.

"Snyder," His name came out as a growl as Jack tightened his fists around the neck of his newspaper bag, strangling it. Snyder stepped out into the light, shadows hiding his eyes and light gleaming off bared teeth. Snyder lifted up his club and pointed it at Jack in a mock salute.

"Kelly!" Snyder growled back with the same intensity. That's all it took. Jack had been able to ignore it earlier, brushing it off as his boys or just taunting threats from the Delancy brothers. But this was where it all started, the root of his fear. He would never admit it out loud, not even on his dying breath, but Jack was scared. He couldn't help but flinch, muscles freezing and keeping him fixed in his spot. Blood pounded in his ears and his mind screamed at him to run but the rest of his body wouldn't cooperate. Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him backward, away from Snyder and away from his fear. That was enough to snap him back into reality and turn in time to see the open-mouth, wide-eyed face of Les. Jack saw one look of that poor, scared kid's face and adrenaline took over.

"David, run!" Jack shouted, grabbing Les by the arm and shoving David forward. Practically throwing Les towards his older brother, Jack gave them as much of a head start as he could. David and Les ran off as Jack turned back towards Snyder, locking himself in a standoff with the older man.

"You're all mine, Kelly," Snyder grinned while Jack held his arms out wide, taunting him.

"Woah, I didn't know we were that far in the relationship, sweetheart." Before Snyder could respond, Jack balled up his newspaper bag and threw it in Snyder's face. Momentarily stunned, Jack took that precious time to knee Snyder in a very uncomfortable place and sprint after David and Les. Catching up with the two other newsboys, Jack couldn't help but let out a small laugh. So much for Snyder the Spider.

"This way," Jack called out, sprinting ahead of the group and turning down a side street. Jack was born and raised on these streets, he knew them like the back of his hand. Duck into an alley here, climb a fence there. Jack had been on the run long enough to know the best spots to stay out of sight.

Jack turned back for a moment to make sure Snyder wasn't running behind them and that David and Les were keeping up. What Jack failed to notice was that Snyder had taken his own shortcut, jumping out in front of the unsuspecting newsboy. David tried to shout a warning to Jack, but he was too late. Jack turned back around just in time for Snyder to crack his club across Jack's face, the boy's head snapping to the side and sending him spinning. David could only watch as he watched Jack falter then collapse in a heap on the ground.

"Jack!" Les cried out, running towards the downed boy. Before Les could get very far, Snyder grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up in the air.

"Gotcha!" Snyder snarled triumphantly, holding the squirming boy. David focused on Snyder, mouth setting in a hard line as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. His face flushed red with rage and his hands balled into fists at his side. No one touched his little brother. He had never been in a fight before, but there was a first time for everything. Regardless, David threw up his fists, dropping back into a fighting stance he had only seen once from a brawl at his school. Before a punch was thrown, David shot a look over at Jack, silently urging him to get up. David may be able to fight Snyder for a little bit, but there was no way he could do it enough to get Snyder to back down. Instead of listening to David's mental pleas, Jack stubbornly stayed sprawled out on the ground, unmoving.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" David taunted - or attempted to - as Les kicked in Snyder's grip.

"Oh, like you?" Snyder laughed a sharp bark that sounded like gravel getting grated into the concrete. It was the worst sound David had ever heard. Trying to shove down the nervousness on what he was about to do, David bounced lightly on his feet to get the energy going. Snyder was amused at the bookish nerd trying to fight him and decided to entertain him. Snyder would give the schoolboy a fight if he wanted one.

"Fine," Snyder accepted, dropping Les and putting up his own fists. As soon as he hit the ground, Les scrambled over to Jack to shake him back awake. Jack had worked himself up to his hands and knees, but that was as far as he got. Les pulled at his shoulder, quickly jumping away when Jack turned his head to spit to the side.

"Jack, Jack, you need to get up!" Les pleaded, pulling at the older boy's hand. "Dave doesn't know how to fight!" Jack groaned as he felt his stomach roll a second time. He had gotten hit before - Snyder could pack a punch - but Jack was completely unprepared for the vicious swing. His head pounded with a fury unknown to him, and it felt like the side of his face was breaking open. It almost was, judging by the red that stained his fingertips when he touched his cheek. He wiped it on his pants and forced his eyes to focus on the fight in front of him.

Jack was surprised, David was actually holding his own against Snyder. He swung occasionally, but he was playing defense. There wasn't much the schoolboy could do against a billy club besides keeping it from hitting him too hard. Snyder was relentless and swung harder each time, with a smile tense across his face. Jack struggled to his feet, using the little help Les could offer to finally stand. For a moment his vision gray and he swayed, really only standing up with a little push from Les. Jack wasn't going to let David fight this for him, this was his fight. Snyder was his.

"Snyder," Jack called out, stopping the man mid-swing. David internally sighed in relief. He didn't know how much longer he could've held on. Still frozen with his hands up to stop the billy club, he watched as Jack walked - more like staggered - towards Snyder with his fists clenched. Within a second, that initial relief wore off into concern for the leader of the newsies. Jack was in no condition to fight. David couldn't feel one of his arms and blood dripped from his nose, but he hadn't passed out. David couldn't believe that Jack was even on his feet, not about to start another fight, and he was disgusted at himself for feeling relieved that he didn't have to fight anymore. It was selfish of him, but at the same time, he wasn't about to argue. He could deal with the guilt later.

"How's about you leave them alone?" Jack said, stretching his head from side to side and rolling his shoulders. It hurt unbelievably bad, but David and Les had joined his newsies today, so it was Jack's job to protect them. They were a part of his boys, and Snyder didn't get to touch any of them.

"How about you come back to the Refuge?" Snyder shot back, poison lacing his words. David watched this interaction in awe, just off to the side. His good arm held Les behind his back, and they were backing away as the two men circled. Snyder was pure evil, malice behind his eyes, in the gap of his smile, in the way he held his fists. David couldn't help but shiver. Snyder was evil, but right now Jack looked downright scary. He stretched up as tall as he could and his fists were held out in perfecting fighting form. Blood ran down the side of his face and a dangerous glint in Jack's eye that made David think that Jack might actually be able to win.

"Never." Snyder brought his club down hard, but Jack caught it and turned his head towards the other boys.

"David, Les, run!" David opened his mouth to protest, but Jack shot him a look that meant there was no room for arguing. David grabbed Les's hand and sprinted away from Jack and Snyder. A painful grunt grabbed David's attention once again and turned around in time to see Jack get socked in the stomach. He cringed, but Jack looked up and saw David still standing there and waved them away. He could handle it. He always did.

So David ran.