Chapter 14
Denton sent a doctor to the Lodge House to take care of the newsies. There were kids with broken bones, fractures, concussions, cuts, bruises, black eyes. Some were more serious than others, but luckily there was nothing life threatening. Heather's dislocated arm was easily fixed, but that was the worst of her injuries. She also had a huge bruise on her stomach and some on her arms and face. But she was the worst out of the three girls. Daisy and Delilah walked away with bruises as well, but not as many since they were the better fighters of the three. Since they weren't so bad, they were able to help with some of the younger kids who needed a hand to hold as the doctor checked them out.
Finally, all the commotion started to die down and the littler newsies were all starting to fall asleep. David was also in the room, helping put kids to bed, but he was just finishing on his last one and was about to head out. He said bye to everyone and went out the bedroom door, closing it. But as he stood out there, he was trying to work up the nerve to go back in and talk to Heather. Talk to her about what Spot had told him, and possibly how he felt. He took a breath and decided it was now or never. He opened the door again and walked in just to hear Heather ask Daisy, "Hey, can I borrow one of your shirts? Mine's got some blood on it and I'd like to wash it." Daisy threw her friend a shirt, and Heather stripped her own off. All David could do was stare. He wasn't staring because she had her shirt off though, he wasn't that type of person (well, mostly the reason not. I mean, he's a teenage boy after all). But the real reason he couldn't tear his eyes away was because he had never noticed how skinny Heather really was. Her ribs, collar bone and hip bones all stuck out and her stomach was so flat it was practically concave.
"Distracted?" a voice came from behind him. David jumped and turned. It was Spot who had a suggestive look on his face. David blushed deeply and quickly closed the door behind them.
"No-no, I-I-I didnt...I-I mean, I wasn't...I didn't mean to..." he stuttered.
"Relax Davey, I'm just playin' wid ya. I knows why you was lookin'. Scary, right?"
"You mean, you've seen-"
"We all go swimmin' togeddah, so yeah, I've seen 'er bones. I nevah thought anythin' of it though 'til she told me. Speakin'a talkin', you talk ta 'er yet?"
"I didn't think today was a good day for it. With everything that's happened, I'm sure she doesn't wanna be lectured."
"Just get on it soon. I don't want 'er ta continue."
"Why don't you just talk to her about it?"
"Cause she won't listen ta me if I tell 'er she's beautiful."
"But she'll listen to me?" Spot nodded. "Why?"
"I already gave ya my answer ta dat question." And Spot walked away, leaving David confused as ever.
The next morning, David knew he had to talk to Heather. So the second he got to the Square, he was on the hunt for her. When he didn't find her right away, he went to Delilah who was talking with Spot and asked where she was.
"Lodge House steps with Race," she answered, and he took off.
Sure enough, he found her in front of the building, practicing her fighting with Racetrack.
"Heather, can we talk?" he asked her.
"Sure what's up?"
His eyes flickered to Racetrack and added, "Alone?"
"Good luck wid dat," Race told him. "Ya can't go anywhere near 'ere and be alone."
David though for a second, then said to her, "Follow me." He turned around and started walking again. Heather looked to Race who just shrugged, then she followed behind David.
"Where are we going?" Heather asked him as he led her through the crowded streets.
"My apartment. No one's there and we need to talk in private."
Heather was nervous about what he needed to talk to her about so urgently. She had no clue whatsoever. All she could hope for is that he hadn't found out she lied to him about the Refuge.
He didn't say anything else to her until they were in his room. He closed the door and leaned against it, looking at her.
"Well?" she tried to get him started.
"Spot told me."
"Spot told you what?" Her heart was beating so hard she was surprised it didn't pop out of her chest. There were two things she had told Spot and neither were good for David to know.
"That you think you're no good, and you've been trying to "fix" yourself to make yourself "better"."
"I'll kill him," she mumbled. She looked away, rubbing her head, then looked back to David. "Dave, you don't have to worry. It's really not a big deal."
"Not a big deal?! You're killing yourself!" Heather jumped at his raised voice. She had never seen him like this before. He started towards her, backing her up. "Starving yourself and throwing up? Do you have any idea what that's doing to your body?!"
She stopped. "It's making me thinner and it's making me prettier! I am not happy with how I look and being in control of my weight like this makes me feel better! I just want to be beautiful."
"But you are beautiful!"
"Oh yeah? I still have yet to meet one guy here that likes me as I am. Show me one guy and I'll change my ways."
"How about me?! God! Haven't you noticed that I'm crazy about you? I love you!"
She blinked a few times, unsure of what she just heard. "Wha-what?" she whispered.
David took a breath. "I love you Lace. As cheesy as this sounds, it was like love at first sight for me. And now I'm just humiliating myself telling you all this because I know you don't feel the same, but you needed to know that you are beautiful."
"Who says I don't feel the same way?"
"It has to be true. I mean, the way you didn't want to talk about how we almost kissed and you turned your head when I tried to kiss you yesterday. Plus, you deserve some dashing hero, not some school nerd that's too scared to put across his own words."
"Well, maybe I don't want some dashing hero." She walked towards him and put her hands on his shoulders. "Maybe I want someone smart who cares about these people he just met, and is leading this group of people who look up to him and want to know what he's going to say next. David, I love you too."
He looked like he didn't know what to say. "But what about-"
"I didn't want to talk about what happened because I thought it was a fluke, that it wasn't a real thing. And for the second thing, I didn't know you were about to kiss me. All I heard was Denton yelling out to us, so I turned my head. That's all. If I had known you were going to kiss me, I wouldn't have stopped it."
David just stared at her for a second. Then, he grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers. Heather wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back immediately. They pulled apart for a second, both smiling and laughing with happiness. They connected again. Gaining confidence, and surprising her in a good way, David pushed her up against the wall. The kiss heated up with David making Heather jump by brushing her bottom lip with his tongue. She never thought he would be this good at making out. But, none-the-less, she opened her mouth to let his tongue in. Their tongues fought for dominance. After a little while, Heather jumped onto David, wrapping her legs around his waist, not breaking the kiss. He took a few steps back before toppling over onto his bed. He rolled them over so that Heather was on the bottom. They broke the kiss just so that Heather could bring herself up so that her head was on the pillow. David followed, ending with his knees between her legs, and his hands outside her shoulders. They both knew what this was leading to, and neither wanted to stop. But before they went on, David asked, "Lace, are you a virgin?"
She turned red and looked down, "Um, well, that may be a possibility."
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Are you?"
"I'm not actually."
Heather's mouth dropped open. "You're not?"
"Surprised?"
"Well...yeah! I mean, I thought no girls ever liked you."
"Remember that one girl who pretended to like me? She really pretended."
"Oh, Davey. Well don't worry, I'm not pretending." She stroked his face. "But, I am a little nervous."
"Don't worry. I'm right here."
NEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIESNEWSIES
"Did David say what he needed Heather for?" Daisy asked Delilah. The two were waiting for the pair outside of Tibby's.
"Nope. He just asked where she was and the two left."
"Well, I'm hoping that they finally confessed to each other. The way they've been tiptoeing around each other is getting ridiculous."
"Omigod. I don't think we have to worry about that anymore." Delilah was looking off and Daisy followed her gaze. Her mouth dropped open. They saw David and Heather walking towards them, holding hands.
"AHHHHHH!" the girls screamed, running to the new couple. They jumped on Heather and they all fell to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't break her!" David said, concerned and helping them up.
"But-how-when-what?!" Daisy exclaimed. Heather and David just smiled and laughed at their reaction.
Then, Delilah noticed something. "Um, Heather, why is your shirt inside out?"
"What?" she responded panicked, looking at her shirt. She and David looked at each other nervously.
Daisy also pointed something out. "And, Dave, what is that on your neck?" David quickly covered the spot on his neck, but Daisy pulled him down and pushed his hand away, revealing- "A hickey?! Is that a hickey?!"
David pulled back and said to Heather, "I thought Sarah's foundation worked."
"I guess we didn't put enough on," Heather replied.
Daisy and Delilah put all the clues together, and realization hit them. Their mouths dropped and their eyes widened.
"OMIGOD, YOU GUYS-" Daisy started, but the couple shushed her. "Davey, you got laid?" she finished, quieter.
"Well, I guess that's one way to put it," he said.
"But you guys can't tell anyone. Not even Jack, Daisy," Heather told them.
"If any of the newsies find out, they'll kill me."
"Especially Jack and Race. You know how protective they are of me. So, you promise you won't say anything?"
"Fine," they mumbled out.
"Good. Now, let's go inside. The guys are probably wondering what's going on."
"But first..." Daisy picked some dirt up and put it over David's hickey. "We need to cover this up if you're trying to hide the fact that you two had sex."
"You're not hiding the fact that you guys are a couple, right?" Delilah questioned.
"No," they answered,
"Can we be the ones to announce it?" Daisy wondered, very excited.
Heather and David looked at each other for a moment, and then Heather gestured for them to go on. The two girls squealed and ran off into the restaurant.
"HEATHER AND DAVID ARE A COUPLE!" they both yelled. The two could hear the cheers and whistles outside.
Before the spoken of walked in, Heather pulled David to the side.
"Just do me one thing. Please don't tell anyone about what I've been doing. You know, the eating stuff. I really don't want it getting out and have more people hovering."
"Okay, I promise to keep it between us. But you promise to stop, right?"
"Mmhmm," Heather responded, smiling slightly and nodding. David didn't look like he bought it, but he decided to go with it for now since he could see all their friends were anxious for them to get in there.
Still holding hands, they walked in, and all the newsboys cheered and some of them got up to hug them or tease them or clap David on the back.
"I was beginnin' ta think it would nevah 'appen!" Jack yelled over the crowd.
"Oh, it happened alright," Daisy commented, giving a look to Heather. Heather just gave her a look back that said 'Quiet or I'll kill you.'
A moment after the new couple found their way to a table, Denton walked in.
"Hey kids!" he called out. "Hey, hey! Big time!" He held up the latest issue of his paper and put it down on the table in front of Jack and Daisy, who was sitting on his lap. Everyone immediately crowded around.
"What'cha got there Jack?" Boots asked, trying to see over everyone.
"Where's me pictuah? Where's me pictuah?" Spot called out, trying to push his way to the front.
"Ego much?" Delilah said to him, pulling him back to where she was. "Let the rest of us see."
"Davey, ya kissed 'Eathah in da pictuah? Why only 'er cheek? I thought ya liked 'er!" Blink teased.
"Well I was trying to actually kiss her, but she turned away," David explained.
"Way to diss you man Heath," Daisy responded.
"Look at ya Jack. Ya look like a gentleman," Mush told him, pointing to Jack's picture.
"Will ya get your fingahs off me face?" Jack swatted his hand away.
Again, Spot moved up to the front. "Where does it say my name? Where's my name?"
"Will ya quit thinkin' 'bout yaself?"
"You got us on the front page!" David said to Denton, excited.
"You got yourselves on the front page," Denton corrected. "I just got to make sure you stay there."
"This has to be one of the coolest things that has ever happened to us," Delilah squealed.
"So what?" Skittery spoke up. "Ya get your pictuah in da papes, so what's dat get you, huh?"
"Whatta ya talkin' about?" Mush asked, flabbergasted.
"You got up on the wrong side of the bed or something Skitts. You've been in a bad mood all day," Daisy said.
"I'm not in a bad mood," Skittery defended. "I just don't see-"
"Listen glummy," Heather interrupted him, "just because you got stood up last night doesn't mean you gotta ruin the fun for the rest of us." A wave of "ooooos" washed through the newsies.
"Glum and dumb," Race continued to Skittery, pushing his face. "Ya get your pictuah in da paes, ya famous. Ya famous, ya get anything you want. That's what so great about New York!"
"I think dis calls for a celebration!" Jack shouted out.
An idea came to Heather. "And what better way to celebrate than with a song. Girls?" She looked to her friends and they caught on very quickly. The three gathered together and talked for a minute before going over to a table. All the boys watched them, wondering what they were about to do.
The girls started tapping out a beat, and then Daisy started, "A pair of new shoes with matchin' laces."
"A permanent box at the Sheepshed Races," Heather followed.
"A porcelain tub with boilin' water," Deliah continued.
"A Saturday night with the mayor's daughter," Daisy went on.
Heather jumped on the table and took over with, "Look at me, I'm the King of New York!" She started doing some tap dancing moves. The boys started cheering. "Suddenly, I'm respectable. Starin' right at'cha, lousy with statuah."
Daisy came in, "Nubbin' with all the muckety-mucks. I'm blowin' my dough and goin' delux."
"And there I be, ain't I pretty?"
They dueted on, "It's my city, I'm the King of New York!"
The two jumped down and the three ran into the crowd of newsies.
"A corduroy suit with fitted knickers," Heather sang leaning against Boots.
"A mezzanine seat to see the flickers," Delilah picked Les up and spun him around.
"Havana cigars that cost a quarter," Daisy ruffled Snipeshooter's hair.
Heather jumped on David's back and sang, "An editor's desk for the star reporter." She kissed his cheek and jumped down, joining the others surrounding Denton.
"Tip your hat, he's the King of New York," Daisy and Heather sang together.
"How about that, he's the King of New York," Delilah soloed, raising Denton's hand.
They all sang on, "In nothin' flat, he'll be covering Brooklyn to Trenton, our man Denton."
"Making a headline out of a hunch," Daisy went on.
"Protecting the weak," Delilah continued.
"And payin' for lunch," Heather added.
"When he's at bat, strong men crumble."
"Proud yet humble."
Delilah and Heather dueted, "I'm/He's the King of New York."
They all came together on, "I gotta be either dead or dreaming, cause look at that pape with my face beaming. Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star for one whole minute!"
They jumped on a table again and started dancing. Not like the moves in movie, none of them were that good at dancing. But none the less, the boys were all cheering and clapping and very impressed.
"Starting now, I'm the King of New York!" Heather and Daisy went on.
"Ain't you heard? He's the King of New York!" Delilah ran to Denton and hugged him.
Daisy and Heather jumped down and the three went to each newsie singing, "Holy cow! It's a miracle! Pulitzer's cryin', Weasel, he's dyin'! Flashpots are shooting bright as the son, I'm one hifalutin' son of a gun! Don't ask me how, fortune found me, fame just crowned me. I'm the King of New-! Look and see once a piker, now a Striker! I'm the King of New- Victory! Front page story, guts and glory, I'm the King of New York!" They decided to end in the Charlie's Angels pose. The boys clapped and cheered and whistled and hollered. Smiling, the girls found their way back to their table and sat down.
"Well, I did not know you could sing and dance like that," David commented, directing it to Heather.
"You should already know all of Heather's good moves," Daisy responded, giving the two a suggestive look.
Heather leaned in to her and whispered, "Really Daisy?"
"Oh honey, you know I'm gonna be giving you shit about this forever." Heather just rolled her eyes and sat back down.
"As entertanin' as dat was, we gotta get back ta business," Jack announced. "So, let's 'ave some ideas."
"Well, we gotta show people where we stand," David said.
"So we need to stay in the papers," Delilah stated.
"MY paper's the only one printing any strike news so far," Denton explained.
"So we should do somethin' so big, de oudda papahs'll feel stupid if dey try ta ignore us," Jack thought of.
It was silent for a minute, everyone thinking.
"How about a rally?" Daisy suggested. "A newsie rally with all the kids from all over New York."
"I like the way you think babe," Jack told her. "It'll be da biggest, loudest, noisiest blow out dis town's evah seen!"
"We'll send a message to the big boys," David added.
Daisy whispered to Heather, "You're doing a nerd." Heather stuck her tongue at her.
A waiter came around with a tray of cokes. As everyone took one, Jack went on, "Dere's a lot of us, and we ain't goin' away. We'll fight until damn Doomsday if it means we get a fair shake."
"Hey guys, to our man Denton," David toasted, raising his glass.
Everyone repeated, "Our man Denton!"
Once everyone had a drink, Blink called out, "Can I just announce dat Spunk and Spot 'ave been in da same room all day so far and an all out brawl 'asn't 'appened yet?"
"We called a truce," Delilah told them. "We just got off on the wrong foot and we're starting over.
"So what, you guys are all buddy buddy now?" Race questioned.
"I ain't goin' dat far, but we can tolerate each oudda now," Spot said. Delilah rolled her eyes and shoved him.
"Whadda we gonna do for entertainment 'round 'ere now?" Mush joked.
"We don't got time for entertainment right now," Jack told them. "We got a lot of woik ta do."
So, I can't even put into words how sorry I am that I haven't updated in an insanely ridiculously long time! I hope you all still wanna read this story and will continue reading it as I update. And I Will update!