Disclaimer: I still do not own Newsies.
A/N: Hi guys! So, new chapter here. Despite saying I have an idea, the idea was probably too short to fill a chapter, so...I tried. Enjoy!
Before departing, Jack and Katherine stood in front of their apartment rooms.
¨Well, Miss Plumber, it was nice walking with you," said Jack.
Katherine smiled, ¨It was nice walking with you, too, Mr. Kelly. Thank you for your help.¨ Jack shrugged sheepishly, as if it were really no big deal.
¨See you again?¨ Katherine asked shyly, really hoping he'd say yes.
Jack laughed, ¨Of course. What I said about doing this everyday...¨ He flashed a grin. ¨I meant it. Bye, Katherine.¨ Katherine waved, and Jack disappeared through the doorway. She sighed, and opened her own door.
Looking around, she inched inside, glancing at her watch. Hopefully, her parents wouldn't notice she was just a little bit late. After all, it was only two minutes, and maybe they wouldn't have came home from work yet-oh, she had to jinx herself.
Standing in the living room, with their arms crossed, were her mother and father, staring at her in utmost disapproval.
¨Katherine Plumber, you are two minutes late coming home! Where in the world have you been?!¨ her mother exclaimed. Darn.
Katherine stared at them wide-eyed for a second, as her father tapped his foot impatiently.
¨Well?¨ he asked, an eyebrow raised.
Katherine let out a nervous laugh, ¨Hey, you don't need to freak, um… So, you see, I have this really big journalism assignment.¨ She gestured to the stack of papers in her hands. ¨And while I was going to the bus, I accidentally tripped on the stairs and dropped them, and so I started to pick them up and this boy came to help-¨
¨A boy?!¨ her parents both shouted in unison. Uh oh. Wrong thing to say. Really wrong. What could she say now to calm her parent's wrath?
¨Um,¨ Katherine stuttered, ¨it's not like that! He was just helping me collect my papers." Her mom and dad looked at her, unconvinced. ¨Uh, he's the boy from next door. Jack Kelly? He lives in 317?¨ Finally, a look of calm spread across her parents' faces.
¨Oh, our neighbors? Yes, their kid Jack is such a sweet boy!¨ her mother gushed.
¨Nice kid,¨ her father stated approvingly.
¨Wait... you've met him before?¨ Katherine questioned.
Her mother looked surprised, ¨Why, yes! The Harrisons are family friends!¨
¨Harrisons?¨ Katherine asked. Jack had told her his last name was Kelly. What?
¨Yes,¨ her mother replied, ¨Jack is adopted. He was orphaned at a young age. So the reason you were late was because you just dropped your papers?¨
¨Yup,¨ Katherine answered, absorbing this blast of information about her next-door neighbor she had no clue existed until about an hour ago.
¨Very well then,¨ her father said curtly, ¨You might want to start on that assignment then.¨
Katherine nodded, then rushed to her room to start typing on her computer.
¨Okay, let's begin...¨ Katherine muttered as she sat down at her desk, ¨'Newsies Stop the World'...¨
It took seven hours and all her sleeping time to get it done, but Katherine was sure it her best work. Ever. She beamed widely as she handed it in to her teacher, Mrs. Clarkson. Seriously, she was confident she would get an A. Or an A+. Make that an A++. This article was that great. She was going to have thank Jack a couple thousand more times.
When the bell rang, Katherine excitedly dashed out of class, and peered over shoulders, standing on her toes, searching the stampede of high school students for one boy in particular: Jack Kelly. However, he was nowhere to be seen. The mass of students had mostly drifted away, and yet, Katherine could still not find him. Maybe he didn't mean it, she thought, Perhaps that was a joke. A depressing thought. Downtrodden, she walked toward the door to leave, before feeling a tap on her shoulder.
"Please go away," she muttered, "I'm not in the habit of talking to strangers."
"Well you're going to make a lousy reporter, then," a familiar voice retorted, amused.
She whipped around, "Seriously? You show up now? I thought I was going to miss the bus because of you."
Jack shrugged indifferently, "Whoops. Sorry. Walk with me?" He held out his arm, and only then did Katherine realize that he had replaced the T-shirt and jeans combo from yesterday with a button-up shirt and pants.
"Well, well, well," she said, "You look nice today. What's the outfit for?"
"I can dress up nicely if I want to!" Jack defended himself, until seeing Katherine's unconvinced stare, "Okay, fine, it's for some, uh, art thing. I had to present something in class, and I have to do again tonight. Some artist convention thing."
"An artist?" Katherine said, "Can I see any of your work?" Jack looked at her wide-eyed.
Katherine sighed, "Then can you draw something for me?" Jack's eyes darted around, before he answered, "Sure." He pulled out a sketchbook and some pencils, and began to trace the outline of whatever he was drawing.
In an attempt to regain his ego, Jack decided to change subjects, "So, Kat, did I hear you calling me 'nice-looking?'"
"No," Katherine said sarcastically, before continuing, "Don't get all big-headed on me, Kelly, you're not that hot." LIES! her mind screamed. Shut up! she shouted back.
Jack smirked, "You sure about that? Aw, Katherine, you don't have to blush."
She frowned, "What?" Sure enough, her cheeks had heated up.
So she told Jack what she had told her mind a little earlier, except with a few more choice words.
"Fine, fine," he conceded, but not before adding one more, "Are you sure?" Katherine elbowed him forcefully, and finally, Jack stopped.
Halfway through their journey to home, Jack finished his drawing. His hand rest against the paper, smoothing it out.
"You're done?" Katherine asked. He nodded. "May I see it?" This time, he didn't nod, just stared.
"Jack," she insisted, "just show me the drawing, please." Reluctantly, he handed over the sketchbook, and Katherine gaped at what he had drawn.
It was a girl. It was her.
"You drew me?" Katherine asked, a little flattered.
Jack smiled slightly, "Well you're an obvious model candidate. I very much enjoy drawing beautiful things, and you definitely qualify. You can keep it."
Katherine tried to resist the blush that was probably emerging, "Um, thank you. Ugh, but you made me looks so perfect!"
Jack grinned knowingly, "That's because you are perfect, Katherine.¨
Back at their apartment once more, the two separated, and this time, Katherine's mom was at the door, waiting for her.
"He's quite handsome, isn't he?" her mom said, raising her eyebrows at Katherine.
"He is indeed," Katherine admitted, thinking about her day, ¨But don't tell him I said that.¨ She walked into her room, closing the door behind her.
¨Not yet.¨
A/N: Yay! I did it! I just realized that this chapter spans from an afternoon to the next afternoon. That's, like, a day. Anyway, reviews are not mandatory, but super-extremely enjoyed. If you have something to comment on, or if you have any corrections, constructive criticism, etc., feel free to tell me! Bye!