(Author's Note: I can't tell you how excited I am that you guys are reading this! I also wanted to thank KnightNight7203 for my lovely first review, and for originally being the one who inspired me to publish this. I highly reccomend anything she's published, especially her Newsies stuff!

Standard disclaimers apply, I own nothing but my own imagination.)

Chapter 2

"Hey, all of yous, listen up!" Jack shouted as he climbed up onto a large wooden milk crate, attracting the attention of the boys-and a certain reporter-in Newsies Square. In the week since the strike, they'd been pestering him nonstop, wanting to know what was happening next, if he was taking the job he'd been offered at The World, and honestly, Jack had been avoiding it all. The questions, the job, the boys, even Katherine.

It was time to stop avoiding everything.

"So uh, I guess you all want to know where I'm going from here, and, well," he found Katherine among the swarm of newsboys, and made eye contact with her, "I'm gonna take the job at The World-" here he was interrupted by an eruption of cheers from the boys-"but this don't mean anything's gonna change, alright? I'll still be here, sellin' papes with yous every morning." He grinned at them, and hopped down from his perch on the crate.

As the boys dispersed into the streets, Jack cut thought the crowd to find Katherine. She was walking in the opposite direction, but he caught her hand, and she turned to face him in surprise.

"Hey," he mumbled, suddenly rather nervous and emberassed.

"You haven't been around much," she replied coldly. Ouch. He was afraid something like this would happen. Her face showed no trace of expression, save for the slightest hint of disappointment.

"Look, I'm real sorry Ace. I was just, well, I was scared, alright? I guess I was afraid that when it was all over, it'd be different, ya know? That we would be different." He waited for a reaction. Relief washed over him in a wave when a laugh escaped Katherine's mouth, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Why would anything be different? The strike's over, and you won! You did it."

"Hey, we did it."

"Just… Just promise me one thing," She said, turning serious. Newsies Square was almost empty by that point. "Promise me you won't up and leave one day, whether it's for Santa Fe, or somewhere else, just don't leave me."

"Ace, I could never leave you." Suddenly her arms were around his neck, hugging him so tightly he could hardly breathe.

"That's all I needed to hear," she murmured. Jack threw his arms around her waist, and hugged pulled her closer, subsequently lifting her a few centimeters off the ground. He buried his face in her hair; he could feel the eyes of some of the newsboys on him, but he didn't care. Katherine made him happy. He had no idea what he did to deserve it-or if he even deserved it at all-but he was happy.

(Okay, so this one was real short, but the next one will be longer, I promise! Please please please review, and feel free to send in prompts or ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'll try to update again soon.

Much Love,
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)