(Updating a few days early because I'm just in one of those moods where I write a lot, so it happened. Also, I'm seeing Newsies in less than two weeks, and I literally cannot contain my excitement! I am SO HAPPY. NEWSIES.

Many thanks to MusicAngel98 for this amazing idea!

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

Chapter 3

Katherine Plumber stared awkwardly at the ground. She wanted nothing more than to just disappear. She silently cursed her father for doing this to her; she'd known he wouldn't like that she was seeing Jack, but she hadn't expected him to try to set her up with someone else, especially someone he knew very well she wouldn't want to hurt. Anyone else, she would have walked away-or just not shown up in the first place-but, well, her father was smarter than she thought.

"Katherine?" Darcy cracked a lopsided smile at her and offered her his arm. She took it halfheartedly. How could her father do this to her? Darcy was her friend, had been for ages, and she didn't want to hurt him, but she wanted to leave almost more. But she did what she was supposed to, and walked quietly alongside Darcy, eyes slightly lowered to the ground in front of her.

"Hey, Katherine?" Darcy ventured, sitting her down on a park bench, "are you okay?"

"Yes," she said automatically, but he raised his eyebrows at her knowingly. "No," she amended. "Darcy, I just-"

"Would rather be anywhere in the world than here, with me. I know," he interrupted with a laugh. "And that's okay. You're great Katherine, but I don't think would be a good couple. Ever." She breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't mad, and opened her mouth to elaborate, but Darcy stopped her, saying it for her.

"But your father decided to set you up with me. You did what you were told, but you could care less what your father thinks, because you're in love with Kelly." Katherine blushed and asked,

"Is it that obvious?" He pondered this question for a minute and replied,

"Katherine, I'm telling you this as your friend; yes. It is," he chuckled "I saw the way the two of you were together during the strike." She smiled, glad that he understood.

Her smile faded though, when she saw the person who was standing a few yards away from her, looking rather disappointed and hurt, almost like he was about to cry. Jack turned away sharply, and Katherine's breath suddenly became short and shallow.

"Darcy?" She whispered, nervously.

"Why do you look so... guilty?"

"I don't know! Why do I feel guilty?" She wrung her hands, feeling her face turning warm.

"Just talk to him," Darcy advised calmly, "you aren't guilty, and you haven't done anything wrong. Just get over there before you lose track of him." She stood up, her legs shaking already.

"Okay."

"And Katherine," she turned back around, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For all of this. We're still friends, right?"

"Of course." A smile spread across Darcy's face and Katherine hurried to catch up with Jack.

Her heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were cold and clammy by the time she found him sitting under a willow tree, sketching something too vague to make out just yet.

"Jack?" He didn't even look up at her, just continued drawing his pencil across the paper in short, quick strokes and muttered,

"That's what I get for trusting you. You just go right back to your fancy suitors and your-" She interrupted him, unable to bear the obvious note of betrayal in his voice.

"Jack, listen to me." He let out a melodramatic sigh and she crouched next to him. "My father was trying to set me up with Darcy, okay? But I don't care, Jack, because I love you. Besides, Darcy's my friend, I could never… I just-no-and he's the one who told me to chase after you just now." Jack stared at the page in front of him, still not meeting her gaze. "I don't know what else to say except that if I was going back to my 'fancy suitors' as you put it, do you think I'd be sitting here with you right now?" He finally looked up at her, his eyes still clouded with hurt and worry, and mumbled a halfhearted 'no.'

"Oh, Jack." She sighed and sat parallel to him, cautiously taking his free hand in both of her own. "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, refusing once again to look her in the eyes.

"Look at me. Jack Kelly, do you trust me." She enunciated every syllable, and he finally snapped his head towards her.

"Yes. Katherine Plumber, I trust you."

"Good." She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder, watching him draw what had begun to take shape as a hasty sketch of a boy sitting under a willow tree, alone.

"God, you can be so insecure sometimes," she breathed.

"That ain't true!" Katherine laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, c'mon Jack, you know it is." He grumbled a small sound of dissent, but dropped the issue, going back to his drawing. Katherine hoped he understood. She could tell he was still a little standoffish, but what else could she say? Finally, she simply reached over and snatched his newsboy cap off his head, arranging it on top of her own auburn curls.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, dropping his pencil into the grass and grabbing in vain for his cap.

"What, did you want this back?" Katherine asked, smiling coyly and taking a few steps backward, increasing the distance between them.

"Ace?"

"Hmm?" Jack just looked at her contemplating, for a minute, then scrawled a few words sloppily on the bottom of his drawing, folded it up, and held it out to her at arm's length.

"I'll trade ya." She pretended to consider his offer for a moment before giving in.

"Deal," she chirped, and took off the cap, tossing it to him, and taking the paper from his outstretched hand.

"I'll see ya later Ace, okay?" He laughed, shoving the newsboy cap back on his head.

"Absolutely." He walked off, and Katherine saw Darcy out of the corner of her eye, beaming at her. Of course he had stuck around to see if they'd work it out. She only laughed, and unfolded the piece of paper Jack had handed her. It was his sketch of the boy and the willow tree, but he'd added a girl with long curls, and a newsboy cap perched on her head. She was sitting next to the boy, their hands locked together, and she was smiling brightly, contrasting the boy's melancholy expression. Katherine beamed. The caption read, in Jack's messy chicken scratch,

"Ace,

I trust you. And I love you."

(Hopefully I can get another update up on Sunday as per susal, but no promises. Any and all reviews/ideas/prompts would be HIGHLY appreciated!

Much love,
PrettyLittleMonster Xxx)