When The Ink Dries ~Newsies Fanfic'

Chapter Thirteen

Skip P.O.V

I woke up the next morning to find Jack snuggled up to me closely. I nudge him with my elbow. "Hey, wake up, sleeping beauty! There's papes' to sell." I stand up, pulling my vest down from the hook. He groans, rolling to his feet. He buttons up his shirt and ties his vest over it. I button up my gray shirt, covered in dirt splotches, and wear my brown vest open. But not before I clip on a pair of suspenders. I pull my boots on and straighten my cap before flopping back down on the bed. He lays next to me, smiling. "What you smilin' for?" I ask, poking his nose. His nose wrinkles at this, which I find adorable. "I'm just thinkin', we could sleep out in the open, on the rooftop instead of in hea'." He answers, gazing out the window. "And your point is...?" I say, cocking an eyebrow. He slowly runs his hand up my thigh. "Well, we could be alone..." He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I giggle, standing up and walking towards the door. "You are somethin' else, Cowboy." He follows, squeezing my hand.

When we get to Newsie Square, everyone looks at Jack. "What are they starin' for?" I whisper in his ear. Suddenly, we see Oscar and Morris standing with, you guessed it, Snyder. Jack stops cold, pushing me behind him. Snyder starts briskly towards him, but before he can reach us, Specs stands in front of us. Sniper and Elmer follow, pulling Davey, Les, Puddles, and Jojo along. Specs turns around and whispers "Run." We do just that. Jack pulls me along, swiftly navigating through alleys and streets. "Jack, where are we going?" I ask, finally stopping him. He catches his breath. "Refuge. With Snyder distracted, it'll be a piece of cake." He replies, starting off at a slow walk. I nod and follow him to the large building that I dread.

We make our way into the fence and I climb the ladder around back. Jack keeps lookout while I smash the bars on the window with a wrench. I jump through the open window, scanning the room. Romeo appears from the bunkbed, running to me. He catches me in a tight hug, and I return it. "You came fer' us..." He mutters into my shoulder. "Of course I did... we're family!" I reply, staring defiantly into his eyes. He nods. He goes to find Race and Mush, while I go to find Crutchie. I turn a corner and slam right into him, knocking us both over. "Crutchie!" I exclaim, helping him up. "Skip, what're youse' doin' here?" He questions, hobbling after me on his crutch. "I'm here to rescue you and the others!" I answer, opening a window and busting the bars. I help him out first, before hearing a groan of pain down the hall. It can't be any of the boys, considering that I already saved them. I tell them to go back to the lodging house, and slowly creep closer to the sound. I wince at each cry of agony, before it hits me who I'm hearing. Jack...

I'm running now, and I practically kick down the door. I see Oscar leaning over Jack, and Morris with a wooden pole. Oscar kicks him hard in the gut, and Morris jabs him hard with the pole. I lose it, running out and throwing myself over Jack. "Move, ya lousy goil'." Oscar snaps. "Unless you want some too." Morris adds, twirling the pole. I flip Jack onto his knees. "You can do whatever your filthy minds desire to me, just leave him outta this." I remark. They sneer at each other and pull us apart. Oscar grips my arm tightly. "Then it's off to the refuge with you." He drags me away, and Jack pulls on my hand. "No! Let er' go!" Oscar slams the door behind him and throws me inside of a small room all by myself. "I'll be back for you later, little lady." He winked and locked the door. I heard his footsteps retreating and finally knew I was alone. So what did I do? I broke down and cried.

((Those darn Delancies! XD But yeh I got a random kick to update this story so here ya go!!))