Newsies Jack Kelly x OC (Alyssa Stoll Doesn't Do Love)

8 - Guns

The next few weeks put Alyssa and Jack back into a rocky place in their relationship. It had started with Jewel asking Jack if she could sell with him. Jack agreed, and Alyssa wasn't about to sell with Jewel so she sold with Ella and Laura instead. But what Alyssa had hoped would just be a one time thing turned into an everyday occurrence. Alyssa couldn't understand why Jack always agreed to sell with a girl she hated so much. David and Les were partners with Jack so they sold with him, too. Alyssa did not like feeling left out, so she went to Brooklyn to sell as often as possible. This made Jack mad. He remembered that Spot had told him to make a move before someone else did, and he felt that something must be going on between Spot and Alyssa. In reality, Alyssa was spending more time in Brooklyn so she could rant to Mia and Spot; she didn't do love. Spot wasn't letting Mia spend time in Manhattan for unknown reasons, so Alyssa went to Brooklyn instead. This resulted in both parties ignoring each other, at least until Alyssa did something stupid again.

One night Alyssa left Brooklyn very late. It was her second day there, and she had promised Laura that she wouldn't stay away for longer than two days and a night. Laura had gotten very attached to Alyssa over the past few weeks, and Alyssa was not about to let her down. So despite Mia's pleas to just stay the night, Alyssa left. Spot was out with some girl and Alyssa wouldn't let anyone else walk her back to Manhattan, so she made the long walk by herself.

Alyssa had almost made it to the Brooklyn Bridge when she was stopped by two strangers. They looked around 17 or 18, and they were much taller and bigger than Alyssa. She could tell they were boys, and took a step backwards. "Well, well if it isn't the little girl from 'hattan. Lyss, isn't it?" The boy on the right said.

"What do you want?" Alyssa asked. "And don't call me Lyss."

"We'll call you whatever we want," the other boy said.

"What are you doing out here so late in Brooklyn, Lyss?" The one on the right asked.

"That's none of your business," Alyssa said, glaring at both boys. She made a move to leave, but the boy on the right grabbed her arm.

"What's the rush, Lyss?" He asked, smirking.

"Don't call me Lyss," Alyssa muttered through clenched teeth. It was a stupid thing to get mad about, but she couldn't stand it when someone other than Jack called her that.

"What are you gonna do about it?" The boy on the left said, grinning as if he knew something Alyssa didn't.

"Why don't I show you," Alyssa challenged. But just as Alyssa made a move to punch the boy on the right, the boy on the left pulled out a gun. Alyssa froze. Even after all of these years, she was still terrified of guns. The boy shot the gun straight up in the air and Alyssa dropped to the ground, curling up into a ball. Silent tears streamed down her face, and she was shaking violently.

"We see you all the time in 'hattan, always so full of yaself," the boy on the right said, kicking Alyssa's stomach.

"It's time you were taught a lesson," the other boy said, joining his friend in the kicking. "You're just a pretty little girl. You've no business sellin' papes."

"Get the fuck off her!" Jack growled as he joined the scene. He had heard Alyssa's promise to Laura before she left, and he knew she would keep it no matter what. So when it started getting late, he left the lodging house to go find her. He made it over the Brooklyn Bridge and still hadn't found Alyssa. Then Jack heard a gunshot and got extra scared. He sprinted towards where he heard the sound and found Alyssa curled up on the ground with two boys he recognized as old Manhattan newsies kicking her.

When the boy on the right heard Jack's angry shout, he turned and grinned. "Or what?" He challenged. Jack glared fiercely at the boy and pounced on him. Soon all three boys were fighting each other. Jack barely noticed any of the hits he got, all he was focusing on was hurting the guys who thought it was ok to hurt Alyssa. Soon Jack won, his anger and strong punches scaring the boys away. Alyssa remained curled up on the ground, shaking and crying. Jack crouched down and gently pulled Alyssa close to him. She held onto him as tightly as possible while Jack held her head and stroked her hair.