50 PAPES , jack kelly

- 014

↳ [ betrayal ] ੈ‧₊˚ ┊͙

warning: none

"STOP THE WORLD! NO MORE PAPES!" Everyone cheered outside the circulation gates as horses and carriages rode through the crowds.

"Hey, hey, break it up." Spot pulled apart two kids who were arguing.

"Holy shit, telling me I'm seein' things, just tell me I'm seein' things." Spot got the attention of the newsies.

Jack walked through the group of scabbers that blocked off the circulation gates.

"No you ain't seein' things. That's Jack." Race said, getting the attention of ellie. "Jack?" She asked, pushing to the front of the crowd.

"What's he doin'?" Race asked. "He's dressed like a scabber" Spot announced.

"Jack, look at me, will you? Coke on, it's me mush" mush tried to push through the bulls.

"Oh what the hell ... this all you weasel? Huh? This your doin'?!" She tried to blame it on someone other than jack.

What about Santa Fe ... what happened to being on the same side? Ellie thought.

"Jack! Did they put you up to this? Just to torture us?!" Eleanor tried to push through. Jack didn't make eye contact with anyone, he didn't even look up from the ground.

"Mr Pulitzer picked them out himself" weasel smiled proudly, "a special gift to a special new employee."

"What? He sold us out!" Spot yelled.

"I can't believe you ... I really can't. What happened to Santa Fe?!" She yelled, hitting a heart string. "Look at him in his little suit. You bum, I'll soak ya!" Race shouted.

"Come here, you dirty rotten scabber!" Spot tried to jump over the bulls but he was too short and not strong enough.

"Ah, you wanna talk to him?" Weasel looked at Davey and Eleanor. "The girl first." He let her through.

Eleanor walked through, standing in front of him. "Have the past 12 years not meant nothin' to ya, huh jack? Oh ... sorry. Francis. Considering that's who I first knew you as" Eleanor raised her eyebrows.

"It's jack, Jack Kelly you know that" he looked at her with no emotion, no regret of what he did.

"You don't give a damn about me at all, do ya? Wow I should've listened to my mother. She always said you messed with my feelings without meaning to ... now I think you meant to."

"Oh, please finish so your friend can speak to him, he's gotta work." Weasel but in.

"No, I don't even wanna look at him anymore." Eleanor turned away, her cheeks burning up as tears pricked her eyes.

Usually, jack would turn her around or try to stop her from walking away. This time ... he stood and watched her walk away. That's what hurt her even more.

"I'll soak you, Kelly." Eleanor mumbled as she walked back to the newsies, about to push her way to the back of the crowd.

"Oh yeah? Will you? You're a girl, you don't fight." He stated.

She stopped dead in her tracks, looking at Spot, Mush and Race before turning to face him.

That hit the heart, never mind a heart string. After all of the things he told her about being one of a kind, a real woman, his best friend ... and he said this.

"Now that one hurt ... that hurt a lot. But you deserve nothin' for that. You deserve to stay in New York and never get on a train to Santa Fe. You deserve to get soaked by every single newsie in New York Jack Kelly. And I won't come runnin' to help when you do." Eleanor pushed through the crowd, running down the street and away from the crowds.

"Eleanor!" Mush ran after her.

In that moment, Eleanor meant those words ... all of them. But she knew he did this for a reason, which is why she only meant them 80%. The other 20% was counting on him to be the Jack Kelly everyone loved.

She made it to Irving Hall, running through the doors and sitting on the edge of the stage.

Mush and the others followed shortly behind her, Race, Spot, Mush, Les and David going over to her.

"What he said ain't right." Spot sat next to her. "What he did ain't right" race corrected him and sat in front of her.

Les sat on one side, spot on the other as race, mush and David sat in front of her on the chairs.

"He's foolin' us, I think he's foolin' us" Les insisted.

"I hope so Les ... but I ain't thinkin' that's true right now." She sighed. Eleanor looked around at the boys surrounding her, realising that she actually had some real friends.

"I meant all of them things I'se said to him ... but there's this part of me that thinks he's doin' it so we don't gets into trouble." She sighed, keeping her head down slightly.

THE NEWSIES , J.KELLY
OCTOBER 4TH 2021