Newsies One-Shots

Chapter 25 - Jack

How Jack Kelly Came to Be One of the Larkins
Ship - Jack and Medda (parent-child)
Era - Modern
Triggers - Police, implied abuse and neglect, not eating and crying.

(I wrote this in the space of 24 hours a few weeks ago and it has been in the queue to be posted for a while. Also, I kind of want to write a book about Jack, Crutchie and Race's brother shenanigans too but I'm not sure.)

Jack held a hand over his mouth to quiet his loud breaths.

He didn't dare blink as he watched everyone running after him run past the entrance to the alleyway.

He didn't know what he did to warrant all of the people chasing after him.

Sure he'd ran away his new foster mother, and the police, but that was it.

It could even be argued that he didn't run from his foster mother. He didn't actually get to meet her, he bolted before he had the chance.

He dared to peek around the corner to see if the streets were clear.

He let out a loud sigh of relief when the only people passing by were just regular people going about their daily lives.

He stepped out of the alleyway and started walking in the opposite direction to which the police and co. went in.

He walked through the streets of New York, not knowing where to go.

He hadn't thought that part out. He'd done it in the spur of the moment.

He just grabbed his backpack and ran as fast as he could away from his life.

He knew a few people who'd aged out of the foster care system but he didn't want to burden them and if the police were involved he didn't want them to get in trouble.

The sun started to set and Jack found an alleyway with some old boxes and crates piled at one end of it.

He pulled the hood of his jumper up and lay a spare one across his legs to make a blanket.

He pulled his sketch pad out of his bag and started to draw.

If he was going to sleep - or at least attempt to sleep - in an alleyway, he might as well have something to keep him entertained.

He fell asleep eventually to the noise of New York City and the shouts coming from inside the building beside him.

~~~

Jack woke up the next morning to two people standing above him and talking.

He couldn't make out what they were saying and, honestly, he couldn't have been bothered to try.

"We've been looking for him," he heard one of the voices say from above him.

That startled Jack, if they were looking for him they were most likely the police and he didn't want to be anywhere near them.

He moved slowly to wrap one hand around the strap of his bag and the other to hold onto his jumper.

"He was sleeping here and I couldn't bear to see him sleep in the cold." Jack wanted to scream at how fake the sympathy was.