There's a Story Behind the Story || Newsies

Chapter 52 - Heartfelt Cast Talks

- Chapter 52 - Happy, fluffy, sappy, like puppies (enjoy whatever burst of words this thing is lol) -
Warnings: mentions of bad pasts, fear, slight tension, kinda crying, injuries, but mostly fluffy stuff
Third Person POV

Gabriel bounced into the bathroom Jesse and Emilio were in. "Jesseeeeee."

Jesse chuckled as he used the blow dryer to dry Emilio's hair.

This was how they usually did it.

Jesse would shower first, then he'd do his hair and blow dry it as Emilio showered, then he'd blow dry Emilio's hair while the younger boy covered his ears.

They just did it this way because it made their hair softer and because they didn't like it when it was wet. It was annoying.

Gabriel chuckled. "You two hate your hair being wet that much, huh?" he asked knowingly.

Finn stood in the doorway behind him.

Jesse chuckled. "Yep," he answered.

Emilio couldn't hear them, nor did he have any clue that anyone other than Jesse was in the room due to his hands being over his ears and his eyes being closed so he could try to block out the noise.

It only took Jesse another minute to finish up. He tapped Emilio's shoulder lightly and the younger boy pulled his hands off of his ears.

Emilio looked at himself in the mirror. He smiled. "Grazie!" he chirped.

Jesse chuckled as he wrapped the chord of the hair dryer. "Prego." He looked back over at Gabriel. "Was there something you needed?" he asked him.

Gabriel beamed. "The vlog blew up!" he exclaimed.

Jesse and Emilio looked over at him.

"The vlog blew up?" Jesse repeated.

Gabriel nodded excitedly.

"That's great!" Emilio exclaimed. "And weird," he added with a laugh.

Gabriel laughed. "That is fair."

Jesse chuckled. "Why don't we head to the theater to see our cast mates and tell them?" he suggested.

Gabriel and Finn nodded.

Jesse looked down, immediately spotting the fear on Emilio's face. He gently took his hand and squeezed it slightly. "It's okay. They're not judging you," he assured him softly. "Just squeeze my hand if you need to."

Emilio nodded. He stood there for another moment and inhaled. I've got this. He nodded to himself and started walking.

Jesse smiled. That's my younger brother.

They left to start walking to the theater.

At the theater

Gabriel flipped into the room when Finn opened the door. "We're back!" he exclaimed.

There were some scattered laughs from around the cast.

Jesse squeezed Emilio's hand when he felt Emilio try to hide behind him.

Mr. Miller looked up when the door opened.

It was obvious that despite Gabriel trying to lift the mood, everyone was slightly worried and a bit tense.

Emilio bit his lip when he made eye contact with Mr. Miller. He let go of Jesse and ran over to him.

Quentin Miller immediately hugged him tightly.

Tears streamed down Emilio's face. "I'm so sorry," he whispered repeatedly.

"No, no, you're okay, Emilio," Quentin quickly assured him. "I've got you. I'm here for you," he told him.