Time Truly Divides || Newsies Time Travel AU

Chapter 20

TW: Mentions of drugs.

Davey leaned slightly into Jack's side as they watched the movie. At first he wasn't sure if Jack was okay with it but after a moment, he'd wrapped an arm around Davey's shoulder so Davey saw no reason to move.

Crutchie came down the stairs a little later and joined them. When Jack made no indication that he wanted Davey to move, Davey stayed exactly where he was.

"Have you seen this before?" Crutchie asked at a dull part in the movie.

"Hmm," Davey hummed and turned to loot at him. "No, I haven't. My sister's told me the plot, though, so I know what happens. It was Jack's pick."

"Oh. I didn't know Jack liked the movie."

Jack looked across and blushed. "It's cute. It's nice to know that there's a happy ending."

Crutchie smiled at him. "That's a good way to think about it. I'm not a real fan of romcoms but some of them are pretty good."

"I really like romcoms," Jack commented. "When I lived with my dad, they'd always be on when I couldn't sleep and I'd watch them with him. They make me think of him."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened with your dad?" Crutchie asked.

Jack sat up straighter but shook his head. "Oh, yeah no. It's cool." He rested his hand on Davey's shoulder, rubbing his shoulder in a rhythmic pattern. "My dad fell behind on rent and we nearly got evicted but he knew he'd lose me if that happened.

"And he didn't want to lose me so he took up an offer for some small jobs from a guy who knew a guy he knew but it was dealing and he got mixed up in some stuff. I don't really know what happened but a social worker took me out of school early and I haven't seen him since."

"I'm so sorry, Jack," Davey said, empathy clear in his voice. Jack hated it.

"That sounds rough, not gonna lie," Crutchie laughed. Jack somehow liked that more.

"Don't I know it," Jack joked. "But, yeah, I guess it isn't great but I've been writing to him since I could write. That's something."

Their conversation was interrupted by a stomping coming into the room.

"Are you guys watching a movie without me?" Race asked, dropping onto the floor in front of Jack, pulling his knees up into his chest with his back against the couch.

"Jack and David were watching it and I crashed. So you can't really be upset."

Race rolled his eyes as he placed his phone face down on the floor and leaned back. "Fine. What're we watching anyway?"

"Some romcom," Crutchie offered. "Jack's favourite movie."

Race looked up at Jack. "Didn't know you like romcoms."

"Yeah, guess so."

They all stayed there together, Jack, Davey and Crutchie on the couch, and Race on the floor watching the movie happily. There was an occasional comment from Race but they stopped once he'd been kicked enough.

Towards the end of the movie, Medda came in and offered some snacks to them. All the boys pretended not to notice how Jack pulled away from Davey and curled up into himself slightly.

"You okay?" Davey whispered, leaning his head in close.

"Fine," Jack replied shortly, not taking his eyes away from the television.

"Boys," Medda said. "After this, Toni and Charlie, you two set the table for dinner. David, I'm going to make burgers, is that okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah, that's fine. I had milk with breakfast but that was a while ago. I just won't have any cheese with it."

"Perfect. I got sourdough rolls as well so no dairy in those."

Davey smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Thank you, Miss Medda."

Medda smiled and crouched down beside Jack. "I've got your painkillers here. Do you feel like you need one?"

"No. I'm fine right now," Jack mumbled.

"Okay. But you'll need to take them after dinner."

Davey moved his hand slightly and hooked his pinkie with Jack's. Jack's hand shook slightly at first but the tremors stopped when he made a tight grip around Davey's pinkie.

Medda left the room a moment later and Jack moved their hands so they were properly holding hands.

"You look really handsome," Davey whispered, "by the way."

Jack tried not to smile as Davey leaned in close and kissed just behind his ear. He tried to hide the blush but it came to be futile when Davey lifted his head and grinned.

"Did I make you blush?" he teased.

"No," Jack said quickly. "You didn't."

"Are you sure? You look like your blushing."

Jack shook his head and Davey opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by a pillow flying into his head.

"Stop flirting." Both boys looked at the aggressor. "I'm only fifteen. I'm too young to see this sorta stuff. I swear to God. People these days."

"Racer, you've got a boyfriend and I know for a fact that you've done a lot more than just flirt with your boyfriend," Crutchie argued.

Jack raised his eyebrows and paused the movie. "I don't think I want to know."

"Too bad, I had to hear about it so you will too. They made out once but his boyfriend was just out of the shower and didn't have a shirt on. I heard all about for weeks. Weeks."

The three boys laughed while Race huffed and swung at Crutchie with a throw pillow. The laughter was stopped when Race's phone started to beep non-stop. He left it beeping, not wanting to seem rude.

When it started to ring, Jack said, "Answer the phone, Racer. We'll wait for you."

Race nodded and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" The movie was paused and everyone in the room was listening to him. "Spot? What's wrong?"

There was frantic noise from the other side of the call and Race's face dropped. "Okay, don't worry. Just take a deep breath. In, and out. Good. I'm going to pass you over to Momma to talk and I'll go meet you." There was a moments silence on the other end before a quiet sound. "Good. I'll be there soon. Just keep focusing on breathing for me."

The three boys watched as Race stood and rushed into the kitchen, they couldn't hear the conversation between the two.

"Who's Spot?" Jack asked, leaning his head towards Crutchie.

"Race's boyfriend," Crutchie explained. "You've never met him?"

"Don't think so," Jack mumbled.

"Is he the short angry kid?" Davey asked. "Super short, wears red all the time?"

Crutchie nodded. "Yeah that's him. He's good to Race."

"Does Medda mind?"

"Mind what? She likes Spot, if that's what you mean."

Jack nodded before looking at his lap intently. "I mean, does she mind that they're both guys?"

"No. When it comes to dating, all Mama cares is that we're happy and it's a mutually healthy relationship. She doesn't care who with so long as we like them and want to be in a relationship with them."

Davey leaned towards Jack and bumped their shoulders. "That's good, Jackie," he reminded him. "You have one less thing to worry about."

"Is it okay if I still don't tell her just yet? It's nothing to do with you, I'm just not sure if I'm ready yet."

"Whenever you're ready," Davey promised. "I'll be here."

~~~
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