A/N: Inspiration struck and then this happened.
On the other side of fear lies freedom – Unknown
A twelve-year-old Tony Higgins sat against the wall in the hallway, looking at his father passed out on the couch. It wasn't the first time he had come home drunk, but it was definitely one of the worst. The worst times were the times when he would come home in a drunken rage, and blame Tony for killing his mother while she was giving birth to him. Those were the times when he would beat his son until he couldn't see straight. He lived alone with his father, no siblings and, of course, no mother, and he wanted out of that house more than anything. He wanted, no, he needed freedom. He looked at the unguarded front door, and then back at his father, who was still passed on the couch, but who also still had the knife he had used on the boy earlier held tightly in his grip. Tony wanted out. He wanted to walk out that door and run out of the building and never look back. There was only one thing stopping him. He was scared. He was scared that his father might wake up when he opened the door. He was scared of what his father would do to him if he did wake up. He was also scared of what would happen if he did walk out that door. He was scared of murderers, muggers, and those creepy perverted guys that hung out in the alleyways at night. He was scared he might starve, or that he might have to live on the streets. He didn't want to be scared. No, in fact, he wanted to have courage and march right out of that door and he wanted to know that everything would be just fine. But Tony didn't have courage. At least, he didn't think he had courage. He was pretty sure he lost his courage when his father brought out the knife. He lost his courage when his father slammed the pistol onto the table and told him that he would be facing this business end of it if he ever tried something. He lost a bit of his courage every single time the whip in the corned had been brought down on him. But maybe that was just it. Maybe his courage was just lost, and not gone. Maybe he could find some more courage inside of himself. Maybe... but then Tony's gaze drifted back to the knife, and the gun, and the whip. He shuddered. Maybe he could find courage, but maybe he couldn't. He bit his lip nervously, and made a decision. He stood up, carefully walked to the door, and quietly walked out. He was going to find his courage.
oOo
Tony ran. Not because he was afraid of getting caught, but because he was finally free. He was out of that hell hole that he had been forced to call his home. And he had nothing to be scared of anymore. At least, that's what he thought, until a man ran out of the building (a creepy looking building, Tony had always thought) that he was running past, and grabbed him by the arm. And then, the courage was gone. The fear was back, and it was filling every part of him. He wanted to fight back, he wanted to even just struggle, but he felt as if he were frozen. The man sneered down at him.
"Looks like you ran past the right place, kid." He whispered in a low voice. The boy just looked at him with wide eyes. He mentally scolded himself. He tried to have courage and this is where it got him, and now he couldn't even fight back. He knew where he was now. The building was The Refuge, the place his father had threatened to send him multiple times. So he assumed that this man was Snyder. Tony figured he was doomed. He would probably either die in that building or be sent back to his father, who would most likely kill him. He was going to die. "You're gonna be locked up in here for a long time, you little brat." Snyder's words did nothing to comfort him. The man turned, about to drag him into The Refuge, when his attention was diverted to a noise on the fire escape. Tony turned to see what he was looking at, and saw a brown haired kid, around his own age, making his way out of the window and down the fire escape as fast as possible. Snyder growled. "Jack Kelly, when I get my hands on you I'll make you wish you were never born!" he made his way towards the kid, who was named Jack, apparently, dragging Tony behind him. Jack didn't seem fazed.
"Fortunately for me, you'll never get your hands on me again, old man." He smirked, and Tony marveled at how confident he was. "Now, I've had a nice stay at your lovely facility, Snyder, but I gotta go now." Jack's eyes drifted to the other boy, who was still very obviously terrified. "And, I'll just be taking that." He ran past Snyder and grabbed Tony by the arm, pulling him along with him. "Run, kid, and follow me." He whispered to him, and let got to keep running. He didn't have to be told anything twice, and followed Jack away from Snyder, and The Refuge. He didn't know where they were going, and he didn't really care. Unfortunately, he didn't notice that Jack had stopped in front of the newsboys lodging house, and would have stopped if Jack didn't grab his arm again. The brown haired boy smirked. "Hold it racer, we're here." Tony looked at him sheepishly.
"Oh... you're a newsie then."
"Yeah, ain't that obvious?" Jack still had the smirk, but it was more teasing than it was condescending. Tony offered a small smile.
"Guess so... can I ask you something?"
"You just did." This got him an eye roll.
"Besides that?"
"Sure kid."
"Can... could I be a newsies too?" he was very timid, and Jack laughed.
"Of course, why'd you think I brought you here?" he made his way up to the door. "Get ready to meet your new family." He said, and Tony was. He was ready, and he finally had courage, courage that he never wanted to lose again.
In case it was not clear in any way (I don't know why it wouldn't be), Tony is Race. And Race is amazing.
