Newsies: Welcome Autumn.

Chapter 12: JUST RUN!

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the lack of effort and updates, and that I am truely sorry. I know what it feels like to wait for a story to update, and I'm so sorry to put you through that agonising wait. This will be the last chapter of Book 2, Book 3 won't be published until I get over my writers block, which will hopefully be very soon.

A final big THANK YOU to those who have stuck with the story and the characters to the very end.

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Chapter 12: JUST RUN!

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Moments after Leo had been forced into a bath, Anastasia leapt up. She needed to find Davey, she needed to help him. If he was injured, he needed saving! She pushed out through the doors and ran.

It wasn't long before Jack and Leo were running at her sides. She'd tucked her dress into her white undergarments, so she ran freely in frilly white shorts. She didn't care, she only cared about the safety of her friend. As she ran, she began to sweat. She was quickly working up a sweat as they rounded the final corner to Davey's corpse. They assumed he was alive, but they were dead wrong.

Anastasia had never encounted anything like it. Jack stood stock-still in front of Davey, not moving an inch. His feet were rooted to the floor, like they were cemented down along with the pavement. His face was emotionless, nothing but pure shock. White noise filled the air as he slowly broke down to his knees. You wouldn't pick that Jack and Davey were friends. They hardly looked like the two would get along, totally different people and personalities, but as they say,'opposites attract', and this case, it was true.

Anastasia didn't know what to do. A crowd was forming around them, enclosing them in a ring of shocked and scared adults.

'Who could do such a thing?!' A woman gasped, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.

'A monster.' Jack spat in a reply, turning his red and puffy tear streaked face to the group. 'A monster.' He repeated. The woman gulped down her words, hugging her head into the chest of a well dressed man. He petted her hair softly, his lips pursed.

'A doctor has been called.' Another man said, removing his hat from his head to reveal not much hair at all, although he had a long beard that reached his chest.

'What good is doctor gonna' do?' Jack hissed. Leo was rubbing Anastasia's back as she let out a low whimper, these people weren't helping, they were adding to Jack's anger levels.

'A doctor can help in many ways, Jack.' George Picket spoke. Anastasia's parents emerged from the crowd, shocked to find their daughter amongst the boys. Leo's hand slowly slipped back from Anastasia and into his pocket to hide.

'Anastasia!' Her mother whispered, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. How could her darling daughter be caught up in this mess? She was supposed to be the cream of New York society, not the rotten fruit at the bottom of the barrel!

Anastasia sucked in her stomach and puffed out her chest, she wasn't proud of her mother, and she surely knew that the favour wasn't returned. Her mother expressed no pride in her daughter. She turned her face down to Jack, who was fiddling with Davey's hat that had slipped off his head. He fitted it firmly back on his head, another row of tears exploding from his eyes. He shuddered with every hollow sob, his body heaving back and forth like the tide.

They stood around for a good five minutes before a doctor arrived along with the police. Two burley policeman had to hold back the screaming Jack who kicked about as they draped David's body in white cloth and carried his corpse away in a stretcher. Finally they let Jack go and he ran. He just ran.

Anastasia was invited over for dinner at her parents house, but she happily refused. She needed to be surrounded by friends. Not family.

And so Leo and Ana climbed the steps to the theatre. Celeste met them at the door, passing on the news that Eliza had been taken away. She lead Leo and Anastasia into the stage room, where they met the faces of their friends, that would shortly be grief stricken. They told their friends of David's death, and it happened as they expected. Crying, hugging and silence. With the occasional loud sob, it was empty.

Spot had joined them, but as soon as he walked through the door, he stopped dead. 'Jack.' He whispered.'Where's Jack!' He shouted.

'It's not Jack!' Kitty sobbed. 'Its.. It's D-Davey!!' She cried, drawing her knees tightly up to her chest before she burrowed her head into her lap. Spot took a half step back, his heart beating fast in his chest.

'Where's Jack.' He whispered, almost completely speechless. He felt winded, gutted like some fish. 'Where did he go?'

'He just - ran.' Leo said bluntly, rubbing Anastasia's back slowly, tracing her slightly visible spine. It tickled abit, so every few seconds Ana would flinch.

Spot looked at the couple, showing a small look of jealousy and disgust before her leaped from the doorway, and ran.

It was a slow four months, but somehow, things where getting back to normal, or as normal as they could possibly get. They boys sold papers, Kitty cleaned chimneys, (without Bobby) and Celeste and Medda performed nightly. Anastasia moved back into her house to start Piano lessons again, and Jack and Spot back on the scene.

Clancy and Leo stood next to each other in the cold. Their shoulders each had a dark coloured jacket on. Leo's was checkered, and Clancy's was blue. They crossed their arms over their chests as they were joined by over heavy layered news boys. Jack appeared through the gates, a thick scarf around his neck. He smiled to his loyal friends as he made his way in front of the crowed.

Snow started to fall slowly as a man appeared out of a room under a blanket of already thick snow, he was really fat, and had a huge moustache. He scurried across the icy floor, careful not to sleep.

'Gonna' be a hard day.' Crutchie stated, fiddling with the spotted gloves on his hands.

'Gonna' be a hard coupla' weeks.' Ming corrected, shoving is cold hands into his knitted sweater pockets.

'Ay, we'll get by.' William smiled, breathing out clouds of fresh air that floated like clouds in the cold foggy morning air.

'Yeah.' Jack nodded approvingly, 'we'll be just fine, ain't dat' right boys?' He turned around to his band of underdogs, his mis matched newsies.

They all cheered loudly, throwing their beanies and caps into the air. Shouting out names and encouragement, and just pure shouting. It carried on for a few seconds before dead silence. The sound of chalk on a chalk bored ripped through the freezing winter morning. The fat man was writing up the headline. And it caused more of a ruckus than any encouraging pep talk.

The black board read; "NATION AT WAR, ALL OVER 16's CALLED TO DUTY"

Leo's jaw dropped, Cruchie's crutch slipped. Jack shook his head, William's heart stopped and Clancy fainted.

This meant that almost every newsie in New York, and in the other boroughs were heading to War.

And at that moment, Jack, and all there other Newsie boys knew what to do. But incase they didn't get the mental memo, Jack yelled at the top of his lungs, 'JUST RUN!'. And that's exactly what they did.

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So hoping you all enjoyed this small but meaningful and important update. I'll see you very soon!

- Natasha