AN: This quite possibly might be one of the cutest things I have ever written, oh my goodness I love it and I hope you all do too (PS it's based off of another prompt given to me by the wonderful Horcrux_Hunter394 so they are indirectly responsible for the cuteness)
Lester Jacobs would describe himself as a pretty simple kid - he hated going to school, he loved selling newspapers, and most times, he found his older brother David to be annoying. The way he figured it, all those were normal things for a nine-almost-ten year old. All his friends back at school hated school, all the newsies loved selling papers, and he was pretty sure most people found Davey annoying. So, all of his feelings seemed pretty standard.
So of course, he had a pretty great time hanging out with the newsies at Jacobi's after the first fight with the police - especially after Race started talking about being famous. That was when things got really fun. All the boys got rowdy and started talking about what they would get if they were famous, and Les even piped in with own his dream of not having to share a bed with Davey. It took their minds off of everything bad happening with Jack and Crutchie, and it almost turned into a sort of party.
Not to mention, that afternoon at Jacobi's was also when Les fell in love for the first time. He spent a lot of time with the girl reporter, Katherine. She hung out with him and even danced with him once. And he decided that she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.
Les was very proud of this discovery. After all, falling in love with someone was a big deal. He didn't tell her about it, not yet. He told Davey though, on their walk home that night, and his older brother's reaction had not been preferable.
"Les, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think you have a chance with her."
Les scowled. "How come?"
"She's at least seven years older than you." Davey tried to hide his soft laughing, but it didn't work. "Besides, haven't you seen how she and Jack look at each other? It's only a matter of time before they get together, mark my words."
"Nuh uh! Jack hates girls." Les said adamantly. He couldn't imagine Jack, the strongest guy ever, smitten over a girl. It just wouldn't happen. "She's the one for me, Davey, she is!"
"Les -"
"I'm in love with her."
His brother looked at him for a second before sighing, shaking his head as he did so. "Okay, Les. Just don't expect too much, alright?"
"I will." Les didn't really know what Davey meant by that, but at that point he was refusing to do anything the older boy said, so he argued anyway.
That was the end of their conversation, with Les more determined than ever to convince Katherine to be his girl.
oOo
The next day, Davey and Katherine went to go look for Jack, and Les was already having a good day, because he got to go with them. Sure, Davey smacked him lightly on the shoulder every time he got caught staring at Katherine, but he still got to do it anyway. And she was starting to like him, Les was sure of it. She smiled every time she looked at him, and kept asking him questions, and talking to him the whole way there.
When they got to Medda's theater, Davey told the two of them to wait outside for a minute, and he'd come back out if Jack wasn't there. No sense in all of them going in if he wasn't there, Davey said. That left Les and Katherine standing on the sidewalk by themselves, and Les couldn't be happier.
"So, Les, how's your arm feeling?" Katherine gestured to the sling that was wrapped around his shoulder.
"It still hurts a little." Truth be told, he actually felt okay, but playing for sympathy worked when he was selling papers, so he figured he might as well use it with Katherine, too.
She nodded. "It's a wonder you and the boys weren't hurt more. Those men had no right to go after you like that." She had a spark of anger and determination in her eyes, and that made her even prettier.
"It was hard, but I think we scared 'em pretty bad. We're strong."
"You certainly are, there's no doubt about that."
They spent a few more minutes standing outside, before Katherine decided it had been long enough, and they should go make sure Davey was okay. Les agreed - after all, he still had to make sure Jack was okay - and they headed in, making their way backstage to find Davey and Jack talking in harsh tones. Les felt it was up to him to both defuse the tense situation and bring everyone back to the problem at hand.
"So what's the story, can we have the theater?" Les gave a pointed look to his brother, who shot one of his own right back.
"Pipe down, I didn't ask yet."
"What's the hold up? I need to let my girl know we've got a date."
All three of them paused to stare at him, and Davey narrowed his eyes. He remembered what Les had told him about Katherine, after all, and his little brother wasn't one to just forget about things like that. And he hadn't forgotten about it. Les knew exactly what he was doing.
He nodded. "You heard me. I've been swatting away skirts all morning. Fame is one intoxicating potion, and this here girl Sally - she's a plum."
Les smiled at Katherine as he said this, and when she gave him an astonished-looking smile back, he knew it had worked. Katherine was jealous, he could tell, but there was one thing she didn't know.
There was no Sally. She wasn't real, he made her up to start getting Katherine's attention. Because he was in love with her, and she was the girl for him. He just knew it.
