You Gotta Save Him!

Chapter 3

AN: Hi! I added in a little Race/ JoJo fluff, I love the head cannon of Race being like an older brother figure to JoJo. As always, hope you're enjoying this story so far. It's not close to finishing yet, I may even make it its own book. Don't forget to leave me some feedback- and now, read on...

" Hey, settle down." Jack said. " Of course we's gonna save him." He turned to the crowd of boys, raising his voice. " As ya know, Race is in the Refuge. An' we can't leave him in there. So me and," Jack turned to me, " Kate, right?" I nodded. He turned back to the group, " Me and Katie here will go with uh, JoJo, kay? The rest of ya stay here." JoJo nodded, but nobody else seemed to like that idea. Jack had to go into the mob, as the group seemed to be turning into one, to stop it. I turned to Crutchie.

" I don't know if I wanna go out right now. It's dangerous." I decided not to mention especially with two guys I'd just met. They seemed nice, but streets were tough, so that meant the kids had to be tougher. Newsies may have good street cred, but that was overall. Crutchie seemed to guess what I meant.

" I know that we's probably are hard ta trust. Trustin' when youse livin' on da streets can be a bad idea. But I promise ya can trust us. Jus' give us a chance?" He asked. I nodded. It was impossible to not trust Crutchie. The smile itself seemed to be pure innocence.

" Only me, JoJo, and Katie's going!" Jack finished the arguments. The newsies grumbled, but they went back to their activities. Jack headed over. " Ready ta go? JoJo's just grabbin' a few things." Jack asked me.

" Yeah, I guess."

" Okay then, let's go." I followed him out, Crutchie waving goodbye before joining a few of the boys at a table. I smiled back at him before shutting the door behind me. We waited outside for JoJo. The sun had gone down, leaving the city dark and cold. I shivered. Finally JoJo stepped out. He handed me a long-sleeved shirt to use as a jacket and tossed a bag to Jack. " Thanks, JoJo."

" Thank you." I told him.

JoJo smiled. " O' course. It's cold out here."

We walked in silence for a while. Jack seemed to be muttering and playing with the bag in his hands. JoJo looked scared.

" Hey, um, JoJo? You okay?" I asked. He looked up.
" What? Oh, um yeah, sure." He went back to staring at the ground. Yeah, no.

" I don't think so, I don't want to intrude but, I'm very compassionate." He gave me a confused look. " I mean, I love talking to people and I understand them."

" Oh." He said. I waited, hoping he would elaborate. He fidgeted with his hands before finally bursting.

" Ok, I'se only been here a couple months. Me an' Race is really close. He was the one who gave me this new life." He smiled, then it fell. " He's told me a little about the Refuge. He can't stay there!" He started sniffing. Jack, ahead of us, looked back.

" Katie, don't make JoJo cry." Jack said, falling back with us. I looked away. " Aw, don't worry, I'se just teasin' ya." He gave JoJo a side hug. " Dontcha worry, Jo, we's gettin' him outta there." Jack's voiced hinted something.

" Have you ever been to the Refuge Jack?" I asked him. Jack nodded,

" Yeah, a couple years ago. I'se escaped."

" Oh." Was all I said.

" Ya know, that's where I met Race." Jack told me. " Snyder hates him a lot. For escaping and cause Race would never shut up with him." Jack rolled his eyes. " Anyway, we's almost there. Let's go faster." Me and JoJo agreed. We picked up our pace, and faster than we all would have liked, we got there. The Refuge. Just looking at the building made me shiver. No wonder every street kid was afraid of it. Jack paused in front of it.

" Jack, come on." JoJo had to shove Jack to get him going.

" Yeah, sorry, let's go."