Chapter Text
“Jack! Look what I made!”
Crutchie weaved through the crowd, just about glowing with excitement. Jack couldn't help but grin. He hadn't seen Crutchie all morning, and he was starting to get worried. He knew Crutchie had had his doubts about the strike, but now, with a fully finished banner under the broad daylight, he showed Jack his crutch proudly. “Good, huh?” He lifted it above his head. “Strike!!”
Before Jack could respond, Race chimed in. “That's great!” After a moment, he turned to the boy next to him. “That's pitiful.”
Crutchie frowned, opening his mouth to argue, but Les cut in. “Don't be so quick to judge. Maybe Pulitzer will see it out his window and feel sorry for us.”
Jack shot the nine year old and glare before turning to Crutchie, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s great. Really.” He assured him softly.
Crutchie’s mouth turned up in a small.smile. “I was hoping you wouldn't be mad I got into your paints.” He whispered.
Jack shook his head. “Not for this beauty.”
Davey walked over and admired it, continuing the speech he’d been giving the boys.
Jack took Crutchie's hand, looking up at the rising sun as the circulation bell rang. It was gonna be a good day. He felt it.
And it was. Sure, there'd been a few scary moments near the beginning, a few scabs, but it didn't take long for them to throw down their papers and join the strike. Weasel and his goons were vastly outnumbered. Les had even bested the Delanceys, and the boys got their picture taken for what was the first time for most of them.
“Newsies forever! Second to none!” Jack cheered, giving Katherine a victorious hug.
Then, Crutchie tugged on his sleeve.
Weasel was back, with way more goons than he’d had before. Jack was shocked the Delanceys actually had friends to recruit. But he couldn't think about that for long before the chaos started.
Jack had been in plenty of fights in his day, but none like this. There were so many people, it got to a point where Jack couldn't tell who was on his side and who wasn't. The only person he knew was with him for sure was Crutchie, so he clung to him like a life raft.
“Oh Jack,” Crutchie pulled him aside into an alley after a quick scuffle with Oscar. “You're bleeding.” He reached up and wiped a bit of blood off of Jack's forehead with his sleeve.
“So’re you.” Jack mumbled, wiping away Crutchie’s.
“Mine’s just my nose, I don't even feel it.”
“Davey says that's ‘cause of some kinda thing in your body when you fight, you'll feel it la-"
A whistle sounded, cutting Jack off. Both boys turned to look. It was the cops.
“It’s about time you showed up!” Romeo cried. “They're slaughtering us!”
In a speedy, heartless motion, the cop knocked the young boy down. Jack was almost positive he'd knocked him out. He started towards him, shouting, “Cheese it, it's the bulls!” vaguely in Crutchie's direction. When the bulls showed up, the two of them knew more than well who would follow.
Jack knelt beside Romeo and shook him awake, expecting Crutchie to be right behind him. “You okay?” He asked as Romeo slowly sat up woozily.
Romeo nodded and rubbed his eyes before his focus settled just beyond Jack. “Crutchie.”
Jack frowned, a pit in his stomach. “No, it's Jack.”
Romeo tugged on Jack's shirt collar. “No, you nitwit, Crutchie!” His voice was filled with panic.
Jack followed Romeo’s shaking finger to see Crutchie being dragged away by the Delancey brothers. “Jack, Romeo, Finch!” Jack's eyes trailed along to see none other than Snyder waiting for him, a malicious grin on his face.
Jack felt nauseous. That grin activated one of two responses in him - fight or flight. He swallowed hard. He’d just gotten out of the Refuge. He couldn't go back, not again. He’d barely made it last time, or the time before that, or the time before that. He had to run.
“Crutchie!”
He didn't.
Jack stood and scrambled towards Crutchie, who was on the ground now. Snyder had taken his crutch. Jack leapt between them and snagged the crutch, whacking Snyder in the stomach with it, hard. Snyder fell, the wind knocked out of him. Jack turned to Crutchie and helped him sit up. “Crutchie.”
Crutchie looked relieved for barely a moment before his eyes widened. “Jack, run!”
Before Jack could even turn, the crutch was sailing through the air once more, hitting Jack’s head with a loud crack. Jack was down.
Crutchie gasped. Jack's head was already injured, so this quickly sealed the deal. Crutchie wanted to move to help him, but he was frozen.
“It’s back where you belong,” Snyder snarled to Jack's unconscious figure. His flashing eyes raised towards Crutchie. “You wanna come too?”
Crutchie stood shakily. He didn't have his crutch. He didn't know how long he could stay upright without it. He reached for Jack, desperately trying to pull him out of Snyder's grip, but it didn't take long for his leg to give out.
Crutchie tried to get up once more, but he couldn't. His leg was screaming. Through the stars that flashed in front of his eyes from the pain, Crutchie barely saw his cracked crutch land beside him as Jack was taken from him once more.