Chapter Text
A morning breeze swept over the rooftop. It chilled her a little bit and she shivered. She opened her eyes to the stinging sun and silently cursed it. But at least it wasn't raining. Manhattan had been practically drowning in rain for the past few days. It was not fun to sell in that weather, so she counted her blessings. She heard a rustle across the way and saw Jack, still sound asleep.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Getcha ass up!" She chucked her hat at him, hitting him in the face.
Jack yawned. "Uh-uh. Mornin' bell ain't rung yet."
"I'se gotta get outta here 'fore it does," she explained.
Another breeze came, blowing hair around her face. She tied string around it hurriedly, securing it in a makeshift ponytail. "Wouldn't be good if someone sees me comin' down in the mornin', would it?"
"Ah, shut it, Mouth," Jack stretched and stood up. "You's would love the attention and you knows it."
Mouth crossed her arms and stared up at Jack in front of her. His dark hair was messy from sleep and his brown eyes glinted in the morning sunlight.
"Not true," Mouth defended herself. "I like my privacy and so does you," she jabbed a finger into Jack's chest. It was rock solid from years of slinging papes and hauling Crutchie around the city.
Her hand stayed on his chest a little longer than she'd like to admit. Jack noticed, he thought it was cute. He flexed and her hand jolted away immediately, a blush creeping its way up her neck and over her cheeks. Again, he thought it was cute.
"I dunno," Jack teased. "Maybe I wants e'erybody to know 'bout us. Might have to, uh, spill the beans, ya know?"
"You wouldn't dare." But even as she spoke, she noticed that Jack had that look in his eye that meant 'Oh yes, he dared.'
Jack hadn't seen the point in keeping the secret from the beginning. It's a wonder Mouth herself hadn't told anyone. Well, hadn't told anyone besides Smalls of course. Even if Mouth wouldn't have told Smalls, she would have figured it out. Being her roommate, she didn't have to guess where Mouth was spending most of her nights.
But for some reason, Mouth didn't want people to know. She didn't like people in her personal life. Which was odd considering she managed to be involved in almost everyone else's personal life.
Jack was the opposite. He wanted people to know. Especially the Newsies. Partly to brag that he had the prettiest girl in Manhattan, but mostly to warn off anyone who dared to get near her.
Unfortunately, their plan to keep things under wraps didn't work very well. A lot of the Newsies knew. Not because anyone had told them, though. They could see it in the way Jack looked at her when she spoke or the way she laughed at his jokes no one else found funny. Besides, they always sold together and were often the last pair to make it home at the end of the night. They would laugh and giggle the whole way up the stairs, waking everyone up in the process. It wasn't hard for the others to guess what was going on.
Mouth glanced over Jack's shoulder at the large clock tower and knew it was time to go.
"Grab my hat, wouldja?" She reached down to get her shirt she'd been sleeping on and shook some of the dirt off. As she buttoned up the front, she saw Jack standing with her hat in the air, waving it teasingly.
"Come on, give it!" She tried to reach it but couldn't.
"Nope, kiss first."
"Kiss you? Gross!" she teased.
"Fine, no hat."
"Fine, I don' need it."
"Ain't everyone gonna wonder where it went?"
She rolled her eyes. "You really think they care that much?"
"You'd be s'prised."
"I'll just tell 'em I lost it, then."
"Yeah like that'll sell. You's a shit liar. You can have it back. All it takes is one kiss."
"Just give it! Please?" she stuck out her bottom lip and pouted, her signature move.
"Uh-uh. You know that don't work on me," he stuffed her hat into his pocket. "If you won't kiss me I'll find someone who will."
"Ha! Good luck with that!" she laughed.
Mouth turned to leave but Jack stopped her with a tight hug from behind. He wanted to take advantage of his chance before the day started and he had to "hide" it.
Mouth looked at the clock again. She didn't have time to stand here anymore. She shoved Jack off of her and hurried down the stairs without her hat. She swung open the door to the lodge and ran right smack into Race.
"Hey! Watch it, Mouth!" he brushed himself off. "Jeez, where's the fire?"
"Sorry, Race. Didn' see ya there."
Race eyed her suspiciously. He saw the door she just came from. Right as he opened his mouth to make a comment, Mouth cut him off.
"But anyways, you're up earlier than normal. You didn't have another late night in Brooklyn, didja?" she raised her eyebrows at him.
"Keep ya voice down, Mouth!" He jumped forward to cover her mouth so aggressively that she fell back against the wall with a squeak. "You want everyone to hear?"
"Sorry. I just get excited 'bout your little Brooklyn adventures," she winked.
"Listen, there's nothin' goin' on between me and Spot Conlon."
"I never said a word about Spot."
Race's mouth hung open for a little bit before he cursed and stormed away, realizing he'd given himself up.
Race didn't have to worry about Mouth, though. She'd never tell his secret. That was about the only secret she wouldn't tell.
Mouth had a knack for figuring stuff out about all the Newsies. She'd hold it over their heads for favors and the like and if any of them crossed her? Boom! All of Manhattan knew their dirty little secret.
As Mouth continued on down the hall, she met up with Albert, Finch and a few others who were all waiting for Jack before they left. About ten minutes later, Jack still hadn't shown up. She was getting impatient.
"God, where is he?" she griped.
"Don't ask us," Albert muttered from the doorway. "He's your boyfriend not ours."
"He's not my boyfriend," she snapped.
"Uh-huh, sure," he rolled his eyes.
"Then how's come I seen you comin' down from the rooftop this mornin?" Race took a long drag from his cigar. "What was you doin up there?"
Mouth raised her eyebrows, impressed that Race had the balls to try this. But if he wanted to play dirty, so would she. It was his funeral.
"I wasn't on the rooftop, Race. But I did notice that you looked a bit disorderly when I caught you comin' in from Brooklyn this mornin'. What was you doin there? "
Race practically choked on his cigar. The Newsies rioted, slapping Race on the back and wolf-whistling. His face flushed and he glared at Mouth. She just shrugged. "That's whatcha get."
He'd made a mistake when he tried to cross the only person who knew his secret. One she swore she'd never tell.
In the midst of all this chaos, Jack finally appeared. He strode down the stairs and when Mouth saw him, she let him have it.
"Oh goodie!" she squealed sarcastically. "Look who's here! Now we can all continue with our day. If that's convenient for yous of course, Jack. You do know all of our lives depend solely on when you decide to show up!"
The Newsies calmed their riot and looked from Mouth to Jack. They were interested to see how this played out.
Jack cocked his head to the side. Then looked down with a smirk. He took a step towards her, reached into his pocket and pulled out her hat, the one she'd left behind on the roof.
Jack twirled it around his finger before placing it in her hand. "Here, you forgot this when you left this morning."
Mouth watched Jack walk past her, speechless for probably the first time in her life.
He turned back once he reached the door and winked. "Yeah. Thought that might shut you up."
Mouth just stood there, lips parted in disbelief. The Newsies all looked in shock first to the door and then back to Mouth, who had still yet to say a word.
Finch was the first to break the silence.
"I wasn't on the rooftop," he mocked in a high-pitched voice. They all laughed.
"I-I wasn't!" Mouth tried again. But then Crutchie hopped down the stairs and any hope she had of keeping her secret disappeared.
"What's goin on, fellas?" he asked, sunshine in his voice as always.
"Hey, Crutch?" Finch asked. "Did Mouth spend the night up on the rooftop?"
"I dunno," he answered honestly.
"Weren't you up there?" Albert asked.
"Nope. Jack said I had to beat it cause he had a girl comin over."
Small sounds of laughter bubbled up again.
Finch high fived Albert out of Crutchie's line of sight. "Thanks, Crutch. That's all we needed to know."
Race took a confident puff of his cigar. "Looks like I wasn't the only one gettin' 'disordered' last night."
"Can it, Racer. Nothing happened." She rung her hat in her hands.
"Oh sure, it didn't. You just always happen to leave your clothes up there." Albert snickered along with a couple others.
"Oh please, a hat is hardly my clothes."
"Thought he wasn't your boyfriend, Mouth?" someone cracked. They all laughed.
Mouth cursed herself. If she hadn't popped off at Jack like that everything would still be fine. But if you couldn't tell by now, she had a problem of not being able to control her mouth when it came to things like this.
As the Newsies continued to mock and tease her, Mouth shoved the hat on her head and burst out the door in a huff.
Crutchie gasped as though he had just caught on. "Wait! Mouth was the girl Jack had comin over?"
Finch rolled his eyes. "Nothin' gets past you, pal."
-----------------
"Jack Kelly," she roared. "You get your ass back here right now!"
"Uh-uh, I ain't comin' anywhere near yous until ya forgive me!"
He was practically sprinting down the sidewalk, trying to keep his distance from her. People on the street watched, but didn't seem to mind as they ran by and screamed at each other.
"Then you's gonna have to run to Jersey!"
"Woah, woah, woah there girlie," a gruff voice cut her off. She turned to her right. They'd reached 'The World' apparently. "You're gonna need to keep that voice down unless you wanna step inside with us."
Delanceys. Great.
"Bite me," she snapped.
"Watch it, bitch," Morris appeared behind his brother. "We don't like mouthy broads."
"Why don't you come with us and make better use of your mouth."
"Yeah." Morris scratched his chin as if trying to remember something. "It'll be just like the old days. Right, Oz?"
"Uh-huh," Oscar circled Mouth slowly, scuffing his shoes on the cement as he spoke. "Just like the old days. Won't it, slut?"
"Hey!" Jack appeared out of nowhere before Mouth could even reply to the bastard. He loomed over the Delancies with a fire in his eyes. "What the hell did you just call her?"
"You heard me."
"Come on, Jack" Mouth pulled him away from the creeps. "I've been called worse."
She didn't need Jack fighting her battles for her and those two weren't worth her time anyways.
"That's a new level of low," Jack seethed.
"It's in the past. That's where I'd like to keep it if ya don't mind."
Jack backed off, not wanting to press his luck given that she was actually talking to him again. Mouth drug him to the counter where the smoke of Weasel's cigar wafted in the air.
"Mornin', Weasel!" Jack called. "Ya miss me?"
"Told ya a hundred times. The name's Wiesel."
"Ain't that what I said?" Jack picked up his papes and moved to the side.
"Next!"
As Mouth went to pay for her papes, Race appeared and her anger from earlier swam its way back up to the surface.
"Aw! There's the happy couple!" Race clasped his hands together in mock adoration.
Jack ignored him and turned to Mouth. "So, where ya wanna sell today?"
"Don't think I forgive that easily." She glared up at him.
Just because Jack had stuck up for her didn't mean he got a free pass for embarrassing her earlier.
"I'll sell with Smalls today thank you very much." Mouth dropped her coins on the counter.
"Fifty for Pretty Girl!" Weasel called to the left.
She hated that. She'd always hated that. But she didn't want to fight Weasel today, she just wanted to get away from Jack.
"Ha. Ha. Very cute, thanks," Mouth ripped her papers from the counter and stormed off.
Jack just rolled his eyes and opened a paper. He'd try again later.
Race whistled low. "She's real pissed at you, huh?"
"Ain't nothin' new. She'll get over it."