A Different Path

Chapter 1 - Discovery

Criticism spot! :)

*** Yes, I will still do the whole "Crutchie's real name is Charlie" thing, as I think it really adds to his character.

**TW** - The storyline of Crutchie having an ab*sive past will be used again in this story. Please read with caution.

Charlie's (Crutchie's) POV

"There you go, sir!" I said to the man sitting in the chair right in front of me, smiling kindly as I hoped for a tip. He looked at his shoes very closely, trying to see if I had missed any spots. After a few moments he stood, handing me an extra dime, smiling back at me.

"Thanks," he said as he walked away, and I quickly stashed the tip in my pocket. I then packed up my stuff, as the day was now done and I needed to get back to my alley before dark.

As I began to walk home I had to balance myself against anything I could, as I couldn't put much weight on my right foot anymore. There were a few boys who would beat me up and take my money every day, but usually if I was quick enough, I could dodge them completely.

I was almost there when I saw the boys waiting, smiling once they noticed me. I looked down, sighing and preparing for what was to come. They walked up to me and the biggest of the three pinned me against the wall, getting inches away from my face.

"How much you make today?" He spat, as he knew I only got to keep the tips I earned and nothing else. I stayed quiet, knowing that if I answered it'd make everything worse. The other two then dug into each of my pockets, looking at one another in disbelief as almost nothing was in them.

"Twenty cents? That's it?" The one on the left of me said, and before I knew it I was thrown to the ground. They wasted no time and began to kick me, targeting my leg a bit as they knew it was a weak point for me.

They continued for a bit, and I was having trouble breathing as I kept getting the wind totally knocked out of me. My nose was bleeding and I had quite a few cuts on me from the corners of their shoes, bruises already forming elsewhere. Finally, they finished, but before leaving the biggest one bent down and grabbed me by my shirt collar.

"We better get more tomorrow," he said, once again throwing me back down and spitting on me, turning around and leaving with the other two.

I laid there for a few more minutes before I was able to get up, my limp worse already. I eventually reached my alley, sitting down in my usual spot and taking deep breaths to suppress the pain. Every now and then I would tense up and close my eyes as a more intense wave would shoot through me, but I'd be able to calm down between them.

Jack's POV

I put my hands in my pockets as I walked home from the theatre, noticing how cold it had gotten since I had arrived there. I was shivering just a bit, but not too much, so I didn't bother to roll my sleeves down. As I walked I heard some rustling in an alley as I passed, catching my attention.

Thinking it was Snyder I froze and hid behind a trash bin, peeking over it to see if I was right. I could hear mumbling but wasn't able to make out what they were saying, but I could tell it was a few guys, and they seemed mad. I then heard them throw something, realizing it was a person once they made a noise as they hit the ground. I kept hiding as they beat whoever was there, still unsure if it could be Snyder or not, and not wanting to risk it.

Eventually, someone turned the corner into the alley, holding themselves up on the wall. I noticed they had a real bad limp and quite a bit of blood coming from their nose, and I put two and two together, understanding this kid had just gotten jumped. I waited for a minute or so to see if he was okay or not, however as he kept wincing over and over, I knew he needed help. I stood up from behind the trash can, making the small, blonde boy jump back from fear as he saw me.