This Ain't Just Newsies No More ~ Sprace & Javid

25 | A Place To Start | Spot

*Rubs hands together* Ah, yes. The conspiracy theory planning begins. Also, I think you all should know that when I walked into one of my classes, there was a bulletin board with pictures and paragraphs and strings and I was like "woah what kind of conspiracy theory is this" and then I realized it was a timeline. Anyway. Enjoy! :)

"So where exactly could they be?" Spot asks. "We should probably work on a place to start looking."

"Well," Jack begins, in thought, "I think we should figure out why they're taken in the first place."

"Why the heck is that the priority?"

"'Cause if we know the motive, that might provide clues first," Jack explains, "rather than just blindly searchin'."

"'Kay, I'll give ya that," Spot admits. "So let's start with that. Why were Race and David taken?"

They both think about it for a second.

"Well, the Delanceys don't like any of us," Jack starts. "So, a possibility is that Race and David had done somethin' to make 'em mad. But that ain't too likely, 'cause Davey don't do anything like that, and Race just couldn't care less."

"So, I think we can agree that the Delanceys didn't take Race and David because they were mad at them," Spot says.

"Yes."

"So what do they get out of taking them?"

"Well," Jack thinks about it, "they'se know that they'd aggravate whoever is closest to 'em by takin' em."

Spot hesitates. "So us."

"I mean...yeah."

Spot looks up at Jack. "There's a difference between blindly aggravatin' someone close to Race and David, and skillfully aggravatin' someone close to Race and David."

Jack's eyes widen. "So you're suggestin' that they know it'll be us they'll have to answer to."

Spot nods. "Think about it. You get into skirmishes all the time with 'em, right? And, for takin' Race, yeah, they know's you guys are close, but I pretty much own Brooklyn. They must know somethin' about Race and I."

"So they put two and two together of me and Davey an' you and Race," Jack says.

"Yup."

"But...how did they know we was closer than close?" Jack asks.

Spot shrugs. "Spyin' on us, probably."

Jack's eyes widen. Then he swallows. "Actually, I have a few things in mind that might have given it away."

Spot rolls his eyes. "That really don't surprise me. Ya know how obvious you two were, right?"

Jack blushes. "That ain't the point. The point is that now we have some idea of why Race and David were taken. They knew that we was closer than close to 'em."

"Okay," Spot puts it together. "They took Race and David, and knew that it would make you and I mad for takin' em. So, if we ain't gonna go search for 'em yet, the next question is why they did it. They knew we would care, and that we would come after them. So why did they do it?"

"That, I don't know yet," Jack admits. "Let's just think about it for a minute."

So they think about it silently, lost in their own thoughts, missing their beloved friends deeply, trying to make sense of this situation neither of them could have possibly prepared for.

I want Race back. If I want to get him back, I need to figure this out, Spot tells himself. So why would they do something like this?

Then Spot realizes something. Why didn't they think of this sooner?

In the eyes of many, what we have is wrong.

It's not the whole solution, but it's a start.

"Jack, think about it," Spot starts. "They know you and Davey have somethin'. They know Race and I have somethin'. How great are the odds that, living in a world where two boys together causes an uproar, these Delanceys can't accept us either?"

Jack's eyes widen. "Ya know, I think you're right."

"It ain't the whole solution, but it's a start."

"It's a brilliant start!" Jack tells him.

Okay, gonna have to admit, hearing that felt nice.

"So they don't like us bein' together," Jack continues. "And they know I lead Manhattan and you lead Brooklyn. And they found out that we'se...not normal."

Spot's eyes widen. "This could be a thing of reputation. If it gets found out that we have male lovers, we'll be ruined. That has gotta be part of their game."

"Ya know, I think you're right. I don't wanna admit it, but yeah, I think that's part of their play."

"So if that's just part of it, what else could it be?"

"They probably want somethin' from us," Jack suggests. "True, they could ruin our reputation as leaders, but they might also want something from us because we're leaders."

"That's it, that sounds like it's it. So what good is it keeping Race and David?"

A few moments of silence.

Then they both realize it.

"You don't mean-"

"You don't think-"

Then, with a lot of interjections, together they piece it together.

"They took Race and David..." "...because they know how close we are to 'em." "And they took them because," "We're the rulers of Manhattan and Brooklyn. And they want to," "ruin our reputation if it's known to all that," "we're queer." "Additionally because we're rulers," "they must want something from us." "So, the whole point of kidnappin' Race and David is..."

Then, at the same time, they come to the conclusion, "for ransom."

You have no idea how fun it was to write this chapter.

I was just like "yes, yes, mhm, mhm, they say this, they say that, how do I write this, oh, there it is, yes, yes, IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER" and super excited haha.

This turned out to be a lot like Ishmael by Daniel Quinn where it's "let's question this" and "let's question that" and "it all comes together". Hey, it's a really good book. EVERYONE should read it.

Not gonna lie midway through I forgot how to spell "solution" haha.

Did I, your author, truly write a good conspiracy theory?

Sorry about that confusing second to last paragraph. It's really hard to write people talking over each other, you know?

Also fun fact: "Ransom" was the original title of this.

I was going to publish this chapter and the next chapter together...but it isn't looking like that. The next one will come tomorrow I promise.

Happy day before Pride Month! :)

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who went to a Barnes and Noble yesterday and walked right into a whole section dedicated to LGBTQ+ books)