Newsies One-Shots

Chapter 85 - Buttons and Elmer

Banged Heads and Forgotten Lives
Ship - Buttons and Elmer (friendly)
Era - Cannon
Triggers - Injuries.

Buttons' feet dragged as he walked along the streets of New York. Being a teenager was very tiring, especially when working as a Newsie. Keeping his eyes open was a chore come the end of selling.

Every now and again, his eyes would drift closed for longer than he liked. It never cause him much trouble, until it did.

Unbeknownst to him, Buttons had stepped in front of a trolley and almost got hit. Someone pulled him away from the incoming trolley, earning a shout of surprise from Buttons and his head hitting off a kerb.

Buttons fell asleep there on the road, his exhaustion and pain making it easier than staying awake.

~~~

"He's awake," Buttons heard shouting as he opened his eyes. He wasn't sure who it was that was shouting or why they were shouting.

A face appeared above his, a relieved look upon it. "You really got us going Buttons. We thought you'd never wake up."

"What's going on? Where am I? Who am I?" Buttons asked rapid fire.

The face looked away from Buttons to another boy.

"Jack," the face said, Buttons thought he sensed some sadness or worry but that was ridiculous.

"I'll look over him," a boy in blue told the face. "You go help the kiddies."

The boy in blue, who Buttons guessed was Jack, came over and sat down on the edge of the small bed beside him.

"I'm Jack. Can you remember what your name is?" Jack asked gently.

Buttons shook his head. "No. I can't remember anything."

Jack could see that Buttons was becoming frustrated with himself and tears were starting to fall. He gently wiped away Buttons' tears.

"Come here." Jack offered a hug to Buttons, which was greatly accepted. "It's all gonna be okay. You'll get your memory back in no time at all. Trust me."

Buttons didn't know why but deep down, he knew he could trust Jack. Even if he didn't know why.

When they pulled away, Jack motioned to one of the other boys who looked a lot sadder than anyone else, his crying made that obvious.

"El, Buttons is okay. Why don't you come talk to him?"

The boy came over to Buttons. "Hi," he said unsurely. "I'm Elmer. We were best friends before you hit your head. Can we still be best friends?"

"I think I'll need a best friend to help me remember," Buttons said.

"Okay," Elmer beamed. He grabbed Buttons arm and pulled him off of the bunk. "Come on. It's nearly time for selling."

Buttons looked at Elmer confused.

"Oh yeah. Papes, we gotta go sell papes. It's how we make our living."

Buttons nodded. "Okay. Can I go with you, Elmer?"

"Of course, we're selling partners."