Time Truly Divides || Newsies Time Travel AU

Chapter 10

TW: Mentions of suicide and mental health struggles.

Jack couldn't talk or process what was happening. The boy who'd always buy a paper from him, the one with the kid brother, was standing in front of him.

"-had to help my mother with something."

Jack distantly heard the end of the boy's sentence as Crutchie placed a hand on his arm and pulled him away from the crowd slightly.

"Jack," he said gently, moving his hand from Jack's elbow to his back. Jack visibly relaxed at the circular motions Crutchie was rubbing into his back. "Are you okay, Jackie?"

Jack blinked and looked at Crutchie, his face immediately dropping. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine," Jack mumbled. "I don't know what happened."

"Come over here." Crutchie nodded towards a free park bench a small bit away from the other's.

Jack hung his head in shame as he walked to the bench with Crutchie.

"Is everything okay, Jack? You seem kind of shaken up."

"I don't know why, I just think I know that guy. But from the 1890's I know him. Not now," Jack explained. "I'm sorry for making you have to help me."

"Jack, we're brothers. We help each other," Crutchie promised. "Would you like to talk to David alone? Maybe that'll help you get used to seeing him."

Jack shrugged and asked, "Will you stay with me?" He felt timid, asking for someone to stay with him while he had to talk to someone. He was meant to be strong, brave, a leader. Why couldn't he do that anymore? Why did banging his head make everything so much more confusing? Crutchie was right, he should get used to seeing the boy around. He had to be strong.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Crutchie wave the boy over and the boy walk towards the bench. The boy sat on the bench, leaving Crutchie in the middle.

"Hi, I'm David," the boy said with a slight smile.

Crutchie kept rubbing circles into Jack's back to comfort him.

"I'm Jack," Jack said softly. He relaxed when Crutchie reached across and took Jack's hand in his, still rubbing circles on his back.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to and if there's anything I can do so it doesn't happen again, just tell me and I can do it."

"You didn't do anything. I just thought you looked like someone I sorta used to know and I dunno, I just panicked."

"I get that," David shrugged. "Seeing someone when you don't expect it can be a bit daunting."

Jack let go of his grip on Crutchie's hand. Something funny was happening to his insides but he didn't mind David, when he smiled at Jack, Jack felt his heart pick up speed. What was happening to him?

"Yeah. It's real weird for me 'cause I've got a messed up head."

David blinked, like he was unsure how to take that statement. "What do you mean?"

"I hit my head real hard and Miss Medda found me in the alley behind her house and I think I'm from the 1890s and it's really confusing. I didn't even know what a car was. The social worker had to explain it to me."

Jack tapped Crutchie's hand and hoped he would get the message. He could do this on his own. Crutchie got the message and left Jack and David alone on the bench.

"I haven't been friends with everyone for a long time. About a month to something like that," David told Jack. "Sometimes I'm not sure if they're friends with me because they feel bad that my only friend is my sister or if they actually like me."

"I get that. Sometimes I think that Crutchie and Race are only nice to me since I'm their foster brother."

"Crutchie and Race are nice to everyone, unless they hate you. So trust me, they aren't pretending to like you and if they don't like you, you'll know all about it."

Jack smiled slightly. "Did you just move here or something?" When David blinked, Jack said, "You said you just became friends with them all a month ago."

"Oh, yeah. My dad got injured at work so they laid him off and we moved to a smaller apartment and I had to move school," David explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry about you dad."

"It's fine, I like it here better. Even if I have to share a room with a nine-year-old. I've got friends that aren't my sister and these kids that bullied me aren't here so I guess it's fun."

Jack nodded but got stumped as David spoke. "What's bullied?" Jack asked, almost timidly but he would never be timid. Jack Kelly was anything but timid.

"They kind of just made my life hell everyday and I'd try to stay at home and pretend to be sick but it never worked," Davey explained. "Things got really bad a few months ago and my parents pulled me out of school for a while until we moved here."

"What happened?" Jack asked, David was giving him mixed messages, looking like he didn't want Jack to ask but he also seemed like he did. "You don't gotta tell me if you don't want."

"I- uh, I was in a really bad place mentally. Anything could set me off and my little brother likes to get under my skin. One time I just lost it at him and my parents realised that something was going on.

"They were so kind to me as well. Never once did they give out or anything tell me I was being unreasonable. They just took me away from my siblings and talked and I told them that I sometimes thought about killing myself and they got me help."

Jack wrapped David up into his arms and held him tight. Davey seemed slightly taken aback at first but melted into the embrace.

"I don't know if you want to hear this but I'm glad you're still here. I think you're really nice, Davey," Jack offered, a small, polite smile on his face.

"Davey?"

Jack blushed but tried to play it off with a shrug. "I guess it just slipped out. Sorry."

"No, I like it," Davey said, smiling at having a nickname. The closest thing he'd ever had to a nickname was pet names was family members. "And thank you, by the way. You're pretty nice too."

~~~

Race tapped Crutchie on the shoulder as the number of their friends left started to dwindle. Albert had to leave for a family event so Race had moved to a different table to talk with Crutchie and the calmer friends.

"Do you think Jack's okay?" he asked. "Him and David have been over there a while."

Crutchie glanced over at the two boys, not missing how the sat almost touching and talked as though they had known each other for decades, before turning back to Race. "No, I think he's more than fine."

~~~
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