Strikes and Ladders

Chapter Six: Wow Me

He has had the entire night to think about it, but David still doesn't know what happened last night. Tossing and turning and the city that never sleeps moved beneath him, he had turned over the scene in his head countless times, but to no avail. As he and Les arrive at Newsie square, he surveys the group of kids that he has come to know, eyes catching on Jack almost immediately. It is hard not to look at him, considering he is standing up on a table, as he often tends to do. The bell isn't going to ring for a while, so everyone is goofing off as much as the early hour will allow them to. While Les goes over to one of the younger newsies he seems to have made friends with, Davey goes over and joins the collective sitting and standing under Jack.

When Jack sees him, his eyes light up as he continues to talk and talk about something that Davey is completely unaware of as he stares up from the ground. Suddenly, he's being pulled up onto the table with Jack by his elbow. He then finds himself in the middle of the story of their interaction with Spot Conlon, greatly exaggerated, of course. Soon, Davey finds himself as the earth to Jack's wind, with him correcting anything in his stories that sound too fantastical.

"Actually Jack, it was four kids, not four hundred." "They've all met Spot, he's not twelve feet tall. Or two feet tall!" "It took us like half an hour to get there, not a whole day."

By the time they are finished, the circulation bell starts ringing and all of the newsies stream in to buy their papers. Jack and Davey both get their usual and go out onto the streets to hawk their headlines. As always, Les and Jack are finished much sooner than Davey is, as he doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, but he gets rid of all of them by the lunchtime rush. Then, the three of them walk together back to the lodging house. Jack and Dave leave Les with Buttons and Snipeshooter, who are going to teach him poker. They walk down to the Bowery to Medda's theatre so sit up on the fly and look down on the performance. Silence reigns during this entire ordeal, both of them too scared to say the first word.

"So..." Davey starts, and then trails off.

"So." Jack grins, crooked and beautiful and Davey can see the shadow of the child he is, rather than the facade of the hero he pretends to be.

"You like me."

"And you like me back." God, if Davey wasn't as smart as he was, he'd kiss him right then and there. It took all of the self control that he had not to wipe that stupid, beautiful smirk right off of his friend's face. "Look, Davey, I know you're scared cause of my... let's say reputation. But you's different. I mean, how could anyone have you and let you go?"

"I don't know Jack, but you seem to have dated a lot of people, especially those who are special or interesting. You dated my sister , who is one of the kindest people I've ever met, and you let her go! How is there a world where you let her go but not me?" His eyes mist up, glassy and reflective from the lights below them.

"I don't know, but I've never felt this way for anyone before. Not ever. I don't know why, but you're different. Katherine and Sarah, they were nice once or twice, but you...you're beautiful, Davey. Smart, strong, and so damn stubborn."

"You're one to talk," Davey muttered, leaning forward against the railing and letting his legs dangle off of the edge.

"Yeah, I'll admit, I'm stubborn too. Which is why I can't let you give up on whatever we have before it becomes anything to start with. We need to find out where this can go, what we could be!" At the end, he gets a bit loud, earning him a shush and some dirty looks from the rehearsing performers below them.

"Jack... I want to, I do. But I have quite literally been warned off of you."

"By who? Oh, nevermind, I know. It was Racer and Spot, wasn't it. They always try and stop other kids from datin' me, 'specially newsies. They're jealous Dave. They both dated me, and ever since haven't wanted me to date anyone else."

That gave Davey a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew, like he somehow always knew with Jack, that he was trying to tell the truth, but he truly couldn't imagine Spot Conlon as some spurned lover. Racetrack on the other hand...

"Please, Davey, Daves, just gimme a chance. One date, and then you decide. It'll be great, promise."

Against his better judgement, Davey slowly nodded. "Fine. One date. If you don't wow me and convince me you can be better than you were with the others, we're done. It's over, no more asking, no more pining, no more anything. Go."

"What?"

"Go. Let's go on a date that's going to wow me."

"Right now?"

"Sure, right now. Let's do it, Cowboy." The suggestion had come out of his mouth almost without his permission, but now he is filled with a newfound sense of confidence because this is it. It either goes well or it doesn't, and as much as he knows that this is just the eye of the storm, the calm before the winds begin to toss him through life once more, right now, he is in control. And maybe that's okay for now.