Life With the Newsies- One Shots- OPEN to OCs

Trip A Little Light Fantastic With Me

Nothing fits in the timeline here. Just a heads up. The title obviously comes from Mary Poppins Returns.

The two boys laugh and flop against the wall as they breathe greedy gasps of air. Suddenly, two teenage boys step in the entrance to the alley.

"Kelly! Well, ain't this a surprise," One of the boys say and Jack Kelly inwardly groans. Why couldn't they leave him and the new boy alone? Jack was just trying to teach this boy who was his age how to sell papes and things had been going well up until now. Oscar Delancey yanks the teenage boy who Jack had been teaching to sell newspapers away from the wall and starts circling him like a vulture.

"Please, don't hurt me," The boy says in a timid British accent. Jack rubs his face nervously. This kid was going to have to drop the accent if he was going to sell papers. No Manhattan kid was ever going to take him seriously. People like the Delanceys wouldn't hesitate to beat him up and Jack is already struggling to keep the Delanceys from killing his Newsies as it is. He doesn't need a boy with a British accent to put the icing on the cake for him.

"What's ya name, kid?" Morris Delancey snarls and Jack knows that this was going to rile up the Delanceys.

"My name's Jack," The other boy replied and Jack Kelly watches the Delanceys' reaction.

"Kelly wanted ya to be so like him that he named ya after himself, huh? Let me give ya some advice, Kelly Jr. Jack Kelly ain't the legend that everyone makes him out to be. Youse sounds like a Brit. Brits are smart and I'm assuming youse are too. If ya want ta be smart, hang out wid us. We ain't like da likes of Kelly," Oscar persuades, but Jack holds his ground.

"My name is Jack Baxter. I'm from the streets of London. Jack Kelly has been the nicest person that I have met in New York besides the man who has raised me up until this point. I am not leaving him for anything. If I don't want to be a real Newsie, then I won't be a real Newsie. I'll light lamps just like I did back in London. I'm seventeen just like Kelly and old enough to make my own decisions. Please just leave us alone. You don't know what it does to these boys when you seek to hurt them. It does them no good and quite honestly, it does you no good either. So, go find something better to do with your lives!" Jack Baxter reprimands and the Delanceys shoot him a look. Oscar even chuckles.

"You have no idea what you are messing with. This is so much bigger than you, little lamplighter and Kelly wannabe," Morris tells Jack Baxter.

"He'se got a real name ya know," a new voice pipes up. Morris turns his head only to be met with the fist of Racetrack Higgins.

"Run, Jack!" Blink yells and both Jacks turn their heads. Jack Kelly shoves Jack Baxter into Mush. Mush grabs Jack Baxter's wrist and pulls him around the corner. Jack Kelly joins in the fight with the Delanceys. Mush tries to make conversation with the boy from London, but Jack Baxter ignores him. He sees a group of kids running into some dark alleyways. Dark alleyways with unlit lamps. Jack Baxter runs across the street and Mush runs to catch up with him. 

"Where are ya goin? Dat ain't a good part of town!" Mush yelps and Jack Baxter shrugs.

"I lit lamps in the worst parts of London. What's a bad part of New York got to do with anything?" Jack responds and Mush groans a little bit. Why couldn't this boy just stick to the safe streets of being a Newsie? Mush follows Jack anyway and the two boys run into a dark alleyway. Jack glances around and smiles at Mush.

"Let's shed a little light on the situation, yeah?" Jack suggests and Mush puts his head in his hand. This kid really does not get it. Jack sees a teenage boy who is trying to light a lamp on a street with lots of big fancy houses on it that tower over the people walking on the streets below. He grabs the torch from the boy and runs to the dark alleyways. After he grabs some barrels to stand on, Jack lights the lamps. Suddenly, the dirty faces of several children come into view. Most of them are teenagers, who look scrawny and as if they have not eaten in weeks. From what Mush can figure, they probably haven't. Jack smiles at the dirty faces despite the fact that these kids look terrible. He jumps off of the barrels and the kids scoff at him.