Newsies One Shots

10 reasons why the Delanceys suck (but I still love them)

Prompt - Lost
Au - None
Triggers - Panic attack, the Delanceys being the Delanceys, mild swearing
Setting - Pre-strike
•••

JoJo was tired. Tired and lonely and hungry. The sun was still up, but it was sinking faster than he would have liked. There was about fifteen minutes of light left, he guessed. The buildings around him were towering, closing him in, trapping him in these suffocating streets. His feet hurt and his head felt heavy on his shoulders, a dead weight he had to drag around with him. He glanced around, keeping to the street-lit pavements where he could. JoJo didn't like being in the dark.

He wasn't scared of it, not the the dark itself. It was mor , what could be hiding in it, just out of sight, that set him on edge.

JoJo sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets, breathing in the muggy air. His hat was pulled low over his eyes and his shoulders hunched in an almost unconscious way, as if he was used to not drawing attention to himself. Which, if he was behind honest, he was. Soon enough, all the natural light disappeared, although the blanket of heat remained. At least he wouldn't be cold tonight.

He walked for a little while longer before finding a narrow alley with a fire escape that led to a boarded up door. The metal was rusted and littered with discarded newspapers, but it was sheltered and out of sight. JoJo sighed and sat against the wall, leaning his head against the cool brickwork and resting on a few of the papers. He closed his eyes briefly. His stomach growled but he ignored it, choosing instead to count the coins he had managed to scrounge up that day.

He bit his lip. It wasn't a lot. A few nickels and a rusted five pence. Not a lot at all.

He shoved the coins back into his pocket with a dejected sigh. He could go without breakfast tomorrow if need be. It was dark in the alley and his nerves were on edge, but he closed his eyes again anyway and tried to fall asleep, a difficult task when one half of him was listening to every noise around him. He had had a few to many nasty run ins in an alley at night recently, and sported the bruises to prove it. He shifted a few times and scraped his arm along the wall.

What felt like an hour, although it may have only been five minutes, passed and JoJo was somewhat asleep. His consciousness was slipping and so was his alertness, which was probably why he didn't hear the boys until there were upon him. If he hadn't moved, he would've been fine. If he had stayed still while they looked at him, he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

But he didn't do that. He woke up to their voices, sharp and cruel sounding, and he stood up, taking a step away from the pair. Which was a mistake. He didn't know why he was so scared, but the way they were talking didn't sit right with him. So he went to move away, keeping his eyes down, until the shorter one shoved him back.

"Where'd ya think you're going?" He asked. His tone suggested it wasn't really a question. He looked the same age as JoJo, and so did the other boy, although he was a good bit taller.

JoJo looked between the two of them, unsure of what to do or why they had him cornered. Usually they would be asking for his money at this stage, not just looking at him.

"He asked you a question," said the taller boy when JoJo didn't reply.

JoJo didn't know what to say, so he just shrugged, which was also a mistake apparently.

"You's one of Jack Kelly's lot, aren't you?" The shorter one said, dropping his previous question.

Jack who? JoJo shook his head and tried to move away again. His was starting to panic now. His hands were shaking and he was unsteady on his feet. "No-," he managed to say, ducking under the shorter boys arm only to be stopped by the taller one with a sharp and unnecessary punch to the shoulder that made him wince.