Aaaaaa I'm excited!! :)

Enjoy! :)

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All the newsies are eating lunch at Tibby's, where Denton told them that they should meet him. They're tired, bored, and kind of low on energy.

That's when Denton comes in, newspaper in his hand, grinning, Katherine by his side.

That solves their tired/bored/low energy problem.

They all crowd around him as he puts the paper down.

CHILDREN'S CRUSADE
NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD

They all put their fingers on the page, in wonder of it all.

Denton and Katherine step back, grinning, as all the newsies continue looking at it in awe and wonder.

Because that's them. That's them on the page.

And the things we do today will be tomorrow's news.

That's no longer wishful thinking. It's true now.

"All them words there, they're written 'bout us?" Boots asks, still incredulous.

"You got us on the front page!" David exclaims enthusiastically to Denton and Katherine. 

"Actually, you got yourselves on the front page," Katherine blurts out. True, as much as she would love to take credit for her part in this, she knows that modesty is a good thing. Not to mention that it's true; they did get themselves on the front page. She and Denton only wrote about it.

"Now you just need to make sure you stay there," Denton tells David. Both David and Katherine take mental notes.

"Where's my picture?" Spot demands. "Where does it say my name? Where's my name?"

"Wouldya quit thinkin' 'bout yourself?" Jack lightly brushes him off.

"Look! It's Jackie lookin' like a general!" Mush jokes as he points out Jack, who is front and center in the picture.

"Wouldya please get your fingers off my face?" The less people point out that his picture is there, the better. 

"You get your picture in the papes, so what?" Skittery asks glumly. "Where does that get you?"

A clamor arises from the newsies.

"What are you talkin' about?" Mush asks him reproachfully.

"You've been in a bad mood all day!" Jack complains.

Race can't believe Skittery.

"I'm not in a bad mood," Skittery replies to Jack.

"You're dumb and glum," Race tells him, slapping him lightly across the face. "What's the matter with ya? You're in the papes, you're famous. When you're famous, you'se gets anything you want." He slams his hand down on the table. "That's what's so great about New York." His eyesbrows and voice raise to help him prove his point. Many newsies are agreeing with them.

What would it be like to get everything they wanted?

They can only dream.

"A pair of new shoes with matchin' laces," Mush says dreamily.

"A permanent box at Sheepshead Races," Race adds wistfully.

"A porcelain tub with boilin' water," Spot contributes.

Kid Blink gets up on the table, eyes flashing mischievously. "A Saturday night with the mayor's daugther!"

Race gets up on another table, paper in hand, and holds it up high above his head. "Look at me! I'm the King of New York!" He does a little tap dance on the table. He spins around. "Suddenly! I'm respectable, starin' right atcha, lousy with stature."

Jack takes the paper from him. "Nobbin' with all the muckety mucks, so I'm flowin' my dough and goin' deluxe."

Race jumps down from the table and snatches the paper again. "And there I be!" He points to himself. "Ain't I pretty?"

Spot nods.

"It's my city," Jack starts.

"I'm the King of New York," Race and Jack finish together.

More newsies want to hold the paper. 

"Don't rip it! I SAID DON'T RIP IT!"

More say what they want now that they're the King of New York.

"A cordurory suit with fitted kickers," Boots ponders.

"A mezzanine seat to the flickers," Les adds.

"Havana cigars that cost a quarter," Snipeshooter smiles.

David wants to emphasize how important Denton and Katherine are, and express his gratitude for them. "An editor's desk for the star reporters!"

They cannot forget about their man Denton and his equally important assistant Katherine. "Tip your hat! They're the Kings of New York!"

"How 'bout that? We're the Kings of New York!" Denton and Katherine indulge them.

"In nothing flat, they'll be coverin' Brooklyn to Trenton, Katherine and Denton!"

"Makin' the headline out of a hunch!" Kid Blink says.

"Protecting the weak-" Denton starts.

"And payin' for lunch!" Race cuts in hopefully.

"When we're at bat, strong men crumble-" Katherine continues.

"Proud yet humble," Race grins.

Togeher:
"They're the Kings of New York."
"I'm the King of New York."
"I'm the Queen of New York."

Katherine just wants to be the Queen of New York, okay? She can't help it.

"I gotta be either dead or dreamin'," the newsies murmur. "'Cause look at that pape with my face beamin'..."

They start getting up on tables.

"Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it, but I was a star for one whole minute!"

They all jump down; some of them (like Spot, Dutchy, and Skittery) almost hit the ceiling fans.

As they jump down, those who were on the ground jump up on other tables, and start dancing around. All of them are so happy.

"Starting now, I'm the King of New York!" they all exclaim happily.

"Haven't ya heard, we're the Kings of New York!" Denton and Katherine get up on their own table, smiling.

"Holy cow! It's a miracle! Pulitzer's cryin, and Weasel? He's dyin'!"

They scramble around.

"Flashbulbs are shootin' bright as the sun, I'm one highfalutin' son of a gun. Don't ask me how! Fortune found me, fame just crowned me, now I'm King of New York!"

Their voices rise the more excited they get.

"Look and see! Once a piker, now a strike! I'm the King of New York!"

One last thing they have to say.

"Victory! Front page story, guts and glory. I'm the King of New York!"

Bumlets grabs onto a ceiling fan and spins as everyone else goes still. Then they all start cheering.

Now it's time to form a plan.

They all gather around one table as a waiter brings them drinks.

"We gotta do something big," Jack says as they all grab a drink. "Somethin' so big, that the other papes are gonna feel stupid if they don't write 'bout it."

"The Sun is the only paper printing strike news so far," Denton tells them.

"We need somethin' like a rally!" Jack exclaims. He likes this idea. "We'll make it the loudest, noisest, biggest rally anyone has ever seen. That has got to make all the papers."

The other newsies cheer with approval.

"Spread the word," Jack tells them all. "Tomorrow night, at Irving Hall." He raises his glass. "To the strike." He raises it forward. "And to our man Denton."

"To our man Denton!" all the newsies repeat enthusiastically.

Race only passed one glass back to Mush and Blink, so they raise the glass together, smiling, exchanging glances, giggling, brushing their noses together.

Katherine clears her throat. "Surely there's more than just your man here, right?"

"And to our lovely lady Katherine!" Jack raises his glass higher in the air. "Without you both, none of this would be possible!"

The newsies raise their glasses again. "To our lovely lady Katherine!"

Katherine grins. It feels so nice to be recognized. Especially with the name she chose for herself.

"We'll be there, at the rally," Denton tells them. "Good luck to you all." 

He pays generously for all their meals, then he and Katherine have to leave.

The newsies are so excited, so happy, so full of hope.

Because for once, everything is going so well.

Even if it all crashes and burns tomorrow, in this moment, they can say that they are all the Kings of New York.

-------------------------------------

The music I was listening to while writing this chapter made it an even bigger vibe than it already was.

I love how even though this chapter is usually short and simple, I never get tired of writing it. It's funny, because in each story, there's always some little detail that's different, but for the most part it's exactly the same. Sorry if you all have gotten tired of reading the same scene over and over again, but I love it.

I also love how this song was last minute for the movie, created on a whim, to strengthen the bond between Denton and the newsies, and then it quickly became the favorite.

I also love how Lin Manuel Miranda made a twitter post about breaking a ceiling fan trying to do the last move of King of New York haha.

I could point out all the little details I've noticed over all the times I've watched this scene, but that would take too much time haha.

I squeal every single time I see Spot nod when Race says ain't I pretty? haha.

Blink and Mush sharing a glass is just so cute to me.

Having Denton and Katherine here was a little chaotic, but I think I made it work.

This song just makes me so HAPPY. It's exactly half way through the movie, it's the opening scene of Act 2 of Livesies. And in the movie, this is the highest point. This is when they're at their best. Things have been hard earlier in the movie, and they'll only get harder later, but there's this moment where they are all so happy and can call themselves the King of New York, feeling like they're at the top of the world.

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE!!!!!!! :)
<3333

Please, no homophobia or transphobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who could listen to King of New York forever)