Okay so there's gonna be a lot going on here.

Well then.

Enjoy! :)

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For David, night can't come soon enough.

He leads Les, Race, Blink, Mush, and Boots as stealthily as possible through the quiet streets of New York.

Finally, they reach the Refuge.

David points at the building, one that he wasn't sure he would see again this soon. "That's where we saw Crutchy."

That's when David notices the carriage nearby. What's that for?

He finds out when he sees two men lead Jack out to it.

"There he is!" Les exclaims, not too loud that the men hear him definitely, but loud enough to make the older newsies frantically shush him.

"Where are they takin' him, Dave?" Mush asks.

"I don't know," David answers, focused only on Jack. "But I'm going to find out." He stops, trying to think this through. He pushes Les lightly to Race. "Racetrack, watch him." He starts heading out into the street and then jumps on to the back of the carriage, leaving the others to watch him silently, hoping that everything will turn out just fine.

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

Jack bites his lip as he examines Pulitzer's office. He can practically hear his heart pounding. He looks around the room. He already wants to be out of it.

Better than the Refuge, he tries to reason with himself. Maybe. But it really isn't.

He wants to be anywhere but here.

He wants to be on the train to Santa Fe, escaping this whole mess.

He wants to be back at the lodging house.

He wants to watch Blink and Mush be sappy and love. He wants to watch Race and Snipeshooter bicker over a cigar. He wants to watch Skittery tell Tumbler that he'll chase the nightmares away. He wants to watch newsies gamble on the floor. He wants to hear them complain about getting up in the morning. He wants them all.

He wants to be where David is.

He wants to be in David's arms, hear David tell him that everything is going to be okay.

He wants to tell David that he truly is sorry for what happened back then. That he wants them to be better. 

He wants to tell David that he never stopped loving him.

His thoughts are interrupted when Pulitzer finally enters.

Jack stands still, completely paralyzed, unsure of what to do.

Pulitzer gestures to a chair. "Sit."

Reluctantly, Jack does.

"When I was your age, boy," Pulitzer starts, "I was in a war. The Civil War."

"Yeah, I've heard of it," Jack responds quietly. "So, did you win?"

Pulitzer eyes him. "People think that war is about wrong and right. That's not correct. What it really is about, is power."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Jack says. "I don't just sell your papes, Joe. Sometimes I read 'em."

Pulitzer continues on. "The power of the press is the most powerful one of all. I tell the city how to act, how to think. I shape it's future." He pauses before moving on to his next point. "I have the power to see to it you are sent right back to the Refuge-"

"And I have the power to break out again," Jack returns. I did it once. I can do it again.

"Or, I have the power to see to it that you never have to return. That you can have more money than you could make in, say, three lifetimes. That you can leave the city, and go ... wherever it is you want to go."

Santa Fe.

He's been chasing this dream for some time now.

He plays with the thought in his mind.

He has the perfect opportunity now to leave it all behind and be on the first train to Santa Fe.

But not like this.

This will not be how he gets to Santa Fe.

He'll just have to find another way to get there someday.

Jack leans forward. "Are you bribin' me, Joe?"

Pulitzer doesn't respond.

Jack leans back again. "'Cause it ain't gonna work."

He thinks he's finally got Pulitzer, but Pulitzer has one more trick up his sleeve. "I understand you have a selling partner, right? And oh, what's his name ... David, yes?"

Jack's heart stops.

Leave Davey out of this.

Pulitzer must have sensed that he struck a nerve. "He has a family, yes? What do you think jail would do to him, to his family? And it would be you who put him there."

"Stop," Jack whispers, voice suddenly hoarse. "Just stop."

Pulitzer smiles shrewdly. "I'm giving you a very simple offer, boy. Work for me, and all your friends go free. If you don't, if you continue this strike, David and all the others will have to suffer the consequences."

Jack doesn't know what to do.

On one hand, he could say no to Pulitzer. Put David and his friends in jail.

Or he could accept Pulitzer's deal. He could leave for Santa Fe, or he could stay, but either way, David and everyone else will be safe.

In one situation, he shows David that he's changed, that he can stay strong. In that situation, David gets locked up. In the other situation, he proves David wrong, that he can't change, that he'll run at the first sign of conflict. But it's the situation where David stays free. 

No matter what, Jack has to keep David safe. So, in the end, when it really comes down to what his final decision will be, most of his hesitance goes away.

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

David waits outside, crouched down at the end of the stairs, knowing that Jack has to come out and some point.

And there Jack is.

David stands up. "Jack, come on!" he yells.

Jack doesn't think twice. David told him to do something, and he's not going to question it. He scales the railing and runs with David.

"Come on, this way!" David urges. His plan is working. They can get away. He knows they can. It's all going great.

No. Jack can't do this. If he does, bad things happen to David. And he can't let that happen.

As they run through an alley, Jack slows down until he stops.

David continues running, then stops and turns around when he realizes Jack isn't following him anymore. "What are you doing? They'll come any second-!"

"You shouldn't have done this, Davey," Jack says, forcing out each word.

Davey.

David stiffens. "What?"

"You could have gone to jail." Each word is physically hurting Jack.

"That doesn't matter-" David tries to say.

"It does."

David hasn't seen him this agitated since ... he doesn't want to think about it. His heart beats faster, a little nervous. "Jack, what's going on-?"

"You could have gone to jail," Jack repeats, pushing David back against the wall, hand just below David's chest.

For a moment, neither makes a move, unsure what to do.

Jack's breathing hard because of the running and his agitation at a lot of things right now.

David's breathing hard because of the running and how scared he is right now.

Because this is just like that night a little over two years ago, the last night Jack and David saw each other. And he does not want to relive that moment.

Jack seems to realize that this is just like that night. He pulls his hand away slowly.

"I told you, I don't care about that," David tells him, voice on the border of being meek. 

"What about your family?" Jack presses on, putting his hand back where it was. "What would happen to them if you went to jail? You don't know nothin' 'bout jail. The last thing you need is to do something foolish like this. Don't you think nothin' 'bout takin' care of yourself?"

That came out harsher than he wanted it to. He winces slightly.

David's expression shifts before Jack's eyes. He no longer recognizes Jack. "What's happened to you?"

Jack can't bear to look David in the eye, so he hangs his head and doesn't answer.

"I thought things were getting better," David says, hurt prominent in his voice. "I thought you had changed."

And there it is.

I wish I did, Davey. I want to. But I can't. And you can't know why.

"Guess I proved you wrong," Jack chokes out, and backs away.

David steps forward from the wall, but going away from Jack instead of closer. Both aren't sure what to do now.

All Jack knows is that if he wants to keep David safe, he needs to get him out of here. "Go."

David still can't believe what's happening. "What?"

Jack swallows. "Go."

"I don't understand," David says, eyes wide, so unsure of how this situation ended up like this.

Jack blinks back his tears. "I don't understand neither. Now just go!!"

"No!" David raises his voice. "I won't leave you!" Not until he understands what's wrong. Why this went wrong. Not until he knows what's going on.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Jack asks, raising his voice as well. "Or do ya listen to nothing? GO!"

This is just like it was that night; in more ways than David can imagine.

Nonetheless, the realization hits David's face just like it did that night. The realization that Jack is telling him to leave. The realization that Jack doesn't care about him in the way he thought that he did.

And it breaks Jack's heart in two all over again.

And once again, it's not the whole truth.

But David doesn't know that.

And he never will.

But this time is different. This time, Jack knows for sure that he and David will never be on good terms ever again.

Jack watches David reluctantly run away. David doesn't look back once.

Jack wants to break down right here and now and start crying, but the men have found him. And he willingly goes back to the Refuge with them.

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Jack stares out the bars acting as windows at the starry night sky, hoping that David made it home safely.

All his dreams have been taken away from him.

He'll never make things right with David.

He'll never make it to Santa Fe.

He may leave these walls and start working for Pulitzer, but he's going to be trapped.

Life will lose its meaning.

Just like it did two years ago.

I'm sorry, Davey, Jack thinks, full of remorse. It's for your own good, I promise. You may not realize it, but it's true.

Still, he feels like he made the wrong choice.

And he'll continue forever to rue his decision.

And there will be nothing he can do to fix it.

He slumps down toward the ground.

Suddenly, Crutchy opens up the peep hole, grinning. "Hiya, Jack!"

The only bright thing in this world of darkness.

Jack offers a small grin back. "Hiya, Crutchy."

"How are ya?" Crutchy asks. "Well, all things considered."

Jack leans his head back against the wall. "Take a guess."

Crutchy doesn't respond for a moment. There really is nothing good that he can say. So he says the only thing that he can think of. "Hey, we can't let 'em beat us, right Jack? That's what you always say."

"We was beat when we was born," Jack returns forlornly.

It was a nice try. But it wasn't good enough.

Crutchy understands that Jack needs his space. So he whispers a little 'Night, Jack, and shuts the peep hole.

Jack sighs. Now he's all alone. 

It's his fault, really. He was the one to push everyone away.

Because he never has been good at opening up to people. He's never let anyone get close enough. He always figured there was no need to get attached if he was just going to run off eventually. When he met David, things changed. He was almost ready to give up his dreams of going to Santa Fe. But he and David didn't last. And so Santa Fe became his only comfort once again. Then David came back into his life. This time, it was going to be different. But it wasn't. It was the same thing that's happened to Jack all his life. He can't rely on anyone but himself. Because in the end, he'll disappoint everyone, and they'll leave. They always leave.

Jack had had hope that maybe things would get better between him and David. Now that chance is not as likely.

And so, he turns back to his one, singular constant: Santa Fe.

Santa Fe won't leave him. Santa Fe will always be waiting for him. Santa Fe is the brighter future that he wants so bad that he doesn't know what he'll do if it never happens.

"Santa Fe, my old friend," Jack murmurs softly. "I can't spend my whole life hidin'. You're the only light that's guiding me today."

He looks out the window one last time. "Will you keep a candle burnin'? Will you help me find my way? You're my chance to break free, and who knows when my next one will be? Santa Fe..." He trails off, heart heavy. "Wait for me."

He sighs.

Things won't get better.

And tomorrow, he'll have to accept the consequences of the choices he made today.

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I guess I was feeling extra angsty today.

I don't usually consider my writing angsty ... and then I reread some parts of stories I wrote and it's like uh, you might wanna examine that claim haha.

The alley scene. No straight explanation.

Like said, you'll get the full back story about Jack and David's first relationship soon.

My heart hurt a lot while writing this.

I poured my heart into this at the strangest moments. So proofreading and rereading those moments again, at midnight, was ... interesting.

Okay, the thing is ... a lot of my friends aren't doing well with their relationships at this present moment. Some are handling it better than others. And other friends are getting into relationships when I thought they would be the last people to get into one. And there's just a lot happening around me. So ... I guess I channeled all of that turmoil into this chapter.

This is ... much longer than I thought it would be.

And I have run out of words to say.

Just like Jack and David did before parting ways.

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

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who sometimes thinks they may want a relationship, but considering that no one will ever like them and how their friends' relationships are going, has come to the conclusion once again that relationships just aren't worth it)