For Even A Night ❉ Newsies

Why Me?

Jack Kelly awoke with a start in bed and turned over to wrap his arms around Katherine. To his surprise a blank space greeted him. Fear had jolted into his mind as he started removing the covers but stopped short at the noise. It sounded like. . . crying? He tiptoed downstairs and saw the small figure of Katherine huddled on the couch with her head in her hands, a now cold mug of tea in front of her. "Get it- together- Kath. Get it to-gether. . ." He heard being mumbled from where she sat. "Kath?" She didn't bother looking up. "Are you okay?" Of course the only thing going through her mind was 'no you nitwit of course I'm not okay why else would I be sitting her for the last hour and a half at 4am crying if I was fine?' But she said nothing. She just continued staring at the coffee table in silence, her eyes trained on the teacup and her mind set on quieting down, hoping he'd go away. But Jack didn't. He slowly walked over and knelt in front of her, moving the teacup out of eye range and gently grabbed her wrists. "Hey," he whispered gently, "What's wrong?" Katherine just quickly shook her head knowing if she spoke the tears pelt up would flow back out. Her eyes tried to dark everywhere but to meet his and she flickered them at the floor. "Please, please tell me, I wanna help fix this." Katherine still said nothing. "Did I do somethin?" She quickly shook her head no. "Did someone hurt you??" He asked quickly becoming more alert. "N-No." She whispered. Jack felt the tense he didn't even realize he had in him relax. "Then, what on earth is wrong?" Katherine sat there thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Y-You - You wou- oh Jack!" She tried saying but was all that came out before she began sobbing. Not little sobs, but the kind that make your heart break in two, your knees become weak and you want to do everything you can to help the person who looks so fragile at this moment. She pulled away and put her hands up to her face again, hot tears soaking them quickly as her body shook. "Oh Kath. . ." Jack whispered sitting next to her. He gently, as if she were glass, set her atop his lap and she sat there, clinging to him like a lost child would her parent. But the truth was, she was lost, she was very lost indeed. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head, leaving his lips upon her auburn curls for a while. A small bit later her cries turned to hiccups and her sobbing to sniffles. Jack quickly cupped her face and wiped tears away with his thumb and back of his hand. He then handed her a tissue and she dried her eyes better. "Is yous able ta' tell me now?" He asked quietly. Katherine nodded. "You," She swallowed hard, "You wouldn't ever leave me, would you?" "Katherine," she looked up and saw the solemn shock and hurt in Jack's eyes, "I- I would neva'! Why would yous think that?" "How could you love me??" She quickly burst out, it was a question she had held in for a long time, "How can you love a girl like me? I'm broken, my family is broken, my LIFE is what's broken. You could have any girl, ANY of them, and they all like you. Smalls, Freckles, Clara, Fiona, Annabel-" She went on listing other girl newsies, friends of hers, as well as two of Medda's backup dancers, "So why did you choose me? Why did you choose the most broken girl? The one who cries more than smiles, the one who has to be strong on the outside when everyday she wants to break down just like this when she can't be strong anymore? I'm nothing special! I'm just Katherine, a reporter who couldn't even keep a job a year ago yet I still can't keep my head! Those other girls, they're beautiful, they're smart, they're pretty, they're so much better than me so why did you choose me Jack Kelly? Why did you choose the w-wilted flower of t-the garden?" She asked before the tears came again. Jack was beyond surprised at this, before shaking his head. "'Cause even if da petals fell off, you'd still be da most beautiful thing ta' me." He said. "W-What?" She asked putting her tissue to her red, puffy eyes. "Katherine Pulitzer, you are the most beautiful person. Yous ARE smart, yous ARE funny and I'd neva' choose another go-il over you. Heck, I don' even notice 'em! I love yous for you Kath, and nothin' is gon' change dat even if ya tried." She sniffles a little and hugged him close, clutching onto him for dear life as though he'd disappear any second. "I- I love you. . ." She whispered. "I love you." He said as she pulled him in for a passionate kiss. His hands softly cupped her cheeks and she ran a hand through his hair leaving them breathless. They sat for a while longer before Jack felt Katherine's breathing steady out before he looked down and saw her asleep on him. He gently laid her back on the couch and she subconsciously rolled over. He smiled sadly looking at her. His ace. His one and only. How could she possibly think such a thing? He went over to the telephone and cranked the handle. A few minutes later he hung up the phone and walked back over to the couch kneeling in front of it and stroking Katherine's hair. "Hey, Ace, let's go to bed." "Mm, what time is it?" She mumbled. He quickly looked at the clock and back at her. "Almost seven." "I gotta get ready for work." She whispered, sighing, as she still didn't open her eyes. "I called you out sick, you need rest ace, c'mon." In a swift motion he'd picked her up bridal-style and she leaned into him, burying her face in the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around him. He carefully carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed, crawling in next to her and pulling her close. "I'm never leaving you, for anyone." He said, kissing the back of her head. But she was already fast asleep.