3Hey everybody! I have been working on the bases of my new fic(s), but they should be coming out sometime soon, within the next week or two. For now, enjoy the next chapter of One Half of a Broken Heart! I will definitely keep up with it, even if I start my other fic(s).
If you have any suggestions, please share them in the comments below! Thank you guys so much!
Chapter Ten
Davey stood in the corner as Romeo continued to try to flirt with Sam. So far it hadn't been going so well.
"So, you're from Brooklyn?"
"Yeah."
Romeo grinned. "I like Brooklyn girls."
Sam rolled her eyes. "Listen, Romeo, I'm busy, aright?"
"Yeah, Romeo, leave the girl alone," Jack said. Romeo glared at him.
"Aw, shaddup. If I recall, you was the one flirting with Kath like crazy."
Jack couldn't say anything to that, and all the newsies started to laugh.
"Good one, Romeo!" Race patted him on the back.
Davey ignored the commotion, trying to think.
The situation wasn't logical. It irritated him.
Sam had shown up at Jacobi's Deli a few days ago. She had claimed that Brooklynn newsies were having a hard time, and she had come to Manhattan to see if she could get better luck. The newsies were suspicious at first, but after Katherine came in and started talking to Sam, they dropped their suspicions and became right at home with Sam.
All of them except Davey.
It didn't make sense. Why would a Brooklyn newsie come all the way over to Manhattan? They were supposed to be tough, and no newsie would move from one borough to the other just because business was getting worse. At least no newsies Davey knew.
He was dying to see if Jack held any suspicions, but he knew he couldn't bring anything up without solid evidence. It was just a hunch, and hunches had no place in logical situations.
"Hey Davey! Get over here!"
Davey sighed and headed over to Race, forcing himself to put aside his questions for now.
Katherine leaned back in her chair, intrigued by the book she was reading. It was Persuasion by Jane Austen. She was a little embarrassed that she hadn't read it before this week, but she had never really been interested in romance novels until a few years ago, and she had been busy with the strike, reporting, and other important matter that she never managed to make time to read the few that sounded interesting. She had finally gotten a break, and she had immediately decided to read them, just to get it off her chest.
It was her father who had first suggested them to her. He had always wanted Katerine to read all of Jane Austen's works, which Katherine wasn't too thrilled about since they were romance. Even though she had gained a small interest in the fanciful genre, she didn't love it.
Persuasion was another matter. It was mushy-gushy, yes, and Katherine was pretty sure that she knew the ending, but it was still one of the best romance novels she had ever read. It was one of the few that actually managed to have her rooting for the characters, and something in her kind of liked the dreamy romance, as long as they didn't kiss right off the first page.
"Hey Kath!"
Katherine's looked up, startled. Jack was standing in front of her desk, smiling. "What's up?"
"Nothing. Reading." She smiled back at Jack.
"Whatcha reading?"
"Persuasion, by Jane Austen," Katherine replied. She held it up, and Jack made a face.
"Ew. Is that a romance?"
Katherine nodded. "It is. I don't usually read them, but this one is actually interesting."
Jack took the book and flipped through the pages. "It's long," he said, putting the book back on the desk. "How can you read it?"
"I've read long books most of my life."
"Anyway, I just needed to ask you something. Are you busy tonight?"
Katherine's heart skipped a beat. She pulled Persuasion off the desk and fingered the pages excitedly. This was just like something out of a romance novel! Jack had never formally asked her out before. "No, I'm not busy tonight, why?"
"Because I was wondering if you could talk ta Kitty. She won't listen ta me."
Katherine dropped Persuasion onto her lap. "You...want me to talk...to...Kitty?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah. Something wrong?"
Katherine quickly regained her composure. "No, no. I'm fine. Uh, sure! I can do that! Yeah! When?"
Jack looked at her, confused. "Uh...tonight."
"Oh, yeah. You told me that already." She smacked her palm against her forehead. "Okay, where do you want me to meet her?"
"The Deli?"
"Sure. I'll be there."
"Great." Jack flashed a smile and walked out of her office.
Katherine slumped her head on her desk. How could she be so fanciful? She sat up, turning her attention to her typewriter. Right, she thought. Time to get to work.
She glanced down at the book in her lap before attempting to push it out of her mind.
She started typing.
Jack smacked himself. How could he be so stupid? He must have broken her heart!
It had taken him the whole walk to the boarding house to figure out why Kath was being so strange. It must have seemed like he was about to ask her on a date by the way he started his question about Kitty.
Ugh! The last thing he wanted was to make Kath upset. He hated it when she got sad.
"Hey Jack!" Crutchie came up. "Where'd you go?"
"I had to go ask Kath a question," Jack said, a little ruefully.
"What's wrong?"
"I think I messed up." Jack collapsed onto his bunk, making sure none of the other newsies could hear him.
"What did you do?"
Jack opened his mouth to relate the whole story to his friend, but a call from the other side of the boarding house stopped him.
"Jack! Come here! Davey says he got something he wants to tell you."
Jack stood, looking apologetically at Crutchie. "Sorry. Maybe another time."
