Jeremy Jordan Imagines

Our Future Part 2- Jack Kelly

I waited until I got outside to let out the sob that had been burning the back of my throat. I gripped the railing on the stairwell as tears streamed down my cheeks. I tried to calm down as I ran up the stairs to Jack's Penthouse. I ran to the edge and looked out of the city through the tears.

"Where are you Jack?" I sobbed as I backed up against the wall and slid down it. I pulled my knees into my chest and sobbed. I ended up crying myself to sleep.

"Y/N?" I heard as someone gently touched my shoulder.

"Jack?" I said hopefully. My heart sank when I saw it was Davey.

"Y/N, come inside where it's warm. You can sleep on one of the beds," he said as he knelt in front of me.

"I can't," I said as tears started to form again. "I can't face the guys. . . Everyone is going to be looking at me with those. . . looks. Those looks of pity and sorrow. Like. . . Like Jack is really gone." I covered my face with my hands as the tears fell. I felt Davey sit down next to me and wrap his arms around me.

"It's going to be okay. If I know anything about Jack, he's okay. He's going to come back home. Back to you. Jack loves you Y/N. He would never leave you."

"But," I said looking up at him. "But we don't know if he is actually okay. No one has heard from him. And Crutchie. . . Crutchie is in the Refuge. What if he doesn't make it?"

"Y/N," Davey sighed. "Jack is fine and we are going to get Crutchie out. Everything is going to be okay."

"I just. . . You should get home. Les needs you more than I do," I said patting his knee. I heard him sigh before he stood up.

"Okay, but at least take this blanket. It'll keep you warm. And if you need anything, you let me know."

"Thanks Davey," I said, finally looking up at him.

"Thank you for taking care of Les," he said enunciating the word "you".

"Always," I smiled.

I was about to fall asleep when there was a crashing sound coming from the staircase. I jumped up when I heard it again.

"Hello?" I stuttered as I looked around and reached for a pipe that was leaning against the building.

"Jack?" I gasped when I saw him running up the steps out of breath.

It took him a second to notice that I was the one who spoke. "Y/N," he let out a sigh of relief as he ran over and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"I was so scared," I sobbed into his vest. He pulled away and caught a tear with his thumb. "When everyone started coming in and you didn't. . . And when no one knew where you were I just. . . I was so scared," I sobbed as he pulled me back into his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said over and over again as he gently rocked us. "After the strike, I was angry and I wasn't thinking. I should've come home to you. I was just. . . I was so angry and I didn't want to take it out on you. They took Crutchie, Y/N. They took him and it's all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Jack."

"Yes it is!" He said turning around. I wrapped my arms around myself as he started to pace.

"Folks, we finally got our headline
"Newsies Crushed as Bull's Attack"
Crutchie's calling me,
Dumb crip's just too damn slow
Guys are fightin' bleedin' fallin'
Thanks to good ole' Captain Jack
Captain Jack just wants to close his eyes and go!" I gasped as I knew exactly where he was going with this. My heart sank as he walked to the edge and placed his hands on the railing with his back to me. I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, pressing my forehead to his back.

"Let me go, far away
Somewhere they won't ever find ever find me and tomorrow won't remind me of today

And the city's finally sleepin'
And the moon looks old and grey
I get on a train that's bound for Santa Fe

And I'm gone
And I'm done
No more running, no more lying
No more fat old man denying me my pay
Just a moon so big and yellow, it turns night right into day
Dreams come true
Yeah they do
In Santa Fe." I gasped when he walked away and went back to pacing.

"Jack," I said trying to get him to talk to me. Instead he kept pacing.

"Where does it say you gotta live and die here?
Where does it say a guy can't catch a break?
Why should you only take what you're given?
Why should you spend your whole life livin'

Trapped where there ain't no future
Even at seventeen
Breakin' your back for someone else's sake
If the life don't seem to suit you
How 'bout a change of scene?
Far from the lousy headlines and the deadlines in between

Santa Fe, my old friend
I can't spend my whole life dreamin'
Though I know that's all I seem inclined to do
I ain't gettin' any younger
And I wanna start brand new

I need space and fresh air
Let 'em laugh in my face, I don't care
Save my place
I'll be there

Just be real is all I'm askin'
Not some paintin' in my head
Cause I'm dead if I can't count on you today
I got nothin' if I ain't got
Santa Fe." He suddenly turned around and pulled me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

"I can't do this anymore, Y/N. I can't live like this. I can't live here anymore. I. . . We deserve better than what this stinkin' city can give us."

"Jack," I said pulling away. I reached up and titled his chin making him look at me.

"I mean, do we really want to raise a baby here? New York isn't a good place to raise a baby. It's not safe here! If we moved to a small town, he could play outside, he could be friends with the neighborhood kids, and it would be safer at night. I could get a real job and put food on the table. You could have a beautiful house with fancy clothes. You and the baby would never want for anything. We should go somewhere he can have his best chance." As he said this, he gently put his hands on my stomach. "I want to take care of our baby. I want to give him, or her, their best chance. I don't think I can do that here."

I reached up and caught a tear that had fallen. "Jack, honey, take a deep breath." I reached up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"It's too dangerous here, Y/N." He said as he pulled me closer to him. I felt a tear fall onto my neck. "I'm just scared that I won't be able to give you and the baby everything here. I'm scared I won't be able to protect you."

I pulled away and put my hand on his cheek. "Jack, I don't need a big house and fancy clothes. The baby and I have everything we need here because we have you. Plus the other Newsies, but mostly you." This comment made him laugh. "If you really want to leave then okay. Let's leave. I'll follow you wherever you want to go. As long as it ain't Brooklyn. I don't like how Spot and his giants look at me." I smiled when he let out another laugh. "It doesn't matter if we live in a penthouse in Santa Fe or a bed in the NewsBoy Lodge. As long as I'm with you, that's all I'll ever need."

I stood on my tip toes and pressed my lips to his. Jack wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling us closer. Suddenly, he pulled away.

"And you're back to the pacing," I sighed, leaning against the railing.

"There is still the issue of the strike. We're still in the middle of it so I can't. . . I can't just walk away. They guys are depending on me. Plus Crutchie is stuck in the Refuge. I have to get him out!"

"And you will," I smiled. He walked towards me as I continued. "The News Boys, you and I have practically raised, know how to fight. They won't give up. They learned that from you." I walked over and put my hand on his cheek. "The Jack Kelly I know always finishes what he starts. He also never abandons the people he loves."

He reached down and put his hands on my stomach. "Never."