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kellyscowboy · 1 year ago

Note

OMGOMG SO FOR THE TOUCH STARVED PROMPTS

“Is this okay?”

“It’s more than okay.”

WITH EITHER RACE AND CRUTCHIE BEING SIBS OR PLATONIC SPRACE ALSO BEING SIBS (bc sibling intimacy/closeness (intimacy doesn’t always equal sex and I need more people to recognize this) is just <33333, and Race and Crutchie and/or Platonic Sprace are just perfect for this XD)

i adore this okay let's go || the prompt list CW : violence, blood, slight cussing

Racetrack had never been one for physical contact. He had been in the refuge one too many times to view touch as anything but a threat. Any chance at physical comfort, no matter who it was from, was eagerly denied.

Everyone knew about Racer's ill feelings towards touch. It even an off-handed joke in every introduction to a new newsboy.

"You'll be a'right kid, there's only a couple of things to remember. Ya gotta eat what ya don't sell, so don't buy too many papes. Try ta stay away from Oscar n Morris, they ain't too friendly. Oh, also, ya see that crazy blonde guy trying to land a cigar in the redheaded boys hat? Yeah, stay a foot away from him or he'll kill ya."

It was funny. It only hurt Race's feelings whenever he thought about it for too long. So he didn't. He considered his little quirk, nothing too serious and nothing to dwell on.

There was never really a time where he felt like was missing out. Not until after the first fight of the strike. Which made absolutely zero sense to the boy. He had just been beaten senseless. He had just felt skin against his own for the first time in years, and it had brought him nothing but pain. But the one thing he wanted more than anything else at that moment was a hug. And maybe a corona.

He had sulked into the lodging house and climbed up the ladder to Jack's penthouse without a word to anyone else. If anyone would know what to do at that moment, it was Jack. So, he sat there and waited. Waited for Jack to walk in, read his entire being with one look, then give him a silent hug and never mention the moment ever again.

It never happened. He sat up there for hours, pushing the blood out of a fresh cut and then wiping it away. Pushing into a bruise to remind himself how stupid it was to want any sort of physical contact, especially at that moment.

"Hey, Racer." A familiar, soft voice sounded from the ladder. His head turned on it's own accord, glad to hear such a familiar voice. One he had heard since he was a baby.

"Hey..." Racetrack replied, just as softly. He got up and silently helped the boy onto the platform and slid right back down to the floor.

It was quiet between the two for a while. The two brothers had never been good at communicating with each other. In fact, the only reason the others even knew the two were related was because of Jack. Racetrack was the youngest, Jack the middle, and Crutchie the oldest.

Each had a good relationship with jack, but never with each other. They never knew how to go about each other; they were polar opposites. Crutchie tended to be optimistic, he was more quiet and ended every fight with a hug or a pat on the back. Racetrack was a pessimist, he was obnoxious and physically cringed whenever Crutchie got too close. The only thing they had in common was their sarcastic personalities, and that wasn't enough to build a relationship with the two.

Crutchie was finally the first to break the silence. "Jack ain't come back yet."

Racetrack had been biting his nails, but stopped at the news. The youngest had figured that Jack had been in the lodging comforting all the younger boys the last few hours. "What?"

"Jack ain't-"

"I heard ya the first time," Racetrack grumbled. "Ain't ya ever heard someone say that when they're shocked? It never means you gotta say it again."

Crutchie frowned but nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

The younger boy folded into himself more. He pressed harder into a bruise. "Me too."

"Some of the littles are asking for you..." Crutchie finally admitted after another long pause. "Ya know I've never really been good at making 'em laugh like you. So."

"I- I can't," Racetrack admitted in a small voice. "They need Jack. They- They need someone who'll tuck 'em into bed and give 'em a kiss on the forehead or something. I can't do that."

Crutchie blew at Racetrack's hand as it pressed into a cut on his cheek. "Stop that. It ain't gonna heal if you keep fucking with it, Racer."

"Right. Sorry." Racetrack pushed himself up on his knuckles. Crutchie knew it was just another way to bother a wound. "I'm gonna- I'll go figure out what to do 'bout the kiddos."

He paused at the entrance leading down to the ladder. Racer turned to look at Crutchie and completely deflated where he stood. Tears swelled in his eyes and he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do and he didn't know why he was standing there, crying and flailing his arms desperately.

He wished he could get over himself. He wished he could moved and hug his brother warmly like he'd seen Jack do multiple times in the past. Everything about it scared him. The action, how he would ask Crutchie. 'Hey, I know we talk maybe once a week. But I, the person who hasn't hugged someone since I was five, really need a hug from my brother right now.'

Luck was on his side that day, because he didn't ask. Crutchie just silently got up and wrapped his arms around his youngest brother. Racetrack didn't even flinch, just melted into the hug. But Crutchie still felt guilty.

"Is this okay?"

Racetrack sobbed and hugged his brother back tightly. "It's more than okay."

#crutchie blowing at racetrack's hands instead of pushing at them bc he's warry of doing so much as moving the boys hands #just wanted to point that out bc #i thought ppl might miss it #anyway #wrote this while watching pitch perfect el oh el #newsies #livesies #newsies live #racetrack higgins #crutchie morris #☄. *. ⋆ vienna's ... ask games

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jack-kellys · 2 years ago

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Platonic sprace hurt/comfort plz and thank u (maybe in a modern au when one of them got bullied?)

tbh surprised i didn't put more hurt into it but we move

send me a request for smth short!

It’d taken forever for all the families to leave, and even longer for Race to force his own to wait for him back at home. Graduation had been much too emotional for his liking, his Mama crying tears as an official empty-nester while Jack had refused to let go of him for what felt like twenty whole minutes. Charlie had been calmer about it, since he’d only graduated high school the year before, but now all three of them had done it. His brothers had left it in the dust, but Race…

He bit his lip as he made his way over to the now-abandoned bleachers that occupied the asphalt city courtyard, plastic bottles and cups strewn underneath like old fallen snow. Only one girl sat on the highest row, back to him as he approached from behind. Her navy graduation gown sat beside her, fingers putting something to her lips. Race quickened his pace.

“Took you long enough,” Spot scoffed as Race clambered his way next to her. The roasted, earthen smell of weed encased them both once he was close enough. “You were gone for like an hour.”

“You know how my family is,” he shrugged, grinning and wiggling his fingers for her blunt. “They just can’t get enough of me.”

They passed it between them a few times, staring up at the northern outline of the city, backs to Spot’s home of Brooklyn. Race’s loose button down fluttered against the coming summer wind, and Spot’s red-and-black vertical striped jumper did the same.

“You know,” she murmured, “I really did hate it here.”

Race laughed, quieting when she turned to him with unamused blue eyes.

“Uh, here?” he clarified. “Manhattan? Or…”

“This school. Come on.” It was her turn to laugh, though it wasn’t as bright as Race’s. “All those entitled bastards whining their way into colleges and through classes. It’s all done now, Racer, we can do what we want.”

Race frowned, leaning back onto his hands after passing her the blunt back.

“I dunno,” he admitted. “Wasn’t all bad. I have a lot of good friends here, good sports. Good trouble, too.”

He nudged her side with a small smile, but Spot didn’t budge much. Instead she turned to him head on, swinging ones of her legs over the other side of the bench and looking at him.

“High school sucked,” she stated, matter-of-factly. “Most of the people? Sucked. Teachers? Awful. Never any student support, ever.”

“..Okay, fine, got me there,” Race said, doing his best to chuckle. “The bar for a good high school experience’s pretty low, I thought. What, you think it was gonna be like the movies?”

“No,” Spot retorted, glancing away. Race watched her fight the urge to cross her arms, squaring her shoulders instead. “I thought it wasn’t supposed to be.”

Race felt his expression scrunch, confusion betraying him. Spot’s gaze flicked back to his, and her eyebrows raised.

“Oh, wow,” she snarked. “Racer, I didn’t pin you for that oblivious, just because the whole school loved you.”

“No they didn’t,” he laughed. How could they? He was this antsy, loud-mouthed, whiny–

“The funnyman charismatic outgoing sports guy is trying to tell me the school didn’t love him,” Spot muttered. “Isn’t the goal to grow up after graduation, Higgins?”

“Shut up,” he hissed, and Race felt heat rise to his cheeks. “That’s not who I am and you know it.”

“It’s who you were,” Spot shot back. “And I wasn’t. I was the.. the- the responsible, staying-in, talking-back Black girl who tagged along.”

“Spot, don’t-”

“Be hard on myself? Feel bad about it?” She shook her head. “Cause I don’t. I was myself through high school and people were assholes about it, just cause I wasn’t like you. And that’s fine, but it’s true, so high school sucked. Got it?”

Race pressed his lips together, wanting to argue.

Spot was the strongest person he knew. She protected her group of friends, always stuck to her beliefs, was never afraid to act tough, never afraid of anything, or at least refused to let it show. To him, she seemed impossible not to like, but… when she’d had to stand next to Race’s play-to-the-crowd attitude, the contrast of treatment made a disheartening amount of sense.

He hoped one day she wouldn’t have to be so unmovable, unbreakable, that she could find a way to crumble and build back up again.

“My life would’ve been absolute shit if you were anything like me, but especially if you weren't anything like you. Do you got it?” Race finally mumbled.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, eyes on her shoes. “Lucky to have me, ain’t you.”

“Of course I am,” Race scoffed. “And I’m lucky to leave this all behind with you, too.”

Race sneakily pulled his friend into his side, Spot only squirming a few moments before chiseling herself just enough to allow her friend room in her rocky form to hold her.

#high school grad core down to the jumper #hope u enjoy claire!!!#ANYWAY FIRST TIME WRITING HER>>>#newsies #fizz answers #newsies fics #spot conlon #racetrack higgins #tagging:#newsies uk #uksies #moreso for visibility vs this being Strictly uk bc. they r characters lmao #fizz writes #fizz freaks #:)#mutuals

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the-newsies-justice-for-zas-blog · 5 years ago

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Race x Spot - “What did he do this time?”

A/N This is one of my one-shots from Wattpad. Enjoy!

Era: Canon

Ship: Sprace

TW: Stealing, Getting caught, the Refuge, Bruises, Broken ribs

Word Count: 1.5k

Genre: Hurt/Comfort ig

It was the year 1896, and out of the shadow of night, the morning is breaking over the picturesque water of the Brooklyn Docks; where a surprisingly awake Spot Conlon sits on the harbour wall, basking in the rays of dawn's early light reflected off the shimmering water.

He had wandered down quite early in the morning in his red shirt and suspenders because he couldn't sleep and, no one else knew this but, it was actually his favourite place to go before becoming a Newsie and he still loved it down there. It helped him think.

The reason he couldn't sleep was that he was worried about that Manhattan Newsie, Racetrack Higgins. He had got himself arrested the day before and he was currently in a holding cell in the Refuge. That laughably stupid Newsie took the blame for a younger kid, he thought that the kids' name was something like Elmer; anyway, the kid was caught stealing and Race took the blame.

Flashback ~The day before

Elmer's POV

"Buy a pape, miss?" I pleaded with my signature puppy eyes.

"She didn't even look at me. Why? That's what I want to know. She completely ignored me; I mean, she looked like she could spare a penny!" I thought, well I actually ended up muttering it quietly, like an old man who was done with life.

As it turned out, a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed Newsie overheard me, while making his way back to the Lodging House.

"You'se alright, kid?" He asked.

"Yeah, I haven't had a good day for selling. Again..." I replied. I showed him how many papes I had left and he cringed slightly.

"Well, hows about I help you sell, just this once. And I might be able to show you some of my methods that have customers practically begging me to sell them a pape!" He offered, and I nodded quickly.

"I don't think I've seen you around, you new? Oh, I'm Race by the way." He asked.

"I'm Elmer. And yes, I'm new" I replied as he started walking away from me and signalled for me to follow him.

"How old are you, kid?" He asked once we had arrived at the place he was taking me.

"11." I replied simply. Quite a few people that meet me are surprised to find out that I am 11, they always think I am 7 or 8 because I'm so small. There isn't enough food to go round at my house; what with 9 brothers and sisters to look after and feed, it is quite hard.

Race said that we could take full advantage of my height and the fact that I look a lot younger than I actually am. He said that I should go up to them and say, 'Buy a pape from a poor orphan boy, miss or mister'. He said that it was guaranteed to work as long as I looked sad or coughed or something.

A few minutes had passed before a young girl, about my age walked past. She looked like she could afford to buy a pape, so I walked up to her and did exactly as Race said, well I smiled instead of coughed. She smiled at me and I was given a dime. She had such a pretty smile and I guess Race could see that I thought that, because when I turned and walked back towards him, he said,

"Ooooo, has Elmer got a crush?!?!?" I blushed a bit, but he just brushed it off, thank God!

"Anyway, nice technique! Right, the next method is flattery." Race showed me different ways of selling throughout the rest of that day, but even after I had sold all of my papes I still hadn't made enough money.

When I don't make enough money, I have to steal food and sometimes money. I don't like doing it, but I have to, to survive and feed my family. 1 of my sisters and 2 of my brothers are sick and the money I make pays for medicine.

By the time Race had gone, I had found a stall selling bread outside the Lodging House and I decided that it was a perfect place; so I snuck up while the stall-keeper wasn't looking and snatched a loaf and started off down the street. I think the stall-keeper me because he shouted and started to chase me.

"Help! Thief! Stop kid!" He was yelling as he chased me. There was another adult in the street in front of me and he must've heard the man chasing me because he grabbed onto my collar and held me firmly.

"Let go of me! Please!" I cried.

"You're going straight to jail, kid. Or worse, the Refuge!" The man said once he had caught up with us. Those two words, the refuge, made me really scared. I had heard stories about the refuge and none of them were good. 3 boys to a bed with rats and vermin everywhere, kids starved and beaten; my father had always told me to steer clear of that place, but it seemed like I was well on my way there until...

"Hey! Let go of him!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I also heard a door open and the footsteps of people run down steps. I turned my head to see a big group of Newsies gathered outside the Lodging House, watching the entire scene play out.

And there was Race, coming to my rescue. While he was teaching me earlier that day, we became quite good friends and I told him about my family and why I had to sell papes so he could figure out why I was stealing.

"Do you know this boy?" The stall owner asked him.

"Yes, as it happens, I do." Race said very matter-of-factly. "He's my little brother."

"Well, you can tell your little brother, that it is bad to steal and will earn you time in the Refuge." Race saw me flinch at the mention of the Refuge and, for some reason, said,

"I told him to steal the bread! It's not his fault! Let him go and take me instead." 'Race! What are you doing?

"Either way, he's the thief and he deserves to go to jail."

"But, I'm the one who told him too! It's not his fault that he listens to me." I could tell the men were getting tired of this and I could see that Race knew that too.

"Fine. As long as someone pays for what they did, whether it was you or you." The man holding me said, gesturing to both of us. As Race walked towards us, the man let go of me and took the bread away. After he let go of me, he turned Race around and cuffed his hands behind his back. He was then, almost literally, dragged off the Refuge.

Before I knew it, tears were falling down my face and I started to run after Race, but I was held back by one of the other Newsies and I yelled,

"Race, I'm sorry, It's my fault!" That night I went home and all I could think of was Race taking the blame for me, if he was OK and the fact that he called me his little brother.

Spot's POV

"Hey Spot!" I heard one of my Brooklyn Newsies call me.

"What is it Roger?" I yelled down from my throne.

"It's that Racetrack Higgins!"

"What did he do this time?"

"He's been locked up in the Refuge!" With those words, I jumped down from my throne and asked him where he heard all this.

"Cowboy Jack's 'ere. He told me." I told him to bring Jack in and asked him what happened.

"Well, it was the new kid, Elmer, he was caught stealing a loaf of bread for 'is folks and when 'e got caught Race took the blame and got 'imself arrested. They took him to the refuge. Just thought I'd tell you, cuz I knows you is close to him."

After Jack left I spent the rest of the day, which to be honest wasn't that much time, thinking about my poor Racer in the Refuge.

What did they do to him? Is 'e OK? Should I break him out o' there? That was what I would be thinking when I were sitting on the harbour wall, watching dawn break over my city.

Suddenly, I felt two arms wrap around my slightly shivering body; I tensed, ready to lash out if I had to, and turned my head to see the handsome, although slightly bruised, face of none other than Racetrack Higgins! I turned my body around and held him tightly. Almost too tightly because he said in a slightly strangled voice,

"Spot...Spot... my ribcage!"

"How'd you get out?" I asked him after releasing him from my hug.

"I ran." He replied

"You ran!"

"Yeah of course I ran! There is more than 1 reason I earned the name Race, you know!" He laughed and I smiled and laughed back. I know it might sound cringey, but that was the happiest I had ever been in my life, seeing the beautiful face of my Racer again.

#newsies fic #newsies fanfiction #roger newsies #newsies roger #spot newsies #newsies spot #race newsies #newsies race #elmer newsies #newsies elmer #ginger writes #sprace newsies #newsies sprace #sprace hurt comfort #sprace hurt/comfort

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to-be-a-dreamer · 3 years ago

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Some people will read 50k+ words of angst and hurt/comfort and major character death and be completely fine but a little italicized "oh" in a slow-burn friends-to-lovers one shot will have them on the floor sobbing

#it's me #im people #fanfiction #ao3 #tagging fandoms and ships in no particular order #hurt/comfort #angst #slow burn #newsies #javid #ralbert #sprace #suddenly i have forgotten every other fandom i have ever been in #i mean i remember a few but its the embarrassing ones #oh well yolo #julie and the phantoms #dream smp #teen wolf #saframbles

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clevereverest · 11 months ago

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So… Christmas or holiday fics, anyone?

I have two Christmas fics planned myself - any other Newsies authors working on new holiday stuff, too?

Additionally, I will gladly take holiday-centered fic recs!

- Fluff or Hurt/Comfort

- Race/Spot or Jack/David

- And if you know me at all, I also love Albert/Finch, but I don’t think they have as much :( PLEASE correct me on that if I’m wrong, I’d honestly love to be wrong

Feel free to self-promote!! (I basically did lol) Just keep it to holiday-themed works, please!

#newsies #newsies writing #newsies fanfic #fanfic #fic recs #fluff #hurt/comfort #sprace #javid #javey #redfinch #hopefully those tags reach some people #I really want to hear about new fics #gotta know what to be excited about or be told about something amazing from years past #either are acceptable here

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king-of-brooklyn · 6 years ago

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Me after reading a multi-chapter, angst with a happy ending, whirlwind of a fic that has left me filled with repressed emotions: *nodding and choking back tears* Uh huh, okay, nice. Nice, really, really *sniffle* nice.

#this has been in my drafts for about 7 years #it’s dumb #but i figured i’d post it #bc whatever #and also u guys seem to like my dumb posts #basically any hurt/comfort sprace fic #fanfic #newsies fanfic #newsies

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gingers-writing-blog · 5 years ago

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What Did He Do This Time? - Sprace

Triggers: Arrest, Stealing, The Refuge, Bruises

Word Count: 1,550

Genre: Fanfiction, Canon-Era, Hurt/Comfort

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback ~The day before

Elmer's POV

"Buy a pape, miss?" I pleaded with my signature puppy eyes.

As it turned out, a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed Newsie overheard me, while making his way back to the Lodging House.

"You'se alright, kid?" He asked.

"Yeah, I haven't had a good day for selling. Again..." I replied. I showed him how many papes I had left and he cringed slightly.

"I don't think I've seen you around, you new? Oh, I'm Race by the way." He asked.

"I'm Elmer. And yes, I'm new" I replied as he started walking away from me and signalled for me to follow him.

"How old are you, kid?" He asked once we had arrived at the place he was taking me.

"11," I replied simply. Quite a few people that meet me are surprised to find out that I am 11, they always think I am 7 or 8 because I'm so small. There isn't enough food to go round at my house; what with 9 brothers and sisters to look after and feed, it is quite hard.

"Ooooo, has Elmer got a crush?!?!?" I blushed a bit, but he just brushed it off, thank God!

"Let go of me! Please!" I cried.

"Do you know this boy?" The stall owner asked him.

"Yes, as it happens, I do." Race said very matter-of-factly. "He's my little brother."

"Well, you can tell your little brother, that it is bad to steal and will earn you time in the Refuge."

Race saw me flinch at the mention of the Refuge and, for some reason, said, "I told him to steal the bread! It's not his fault! Let him go and take me instead." 'Race! What are you doing?

"Either way, he's the thief and he deserves to go to jail."

"But, I'm the one who told him too! It's not his fault that he listens to me." I could tell the men were getting tired of this and I could see that Race knew that too.

Before I knew it, tears were falling down my face and I started to run after Race, but I was held back by one of the other Newsies and I yelled,

"Race, I'm sorry, It's my fault!" That night I went home and all I could think of was Race taking the blame for me, if he was OK and the fact that he called me his little brother.

Spot's POV

"Hey, Spot!" I heard one of my Brooklyn Newsies call me.

"What is it, Roger?" I yelled down from my throne.

"It's that Racetrack Higgins!"

"What did he do this time?"

"He's been locked up in the Refuge!" With those words, I jumped down from my throne and asked him where he heard all this.

"Cowboy Jack's 'ere. He told me." I told him to bring Jack in and asked him what happened.

After Jack left I spent the rest of the day, which to be honest wasn't that much time, thinking about my poor Racer in the Refuge.

What did they do to him? Is 'e OK? Should I break him out o' there? That was what I would be thinking when I was sitting on the harbour wall, watching dawn break over my city.

"Spot...Spot... my ribcage!"

"How'd you get out?" I asked him after releasing him from my hug.

"I ran." He replied

"You ran!"

"Yeah of course I ran! There is more than 1 reason I earned the name Race, you know!" He laughed and I smiled and laughed back. I know it might sound sappy, but that was the happiest I had ever been in my life, seeing the beautiful face of my Racer again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N This one is quite old and it shows! Thanks for reading, please like and reblog. Have an amazing day!

#newsies fanfiction #newsies #sprace newsies #spot/race #spotxrace #sprace one shot #gingers-writing-blog #newsies hurt/comfort #elmer newsies #race newsies #spot conlon #spot conlon newsies

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martinscardigan · 6 years ago

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Sweet Dreams (Reader x Elmer)

Word Count: 2,770

Warnings: Mentions of Abuse, Delanceys, Violence TW, and just general angst tbh

A/N:

You were kicked out of your home for being friends with the Newsies and Elmer finds you crying on the streets. He recognizes you from selling around your house a few times and takes you to the lodgehouse. Elmer is an adorable human, and I love him

Soooo, I had this idea like a week and a half ago and it wouldn’t leave me alone. I guess in my brain I always Headcannon Elmer as just a sweetie and so this happened. Apparently hurt/comfort is like the only thing I know how to write lol

You were kicked out of your house in early January. And it was cold on the streets of New York, so your first priority was to find a place to sleep that wasn’t under a well cut tree in central park. You had seen the newsies around before, even talked to most of them before but never really in depth until one of them saw you crying as you walked down the street in the Bowery.

“Hey, Hey, I knows ya right,” He grabbed you by the shoulders and tried to get you to look up at him. “You live off of 5th, right?”

“Used to, my father just kicked me out,” You pulled away from him in anger, but the boy put his arm around you.

“The name’s Elmer, and I am not going to let you wander these streets alone, it’s getting dark-” The boy explained before you cut him off.

“And who gives you the right?”

“I mean, I just don’t want ya to freeze to death, you were always nice to me, so it’s time I repay the favor.”

For a moment you weighed your options, he did make a good point about not freezing to death, but also, you weren’t anyone’s charity case. Only giving in to walk silently at Elmer’s side, his arm dropping when he realized you weren’t going to bolt. You followed him all the way to the Newsboy’s Lodgehouse.

“No, no way. I ain’t no newsie,” you protested, placing your feet firmly on the ground.

“You don’t gotta be a newsie forever, but until you find something you like better, this is gonna be the safest spot for ya,” Elmer shrugged.

“I just- the whole reason I’m in this mess is that my father- well, he saw me talking to a group of you one day. It was Race, Albert and Specs- I think, and he didn’t like that, he said it brought shame on the family name to associate with lowlifes like that. Said if he saw it happen again I’d be out on the street selling papes faster than I could count to ten,”

Elmer just looked at you for a moment and you took it as a hint to keep talking.

“And this morning he saw me walking around town with Les, the younger one. And after working today, he came home and threw me out, with just the clothes on my back and told me I’d disgrace the family less if I just-” You started crying and Elmer looked at you with sympathetic eyes. He put his arm around your shoulder and practically dragged you into the lodgehouse.

The inside of the lodgehouse was warmer and more humid than it was outside, and the break from the harsh wind was much needed. Your fingers had started to go numb and your ears were nearly frostbitten- you were sure of it. The first thing he did was push you on to a couch and told you to stay there, which was easily accomplished as you knew you couldn’t go back outside now that you were remembering what it felt like to actually have feeling in your fingers.

It could have been just a few minutes to over an hour before Elmer came back, you weren’t sure. You could see the shoes of the Newsboys shuffling around you, you didn’t want to look up at any of them though, lest they recognize you. When Elmer came back, he carried a mug of hot water and a blanket.

“There,” he said, after getting you wrapped in the blanket and sipping on the hot water.

“Thank you,” you smiled at him weakly. He smiled back and despite it all, you found his smile to be the most comforting thing about this whole experience.

“You don’t have to stay around here for long, but I think it’s better than the streets, and besides a lot of the guys know who you are already,” Elmer offered, the smile continuing to glow on his face.

“I don’t want to be a bother,” you whispered, another stray tear leaking from your eye.

“You ain’t gonna be a bother, besides, the bunk next to mine is open and I’d rather have you as a neighbor than someone else,” he explained. And for a moment you deliberated the idea, your hands started to have feeling in them, and it provided some new clarity.

“Well, I suppose bein’ a newsie won’t be all that bad, right? You just gotta promise to teach me,” you shrugged. If your father decided the reason you should be kicked out was because of the newsies, then why not lean into it, right?

Elmer did a little dance in his seat at this, and gave you a hug. At first you stiffened but then leaned in.

“This is gonna be so great, Y//N!”

-.-.

A few days later was your first day selling papes. You needed the time to recuperate from getting kicked out and being on the streets. Your small mattress was basically a new home at this point.

It was precious, all the guys had pitched in to buy you a coat, and a scarf. Race had brought a catalogue that he had found and you were in the process of tearing pictures out of it so you could have some photos of things you liked in your space.

And then there was Elmer, he was so kind to you that sometimes you didn’t know what to do. The first night you stayed in the lodgehouse, he slept on the floor next to your bed in case you needed something or started crying. The second night, when you did start crying in the middle of the night, he jumped into action, wrapping his arms around you and humming an old Polish song until you calmed down.

This morning he woke you up by jumping on top of you.

“Y//N! It’s time to wake up! Yous gonna be my partner today!!!” He half shouted, and you couldn’t help but smile as you heard all the Newsies groan.

“Could you not have waited for the mornin’ bell to ring?” You accused, and just as soon as your sat up in your bed, the bell rung. In the dark blue morning light, you barely contained a giggle as Elmer flicked his eyebrows up at you.

“Get a move on!” He lept back off of the bed, and held a hand out to help you out of bed. You ran your fingers through your hair, put on socks, boots, and your cap. You caught a glimpse of your reflection as you walked past a window, you looked like a real newsie now. Elmer tossed you a biscuit for breakfast and you grinned as you took a bite.

“Y//N likes Elmer,” Race drew as he was putting on his suspenders.

“Shut up Race, we’re just friends, that’s all,” You laughed taking another bite of the biscuit.

“Uh-huh, friends like me and Spot Conlon, right?” Race wiggled his eyebrows. You cringed slightly, unable to forget when you had accidentally walked in on them making out, no one telling you what the cap on the door meant.

“Shut up Race,” You repeated, still laughing. You put your coat on, and your scarf just before walking to Newsies square. The air was cold, the morning still mainly dark, but the laughter of your newfound friends made up for it.

You waited at the gate between Elmer and Albert, purposefully trying not to shiver because you had heard that the Delancey Brothers could smell weakness from a mile away and would harass you endlessly for it. When you saw the two brothers come to open the gate, you could smell the entitled coming off of them.

“LINE UP!” The Weasel called, truth be told you were so scared and your heart was racing so fast that the only thing you could think to do was to follow Elmer so closely that you were almost holding onto the back of his shirt. You got your papes and followed Elmer to a corner that you didn’t recognize. For the first little bit you watched him hawk the paper and you made some mental notes.

Unfortunately the headline wasn’t great so it wasn’t the easiest thing you had ever done. But at the end of the day you were able to get your own food, and that was what mattered to you.

“Sorry, I don’t think I was very good at that,” you took a bite of your food.

“It takes lots of practice, and admittedly, I may not be the best teacher,” Elmer shrugged. You were walking home in the orange of the street lights and the air seemed to be freezing around you as you went.

“You did better than me,” you shrugged, ahead of you and Elmer you saw two figures who you barely recognized in the fog of your breath but as they got closer, you recognized the rich, entitled Delancey brothers from earlier. In a moment of panic you grabbed onto Elmer’s arm.

“This is not good, if I told you to run and find Jack, would you be able to get back to the lodgehouse?” Elmer turned to you and whispered frantically, you paused for a moment racking your brain to remember and you frantically shook your head that you couldn’t.

“I’m not gonna let them hurt you,” Elmer said with the most anger you had ever heard in his voice. He took a few steps in front of you, and stood there protectively.

“Well, look what we got here, two newsies,” Oscar cracked his knuckles, and Morris smirked.

“We ain’t lookin’ for any trouble Oscar,” Elmer said gruffly.

“Yeah, well, we’s got express orders to rough up a certain new newsie,” Morris said and looked pointedly at you. “Your father ain’t too pleased with ya, are they?”

You gasped in mild horror, and held to Elmer’s arm a little bit tighter. You watched in abject horror as they walked closer to you. The next several moments seemed like they stretched for years. Oscar and Morris rushed forward and pushed past Elmer quickly, and then you felt a strong pain in your jaw. You balled your fist and swung, hitting the air in front of Morris’ face. Elmer managed to pull Oscar off of you, and knocked him out.

When Oscar’s body hit the ground, Morris stopped and turned his focus onto Elmer. You felt a surge of strength and managed to get up off the ground.

“Morris, stop!” You kicked him, and then tried to look around for anything to hit him with. There wasn’t anything you could think of, but you couldn’t handle to see the sweetest person you knew in this situation. You managed to pull Morris off Elmer, and dodge his fist as it swung at your face. “Just get Oscar and go.”

You pushed him onto the ground and went to Elmer who was leaning up against a building trying to catch his breath.

“Are you going to be okay to get us back to the lodge house?” You asked, putting your arm around his shoulders.

“I’ll be okay, he missed most of his hits, but you look like hell,” Elmer grunted.

“Thanks, lets go,” you started to walk, half dragging Elmer. When you made it back to the lodgehouse you nearly collapsed on the couch and called for Race and Albert to bring the first aid kit.

“Oh my God what happened to you two?” Race asked as he rushed in with the box holding the medical supplies.

“My father paid off the Delancy’s,” you explained, Albert and Race helped to patch the two of you up. Coming to the conclusion that there would be some pretty horrible bruises, but not much worse than that. Elmer had sprained his ankle, but he said the pain was manageable. Just as you were about to help Elmer up the stairs, you saw Jack come through the door.

“Delanceys?” Jack said simply sighing. You hadn’t seen much of him since coming to the lodgehouse, but you knew him on sight.

“Yeah, and someone can’t walk anymore,” you jokingly glared at Elmer. Jack grumbled and apologized that this happened, sending you a tired smile.

“I’ll help you with Elmer,” Jack walked over and Elmer hobbled over to Jack, who carried the extra weight significantly better than you did.

“Y//N’s dad paid off the Delanceys to soak us.” Elmer explained as you all walked up the stairs.

“Are you serious?” Jack turned his head and looked at you with shock on his face. You nodded grimmly.

“They didn’t get me too bad, just my ankle,” Elmer shrugged.

“You gonna sell tomorrow?” Jack asked, you followed a few steps back just listening to Jack and Elmer talk about what the plans were for the next day. You felt an ache in your legs from kicking so hard. You were thankful that the room you were in was on the third floor instead of the fourth or fifth.

“Hey, Y//N, if ya need anything, I’ll be on the roof, got it?” Jack smiled, he touched your shoulder comfortingly, and had a kind look in his eye. You decided that while you definitely had a healthy fear and respect for Jack, he was also very kind to the younger Newsies.

“Come on Elmer,” you helped him over to his bed. “I’m sorry this happened. I knew my family would get in the way sometime soon, but not in just a few days, and not like this.”

“Hey, I’d get in front of the Delancey’s for you any day,” Elmer grinned and patted the bed next to him.

“You’ve been so kind to me since I got kicked out and this is how I repay you,” You sighed as you sat next to him on the soft mattress.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay in a few days,” he put his arm around your shoulders.

“It’s just not fair,” you shrugged. “Well, I better get some rest if you ain’t gonna sell tomorrow.”

You went to stand up, but Elmer grabbed your hand as you did.

“Uhm, stay. I’d rather you be here, since I can’t make it over if you have a nightmare,” his voice was barely above a whisper, with a few boys milling around you nervously closed the short distance.

“Are you sure? Won’t we get in trouble or something?” You sat on his bed next to him, the close proximity making it hard to think straight.

“Nah, we’ll just say it was cold or something, now help me take off my boots,” Elmer laughed, and his smile was charming. Next thing you knew you were helping him unlace his shoes, and take off his jacket, and scarves. You put them in a pile on the floor and then undid you shoes, placed them next to his, and added your coat to the pile.

You saw Race out of the corner of your eye and he winked at you. You rolled your eyes, and then laid down next to Elmer. There wasn’t a lot of space so you were really close. You rolled onto your side and Elmer pulled you to him.

“It saves space,” Elmer shrugged, a smirk on his face. You rolled your eyes, but as Elmer started to hum the song that was so familiar to you by now you fell under the current of sleep quickly.

The nightmares stayed away that night.

Over the next few days as Elmer was healing you went and sold with several of the boys. Each had their own take on it, Race talked to as many people as possible, Jack made up headlines that caught the attention of everyone, Albert was very specific about who he talked to and what he said, and Les, well, Les was just adorable, so who wouldn’t have wanted to buy from him?

You brought back sandwiches for Elmer everyday, you would split them and sit on the floor, talking about whatever you did that day. His ankle was getting better, and slowly but surely you were able to get out and sell together again.

With the skills you learned from the others, each day blew by like a breath of fresh air. The routine was simple, and you got into the groove quickly. No matter how much you loved joking with Elmer during the day, when it came time to go home at night, you looked forward to sleeping next to him. You never had a nightmare again.

#newsies #newsies fic #my writing #reader x elmer #elmer x reader #hurt/comfort #idk i think its cute #sprace is also mentioned #this is kinda like my child because ive worked on it for a week and a half not just like BANG done

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ao3feed-newsies · 1 month ago

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Being Impulsive

by, MoreSonorous by MoreSonorous David Jacobs was not a particularly impulsive individual. He'd had the same best friend since the third grade (Jack Kelly), been in love with said best friend since freshman year, and was perfectly happy with pining silently until the day he died, so long as things remained the same. Senior year rolled around, and the aforementioned best friend got a girlfriend. New relationships toss David and Jack's relationship into turmoil, and David finds that the consequences of acting before thinking can be unfortunately extreme. Words: 8047, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken, Newsies (1992) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: David Jacobs, Jack Kelly (Newsies), Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Sarah Jacobs (Newsies), Racetrack Higgins, Crutchie (Newsies), Esther Jacobs (Newsies), Mayer Jacobs, Les Jacobs Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, David Jacobs/Original Male Character(s), Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins Additional Tags: Abusive Relationships, Physical Abuse, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Slow Burn, Getting Together, Miscommunication, Jewish David Jacobs, Latino Jack Kelly (Newsies), (sprace if you squint), (newsbians if you really squint), Jewish Jacobs Family (Newsies), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Not Actually Unrequited Love read : https://ift.tt/X1KLrOw - October 16, 2024 at 02:45PM

#AO3feed #newsies #fanfic #newsies fanfic

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racebox-of-higgars · 3 years ago

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Want Me Like That

This is a very fluffy sprace oneshot that I wrote for a request - which are open, just send an ask!

Summary: Race and Spot are best friends, and they have been for years. Their friendship is perfect, except for one problem. Race is 99% sure he's in love with Spot, and Spot would never want him like that.

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31547567

“Jack, I have no idea what to do,” Race said, flopping down onto the couch the moment he walked through the door.

“When do you ever have any idea what to do?” Jack asked, looking up from whatever new sketch he was working on.

“Shut up, this is serious.” Race sat up to look at Jack, who turned slightly to face Race.

“Okay, shoot, what’s wrong?”

“So, y’know Spot?” Race asked. Jack nodded.

“Short, super hench, terrifying?”

“That’s the one. Anyway, so he’s one of my best friends, except I sort of fucked up since I have a massive crush on him but I’m like 99% sure he’s straight and even if he’s not he’s, well, him, and I’m me, and I’ve liked him for so long I doubt it’s going to go away but he’s never going to want me and it just- it hurts,” Race said, his voice wavering as he got to the end. Jack was quiet for a moment as he took everything Race said in.

“Do you want advice?” Race shrugged.

“I don’t know, your advice is usually terrible anyway.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” A small smile tugged at Race’s lips. “First of all, Spot’s kind of an asshole, so why him? Secondly, do you want to get over him?”

“Spot’s not an asshole. Not to me,” Race said.

It was true that Spot did present this intimidating persona, but that came down around Race. The way he was with Race was so different from the way he was with everyone else, it made Race feel special, like he was worth something. Spot made him feel like he was worth it, and though he knew that Spot didn’t want him the same way he wanted Spot, it felt nice to feel wanted, at least in some way.

“And as for what I want - I don’t know. I don’t want to feel like this. My chest hurts around him and I just- why is he so perfect?” Race continued. He was convinced that he was in love with Spot, and had been for a while, and he didn’t know how to get over that.

“I’d disagree with you on that, but okay. I’m going to regret saying this, but ask him out.” Jack grimaced as he said it, as if questioning all of the choices he had made that brought him to this moment. “Before you say anything, it won’t ruin your friendship if he’s worth having as a friend. Secondly, you should see the way he looks at you. It’s like you’re the moon and stars.” A light flush dusted Race’s cheeks at that, but he shook his head.

“He’s straight, Jack. He’s not going to want me like that.” Jack raised a brow.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Jack sighed.

“Just think it over, please?”

“Alright.” Sure, he could do that.

He did not do that. Race still didn’t act on his feelings. He wanted to, at times, but each time he got close fear took over and he couldn’t go through with it. Instead, he watched Spot from afar, short glances across the classrooms and secret shared smiles that seemed as though they held more than just friendship, but that wasn’t possible.

Across the room, Spot sat, head in a textbook. His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth and his brow furrowed in concentration and his hair swept across his brow perfectly, like it always did when it was just the two of them like this. Spot took down his persona there, and he was much more relaxed when they were alone. He was beautiful like this, curled up in an armchair as he scanned the book, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. Race was staring again. Before he could look away, Spot looked up and met his eyes, a gentle smile playing on his lips. He didn’t say anything, but the eye contact and smile alone were enough to dust Race’s cheeks pink as he looked away, staring at the floor.

“You were staring,” Spot pointed out, finally breaking the comfortable silence between them. Race flushed darker.

“No- no, I wasn’t,” he protested, despite it being obvious. Spot looked up at him, smiling again, and god that smile made Race weak in the knees and turned his brain to mush,

“You were, again. You do that a lot.”

“I do?” Race had thought he was being subtle with it, but clearly not. He had tried to keep all of this a secret, force it deep beneath the surface, but that hadn’t worked and now everything he held dear was at risk. He valued Spot’s friendship too much to throw it all away because of one stupid crush.

“Yeah, it’s cute.” Race’s brain just about short-circuited there. Was Spot leading into what he thought he was, or was he making it all up?

“What- I don’t understand what you’re looking for,” Race said, because he didn’t, and he needed to know. He had to know if this was a cruel game or if Spot truly wanted him. Spot set his book down, made his way over to Race, and gently cupped his cheek in one hand.

“I’m looking for you.” Race’s breath hitched in his throat and he couldn’t think and he couldn’t breathe and Spot was only inches away and he could taste his breath on his lips. In the dim light of Spot’s bedroom, he was all gorgeous sharp angles and dark eyes and Race was so gone for him.

“What are you looking for?” Race repeated, his voice high and breathy. Spot’s eyes searched his for a moment, before flickering down to his lips. Race’s breath stuttered as Spot’s hands tangled in his shirt and dragged him in for a fierce, bruising kiss.

Race’s whole body shut down as his fingers found Spot’s hair, pulling him impossibly closer. He was kissing Spot Conlon. He was kissing Spot Conlon and it was everything he had dreamed it would be and more. It was perfect, the way they fit together, and the way Spot’s touch sent rushes of electricity through his body, and the way Spot held him so carefully, as if he were glass, but still firm, still full of purpose.

Finally, they had to pull away, much to Race’s dismay, and Spot wrapped Race tightly in his arms, holding him against his chest and carding his fingers through Race’s hair. He peppered Race’s face with feather-light kisses, causing him to blush, and he couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped him. Spot grinned, pressing yet another kiss to Race’s forehead.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” He said, not really meaning to, it just slipped out completely unchecked, but he loved the dark flush it brought out on Race’s cheeks.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Race responded with a light-hearted smile. Spot rolled his eyes and kissed Race’s cheek. He couldn’t get enough of those kisses that left his head reeling, even if they were only on the forehead or the cheek. He had waited long enough for them.

That night, Race didn’t go home, instead opting to spend the night in Spot’s arms as they shared lazy kisses and inside jokes without a care in the world. He laid with his head on Spot’s chest, tracing absent-minded patterns on his collarbone while Spot gently stroked his hair and he wondered why he had ever waited for this - why he had hidden everything when he could have had this so much sooner.

Spot slept quietly beside him as Race listened to the steady beat of his heart and the rise and fall of his chest, when his phone lit up.

Jack: It went well, I’m guessing?

You: I’ve never said this before and don’t get used to it, but you were right. It’s perfect, he’s perfect

Jack: You didn’t ask him, did you?

You: Shut up

Race looked over at Spot, and he couldn’t keep the lovestruck smile from his face. Okay, so Jack had been right. Spot had wanted him like that, and it was perfect.

#newsies #newsies fanfiction #sprace #sprace fanfiction #spot conlon x racetrack higgins #fanfiction #fic rec #fluff #request

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somedayonbroadway · 4 years ago

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hii it’s me again and im obsessed with the nerve au- i was wondering if you could do a sprace version, please?

Hi, love! Of course I can! Sorry, this is so late :)

Characters

Racetrack Higgins (@racer) — Vee

Spot Conlon (@kingofbrooklyn) — Ian

Jack Kelly — Tommy

Albert DaSilva (@redhotal) — Sydney

Kid Blink (@ublinked) — Ty

JoJo De La Guerra — Wes

Crutchie Morris — Liv

Oscar Morris — JP

Katherine Pulitzer — Hacker Kween

Okay so…

Race is a foster kid. For most of his life, the poor boy did his best to fade into the background, to be the perfect, adoptable child. He avoids risks, he keeps to himself and the few friends he has. He doesn’t want to lose a spot at the table. He doesn’t want to put himself out there. After all, his parents were everything he wasn’t. They’d had him young. They took risks. They went on adventures. And one day, they never came back.

Even after Race is placed in a good foster home, even after he meets his foster brothers and mother and feels like he’s part of a family, he’s still scared to step outside of his bubble of comfort even though his brothers were a bit more social. Race was adopted right before he started high school. He was fourteen. Jack was fifteen and Specs was seventeen.

Three years later, they were hit by a drunk driver. Specs didn’t make it.

Race’s senior year wasn’t quite the same after that.

Race wants to travel. He wants to go to culinary school in Italy. So he applies. And he gets in. But he doesn’t accept the application. He’s terrified to leave Medda and Jack alone without Spencer. The pain hasn’t quite faded yet.

After seeing the acceptance letter, Race sets it aside before school and goes online instead, stalking a boy online that he’s had a crush on for years. Oscar Delancey. Jack thinks he’s a jerk. Race thinks he’s misunderstood.

That’s when his best friend FaceTimes him. Albert DaSilva has been Race’s best friend since he was first taken into Medda’s place and he is always looking for some extra attention. Race doesn’t mind so much, but sometimes it can get exhausting.

Albert tells Race to stop stalking Oscar on Instagram and, instead, sign up to watch Albert play Nerve, an online game where people get dared and have to perform those dares for their “watchers” for money and fame. Race scoffs at the game and tells Albert that it sounds ridiculous before he leaves for school.

Jack drives him. Race tries to tell him about Italy, but he chickens out. Instead, he goes to school where Albert gets his first dare.

Race’s other friends, Crutchie and JoJo record Albert on his own phone as he runs across the football field during a rally, buck naked. To no one's surprise Albert is suspended later that day. Despite this, while out for milkshakes after school, Albert informs Race that he will still be playing Nerve in hopes of becoming famous.

Jack, who meets the other kids at the restaurant, tells Albert he’s being ridiculous. This causes Albert to turn the tables on Race and tell him he could never be a player on Nerve and then all of his friends vote on a date for him with Jack being the only no. They dare him to talk to Oscar, a simple task that will just push him slightly out of his comfort zone. Race chickens out.

So Albert does it for him, only for Oscar to tell him that he’s not interested in Race. Race stands and storms out and Jack stops Albert from following him, telling him that he just hurt his little brother and better think about what he’s doing next time before Jack decides to punch in the nose.

Race rushes back home where he finds that he never closed the Nerve window on his computer. He watches the video on his screen where he finds out the rules of the game. There’s only three:

1. all dares must be recorded on the player's phone

2. any earned money will be revoked if a player fails or bails on a dare

3. "snitches get stitches."

It’s sketchy as hell but Race has a point to prove. When the question comes up “Watcher or Player,” against all of the boy’s instincts, he makes a decision. Player.

Race is running down the stairs when Jack gets home. He has his first dare. He needs Jack to drive him to Jacobi’s Diner. Jack does, because Race asked him to. That doesn’t stop Jack from giving Race a lecture on how stupid he’s being. Still, Race is determined to prove he isn’t a coward.

His dare is to kiss a stranger for five seconds. Jack records it for him as they eventually find someone reading a book that Specs had read to him once when he was going through an insomnia spell. To The Lighthouse. Race kisses the other boy for a lot longer than he had to and eventually stumbles away says “thank you!” and runs back to Jack.

Jack tells him that he needs to quit now after Race gets one hundred dollars for playing the game. Race almost concedes before he hears someone singing. The boy he’d just kissed walks over to him and sings to him, asking him to run away with him.

Jack realizes it’s a dare and tries to pull Race up and out of the diner, but the boy sits with them and tells him that some kid brought him that book and told him to sit and wait. Jack comments that it sounds like he responds well to puppy commands and starts calling him Spot. Spot doesn’t correct him.

Another dare comes. The watchers want Race and Spot to run away together, run away to the center of the city. Jack tries to stop them. But Race didn’t know how much he was longing for an adventure until that moment.

Race rides with Spot on his motorcycle to a very expensive store in the center of Manhattan where Spot goes in before him and Race is dared to try on a very expensive suit that he looked very good in. He changes on camera. Jack watches him, terrified to look away as he tries to follow him and stop him from getting himself killed. Apparently some kid died in Santa Fe playing Nerve.

Race doesn’t listen to his warnings and continues to take dares with Spot until they are dared to leave the store after their clothes have been stolen. Race says he won’t shoplift, but Spot is insistent. So Race comes up with a compromise.

They run out of the store in nothing but their underwear. Their watchers get a kick out of it. One of them even buys them the clothes they tried on, letting them keep them.

Jack decides he’s watched for long enough and calls someone for help. A dear friend of his. Okay, it’s his girlfriend, and maybe she’s a little older than him, but hey, who’s keeping track? He asks her for access to the dark web and she reluctantly gives it to him. When he has access, he finds all he can on Spot, previously known as Sean Conlon, a kid who played the game in Santa Fe.

He doesn’t seem like an upstanding citizen.

Albert is trying his best to get into the top ten, to win the whole game, but his watchers won’t give him any real dares. He’s out with Crutchie and JoJo when they find out that Race is playing the game. Albert is shocked and a bit jealous at how fast Race is moving up in the game.

Becoming a pair in this game, Race is dared to get a tattoo of Spot’s choosing and, though terrified of getting a tattoo at the wrath of his mother, accepts the dare and lets Spot calm him down with some music while he gets the thing, to later find out that it’s a lighthouse, for To The Lighthouse. After Race manages to complete this dare, the watchers move forward with a dare for Spot. He has to get to sixty miles per hour on his motorcycle while blindfolded.

Race almost bails on him because of it, because he’s terrified, but Spot manages to convince him to help and Race guides him while they get to sixty in five minutes. They barely make it and then they almost crash, and then they kiss, feeling invincible.

Jack can hardly watch, fearing his little brother might die and then his mother calls, asking why the hell money is being deposited into Race’s account and where it’s coming from, so Jack has to deal with that while he’s still trying to look for his brother.

Spot takes Race to a carousel. They mess around on it while Race tells Spot about Specs, about how Specs was fearless, about how Specs pushed him to do things he would’ve never done otherwise. Spot tells him it’s a shame he never met him. He thinks they would’ve gotten along. Race agrees with him before Albert tries calling him.

Albert has been at a party with the rest of their friends. They’re all watching Race play Nerve live on a big screen. He sees Race reject his call. He hears Race call him annoying, frustrating, attention demanding. It hurts. And everyone else gets to hear it too.

Spot suggests they go to the party that Albert’s at to show everyone that he’s not who they thought, to show people that he got a tattoo and his own opinions. However, when they get there, they find that Albert has bailed on a dare after the watchers found out he was scared of heights. He nearly fell from a ladder suspended above ten stories.

He’s pissed that his best friend wasn’t there to talk him out of it. This sparks an argument between Race and Albert. Race eventually tells Albert to sign up and watch him from now on if he wants to know where he is. Then he accepts his next dare, to finish Albert’s. He walks across the ladder only to be met with his big brother who tells him that Spot set him up, that he took a dare to get him to the party to fight with Albert. Race shoves him away and finds Spot, demanding to know if that’s true.

Spot pulls him into the elevator and tries to explain. But Race won’t let him. He’s had enough. He runs out of the building. He finds a cop and tries to tell him about Nerve. He needs someone to shut it down. But he gets distracted by a call from his mother, telling him that everything they had was gone, that their savings had been drained and photos were showing up on her and Jack’s social media page that shouldn’t be. Before Race can respond, he’s knocked out cold by a player who has been around the whole time, someone Race suspected Spot knew.

When he wakes up, he finds himself in a metal cage with the words “Snitches get Stitches” scrawled out on the walls. A computer lights up and tells Race that he is now their prisoner. A prisoner of the game. A flash of Jack comes across the screen. Then one of Albert. Terrified, Race tries to break out only for Spot to show up and pick the lock for him.

Spot explains to Race that he’s a prisoner of Nerve too and that the watchers control his whole life, and not just that, they control his family’s life. His sisters and his mother too. The only money they get is money the watchers give them after they messed with his mom’s job and his sisters’ futures have been destroyed. He explains that they’re going to give Race an impossible dare and that they sent Spot here after him to finish it for him if he can’t.

Down the hall, muffled voices are heard and Race walks into a new room to find Jack and Albert tied up and gagged on chairs and a gun sitting in between them. He’s dared to choose who lives and who dies.

Race is obviously scared and refuses to choose, trying to bail, but Spot stops him, telling him that if he bails, he’ll be a prisoner until the game comes around again. He has to win to get out. So Race takes the gun and aims it at his own head, causing the watchers to tell him to stop. They need someone to control. So Race stops and Spot unties the other boys and helps them out finding a secluded parking lot to drop them off before he rushes off to complete his next dare, trying to make sure he was the one in the finals with Race instead of Blink, the other boy who he was made prisoner with after going to the cops when their friend died playing the game.

Spot takes the same dare that got his friend killed, hanging one handed from a construction crane. He manages to do it, putting himself in the finals.

Jack, Race and Albert pull together and form a plan, calling some backup in and going to The Cloud, a place Katherine often hangs out. He asks her and her hacker friends to try and gain control of the boys controlling the game and she does. Jack takes Albert there after Albert makes a call at a pay phone. They try to hack the game while Jack gets a call from his panicking mother whom he tells to meet him at The Cloud.

Race goes to the finals and is given another gun. When he sees Spot across this mysterious arena, he tries to run to him, having fallen for him over the course of all of these insane events, but the watchers tell them to stop and take their marks. The first to shoot their opponent wins.

Spot tells Race to shoot him in the shoulder. Race almost complies, but shoots the ground, telling him that he can’t do this. He tries to walk away but someone from the crowd says that he’ll take the challenge instead.

Blink jumps into the arena.

Medda gets to The Cloud just in time to watch the whole thing.

The watchers vote for Blink to shoot Race. And he does.

Medda can’t fathom the fact that she’s lost another child.

But Jack just tells Katherine to blow it up as Race falls into Spot’s arms.

Spot begs him to wake up as the anonymous players phones reveal their real names and tell them their accessories to murder. Everyone begins to sign off.

Spot cries over Race, completely horrified and tries to shoot Blink before Race shoots up in his arms, telling him that he was alright, that it was all fake. So Spot hugs him and begs him to never do that again.

But he’s so happy that he’s finally free.

Race immediately calls Jack and Medda and they cry together. So Spot takes him to them.

Jack and Medda encourage Race to go to Italy and Spot and him end up in a committed relationship. Albert and Race makeup and Jack is still overprotective as ever and they heal from the loss of Specs and are able to actually love on.

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