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Something to Believe In: Prologue Part One

Pairing: n/a, this section will just be a backstory for newsie!reader.

Prompt: Newsies inspired Seventeen fic

Warnings: Implications of child labor and unsafe/unfair working conditions. All is safe during the time of the fic though.

Release Date: August 30, 2024

Summary:

It’s 1899 after the infamous Newsboys’ Strike in which Newsies of New York City successfully negotiated fair prices of newspapers. Tensions have finally ceased between the higher ups of the newspaper company, The New York World, and the lower employees, the Newsies, who work for them selling newspapers all across the city. You’re the leader of a smaller newspaper printing company based in Gramercy selling newspapers for the Gramercy Gazette. You love your job there but since the big strike, smaller newspaper companies are combining with bigger ones like The New York World, and you fear you might have to change neighborhoods soon. Still, you continue to lead your group of newsies and do the best to protect them out on the streets of New York City.

Prologue Part One: Another Day Carryin' the Banner

You woke up on your cot to the sound of distant church bells chiming. Being a light sleeper, you always woke up to the first church bells of the day. The sun had barely started to show its bright rays for the day but a bluish hue lit up the room. As your eyes adjusted, you could see everyone else sleeping in the close quarters you all shared. Next to you were three of your closest friends, all cuddled up in a singular bed meant to fit only one of them. No matter how uncomfortable it got, they refused to sleep anywhere else, loving the comfort that closeness offered them. A little further away, sleeping atop some blankets set atop the hard wooden floor, were some of the newer folks who joined us right after the big strike in hopes of a place with better working conditions than the factories from which they came. Against the wall, you spotted the youngest of your group, snoring loudly. She was cute as a button, only 6 years old, but was a natural at sellin’ papes. Whether they’d been there as long as you, or had just started yesterday, you considered all of them your family. You considered all Newsies to be your family but these ones was special. You’d never had anyone else to call family for as long as you could remember so you considered the Newsies yours. You didn’t care who they were or where they came from. You were just there to sell papes and be there for them. Help ‘em out whenever they need it. And stand up for them if necessary. 

You sat up on your cot, dangling your feet off so they touched the floor, and stretched your arms up to the ceiling. Another day of work and everyone was counting on you to wake them up. 

“Alright Newsies, let’s go! Another day, another dollar! Winks! Peggy! Laces! I know you three bums want an extra 5 minutes of sleep but not today!” you called out to all your Newsies. “Gramercy is gonna be awake soon so we better get a move on!” 

You always made sure to keep your neck of the woods on a tight schedule. That way you could always be on time to pick up your papes as soon as they were released from the Gramercy Gazette, or the GG as you called it, and you could beat the other boroughs to the streets to make your coin. As long as you kept to a schedule and made sure that the GG was making plenty of money to stay in business, you could ensure you are being the best leader of the Gramercy Newsies that you could possibly be. You’d worked your way up in the ranks since you started with the GG and you’d finally made it to the top… the top of the Newsie ranks, that is. But you were happy with that… for now.

Everyone started getting up and going about their morning routines, some bathing in tin wash basins, others shaving their faces, others braiding their hair up and out of their faces. You made your way out to the fire escape where you’d hung your clothes to dry the day before and grabbed a pair of trousers and a shirt. You put them on and then laced up your boots and put on your cap, backwards like you always wore it. After a little while longer, everyone else was ready to go too, and you led them all downstairs to the printing facilities to buy the day’s papes. 

Another day carryin’ the banner. With the big election coming up, you expected the papes to be full of political news stories- a topic that was thankfully more appealing than the trolley strike from a few weeks back. You quickly scanned the front of the paper and confirmed that it was some news story about a local politician trying to make his way up in the ranks and instructed everyone else to buy extra papes for the day, knowing they’d sell them easily. You’d begged one of the other newsies to teach you to read and write when you were younger- skills that most newsies did not possess- thinking that it might help you in the future. Evidently, that was a smart move. Now as their leader, you could advise the other newsies on how many papes they should buy, depending on the story on the front page. Even after the strike, knowing the GG would buy the papes back that weren’t sold, it was more of a convenience thing than anything, especially for those who were younger. 

You stepped up to the newspaper distribution window first and were faced with Mr. Dimer, a kind, older gentleman who sold you your newspapers every day.

“Right on time, y/n,” he grinned. “I can always count on you for that.” 

“I’d never be late for you, Mr. Dimer,” you smirked. 

“And you can always count on me to make sure you all start your day on a full stomach,” he said, pulling out a basket of apples from behind the counter and setting them in front of you. “Pass these out, kid.” 

“Mr. Dimer, you really didn’t have to…” you say, though you knew the old man would always buy you and the other newsies whatever you needed. 

“Take them, I insist!” he told you with a smile. 

“Thank you,” you said, nodding your head and taking the basket. You instructed the other newsies to start handing them out while you fished in your pocket for some coins. You set a few on the counter, “I’ll take five stacks please.” 

He took the coins and gave you five bundles of newspapers but you noticed a sad look in his eyes. Your eyebrows furrowed. 

“What’s the matter, eh?” you asked him quietly, leaning in so that the others couldn’t hear you. 

“I’m not supposed to say anything, but you know I love you kids. I just can’t keep anything from you,” he told you. 

“What’s the problem? Whatever it is, we can fix it. It’ll be fine,” I assured us both. 

“I’m sure you heard about it by now, kid, but since the strike, tons of newspaper companies are getting taken over by The New York World and-”

“What are you saying? Gramercy’s getting taken over by them too? We’ll still be okay though, right?”

“I’m afraid this would mean the end of the Gramercy Gazette,” he told you solemnly. 

“What…?” was all that came out. Your mind became overloaded with concern. “What does that mean for us?” 

“Well, on the bright side, you kids will have it easy. You just need to get a job in a different borough. Say, I know a couple a guys in Brooklyn! We could help set ya up there in no time,” Mr. Dimer suggested. 

“I don’t wanna go to Brooklyn, I wanna stay here,” you told him, sternly. 

“You can stay here but you’ll be out of work with the GG. Your best bet is to get on the good side of the leader of a different borough and try to get everyone to transfer with you,” he sighed. “I’m so sorry, kid. I know how much this job means to you.”  

You sighed, thinking of how hard you had all worked for the GG. Surely this couldn’t be the fault of you and your newsies. You and the others worked so hard and you were certain you did well at your job. This had to be a problem with the higher ups. 

“How long do we have left here? How long until Gramercy is shut down?” you asked.

Mr. Dimer, look away from you, not wanting to meet your gaze, “You have until the end of this week.” 

Author's Note:

If you made it this far, I want to thank you!! I'm going to be completely honest, this part will probably be the most boring of all of them but I needed to set the story up somehow for my own sanity lol. I gotta get my ducks in a row when I'm writing ya know? Anyway, I will hopefully update soon so I hope you stick around or maybe you would rather come back in a little while after the fic is complete. It's all the same to me. Thanks again and I'll talk to you in the next one! :)

Something to Believe In: Prologue Part Two

Pairing: n/a, this section will just be a backstory for newsie!reader.

Prompt: Newsies inspired Seventeen fic

Warnings: Violence and bullying.

Release Date: September 19, 2024

Summary:

You find yourself out of work and are looking to secure a new job working as a newsie for the largest newspaper printing company in the city: The New York World. Daunting as that might be, you head to Newsies Square early to beat the other newsies to the stand to buy papes and hopefully impress them. However, luck is not on your side and your day ends up quite differently than you planned...

Prologue Part Two: Welcome to Newsies Square

You tread across the cobblestone path as you clung to a small bag thrown over your shoulder. In it, a collection of your personal belongings that you decided to take with you. The rest, you’d given to the other newsies who seemed to need it more than you. An old slingshot that you enjoyed when you were younger but no longer found use of, you’d given to your youngest, hoping she’d enjoy it just as much as you had. A couple of articles of clothing that no longer fit you, you’d given to some of the others who were a bit smaller than you, and they’d repurposed their old clothes to those who were smaller than them too. It was something you’d always instructed everyone to do, to make the best use of your resources, but it was especially important now that you wouldn’t have each other to rely on anymore. 

You ensured everyone found a new job before the GG was shut down, whether that was as a newsie working for a different company, in a factory, as a shoe shiner, or something else of that nature. You needed to make sure your people were safe and taken care of. So much so that you’d barely thought about yourself. You’d saved up enough money to survive a couple of weeks on your own but you didn’t want to spend those weeks by yourself on the streets. You needed to find work fast which is why you found yourself in this particular part of town, staring up at The New York World Building. 

It was the tallest of a couple of structures that were responsible for writing and printing the most popular selling newspaper in the whole city. If you had your choice, you’d love to take a shot at writing for them, but you know they’d never let you with your lack of experience. You’d never written like that for anything. You’d only ever written short stories in a journal you kept, occasionally reading them to the younger newsies as bedtime stories. Though you lacked experience, your stories had gotten good reviews, even from a couple of the older ones who swore they were only listening because it was impossible to turn off their ears. 

The place you stood in now was entirely different from Gramercy. You were only used to your small group, your tight knit family who hardly left your side. Gramercy was quiet, full of trees and nature; your little peaceful oasis away from the rest of the city. Now you were surrounded by skyscrapers and you felt an unmatched energy all around. You could picture these streets during the day, flooded with newsies, as they would be within the hour, you were sure. However, you’d gotten there early, before anyone else in fact. You knew with there being so many newsies living around these parts that it was the only way you could make your coin for the day. 

You managed to find the window where the papes for The World were sold and were greeted with a middle aged man who flashed you a smile. He smoked a cigar as he counted a couple stacks of coins before him. 

“Tough morning, kid?” he asked, looking you over. 

“Not particularly…” you asked, furrowing your eyebrows and fishing in your pocket for your coins. “I’ll take five stacks of papes.” 

“We don’t got five stacks,” he told you, taking a puff on his cigar. 

“How long until you get the papes for the day?” you asked, not wanting to be caught up here for the whole morning. Surely The World was just finishing up their printing for the morning and the papes would be released any moment. No one could afford being late in this business. If the papes weren’t released to the newsies at first light, then the newsies wouldn’t be able to sell them to anyone on their way to work, and The World wouldn’t make any money. And one thing was for sure, you were never late. 

“You’re about an hour too late,” he told you. 

You stared at him in disbelief. You had gotten up extra early that morning so you could be certain you would get to the news stand before everyone else. You knew you needed to buy my papes and beat them to the streets so you could make your keep today and prove to the Manhattan newsies that you would make a good addition to the team. Now that plan was ruined but there was still plenty of the day left to make decent coin. 

“I’ll take whatever you have left,” you told the man. He promptly slammed one stack of papes on the counter and you sighed. Then you paid him and left the news stand. 

You made your way out of Newsie Square and took to the streets of the city, taking a quick look at the headline at the top of the news. It was another political story, which luckily everyone wanted to read about. You quickly thought of a much more interesting headline than the one that was written and began shouting “Political Brawl in Queens!” to try to catch the attention of anyone passing by. You managed to catch the attention of a couple individuals, selling them papes and moving on down the street. 

As you continued shouting, you were approached by two younger gentlemen, both dressed in matching bowler hats. 

“You look lost, kid,” one of them said to you with a snide smirk on his face. 

You looked up at them. You were not in the mood to play games with men like this. “Do you boys wanna buy papes or can I be on my way?” 

“Don’t you newsies usually travel together? Ya know, to keep each other out of trouble?” the other man said, crossing his arms. 

“And to protect the weaklings…” the first man frowned, mocking a pout. “Just in case something like this happens!” 

Suddenly, he slapped the stack of newspapers you were carrying out of your hands and onto the ground. And of course with your luck, they landed scattered across a mud puddle. The two men laughed and you glared at them. 

“What are you going to do? Cry about it?” the second one cackled. 

You needed to escape these schmucks as soon as possible and you knew what you needed to do. While the one man was cackling you stamped as hard as you could on his foot. He screamed in agony and awkwardly hopped away on one foot. As the other man approached you, you spit directly in his face as a diversion and started running in the opposite direction. 

However, as soon as you turned around you ran face first into someone’s chest. The force knocked you back onto the ground and you landed right in the mud, with the two men not far behind you now. 

“Are you alright?” 

Whoever you had just bumped full force into extended a hand in your direction. When you looked up, you saw a young man, dark eyebrows furrowed with concern. He wore a white tank top that clung tightly to his skin, leaving his arms out on full display. His tan trousers hugged his thighs and were held up by a pair of suspenders. And atop his dark hair sat a tan newsie cap. A couple of other young men stood behind him, their outfits similar to his. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you replied, taking his hand and allowing you to pull him up with ease. 

“Good,” he said, then he stepped to the side to face the two men who had been bothering you. “Well if it isn’t the Delancey Brothers. I knew I smelled an unpleasant aroma. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you boys to leave my newsies alone.” 

“Well your newsie was sellin’ us a fake headline,” one of the men said, glaring at you. 

The newsie looked at you. “Is that true?” 

“‘Course not. I only glorify the headline, like every other newsie. I don’t make up entirely new stories,” you told him. 

“Ya heard it here boys. Us newsies only speak the truth! Now why don’t you go and find a real job instead of botherin’ us folks? Must be hard for you now that everyone knows you got fired from The World,” the newsie said with a smirk. 

One of the men suddenly pushed the newsie back a few steps but he held his ground. He was much bigger than both of the men. 

The newsie chuckled, “C’mon Oscar, is that really the best you’ve got?” 

The man, Oscar, came at the newsie again, but this time he was prepared. He sidestepped and Oscar flew forward, losing his balance. On his way toward you, you managed to trip him and he fell onto the ground, face first into the mud. 

The other man swung at the newsie but he caught his hand, skillfully twisting his arm behind his back and locking him in place. 

“If I ever find you messing with my newsies again, there will be no place in this entire city where you’ll be able to show your face again and not end up with it unrecognizably smashed into the pavement. Have I made myself clear?” the newsie growled at them. 

After confirming that they understood, he let both of them go, watching as they did, making sure they didn’t come back. You finally got a chance to clearly observe all of the newsies before you. These were the newsies from the center of the Manhattan borough. They were tough, there’s no doubt about that, but not nearly as tough as the Brooklyn newsies. It’s safe to say that everyone felt a little uneasy when it came to the Brooklyn newsies. But you knew these Manhattan newsies were no joke either. These were the ones who were responsible for the start of the strike about a month ago now. These were the ones who took charge and created their own union, demanding fair working conditions from the chief editor and publisher of The World: Joseph Pulitzer. It’s thanks to these newsies in particular that all of us have those fair working conditions now and it’s thanks to them that we’re not just looked over as if we were scum. All newsies owe it to them, which is why you felt a bit anxious standing there as they all perceived you. 

“I was doing just fine on my own-” you began turning to face the newsie who was seemingly the leader of their group. 

“Fine, I’ll watch the Delancey Brothers ruin your pretty mug next time,” he spat. 

“You didn’t let me finish,” you said to him, deciding to disregard the fact that he just called you ‘pretty.’ “I was doing just fine on my own but I’m glad you were there to help me stop them. And don’t let that get to your head.” 

“Too late,” you heard one of the other newsies call out, though you weren’t sure which one. 

“They call me Coups… Leader of the Manhattan borough.” 

“I’m y/n, leader of- Well I used to be the leader of the Gramercy Newsies. We just got shut down a few days ago which is how I found myself here,” you explained. 

“So now you wanna work for The World?”

“Listen, I loved working for a company like the Gramercy Gazette but I can’t take that chance anymore with all these smaller companies getting shut down,” you told him. 

“Can I ask you somethin’?”

“Shoot.” 

“Why be a newsie?” Coups asked. “There’s plenty of other jobs in the city. Prob’ly better payin’ ones too. Why spend your time sellin’ papes?” 

You’d never thought about it before. You just did the job because that’s all you’d ever done. Of course you’d grown to love what you do… but why? 

“I suppose… I suppose it’s ‘cause I like stories. I like to know what’s going on in the world and I like reading about it. I think there’s a lot to learn from reading the news, and reading in general. Everyone deserves to know what’s going on in the world and everyone should stay updated when it comes to the news. Not saying the news is completely factual, but staying updated on the news unifies the world a little by little each day. It brings us together. And I like to be one of the many people helping to get that news out there.” 

Coups looked you up and down, then looked around as the other Manhattan newsies. 

“I like that answer, y/n. It will be good to have someone like you on the team who cares about this job as much as the rest of us do,” Coups smiled at you. “Now why don’t you stick with us for the rest of the day. I’m sure you could use a couple people on your side right about now.” 

He raised his hand to his mouth, spit in it, and offered a handshake. 

“Friends?” 

You hesitated but after he assured you that “it’s just business,” you did the same, spitting in your hand and shaking his. 

Author's Note:

Okay part 2 is finally done and thank you for reading it! I think this part of the story was a lot more interesting than part 1 and it's only going to get more interesting from here. Finally some of the boys have been introduced AND Scoups got in a little fight for you hehe. Can you tell I'm blushing through the screen? Of course I had to include the Delancey Brothers and if you're a Newsies fan you'll get it! I should be getting out part 3 a lot faster than I got out part 2; my life has been a little crazy over these past few weeks. Hopefully you'll stick around to see where this story goes! Thanks again and I'll see ya in the next one! :)