Disclaimer: Do not own the newsies. Do own Bart Lilken, when he shows up. For the record: Noah is Snitch. Jared is Skittery. Ricky is Bumlets. Nick is Mush. Ta-da.

A Bridge That I Gotta Burn

Chapter One

Do not own the newsies. Do own Bart Lilken, when he shows up. For the record: Noah is Snitch. Jared is Skittery. Ricky is Bumlets. Nick is Mush. Ta-da.

Sarah could only stare at the mirror behind the bar, tracing her fingertip over the edge of the half-empty glass before her. The music and smoke enveloped her, leaving her feeling deaf and numb, but what else was new? She'd felt pretty much numb for the past three months. Jack had a way of doing that to people.

She sighed heavily and lifted her glass, tipping the drink down her throat. Jared kept telling her to stop thinking about him, but then again, Jared had never liked Jack. She could remember when she first introduced them; Jack had smiled, shook Jared's hand, and said, "So! You're gay. What's that like?" Of course, he'd only been trying to make conversation, but Sarah had warned him, the timing was bad; it was almost exactly a week after the ordeal with Ricky, and Jared was sensitive still. Her best friend had scowled at her boyfriend and remained chilly with him for three years.

A smile traced her lips. There was always Jared. Since grade school, there had been Jared. Thank God for Jared. Without him, she wasn't sure how she would have made it three months after breaking up with Jack. And Lord... after everything Jared had been through, she wasn't sure how he had made it three years. Of course, there were the pills, but besides those. Sarah was sure that right after he found out, Jared had considered other options. They'd both seen Rent. April wasn't the only one.

Of course, Jared had tried taking Roger's route too, but Sarah had made sure he didn't stay on it. That was probably part of the reason Jack claimed their relationship "wasn't strong enough." Jack had always complained about her friendship with Jared, though she saw nothing wrong with it. It wasn't like they were freaking Will and Grace, if you ignore the straight-Jewish-female/gay-male thing. Actually, Jared couldn't be more different from Will. Jared was good at sports, easy-going, and quick to fall in love. He was frighteningly spontaneous, had multiple tattoos, and, well, the only thing he really had in common with Will was a long relationship ending badly. But Will's relationship with Michael was nothing compared to Jared and his Ricky.

Sarah sipped at her drink again, shutting her eyes against the melted, stirring images in the mirror. Getting lost in your thoughts is hard to do at a bar, but somehow, Sarah had managed to master that talent.

"Hey, Nick!" Jared's voice snapped her from her oneness, and she turned to look at him. "Do you know that guy's name, the one sitting by himself over there?"

The bartender, Nick, whom both Jared and Sarah nursed massive crushes on, smiled and leaned over the bar to see where Jared was pointing. "Oh, him? That's Noah Miller. He comes in here every couple days or so."

Sarah, glancing over her shoulder, laughed slightly. "He hardly looks legal."

"Honestly, I agree with you, but he's got the card and the green, so what can I do?"

"He's hot," Jared breathed, looking shocked that such a paragon could be dawdling in this seedy hole-in-the-wall. "I want him."

"You're not the only one," Nick admitted, tilting his head slightly. "Lots of boys approach him while he's here, but he never goes home with them. He just kind of... sits there and talks, and leaves by himself around ten or eleven."

Jared's stunned expression only worsened, and Sarah laughed again. "Jared, just because he's good-looking doesn't mean he's a slut."

Jared raised his eyebrows. "Yeah? Well, maybe I can help him down that route."

"I wouldn't advise it, because, first of all," Sarah brandished a finger in Jared's direction. "You shouldn't be sleeping around with anyone and everyone anyway; you know how dangerous that is."

Jared frowned. "Yes, mother. I know. You don't have to tell me."

"And second, look at him! That ID he uses has to be fake, Nick."

Nick shrugged, and repeated, "What can I do?"

"Jared, if the ID is fake, he's only a kid. You could get arrested for statutory rape."

"I always like to try new things." Jared winked and slipped off his barstool, making a beeline for the baby-faced boy all alone in the back. Sarah raised her arms skyward, as if silently pleading to God for assistance, and Nick chuckled.

"At least he's trying," he offered, reaching for Sarah's now-empty glass. "More for you?"

"No thanks. I should actually head home, but I'm guessing maybe not since we took his car, and he's stuck flirting with a junior high student."

"I doubt he's that young."

"Well, a high school student, then." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Either way, it's definitely illegal."

"What about you?" Nick asked, smiling. "Jared's working on his love-life-"

"With a child..."

Nick ignored her. "How's yours picking up? It's been a while since I last saw Jack."

Sarah gave a disgusted sigh. "Unless you're willing to take me to dinner sometime next week, it's dead."

Nick grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm engaged."

"You and my brother and every other good-looking straight man on this planet."

"... Are you insinuating that you'd go out with your brother?"

"No!" Sarah stared at him, scandalized. "That's disgusting! I'm just saying that he's two years younger than me, and he's getting married soon. I, on the other hand, seem to be stuck in a single state of mind."

Nick smiled. "Don't worry about it, Sarah. Your brother might be first to get married, but he won't be last."

Sarah rolled her eyes again, and stood up. "Thanks for the encouragement, but I think I'm ready to drag my fag home for a night of Lifetime and Caramellos."

"Sounds fun," Nick teased, waving as Sarah walked away. "See you next week!"

"Bye, Nick." Sarah approached the table where Jared was flirting shamelessly with the dark-haired kid. "Jared! I wanna go home!"

Jared looked up at her, frowning. "I was just about to show Noah my tattoos, Sarah."

"Oh, I know how that one goes." Sarah sat down next to her best friend, and smirked at the other boy across the table. "Don't fall for it. He starts with the one's you can see, 'Oh, I'm an Aquarius, so I got this one on my neck, and I'm gay, so I got this one on my arm,' blah blah, and eventually, he lures you to the bathroom, shows you the ones you can't see, and bada-bing, bada-boom, the men's bathroom can boast another layer of come on its floor."

The boy stared at her with wide, blue eyes as Jared flushed pink and slammed his head against the table.

"That's crude," the younger boy said, revealing a melodic, foreign accent. When he smiled, he exposed a mouth full of large, shiny teeth. "I like you."

Sarah smiled as well, and as Jared tried to pull himself out of his foiled plan, she leaned closer to the other boy. "Noah- that's your name, right? Noah, your accent is gorgeous. Where are you from?"

Noah brushed his bangs out of his eyes, still smiling. "Well, thank you. I'm Chicago-born-"

"You don't sound like it," Sarah breathed, shaking her head. "No Chicago-kid I ever met sounded like that."

Noah continued to smile even though Jared kicked Sarah under the table and glared at her; she had a bad habit of interrupting people. "Well, yes, but I went to school in Victoria."

"Victoria?" Jared leaned back in his chair, tilting his head slightly. "Isn't that in Canada?"
"Australia," Noah corrected. "Victoria's in Southwest Australia. Beautiful place. Loved Melbourne."

Sarah glanced at Jared with raised eyebrows. He shook his head furiously, silently demanding she not ask the question he knew she was going to ask anyway: "How old are you, anyway?"

Noah blinked once, surprised, then allowed his grin to show some form of guilt. "Seventeen. But I'll be eighteen in a couple months, so no worries."

The glance was shot back again, this time Jared on the receiving end of silent demands; Don't you dare sleep with him, you slut!

And the ensuing silent conversation:

You can't stop me!

You could get arrested! You're twenty-five!

So?

SO DON'T SLEEP WITH HIM!

"... Excuse me?"

The old friends turned to look at Noah, who was blinking at them. Sarah was struck by just how childish his expression was.

"Um, I gotta get home. I'm zonked, and my parents want me home by eleven anyway." He stood up from the table, reaching for Jared's hand. "Been a pleasure, though."

"Wait," Jared said, digging in his pockets. "Can I get your phone number?"

Noah stared at him for a moment, then shrugged, taking the pen Jared offered him, and scribbling a number on the inside of his arm.

"That's my cellie," Noah clarified, handing the pen back. "If my parents knew I met someone, especially at a bar, they'd lose their minds. But, again," He held out his hand, and this time, Jared took it; Noah's smile softened slightly. "Stoked to meet you, mate." He shook Sarah's hand as well. "You too, sheila. Don't think I got your name."

"Sarah," she answered with a smile. "Good to meet you, Noah."

He gave them both a little wave, then turned and walked away. Jared didn't speak until the young Aussie was out the door: "Jesus H. Christ! I want him so badly I can taste it."

"Ew, keep that to yourself, thank you," Sarah commented, turning to look at her friend. "Jared, do you realize what you could be getting yourself into? Especially with your... condition to consider."

Jared's eyes went skyward. "My 'condition.' You're my condition, dammit. That's what condoms are for."

"Condoms break, Jared Lucas Fine."

Jared made a face, and leaned sulkily against the table. "Gah. If you're going to be mean, you might as well revert back to high school nicknames."

"Would you prefer I call you 'Skittery' again?"

"God no!"

"Then be responsible!" When Jared turned away from her, resting his chin on the table, she sighed, pressing the ball of her palm against her forehead. "Jared... I know it's not entirely your fault, but you still need to think a little more when it comes to this. Especially with someone as young as Noah."

Jared continued to sulk for a moment, then lifted his head. "Well, we'll see if this one can develop beyond sex first, all right? We'll see if he's even willing to see me again."

Sarah stood up and stretched, instantly regretting it as soon as Jared leapt forward and started tickling her exposed belly. Once she forced him away, still giggling slightly, she continued the conversation: "You actually going to call him?"

"Why not? He's hot. And he seemed like a nice enough guy." Jared shrugged. "I might as well. What harm is it going to cause?"

"Oh, I dunno," Sarah mused as they stepped out into the dank night and walked to where Jared had parked the car. "Maybe-"

"Finish that, and I'm leaving you here by yourself."

"In this part of town?" Sarah nearly shrieked. "No!"
Jared grinned and kissed her temple, slinging his arm around her shoulder in a friendly manner. "Then stop playing my mother and telling me to 'be responsible.' I know what I'm doing. You just have to trust me."

"Right. You're lusting after teenagers, and I'm supposed to trust you."

Jared laughed, and Sarah smiled. It was nice to think that Jared might have someone special, finally, after so many years of being by himself. He needed someone besides Sarah to lean on, and Sarah wouldn't mind sharing. She didn't with Ricky.

But why, why, did this someone special have to be seventeen?

Sarah poked her friend in the side and laughed as he started to chase her down the sidewalk, feeling like she was seventeen again, happy, carefree, a virgin, having never tasted Jack and never wanted back.

When Jared caught her by the car and attempted to throw her in the trunk of the Jeep, she kicked and wrestled, laughing the whole time. Maybe the purpose for dating someone younger was to feel younger yourself.

Or maybe, Jared just liked him.

Who was she to know?

She had her own issues to deal with, anyway.

END

.:AUTHOR'S NOTE:.

Again, thought I'd try something new. If you guessed what's going on here, PLEASE don't yell at me in reviews. I've talked to some other people about it, and they couldn't guess without me telling them, so there ARE people who won't get it, so PLEASE don't ruin it for them. I'll get to revealing it officially... when I get to it. Aha. So thanks.

And yes, Sarah will play a bigger part. That comes next chapter. She has her own plotline and everything, wow! Aha.

And I think that's it. Pretty much. Yes. Yeah. Review and tell me what you think, plzkthx!