Modern AU (totally different timeline than all of my other stories)

The sun crept through the apartment window and a young boy, nearly a man, with dark hair and deep hazel eyes rolled over to look at his alarm clock. Six-thirty, a whole hour before the stupid alarm woke him and the twenty other orphan boys that lived with him. He rolled back over trying to get some more sleep. But, the sun kept on shining, so he reached over to the dresser and slapped his hand around searching for his phone among the twenty others. Finally, he picked a random one and turned it on. The screen blinked to life telling the boy that it was Tuesday. Tuesday was never a good day. Tuesday meant it was nowhere near Friday which meant they had to survive a whole another week of school without getting busted by the child foster services. Living with twenty other boys all under the age of eighteen meant no one could legally be called the guardian. Except the boys treated him like he was their guardian. He was really just the big brother who kept everybody alive and out of the hands of the cops and the child foster services people. Most places had decent and above par foster services, but not New York City. None of these kids were related which meant that they would be separated from each other. Hence, the reason he hated Tuesdays. Nothing exciting ever happened on Tuesday. He had work at this junky coffee shop down by Harlem. The coffee was never good, and when the boss was having a bad day? A person should not even ask for a cup of coffee or step through the door, really. He had made some decent friends through work and somehow they all got through it together. Sleep didn't take him over, so he got up and silently opened the window. Climbing out as quietly as he could, he silently climbed the fire escape ladder up to the rooftop. This was his favorite place. The place where Tuesdays didn't exist, where the daunting realities of life left him alone and where he could have some peace and quiet in his crazy messed up world. He wasn't worried about anything or anyone. The boys would wake up to the alarm which was some rock song all of the boys, even little JoJo, were obsessed with. The young man ran over to an old container filled to the brim with art supplies. This was his secret stash which no one could ever touch and no one else knew about. He reached in and grabbed a scrap piece of paper and a pencil. Looking down at the street below, he began to draw. He didn't know what he was drawing exactly, but he knew it would interest somebody someday. No one else knew that he drew in his precious moments of spare time. Being the oldest of twenty, twenty one counting him, allotted him no spare time since he had to complete his own job, homework, and then help everyone else with theirs. Speaking of everyone else, he heard the early morning noises of his boys down below. Sliding his drawing back into where it belonged, the young man climbed back down the fire escape ladder and into the apartment where chaos ensued. As soon as he did, a pillow smacked in the face and the target zipped past him.

"Sorry, Jack!" A voice that he recognized to be Finch rang clear from across the room and Racetrack, Jack's second in command, walked up to the boy, put him in a headlock and yelled,

"How many times has Jacky told ya not to throw pillows in da house, ya nitwit?" Jack rolls his eyes as Race continues to beat up on the younger boy causing a tussle to break out between the two. Other boys see the fight and start to get involved. Eventually, almost every boy in the apartment is soaking both boys. Jack and his best friend, Crutchy, exchange glances as they watch the fight break out. After letting the boys fight for a few minutes, Jack claps his hands and shouts what he does everyday about this time,

"Boys! School's startin soon, get ready!" All of the boys scramble to get ready, tripping over each other just like they do every morning. As much as they hate school and Tuesdays, being late to school doesn't make things any better. Every teacher, it didn't matter whether you were their nemesis or their favorite, hated tardiness. Jack quickly grabbed food for breakfast out of the cabinets and lined it up on the bar. Instantly, five of the boys sat down, grabbed bowls and started wolfing down some cereal. Jack tossed granola bars to three more of the boys as they entered the kitchen and then put Crutchy, who was ready for the day on breakfast duty. Jack ran into the bathroom and started washing up for the day. Pulling on his outfit, he worked quickly to finish before the rest of the boys. He reentered the kitchen to nearly be pounded by Tumbler, who was in a hurry to get to Skittery, who he looked up to like an older brother.

"Heya, Tumbler," Jack said as he grabbed the kid and turned him around and the young boy brightened as soon as he saw who had grabbed him.

"Hey, Jack! I had dis dream dat I drove a race car and I won da Indy 500!" Tumbler chattered away. Jack beamed, thankful that Tumbler had somehow managed to escape having nightmares for now.

"Dat's cool, kid! Have ya told Skitts?" Jack asked as he reached for a banana.

"Nope, I'se was gonna right now!" Tumbler says excitedly as he rushes for the lanky teenager. Jack munched on his banana as he joined Crutchy behind the bar. Opening a drawer, Jack grabbed his keys for his car and started grabbing the other keys for the other boys. Jack reaches across the bar and hands a set to Skittery. He grabs them and keeps talking to Tumbler. Jack looks around for Specs next and tosses him a set of keys. Specs catches them and yells,

"Everybody who's goin in my car, we'se leavin in five." Four boys scramble for their school things and gather around Specs. The car setup usually didn't change, the same six boys always rode with Specs. Jack held the remaining set of keys in his hand looking for the last driver. Jack spots Racetrack fighting with Albert and Snipeshooter over his cigar. Walking over to him, Jack smacks the short, dark-haired Italian boy in the back with his keys. Race takes them and looks up at Jack. He rolls his eyes and says,

"I know, Cowboy. Don't rush me!" Jacks walks down to his large minivan and yells,

"Crutchy, Mush, Bumlets, Buttons, Pie Eater, JoJo, Henry, let's go!" The seven boys follow him out of the apartment building and down the stairs. There were so many boys to keep track of. Even in his own car, it felt like he had half the apartment. Jack did have the biggest car out of the four who drove. Race took Kid Blink, Romeo, Albert, and Snipeshooter with him. Specs took Finch, Elmer, Snoddy, and Boots with him. Skittery usually took Tumbler, Ike and Mike, Hot Shot, Swifty, Itey, and Dutchy. Somehow between Race and Blink's bickering over who got to drive, Jack teaching Mush how to drive since he just received his permit, Finch shooting birds with his slingshot out the window, and Tumbler's crazy story telling, everyone got to school and no one had to walk. Jack opens his car door and nearly runs into a tall dark haired boy about his age. The kid blinks and looks up at him with surprised eyes. Jack has never seen him before and is even more surprised when a little kid pokes out from him behind him and says loudly

"Watch where ya going mistah!" Jack gives a little chuckle and says,

"Sorry, kid. Didn't mean to hurt nobody just tryin to get out of me car is all." Instantly, the boys in Jack's van poured out of the doors and came around to see what all of the commotion was. The dark haired boy looked nervously as all of the boys, even the one with the crutch looked tough to him. Jack noticed the fear in the new kids' eyes and asks softly,

"Ya new round here?" The taller boy nods timidly and the younger boys shouts enthusiastically,

"Yeah! We're new here, so don't beat us up. Please!" Jack nods and says,

"Don't worry, we'se real nice to new kids around ere. We'll treat ya well, promise. Dese boys look scary, but really dey ain't mean to new kids like youse. Right, boys?" Assurance of "Yeah" and "We ain't mean" ring out from around the small group. Jack smiles and says,

"So, ya new. Ya need someone ta show ya da ropes?" The older kid shakes his head, but the younger one shouts,

"Yeah. We need somebody to show us, David. Come on!" Jack's eyes light up at the use of the older boy's name.

"Ya name's David?" Jack asks and the older boy nods. Jack spits into his hand and holds it out. "Da name's Jack Kelly, and I'se da leader of dese crazy boys dat I call me family," He introduces himself to the older boy. The older boy visibly stiffens as Jack extends his hands toward him. His first words that he ever says to the boys are,

"That's disgusting." Jack and the other boys start to laugh a little bit. The little kid shoves the older boy out of the way and says proudly,

"I'm Les and I'm almost ten." Les spits into his hand and shakes Jack's. Jack smiles as Les looks up at him admiringly.

"So, ya up for spendin da day stayin out of trouble and survivin high school?" David steps in and says,

"Nope. We can stay out of trouble well enough on our own, thanks." Crutchy hobbles forward and says,

"Dis is da famous kid, Jack Kelly. He broke ovah twenty boys out of the child services offices when we was all gonna be separated. Jack was dere too. He led us out o dat building wid our heads held high." Les and Davids' eyes widen and Les yells

"That's amazing!" At the same time, David yells,

"You did what?" Jack smiles a small smile and shrugs. Crutchy thumps him on the back with his crutch.

"Child Protective Services ain't dat protective when dey...," Jack never got to finish because he heard a loud voice that reminds him of why he hates Tuesdays shout,

"Hey, Kelly! Ya found some fresh meat for us?" Jack immediately pulls the two new kids behind him and hisses,

"Stay here! And don't come out til I's says so!" Jack stands guard while Jojo, Mush and Bumlets shove David and Les into the van. Once the new kids are inside and Jack's boys are back on the street, Jack locks the van doors and slips the keys into his pockets. The two boys who had yelled at Jack swagger up and ask him,

"Why'd ya hide em? Dey's learn bettah when dey's fresh." Oscar Delancey grabs Crutchy and growls,

"Where are dey, kid?" Jack doesn't waste anytime advancing on Oscar. In one motion, Jack throws a punch, socking Oscar in the eye, and grabs Crutchy as Oscar hold his eye. Morris chuckles in a dark manner and says,

"Ya do remembah what day it is, Kelly?" Jack shoots Morris an angry look as he pulls Crutchy behind him. When Jack doesn't answer, Oscar and Morris crack their knuckles and exchange looks.

"It's Tuesday, Kelly. Da best day of da week for da likes of us," Oscar announces and Jack crosses his arms and shakes his head.

"Not today, Delanceys," He says as he throws open a door to the fifteen passenger van and helps Crutchy inside. The Delanceys seem to be out for blood and blood is something that Crutchy doesn't need to shed today. As soon as Jack shuts and locks the door, the Delanceys come at the boys. As soon as they do, Race and his crew pull up behind Jack's van. They waste no time getting out of the car to help Jack.

"Just remembah who threw da foirst punch today, Kelly," Oscar says as Race comes to stand behind Jack. The rest of the boys eventually arrive and come to stand behind their leader. The Delanceys don't back down an inch and Jack thinks they actually come closer to him. Jack slides his hands into his pockets and silently drops the keys into his pocket. The Delanceys notice everything as the two groups stand across from each other in silence.

"Ey, Delanceys. Why ain't ya beatin em up? Dey deserve it, don't dey?" A voice rings out and a bunch of the jocks from the school swagger up. Jack folds his arms across his chest again, making sure that none of his boys are trying to fight.

"It is Tuesday. It is poundin Kelly's gang day, Oscar," Another one of the kids says and Jack watches the gleam in Oscar's eyes grow.

"Ya right, Rocky," Oscar says the dangerous gleam in his eye growing. Morris has the same gleam in his eye. Jack unfolds his arms and clenches his fists preparing for a fight. Race comes to stand next to Jack and the two exchange looks. The other group starts to surround Jack and his boys so that they can't escape. Suddenly, before Jack or any of the others can react, Jack, Race, Kid Blink, Mush, Skittery, Specs, and Finch are grabbed away from everyone else and surrounded in a tight circle by their enemies.

"What's da plan, Jacky?" Mush, who stands next to Jack, whispers. Jack puts up his fists and whispers back,

"Get outta da circle, den protect da oders. Dey must tink dat we'se da strongest fightahs, so we can't let em beat us. Dat's why dey grabbed us foirst, if dey beat us up, den we'se can't protect da oders." Jack whispers as the Delanceys and their cronies circle them like vultures.

"We'se could charge," Race whispers and he gets six head shakes in reply. Jack rolls his shoulders in his place between Mush and Race.

"Get his keys!" Morris Delancey tells the other boys who are circling the oldest of Jack's group. Instantly, the older boys crowd around Jack to protect him. Jack fumbles around in his pocket as the Delancey gang begins to fight the other boys. He pulls his car keys off of his other keys and knows the Delanceys will fall for this trick.

"Ey, you'se don't need to soak us for em. Here!" Jack calls as he holds out his keys. Oscar takes them and starts to look for the car keys. He yells at his other boys,

"Go crowd da van an get da kids dat are inside." Jack and his boys still stand together. Jack at the front with his boys standing behind him, still itching to throw a fist at the Delancey. Why is Jack being so calm? Race growls,

"Ya ain't gettin em, dey's nevah done nothin ta ya." Race moves forward to fight Oscar, but Jack sticks an arm out and shoves him back into the other boys. Jack notices Oscar getting more frustrated when he can't seem to find the key to the van and shoves his boys toward the other cars.

"Racer, go an take as many as ya can," Jack whispers shoving Race towards his car. Jack stands guard as Race runs, grabbing as many boys as he can. They all squeeze into Race's car and Race takes off. Skittery and Specs do the same. Mush, Blink, and Finch start to go with them, but then they see Jack.

"Jack, ya gonna be okay?" Blink asks and Jack nods. Oscar still cannot seem to find the key and his other boys are distracted chasing the boys who are running away after the cars.  Both sides land some hits as the boys start to get away, but the Delancey gang won't let them go without a fight.

"You'se gonna fight em off by yaself?" Finch asks and Jack nods.

"Ya got a plan?" Mush asks and Jack shrugs.

"Just get outta here before dey's catch ya. I'se will be just fine, just get in a car," He commands in a brotherly fashion. The three boys scurry over to one of the other boys' cars. Jack watches them and Oscar finally shouts in frustration,

"Where is it, Kelly?" Jack cocks his head and says,

"You'se da reason dat we hate Tuesdays. I hope ya knows dat by now." Oscar throws Jack's keys into the grass and starts to advance toward Jack. Morris comes back from bossing the other boys around and joins his brother.

"Where's the key, Kelly? Ya only got ta tell us where da key is and den you'se good," Morris growls and Jack crosses his arms.

"I ain't breathin a woird," He says, watching as both Delanceys circle him.

"We'll make it so ya can't remember what day it is if ya don't hand us da key, so hand it ovah!" Oscar growls and Jack feigns innocence.

"Whaddya mean da key wasn't on da ring, it was last I checked," Jack lies through his teeth.

"I don't believe dat stupid pack o lies, Kelly," Oscar growls, leaning even closer to Jack hoping to scare him which he doesn't do in the least, "Where's dat key?" Jack cocks his head and pretends to try to remember.

"Ya know I can't quite remember what I did wid it. I tink you'se just blind an can't see what's right in front o ya, yea?" Jack asks and Oscar charges at him. Morris grabs him and says,

"Don't kill him, Oscar. We'se needs da key." Jack smirks at the two fuming brothers. These two were not very smart when it came to Jack's tricks. This was how he survived every Tuesday and this was how the boys did too. They got away only by tricking the Delanceys. Although, they usually got mad and usually, Jack gained a few more shiners in the process. He could see it coming and he was ready. Ready to fight and then run as fast as his legs would carry him. Jack needed to find a way to fight and trick them at the same time. The Delanceys wouldn't hold back from punching him much longer. Oscar finally throws a punch and Jack manages to dodge it. Morris throws a punch and it lands solidly on Jack's jaw. Oscar goes for the other jaw, but Jack blocks it and sends one to the other's boy jaw. Jack manages to get some punches in on Morris and Oscar goes at Jack again. Oscar starts wildly throwing punches, catching Jack off guard. One of the punches hits Jack square in the stomach and Jack falls down on his rear. The Delanceys don't let up once he falls. Jack starts throwing punches and trying to stand up. He knocks one into Morris's temple and hits Oscar square in the nose. Oscar starts to grab at Jack and Jack boxes Oscar in the eye and throws another punch in the eye.

"OW!!! Stop punchin like dat, Kelly!" Oscar yells and points in Jack's direction. "Get im, boys!" Jack throws a few more punches at Morris and runs for it. Morris is also clutching at his eyes soon enough because of Jack's powerful fist. The jocks stand in Jack's way, but Jack doesn't break a sweat.

"Ey, fellas," He has a trick that will work perfectly. "Ya see dat pretty goil ovah dere? She's real pretty an' I'se nevah seen her before." Jack points in the opposite direction of his van and the boys turn to see lots of girls standing across the way. Silently, Jack starts to run away as fast as he can. He slides over the hood of his van just to show off and unlocks the driver's seat. As soon as he sits down, Jack locks the door again. Crutchy, David, and Les peek their heads out from behind the seat.

"Ya survived anuddah Tuesday, Kelly," Crutchy says, quite used to the terrible routine of the Delanceys and their pals. Jack nods and pants at the steering wheel for a few moments.

"Let's go ta school, fellas. We'se gonna be late. Davey, we'se gonna drive ovah ta da elementary school and drop Les off 'fore we goes ta school, okay? I'se don't want im ta get jumped when he's walkin ta school," Jack says as he starts the engine and drives to the elementary school. Once they get there, Les hops out of the van and says,

"Thanks for saving us, Jack! You are really cool and thanks for taking me to school! Nice to meet you, Jack!" Jack smiles and turns the van towards the high school. He was ready to face another Tuesday. Besides, he had survived the beginning, what could possibly go wrong?

AN:/ Lots of things could go wrong, my friends, lots of things.  A new story! What do you guys think? This one is not planned out, so anything could happen. I hope you like the beginning. Jack is amazing, I gotta say. Not the way I write him, but just Jack in general. I love the idea of a murder mystery, so that's how this one kind of came about. Actually, I had started typing this in Word and hadn't really decided what I want to do it with. I do not think Flavi or Clark or any OC's unless I write some in which could happen. I don't know for sure yet. Updates are going to be whenever I have time and feel like writing. Sorry about that in advance. I hope you like this one! Please tell me what you think (good, bad, the inbetween :) Did you like that introduction to Davey and Les? I think this is something kind of unique. Also thanks to aintweproud for sort of inspiring me with your Cool Boys story. Even though they are nothing alike, for some reason, I got inspired by it, so thank you! Also thanks to my followers for voting and just hanging on with me! Please tell me what you think, so I know what to update and what to wait on. I hope you like it and enjoy it! See you soon, friends!