a hopeless romantic | r.s

Chapter Fifteen

There's definitely some scenes in this chapter that could be triggering to certain people, such as a panic attack, an extremely dangerous weapon, and... well I really don't want to spoil anything, but if those things already make you uncomfortable, head to my PMs (usually closed, but it's completely fine for this) and I'll tell you what happens. Oh, and this stuff is only in the last part of the chapter. The rest is completely fine, I promise.

When Amy showed up at the lodging house, her initial plan had been to find Romeo. She quickly realized her plan would have to be compromised once she spotted Lane sitting by the fireplace, all alone. She knew first hand how saddening it was to have no one to talk to.

"What are you doing?"

Lane started, whipping around to face Amy. "Jus... soakin' in tha heat."

Amy frowned, remembering what Romeo had told her about the girl. She'd been accused of doing some not-so-great stuff, and so they'd put her into lockdown with Jack. Speaking of... "Where is he? I mean, where's Jack?"

Lane shrugged, turning back to the fire. "Takin' a show-ah, I think. He's been in dere fa a while, though, so maybe he drowned."

Amy chuckled nervously at how blunt the girl could be. "That's nice."

Lane cracked a small smile.

"So, I heard what happened with..."

"Me 'n Finch?" Lane questioned, almost tiredly. "Who hasn't?"

"No." Amy blinked. "I mean, I noticed he was selling again, but the boys never tell me anything that has to do with love, even remotely. What happened?"

"Wrong place, wrong time." Lane stared at the fire, as if in a trance. "We was nev-ah meant ta be, anyway."

"Of course you were," Amy insisted. "Finch told me all about how you met. I don't see how you couldn't be destined for each other after all you went through together."

"Like you 'n Romeo?" Lane snapped, before biting her lip, turning back towards the fire. "Sorry. I..."

"No, it's alright," Amy said. "I suspect it was a bit of a 'wrong place, wrong time' situation for us, too."

Lane was silent for a moment. "I think Socks has jus got some stuff ta figure out on his own. He has good intentions."

Amy let the words sink in. She knew they'd all been saying it, but... could Romeo truly have genuine feelings for her? Was it simply too much to hope for?

"It's such a sad thing, y'know," Amy mentioned.

"What is?"

"Wanting to be wanted."

Lane pressed her lips into a sympathetic smile. "Sure is. At least we can struggle togeth-ah."

"Yeah." Amy grinned. "Katherine's already left us for Jack."

Both shook their heads at the mention of the pair.

"I hoid you 'n Jojo was gettin' close," Lane said. "He's a good friend ta have."

"Albert seems fun," Amy replied. "You two are close as well, right?"

"Clos-ah ta him den me own bruddahs."

Amy sighed, sitting down onto the dusty floor. "I can understand that."

Lane's eyes flickered back to her. "Ya got bruddahs, too?"

"One," Amy responded. "If only he wasn't such a brat. But I suppose one brat's better than two."

Lane snorted. "Guess so."