Romeo & Juelz ✔

New Feelings

Strap in (〜￣▽￣)〜

🪼-☀️-🪼-☀️-🪼-☀️-🪼-☀️-🪼-☀️-🪼-☀️-🪼

~

"..R— Romeo...?"

Romeo sat up straight, feeling his heartbeat pick up. "Juelz? What's wrong?" He locked eyes with his mom, who now looked just as worried.

More crackling silence followed, every second feeling like hours. Romeo swallowed. "Ju—

"Lola's gone— I can't fucking find her a-and I— she ran away."

Romeo's heart sank to the pit of his stomach, an increasing worry roaring through his head. Shit. Not again... "She can't be that far, right? We'll go look for her. I'll meet you at our spot, okay?"

A shaky breath was heard on the other line. "O-okay. See— I'll see you there." Before Romeo could add something a little more reassuring, the line clicked dead.

"¿Qué ocurre?" Romeo's mom glanced at him with worried eyes, her arms still crossed over her chest.

Romeo sighed again, running a shaky hand through his hair. "Lola escaped." And with that, he grabbed a stray hoodie off the floor and rushed past his mom, scrambling down the stairs in a hurry.

" ¡Ten cuidado ahí fuera! (Be careful out there!)" his mom called out from the top of the staircase as Romeo all but flew through the front door while simultaneously tying the laces of his shoes. A dangerous move. But he didn't care about safety right now, not when Juelz needed him.

He ran, feet thumping against the dusty red gravel that made up most of the roads, water droplets running down his forehead. Despite the ivory night around him, Romeo knew exactly where he was and where he had to go. Nonetheless, it felt like several days had passed when he finally reached the fence, finding Juelz already there, anxiously glancing around.

"Juelz," Romeo made out between heavy breaths, leaning onto the fence for support, "are you okay?"

Juelz looked at Romeo with glazy eyes and an involuntarily trembling lip. In complete silence, he inched closer to him, hissing out a soft "fuck" when new tears rolled down his cheeks. 

Romeo immediately wrapped his arms around Juelz, resting his chin on Juelz's head. "We'll find her, okay? I'm sure she's just hiding out somewhere, don't worry."

Juelz pressed himself against Romeo, holding him so tight Romeo could hardly breathe. "I can't—" he gasped, "I don't w-want to lose her... n-not— not again." 

With a heavy heart, Romeo kissed the top of Juelz's head. "You won't, I promise." Was that a promise Romeo could actually keep? No. But he didn't care, he'd make it work.

~

"Lola? C'mere kitty-kitty!" Romeo wandered around the quiet neighborhood, making various clicking and kissing noises in the hopes of locating Lola. Juelz had gone in the opposite direction, with the agreement of meeting each other back at their spot in 20 minutes. 

A stranger might say Juelz was being dramatic. Cats escape all the time, right? But Romeo wasn't a stranger, and he knew that Lola used to have a brother, Thyme. That was, until Thyme was found dead on the side of the road. 

And even though Karl had been the one to find him, Romeo could still recall the feeling of Thyme's cold and stiff body in his arms as he carried him home because Juelz was way too emotionally crushed to even look at the scene.

Juelz was an emotional person, that much was true. But even so, Romeo had never seen him cry as much as then. Crying was probably an understatement. Sobbing until he couldn't breathe, was more accurate. And that was something Romeo hoped he'd never have to witness again. He wouldn't wish that pain onto his worst enemy, let alone the most precious person in the world.