a hopeless romantic | r.s

Chapter Eight

Amy, wherever she is lol ^ >
I know that's not what her clothes would've looked like back then, but it was the closest I could get alright-

Romeo rushed into the Lodge, heart still pounding, practically in his throat. That girl, Laces, had spotted him and Amy behind that backdrop with trees painted onto it. She obviously wasn't aware that they weren't supposed to be there, unless she had just been too angry to care. Everyone saw how full of rage she'd gotten when Spot mentioned the fact that she could've been a suspect just as easily as anyone else. It was a miracle no one had come to look at what she'd been yelling at after she left.

Romeo assumed they'd all just passed it off as madness. She looked kinda crazy, anyway.

That had been the end of the meeting, for the most part. Spot had ordered Lane to stay back so they could have a one-on-one interrogation. Romeo wanted to get back to the lodging house before Jack or Finch did, and didn't want Amy to be caught in the middle of it all if he were to ever get caught, so he sent her home. She seemed a bit sad to leave, but he knew that he had gotten her some of the answers she'd wanted.

He had to hope that it would be enough.

"Jack 'n Finch?" Romeo directed hurriedly at Jojo, who immediately understood.

"Haven't gotten back yet," Jojo said, watching him curiously. "Where's Laura?"

"Ugh," Romeo groaned, heart beat starting to slow. "I don't wanna he-ah 'bout anoth-ah goil fa tha rest 'a me life."

"Please." Race rolled his eyes, twirling his cigar between his fingers. "Ya got more years behind ya den ahead. Give it a day or two."

Romeo grunted at that. "I don't know. Everythin's jus so confusin' right now, y'know?"

"Yer own fault," Crutchie reminded him. "Ya didn't have ta get involved with two sist-ahs. What'd ya think was gonna happen?"

"It ain't like dat!" Romeo yelled, attempting in vain to defend himself. "I nev-ah liked Amy. Not like Laura. She- Yellow's more of a friend ta me."

"Nev-ah said she wasn't," Crutchie said, but Romeo could see he still disagreed with him. "I jus don't think ya shoulda gotten so close ta Amy 'fore ya told her it wasn't real."

Romeo's blood pulsed hot in his ears. "Look, I get it, alright? Ise a terrible person. Now can we please jus talk 'bout somethin' oth-ah den me love life? Or anyone's, fa dat matt-ah."

Henry playfully saluted the boy. "Ise good wit dat."

Race snorted. "I jus can't belive dat Romeo, 'a all people, don't wanna talk 'bout love. What has dis woild come ta?"

"Somethin' bett-ah, I hope," Albert grumbled.

"Ah, shut it, Al," Mush commented, grinning. "Dere's nothin' wrong wit a little love."

"Dat boy don't even give a goil a chance ta romance him," Race joked. "Ya'd think dey was bears, from tha way he runs away from 'em. Maybe he jus don't wanna see 'em runnin' from him."

That quickly led to Albert chasing Race around, shouting something along the lines of that 'he'd show him a bear', while Race continued to make teasing comments about how any girl would start crying within a five foot radius of the redhead.

"So much fa not talkin' 'bout goils," Romeo said flatly.

It was at that moment that Finch came stumbling through the door, before exhaling shakily and reaching his arms out to clutch the door frame. There was sweat dotting his brows.

"Finch?" Albert questioned from where he'd been trying to shove Race into a bunk with his foot, pushing his face away, stepping closer to the quivering newsie.