A few uneventful weeks had passed by, lulling Frank into a false sense of security. Encounters with Jane had been brief, yet mildly unnerving. First, it had been icy glares from across the hallway, which in turn, sent shiver down Frank's spine. But not long after, the glares melted into a soft smile that didn't quite meet her chocolate eyes. The abrupt change in demeanor perplexed Frank, he didn't quite know whether to be relieved or wary, as something about her expression alluded to a darker power, one that Frank couldn't quite decipher.

One event in particular stood out the most. Frank had been brooding over his conflict with Ace, which had almost been forgotten in spite of his reconciliation with Denny. Now he was pondering whether or not to actually go through with his vengeance. He would have liked to say that he had learned the art of forgiveness through the air of Denny's benevolent nature, but whenever that damn bleach blond hair wiggled its way into his mind, he was overcome by a primal desire to trail the arrogant boy's freshly battered body across the pavement several hundred times for good measure.

On this particular occasion, his mind had been so encased by such conflict to notice that he was inadvertently heading for the shady hangout of the hoodlums themselves. That was until, however his eyes clocked a conspicuous figure, hurrying in the same direction:

"Jane?"

The figure froze, but soon continued moving forward, never deigning to look back at him. Frank's thoughts flickered with doubt, could he have been mistaken? But something about that feminine figure clad in a lime green coat, was eerily familiar. He broke into light run after the body, his features etched in a confused frown. The figure took a brisk turn down a side-alley, the only evidence of their path being dusty footprints encrusted by frost.

"Hey, Jane?"

Frank peered down the side alley where the figure had now been enveloped by long shadows. Should he follow suit? He pondered this for a moment. Did he really want a direct confrontation with Jane after he had recklessly played her heart in his hands? And that doesn't even begin to beg the question of whether or not she was purposely avoiding him, because of resentment – or if she simply didn't notice him. Either way, this was a particularly shady part of town, and although he did not know what business she had here, as a self-proclaimed gentleman, he couldn't simply leave her to her own accord.

A teal gaze drew left, then right and a hesitant bronze hand brushed the back of his head, threading through the short golden locks of his hair. Frank bit back a sigh and headed down the alley after the conspicuous figure, mentally cursing having made the impulsive decision without sufficient proof of the figure's identity. Despite this, he whipped past blinding shadows cast by run-down buildings and let his boots crunch against the frosted ground as he ran. The alley led to an open plain, a dusty wasteland that the cobras had claimed as their hangout, the lime green figure was hurrying just ahead of him. Catching sight of her, he yelled her name again. The green clad figure finally elicited a response turning fearfully around, her chocolate colored eyes widening in realization as Frank caught up to her, leaning on his knees in order to catch his breath:

"F-Frank? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Girls like you shouldn't be in this part of town."

Jane huffed and flicked an eyebrow indignantly:

"What the hell do you care?"

Frank sighed:

"You think just because I'm not interested in a romantic relationship with you means that I don't care about you in any way, shape or form? I care about your wellbeing, Jane. Of course I do."

Jane bit her lip and lowered her eyes to the ground, Frank ruffled her hair a little, which made her flinch and meet his eyes. He shot her a smile and shrugged:

"Hey, lets get outta here. The people that hang about these parts are not people we want to be running into, trust me. How about I walk you home?"

Jane's face melted from an expression of surprise into one of hesitation and Frank held out his hands in front of him to convey his understanding:

"I get it if you'd rather not walk with me. We kinda left it on bad terms, huh? But I'd have peace of mind if you just let me walk you to-"

"Okay,"

Frank was slightly taken aback at Jane's complacency, but soon recovered, shooting her his trademark grin:

"Okay, let's go!"

Jane nodded, faking a genuine grin. She'd have to inform Ace of this turn of events later, although it was earlier than they had anticipated;

Their plan was falling into place.