Romeo and Juliet

c h a p t e r s i x

•••

It was later on in the day and River was stood helping paint a few of the set pieces with the dancers. She had noticed there was a slight tension about the room and she couldn't tell why. Once she finished her section of painting, she took her phone out and hid herself in the corner of the room to open her messages.

•••

River: hey do you want to hang out later??
Antoine: of course, what shall we do?
River: we could get pizza and you could come over to my place? I could meet you outside slices?
Antoine: 3:30, I'll be there :)

•••

The girl smiled down at her phone before she got up and started to help again, noticing Ricky had left the room. She could only assume he had gone to find Nini and was hoping nothing was wrong with the pair. She was sure they were inching closer towards a fight and she dreaded it. If they had ever fought before, Ricky would shut himself in his room and not answer to anyone until they had fixed it. She understood that Nini meant a lot but she sometimes worried that the pair were pushing the other one away. She shrugged it off and continued to help paint, liking how the set pieces were turning out to look like. After she finished her piece, she made her way towards her locker and started to pack up her stuff so she would be ready to make a speedy getaway, knowing she wasn't good when it came to making up lies. She doubted that any of her friends would make plans with her that day but she wanted to be careful none the less.

•••

River walked into slices later that afternoon to grab her pizza when she saw Ricky and Nini arguing in the middle of the room. She made her way over to the pair and put her hand on Rickys shoulder.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah Riv I'm okay" Ricky says, clearly lying, but she would talk to him later.
She made her way to the counter where Howie was and took the pizza off of him, giving him the money before leaving and waiting outside. She was a few minutes early anyways so just stood humming to herself until she looked up and saw him walking down the street. He was wearing a pair of trainers, jeans and hoodie he had clearly just grabbed in a rush as the hood was all tangled at the back. He looked up after a minute and saw her waiting there, taking in her figure with a smile making its way to his face. Once he reached her, the pair just stood looking at each other for a few seconds before she shook herself from her trance.
"Hi"
"Hello"
"Okay so my house is this way" she says trying to point whilst still holding the pizza.
He took it off of her to help and she smiled as they started to walk back to hers. She didn't know what it was but something about the two of them being there together felt right.
"So how was school today?" He asks and she nods.
"Yeah it was okay, we don't have rehearsal for the week so that sucks and the careers stuff was on" she tells him.
"We too don't have rehearsal, but careers must be exciting, what do you want to do?" He asks and she smiles softly to herself thinking of her answer.
Antoine loved her smile, he had only been fortunate to see it a few times in person but had found himself staring at the picture on her social media whenever she was smiling, resisting the urge to comment and tell her how beautiful he really thought she was.
"I want to open a bookstore" she whispers and he smiles, liking her answer.
"That's sweet" he tells her and she nods as a thanks before leading him down the street.
The make their way towards her house and she opens the door to let him in, pointing out where the kitchen was so he could put the pizza away. She followed after him and the two sat at the table and started to eat the food in front of them. After a few minutes, Joseph walked in and stared at the pair.
"Who's this?" He asks.
"This is Antoine, my friend" she tells him skeptically as if she didn't know if that's what they were.
He nods before walking back out and she shakes her head as they finish up and she puts the box away. She lets out a nervous breath and grabs the boys hand making him stand up. They both felt the sparks rush through their arms and looked at each other before she turned around and starting leading him up the stairs to her room.
"You can take your shoes off by the way, unless you plan on leaving" she teases and he blushes a little, taking them off once they get to her room.
The pair make their way in and sit down on the rug next to her bed, leaning back against it.
They spent the next hour or two just talking about their lives and school and things that made them happy. She currently had her head lying on his shoulder as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. She lifted her head and turned to him, causing him to do the same.
"You're really beautiful" he whispers and she blushes lightly as his eyes flicker down to her lips making her do the same.
He goes to lean towards her before she gets a notification on her phone and he jumps back as she reaches for it. Her eyes widened at the notification and stood up, making him do the same.
"Crap, Rickys on his way over and he can't see you" she says biting her lip.
Almost instinctively, the boy starts putting his shoes back on realising it was too risky for them to be seen together. Once he had tied the laces up, they made their way down the stairs and she opened the door. He went to walk out before she grabbed his arm and he turned around to her.
"I really enjoyed hanging out with you and I'd be happy to do it again soon hopefully" she tells him and he smiles.
"Me too" he says as he leans forward and presses a kiss to her cheek before he starts walking down the drive.
"Go left, Ricky will be coming from the right" she calls and he nods before waving to her, leaving the girl with a gleaming grin on her face.

•••

Ricky arrived about ten minutes later, knocking on the door. River made her way towards it and opened it to see him stood there looking a little down.
"Hey is everything okay?" She asks leaning in to give him a hug.
And that's when Ricky Bowen broke down crying in his best friends arms. He pulled her in tightly and sobbed into her shoulder as she started to stroke his hair. She pulled him inside and shut the door before they let go and she took him up to her room. She sat on the bed and he lay with his head on her lap, having his hair stroked as he clung to a cushion. Her heart broke seeing him this bad.
"We broke up" he croaks out and she sighs.
"I'm sorry Ricky"
"It's okay, thank you for being here"
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else"
"I love you" he whispers and she grabs his hand with her free one.
"I love you too"