Rosemary and Juliet

As It Should Be

Juliet

Rosemary had pulled Seth aside to talk, and Juliet wondered what it was about. After a couple minutes, they hugged, and Seth left. Rosemary walked back to the rest of the group, and continued on with her usual business.

Juliet narrowed her eyes. Everything was far too normal.

Then, as the day continued, she noticed Seth giving her a look. Lunch came in, and she felt a strange uneasiness about herself. Next was fifth hour, with Ryan.

It wasn't like she talked to Ryan. They knew one another, vaguely. Juliet knew that Rosemary was pale for him, and that Seth and Rosemary shipped him with Sidney. But when he walked into their chaotic English class, he gave her a look that was most certainly smirky. She frowned, confused, and proceeded to take her assigned seat - in no other place but across from him.

"Ryan, what are you so smug about? Did Rosemary say something to you? Do you know what she spoke to Seth about this morning?" she pressed.

He laughed. "They broke up, Juliet. Did Rosey not tell you?"

"No..." Juliet frowned even harder. "Why did they both seem so fine by this?"

A shrug, and a smirk. "Why would I know?"

"Because Rosemary trusts you with her life, and the lives of everyone else?" she pointed out. "I mean, you've gotta know that she tells you everything?" Ryan had no cause to lie, so there was obviously some way he'd misunderstood. Rosemary had never shown interest in leaving Seth...

He shrugged again. "We're pretty good friends, I guess. Yeah. She does tell me a lot."

"Anything else you'd like to tell me that she said?" Juliet asked.

He shook his head, and then their third new teacher of the year walked into the class, and wrote her name on the board.

"Here we go again," Ryan sighed, and Juliet laughed.

****

"Oh, Juliet, I've done wonderfully!" Rosemary danced into their algebra classroom, sitting beside Juliet. "Seth and David are going to be official."

"I thought you were dating Seth?" Maybe Ryan wasn't mistaken. But, still... So soon? As little interest Rosemary showed in leaving Seth, he showed even less in leaving her. They were in love, weren't they? Who would want to leave Rosemary Montague. Even when she messed up, it was so easy to forgive her. With those beautiful blue eyes and that bright smile, the way she was so sincere...

"Yeah, we kind of agreed it wasn't going to work out." Leaning back, hand behind her head, ever so casual, she continued, "I mean, he was falling in love with David, and I've been in love with you since I..."

Rosemary finished that sentence, but Juliet couldn't hear a word over the thump of her heartbeat in her ears. On the one hand, she was sick with the feeling of disbelief, but on the other, she was overjoyed. "You... I mean... what?" she stammered.

"Yeah, and I mean, I was just sort of thinking, how about me and you?" Juliet could've sworn her heart stopped. "We make a striking couple, you must admit." I would not deny... "I mean, come on, the day during Christmas break, before that Halloween, before that the night of gay, the list goes on and on for why we're perfect." Rosemary had leaned back off the wall, looking directly into Juliet's eyes, her confident words masking a clear fear, insecurity that she was not going to be able to convince her. "Well, that's not quite true." Before Juliet could protest, she explained, "See, you're amazing. Beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, and a million other things I could never figure out how to put into words, while I am sort of a classic asshole, with a side of foolish decisions. But for whatever reason, you appear to love me, which is kind of concerning as far as your mental is concerned, but what about it?" Yes. "Me and You?" Yes. "Like the Shakespeare play, except gayer and less tragic deaths."