Strangely I found myself asking what Romeo would say in this situation. If I was going to fake my way through the part of the comforting lover, I had to at least make it convincing. And, either way, I felt bad for the guy. To an extent, I understood how he felt.
So, before I could regret anything, I was cupping his cheek in one hand, letting my thumb rub soothing circles into the soft skin. "I know…" I murmured, "Try not to think about it too much. It hurts more that way.. Is there anything I can do for you right now?"
I suppressed my instinct to flinch away and instead rested my head in the palm of her hand. I don’t deserve her. Now one thought. Like a skipping record on repeat. Even so, my eyes started to shut of their own accord, and I didn’t do anything to stop them. “I think you’re right.” I sighed softly. “I think too much.”
Every instinct I possessed screamed at me to yank my hand away, to push myself backwards and get away from this man who I had barely just met. But I forced my hand to lie flat, gently pushing him back against the seat. "Rest, Paris… Rest your head, you need it."
I grumbled incoherently in protest, weakly pushing back before losing resistance and curling up against the seat. It didn’t take long before I was out again evenloped in darkness.
I breathed a sigh of relief the moment of piece, moving away from Paris until I was seated on the opposite end of the seats. If he asked, I'd tell him I was afraid of accidentally kicking and waking him up. I just…. I couldn't stand to be near him right now, or my guilt would crush me.
Rather than let that happen, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and sent a text to Romeo.
JULIET: help
Romeo’s POV
I paced my room, dissatisfied with Mercutio’s message. He was deflecting. It was painfully obvious, but whatever was going on, his lips were sealed. And… that worried me. A new text popped up on my phone from Juliet. I frozen when I saw it and scrambled to reply.
ROMEO: Where are you? Are you okay?
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw his immediate reply, pushing back my hair before typing out a quick but effective reply.
JULIET: date with Paris.
I sat down on my bed, holding my broken arm close to my body while I typed with only my right hand.
ROMEO: Is he doing something to you? I’ll come, just say the word.
JULIET: no, calm down, he's not abusing me or anything. it's just… ugh. It's like I'm being forced into cheating in you, but it's with your consent and with a man four years older than me that I've spoken with twice in my life.
ROMEO: I would keep you all to myself if I could. But I know you love me, and that’s more than enough. Stay strong, love.
JULIET: I'm trying…. how're you? How was your day?
ROMEO: I’m worried about Mercutio. I think he’s gotten himself in over his head.
JULIET: funny… I was going to say the same ting about Marina. What did he do this time?
ROMEO: He’s acting weird. Wants to leave his hair curly and wear his glasses. Which he isn’t supposed to do in case we get into fights. I think it’s over some girl, but I’ve never seen him try this hard to get a girl to sleep with him. There’s definitely something missing.
JULIET: Romeo. Baby. Have you ever considered that he might… genuinely like a girl and not just want…. sex? Trying to be all cute and whatever?
ROMEO: On the slim chance you’re right, remind me to stay away from whoever tamed him. That’s too much power for one person to have.
JULIET: lmaoo. Mari's been acting weird too. All…. weird and wistful. It's confusing as fuck.
ROMEO: Any idea who the mystery guy is?
JULIET: she won't tell me…. says it's payback for keeping my 'secret boyfriend' to myself and not letting her meet him. I mean, I thought I was a good liar, but apparently not around my best friend…
ROMEO: Mercutio threw that in my face too. Although, I think he has suspicions about us. Either way, he hasn’t said a thing.
JULIET: eek. be careful with that, I guess. Marina thinks I hate you. She's convinced I'm secretly dating Matteo. Which is hilarious considering the fact that I caught him making out with Rosalind after school on Tuesday.
ROMEO: You're a better actor than I am. I know I said I thought Mercutio liked Marina awhile ago, but do you think…?
JULIET: That's a terrifying thought… thanks, love, I thought I wasn't going to have nightmares tonight. I'll… see if I can figure anything out.
ROMEO: Hey! That’s my best friend you’re talking about!
JULIET: just to give you a taste of what I'm feeling right now—Imagine, right now, that you walk in on Mercutio and he's like making out with Marina. Picture that for a second.
JULIET: exactly. Now, imagine coming to school one day and she’s wearing his sweater.
ROMEO: I get it! I get it! They don’t like each other.
JULIET: well, I mean, they might, but the idea is so traumatizing that I don’t want to think about it. Keep your best friend on a leash in the future
ROMEO: Leash Mercutio? I’m pretty sure that impossible. Let’s not worry for now. Marina’s never shown any interest in him, right? So we’re fine.
