forum In Fair Verona // Modern Romeo and Juliet // Private RP - CLOSED

Started February 05, 2019 by @blue_topaz

tune

(That’s totally fine! I probably will too anyways lmao)

“Romeo, you need to listen to me, okay? If this gets out you are fucked.” Mercutio had dragged me a short distance away from Juilet. She was laughing at me, something I’m not used to. “Montague! Mi dio!” Mercutio grabbed onto my shoulders. “Five minutes. I need your attention for five minutes!”

“Fine, chill.” I shifted my gaze back to him, actually making an attempt to focus. It was harder than I expected. Juilet was right there. In a dress. I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling. Overwhelmed, I guess. Like my senses got slammed into overdrive. I can’t even remember the last time someone laughed at me. It just didn’t happen.

“…you aren’t listening are you?” Mercutio, who had apparently been talking this whole time, rubbing his temples. “Your family will kill you if you like her. Is that clear enough?” He explained dramatically, emphasising every other word. I rolled my eyes.

“She’s laughing at me, man.” I rubbed the back of my neck, attempting to discreetly sneak a glance at her. “I don’t know what changed, but I got to trust my heart, you know that.” I couldn’t help but watch her, now surrounded by her friends.

“She would sell your soul for a nickel, dude. Yesterday you hated her! What’s gotten into you?” I looked over at Mercutio, scratching at the scab on my forehead while he ranted.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t have a clue what changed,. I just know something did. Trust me! I’m Romeo Montague for god’s sake, I can smooth talk her. Easy.” I ran my hands through my hair, purposely messing it up a bit, Mercutio gave me an exasperated look.

“No, you can’t. That’s the problem. You physically can’t because I don’t think I’ve seen you processing words sinve she entered the room. Maybe you should consider another girl who won’t get you killed or kill you?” I laughed, slapping Mercutio playfully on the back. He sighed quietly. “Here we go again.”

(G’morning, how’re you?
Lmao I live for these two and their conversations)

My phone suddenly buzzed in the purse I had resting on my hip. Sighing, I declined Joe’s cigarette and fished it out. A loud, dramatic groan immediately escaped my lips.
“Oh god, my dad is going to kill me…”

I angled my phone so that the others could see the text message I’d been sent, earning a round of ‘uh oh’s and suppressed chuckles.

The message contained a simple sentence:
Montague’s son is at this party??

“You’re in for it now, Miss Mafia,” Jamie crowed. I raised a halting finger and wagged it. “Oh, no. Watch this.”

JULIET: Joe and the boys are here, so is Tybalt.

Jamie snorted. “How the hell is that going to make a difference?”
“Patience, young Padawan.”

The reply came quickly.

ANGELO: Joe is there?

Juliet snapped a quick picture of everyone and sent it to him.

ANGELO: Fine. Don’t let me hear any news about you strangling some Montague.
JULIET: Yes, sir.

Joe’s family was as close to mine as could be—hell, he was practically an adoptive brother of mine at this point. As long as Joe and his gang were with me, my father usually didn’t mind whatever I did. Even though we were both the same age, he’d always been a bit of a ‘big brother’ type… not that I needed protection.

I was about to do something that Mercutio insisted was “exceptionally stupid”. Unfortunately for him, I’m not a coward. I took out my phone and pretended to examine a few of my wounds with the camera. I quickly snapped a photo of Juilet in her dress. I slid my phone smoothly back into my pocket. “See? Told you I got this.” I grabbed Mercutio by the arm, dragging him away from the Capulets. “Tonight was a success.”

A nudge and a whisper from Matteo Bianchi, one of my friends, sent my eyes speeding across the room and locking on the retreating figure of Romeo Montague. I quickly brushed the accusation off, however, determined to believe that Matteo was trying to do nothing but stir up trouble. "Matteo, he took out his phone. I don't need you playing Sherlock Holmes for me twenty-four-seven, alright?" He rolled his tawny eyes—I could remember falling for him, back in our freshman year. Those days were long over, though I couldn't deny the fact that he was attractive— and gestured to the dance floor. "Fine, Miss Capulet. Since we're not all under the impending threat of your father crashing this party, can we make like actual teenagers and dance?"

I eyed the dance floor, which was alive with flashing strobe lights and writhing bodies, dubiously. "You want me to do what, exactly?" I turned to Marina, expecting some sort of snarky response, but the wicked light in her eyes threw me off guard. She shoved me towards Matteo, practically into his chest, and then proceeded to push the both of us in the direction of all the action. "Yes, good idea, Matt, go dance with Juliet!"

Seeing immediately what she was trying to do (i.e., make Romeo jealous), I pulled away, but Joseph pushed me firmly back. "Go, Juliet, have some fun like an actual teen, for once. And no dirty dancing!"

Several dirty looks and lost arguments later, Matteo and I were dancing along to some upbeat 80's rock song, most of our awkwardness having melted away. But the song came to an end, and slow-dance began to play, causing us both to hesitate. I glanced back towards Marina, who appeared to be in the middle of trying to send me a telepathic message, and sighed. "Come on, Bianchi. Hands on my waist…. God, I can't believe I'm letting Marina bully me into this." Matteo laughed, golden curls bouncing, and followed my instructions.

For some reason Mercutio refused to let me even go near the dance floor. “I thought you wanted me to get over her!” I tugged Mercutio towards the center of the party, but he fought me every step of the way.

“Why don’t we drink? Or leave?” He insisted, trying to drag me away again. I shook him off, rounding on him.

“No! What the hell is going on?” I glared at him, ready to start another fight on the spot. Mercutio glared back stubbornly. A standoff ensued, tensions flaring between Mercutio and I. After moment he backed down, shaking his head.

“Fine, but if you get your ass kicked after whatever impulsive shit you pull, I’m not saving you.” He turned me around, giving me a clear view of Juliet. She was gliding gracefully along the dance floor, impossible not to spot. But as soon as my eyes locked onto her, I encountered the issue Mercutio had done his best to distract me from.

Juliet was in someone else’s arms. I felt my heart drop like a stone. Since when did she have a boyfriend? I remained in place for a moment, distraught and indecisive, staring at the couple underneath the dull lighting.

One second passed. Then another. And another. A sickening feeling knotted in my stomach, finally spurring me into motion. Without another word I stormed towards the doors, shouldering my way past Mercutio and out into the night.

Just for the hell of it, Matteo and I decided to put on a show, stifling our laughter and wrapping our arms completely around each other.
"Jesus…" I muttered, unable to stop a grin from spreading over my face. "Is this what couples do? Disgusting."
Matteo laughed and tugged me closer, clearly enjoying the acting. "Keep it up for a few more minutes, I can see Mercutio trying to keep Romeo away from the dance floor."
"I hate this….."
"Liar."
"Fine, this is fun. But you know that Joseph will never let us forget about this, right?"
Matteo winked, breaking our embrace to twirl me around as theatrically as possible. "He will when you help me get with Rosaline."

My jaw dropped. "For God's sake, that's who you like? I didn't know you were this stereotypical!"
A light blush, almost unnoticeable, spread across his face. "Leave me alone, Miss 'I'm Too Badass For Love'."
"Love??"
"What, is that jealousy?"
I rolled my eyes. "Bullshit, you know it's not. But Rosaline?"

I couldn't remember the last time I'd let myself go this much—since when was I this… carefree? But for once in my life, I just wanted a break from the strict rules and regulations I'd grown up under. And I would have done more, had the loud sound of a door slamming not broken through the music.

Matteo smirked. "And that would be Romeo upon seeing you with me." A few moments later, we broke apart, slipping straight back into the casual, platonic relationship we'd always maintained. As we returned to the group, Joseph wolf-whistled loudly, earning a slap from Marina. "First of all, did you see the look on Montague's face? And second of all, you two put on such a good show that one could believe that it wasn't quite fake…."
Everyone gave him a dubious look.

I wasn’t ready to take off quite yet, still a bit too distressed to trust myself to drive. So instead I paced outside like a caged animal, kicking rocks and cursing. Part of me wants to just listen to Mercutio and get with another girl for the night to make myself feel better. But by now I knew my emotions wouldn’t fade that quickly. I eventually sat on the front steps, somewhere in between wanting to fight and wanting to cry.

Marina winked at me, inclining her head towards the door.
"I'll be right back, you girls sit tight." She slipped out, followed by indignant protests from the guys.

Marina's POV:

Once I was outside, it was a piece of cake for me to locate Romeo, swearing loudly and kicking a poor pebble around as violently as humanly possible. I smirked—this was all the confirmation I needed, and turned to go back inside, hoping he hadn't seen me.

Truth be told, I wasn't only doing this to help our mafia family gain ground over the Montagues. I did have a more personal reason to get back at Romeo's parents…. One that I was never going to share, not even with Juliet.

God only knew how she'd react….

(Oh lord I sense a plot twist!!!)

After calming down, I left almost instantly. I couldn’t hang around a party and see them the whole night. What did that kid have the I don’t? Okay, besides the whole rival families thing. Money, good looks, talented, charming. I might as well be a prince!

I hopped on my motorcycle, revving the engine a lot louder than necessary before taking off at top speeds, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping through my hair. Screw the party right? Ma’s making cinnamon rolls for the shop, and I’d much rather be doing that than dancing with Juliet. Definitely…. Who needs love anyways? Not me, that’s who. Romeo Montague is very in control of his emotions, thank you very much.

(:D
there isn't really much I'd like to do at the dance, so should we skip to the next day? Maybe…… they get paired together for a project?)

(I know I'm sorry, I'm not usually this clumsy
okay that's a lie I'm always clumsy

alright, just give me a mo)

Angelo had been away most of last night for some sort of 'business meeting' which had prompted me to sneak Marina in through my bedroom window. We'd talked through almost the whole night, being open with each other much more than we usually were during the daytime and in the company of others. Mostly, I'd tried to squeeze the information of who she liked out of her while she insisted there was no one, meanwhile laughing in anticipation of how we could use the night's new information against the Montagues.

We weren't bad people or mean bullies, we didn't pick on random kids, didn't force them into… smoking, or whatever. But when it came to the Montagues, we were ruthless; we had to be. "Never let a Montague walk away from you unscathed," had been drilled into our heads since birth, and for a good reason.

Of course, the secret sleepover had led to the both of us getting no more than one hour of sleep, so, in the rush to get to school, we'd grabbed two cups of strong, black coffee from a nearby café, one of which was now warming my hands as I knocked on the closed door of the Drama classroom.

"Fashionably late?" my teacher questioned with the raise of an eyebrow, to which I replied with a shrug and a nod. "Sit," he sighed, so I looked around for a seat…….. and found the only available one beside Romeo Montague.

Brace yourself, I thought, stifling a small groan as I seated myself down.

I got to school early for the first time in ages for the sole purpose of talking to Juliet before school. Talking to girls had never been a problem for me, but suddenly I couldn’t function around one. Drastic times called for drastic measures. So what if some loser was dating Juliet? There was no way he could be better than me at anything, including romance.

The rose in my locker was living proof of that. Or well, dying proof, since it wasn’t looking too great before first period. The worst of it all was that Juliet had yet to show up. Was she with her boyfriend? Were they fighting? Maybe she was mad at me for storming off last night?

Mercutio insisted I was loosing my mind, but all my worries seemed perfectly valid to me. She hadn’t come to class yet either. I watched the seats fill up around me, taking to sketching the rose in my locker on a page of my notebook. My heart stopped as someone slid into the seat next to me. Trying to be subtle, I glance over to see that it was, in fact, Juliet before forcing myself to look away before my face got too flushed.

Do I say hi? Can I? Should I? Yes? No. No, no definitely no. Avoid at all costs. Ignore for safety. Don’t do anything stupid. I managed to fixate my gaze on my sketch and continue working on the flower’s petals, feeling proud of myself for resisting temptation.

I raised an eyebrow, my eyes sliding sideways to Romeo, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring me. "You're not looking too great this morning, did Rosaline reject you a third time?" I asked, a smirk on the subtle curve of my lips. Oh, this was too fun. Finally, a reason to embarrass him with a solid foundation. At the front of the class, our Drama teacher was writing something on the board.

I'd taken the class because, quite frankly, I loved to act. I had a whole bookshelf full of old theatrical scripts, and a few notebooks filled with my own—the whole idea of being out there on a stage caused a thrill to go through me. Obviously, there was no use pursuing a Drama career, my father wasn't going to have any of it, so I took the class instead… It was the next best thing.

“Didn’t get much sleep.” I replied gruffly, silently thrilled she had started conversation. To be fair, it was a jab, but I’m going to take anything I can get for now. I kept my gaze on my drawing, refusing to let myself get that distracted again.

The teacher started to write something, but I couldn’t care less. Why was I suffering through a drama class? Punishment. After my first rejection from Rosaline last year I was completely devastated. Torn up enough to refuse to go on any missions my father sent me on. In his words “If you want to act like this, learn how to do it properly. Maybe you’ll actually pass this time.”

I snorted loudly, taking a deep sip of my steaming coffee. Yes, I had bags under my eyes, and yes, it was obvious how little sleep I'd gotten, but I was still confident in my appearance, since Marina had helped fix me up in the morning.

But my train of thought was cut off when our teacher cleared his throat and pointed to what he had written on the board. "This," he began in his typically musical voice, "Will be your life in this class for the next two months. Write and perform a two-person show." Immediately, an excited murmur spread through the room. Friends began to make eye contact, partners already being chose, but— "However, I have already chosen your partners based on skill." A loud groan followed this announcement.

The teacher began to read from a long list of who would be paired with who, and Juliet could feel herself drifting off. No Marina to perform with…. I just hope I'm put with someone bearable..

"Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague, come and collect your assignments!"
My head snapped up.
"What?!"

My heart pounded in my chest. I suddenly felt extremely grateful my father forced me to take this class. “What’s wrong, Capulet? Aren’t competent enough to handle me?” I teased, rising up from my seat and swaggering over to collect our assignments for whatever we were doing together.

The unexpected victory had pumped confidence back into my veins. Let’s see her boyfriend try and get rid of me now. A mischievous grin stretched across my face as I set our papers down on the table, not bothering to read them.

Well……… that sucked absolute ass, to say the least.

Admittedly perplexed by his sudden change in mood and incredibly pissed off at our drama teacher, I let my gaze simmer over with controlled anger and levelled a smooth glare at him. "Oh, I'm more than competent enough to handle you, Romeo. I'm at the top of the class, remember?"

Mercutio is going to kill me for this, maybe even literally this time. “Top of the class, huh?” I scoffed, admittedly spurred on by her response. The way this girl makes me feel is insane. With the right tactics she could probably goad me into just about anything, but as long as she didn’t know that, I would be safe.

“Funny how you think I’m going to help you with this. My father will probably have Mr. WhatsHisFace in a casket by the end of the week.” I snickered, using his usual tactics to get under her skin. The only difference being that I refused to look at her.

I raised an eyebrow, pinning him down with a perfectly cultivated look. "Funny how you assumed that I'd want you to help me. And no, you've got it wrong, actually, it's my father who will have you in a casket by the end of the week." I tapped the worksheet, then glanced down to inspect my fingernails, which Marina had painted a glossy shade of scarlet for last night's party. "And I like Mr. Rizzo, which means that you are going to leave him alone. If not…. well." I cracked a grin. "Let's just say that I have information that you don't want to get back to you parents."

Focus, Romeo! Focus! Stay strong. I did my best not to squirm or shift underneath Juliet’s glare. “Oh, I’m sure, darling. My family adores it when Capulets walk into our territory to lie about their golden child.” He rolled his eyes, leaning back in the chair. “I give him three days tops before he washes up in the lake.”