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"Today's the day." Mercutio said from behind Romeo, startling him. Romeo, who had thought he was alone, jumped, hitting his head on his locker door. Mercutio laughed, but bit his lips when Romeo turned and glared at him.
"Sorry?" Mercutio smiled, shrugging his shoulders. Romeo rolled his eyes and took a moment to card his hands through his brunet hair.
"You have a little..." Mercutio stifled laughter as he mirrored where the purple-black bruise forming on the side of Romeo's forehead.
"Yeah, I know." Romeo said, hissing as he touched the bruise.
"What were you telling me about today being the day?" Romeo asked. Mercutio stood in silence, backtracking the conversation to five minutes ago.
"OH. OH. Today is the day!" He said.
"Wednesday?" Romeo asked. Mercutio sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"No. THE DAY." he said. Mercutio had been planning on asking Benvolio out ever since he told Juliet about the Benvolio's kiss on the cheek three weeks ago.
("God. Benvolio didn't deserve that." she whispered to Mercutio during Chamber Choir. "But yeah, I know. Peter's an asshole. Juniors who think they're on top of the world because they're juniors. Like no, fuck you, you're not a senior yet. So lemme get this straight. He kissed you on the cheek, and you haven't ask him out yet?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"You're such an idiot sometimes, Mercutio! He's been waiting for you to ask him out!" She said exasperatedly, accenting every other word with a smack on Mercutio's arm.
"Okay, ow. And isn't there a mourning period someone needs to have before dating someone else?" Mercutio asked. For any other person, he would've asked anyone out sooner. Benvolio was different. Mercutio wanted to make sure Benvolio was even remotely interested in dating him before taking a step towards a relationship.)
"Oh, is today the day when you go to ask Benvolio out and end up blushing, stuttering, and ultimately asking a stupid school question in place of it?" Romeo grinned. Mercutio hunched over in fake laughter.
"You're so funny!" He said. "No, I'm gonna ask Ben-"
"Ask me what?" Benvolio asked, beaming as he saw Mercutio jump from the little startle his friend gave him. Mercutio spun around, hitting his elbow on the wall of lockers. He tried--and failed--to use the pain in his shoulder to take his mind off of "How much did Benny hear?!". He smiled shyly, face burning almost as red as his jacket.
"Um...I....the um...math homework we had yesterday!" He said, mentally kicking himself, as he knew the answer to his own question.
"Um, we...didn't have math yesterday? C'mon 'Cutio, you're a sophomore. You should know our bell schedule by now!" Benvolio laughed softly. Mercutio's heart skipped a beat; he only heard that laugh once in a while. It was very different from his infectious, boisterous laugh. It was...cute, and attractive, God damn him. Mercutio rested his hand on the wall of lockers, more for support than anything else. Mercutio didn't know how a 5'4", 16 year old boy could throw him so off guard.
"You're right! See Romeo, I told you we didn't have math homework yesterday!" Mercutio said smugly to Benvolio.
"I said nothing of the sort." Romeo smiled cheekily, looking over Mercutio's shoulder to raise an eyebrow to Benvolio. Mercutio's face fell as he turned to Romeo with a glare, saying "Are you fucking with me, Romeo?", to which Romeo replied "Yes."
"Um, guys?" Benvolio asked, walking in between the two boys, turning to Romeo. Mercutio broke their silent conversation and grinned down at the teen.
"Yes?" Mercutio asked, resting his head on Benvolio's. Benvolio cracked a shy smile, blushing slightly.
"What were you gonna ask?" Benvolio asked, looking up. Mercutio's eyes grew wide.
"Oh! I was--" Mercutio began, but was cut off by the bell ringing.
"God, sorry, gotta dash. My second period is all the way across school!!" Benvolio said before running off.
"'What was the math homework?'" Romeo teased Mercutio before breaking down into so much laughter he almost tripped over his own feet.
"Shut up."
*****
Mercutio sat in his history class, barely paying attention to the lecture on how the Longbow affected chivalric fighting and knights. He was focusing most of his attention on a certain teenager on the other side of the classroom, who was quickly jotting down notes and laughing and grinning at their history teacher as Mr. Oliver made a fool out of himself by demonstrating how he can "shoot air arrows" inaccurately.
'God, he has such a nice grin.' Mercutio thought, staring at Benvolio. Mercutio's desk partner, Juliet looked over and rolled her eyes. She took out a piece of paper, wrote something on it as passed it to the boy.
J: pay attention. This'll be on the test Friday.
M: there's going to be a part of the test entitled "Watch Oliver make a fool out of himself"? Just the thing to catch my attention.
Juliet followed his focus to the boy sitting at the other side of the classroom and smirked as she responded.
J: you at least have to stop staring at him, I've seen a cheerleader hide a crush better than you can.
J: I heard you choked on asking Ben out today.
Mercutio smiled sheepishly at Juliet, whose head rested on her hand as she grinned.
M: shut up. I'm....planning something.
J: okay. Sure.
"Mercutio Escalus and Juliet Capulet. Could you guys flirt on your own time, please?" Mr. Oliver asked, stopping his lecture. Mercutio looked up at the teacher, his face growing pink at the class' laughter.
"No! I wasn't--We weren't!" Mercutio said, scooting down in his seat. He dared to glance over at Benvolio. Benvolio had a hand covering his mouth to stifle his laughter, though it just made his entire body shake.
'That's adorable. And not what I need right now. I need to be able to FOCUS, not stare at him.' Mercutio thought.
"Now, the longbow itself was the end of chivalry. Could anyone guess why?" Mr. Oliver asked. Mercutio felt his phone buzz against his hip.
From Benny: nice going, Prince Charming.
Mercutio looked up and saw Benvolio staring at him and gasped silently as if to say "Why I never!". Benvolio grinned and winked before turning back to the front of the classroom to face the teacher. Mercutio's breath caught in his throat as he blushed, ending in a soft squeak as his eyes locked onto the whiteboard.
"You made a noise." Juliet snickered.
"I did no such thing." He said, blushing darker.
"Did too." she grinned.
***
Mercutio stood in front of Benvolio's locker before seventh period with a note that said "chorus room. 2:30 pm." written in red pen.
"You can do this. You can do this. You can d--I can't do this." He leaned against the lockers and stared up at the sea creature mural that was painted on the ceiling.
"Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Just slide the note into his locker." Mercutio sucked in a breath and inserted the note in through the slits in Benvolio's locker before he walked to his seventh period.
"God, I live in a Nicholas sparks novel." Mercutio said.
Benvolio walked up to his locker and unlocked it. But as he took out his chemistry textbook, a folded piece of paper with the initials "M.E." written on it fell out. Benvolio closed his locker and unfolded the piece of paper, expecting a dumb pun or a silly pick-up line. They did that to each other harmlessly when the other was having a bad day. But Benvolio was pleasantly surprised as he read the note, a smile growing on his face. He hugged the paper to his chest for a second before running off to seventh period.
****
Benvolio opened the door to the chorus room and entered at two thirty, as the note told him to do. His breath caught in his throat as he saw Mercutio, his wonderful Mercutio, sitting at the piano, playing the accompaniment to a familiar song. Benvolio stood at the doorway for a minute, listening to the faint hum of Mercutio's voice intertwining with the soft piano.
"Hmm. Sounds nice." Benvolio grinned. He dropped his backpack before walking up to the sleek black grand piano in the middle of the room to lean on it. Mercutio looked up and saw the boy at the entrance to the room, his face lighting up.
"Hey!" Mercutio said, beaming. Mercutio took his hands off the piano's keyboard. "I actually wanted to play you something. Come sit with me."
Benvolio nodded and walked over to sit next to Mercutio on the piano bench. Mercutio tried to ignore how his heart sped up as their shoulders and legs brushed against each other's.
"I really hope you get what I'm trying to say through this song, because I'm lost with words when I look at you." Mercutio said as he began to play the upbeat chords in the beginning of the ballad.
"I'd shave my head, I'd pierce my nose, I'd fail Phys. Ed., I'd burn all my clothes, if it pleases you. Then that's what I gotta do, what I wouldn't do for you." Mercutio's voice echoed through the strings of the piano. Benvolio giggled.
"Really?" Benvolio asked, grinning. Mercutio looked up from the piano's keyboard, smiling brightly as he sang.
"I'd swallow fire, I'd bathe in ice. Name your desire, and I'll do it twice." He sang.
"Only twice?" Benvolio laughed. Mercutio smiled.
"Just wave your hand, cuz y'know, your wish...my command. What I wouldn't do for you. My life was school, weekend, and summer, with no direction, no aim. Safe to say, life was a bummer." Mercutio ended the line with a pout, making Benvolio giggle.
"Until perfection you came. And you made me see all the things I could be, things I never knew I could do." Mercutio knocked shoulders with Benvolio. "And you made me fall in love with you." Benvolio gasped softly, covering his mouth in an attempt to hide a smile that extended to his eyes.
"I'd slay a beast, a thousand men--" he winked at Benvolio, alluding to the fiasco that happened three weeks ago. "And that's just the least. My love, just say when! I know I'm not bright..."
"Not true, Cutio and you know it." Benvolio said warmly. Mercutio smiled.
"And as for rich, not quite. But, what I wouldn't do for you. Oh, what I wouldn't do for you. Oh, what I wouldn't do..." Mercutio began, but was cut off by a gentle kiss on the lips from Benvolio. Mercutio moved his hands from the keyboard to rest one on the piano and the other on Benvolio's cheek.
"...for you." Mercutio sang the last words of the song, his forehead on Benvolio's, who grinned wider than Mercutio had ever seen before. Benvolio giggled softly.
His Benvolio. Mercutio could get used to that.