he jests at scars (alee)

Okay, so for once in his life, no, the football team hadn't been much of a distraction. Alas, walking past the rippling green fields, the lean and well muscled forms of the quarterbacks yelling and pummeling some poor, geeky sophomore to the ground may have been enough of a deterrent to keep him away. Hey, it was one small guy against twenty assholes donning slick helmets and thickly padded uniforms. Raven was a good fighter, hell, probably the best of his entire squad - but, uh, he wasn't that good. Yet.

A cool summer breeze whistled throughout the grounds, rattling perfectly planted trees as he ran down the pavement, his own copy of Romeo and Juliet clutched tightly to his chest. Anyway, he had a date with literature today. Okay, as nerdy as that sounded, Shakespeare was pretty cool...oh god, if the quarterbacks ever caught him saying that, then he'd be flattened like a pancake just like that poor sophomore back there. Ugh. Why was school such a war zone?

Hey, at least it was with Tiny. Of all the people he'd want to work with, Tiny was way at the top of his list. She was practically his best friend! She knew how to keep him out of doing admittedly stupid stuff, and he...well...he brought...charm to the relationship? Okay, he probably didn't bring much else, but hey, at least Tiny seemed to like him.

"Tiny!" he called, as he spotted her incredibly small form situated under the shade of a tree. She was as adorably cute as ever - casually trendy, it was no wonder she ended up on the cheer squad. Now if only I could make it onto the football squad! Yeah, he'd have to jot down on the list-of-crazy-ideas-that-probably-will-never-happen.

Plopping down at her side, the greasy haired boy threw her a kind smile. He stretched out his arms and intertwined his fingers, until he heard his knuckles give a firm crack. "Alright, I'm ready! Got my notebook-" he flashed his small notepad donned with anime stickers galore - "and my copy of Romeo and Juliet. Hey, wouldn't it be funny if you played Romeo and I played Juliet? Oh man, that'd be a riot!" As usual, he couldn't stay serious for very long.

skyy and her socks

Wait - wait, they were doing the thing? Okay, he'd just meant it initially as a joke but - whoa, no, no, no, he couldn't back out now! Not when he'd suggested it in the first place. Then he'd look like such a wuss, and to hell as if he were gonna be a wuss, especially not in front of Tiny! Besides...Juliet did have some of the more poetic lines. And hey, he would look good in a dress! Maybe something blue, it would really compliment his curves -

Okay. The dress idea? It had to go. Immediately.

He stretched his legs out in front, settling his head back against the cool bark, rather close to Tiny and relishing in the sun touching his bare toes. "Okay. It's decided then!" he proclaimed proudly, because once he accepted a challenge, he would never go back. Unfortunately he'd learned that the hard way many a time. The black haired boy flicked open his copy of the classic masterpiece, quickly scrolling through some of the old timey sentence structures, the flowery words and raw descriptions. He gently bit his lip, and burst out into laughter upon stumbling over a rather comical sentence.

To Tiny at his side, he held his hand out. "Did my heart love till now?" he gently teased, "forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty until this night!" Okaaay - slightly awkward, seeing as they were, y'know, friends, but uh, it was kinda funny, sharing these words with what he considered to be his 'bestest' of pals. He'd forgotten how icky Romeo and Juliet could get at times. Still, none could deny that it was richly written.

"So where do ya wanna start? I'm sure you'll make a handsome Romeo. Oh, oh, maybe we could go by the drama club later and see if we can borrow their crazy Victorian costumes!" He playfully shoved at her shoulder. "Bet you'd look like such a dork in that!"

skyy and her socks

Huh - they actually hadn't asked the teacher if doing this gender bender sort of roleplay would be allowed. But hey, screw it, they were rebels and proud! Not to mention Raven was, with each and every passing second, becoming more and more convinced on how their unique spin would get them grade A+ marks!

And also, Tiny was kinda right...they would look like the biggest dorks on earth if they were last man and woman alive. It didn't matter what they wore. Hell, he'd tried trendy clothes before, but the harder he tried, the worse the jeers and taunts became...He outwardly grimaced. Yeah, no, trackies, flip flops and a baggy T were way more his style.

Then again, he was about to dress up as Juliet from an age-old century romance play. Perhaps, on second thought, this wasn't the smartest of ideas. Tiny was happy about it though and ugh, it did seem fun! He couldn't help the mounting excitement building in his chest. "Alright, gotcha!" Quickly he flicked to the designated Scene 2 Act 2. And immediately...he blanched. Yeah. Icky was like, understatement of the god damn universe now. This was SINFUL amounts of icky. Like. Way too much icky beyond his comfort zone!

Don't think about it, Raven, he thought to himself, heaving in a deep breath; it's Tiny we're talking about. I ain't gonna be no pansy by backing out now! He began in a high pitched, flowery voice, more akin to your dog's squeaker toy than an accurate representation of how a girl would sound. He brushed back his fringe and attempted the daintiest smile he could. "Do I look fabulous?" he grinned, a cocky look alighting in his eyes before he began; finally, pulling his legs back and propping the book up against his knees, he started to read.

"Oh my," he gasped, fluttering his eyelashes as he started from Juliet's lines. "O Romeo, O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father!" His voice grew stronger, more passionate from here on out. "And refuse thy name! Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn by my love, and I'll no longer by a catapult - I mean - Capulet."

skyy and her socks

Hearing her laugh only served as an encouragement to the raven haired boy. Indeed, every volley of giggles escaping her rosy lips only surged him onward; every verse he relayed with a heightened intensity, every word flourished and rounded to its tip, until he was having to fight through his own laughter in order to read the lines. His chest clenched painfully, voice splintered as he awkwardly spoke - "hist, Romeo, hist!" - and that single, solitary line was enough to send him into an overload. He buckled down, hands straight to clutching his belly.

Finally his laughter died down, enough so that Tiny could begin her relaying of the lines. Still, small giggles tore at his throat - hist, Romeo, hist! - and the mere thought of the line was enough to send him into a volley of chuckles once more. He waved a hand, tears brimming at the very corners of his dark green eyes. "O...Okay, okay," he wheezed, now fighting for a precious gulp of fresh air; "I...I think I'm done. For real now."

The book was pried from his cold hands. Immediately Raven straightened himself, hands clasped tightly together, excitement alight in his eyes as he awaited for Tiny's - obviously impeccable - rendition of Romeo. Seriously, they needed awards. Like, right now. This was oscar worthy entertainment here. Tiny pulled away, and began her lines, and he couldn't help it - this time he'd collapsed to his side on the soft bed of grass, practically rolling to and fro, his laughter tearing at his throat until tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Hent - henceforth, I never will be Romeo." He finally managed to regain himself enough to offer a loud, feeble clap and a pretend wolf whistle. Raven struggled back up, so that he was sitting with his legs folded beneath, and he clapped even harder, hoping to replicate the so-obvious cheering crowd they'd be met with if they ever went public with this atrocity - I mean. Masterpiece. Yes, that.

"Let me see that!" He pulled the book from her grasp again. Honestly, he was probably having too much fun for a class assignment, but Raven just couldn't help himself. With an exaggerated clear of his throat, he scrolled through the verses once more. "My sweet, I wish you were my bird. But alas! I would end up killing you by petting you too much." He reached out and petted Tiny on the head, a snicker escaping his lips as he did so. Momentarily, he broke character. "Are you dead yet? Are ya now?"

skyy and her socks