"Quit shoving me," Joel whined, pushing Jimmy out into the middle of the hallway. "I'm going to have bruises all over my arm from running into the lockers, you dimwit!"

Jimmy frowned. "I wasn't trying to, it's just crowded." He walked sighed and nudged Joel slightly with his hip, the brunette rolling his eyes in response. "My locker is just around the corner, anyway, you'll be fine," the blonde said just as they turned the corner.

Joel groaned. "But what's the point of being fine if being dramatic gets me attention?" he joked.

"Because it's annoying," a female voice said behind the two, scaring them both. Half-heartedly glaring at Joel, pink-haired Lizzie shoved the boys out of the way so she could get through. "You're blocking my locker."

"Hey, beautiful," Joel said, leaning against Jimmy's locker and grinning stupidly at Lizzie, who rolled her eyes. He winked at her and she grimaced before Jimmy shooed Joel away so he could get to his things.

"'Morning, doofus," she replied, laughing to herself. "How are you?" She glanced over at Jimmy, who gave her a look that spoke, 'I don't want to deal with your boyfriend's shenanigans,' and she giggled again.

Joel sighed dramatically, leaning heavily into Jimmy's side and almost pushing the latter into his locker. "I would say I'm doing great, but..." -he paused to give Jimmy an odd glance- "someone decided to push me in the lockers while we were walking down the hallway."

Lizzie nodded distractedly while she put her things neatly away on a shelf. "Yup, sounds like fun," she mumbled, reaching for a purple binder labeled 'CREATIVE WRITING' and tucking it under her other arm.

"You're not even listening to me!"

Jimmy, now holding himself up by bracing himself on his own locker, tried to shove Joel away. "Get.. off!" When Joel went completely limp, the younger of them sighed and stepped off to the side.

Joel let out a high-pitched yelp as he fell into the locker, slamming his shoulder on the shelf.

"Oops," Jimmy shrugged.

Lizzie snickered and covered her mouth with her hand, looking away as she giggled.

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Joel whined shrilly. "It's not funny!"

Jimmy chuckled. "Yeah, it is." Even still, he offered out a hand to help his friend to his feet.

Even though he accepted the offered hand, Joel still glared half-heartedly at Jimmy. "Watch your back, James Shadowlady-Solidarity," he sneered, but there was no heat behind the words.

Jimmy shivered at the use of his full name. "That's... not creepy at all." He laughed again when Joel rolled his eyes. "I need to get my stuff."

Joel moved, willingly this time, so Jimmy could gather his things for his next classes. "What's your next period?" the brunette asked, twirling a strand of green around his finger.

"Spanish," Jimmy answered plainly. "Then I have lunch, then health and biology."

Lizzie stuck her tongue out. "I hated biology," she groaned. "Cutting open frogs? Gross." She shook her head, her ponytail whishing around.

Jimmy laughed as he closed his locker. "It's not that bad," he said. "I mean, yeah, it's gross, but it's pretty cool."

"You're so... weird," said Lizzie slowly. "But for some reason we love you anyway."

"You're my sister!"

Lizzie quirked a brow. "So?"

Jimmy blinked. "So, you have to love me," he said.

Joel laughed. "Good point, Jim." He nudged the blonde with his elbow. "Walk me down to the nurse's office?"

"What? Why?"

"'Cause I'm having an asthma attack," the brunette deadpanned. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No, 'cause my shoulder feels like it was dragged through Hell and back. C'mon."

Jimmy, though waving Lizzie goodbye and following Joel anyway, whined. "Why do I need to walk you down there, though?" he complained. "It's not like you're handicapped or anything."

"Well, you're the one who shoved me into the lockers."

"It. Was. Crowded."

Joel smiled. "And I'm your girlfriend." He laughed when Jimmy rolled his eyes and nudged the junior. "Oh, I'm just joking around."

It wasn't long before they'd reached the clinic, Jimmy's and Lizzie's lockers being in the main hallway.

"Wait out here for me?" Joel asked as Jimmy opened the door for him.

Jimmy blinked. "Uh, I have cla-"

"Great! Thanks, man." Joel slipped inside the clinic, pulling the door shut with him, and Jimmy wasn't able to protest.

Groaning, Jimmy leaned against the wall. The hallways weren't so busy now that there were only two minutes left to get to class, and Jimmy had thought about making a run for it now, but knew Joel would have his head later if he did. The blonde sighed as he watched his peers chat in groups or dart down the halls like there was no tomorrow. During his people-watching, his ears caught beautiful laughter just before his eyes caught bright blue hair.

He recognized that laugh, and he knew that blue hair very well.

Scott Smajor, the richest, most popular boy in school. The star of the football team (or, soccer team), the victor of every beauty pagent, the leading role of every school play, the one who makes every guy in the school question whether he were straight or not. He was the most beautiful, breathtaking boy Jimmy had ever seen, and he was standing just across the hall, laughing.

Jimmy sighed, smiling at the sweet sound. Then the hallway cleared a bit and there was another guy standing with Scott, laughing with him. He was much taller than Scott was, and he had black hair and blue eyes. He looked wealthy. Wealthy and popular.

Scott shook his head, still grinning, and turned to a clipboard on the wall to scribble down his name.

"Juliet?" the black-haired boy asked, and Scott turned back to him, nodding. "Guess I'll have to be Romeo, then." He cupped a hand over Scott's cheek and leaned down to kiss him. Scott lifted himself up on his toes and held the other boy's face in his own hands.

Jimmy's stomach dropped at the sight, and he stared expressionlessly in their direction as Scott's unnamed boyfriend signed the paper himself. Boyfriend. Scott had a boyfriend. That hurt.

"What are you doing?" Joel laughed at the awkward sight of Jimmy staring blankly down the hallway. "You look ridiculous."

Jimmy blinked, near startled, and turned toward his dark-haired friend. "Um, I was..." -his eyes drifted back over to the drama club sign-up sheet- "just about to sign up for the drama club!"

Joel's lips parted in surprise, his eyes wide and face confused.

Jimmy sighed. "Oh, pick your jaw up off the floor," he said as he started toward the clipboard. "A guy can try something new, right?" He grabbed the pen that was tethered to the bulletin board and began to jot down his name.

"Isn't the play this year Romeo And Juliet?" Joel asked slowly. "Like, the Shakespeare play?"

"Guess I'll have to be Romeo, then."

Jimmy shook the echo of Scott's boyfriend's voice away. "Yeah," he answered. "I..." He stared at the box next to his name labeled 'DESIRED ROLE.' "I'm think I want to try out for Romeo," he decided.

"What?!" Joel shouted shrilly. "Romeo? Why?"

Jimmy shrugged, a light pink dusted over his cheek.

Joel went quiet for a moment as he scanned the paper. "Huh," he muttered. "Lizzie's auditioning for Lady Montague. I might try for Lord Montague." His eyes fell down the page, then stopped, widened, and he turned back to Jimmy with a shocked smile on his face. "You like Scott," he said.

Gasping, Jimmy slapped a hand over Joel's mouth. "Shh!"

"Mmph!" Joel bit down on Jimmy's hand, the blonde pulling away immediately. "I knew it!" He jabbed a finger at the younger's chest. "You have a crush on Scott Smajor."

"Quiet," Jimmy said stiffly, though Joel didn't seem to pick up on hiw uncomfortable he was. "It's not a big deal."

Joel chuckled deviously. "You wanna play Romeo so you can kiss him, don't you?"

Jimmy's already pink cheeks turned red. "I- There's no guarantee that he'll get the part," he mumbled, looking away.

"He's the only one who's auditioning for Juliet," Joel said as he pointed toward the clipboard. "Besides, he always gets whatever part he auditions for. Last semester, he didn't even have to audition; Mr. Harding just gave him the role." He sighed. "I swear to God, Mr. Harding has a thing for Scott." The brunette stuck out his tongue in disgust after saying this. "But you have a crush on Scott? Seriously?"

Cocking his head to the side, Jimmy asked, "What do you mean?"

"That guy's a bastard," Joel groaned, reaching for the pen attached to the clipboard. He continued talking as he began to jot down his name. "The popularity and money goes straight to his ego, and he's a bully, too. 'Has no respect for anyone."

Jimmy looked down at the floor, kicking the tile ground with the toe of his shoe. "Well, he's pretty," the blonde mumbled.

Joel scoffed as he hooked the pen back in its place. "Can't say I disagree with you there," he admitted, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets, "but you know who's prettier?"

"Hm?"

"Me."

Jimmy smiled and rolled his eyes. "And Scott has a big ego."

Joel threw his hands up as if surrendering. "Hey, I said nothing about how ginormous my self-esteem is." He laughed before putting his hands back in his pocket and sighing. "I'm not... I'm not saying that liking Scott is bad," he said in a more serious demeanor, "because it's not. You like who you like, and you can't really help that. But..." He let out a grumble of agitation. "You're like a little brother to me, and I don't want some pretty jerk to break your heart."

At a loss for words, Jimmy nodded silently.

"If you like Scott, that's cool," Joel continued. "In fact, that's awesome. And if you wanna pursue a relationship with him, I'm all for supporting you." He leaned closer to whisper in Jimmy's ear. "But if he ever hurts you, tell me and I'll show up at his door with dynamite and a box of matches."

Jimmy laughed nervously. "Um, yeah, sure," he said slowly. "So, uh, about that-"

"Sorry, man, I gotta go," Joel cut in, starting to walk backward down the hall. "I have to get to chem before Mrs. Rodgers chops my head off for being late again."

"Wha-" Jimmy's eyes darted toward the clock. It had already been four minutes since class started. "When did the bell ring?"

Joel shrugged. "I dunno," he replied. "I'll see you at lunch, alright?"

Nodding distractly as he stared in confusion at the clock, Jimmy mumbled a quiet, "Uh-huh," and Joel turned to jog down the hallway.

The blonde boy sighed. "Thanks for making me late, Joel," he grumbled with no heat to back up the sarcastic tone.

"Guess I'll have to be Romeo, then."

Jimmy rolled his eyes as he started for his own class. Romeo never had black hair and a dumb looking face, now did he?

* * *

Author's Note:

As promised, I have delivered you guys a sort of Romeo and Juliet Flower Husbands AU. I'm so excited about this work, and I genuinely sat down at my desk and spent hours working on the outline and details of this story. /gen /pos

I meant for this to have shorter chapters than I usually write, but.. that's not happening, so 2,000+ words chapters it is! /nup /pos

Oh, and, did I mention that this includes Last Lifers? *wink wink*

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Act I of A Poppy By Any Other Name, and have a wonderful rest of your day, or evening, wherever you are!

* * *

PS: This work is heavily inspired by the incredible romance-tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare, as well as the AMAZING story 'And There's Stars In Your Eyes' by sixth_constellation , [BTW, you should go check them out *wink wink*]

And one more thing before you go; Scott's boyfriend is an OC (or, original character) and not anyone from Empires or 3rd/Last Life.

Have a great day/evening! <3