"Do you, Juliet, take Romeo to be thy loved spouse?"

Juliet looked into Romeo's deep blue eyes as she replied, "I do." The priest turned to Romeo. "And do you, Romeo, take Juliet to be thy loved spouse?" the priest asked. "I do," Romeo replied, his voice strong. "If nobody objects to this union-" the priest cut off as silence enveloped them. "-I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss thine, bride," the priest finished. Romeo's hand gently lingered on Juliet's cheek for a moment. Juliet's green eyes met Romeo's blue ones.

A chorus of expectant gasps occurred.

No no no, this ain't actually just Romeo and Juliet. This is just a play, directed by Petra, with her two main stars being her two close friends, Lukas and Jesse. Now, let's backtrack to before the play.

"I don't know if I can do this!" Jesse exclaimed. She paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. "Jesse, first off, if you don't stop pacing I'm going to go insane just watching you!" Olivia exclaimed. Jesse stopped and turned to her friend. "I can't do this!" Jesse squeaked, hiding her face in her hands. Olivia rolled her eyes. Her strong, courageous friend couldn't go through with this play. "What are you so worried about?" Olivia asked. "Ugh, everything! I keep thinking I'll mess up, like forget my lines or fall down! This is different than practice, and even then I was awkward! What's worse is Lukas is Romeo! One of my best friends!" Jesse let out all her bottled up feelings to Olivia. "Alright, just calm down. Take deep breaths," Olivia started. Jesse took a few deep breaths. "Now, why are you so nervous? You were amazing in practice and you'll do just as amazing now!" Olivia encouraged. "Ugh! I don't know what's wrong with me! Normally I can do this stuff easily, but now I'm just a mess!" Jesse exclaimed.

Olivia rolled her eyes again. "Jesse, you have to go through with this. The back-up is sick, so it's either you or this play is off," Olivia said. Jesse took a deep breath. "Yeah, I have to do this! I can't let anyone down!" she said. "That's the Jesse I know!" Olivia exclaimed, giving her a thumbs up. A certain blonde was passing by the dressing room for Juliet as Jesse's and Olivia's conversation was going on. He smiled as he heard Jesse's enthusiasm, but he quickly grew worried when he heard her make a complete 180. "Olivia, I can't do this! I'm trying to work up the courage, but I can't!" Jesse exclaimed. Normally the blonde wasn't one to listen to others' conversations, but these were two of his friends. "Jesse, you have to do this!" Olivia exclaimed. "I-I can't!" Jesse squeaked. The blonde bit his lip. He hesitantly opened the door enough for his head to pop in. "I heard some exclamations. What's wrong?" he asked. Olivia sighed. "Jesse here is chickening out," Olivia said, glaring at Jesse. "I'm sorry! I just can't!" Jesse squeaked.

The blonde walked into the room, closing the door behind him. "Jesse, what do you feel like you're going to do that makes you want to bail?" he asked. Jesse looked at the ground, twirling a small strand of her black hair with her finger. "I-I'm just scared about letting everyone down," she whispered. Lukas walked up to his friend, hugging her. "Hey, we all feel the same. Don't worry. You did great in practice, you'll do awesome now," Lukas encouraged. Jesse took a deep breath. "Okay, thanks, Lukas," she said. "It's nothing," Lukas replied, smiling.

Now, back to where we left off.

As Lukas and Jesse stared into each others' eyes, they felt a warm feeling come to them. Both were nervous about the kiss. The two lingered for a moment longer. Then their lips gently touched. The crowd all 'awwed'. Lukas and Jesse pulled away after a moment, looking into each others' eyes. Jesse's eyes widened as she saw the feelings mixing in Lukas's blue eyes. There was worry, fear, but underneath all that, something else. Something Jesse had been told about in fairy tales and movies but had never truly experienced it herself. The curtains closed, signifying the stop of the first act. Now the people in the crowd could go get some refreshments of drinks and snacks in between the two acts of the play. Almost as soon as the curtain fully closed, Jesse ran off the stage. She ran by Petra, who had come out to give her thanks for doing this huge favor so far. Petra found herself surprised by Jesse's sudden appearance, running right past her to the back.

Lukas was still standing where he had been for the wedding scene. He was staring at where Jesse had disappeared, a surprised look on his face. The surprise faded after a few moments, replacing it was disappointment. This thoroughly confused Petra for a few moments before she realized it. She walked up to her friend and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" Petra asked. "I-I'm a little nervous. I saw that look of realization on your face, I know you know. But just the way she ran off makes me feel hurt," Lukas sighed. Petra bit her lip. She knew her friend Lukas like she knew how much it hurt to get your butt kicked by Jesse. Those sparring matches may have been sparring, but Jesse could still pack quite a punch to make sure she retained her abilities. "Hey, why don't you go talk to her. Try and ask her what's wrong," Petra suggested. "Okay. Thanks, Petra," Lukas replied. He walked off the stage, determined to talk to Jesse about what had just happened.

He eventually came to Jesse's room. If he hadn't been told by the other stagehands this was where Jesse disappeared to he would never have found her. Lukas gently knocked on the door. "Come in," Jesse said. Lukas opened the door and walked in, closing it behind him. Jesse was sitting on the chair in front of the vanity, her back to him. She turned to look at who had entered her room, and she immediately regretted ever turning around. "Jesse, I wanted to talk to you," Lukas started. Jesse refused to look at him. "Jess, why did you run off so quickly?" Lukas asked. Jesse remained silent. Lukas sighed. He walked to stand in front of Jesse and kneeled down. "Hey, look at me," he said. Jesse's eyes were shut tight. She didn't want to see the emotions she saw in his eyes when they had pulled away from the kiss. It scared her. Lukas sighed again. "Jess, please, just look at me," he pleaded. Jesse still refused to open her eyes.

"Guys! You gotta get on stage! The curtains are gonna open up in a few minutes!" Axel shouted as he came into the room. Lukas and Jesse both ran from the room to their places, either on or off stage, waiting for their parts of the play.

The audience started tearing up as Jesse, as Juliet, ran into the room to find Lukas, as Romeo, dead. Jesse put her hands over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. Her reaction was almost genuine. She shakily walked to Lukas, falling to her knees beside his body. Jesse moved Lukas's head to her lap, looking down at Lukas's face. He opened one eye, looking straight at Jesse. The audience wouldn't be able to see it. Jesse slowly gave the teensiest of nods, signifying to Lukas it was almost time. He gave another small nod before both eyes were closed. Jesse gently leaned forward. She was nervous once again, but she couldn't chicken out now. Her lips gently pressed against Lukas's, and the sniffles from the audience started to be heard from Jesse's position. After a moment she pulled away, but, instead of Jesse falling dead like how the audience expected, Lukas's eyes fluttered open.

"J-Juliet?" he whispered. The crowd gasped. "R-Romeo....." Jesse whispered. Jesse could barely hear Petra's exclamations as she saw her two stars of her play going completely against the script. She could just imagine her friend's face, eyes wide with shock and anger as she quietly screamed at stagehands, asking what her two friends and stars were doing. Lukas slowly, with the fake help from Jesse, sat up. The crowd's faces were all in shock. The two locked eyes for a moment, unmoving, before Jesse gently cupped Lukas's cheek with her hand. Her eyes were wide with shock, her face showing shock as well, at that moment. After staring into Lukas's gentle, blue eyes for a few seconds, Jesse's face softened. She leaned closer, Lukas remaining still. After a moment of hesitation, Jesse gently kissed Lukas. It wasn't something fake, put on for the play. It was a real, genuine kiss. At least it was to Jesse. Lukas desperately wanted to believe it wasn't just for the play, that it was real. But Jesse was such a great actor, easily able to hide and change her feelings and not show how she truly felt that Lukas couldn't tell what was real and what was fake.

They pulled away after a moment, staring into each others' eyes. The curtains started to close, and the crowd erupted into cheers. It took a few moments until the curtains fully closed, and all the stagehands erupted into cheers. Their play, although the end wasn't exactly planned, was a success! They were about to run out to congratulate their leading stars when they noticed they were having a moment together. They acted like they couldn't hear anything around them, that they were the only people in the auditorium, no scratch that, the world. The crew quietly crept away to let the two have their moment in peace. Lukas stared into Jesse's eyes, desperate to find even the slightest hint of that feeling. "L-Lukas....." Jesse whispered. Lukas could almost hear it in her voice, but that wasn't proof enough. He needed to see it in her eyes. "J-Jess.... Was that real...?" he whispered back. Jesse bit her lip. Lukas's heart fell. Jesse stayed silent. The silence between them was almost heartbreaking. Finally, Jesse broke the silence.

"L-Lukas...... I-I love you...."

Almost instantly Lukas's eyes filled with tears. Now he could see the love in her green eyes, making them light up. Tears fell down her cheeks as they leaned closer, touching lips for a moment. They were perfectly in love, like how Romeo and Juliet deserved.