"Stina, what do you mean Matt?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean? We've been together for years," Stina's words were distracted as she worked to flag down the bartender.

"Since college," I mumbled to myself.

"Yeah," she shook her head as she spoke, "are you still sick?"

"Maybe," I muttered. "Are you happy?"

Stina let out a laugh. "Happy," she said to herself before adding, "sure, we work."

This was not Stina, not my hopeless romantic best friend. "Stina, you should do more than work!"

A laugh slipped from her lips, "really, Sadie, you're giving me relationship advice? No one is good enough for you."

"That's not true; I'm just not willing to settle," I argued.

"Sometimes settling is practical," she shot back to me before turning to the bartender to order.

It felt like a slap; my own words turned against me. I felt a quick intake of breath painfully overfill my lungs.

"What?" Stina asked as she turned back to me.

"Nothing, I just wish you had more than 'we work,'" I shrugged.

"Too much passion is disruptive."

"This from the girl whose favorite book is Romeo and Juliet," I mumbled to myself.

"Romeo and Juliet? What are you talking about? My favorite book is The Great Gatsby."

"Since when? You love Romeo and Juliet!"

"I've never even heard of that," she argued.

"What? You're an English teacher because of Romeo and Juliet."

"Oh, honey, I'm an English teacher, so when Matt and I have kids, we don't have to worry about daycare in the summer; again, practicality."

My stomach churned. "No, you're an English teacher because, in the ninth grade, we read Romeo and Juliet, and you both wanted to fall in love at first sight and share that story with everyone you met."

Stina looked at me with genuine concern before sliding my glass away from me. "I think you've had enough. If we read that story in ninth grade, I'm sure I don't remember it. Who wrote it?"

"Oh, just a nearly forgotten playwright named William Shakespeare," I teased.

"Never heard of him," Stina shrugged as she downed the rest of my drink.

I nearly fell off my stool. "You have what?"

"I'm just a high school English teacher; you can't expect me to know every author in the history of time."

"William Shakespeare is not a random author. He is The Bard."

"That is a very generic term, Stina. Again, I can't know every bard in existence."

"No, not a bard. He is The Bard!"

"Maybe I should get you home," Stina's eyebrows pinched together with concern.

"Seriously, Romeo and Juliet? They are two kids from warring families that fall in love at first sight and reunite their families, bringing peace to the city. This rings no bells?"

"No, but it sounds like something from the Hallmark channel."

"Hallmark... who are you... that's my line." Jagged thoughts stabbed at my brain, allowing none of them to settle to a complete thought.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"I don't know; I think I need some fresh air." I slid vacantly from my stool and floated to the door.

The fresh air that hit my face felt refreshing but didn't clear my thoughts. Stina, the hopeless romantic, was in a practical relationship with boring Matt. Jay was entirely missing in action, as was William Shakespeare, Romeo, and Juliet. How could The Great Gatsby be Stina's favorite book? It was a brutal take on selfish love.

"Hey," an unfamiliar voice came from behind me, "are you okay?"

I turned to see the concerned brown eyes of Harris.

"I saw you were heading out, and you seemed off," he explained further. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay; I'm not a creepy stalker or anything."

"Have you ever heard of Romeo and Juliet?" My words came fast on a wave of frantic urgency.

"Um, no; are they friends of yours?"

"No," I sighed, "it's a play by William Shakespeare."

"Oh, sorry, I'm not much of a reader. Is it any good?"

"Honestly, I don't know anymore," my voice was hollow as the thought rumbled in my brain.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem... off," concern was still filling his voice and eyes.

I lifted my gaze to meet his. "I think I just need to go home."

"I'll wait with you while your car comes," he asserted.

"No, it's only a block or so away. I'll walk; maybe the fresh air will clear my head." I looked absently up and down the street, wondering if the world had twisted so much that my apartment was no longer a block or so away.

"Do you mind if I walk you? I just..." his words dropped out. "I know we just met; I can get your friend to walk with you."

"No," the last thing I wanted was to see this new practical Stina. "I mean, no, I don't mind if you walk with me." It was the lesser of two evils.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I don't think you should walk alone."

"No, it's fine. I'm Sadie," I absently said.

"Okay, Sadie," Harris nodded as we began to walk in the direction that I hoped was my home. "Do you not drink often?"

"Huh?"

"I was just wondering if maybe it was the prosecco going to your head?"

"Oh, no. Sorry, it's just been a weird day," I pondered to myself.

"I like weird," he shrugged.

"Do you believe in the butterfly effect?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess so. Why?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "It just seems like a change years ago has made life...."

"Life," he offered with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, just life."

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

He let his shoulders lift to another shrug and added, "that you're having a life day."

"You're nice," I said with an air of surprise in my voice.

A laugh slipped from his lips. "You act like that is something rare."

"In my experience, it is."

"Well, then, thank you for the compliment. But I have to admit; I have a few exes that may not share the sentiment."

"Oh no, what did you do?" Thoughts of lying, cheating, and worse swirled in my head.

"Oh, nothing like that," he defended quickly. "I don't want to settle for an okay relationship. I want..." his words dropped off as he pondered his desires. "I want something special. I want to feel it in my bones. You know?"

"Mmhmm, you sure you don't know Romeo?"

"Pretty sure. Why? Would I like him?"

"Yeah, I think you two would have a lot in common."

"Do you think we have a lot in common, Sadie?"

I paused in front of the front door of my apartment building and looked him up and down before pausing on his open eyes. "Maybe."

"Can I see you again?"

"Let's see what the fates decide. If I see you around, I'll see you around."

"Mmhmm, sounds like a no."

"You don't believe in fate?"

"Not with my heart, no," his voice had a pull to dejection.

"Huh, interesting. For someone that wants special, you don't have a lot of faith in love." I gave him a genuine smile before adding, "I hope to see you around, Harris."

I didn't wait for his response; I just turned on my heel and headed up the stairs to my building.

I wanted to linger on Harris and let his charm put a foolish smile on my face, but something was off, and I couldn't avoid it. Jay was missing, Stina was functioning with Matt, no one had heard of William Shakespeare nor Romeo and Juliet. I tore through my bookshelf, looking for my tattered copy of the play with no luck. Unfortunately, I did find three copies of The Great Gatsby; it felt like a slap with each copy I found.

I slumped down on my couch in defeat. I had ruined Stina, William Shakespeare, maybe the world by being careless. I had a vivid dream and woke up to a nightmare. My only hope was to fall asleep and wake up in London.