It's easy to get out of bed this morning. I go straight to my computer after I turn off my alarm. I send a quick good morning message to Oli and head down the hall.

"Good morning Mori," I say, ruffling her hair as I walk into the bathroom.

"Morning Baz. Will you braid my hair today?" She asks, pulling a brush through her long black hair.

"Of course, my dear," I smile, taking the brush from her fingers and running in through her hair, brushing it back into my hand. I pull chunks of her hair over one another, creating a thick braid down the center of her back.

"There you go, Mori. What do you want for breakfast?" I ask, taking a bottle off the counter and praying mousse into my hands, running it through my hair.

She smiles and swipes mascara onto her eyelashes, glancing at me in the mirror. "How about you make the eggs I make the bacon?"
She asks, standing straight and pulling her shirt down and pulling strands from her braid to frame her face.

"And the twins can help with toast." I nod, doing up the top button of my red and black flannel. Mordelia shakes her head and leans over, undoing all of the buttons, revealing my white undershirt.

"It looks better undone, and your hair-" She reaches up and deliberately messes my hair, pulling strands into my face. "Looks better messy," She tsk's.

"I'll keep it in mind," I chuckle, walking past her out of the bathroom. "I'll get started on the eggs. See you down there," The twins rush past me giggling, and I catch Eleanor before she topples over. I lift her up and smile, Victoria walking back towards me.

"Do you guys want to help me and Mori make breakfast?" I ask, lifting Victoria up as well. They eagerly nod and I walk the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Bazzy what are we having?" Norrie asks as we pass my step-mother in the dining room feeding the baby.

"I'm making eggs, Mori is making the bacon, you guys can help with the toast," I say, setting them on the counter.

"Toast, toast, toast!" They exclaim. I walk to the fridge and pull out the carton of eggs.

"Good morning Basilton. Sleep well?" My step-mother asks, walking into the kitchen with an empty bowl and a dirty spoon.

"Yes. And you, Mother?" I ask, cracking a few eggs into a bowl.

"It was okay. Beatrice was fussy." She sighs, rinsing off the dishes. I plug the toaster in and grab a loaf of bread. Mori walks into the kitchen and pulls out a pan, starting on the bacon.

"I'm sorry. I can help with Bea tonight, after school and homework. Vic don't touch the toaster. You need bread first." I say, opening the bag of bread and handing them each a piece.

"Thank you, Basil. Have a good day at school, okay?" She smiles, stopping by and kissing my temple before walking back to Beatrice.

After breakfast is made I set the table just as my father steps down the stairs. He sits at the head of the table, as always and starts to eat without a word.

"Did you sleep well, Father?" I ask, taking a bite of my eggs. I check my watch quickly and see it's 7:32. I have to leave soon.

"It was fine thank you. I want to talk to you actually. Your mother and I got together with Mr. And Mrs. Wellbelove and they told us about their daughter, Agatha. She goes to your school, yes?"

I talk another bite of egg, taking my time on chewing. "She does. May I ask why you are telling me this?" I say, trying to hide the bitterness in my tone.

"Well, I'd like to set you two up. She's very beautiful and very smart. A very nice girl, I'm told. So I think you two should go on a date. I can pay. I think you will like her, Basilton." He says.

I set my fork down and stand from the table. "I'm sorry to disappoint, Father, but I like it in the ass," I say sternly, walking from the table and grabbing my bag. "Have a lovely day at work. I'll see you tonight." I give him a tight smile and walk out of the house, slamming the door behind me.

--------

"Did everyone read Act 3 Scene 4 last night?" No one answers. I keep my eyes on my notes, lazily dragging my pencil across the page in haphazard doodles.

"Because it's mandatory for today's activity. You will Partner up with the person beside you, so Holly you'll be with Alex, Gary with Tyler, and so on. Some of you will stay in the classroom, some in the hall, and the rest in the library. Wait for me to pass around the sheet with instructions." He says, the classroom already buzzing with chatter. I turn to my left to see big blue eyes behind glasses already timidly looking at me. He wasn't wearing glasses yesterday. He looks even cuter with them on, they frame is face nicely. The only thing is they dull his blue eyes.

"Hi," I smile, crossing my legs as I turn to face him. "I'm Baz."

He smiles back and runs his fingers through his bronze hair. My eyes follow his movements. "I'm Simon."

"Simon? You're friends with Wellbelove, right?" I ask.

"Wellbelove?" He questions, his face displaying confusion. "Oh. You mean Agatha?" I nod and he smiles, relaxing slightly. "Yes, I'm friends with her. Why?"

"No reason. My father knows her parents." I say, taking the sheet from our teacher, my eyes scanning it.

"You two are in the library." He says, walking to the next group before either of us can say anything.

"Shall we?" I ask, smirking vaguely, my eyebrow raised. Simon grins and grabs his own bag, nodding. We walk together down the hall, and I read off of the sheet.

"Okay, so we have to break down the characters one by one. Sounds easy enough. Do you have paper?" I ask as we walk into the library. He nods and heads straight to the farthest table. All the way in the back. Alone.

He slides into a chair at the circular table and I slide in next to him, leaning down and rummaging through my bag for my pencil case. I sit straight and look at Simon, who has pulled out a tattered notebook. He looks at me.

"You're very quiet," I say gently, keeping my eyes on him as I open my pencil case.

"I don't have much to say," He says, hushed. I pull out the pencil he let me borrow and hand it to him.

"That's unfortunate. You have a nice voice." I watch his face get red and he takes the pencil from my fingers, his hand brushing mine. The red darkens. I smile.

"So, Juliet. She's kind of... Theatrical, isn't she?" I say, setting my copy of the screenplay in between us.

"Well, yes. But I think she is also a hopeless romantic, right? She may be a little.. Over-dramatic, but overall she just wants to be happy with Romeo. Like the line where she says, 'if he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed.' I think really shows that she may be a little harsh but she also just wants to be with Romeo. I can see where she is coming from." He explains, his fingers twirling the pencil and his eyes on mine.

"I get that. Okay, so what should we write? Hopeless Romantic and.... melodramatic?" I question, tapping my own pencil against the paper. Simon slides his arm down and rests his head in the crease of his elbow, looking up at me through his glasses. I have to look away, it's sickeningly cute.

"Yes, maybe also... exaggerated?" He suggests.

I nod and write it down, glancing at him. I smile softly and mimic his position, my head turned to face him. He's looking right at me, his lips parted. I try not to look at them. Plump and pink.

"What about Romeo?" I ask, watching him tap the pencil against his lips. His eyes lift up to the ceiling and he lets the pencil into his mouth, biting on the end absentmindedly. I can't take my eyes off his lips. There are moles adjourning his face. Three on his right cheek, one above his left eye, two below his left ear, and one on his neck. For a second, I let myself imagine kissing them all. And then I feel guilty because I have Oli, and he's the most amazing person I've ever talked to. I now let myself imagine that Simon is Oli. But I quickly shake the idea from my mind. Out of the hundreds of people who go to our school, it's very unlikely that Oli is Simon, as much as I want it.

"Naïve." Simon says, his voice muffled by the pencil he still chews on.

"Good one," I nod, writing it down on the paper. I also write down brave and determined. I stop writing when Simon's fingers brush mine. I look up at him and he's closer than before, his eyes cast down onto the sheet. I can barely breathe.

"What happened?" I ask, my fingers moving across the table and brushing his wrist, a small purple bruise beneath my fingers. Simon flinches and straightens up, looking at me. I sit up as well and look back at him, my eyebrows furrowed.

"I- uh- Oh! Haha! Funny story, actually. I was- I was riding my bike and I ran straight into a stop sign. I got banged up pretty badly." He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh?" I ask, taking his hand and pushing his sleeve up. His arm is riddled with fading bruises. "Ol-" I stop myself. He isn't Oli. Just because he has bruises doesn't mean he's Oli. He's just always in the back of my mine. It's probably just like Simon said. He ran into a stop sign.

"Are you okay?" I ask, my hand letting go of his wrist, my heart pounding.

He looks at me for a second before nodding and pulling the sleeve of his sweater down over his hand. "Yes, it's okay. I took a break from riding, though. My mind wanders, I guess." Red blotches beneath his freckles and he looks down at his hands.

"Oh," I say, hushed. He looks back up at me and adjusts his glasses. Big, round, thin frame glasses. Absolutely amazing on him.

"Should we continue?" He asks, scooting up to the table. He's still flushed. He keeps glancing at me and it makes him even redder when he finds that I'm already looking at him.