ELEVENTH CHAPTER:

My Heart's Dear Love Is Set

Romeo flipped open the invitation Juliet had given him a couple of days ago. That day on which he decided to tell her. That day that changed everything. He sighed. The party was going to start in two hours and there he was lying on his bed, still undecided whether to go or not. He rolled to his side and closed his eyes, taking in the silence. The silence broke as a knock came on his door. It creaked open and his mother entered.

"Romeo," she said, "Are you ready yet?"

Romeo propped himself up on an elbow and shook his head. "I don't know." He sat on the edge of his bed and repeated, "I don't know."

"That's silly," replied his mother. "Come on, let's go."

Romeo lifted his head and looked at his mom. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk to her, let alone see her, mom. I don't know." His eyes were honest and that was what he got from his mother.

His mother sat beside him and placed a hand on his knee. "Did you do something to upset her?"

Romeo shook his head. The thought of what he did brought a blush upon his cheeks. "I guess I did."

"Well," said his mom, lifting his face up to make his eyes meet with hers. "Aren't you going to tell your mother about it?"

Romeo hesitated. "I, uh..." He looked straight at his mom. "I kissed her."

"Oh," was all she said.

"I didn't know why," he whispered, "It just...happened."

His mother rubbed his knee in the way that makes you feel that everything's alright. "The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of." She stood up and walked to his door. She faced him and smiled before saying, "Well, we'll wait for you downstairs."

Juliet had trouble with the zipper of her dress that ran all the way down her back. A knock on her door startled her. She opened the door to a small crack and peeped. "Yes?"

"It's me, Juliet," said her mother.

Juliet sighed, relieved. She opened the door wider to let her mom in. "Great, I need your help, mom." She closed the door and turned her back to her mother. "Could you pull the zipper up, please?"

Her mother pulled the zipper up and placed her hands on Juliet's shoulders. "You look so beautiful tonight, my darling Juliet."

Juliet turned around to face her mom. A smile was across her face, though it did not reach her eyes. "Thanks, mom."

"Is something wrong?" asked her mom.

Juliet shook her head. "It's nothing."

Another knock came. "Hey," said her dad. "Everyone's waiting."

Juliet's mother walked to the door and said before leaving, "Hurry up, okay?"

"So, aren't you going down yet?" asked her dad as he walked towards Juliet, who sat on the edge of her bed.

Juliet shrugged. "I don't know."

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" He sat beside her. "You're sixteen. You should know by now. You're not a little girl anymore."

Juliet placed a hand on her chest. "I don't know why I feel like this."

Her dad stood up and stretched. "Sometimes, the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."

Juliet smiled and stood up. "Well, that's helpful."

He winked at her. "By the way, I don't own that line."

Juliet stretched a hand towards her dad and said, "So, aren't we going down yet?"

"This is great, Juliet," exclaimed Cordelia, though her voice was still drowned by the music. "And I mean great!" Juliet was making her way through the sea of people who greeted her as she passed by them. "I mean, this might be the best party I've ever been to."

Juliet smiled at her friend's compliment. She's practically seen and had been greeted by everyone but she was certain that there was someone whom she hadn't seen yet. She was sure that one face was missing. But she just couldn't lay a finger on who it was. "Cordelia, I'll just look for someone. You stay here and just enjoy, okay?" she said. She quickened her pace and escaped the crowd, though not as easily as she thought. Someone had caught her elbow and asked, "Where are you going?"

Juliet shrugged and said, "I need to find someone." She tugged her elbow off from his grasp and continued her search. Who could it be?she thought, I can't lay my finger on it but I'm certain there's someone I haven't seen yet. She hard before it finally came to her: Romeo.

Her hand flew to her chest again. Why do I feel this way when I think of him?

Romeo stood alone in the middle of the Capulets' garden. On his left was where the roses were planted. On his right were the irises. The full moon illuminated the garden, tracing over the petals and leaves. The silence made everything serene.

How could I show my face in there when I can't even meet her eyes?he thought. He started to walk, heading for the door, ready to go home. Maybe she won't even notice I'm gone.

A hurried set of footsteps startled Romeo. He stopped in his tracks and held his breath. Could it be?

"Romeo!"

He turned around and his guess was proved right. "Juliet," he breathed.

Juliet stood just where he had stood a moment ago, in between the irises and the roses. "Wait, don't go."

Romeo shook his head. "I'm not going away."

"Good," Juliet replied. "Because I have something to tell you."

Romeo looked straight into her eyes. It took a little less effort from him thanks to the partial darkness. Her eyes were wide, probably looking straight at his as well. Had she been looking for me?

"Well, I want to say," she started. "That..." She dropped her gaze and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, darn. This is harder than I thought."

Try,Romeo thought. I want to know.

"Okay, I'm just going to say this once and quickly so you better listen," she said. "Romeo," she looked at him again. "I don't know why but I think I like you, too."

Romeo stood motionless.

"Oh my god, I did it terribly," she whispered. Her eyes never left Romeo's face.

"Well, sometimes the heart has reasons which reason knows nothing of," he whispered. "We don't know but somehow, we feel this way. And that's enough."

Slowly, Romeo smiled. He opened his arms, calling her in for a tight embrace. What else could she do but run to him with a smile on her face. "Juliet," he said softly. His arms wrapped around her tightly. He leaned slowly and kissed her gently. This time, she did not pull away. And we all know how everything would go, for Juliet belongs to Romeo.