Holly was drunk. Very drunk. Definitely more drunk than she meant to be when she accepted the offer to go to this party Lisa had invited her to. But after an entire evening of hanging out awkwardly while Lisa made out with her current fling she had started drinking a tad more heavily than she had originally intended. In fact she hadn't wanted to drink at all. Holly had wanted to go back to her dorm and study. Instead, it was some time after 11pm and she was drunk and lying in the cool grass of the host's backyard looking up at the sky.

It had been so hot inside the house with all those sweaty bodies beginning to press into each other while dancing and laughing and playing all manner of games with the same outcome of additional intoxication. So, Holly had pushed her way out back where it was quiet and calm with a breeze that felt amazing across her flushed skin. Only a few other party goers were outside with her and all of them in varying states of unconsciousness. But she only found their silence comforting. Combined with the cold air brushing against her skin it almost reminded her of the autopsy lab that she'd recently been introduced to by one of her professors in an off site extra credit assignment.

As her eyes passed along the invisible lines of memorized constellations she noticed a light in the corner of her eyes come from the direction of the balcony of the second floor. Her eyes followed the source of the intruding illumination and a moment later a very beautiful young woman leaned on the railing overlooking the yard where Holly was currently lying down.

Believing herself to be seeing things at first Holly pulled off her glasses and cleaned them off with the sleeve of the oversized cardigan she was wearing. But when she put her glasses back on and pushed them up her nose to their proper resting place she'd realized her initial hypothesis had been more than confirmed. A beautiful woman with bleach blonde hair was resting her head on one hand propped up on the railing and was looking out beyond the backyard.

Through the alcohol induced haze Holly couldn't form the thoughts necessary to process how absolutely entranced she was by the women in front of her. Because of this her brain must have decided to fill in the blanks with pre-recorded information and without a second thought Holly could hear herself quoting lines she'd read more than a dozen times.

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

Hearing her own voice in the quiet of the crisp night air around them Holly cursed herself when a piercing gaze turned and fell on her form lying in the grass. Painted red lips twitched up into a bemused smirk.

"If you're trying to be smooth try picking a play where they don't both die at the end."

The voice was sharp but seemed distant and distracted. The kind of tone that fell flat from the mouths of people filled with a sadness they were trying to hide. But the girl was still there. She hadn't gotten up and left at the intrusion of Holly's presence. No, her eyes still rested upon Holly who was now propped up on her arms so she could better focus her foggy attention on the angelic figure above her.

Holly very gently smiled up at her melancholy Juliet.

"She speaks," said Holly, this time more aware and deliberate with her words. If she was going to make a fool of herself to make this girl smile she was at least going to excell at it. "O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being over my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."

Her Juliet's smirk turned into a smile before a quick lick of her lips masked her obvious amusement at this drunk girl in the grass quoting Shakespeare up at her.

"You know Romeo was talking to himself, right?"

Holly smiled and nodded. Skipping ahead in the dialogue to match the conversation Holly continued.

"I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo."

A quiet moment passed where the girl above her regarded Holly quietly with the faintest of smiles allowed to cross her lips. Then she turned away. For the briefest moment Holly thought she'd lost the attention of her companion. Then she spoke.

"What kind of man are you to hide in darkness and eavesdrop on my private thoughts?"

Holly let out a warm laugh at the modern translation of Juliet's line and smiled. Her joy was met with an exaggerated eye roll.

"We can't all memorize the exact line, O Nerdeo."

"By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am," said Holly, continuing in the fun. "My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee. Had I it written, I would tear the word."

"I haven't even heard you say a hundred words yet I recognize the sound of your voice. Aren't you Nerdeo, the drunk girl quoting Shakespeare at me from down in the grass?"

"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike," replied Holly while carefully getting herself up and onto her feet.

"What's your actual name, Nerdeo?" asked the girl, dropping the play as pretense for talking.

"Holly."

The wistful Juliet above her was about to open her mouth to speak when a loud noise came bursting out into the night air and breaking the moment between the two of them. A drunk and uncoordinated arm slung itself around the girl's shoulder and a sloppy drunken kiss found its way onto a stiff, unsmiling cheek from a messy wasted boy. The overwhelming noise from the party within the house spilled out into the backyard and began to envelope them.

"Hey Gail, I was wondering where you ran off to."

"Yeah, well you looked really busy with Felicia," said Gail. "I didn't want to disturb the two of you."

Holly watched how quickly the warmth she'd seen a moment before in Gail's smile had all but vanished and was now colder than a morgue. It was heartbreaking and Holly wished, in that moment, that life was a play. The kind where she would do more than stand awkwardly below while watching the tense exchange above her.

"Gail don't be like that." He tried again for a kiss. Forcing himself into Gail's space.

Gail pushed him away from her and shook her head at him with disgust reading on every bit of her face.

"Don't even bother," she said as she pushed passed him and back into the party.

"What a bitch," said the guy to no one. He turned and rested on the rail for a moment and spotted Holly below looking up at him. "What the fuck are you looking at nerd?"

Holly let out a dry laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Just Paris crashing and burning," said Holly.

Holly was sure the idiot above her said something else that to him seemed tough and intimidating but she was already headed back into the party and he was already long gone from her diminished focus. As she pushed past the grinding bodies around her she spotted Lisa and tried to slip by without notice but for the first time that night her friend's lips weren't attached to her play toy and Lisa quickly caught up to Holly at the front door. Holly had really hoped for a quick escape. She had no false hopes of finding Gail again that night. Not with the mass of bodies coming and going from the large house.

"Holly where have you been?" asked Lisa. "Mary's friend Rose showed up and I wanted to introduce you."

"Thanks but no thanks Lisa," said Holly as she moved toward the door.

"Hey, you've been a total buzzkill all night," said Lisa. "Loosen up and have some fun."

"I have fun Lisa." Holly stopped and rested her hand on the door frame. A couple pushed passed the friends and down the hall before Holly continued addressing her friend. "There's nothing wrong with partying but sometimes I'd rather just stay in. I'll text you later okay. I hope you guys have a great night."

Lisa looked over her friend for a minute before shrugging and pulling her in for an awkward side hug.

"Okay but text me when you get back to the room."

"I will."

Holly let the door snap shut behind her and she leaned against the door frame as she deeply inhaled the air around her.

"You know I always pegged Romeo as a stalker."

Holly's eyes snapped open and she looked next to her on the porch. Gail was sitting on a plastic chair, her phone in hand and the screen casting a small amount of light on her face. Now that they were on the same plane and Gail was a mere few feet from her Holly could make out the dried tear streaks from the dark eyeliner circling Gail's eyes.

"Oh sorry, no...I was just…" Holly stumbled over her words. Shakespeare might have had the power of prose but Holly Stewart was actually just an overworked, stressed out pre-med student who was a still more drunk than sober. "I figured you were still…I wasn't…"

Gail let out a hollow laugh.

"No wonder you have Shakespeare memorized. How else would you talk to anyone?"

Holly let out a short breathy laugh.

"Sorry," said Gail. "That came out a little more mean than I meant it."

"You're fine."

An awkward silence followed as neither girl knew what to say nor did they want to leave.

"Do you like cheap snack foods and soda?" asked Holly. Gail looked at her questioningly. "I was going to head back to my dorm and watch movies until I pass out. You're welcome to come if…"

Gail smiled and gave Holly an incredulous look. It took a moment longer than normal for Holly to add together her flirtatious behavior from earlier and her current offer but as soon as the sum reached her consciousness she back pedaled. Hard.

"I didn't mean...I wasn't…" stammered Holly. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I swear. I just…"

"Calm down, Romeo," laughed Gail. "It's not your fault. Lesbians totally dig me."

The confident way Gail said that made Holly laugh and she rolled her eyes.

"It's snack foods and movies not a marriage proposal."

"What? Do lesbians not have Netflix and Chill?" asked Gail as she stood and shoved her forgotten phone into her pocket. "Is it more like Logo and Leisure? Halsey and Hand Holding?"

Holly snorted.

"Who even said I'm a lesbian?" asked Holly ask she walked toward the street.

"Somewhere between the flannel and the 'Gay Purrride' t-shirt with the rainbow kitten I didn't think I really needed to be told."

"Oh." Holly looked down. She had completely forgotten she was wearing that shirt. She guessed it really wasn't a surprise that Gail had pegged her sexuality in one go. "Anyways, feel free to say no but my offer still stands."

Gail stood on the front stairs of the house and regarded Holly for a few moments as if sizing her up. Finally she headed down the short walkway toward Holly.

"Fine. But no suicide pacts. I'm not kissing poison from anyone's lips."

"Damn there goes all my dramatic thespian plans," quipped Holly as she slowly started leading them down the street toward the campus and its dorms. Gail laughed and Holly smiled as her chest tightened and her heart skipped.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight," thought Holly. "For I never saw true beauty till this night."