Two teenagers were sitting high in the branches of an oak tree. The girl had wavy brown hair, pulled back in a rough ponytail, her pants were torn and her smile was wide. She seemed excited, enthusiastic to be outside and free. The boy was more reserved with his emotions. He was reading, but occasionally looking up at the girl and smiling secretively, his hair hanging into his face.

The boy was sitting still on a branch, the girl was climbing higher in the tree, looking for the next branch to climb up on. She jumped and grabbed for the branch above her. She hung for a moment before pulling herself up. She looked around, taking in the view.

"You can see everything from here!" she gasped, "Tom, come up here!" She grinned down at him, six feet below here.

Tom looked up in awe. "Katie, how do you do it?" She laughed and shrugged. He smiled, tucked his book into his back pocket and swung up onto the branch beside her.

They sat still on the branch quietly for several minutes. Rain started to sprinkle down, lightly, though the sun never stopped shining.

Kate broke the silence, "What are you reading?" Tom grinned and pulled a small beat-up book out of his pocket.

"It's Romeo and Juliet," he passed her the worn, leather covered book, "it was in the fifty-cent box at the library last week. I liked the leather cover, it made it seem like it had a history, you know."

"Is it any good?" Kate flipped skeptically through the pages. She stopped on one page and read it, "It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks, Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east… What does it mean?"

"It's written in poetry. You have to take it slow, and from the beginning," he smiled, "Want me to read?"

She handed him the book, "Sure."

Tom's clear voice rang through the tree, "Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life… Isn't that great?"

"I don't really understand it, but it sounds nice."

Tom laughed. "It's about two families, consumed by hate for each other. Romeo and Juliet are from different sides of the feud, and they fall in love. Eventually they take their own lives instead of facing lives apart. That's the basic idea."

"It sounds grim."

"Well, yeah, it's a tragedy, but, Katie, it's fabulous. It's about true love. And the passion of youth. It's amazing, because they're the same age as us right now, Kate. They were fifteen."

"What? Are you suggesting we kill ourselves?" Kate asked, smiling at the excitement in Tom's face.

"No. That's not the point. The point is, they were fifteen and they had true love, Katie. That's unbelievably rare. Don't you laugh at me, Kate Austin."

Kate tried to look serious. "Alright then Romeo, I, fair Juliet, will follow you. If this indeed be true love, be it true love," she said, exaggerating the Shakespearian language, hoping to make him laugh.

Her joke was followed by awkward silence. Kate blushed as she realized what she said must have offended Tom. She stared at her hands.

The light rain stopped, and the sun seemed to glow a bit more golden, a bit brighter. Kate dared a glance at Tom, but he didn't seem upset. He was chewing his lip thoughtfully, and staring at the book in his hands.

She looked into the sky and gasped. A rainbow stood out vividly against the sky. It shone crimson and emerald and violet, and all the colors between. She sensed Tom beside her, also in awe. That's the great thing about him, she thought, he is here with me just enjoying it. He likes being outside with me, just being. She smiled as she thought of her crush on him. It sounded so pathetic to call it that. A crush. A crush is like a scab, you can scrape it off with a fingernail, and it's not permanent. Her 'crush' was more like a scar. It was a deep, terrible, beautiful, and captivating thing. Like the rainbow.

"It's so...perfect," she whispered, not entirely sure she meant the rainbow.

"I love you, Katie," he whispered back.

She whirled to face him, eyes wide, "What?"

"I love you, Katie," he repeated louder.

She smiled, "Truly?"

Tom stood up on the branch, spread out his arms and yelled, "I love you, Katie Austin! With all of my heart!"