"Hey-oh!" I shout across the square. "Benvolio! Romeo! Princes! Villains!"
"Mercutio! We've got great news!" Benvolio calls back, breaking into a run and waving the book he's always carrying with him. He reaches me out of breath.
"Party- Capulet- tonight- girls, lots of girls-" he gasps.
"Wait, huh?" I say, grabbing his book and smacking him upside the head with it. "All I got was girls and Capulet."
"Romeo," he says. "And I ran across a servant to Capulet. They're having a thing, a party, tonight and we're going."
"Are we now?" I say, pulling out the invitation that was delivered to me a few minutes ago. " I see that I am going, but I don't see your invite."
"I should think that of all people, you'd be the one who'd be all in for showing up uninvited," he says, standing back and folding his arms across his chest.
"Really?" I say mirroring his stance. "You think me so ill-mannered that I- hey, here's our Pyramus now."
Romeo has finally ambled his way across the square, looking mopey. Wonderful. Well, aim and thrust, as they say.
"What takes you so bloody long to get over me, your dearest friend, of course, would lend you the soles of Mercury himself." I wave my arms about for effect. Benvolio's shaking his head and slashing his hand across this throat from out of Romeo's view, obviously not wanting me to say anything regarding our friend's pendulum of emotions when it comes to girls. But really, where's the fun in that? Every few weeks it's a new 'woe-is-me' with him. Naturally, I press. "I say, Romeo, villain, tell me."
He sighs and lifts his eyes to the heavens.
"No," I say, stepping back and clutching at my chest. "Tell me it isn't so- have you found a replacement for me? Someone to take my place? No! Don't do this to me!" I throw myself at Romeo's feet. "I can't go on."
Looking up at him, I can see he's fighting a smile. Ha, no one can resist.
"No, Mercutio," he sighs again. "I've not found a replacement for you. Nor shall I find a replacement for another that I love, despite Benvolio's best attempts."
"Attempts in vain," I say. He nods. I glance at Benvolio, who's rolling his eyes. I egg him on. "Do go on."
" I, I cannot," Romeo says melodramatically. "For even the thought-"
"Even the thought," I mock, placing my handkerchief dramatically to my forehead. "Well, you're not ruining my oddly placed invite to a Capulet goings-on."
"Yeah, how do you get invited when you're aligned with us?" Benvolio asks, attempting to get his book back away from me.
"Well," I say, opening it and pretending to read. "One could say that I've been in favor, as they say, to some, eh, gentlewomen, as they say."
Benvolio sputters.
"Right," he says cocking an eyebrow. "That's the last-"
"Are you going to deny it?" I interrupt, smacking him upside the head again.
"Yes."
"You are a bold lad, you know that?" I say. "Anyway, regardless of how I may or may not have pleasured my way onto the invite list, we're going and we're having a good time. Understood?" I thwack Romeo's shoulder with Benvolio's book before chucking it back to its owner. "Let's meet out side you're aunt and uncle's place. I'll spread the word."
"Right," Benvolio says, grabbing Romeo's arm and dragging him along behind him.