My Heart Turned Red

Chapter 1: Red. I Hate The Word

Author's note:

Hey everybody! I'm happy that you made your way over to this neck of the woods! Now I'm assuming that if you are reading this, you are either one of my awesome reviewers of my last story "Unbreakable Love", or you want to see what Gnomeo was thinking throughout the story and are new to this, or you have nothing better to do. Whatever the reason, I'm excited that you're reading this!

Also, to my previous reviewers who wanted another title for Gnomeo's story, you must know that I had My Heart Turned Red in my head so long that I had decided that that was going to be my title. I'm very sorry, please know that I kept you all in mind for a long time. Please don't be insulted, but this is my final decision.

I'm very happy that I'm starting this project, you all who are previous readers had pushed me to do this project and I never thought I would get to this story. I'm very excited that I'm finally here, writing Gnomeo's story!

In case you're too lazy to read the summary, this is Gnomeo and Juliet, through Gnomeo's perspective. Juliet had her say, and I gave her her voice, and now it's time for us to visit Gnomeo's mind and give him his voice.

Disclaimer: I own Gnomeo and Juliet on DVD proudly! I wish that owned more than that but... oh, well.

Alright, you heard the story through one voice, and now it's time for me to tell the story.

So, hello. My name is Gnomeo, and I'm a Blue Gnome in the Garden of the still very old Ms. Montague on the lovely Verona Drive in London. I have lived here all my life and it will probably stay that way for the rest of my life. I've been living here since my memories first start. If I had been living somewhere other than here before my memories begin, that would have surprised me.

They say that when you're very young that's when you find what your purpose in life is, and whoever said that was right. My life's purpose: completely making sure that the Red Garden, that is next door, is destroyed and ruined as much as possible, if not completely. And everyone in my garden would've agreed with me if I had asked them, and I'll tell you why. I have hated that garden ever since I was very little. For those of you who don't know exactly why I hated the Red, I'll explain right now. It's not just me that hates the Red Garden for no good reason at all, and let me tell you, that's not the case at all. If I'm not incorrect, they feel the exact same way about us. The Gardens have hated each other for as long as I can remember, and my mother raised me on hating Reds, and even if she hadn't, I still would've hated them as much as I do now.

One day, when I was 10, the Reds and the Blues were having a Lawnmower race, my father and my hero, was racing against another gnome named Rose from the Red Garden. Dad had bet on the race saying that he could drive a Lawnmower from the gates to the end of the alley about ten times faster than any Red. I was very young, so I had no idea that Dad was just challenging the Reds to a race. I was so young, so the feud hadn't really gotten to me yet, I guess that Mum and Dad had decided that I wasn't old enough to race a Lawnmower or even learn pranks or things to make the Red Garden worse. Honestly, I don't think Mum told me about it until I turned 10 and a half. Yeah, I was young, but after Dad died, I wasn't young anymore. So anyway, Dad was representing the Blue Garden, and some Red Gnome by the name of Rosemarie was representing the Red Garden. She and Dad had gotten into another argument which turned into a very nasty fight and then turned into a bet on a race. It was very important, Dad said, because if he were to lose, he would be letting the whole garden down, and bring shame to them. Dad had been teaching me the basics on how to drive a Lawnmower before the race that changed the way I viewed things between the Gardens forever, and was promising to give me a real lesson after the race was over. Back to the story, they were just racing down the alley, and my dad shoved his Lawnmower into Rosemarie's and she increased the speed to higher than my Dad taught me it had to go. He said that if you went past the limit, it could be deadly for you. That's why he was the master Lawnmower racer and why Rosemarie was not. Because when she increased the speed, she smashed hard into Dad's Lawnmower, sending them both off course and into the fences that blocked the gardens from one another. They exploded, and then the next thing I knew was that I saw my father's arm in pieces, and then found the rest of him just the same. It broke my heart and tore me apart.

But I learned something very important that day, that Reds are the most evil and murderous creatures in the entire world. Whenever I looked at any of them or my rival Tybalt, I would just see blood, dirty blood, and that was it. I hated them for taking away my father and the person I looked up to more than anyone in the Blue Garden, even though I was very little. Now, I don't remember my father as well as I wished I did, or as Mum did. The hate I had most was now apart of my body and soul, like an arm was or a heart. I hated them so much, and that's why I trained as much as I could to make sure that the Blue Garden was a million times and more better than any Red Garden in all the world. Lawnmower racing was what my Dad loved more than anything in the world, and I loved it as well. I wanted to make sure that I resembled my father in that. He loved his garden, and was willing to do anything for it.

Red, the word to me was like swearing.

So obviously, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I could go on for hours about my hatred of Reds, but then the sun would go down and I wouldn't be able to see that and then where would be? Not only would you think I'm crazy, you also wouldn't be able to hear my story. My story, of the thing in my life that came to me and changed me forever, and honestly I never expected it, but now I know that it happened. And I'm glad it did.

10 years later.

So today, was the start of another day. But today, was not just any normal day for me. Today was the day that I would be representing the Blue Garden in a Lawnmower race, against Tybalt, my rival and the fattest Gnome alive. He was an incredibly stupid fellow who was a bully and a cheater, both on the race field and in his garden, while I never cheated and always treated everyone in my garden as equally, because they were my family and I loved them very much. But Tybalt challenged me last night, and I accepted without hesitation. But the thing was that Mum had no idea that I had accepted a challenge to Tybalt, which was why this day was going to be interesting. Mission Impossible: Getting the Lawnmower out of the tool shed without your Mum seeing you! Easy right?

My best friend Shroom, and Benny, my other best friend Benny who was also my cousin, were planning the right moment to try to sneak the Lawnmower out of the garden without Mum noticing. But once we had our plan, Benny wanted to go cause his great early morning trouble on the Red Garden with the Bunnies. His trick today was getting a snail across the fence, and I hoped that it landed in Tybalt's mouth and choked him. I heard Tybalt gagging, so I laughed. After all, he is the reason I have so many scars across my body from all the races we've had over the years. One in particular, which I'll tell you all about some other time. I then heard Mum's voice.

"Top of the morning Lord Redbrick!" Mum said.

"Lady Blueberry!" Lord Redbrick said back disgusted.

At that point I wanted to throw a rock over the fence and made sure it hit him, but being the good person that my mother raised me to be, I would wait to do it later.

"Your tulips are looking a little limp this year, aren't they?" Mum said, making fun of him.

I smiled, I loved my mother. She always knew how to ruin Lord Redbrick's day and get him in a really bad mood.

"Oh!" Lord Redbrick said. "I don't like what you're incinerating!"

Wow. Not only is he stupid, but he doesn't even know how to speak right. I waited for Mum to do one of her famous grammar checks!

"The proper word is insinuating! Illiterate!" Mum said disgusted.

"I AM NOT ILLITERATE!" Lord Redbrick shouted and I rolled my eyes. Yeah, sure. "MY PARENTS WERE MARRIED!"

And then the fighting stopped, so now, I think Lord Redbrick will send Tybalt out sooner so that we can race and I can beat him again as usual. I came down from my spot and found Benny in front of the Lawnmower and I knew that it was time to go.

"Benny! Come on! Let's give those Reds another lesson on how it's done!" I said, happily.

Nothing made me happier than Tybalt's face whenever he loses a race, and while we teach him another lesson on a true master of the Lawnmower, I could also give a lesson on how to redo someone's face like he did me.

I high fived my best friend and I ran behind the Lawnmower to start pushing outside of the shed. Benny laughed and ran to the front of the shed.

"Shroom? All clear?" I asked.

Shroom hopped into the doorway and nodded. OK, very easily now. It will be easy, just as long as your mother's not looking for you, you'll be fine. You can ruin Tybalt forever and what's more, your mother will never know. I started to push the Lawnmower out of the shed with Benny carefully guiding me with two trowels to make sure I didn't get a scratch on it before the race. Then I heard my mother's voice:

"Gnomeo! Gnomeo!"

The Lawnmower was already out of the shed, and not even close to the door yet! So much for Mission Impossible, in other words, we failed. I couldn't see where my mother was, so maybe we could leave without her noticing.

"Gnomeo!" Benny said. "It's your mum!"

I looked up and she was closer to us than I thought.

"Oh no!" I said frustrated. I couldn't miss the race. "Just get this out into the alley, I'll catch up with you!"

"OKAY!" Benny said, and I assumed that he was starting to get the Lawnmower out into the alley, because I heard the sound it makes when it moves.

I found my mother and she found me.

"Gnomeo!" she said.

I was not about to blow the biggest race of my life, so I had to make sure that Mum did not see Benny pushing the Lawnmower outside. So I caught my mother and spun her around so that she was somewhere where she couldn't see the mower no matter where she looked. She would think I was hiding something from her, so I decided to distract her.

"Mum! Mum, have you ever seen our beautiful...beautiful garden from this angle?"

At the word "garden" I motioned for Benny to get a move on and move the mower out into the alley! And for Shroom to go with him to make sure that he got it out there. I was buying him time, and I really needed him now to move! I motioned my mother to look at the angle I was trying to make her see, so she wouldn't look backward, and I was hoping she was buying it.

"Oh..yes..yes..." she said, she used her spade to point to our wisteria. "Especially the wisteria. That tree was your father's pride and joy, may he rest in pieces."

Mum sounded really sad on the last part, I knew how much she missed Dad. She knew him better than I ever did. I placed my hand on my heart, I missed my father, and would gladly talk about him all night, after Tybalt's face is in the mud and everyone laughs at him and I know I did my job right. I looked towards the alley impatiently.

Then Mum grabbed my beard by the chin (which she promised she wouldn't do.) and examined my face. "How you remind me of him!"

Great, Mum. Time to find a good excuse to leave.

She looked as if she remembered something, which meant more chores, which I would do, after the race.

"Which is why I wanted to say..."

"I know, my chores," I said interrupting her.

"Gnomeo."

Truthfully, I wasn't listening. I really loved my Mum, but this race was really important.

"Edging, trimming, planting, pruning... consider it all done.."

"I wanted to.." Mum started again.

"Done, done done!" I said cutting her off again. "Its not like it isn't..."

"GNOMEO!" Mum said loudly and cutting me off and turning on me.

"Done," I said quietly. I was 100% busted.

"All I wanted to say was, 'Good Luck'," she said slyly.

I looked at her and smiled and she nodded. She had known what I was up to all along and she was supporting it? See, this is why my mother is the best mother in all the world. She's not overprotective, and she knows that I do things so that the Blue Garden is better than the Red Garden at any costs. I loved my mother, and she gave me even more motivation to win the race today.

"Thanks Mum," I said, kissing her on the cheek.

And then with nothing to hold me back now, I raced towards the gate to beat Tybalt hard at the Lawnmower race.

"Go out there and show them, we Blues are better than any Red!" Mum shouted.

I would do that always, that's what I was meant to do ever since I was born. And now I plan doing that forever in memory of my father.

"Red." I stopped and the gate, and held in my disgust. "I hate the word."

And I shut the gate and headed out into the race, that would change my life forever, and I didn't even know it.

Red. I hate the word.

Yeah, not for long.

That's it! Hope you enjoyed it! I'm always nervous writing stuff because I'm afraid that they won't be good! So please go easy on me!

Sorry it took so long. I have been really busy with camp. We're doing another play! My portrayal of the Nurse was a success! Hopefully Shakespeare is somewhere and is smiling upon me! We're doing Hamlet this time! And guess who's going to play the Prince of Denmark? That's right for those of you who guessed! ME! I'm so happy! Thank you Shakespeare! I have so many lines though! I will try to write as much as I can for you all!

Please REVIEW! You know the drill!

Until Next time!

Signed

kagomehater4ever