Well, some of you ever-to-be-loved readers have confidence in me...For that I thank you. Enter Romeo and Juliet...

Chapter 6: By the Book—Tomoyo

He opened up! Eriol actually told me something important! Ever since the coffee shop incident yesterday I'd walked around in a happy daze. How could I not? I made progress, now I understood just what I had to fix!

But then, after seeing him in English, I realized happy time had ended. He looked so high and mighty, so perfect, sitting on his desk with a loose tie, flirting with the girls. It struck a strange cord in my heart. The scene before me looked so right, as if this was the Eriol without the influence of Kaho. But then he smiled and I caught sight of that malicious glint in his eye. And our eyes met over the crowd.

"Why hello Tomoyo-san." The smile looked real, but felt fake. Did this boy ever express his true feelings? "I'm so happy to see you today."

His obvious cheeriness put an edge on my voice no matter how I tried to ignore his creepy aura. "Hello to you too, Eriol." If only I could focus on the good in him, rejoice in his confession yesterday. He held a piece of paper in his hands. "What are you working on? We don't have notes to copy down."

"It's for our new English project the teacher assigned. We need to read an English play and do an extensive research project on it. Then present our findings to the class." He replied smugly.

"How do you know?"

Eriol picked up a pen and scribbled on his paper, but managed to point at a notice posted by the door. I approached the paper with as much caution as one would use upon finding a nest of snakes in one's bed. Yep, we definitely had a project on plays, or if we chose something by Chaucer. The paper also assigned a partner, and lucky me, I got Eriol. Wonderful.

I turned around and he flashed me another smile, but one different from before. This one sent a dangerous shiver down my spine and caused a tingle to cover my skin. In truth I wanted nothing more then to run from the room and never return. But I had no choice; I did not pick him. "Well, Eriol, what play did you have in mind?"

"Not a fan of Geoffrey Chaucer(1)?" He grinned

"English is challenging enough and the Canterbury Tales(2) are written in Middle English. Besides, his stuff doesn't intrigue me, even with all of its historical significance." I sat at my desk and pulled out an empty notebook. "What do you think of William Shakespeare or Neil Simon (3)?"

"I detest Simon." He stated simply.

"That leaves Shakespeare. What about A Midsummer's Night Dream (4)?"

"Macbeth (5) is a much better play. A Midsummer's Night Dream is just too crazy. We ought to do a tragedy."

"Will you settle for Romeo and Juliet as a compromise?"

"Fine." He grumbled and began crossing things out.

Who spit in his breakfast this morning?

"Good Morning Class, I see you've already met your partner, so you have the rest of the day to work on our play. It's due one month from today if things go well. I might extend the due date. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Have fun!" Our teacher passed out a set of requirements to each pair.

"Title, Author, genre, place written, first publication, setting, protagonist, antagonist, Themes, and symbols. How much crap does she actually want us to do?"

"Stop complaining Eriol, it's not like you haven't already read the Collect Works!" Was he determined to be the biggest pain ever? "Let's just get this done. I'll take the protagonists." And thus we spent the rest of the next hour and a half working in a, in my opinion, comfortable silence.

At the end of the period Eriol looked over at my paper and then glanced at his. "Come over to my after school today. The address is 68 Aiko drive."

I nodded feeling slightly relieved, but also a bit anxious. Why his house? Did he have a trick up his sleeve or did he just want to get the assignment done? It didn't really matter, I was committed now.

The silence of the room made for good studying, but I just did not understand the text. Unfortunately, I also didn't want to break the studious mood either. When Nakaru had come in an hour ago with snacks, Eriol sent her such a glare as to freeze hot soup. Speaking of him, Eriol leaned back and glanced over at me.

"Eriol, I just don't get it. If Romeo loved Rosaline so much, how could he fall for Juliet so quickly? It doesn't make any sense."

He stood up from his side of the table and walked over behind my chair. "It's actually very simple Tomoyo. What Romeo felt for Rosaline was just a crush and he realized that the second he laid eyes on Juliet. Here, sometimes it helps to read the text out loud. You play Juliet starting with line 113."

"Alright." I stood up and faced him. The words looked awkward on the page, as if someone with no skill had written them. "Ay pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;" he leaned closer in and grasped my hand. "They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." He spun me about the room causing everything but him to turn a hazy glow.

Yanking my hand from his grasp, I turned away. "Saints do not move, though grant for prayer's sake."

Eriol danced back in front of me, but looked far more serious now. "Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purg'd." And he laid his lips gently across mine in a manner even more profane then the last time he touched me.

"'You kiss by the book.'" I told him.

"What?"

"That's what Juliet says. See." I pointed a few lines down the page. "I just thought it fit better here."

"And just how much experience do you have in kissing?" He asked, looking down at me through smug eyes.

My spine stiffened and I took several steps back. "What does it matter? That kiss was so-so unoriginal, proficient—but—" I shook my head, sending down waves of hair. "not stimulating."

All of a sudden Eriol stalked towards me, a man bristling with passion and dangerous energy. The closer he came, the farther I backed up, at least until my back jarred horribly with the wall. Yet he continued forward; my breath lodged itself indefinitely in my throat.

Soon barely an inch separated us and Eriol leaned over me as if I were no bigger then a sheet of paper. "You're right, that kiss wasn't up to my usually standards. And just to uphold my reputation, I'll have to show you what a real kiss is."

His eyes captured mine as his face slowly descended; his nose rubbed gently across mine and then his lips took mine. Standing was now an unknown concept. His breath mingled with mine tasting fresh and sweet. It was a feeling like no other, his tongue feasting in my mouth. Small gasps and groans slipped from both of us as the kiss deepened and lengthened. Fire rushed my body and when he pulled back I had the strength to mutter one word.

"Touché."

1) Geoffrey Chaucer- a famous author who wrote before the middle ages.

2) Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer's most famous piece of work...has some very interesting tales...and some morbid ones...

3) Neil Simon- another famous, more modern, English playwright

4) A Midsummer's Night Dream- A play by Shakespeare about four lovers and the trouble they get into. It's a comedy.

5) Macbeth- One of Shakespeare's tragedies involving the decline of a country, murder, and insanity...you know...hamlet is kinda like that too...

In case you haven't figured it out yet...I've been enjoying my AP English class! Hehehehe!