Romeo and Juliet: Battle of the Bands

Chapter 2: Love at First Song

Backstage, Juliet was sitting at her mirror, putting on her lipstick while Tybalt helped Rosaline pick which hair clips she was going to wear.

"How about this one?" she asked.

"It's small but sparkly, so the light will bounce off of it and draw attention to the makeup we worked so hard on," Tybalt said with pride as he admired his masterpiece.

"Ok then, this one it is." She put the clip in her hair and smiled at Tybalt.

Juliet playfully gagged, "Get a room, you two." She finished her eyeliner before admiring the work that her cousin was too busy flirting to help her with. He was always very good at makeup ever since they were kids because he, Rosaline, and Juliet would have sleepovers, and they would do each other's makeup and nails.

"Whatever, Jules," Tybalt scoffed.

The Blue Jays's music and their screaming fans could be heard from their dressing room. The music almost shook the room.

"Who's playing?" Juliet asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention to the concert list," Rosaline answered. "You're never paying attention. Why do we keep you around again?" Juliet said, jokingly.

"I'm the only one in school that knows how to play the keyboard. Oh, and I'm cute and funny," Rosaline replied with a smug grin on her face.

The Cardinals' manager, Mr. Capulet, popped his head into the room. "You're on in five."

"Thanks, Dad," Juliet responded with a smile.

Juliet put on her jacket with the word 'Capulet' embroidered on the back, along with her bracelet that had a little cardinal charm and her initials. She was always a little nervous before a show. She always worried about everything being perfect for her fans. The young singer wanted the best for her fans, who put so much time and money into supporting her and her group. She started picking at her nails and Tybalt quickly noticed.

"Jules, are you nervous again?" he asked, a worried look on his face.

"Maybe a little bit," Juliet said, still picking at her nails.

Tybalt grabbed her hand, "If you keep picking at your nails, you're going to mess up your nail polish."

"That's the only thing you care about? My nail polish?" Juliet asked, lifting a brow with a smirk. She knew that he was actually worried about her nerves, not that he'd ever admit it.

Tybalt rolled his eyes, "What I'm trying to say is that Rosaline worked really hard on them, it'd be a waste if you messed it up."

"You need to stop sucking up to your girlfriend," Juliet teased.

Tybalt's face flushed a bright shade of red, "We're not dating, you little—"

Before Tybalt could get too fired up, Mr. Capulet interrupted to tell the teens that their show was about to begin. They grabbed their instruments and walked over to the stage. The Blue Jays were just walking back to their dressing room to get ready to go to Friar's when The Cardinals were on their way back. Tybalt and Rosaline were too busy talking and fawning over each other to notice them, but Juliet did. She stared at who she assumed to be the lead singer based on the custom mic in his hand. He had a sleeveless jean jacket with a blue jay printed on the back. He wore a beanie with a blue jay on it too. They locked eyes, but they were interrupted by Rosaline's calls.

"You coming or what?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming," Juliet said, jogging over to her friends.

All three of them crowded together in a circle and performed their good luck ritual, a secret handshake they made as children. After the handshake, Juliet took one last glance at the mysterious boy in blue and walked onto the stage in front of all her and her band's adoring fans.

"Hey, guys. Go ahead without me. I'll catch up later," Romeo said, glancing at where Juliet had stood.

"Why? What's up?" Benvolio asked, a look of concern plastered on his face. 

"Nothing. I just want to check something out," Romeo answered.

"Alright, don't do anything stupid," Mercutio said with a wink.

Romeo smiled at his friends before walking to where the mass of people were standing. "Now, who are you, mystery girl?" Romeo mumbled to himself.

Romeo walked into the mob, putting his hood up, and hoped it would cover enough of his face so that people couldn't recognize him. He weaved through the crowd until he made it to the front of the stage. He looked up at the band and noticed everyone in it. There was the mysterious girl from earlier, some guy with a bass, and Rosaline. His heart sank, and his mind raced when he saw her.

Are they friends? He thought to himself.

His attention quickly switched to the unknown girl who was singing loudly and proudly with the biggest smile on her face. Her singing was so beautiful, hypnotizing even; how her lips pushed and pulled with every word, how happy she was to be on stage, in front of the hundreds of people there, Romeo was mesmerized. He couldn't help but stare at this musical goddess in front of him. Their eyes met. Juliet started to smile wider and danced around the stage to hype up the crowd. That's when he saw it, the back of her jacket: Capulet. His eyes widened as his mind raced once again. Had he fallen for a Capulet? With her back turned to the crowd, Juliet didn't see Romeo run out of the venue to catch up with his friends. When she turned back around, she did notice his absence, making her smile fade a little, but she quickly composed herself and continued to sing cheerfully.