Black Roses for Juliet

This is such a cruel dream!

God. I couldn't believe this! Every dream of her so far had been clear…life like…almost exact. But this…this was just too harsh! 'Don't leave me' she had said. It was something my real Juliet would never say. She hated my guts. 

But if this was a dream…then why couldn't I wake up? They usually ended right after the most wonderful part. They all reminded me of what I couldn't have. But this one seemed different. Alright…I though bitterly. I'll play you're game. For now. 

"Elissa…What happened to you?" I asked her tenderly, afraid I might upset her again if I used a negative tone. She had finally stopped crying. I didn't want her to have to go through that again. Or myself. That was the most painful thing I had ever had to watch. Maybe this wasn't a dream…

"Elissa?" I looked down and gave her sleeping face a small smile. Sleep well, Juliet. You deserve it. My smile quickly vanished into a scowl as I thought about what could have upset her so much.

I wonder if it was that stupid blonde prick! That Draco guy she was dating didn't fit well in my book. Though it was mostly because of jealousy, something in me just couldn't stand him. There was something off about him. Something I neither liked nor trusted. 

I looked up at the full moon and could swear I saw her winking at me. What was that girl's name? Renee? Yes. That was it. But she had preferred I call her Esmerelda. I had ran into her after school at the park one day. 

"Looking for Jade?" she had asked, amusement spilling across her face. Naturally, I denied it. When I did, she just shook her head and laughed. "You can't fool me. I've been around the block a few times, I know what love looks like."

That word had caught my attention. I had already known that I loved her. But…there was just something about hearing it said out loud that sparked a fire inside of my heart. 

"Love? What the hell makes you think I love her?" I had replied, trying hard to maintain my cold facade. I couldn't make it more obvious that I loved her, or else she might go tell Juliet. Or…Jade. Jade…I remember thing. Doesn't really suit her that much. 

The girl named Esmerelda just shrugged. "I've seen the way you look at her. Plus, I doubt you went Goth just to woe me," she had said teasingly. 

"How…how did you know…?" 

"How did I know what? Why you went Goth? Or why you got that tattoo?" 

I had just stood there and stared at her. How could she know all this? Maybe…she really was a witch.

"I'm not a witch," she smirked, as if she had read my mind. "My Uncle owns the tattoo shop you went to. He told me some guy had come in mumbling some sappy stuff about a black rose for Juliet. When you were knocked out that night, you had called out that name. And, Jade's favorite flowers are black roses."

"I…don't really know what to say," I had told her. "Um…please don't tell her…you know. About all this."

"Don't worry, I'm not. You are."

"What!?" The idea of confessing to her frightened me. Even now, as I sat with her wrapped in my arms, the very idea of telling her how I felt was just…so…scary!

"Every night of the Full Moon, she goes to a little clearing in the woods to think about things. In three days is the full moon. She'll be there. And so will you. You're going to tell her how you feel." She had seemed so confident in her words. 

"And what makes you think I'll do that? Besides, she has a boyfriend. That stupid snake f****t." 

She had laughed at my words. "Jealousy. Major jealousy." She had grown serious though, quickly after her jests. "There's something I don't like about him. He's always been sort of…like a snake. Besides. I like you, you seem to be pretty capable of taking care of my Jade." 

I hadn't been able to respond to that. Instead, I had just nodded and turned to walk away. 

"Oh! And one more thing!" She had called as I was almost out of sight. "Her real name…it's Elissa! Elissa Torrence!" 

Elissa…beautiful. 

"Thank you!" 

With that, she had smiled one last time and disappeared. Thank you, Esmerelda. Without you…I wouldn't be here. 

Elissa...