Romeo and Juliet

"Hey, Julie, what would your older sister think of what happened last night?" Romy, my secret boyfriend, smugly asked me as we strolled through the mall.

"First off, Emmie's on vacation with her boyfriend. Second, she'd take that as the reason as to why we can't date. Third of all, she'd most likely laugh her butt off at us. Once again, WHY is it that our parents won't let us be a couple?!" I angrily sneered.

"You might not want to hear this, Julie, but, I think it's because ... uh, to make this conversation a long story somewhat short ... it's because ... I do not know how to lightly put this ... our parents ... are ... in love ... with each other."

I stopped in shock.

"You mean that all of our parents are actually ... DATING each other?! They're in a ... FOURSOME ... together?!" I angrily whispered to Romy as we headed into the candy store.

"Gulp ... yes. Yes, they are in a foursome together, otherwise known as a love square. I will spare you the details about what they all do together, but I will say that those deeds are quite ... romantic. Anyways, I've spoken to several people we know about what to do. Sharon, the school nurse, thinks that we should ignore it and focus on OUR secret love. Mr. Baldwin, our math teacher, says that we should tell our parents that WE are in love with each other and should be allowed to be together, my church's pastor says that we should wait and see how our parents' romance improves, your friends all say that we should keep things as they currently are, and MY friends all say that we should tell our parents about our love for each other and that we should TOTALLY be allowed to be a couple. Now, how about we go and buy some candy?"

I did not answer his question because I suddenly noticed four VERY familiar figures browsing the chocolates. Two of them had brown hair, hazel eyes, and were each wearing a shirt in some shade of green. The other two people had blonde hair, green eyes, and were each wearing a shirt in some shade of gray.

I nervously turned to Romy as we were each carefully filling our bags of candy.

"Uh, Romy, I think those four people are ... our parents! I hope they do not find out that we are planning to, uh, someday, uh, you know, get together," Romy whispered to me as he put some chocolate covered cookies in his bag.

"As a reminder, they said it will be fine if we remain very close friends, which we currently are, however, they advise against us going in a romantic direction for ... you probably know why at this point. Anyways, how about you go and fill your bag with some gummy bears?," Romy whispered to me.

I nodded back in response and began to do what he suggested.

However, as I did so, I felt nervous, worried the possibility of bumping into our parents and ... OH DEAR!

You see, the cashier just referred to the couple with brown hair and hazel eyes as ... Andrea and Steven Kaplan ... which are my PARENTS' NAMES!

Now, the cashier is referring to the couple with the blonde hair and green eyes as ... Jennifer and Sam Montfort ... who just so happen to be ROMY'S PARENTS!

At that exact moment, both Romy and I felt like we were going to die of embarrassment as my mom noticed our presence. Surprisingly, much to the relief of Romy and I, she was not mad at all. In fact, my mom seemed to be quite delighted to see us.

"Oh, hi Julie, hi Romy. It feels so weird to be bumping into you two here at the mall. Why are you both so confused?" she asked us as we stood there in shock and were confusedly staring at her back.

"Well, we were just going to buy some candies for ourselves. You know, we all need to treat ourselves once in a while. What are YOU two doing here?"

"Well, we are here for the same reasons as you. Also, since we are all here, may Romy and I PLEASE get a confirmation regarding the status of the supposed ... romance ... between you, dad, and both of Romy's parents?" I nervously whispered in her ear.

My mom suddenly froze as she pondered what to say.

"Uh, well, to make a very long story sort of short, yes. For a few years now, me, your father, and both of Romy's parents have been, uh, well, in a, well, I will just call it a love square. We do not know how it started, but, because of that, we will not let you date Romy because, uh, well, um, it will be probably be very awkward. While all four of us agree that you two would make an excellent couple, we are all worried about a possible social exile if it is revealed that you two are romantically involved when the same applies to both sets of parents with each other. Do you two finally understand this?" my mom replied as she headed towards the register with her selections.

"Yeah. We both understand this very well, however, for a long time now, we both have felt like we want to go farther in our relationship together - in other words, we REALLY want to start being a romantic couple. I know that might be weird for you to understand, however, if you, Dad, and Romy's parents all approve, Romy and I will feel so delighted."

For a brief moment, all of our parents were silent while thinking of an answer.

Then, Romy's dad began to speak.

"Sure. Just don't go too far yet."

"Isn't this so cool, Julie? We can FINALLY be together and not have to be apart much longer!" Romy happily squealed.

"Yes, sweet Romy. It is wonderful. Now, our love can truly, truly go to the next level."

THE END