That day was very hot. Benvolio told Mercutio they should go indoors. The Capulets were out, and on a day like this the blood runs quick.
Mercutio turned the warning around and mocked him with it. Who is it, he asked, who lays his sword on the table walking into a tavern? Benvolio is the man who picks a quarrel over the look in another man’s eye. It worked as a joke because the truth was the exact opposite.
Then Tybalt came into the square with men behind him. He was looking for Romeo. This is the man who said he would not let what he swallowed at the feast rest.