A/N: This is dedicated to my friend Casey, because he may or may not be the one who inspired the story. I figured since it was the only poem I refused to let him read, he might as well read it 2 years later...
She was a sophomore
He a freshman when they met.
He was sweeter than sugar on the tip of the tongue.
He was much more mature
And kinder than she could give him credit for, you see
She always lost her breath when
She looked at the eyes behind the glasses
She hated to see him without.
To him her heart was golden, and her eyes
--Her eyes--pierced his much too far
And he knew she knew secrets she wouldn't
Dream to tell.
For a full year they talked
And both fell in love with the other.
Though--as Cupid is painted blind--
Neither discovered the other's secret
And their outright attempts
To hold Cupid's bow
Oft went all but unnoticed,
And they went their seperate ways for the summer
Expecting to forget.
But forget is nowhere near what occured.
And though he never did remember
The way she foolishly flirted
Batting her eyelashes,
Twisting her hair into rats' nests,
Laughing a fake falsetto laugh at everything he said,
Try as he might
He couldn't get out of his mind
The way she pored over her notebooks
Arm hooked behind her back playing with her hair,
Teeth biting at the edge of her lip,
Hand and pen whisking across the paper.
And though she never did remember
The way he foolishly flirted
Laughing at what he didn't think funny,
Acting too cool, like Danny Zuko
Sweet-talking other girls to make her jealous,
Try as she might
She just couldn't forget
The way he paid attention to the teacher
Dark hair curled around his glasses,
Mouth hanging in a half-open smile,
Backpack hanging half-off his shoulder about to slide off.
And still when they came back to school
Neither would admit
Their feelings for the other,
And the secret was so well-kept
That only his best friend,
Her sister
Knew anything about the two
And for her remaining two years in school
He remained in her mind
As the one she was too afraid
To even ask to dance.
She saw him with his dates for dances,
And watched him move through girlfriends,
And her longing to be with him
Grew and grew.
And for his next two years,
In tenth and elevnth grade,
She was always in his thoughts,
As the one he really wanted to ask out.
He watched her go to junior prom and senior ball
With boyfriend after boyfriend.
Tried to tell himself that even if he could get the courage
He'd be just another break-up
He didn't know
He was the reason
She could barely hold a relationship.
She was irritable
As was he
The day before her graduation
So fearful were they
Of never seeing each other again.
Fear became frustration
Which then became anger.
Terse words were exchanged.
She cried that night.
He threw a book through his window.
She got an apartment in New York City,
Attended NYU,
And for her freshman year in college
Ignored every guy that flirted,
Turned down every guy that asked,
Avoided all party invites.
He stayed home
In California
For his senior year in high school,
Took only friends to dances,
Didn't date at all,
Stood in the corner at parties.
Her sister finally broke
From the misery he gave off
And whispered to him a secret
Too-long kept
Too-well kept.
Her sister called her
Said she was coming for a visit
But the last day of school
He was the one at the airport.
She heard the knock,
And meandered to the door,
Nose still stuck in her book.
She opened the door
And looked up.
SLAM!
The book fell to the floor.
For a full minute they stood staring at each other.
Then he grabbed her arm
Pulled her to him
And kissed her
Full on the lips.
She grinned
And kissed him back.
