noah

last day

the day of the performance

was a day of anxiety and excitement.

whilst rehearsing, Noah bumped into me

nine times.

"why do you keep doing that?" I asked.

"because we're friends," he said

as if it were blatantly obvious.

i smiled.

his words made me feel content

and

miraculously

calmed me down for the performance.

the first show was great,

went off without a hitch,

so backstage, the directors gave out rewards-

candy bars.

noah took ten of his favorite

which he told me was Snickers.

"funny,"

i said,

"thats my favorite too."

all of a sudden, noah had seven snickers bars.  

i had three.

after the second performance

when we had to say goodbye

i took a selfie with him

and he gave me his number

and a hug.

a long, lingering hug

that made me feel sad to leave him

yet happy to know him

and I finally realized how strong he was;

his grip on my waist was tight

and I held my breath as I sucked in my stomach

except I don't think he noticed.

as I walked away from him

my heart clenched

and I slung my bag over my shoulder

and shot him a text saying hello

so our goodbye wasn't really goodbye

it was,

as cliché as it is,

a simple "See you soon."

and as I followed my parents through the streets of Manhattan,

i had a conversation with Noah

and then I knew that he was different

because he wanted to talk to me

wanted to be my friend

wanted me, in a way

and in those minutes I spent dodging people

while trying to hold a conversation

i wanted Noah more than he would ever know.