I giggle and wave, my eyelashes batting
You notice how my eyeliner flares and shimmers
I whisper and smile, some secret pleasure shared
You notice the perfect shape of my lips and how my eyes sparkle in delight
I throw my head back and laugh in the most unladylike way
You think its beautiful, even more so then the carefully cultivated laughs of my peers
I turn to walk away, my hips swaying to a silent beat
You notice a tear glistening in the corner of my eye
I turn to the right and leave you staring
You start to follow
You see me standing there, head hunched, shoulders shaking
And wonder if you should come to me
I stare into my locker at the mirror, noticing the sickening flair of my eyeliner as it becomes a muddy streak on my face
I look at my lips and notice the creases at the sides where so many frowns have lived
I relive the moment in my head and scoff at how fake my laugh must have sounded in the trained ears of my so called friends
I see a hand reaching out to lightly land on my shoulder
And whip around to face you
“How long have you been there” my voice cracks as I try to make it strong and full of careless power
“A while” you have the tone perfected
As you open your arms, I step into them
You take me to the water fountain
Where the cold water soothes my heated face
And whisper “Wait ‘til we get home”
I nod into your chest and we walk back to my locker
Where I reconstruct my makeup until I look like nothing happened
Then as we step away, hand in hand
I realize
Nothing did
The only important thing was standing right there
Next to me
Holding tight to my hand as we made our way across the cobbled courtyard