"Our Own"

Books.
They surrounded us.
The smell of paper
     as the world filled our visions
     with books.
We heard the whispers
     of the people
     in discussion
     of what happened
     and who's the favorite character.
You remembered all of this,
     but I did not.
I didn't care enough
     to remember.
I only thought back,
     when you asked,
     to the library where
     we hid from
     the adults--
escaping to our own world.
Do you remember?
I spoke to you
     and for once,
     you took me seriously.
The tension was clear.
You never expected,
     and neither did I,
     until just a few days before
     when I realized
     I could not
     forget your smile
     even as you walked away.

Pages.
We flipped through the
     pages of the books
     in the library,
     always examining
     to see if any of it was
     ever going to be
     good enough
     to take up our effort
     and time.
I saw the way you smirked
     as you read a comedic
     line.
I never forgot
     about that.
I could never.

Shelves.
The world around us
     spun as we crashed
     into the shelves.
At least,
     my world spun.
I saw fireworks,
     even though
     it was impossible
     in the library--
the laws were too strict
     to ever allow for so much noise.
Music was not allowed,
     but we found music
     in each other's voices.
At least,
     I found music in yours.
I was never sure
     when it came to you.

Covers.
It was always done
     this way.
We would always read
     cover to cover,
     side by side.
You sat beside me,
     resting your head
     against mine
     and I would never notice
     until I realized
     I could never
     forget you.
The books formed
     our bond;
the pages
     to our story
     had no deeper
     meaning
     than what was written--
at least it was that way
     to you;
the shelves stood
     tall for us--
for me--
to lean against
     when the world
     kept spinning.
All
     because
          of
               you.


--; February 8th, 2013

I wrote this to capture the essence of a first love that blooms from close friendship.
The speaker is a boy--but you can make him to be any gender you like--who falls in love with his friend whom he has spent many days going in and out of the library with.
You can decide for yourself if it's a reciprocated love, haha.