amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me

jane luna o'hare//15 & savvy adina ridge//15

While Jane and Savvy stood outside of the bathroom stall, they took each other's hand and then crossed the fingers on their other. They scrunched up their noses and closed their eyes hard enough that the edges crinkled, as if they could will this nightmare away. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't.

When they heard the toilet flush and knew that she was finished, both girls turned toward the stall door. Before they could say anything, Grace began to ramble about Eddie and how magical their experience had been.

Savvy rolled her eyes and decided to squish this romantic idea of him out of her head. It was for her own good. "Look, Grace. I love you. You're like a sister to me. You're musically and artistically talented. You are highly intelligent. You are drop dead gorgeous. In so many words, you deserve so much better than Eddie. I know he seemed very sweet and kind and understanding - he made you feel like you were special. Which you are, just not to him. He makes you feel that way to get between your legs ad he was successful. But we can't change the past. Instead, we can focus on the future. Now you have learned your lesson. Eddie is bad news and you are better off without him."

When she was finished, she huffed and crossed her arms again. She wasn't necessarily upset with Grace, but rather frustrated with this entire situation.

Jane gave Savvy a warning glare; telling her with a single look that she needed to shut up. Poor Gracie was in a stressful enough situation. She didn't need Savvy adding to it.

Though she did see where Savvy was coming from. Knowing Eddie, or at least his reputation, he would flirt with Grace and try to get her back in the bed - just to mess around and then leave again. Over and over again. He was a pretty sick guy. Jane figured there was something deeply wrong with him. If Grace was pregnant, she hoped that she would keep the baby far away from Eddie.

"I think its been three minutes." Jane said quietly as she leaned against the stall door. She wished that Grace would open it up so she could wipe her tears and hug her.

Both girls looked at each other with the wild glint of fear in their eyes as they heard Grace walk over toward the toilet. This very moment could change their lives forever.

jane luna o'hare//15 & savvy adina ridge//15

Jane and Savvy stayed silent - deciding to hold their tongues and instead comfort their friend in her time of need. They hugged her tightly and let her cry it out. The tests were positive. Every single one of them. Her life was going to change forever.

When Grace said that she wasn't going to abort the baby, Jane nodded gravely. "That's your choice. No one can make you do otherwise. But just know that we still have time to think about this."

While she spoke, she began to pet Grace's hair. When she backed away, Jane lifted a finger to Grace's cheek and wiped away a tear with an almost motherly smile.

Savvy watched them with an intense gaze. She looked like she was fuming again - stream practically coming out of her ears.

"I am going to murder Eddie." She whispered, as if her anger held her back from speaking any louder. She was well known for her violent behaviors and had been in fist fights over less important things before.

Reaching a hand out to her, Jane calmly said, "Now lets not freak out just yet."

Then she turned to look at Grace with a slightly more concerned tone of voice, "I really think you need to see a doctor. Just to be completely, one hundred percent sure. Not only that, but to learn what you need to do to take care of the baby. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to take vitamins and you can't eat certain foods."

There was silence again while they let their best friend mull this over in her head for a moment.

Savvy walked over toward the toilet and picked up the tests. She then tossed them into the trash can with a grimace. She seemed to be taking it worse than the actual pregnant one was.

Suddenly, her azure eyes lit up and she turned to look at Grace. "Wait. You said that Booker asked you out, right? The guy who was looking at you all starry-eyed this morning?"

When Grace nodded, Savvy couldn't contain her smile. She then blurted out, "You have to sleep with him!"

Jane scoffed at her like she was bonkers. "Are you mad? Do you not recall what happened last time she did that?"

Frustrated with how slow her friends were, Savvy placed a hand on her hip and looked them both over. "Relax, guys. Its not like she can get double pregnant. All I'm saying is... You sleep with him as soon as possible and make him believe that the baby is his. You can't be too far along, right? And he looks sorta like Eddie. Minus the sharp cheekbones and overall dashing features. But they do both have blond hair and blue eyes."

When she was simply offered confused expressions, her rage only grew. "Guys. Listen to me. This can work. And I promise you, this Booker guy will be a much better father to the baby than Eddie could ever be. He is clearly smitten with you and he comes from money. Its literally perfect."

"I don't think-" Jane began, but Savvy cut her off rather rudely.

"It can work!" She looked at Grace with eager eyes.

She just didn't want her to be stuck with Eddie for the rest of her life. And even if Eddie already knew about the baby, then Grace could tell him she was just wrong about the father and that was never actually him. She honestly thought she was a genius.

jane luna o'hare//15 & savvy adina ridge//15

Jane was very glad that Grace didn't go along with Savvy's plan. Their friend was always coming up with crazy ideas. Luckily, Grace herself was wise beyond her years and would never stoop to something like that. Jane always thought of her as an old soul - the way she spoke, the way she acted, was almost as if she had lived many lives before this one.

"Grace is right. That wouldn't be fair to anyone in the situation - even the baby." Jane moved closer toward Grace and placed a protective arm around her.

Savvy stood there pouting like a child as she always did after they turned down one of her crazy schemes. Savvy, she figured, was much more childish.

"I just thought that Booker would be a much better candidate for father of the year. He has money and a huge house and a personal driver. Eddie, on the other hand, is still going to be living in his parents' basement and working at Chipotle ten years from now."

Her voice had a sharp edge to it, but it softened when she saw the hurt expression on Grace's face. She realized that while Jane was motherly and comforting, she was the tough love sort of gal and that wasn't what Grace needed in that moment.

"Listen, I'm not going to force you into tricking anybody. But I do think you should give this Booker guy a shot. Who knows? You may fall in love with each other and he might stick around. Whereas Eddie doesn't seem to care at all. But you don't know until you give it a shot."

Jane pursed her lips in thought before finally looking back at Grace with a small smile. "She has a point."

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and a girl walked in.

Rose was then standing in front of them with a confused expression. "What is going on here? And what is that smell?"

"Nothing. We were jus-"

"There was a sign on the door. Can't you read?" Savvy angrily said while interrupting Jane.

Rose blinked at them before quickly saying, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even notice it. I have just been so distracted by the after party tonight at my church-"

As Rose rambled on about her church event, Savvy gave her a once over. She had to admit, she was beautiful. She had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen, her lips were a natural, sweet pink, and she had a perfect hourglass figure. She hated to admit it, but she was jealous. She was jealous that she was loved and adored by everyone in the school and most people in town. She despised her perky voice and her dazzling smile. It made her want to vomit. Though Savvy did have something that Rose didn't; she had natural, deep red hair. Anyone could be a blonde, but Savvy was one of the few gingers in town. For this reason, she was proud.

"Oh gosh, Grace. Are you alright?" Rose seemed to have realized just what sort of state her secret friend was in - the stuffy nose, the puffy eyes.

"She's fine." Jane and Savvy both rushed to say which only made Rose more suspicious. This caused her to give Grace a sort of look - one that said she could trust her if she needed to talk.

jane luna o'hare//15 & savvy adina ridge//15

Jane and Savvy followed after their friend at a fast pace - not wanting to stand anywhere near Rose for longer than they had to. She wasn't mean, she was actually very kind, but dear God she was annoying.

When they all stood by Grace's locker, the pair gaped at her. They had no idea what Rose did to their friend, unaware of their secret friendship, and were simply in shock.

Finally, Jane spoke up. "I really think it can. And if it doesn't, and he happens to find the pregnancy a problem, then he just wasn't the one. I mean we are in high school. Most likely, we won't be finding our future husband at fifteen."

Half the time, Savvy had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at Jane. Though this time she failed. Her friend believed in true love and destiny and even reincarnation. While Jane saw the world in a magical way, Savvy saw it the way it actually was. She liked to think of herself as a realist. Soul mates and fate and all that was bullshit.

"Are we just not going to talk about what happened in there? Like damn, did Rose spit in your food or something?" She scoffed in disbelief at what had just happened in the school bathroom.

"Knowing Rose, or at least of her, she probably won't leave you alone until she fixes this." Jane piped up in an almost squeaky voice. She was often referred to as a mouse because of her high-pitched voice, as well as how small she was and her love for cheese.

They then both looked toward the bathroom door where Rose had emerged and was marching right up to them.

"Uh oh." Jane squeaked and clutched her book bag close to herself. She was constantly avoiding conflict because when people began to raise their voice at her it lead to panic attacks.

"Oh shit is right." Savvy grumbled as she stepped forward in a protective manner - as if ready to fight Rose.

Though as soon as Rose approached them, she smiled that pearly white smile of hers and looked at Grace. She must have put her hair up in the bathroom, because it was now in a messy bun.

The way she stood was in an almost regal manner. She was often described as the queen of the school, but Savvy thought that she took it too seriously sometimes. She could almost see the outline of the tiara on top of her head and the hem of her fancy dress. She was beautiful and Savvy was jealous of that, but she was also a pain in the ass. Poor Eric. He planned on marrying her and that meant that he would have to put up with her forever.

"Grace, may I please talk to you? Alone." With the last word, she looked over toward Savvy and Jane.

Jane gulped loudly and said, "Of course."

What was she supposed to say no? She could have made up an excuse but Rose didn't seem like the type to give up very easily.

Savvy looked like she wanted to argue and tell Rose to piss off, but before she could Jane grabbed her arm and began to drag her away.

They stayed close by, just down the hall - watching to see if they needed to step in or night.

roseanne sarah porter//15

Once they were finally alone, Rose turned to look at Grace. She grabbed the hand that wasn't holding the bag of pretzels and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Grace, I apologize if somehow I hurt your feelings. I never meant to offend you. You are one of, if not, my closest friend."

She really did care about Grace. When the world was against her, her friend always made her feel safe. And she hoped that she could be that way for Grace. She even planned on her being her maid of honor whenever her and Eric got married. But for now, while they were still minors and under the scrutiny of so many others, they had to play it safe. Or at least she thought she did.

"I know that I have insisted that now that we are in high school that we should not make our friendship public and I understand that you may not be fond of the idea. I'm not either. But this is a small town and people talk. I have my reputation to think about. And my parents... I'm not sure how they would react."

Squeezing Grace's hand, she smiled wide and looked like she might hug her. "But know that you can still trust me. I'm here for you. Whatever you need."

Finally letting go of her friend's hand, she then brought her eyes down to the floor and added, "And I hope you can be there for me too."

Not even a second passed before she laughed awkwardly and said, "Alright, alight. I'll tell you. So basically, Eric has been talking about sex nonstop ever since my dad gave me this promise ring to wear. Its been super annoying, but I love him and the Lord teaches us to be patient and forgiving. Anyway, ever since then Mavis has been hanging around him. I see them talking in the hall sometimes and I could have sworn I saw her flirting with him earlier this morning. I'm not sure what I did to her. But I trust Eric and I know he would never let temptation get the better of him."

And so her rant began. Sometimes it could take hours to get her to shut up.

jane luna o'hare//15 & savvy adina ridge//15

When Grace walked away from Rose, the pair looked at each other in confusion. They both wanted to ask her what that was all about and what all was said, but their best friend walked past them and into her classroom. It didn't seem like she wanted to talk.

Realizing they were late for class, Jane and Savvy hurried into second period which was in the science hall as well. Luckily, they had chemistry together and the teacher didn't even notice that they were late.

The best friends sat in the back of the classroom, right next to each other, and pulled their textbooks out of their bags to make it look like they were participating.

"What are we going to do?" Jane asked in a voice filled with sadness and worry.

Savvy furrowed her brow and said, "What do you mean?"
"You know, the thing with Grace." She didn't want to say the actual word in class in case someone overheard.

"I don't know, but we are her best friends which means we are all in this together." Savvy smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

Jane nodded solemnly and said, "Yeah. Your'e right."

There was a bit of silence as they pretended to listen to the teacher drone on, but actually were lost in thought.

"Personally, I don't think she should keep the baby." Savvy said in a hushed tone so that only Jane could hear.

Jane, on the other hand, spoke slightly louder and in a harsher tone. She already told us she doesn't want to get an abortion and that is her decision."

Both of them cringed at the word abortion. It was just an ugly word.

"I also don't think she should tell her moms yet." Savvy said while jotting down notes so she didn't have to look at Jane.

"Why? Her moms need to know so that they can help her." Jane sounded defensive, as if this was a personal attack.

"Well think about it. She's already freaking out enough as it is and she doesn't need the added stress right now. I'm not saying she should lie to them or just not tell them, but I think she should wait a little bit before she does."

Jane thought about it for a moment - tapping her pencil on her chin and staring at her blank page that was supposed to have notes on it.

"I'm not sure. I think the sooner the better. But like I said before, its her decision. Not ours." Jane said before moving her hair more into her face, as if to hide from everyone.

As class went on, the two would glance at each other but didn't speak. Right before class ended and they had free time to talk, Savvy glanced over and said, "I think at least one of us should be there for her today. You know, if she decides to tell her moms."

"Good idea, but I have yearbook after school." Jane said with a proud smile. It was her first time ever being part of something and hopefully someone would appreciate her photography skills.

"I can't either. I have ballet practice." Savvy groaned, not at all wanting to go. She had been in ballet since she could walk and was a good dancer, but she didn't exactly enjoy it. But her parents said it was either that or piano lessons.

"I guess we can just ask her if she can wait until we are done and can stop by." Jane said as she closed her notebook and began to stuff it into her bag.

"Good idea." Savvy added a few more notes to her page before doing the same.

booker andrew harris//15 & jed kasen yung//15

When the bell rang for second period, Booker was already at his desk. It was located in the back corner, near the window, like it was in every class of his. Lucky for him, the teachers he had had so far didn't seem so keen on having assigned seats.

Jed sat in the seat in front of him, as he always did when they shared a class together. He was glad that he would have at least one class with his best friend.

Twisting around in his seat, Jed looked at him and said, "Dude, stop staring at the door. The bell already rang. I don't think your girlfriend is in this class."

"She's not my girlfriend." Booker said with a slight blush while staring down at his desk. Though every once in a while he would glance at the door with a hopeful gaze.

Part of him was excited to see her again so he could get to know her better, but another part of him was terrified that she would change her mind about going on a date with him.

"Then why are you so obsessed with her?" Jed chuckled lightly, not meaning for the question to be taken so seriously.

But Booker did.

"Because I am in love with her. I have been since I first laid eyes on her. Now that I know she may feel the same way for me... I don't know. I just don't think I could live without her. She's like this flower-"

"Okay, stop. I don't want to hear your poetic bullshit. Also, you're in love with her? Man, that's fucked. You guys hardly know each other." Jed shook his head in disbelief, as if seeing a whole other side to his friend.

Booker was trying hard not to roll his eyes. His friend just didn't understand. He and Rae had been dating since middle school and they were each other's first crush, so he didn't have enough experience with unrequited love in Booker's opinion.

Glancing one last time at the door, he decided that maybe he'd have better luck next period.

booker andrew harris//15

Booker had since given up on waiting for Grace to enter the classroom. He figured that she was much smarter than him and probably in all advanced classes. So instead of keeping an eye out for her, he looked instead to his journal. He wrote down notes in his sloppy handwriting - just whatever Mr. Berg had written on the board.

The one thing he hated about this school so far was that the teachers seemed to be jumping straight into lessons instead of letting everyone introduce themselves. He didn't mind too much, though. He wasn't keen on getting to know anyone in his class, he just didn't want to actually do schoolwork.

"Hey, Booker. Hey. Hey. Pssst. Booker." Jed was leaning back in his chair and poking Booker's arm with a pencil, but he ignored his friend. He figured he was just going to tease him more and wasn't in the mood.

"Booker, you shit stick. Look up." Jed hissed, this time with much more frustration.

"Fine. Wha-" Just as Booker looked up from his messy notes, he saw her - Grace Maryweather, the love of his life. She was apologizing to the teacher who looked at her with scorn before dismissing her.

As she walked to the back of the classroom, he stared intensely at her - willing her to look in his direction. She didn't, though, and instead sat at a desk in the back on the other side of the classroom.

Instead of taking notes like he should of been, he watched Grace. He knew it may have been a creepy thing to do, but he couldn't help it. She was simply mesmerizing.

While she took notes, he memorized the way she bounced her leg, mouthed words to herself, and stuck the tip of her tongue out of her mouth when she was concentrated on something really hard. He thought that she was simply adorable.

But then her focus began to wane and he could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. He wondered what that was about. She couldn't have been emotional over mitosis.

A few minutes before the bell rang, the class was given some free time to sit around and talk. Before Jed could even think about turning around in his seat, Booker was sitting at the empty desk next to Grace. She had her head on her folded arms and was staring at the wall - facing away from him.

She didn't seem to notice his presence and he started to become anxious. He wondered what he would even say to her. 'hi, i love you'? No, a proclamation of love may be a bit too early. He didn't want to scare her off. He would just have to wait until after school for that.

Leaning toward her, he softly tapped her shoulder to get her attention. So that he didn't frighten her, he also said, "Hey stranger."

booker andrew harris//15

Booker was taken aback when he saw the fresh tears on Grace's cheeks. He wondered why she was so sad. If someone had hurt her feelings, he would offer to fight them for her. He wasn't much of a violent person, but he would do anything to defend his woman's honor. Well, she wasn't exactly his yet. But he was all hers, for sure.

"That's okay." He said quietly when she apologized for not sitting net to him. He didn't mind.

Before he could ask her what was wrong, she suggested that they hung out after school before grabbing some milkshakes, going to the game, and then the after party. It sounded like they would be spending most of the night together and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"Sounds perfect. I'm always down for milkshakes." It was true. They were one of his favorite things ever.

When she commented on her notes once she noticed him eyeing them, he laughed softly and said, "No, I like it. I should start doing that."

Just then, the bell rang and the class rushed out of the door. The pair were the last to leave, besides Jed who just trailed behind them at a distance.

Once they were in the hallway, Booker stopped by the wall and looked at Grace with his dark blue eyes. He noticed how her eyes were still red and swollen and her cheeks still wet.

"I'm not going to ask why you are upset because you don't seem like you want to talk about it, but just know that I am here if you do want to talk. I like to think I'm a pretty understanding guy."

He smiled that lopsided smile of his before moving toward her. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. It felt nice to have his arms around her. He wasn't sure if this was okay, he hoped it was. He simply wanted to comfort her. He held her for a long time, longer than anyone considered just a friend would. Her head was on his chest and he wondered if she could feel how fast his heart was beating.

He took in her scent and realized that she smelled sweet, very sweet. Like a bouquet of flowers or a candy store. But there was also a hint of rain. He thought it fit her perfectly.

When he finally let go of her, he caught the eye of Eddie. He was staring at Grace and the way he looked at her made him frown. He looked at her as if they shared some sort of secret, as if he wished he was the one hugging her.

Deciding to ignore him, he looked back at Grace and said, "Do you, uh, want me to walk you to third period?"

booker andrew harris//15

Booker was surprised when Grace wasn't freaked out by the hug. She actually seemed really happy because of it. She even thanked him for it. She then smiled that adorable smile of hers and his heart skipped a beat.

When she looked down at his hand, he raised an eyebrow. Then he realized with the look that she gave him that she wanted to hold his hand. His face flushed red as she took his hand in hers and their fingers intertwined.

In that exact moment, he noticed everyone staring at them.

Jed and Rae had their jaws on the floor which made him slightly bitter that they didn't think he'd actually get with the girl of his dreams. Grace's friends, Jane and Savvy, were smiling from ear to ear but there was something eerie about the way they also seemed concerned. Rose, for some reason, also seemed interested. She smiled in their direction before grabbing her own boyfriend's hand and walking to class together. Eddie watched them with an expression of horror. He then slammed his locker door shut and turned the corner.

"I have classic literature which is just the next hall over, so I will be fine." He said with a toothy grin.

As they walked together, he could practically feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest. His stomach was in knots and he realized he had butterflies. He didn't know that guys could get butterflies. Probably because you never read about the guy feeling that way in any romance novels. At least none that he knew of.

When they reached her class, he stopped by the door and said, "I have first lunch. If you do too then maybe we can sit together. But only if you want to."

His words were shaky and he felt embarrassed, so he kept his eyes on the floor.

//sorry this is short, my next one should be longer//

booker andrew harris//15

Booker felt himself blush even more deeply when she called him a poet. He was often proud of his poems and his ability to write them, but he was still shy about his work.

When she squeezed his hand, he gulped rather loudly and looked into her electric blue eyes. She looked just as giddy as he was which made him smile even more.

"Okay. I sit with my friends at the table in the back corner." He said and part of him wanted to end the sentence by giving her a pet name of some sort. Babe, perhaps? Not, she didn't seem like the type to want to be called that.

Before he could think of something that suited her, she told him to write her a poem. This caused his eyes to grow wide. He hadn't expected her to ask for one and for it to be delivered so soon. But who was he to let down his princess? No, that didn't work either. He would have to keep thinking of names.

When she walked into her classroom, the realization that she had given him a nickname hit him. No one ever called him Book. He didn't know why, they just didn't. But he liked that she did.

During class, he couldn't focus on anything. Not even the fact that they were supposed to read Call Of The Wild, which was one of his favorite books. Grace just kept popping into the back of his head, like the memory of a dream that you wished would never end.

Instead of taking notes, he decided to work on the poem. He probably wouldn't finish, but he figured that he could at least try.

When the class was dismissed for lunch, Booker headed straight for the table in the corner of the lunchroom - farthest from the windows. Jed and Rae were already there waiting.

As soon as he sat down, he blurted out, "Grace is going to sit with us."

Rae shook her head in disbelief. "Grace Maryweather is going to sit at the nerd table? Aren't you afraid she will judge you?"

Booker glared in her direction like she had just said a very bad, very offensive word, "No, she isn't like that."

Looking around at the other people at the table, he understood why it was called the nerd table. He hated that the school had factions, but there was no getting around that. This was just happened to consist of primarily intelligent people who weren't attractive or social enough to be considered popular. There were very few girls and none of them had learned how to dress or put on makeup or pretend to be dumber than they were. Part of him began to worry that maybe he would be judged.

"Okay well just be nice, okay?" Booker bit his bottom lip as he glanced between his best friends.

Rae took a bite of her salad and acted as if she was actually needing to think about this.

"When are we not nice?" Jed asked with a grin that made Booker slam his forehead on the table.

booker andrew harris//15

Booker lifted his head as soon as he heard Grace's voice. He smiled sheepishly up at her before shaking his head. He pulled out the seat next to him for her to sit - fully aware of his friends staring at her with wide eyes.

"Hello, I'm Raeanna. Feel free to call me Rae."

"Hi, I'm Jed."

They both smiled with a slight air of confidence about them. He could tell that they were happy to meet her and probably hoped that she'd be joining their group.

After they were done introducing themselves, everyone started to grab their lunches out of their bags. None of them bought the cafeteria food - they weren't exactly fans of the mystery meat.

Booker had packed a sandwich, an energy drink, and a candy bar. Nothing too fancy.

Glancing over toward Grace, he noticed the small fleck of paint under her eye. Leaning toward her, he slowly lifted his finger and flicked it away. He let his finger linger - his bright eyes locking with her electric ones. In that moment, he realized just how in love with her he was.

When Rae cleared her throat, they seemed to snap out of it. Booker was blushing slightly, as he had been all day.

As he unwrapped his candy bar, he noticed just how much paint was all over her. Did she not wear an apron in art? He could have sworn they provided them.

"I can tell you were painting. I can't wait to see the finished product."

Booker knew he was going to be impressed. She seemed like the artistic type. He may have been good with words, but he was awful at anything art related. He had tried pottery and even painting with alcohol ink, but it never turned out well. He wished he could paint. His mother used to. Her paintings still line the halls of his house.

It was then that he remembered something important.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He said as he reached back into his bag. He grabbed his notebook and flipped through the pages until he found it. He then slid the notebook in front of her.

While she read it, Jed and Rae chatted among themselves. Rae was talking to him without looking up from her manga and Jed was spouting off about his own intellect - especially when it came to space. He was talking about asteroids and using a ton of words that Booker didn't understand.

When Grace finished reading it, he was quick to tell her, "It needs some editing, so its not a finished product or anything."

The poem read:

The Fall

Petals fall when the winter chill settles into the air,

its frost destroying the beauty of what once was,

but they will return.

Teardrops fall when the heart is broken,

when their soul is shattering into a million pieces,

but they will dry.

Snowflakes fall when the world is cold,

each fragile and unique; floating down with elegance,

but they will melt.

Rain falls from the sky when the clouds grow heavy,

the thunderstorm booming with rage,

but they will pass.

Stars fall when they are ready to die,

their light exploding into color and brilliance,

but they will fade.

Tides fall when the ocean and the moon dance,

each one moving to the rhythm of silent music,

but they will rest.

Eyelids fall when sleep consumes them,

the dreams tempting them to dismiss reality,

but they will open.

Time falls when the heart stops beating,

and one is lulled into the eternal,

but it will restart.

Shadows fall when the sun is blocked out,

the darkness spreading and bending into shapes,

but they will disappear.

Leaves fall when autumn arrives,

they change their colors and make their descent into the unknown,

but they will remember.

And I fall for you,

with every moment that passes and every glance, every touch, every breath we share,

but we will not be like the others.

We will stay.