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I step on stage for bows, wishing I could do this again and again. The curtains rise and that’s when I see him. I see his beautiful, beaming smile. I see the way his features look like the sun fighting off a cloudy day. I see him.
I see him and my heart strikes a chord. I see him and I just know, i just know he’s who I want to be with until the day we grow old, until the day we die. I forget how I lived before I met him, before I had the chance to wake up and see his beautiful smile greeting me.
The curtain once again falls, breaking me out of my trance. I need to see him. I need to hear his voice and the way it sounds like your favourite song coming on the radio after a bad day. I rush backstage to change out of my costume before grabbing my coat and stumbling towards the exit.
I open the door and there he is, the rest of the dead poets must’ve left already as he’s standing by himself.
“Todd!” I call out, a grin spreading across my face. He turns to face me and my heart explodes. I run up to him and engulf him in an embrace. He lets out a shy laugh.
“Neil, you were amazing!” He says as I pull away and I stare at him in awe.
“Hey, Todd. I know this may be completely random but… I love you. I think I have for a long time, since Keating called you up and got you to recite an impromptu poem, maybe even before that. You mean the world to me. Every time you smile it’s like seeing the sun rise. You are the light of my life, the reason I wake up, the reason why I want to grow old and I know my feelings are probably not reciprocated but I need you to know that I’m completely and utterly in love with you and your entire existence. Nothing will ever change that. You are and always will be the beautiful poet I fell in love with and I will love you no matter what. Even if it took me forever to realise it. So, please, give me a chance and if you don’t want to please can we remain friends because I can’t ever imagine losing someone as wonderful as you.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I wait for his reaction but all I see is a blank face staring back at me and the anxiety creeps in. Oh god, what’ve I done. I’ve ruined everything he probably won’t even want to talk to me again.
“Neil…” he breathes and I examine his face for a sign, any sign that my love is not left unrequited.
“You really love me, don’t you?” I nod in response and he lets out a soft chuckle and says “I love you too, Neil. But… but what would our fathers think of this? What would people think of us?”
“Who says they have to know? My father would faint if he knew I’m in love with a boy, but that can’t stop us and if it comes down to it, you can run away with me, yeah?”
“Yeah… anytime you want… can I… can I um kiss you?” He asks sheepishly. I wrap my hands around his hips and lean in “of course.” And we just stay there, in the comforting embrace of each other refusing to acknowledge the world.