Read Something About Love: A YA contemporary romance in verse for Free Online

polished,
    The kind of boy who’s easy to bring home to my dad,
    With hair that’s not too long, or
    Too greasy, or
    Even overstyled.
    His teeth are white, and
    His clothes smell like a mountain stream, and
    He’s tall, dark, and handsome.
    I am an idiot , I tell myself, but
    When I look at Harris,
    All I see is that
He’s not Trevor.

“I LOVE YOU,”
    He says, his voice tight with anger.
    “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”
    I study my hands in my lap
    While Harris pulls over to the side of the road,
    Waiting for me to explain.
    “You didn’t do anything wrong,” I say,
    “It’s me. I’m just not into you the way you’re into me, and
    It’s not fair.
    I mean, it’s not fair to you for me to keep leading you on
    When this isn’t going to go anywhere.”
    His breath explodes out of his body, and
    He rakes his fingers through his hair
    Looking out his window.
    “I said it too soon, didn’t I?”
    He slams a palm against the steering wheel,
    Startling me,
    Making me question if I should’ve sent Jacey away.
    “Said what?”
    I ask, trying to keep my voice low and timid.
    “You know what.
    I’m sorry, Olivia, okay?
    I won’t say it again.”
    His jaw tightens,
    His eyes seem wild.
    I need to calm him down, and
    I only have one idea: Talking.
    “That’s not it,” I say,
    “But it did make it clear to me that you feel way more strongly about us
    Than I do.”
    I put two fingers on his forearm,
    Drawing his attention to my face.
    “I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you.
    And this—” I gesture between us— “Is not fair to you.
    I don’t just want a make-out partner.”
    A glint of hope enters his eyes
    Just for a moment, but
    I see it.
    If I had my camera, I would’ve captured it with a high-speed flash and
    An eighty millimeter lens.
    “I’d be your make-out partner,” he says,
    Real soft,
    His eyes dropping to his lap.
    I shake my head. “I can’t.
    Honest, Harris, you’re a great guy.
    You’re just…”
    I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
    “Stop,” Harris says,
    Saving me from myself.
    “I know you have this honesty pact thing with yourself, but
    Just…don’t.”
    The silence in the car becomes charged,
    Fueled by the frustration in Harris’s voice, and
    The anger in his eyes.
    “Will you take me back to my mom’s?” I ask.
    He doesn’t answer, but
    The tires spin in the gravel,
    Like he can’t get rid of me
    Fast enough.

“WHORE!”
    Harris screams from the end of the Youngblood’s driveway,
    Causing me to turn back to his car.
    The window is rolled down,
    His middle finger is extended, and
    He looks unhinged.
    He lingers,
    Like he expects me to run forward,
    To apologize.
    I stay rooted to the spot,
    Unable and unwilling to move.
    Harris finally peels away,
    His voice carrying on the wind.
    I hear the insults, and
    I can’t stop the rush of guilt.

“I DID THE RIGHT THING,”
    I tell myself for the tenth time
    In as many minutes.
    I did not cheat on Harris,
    I didn’t lead him on,
    I didn’t deserve his name-calling, because,
    “I did the right thing.”

“DISASTROUS,”
    I repeat to Jacey from the safety of my bedroom.
    No one’s here, and I don’t expect them to return for a few more hours,
    But I feel safer inside my room, with the
    Door locked,
    Music loud.
    “What did he do?” she asks, and
    I give her the break-up in blow-by-blow fashion,
    Torn between relief and sadness,
    Much the same way I felt last night when Trevor finally said,
    “Well, we should get some sleep.”
    Walking away from Harris’s retreating car and
    Venomous words made my steps heavy,
    The same as last night.
    I’d lingered on the front porch,
    Like I’d hesitated outside my bedroom door.
    In both cases, I’d entered kissless.
    In both cases, it was for the best.
    “Disastrous,” I murmur again,
    Thinking of Trevor this time.

“HEY.”
    Trevor meets me in the student parking lot on Monday morning.
    I can hear the jazz band music from down the hall,