or betray, or be betrayed by

i.

the dorm lights flicker like they’re tired of witnessing us.
two girls sit cross-legged on opposite beds, knees almost touching,
laughing too loudly for the hour, whispering too softly for courage.
we borrow each other’s sweaters & pretend the cold is the reason
our hands shake. the hallway smells like detergent and rules.
we walk side by side, not hiding nor declaring,
as if closeness is just another uniform we don.

ii.

give a girl your secrets and she’ll cradle them like contraband.
give her your name written in the margins of a notebook
and she’ll guard it, or sharpen it — no one knows yet.
history is very good at changing its mind.
we say forever the way students say it,
meaning: until the bell rings, until the year ends,
until something unnamed learns how to aim.

iii.

let’s plan futures we won’t live in.
let’s promise nothing specific.
we dance in the common room in borrowed socks,
the floor dusted with old glitter from the last farewell celebration.
music leaks through a JBL speaker, thin but sincere.
you look like the kind of person I could trust,
or betray, or be betrayed by —
it doesn’t matter. tonight, we are still learning
how love feels before it decides what it costs.