It’s a strange thing

You know

Starting to like someone

That one moment you see them

And your body rewires

Moves some thoughts

Attaches certain feelings to sights

So that it’s no longer

“It’s just James”

To

“Oh my gosh, it’s James”

And your cells start going into overdrive

When you see him up close

Face to face

They go crazy

Short circuit

Start sending fire to your cheeks

But then they're like, “Oh crap, why’d we do that?”

And then they panic

Round up the tongue cells

Cos they need more cells at HQ

to help reboot you

You start feeling cold sweat

But that’s cos your overheating

They shut down parts of your brain

Cos they can’t have it working

When they’re trying to make you work right

So you forget what words are

And when James walks up to you

You stare at him — blankly

Until he smiles just a little bit

And of course even that slight smile

Is a smile

Something special

Something you’d wish you could capture and pocket for the rest of your lonely days

Because it’s James

And you want a piece of him

To get used to him

So you won’t shortcircuit every time you see him

And then he says, “Hey, Cass”

And you open your mouth

But words don’t come out immediately

Cos your brains still off

And your tongue is still tied

But your cells manage to get you working

Just a bit

And you manage the words, “Hey, James”

But they sound like a rushed stammer

An awkward mess of words

But he doesn’t care

Because he’s James

And kind like that

Skimming over embarrassing moments

“So, you wanna head to the library,

To finish up our project?”

He asks

And you nod your head awkwardly too

Grip your bag a little harder

“Yeah, let’s go now”

Screw you, cells You think cos why can’t you just work right Why do you gotta shortcircuit And as you guys start walking to the library And James starts talking About whatever Your cells finally manage to restart you Send your tongue cells back to your mouth Turn on your brain Your body starts to cool Cos your with James now And he’s talking And his voice is so angelic And you wish you could freeze this day And live this moment forever But you can’t Cos he’s only your partner in science And when the projects over He’ll go back to the boy in your class That you’ll never be with And you’ll go back to that girl Who’s face always burns Who’s always a jumble of words And stammers Whenever he’s around But who cares Because all you wanna do is admire him From the distance And hope and dream That maybe someday It’ll no longer be “just James” But “James and Cass Together forever”