Justin found himself taking the stage, something he hadn’t thought he’d ever do at something like this.
It was known he wasn’t very… intelligent. Jason was the smart one, the responsible one, Justin was the fun one.
No one expected him to come up here and read any poetry of his, but here he was.
He cleared his throat, finding he was quite nervous. Everyone’s eyes were on him. They looked shocked. Even Jason looked confused. But he found Apollo’s soft eyes, watching him and he managed a smile.
“I thought I’d read something I wrote.” He paused, before adding. “Yeah, I wrote something.” He nodded at the skeptical stares he was receiving. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper and unfolded it, holding it in front of him with one hand as the other grabbed the microphone.
“It’s called Steps to Falling in Love With You.” Justin swallowed hard, his palms sweating as he began to read, trying his best to keep his voice steady.
“One.
You’ll see him for the first time. He carries himself in a way that makes you stop and stare. He is beautiful and he knows it. You envy the man whose lap he sits in. You watch the way he moves, the way he talks, the way he smiles. You wish you could be the one to hold him. You wish you could be near something that perfect.
Two.
He’ll come to you in the middle of the night. He is crying but still beautiful, flawless, perfect. You hold him close and you wish you could stop the pain. You would do anything in your power to make it stop. Suddenly, your life isn’t your own anymore, it’s his. You are powerless under his control and you don’t mind.
Three.
You get to know him, truly. He’s not the conceited princess he appears to be. You learn that he does not think he’s as flawless as you do. Your goal becomes to show him what a gift he is. His late night visits to your bedroom become all you can think about. Your friends and family ask what’s happening to you. They say you haven’t been yourself. You don’t know what it is or how to stop it but you really don’t want to if it means giving up the way his lips feel against your skin.
Four.
You fall deeper into his grasp. You start to notice new things. The way his hair falls in his eyes when he’s depressed. The way his eyes turn almost honey colored in the sunlight. The way he almost tells you he loves you before he changes his mind. He begins to want more than you think you can give him. You don’t think you’re ready, you don’t think you’re good enough. He helps you realize that you are.
Five.
He becomes your one and only. He is the first thing on your mind when you open your eyes every morning and the last before you fall asleep every night. He is the butterflies in your stomach, he is the stars in the sky. Just a gentle touch from him is enough to bring you to your knees. He knows he’s got you wrapped around his finger. You sometimes forget to sleep because you’re too busy watching his chest heaving up and down with gentle snores.
Six.
He is all you think about. He has consumed you entirely. You live for the warm feeling of his breath on your cheek, his lips on your neck, his hands on your chest. You pity the man who gave him up. You whisper that you love him in his ear but he claims he already knows. He is the best thing to ever happen to your life. He has saved you from drowning in your own self-loathing. He is what keeps you going when you wake up shaking, visions of mom and dad flashing through your mind. He is your sole reason for living.” Justin paused as he nearly finished his poem, making sure he was looking directly at Apollo as he spoke the last line.
“And you are eternally grateful.”
He was quite surprised when people applauded him, feeling blood rise to his cheeks but he merely shook it off, giving smiles as he made his way off of the stage. He was looking at his feet, not wanting to meet anyone’s gaze at the moment until he found himself right in his brother’s arms.
“I didn’t know you could write like that.” Jason smiled softly as he stroked his brother’s hair and Justin shrugged.
“It wasn’t good, I just wanted to write it for him.” He murmured, and just in time Apollo had arrived, throwing himself into his lover’s arms.
“That was the best shit I ever heard, daddy.” Apollo was grinning as he stole the man away from his brother, pulling him into a deep kiss.
Everyone was too busy talking about Justin’s poem that barely anyone noticed Bane taking the stage. Not even Danny until he heard his mate’s voice.
“Alright, gimme the damn mic.” He muttered to Zach who had been making sure the microphone was still working properly.
“Bane?” Danny blinked as he turned his head in the direction of the stage. He had not expected Bane to do something like this. It made his heart swell. He hoped the poem was about him.
“Yeah, this doesn’t damn have a title cause I think this whole poetry thing is fucking stupid.” Bane began. He did. He didn’t know why everyone was insisting upon reading poetry at every stupid gettogether lately. But he figured he might as well join in. “It’s short but here I go.” He paused before reading from the heart, not from a paper like Justin had.
“I don’t need to write some long ass paragraph comparing your eyes to stars, or string together sentences about how your touch makes me shiver.
Our love was fucking poetic before I messily scribbled down one word about you.
I love you with every bone in my entire fucking body and if that isn’t poetry, I don’t know what is.”
And with that he had set the mic back down and stepped off of the stage. He was surprised to hear some people clapping. He’d barely said anything, how could they have liked it?
But he found that he was happy with the applause. And even happier when Danny was smothering him in a tight hug, muttering something like “wow, that was so beautiful!”
