there’s a forest fire in your eyes that sets me alight

a bravery in your heart that beats in tune to mine

my darling, you’re something out of a story

poetry doesn’t begin to do your soul justice

change is inevitable, that’s what people always say

but what if that change is good?

there’s a lightness to my steps there wasn’t before

there’s a brightness in my heart there wasn’t before

if you held me up to a candle,

my silhouette would be covered in your name

before you, I used to care what people always say

your lovely heart led me astray in unexpected ways

sometimes I think I’m going to burst into flames

from the spark you struck inside my chest

I wonder, how do you keep from setting yourself afire?

but then comes the startling yet undeniable understanding

you are fireproof, lionheart

and now I am, too

Silence follows the last line. My pulse is rocketing under my skin, pressing against my neck as if it’s trying to escape. I’m barely breathing.

Tears threaten to spill from my eyes and I can’t do this, I can’t do this.

I get to my feet and run out of the classroom, despite the protest I hear from Miss Cannon.

I run into the staircase and heave a deep breath, my tears flowing freely. You are fireproof, lionheart. Then why do I feel like I’m burning alive?

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

Despite pressing the heels of my palms forcefully into my eyes, the tears won’t stop. I just want them to stop.

I just want everything to stop.

“Karina.”

“No,” I say, voice cracking. I can’t face Ace right now.

“Please just look at me,” he says softly. His hands are gentle when they touch my wrists, tugging on them until I finally drop my hands from my face.

“What?” I wish he wasn’t staring at me. I don’t have to look in a mirror to know I look as horrible as I feel.

Ace frowns, his thumbs swiping across my cheeks carefully. “What’s going on?”

I laugh hoarsely. “I wish I knew.”

He keeps staring at me with his wide, concerned stormy eyes, and I don’t know how to explain, how to say what’s happening, how to say his poem hit somewhere deep inside of me that’s still trying to heal.

Tears pool in my eyes again and Ace shakes his head, murmuring, “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m so lost,” I say through harsh breaths. “I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s okay,” he says, pulling me toward his chest. He rests his chin against the crown of my head and strokes a hand down my back. “It’s okay. You don’t have to.”