i wish i could let myself like you. i wish i could surrender myself to the butterflies and the high-school crush routine. i wish your friends weren't such homophobic, sexist people and i wish you wouldn't let them be. i wish that i could daydream about being your girlfriend and stare at your pretty face without having to remind myself that i shouldn't like you. i wish that i didn't have to pretend that i don't notice you smiling at me, or at the same time wonder if it's just so you can brag to your friends about your romance achievements. i wish you wouldn't keep giving me signs that you like me when your friends clearly don't like my sexuality and identity. i wish you wouldn't laugh along at their sh*tty jokes. i notice when they yell my name at you when i walk past, and how they say they're "chill" now while still openly saying slurs, and how you defend them. i wish that i could let myself like you without warning myself not to, wondering if you have some sort of wlw fetish and if i'm just a pretty object to you, reminding myself of how morally... not great you are. i wish you were just a not morally questionable person so that i could just like you. 🧡