Boyfriends

Boy friends who are stuck at home ill in bed feeling rubbish, but give you a hug as soon as you open the door because you had good news. Boy friends who punch the air for you. Boy friends who buy you lunch and tease you about the little things. Boy friends who buy you water and boy friends who bring you wine.

Boy friends you shared a bed with because there was no room on the floor and it was the worst house party in history. Boy friends you shared a bed with because you were too upset to go home. Boy friends you shared a bed with because they came to hang out but sometimes you need to stay in bed all day and watch The Herbs and that’s ok too.

Boy friends just in time for Christmas. Boy friends who go to the pub with you because your date was late. Boy friends who hold up three Christmas jumpers each so you can try on a dress behind them in a busy market. Boy friends who tell you that you have to get the dress because any date would ask you out instantly if he saw you in it. Boy friends who buy you the dress because you’re broke and you can’t see what they see and there’s a hope that maybe one day you’ll get it; who knows if that will ever happen but it’s nice anyway. Boy friends who’ve known you forever and boy friends who’ve known you a month. Boyfriends.

 

Magic

Sometimes you meet people and they make everything feel magic. Those people who can immediately lock into your brain and understand. Maybe you sit around picking out constellations together. Maybe they make streetlights seem beautiful. Maybe they turn hours into adventures. Maybe they drive across two counties to look after you when your kidneys give up even though you can only communicate through squeaking and tears. Maybe they remember every stupid thing you have ever said to them when you yourself have long forgotten. Maybe they can count to ten.

Maybe they pop into your life for a few days per year and then vanish into the ether again, leaving your world rearranged and fluttering. Maybe they are next to you all the time, an endless source of magic for all your boring days. Maybe you’ve never met them, but you can feel them so keenly they’ve had a huge, life-shaping impact on you anyway, channeling their own magic into your words, your thoughts, your attempts.

The people you meet for an hour and know you want in your life forever. The people who inspire you just by turning up. The people you can’t possibly let go of even though you understand the lesser power of your own potential magic. They’re not always yours to keep. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.