growing up I was told 
by happy-ever-afters and highschool romances
that if I loved a boy then I should ease all his pain
if I loved a boy I must save him 
while pretending he is my knight in shining armour 
growing up they made me believe 
that being loved and being stepped on were the same
that love means liberation, but only for heterosexual cis-gendered males

highschool girls being the practice ground for teenage boys
highschool girls contorting themselves to be the stepping stones of their lover boy's journey to adulthood
highschool girls blaming themselves, hating themselves, harming themselves
cause no one bothered to tell them they deserve to be saved too 

let me tell you, lover boy 
I refuse to be the muse that raises you 
I refuse to empty myself to make you full 
a lover is meant to love you 
a lover is meant to hold you 
a lover is meant to respect you 
not fix you
not fix you 
not fix you