Basement in February

I flew halfway round the world just to feel less alone

Taipei rain still lives in my phone

Toronto nights, breath like smoke

You stood in black clothes, hands in your coat

You barely spoke, eyes on the floor

Everyone said you were something more

I thought maybe you weren’t looking at me that way

I thought maybe you were just… not straight

Shy like a ghost in a crowded room

Till the bottle breaks the silence for you

Then you’re laughing like you own the place

Someone else wearing Brady’s face

You said L.A. was waiting after senior year

Palm trees, sunshine, disappear

But right now you’re stuck underground

In your parents’ house, nowhere-bound

I thought you were gay, I won’t lie

Turns out you’re not, just hard to read inside

Guess that’s something, guess that’s fine

Still hurts when I replay that night

Black hair falling in your eyes

Talking dreams you won’t chase tonight

Smoke in the air, secrets on your breath

Running from boredom, flirting with excess

I hoped for more, or maybe less

The truth landed heavier than I guessed

I wanted sparks, I wanted fire

Got a quiet letdown and a tired smile

You shine only when you’re halfway gone

Life of the party till the buzz wears off

Morning comes, you fade back in

Concrete walls, same old skin

You said L.A. was calling your name

But fear’s got you playing the same old game

Basement lights, minimum wage

Dreams on pause, trapped in place

I thought you were gay, I was wrong somehow

At least that mystery’s over now

But clarity doesn’t soften the fall

It just echoes louder through the walls

Bridge

Back to Jack’s, stacking cans in rows

Weighing meat while the radio drones

Clocking hours, killing time

While I board flights and cross more lines

I’ll always be from somewhere else

You’ll always say you’re leaving yourself

We met in the middle, lost in between

Two almosts, one faded scene

If you ever make it to the coast

I hope you become who you wanted most

I’ll be a memory you barely keep

Like February snow on a side street

I came from Taiwan, stayed too long

Wrote you into a sad little song

You’re not gay, you’re not mine

Just another ghost in Toronto time

Basement lights flicker on and off

I walk away, you never stop

Dreams don’t die, they just get bent

In rooms where nobody leaves yet