A/N: Hey all, MoD here. I'm starting up a new set of TP drabbles to get back in the habit of writing everyday. Anyway, just warning you that this first one is one I've been trying to write for a while, but it came out a little cheezy. But, hey, what do you expect when you use a facebook bumper sticker as a prompt?

-Title: Waiting- -Word Count: 342-

As he slipped into the mess hall, praying that he wasn't late, Neal looked around the hall from the back of line

As he slipped into the mess hall, praying that he wasn't late, Neal looked around the hall from the back of line. Most of his friends were already seated, including Kel. He couldn't help but watch her as she took her own quiet part in the conversations between their year-mates and the older, new squires who came to visit. It had taken three long years, but she had finally started to let some of her emotions show-- either that or he had just gotten better at reading her. He liked to think that it was a little of both.

A small sliver of a smile lit up her face as she laughed at something one of the older boys said. It transformed her; he never forgot the reasons why they were best friends, but it was in these moments he was always amazed by all the reasons he had to stay up late, writing countless poems for her.

Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed, trying to rein in his emotions. It was horrible and useless, this crush he harbored for Kel, but it seemed inevitable. She was patient, and strong, and quiet, and kind, and unlike any other girl he had ever known. He shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts. It's useless, he reminded himself for the hundredth time. Because, while he was eighteen and more than ready for the things the pages and squires sometimes dreamed about, the fact still remained that, though it did not seem so, Kel was only thirteen.

He would have to wait. That was his only option. But as Cleon called his name, and he went to take his customary place beside Kel, his best friend, his secret crush, his everything, he thought, its hard to wait around for something that might never happen. It's even harder when that something is everything that you want.