The Winner Takes It All • ABBA

Everything had begun at a party back then, and before you could blink, it turned into a teen romance. As quick as it began, it also ended. Suddenly, she was out of your life, having taken the place as your first love. You weren’t sad, not directly. The gods had just once again thrown their dice. But she found herself kissing anyone just to get the feeling of your lips back. In your eyes, though, she seemed to want to show you who she could get. Well, you had always been competitive, and quietly, it turned into an unspoken fight over who could be colder. At the end of high school, you thought it was over, that it would all turn into history. But oh no… that was just the beginning.

As you walked into your first college class, you immediately recognized her face. There she was, and with that, the game was on again. The rivalry between you two built higher and higher. Soon enough, it was about everything. But one thing stood out, who had the higher GPA. Probably just because all the other cards had already been played, you needed a deck with a new ace. Even if not, the form of the game didn’t matter. All that mattered was being better than her, being the winner who took it all. You studied the whole time, just to somehow get better than her. This time, it was you who deep down missed her. But oh well, rules must be obeyed. It was once again a quiet fight. Neither of you spoke to the other, not even once. You just made sure the other knew the grades you got, and tried to linger in the library longer than the other.

The silence worked, at least until your professor matched you into a working group. “You don’t have to do anything. I’m gonna take your part.” That was all you said before leaving class early. But of course, she wouldn’t let that happen. So now, you were both sitting across from each other in your single dorm room. No words were spoken as you both worked, ever so tense, each trying to finish faster than the other.