Throughout the song, Swift expresses her admiration for the person she loves: she observes what an ideal pair her crush and his girlfriend look like on the outside ("She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts / She's cheer captain, and I'm on the bleachers, dreamin' about the day when you wake up and find that what you're lookin' for has been here the whole time") but acknowledges she is only the second-best choice. Ultimately, Swift remains hopeful this secret crush on a classmate/acquaintance will someday realize they could have a better, natural kind of romance together