Friends 'til the End Part 1 (Patreon)

Ever since I was young, I always had the same friend group. Jimmy was my best friend. Ever since we met in Mrs. Johnson's class in First Grade, we've been completely inseparable. Julia was the second friend to arrive. The three of us met the very next year and we all got along. Lastly, there was Bryce. We met a few years later while in middle school. He was always open about his thoughts and feelings, and he was an overall down-to-earth guy. The four of us would meet every weekend and have fun together. This meant going to the mall or just hanging out at one of their houses. 

Jimmy and Julia began dating in High School, leaving me and Bryce as single schoolers. I tried to focus on other things but all I wanted was to have my friends. During our Senior Year, Bryce told me he was gay. I fully supported him of course. We still hung out on the weekends, but things were different. We were all pulled in different directions. I barely saw Jimmy and Julia, as they were busy slagging off in the bathroom. Bryce was oddly distant, leaving me with nothing but my thoughts and the occasional music that was playing on a nearby speaker. 

After High School, we all went our separate ways. I tried my best to keep in contact with them, but we were never able to meet in person for years after. Eventually, I graduated College with a P.H.D and was living a fairly solid life as a medical assistant. Before I knew it, I was living in a luxury apartment in New York and was still a single man. 

One day, after getting home from a particularly long shift, I was checking the mail. There was the almost predictable case of spam mail, the occasional bill, but then there was something that caught my eye. The envelope was donned in red, a sweet release from the boring white envelopes I always got. I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was my old High School inviting me to the ten-year reunion. I could almost feel the grey growing in my beard and the wrinkles appearing on my face. Ten entire years had passed in what felt like days. Christ, I'm old, I thought to myself, chuckling afterward. 

I had to fly back to Maryland, where my old High School was located. I even stopped by my parents' house.  They were still living together and were showering me with love and saying how much they missed. Frankly, I missed them more. I had a good talk and an even better lunch with them. It felt like old times when I was still living with them and going to school. Where did the time go?

Nightfall had finally approached and it was time to go back to High School. I couldn't help but laugh as my dear old mother helped me with my suit, much like she did every year when I was getting ready for school dances. With some hugs and kisses to my elders, I finally left their house and made my way back to school.

It was still how I remembered it, although with a ton of refurbishments. There were posters of the sports teams, with the top athletes shown in their best light. I was never into sports. I was more into the arts and music, I even auditioned for the school musicals a few times. I spotted my old friend group across the campus. Jimmy, who now only went by Jim, and Julia were still a couple. The only person I didn't see was Bryce. It was very odd. He was usually the first one to sign up for clubs, and he was always in the school musicals. 

Soon, we were all shuffled inside the gym. The memories all came flooding back at once. I vividly remembered how Bryce was always wanting to be my gym partner. We would end up talking about life the whole time instead of doing what we were supposed to. It's a miracle that we ended up passing the class. Good times. Anyway, there were tables set up on the gym floor, with a DJ booth and a stage in the back. We all found a table and sat down.

Jim and Julia were sat with me, but there was still no sign of Bryce. Hopefully, he would show up sooner than later. Jim and Julia were happily married and even had kids. They showed me tons of baby pictures, making me slightly jealous that I was still on my own. Their kids' names were Jackie and Chase, cute names that were based on their family members. 

As the reunion went on, Bryce still hadn't shown up. Oddly enough, I did see a blonde woman looking at me slightly nervous. Of all the memories I had in High School, I didn't remember her in the slightest. She wore a gorgeous velvet dress with black heels on her feet. She had long blonde hair that was tied up into a bob. She was pretty. We locked eyes and she quickly walked away, looking embarrassed more than anything. I told the married couple at my table and quickly walked to the outside hallway. 

I was almost out of breath as I finally reached her. She buried her face in her hands, I gently moved them away to see her face. It looked familiar but I couldn't attach the face to any name. "Do I know you? Why were you staring at me?" I asked. "Hi," she shyly replied. "Look. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just curious. What's your name?" I asked, trying to look into her eyes. "It's...it's Brianna," she said nervously. Her name was Brianna. Now, we were getting somewhere. 

As the conversation went on, I discovered more about this mysterious woman. Brianna and I indeed went to High School together, and we even shared many classes. She was embarrassed when she saw me because she was hiding a crush on me for ten years. I didn't even know that she existed and she had a crush on me! God, I must be an idiot! 

I took her hand in mine, she was shy but eventually accepted, and brought her back to the table. She nervously accepted handshakes from Jim and Julia and looked down at the table. The rest of the event was fairly uneventful. She was nervous the entire time and even placed her hand in mine again. I cracked a little smile and warmly held her hand. 

When the night was finally over, Brianna wouldn't remove her hand from mine. She wanted me to come home with her. I sighed and reluctantly agreed, hoping that would boost her mood. It did and she eagerly dragged me to her car. 

We arrived at her apartment. Our hands were still in each other as we finally got inside. She made the first move and kissed me. My eyes went wide but eventually, I returned it. We made love that night and fell asleep in each other's arms. "I've been waiting for ten years, chipmunk," she whispered before falling asleep. Chipmunk was Bryce's nickname for me, due to my squeaky boy voice from puberty. How did she know that?