5 Years

Chapter One: January 20th

The day I'm starting to write this story is January 20th 2021. It feels poetic in a strange way and that my life had come full circle. 5 years ago to this day my first relationship began and today my last relationship ended. 5 years gone by and although it would seem I'm in the same place, I am definitely not. But we're not at that part just yet.

So let's start right back at the beginning. Back to 15 year old Effy.

The year was 2016. I was in my last year of secondary school. I was innocent and naive and I hadn't seen much of the world yet. Although I definitely had a temper on me that got me into a lot of trouble. My final parents evening described me as "intelligent but that I didn't care about learning or school. Too hot headed and stubborn to listen to rules and instructions." Now trust me when I say that the stubbornness I possessed would come back to haunt me later on but like I said we're not quite there yet.

This story begins January 20th 2016. I had gone to school that day and it had started just like any other normal day. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a sequence of events that would lead me here now, writing this story. This one day changed the path of my life forever and if it wasn't for all the small choices I made the days following this event I would be a completely different person now.

It was 11pm that night and my phone went off. It was a notification telling that I had a new direct message on Twitter. I didn't recognize who had sent the message, I didn't know this person. The message was a jumble of letters and numbers that didn't make any sense to me. I replied, confused. 
And that's how it all began.
The conversation flowed all throughout the night and into the early hours of the next morning. This person came to be Boyfriend #1. He was a year older than me and lived in the same town as me. I found talking to him so effortless and easy, like I had known him forever. 
We spoke constantly for 3 days and then decided that we should meet in person. I still remember that first day as if it had only happened yesterday.

Our first date wasn't anything anyone would class as special or exciting but what do you expect? He was 16 and I was 15. But it was such a magical evening even though it was freezing cold and pouring down with rain. We walked through the park and we spoke for hours about anything and everything. It was the first time in a long time I had felt truly happy.

Things progressed very quickly and on January 29th he asked me to be his girlfriend. We were sat on a hill secluded in the trees on a fallen log and that's when he asked me. If I had known the events that would come to be after I said yes, I probably would've said no. But hindsight is everything I guess. And of course one little different decision and I might not have met all the people in my life that I did meet. All because I said yes.

The first few months passed by in a blur. I was at my happiest. We never argued. He was my best friend and it seemed like he really understood me. But who am I to say? I was a child and I didn't know the first thing about  relationships. Everything seemed perfect at the start though.
He got along with my friends and I got along with his. We were like one big happy group. 

But as we all know nothing good ever stays the same and this was the only the beginning.