My Best Friend Bryan

Chapter 1

     Have you ever had a friend who was like family to you? They do everything with you. They go everywhere with you. You've known them your whole life, so they're basically your sibling, right? That's Bryan Becker.
     Now if you look at Bryan, he's your stereotypical pretty-face jock who could probably get any girl if he tries hard enough, but that's not who he is. He's not your stereotypical asshole with an ego the size of Mount Everest. He's my best friend. Bryan is 5'9. He's got chestnut brown hair with a hairstyle that kind of reminds you of a celebrity teen heartthrob.
     Everyone would always tell me "Just start dating him already!" No. Never going to happen. I just never saw him the way everyone else does. He was always nice to me. We joked around a lot. Made fun of the dumb people. Made each other laugh until we peed ourselves. But that's where the line was drawn.
     Not only are we best friends, but our parents are too. They all went to school together, and now we are going to school together. Bryan and I have known each other since we were in diapers. We went everywhere together and did everything together because we also had the same babysitter. Anyways, you get the point.
Now I'm going to tell you the story of Bryan and me. All the good things about our relationship and all the crazy. The ups and downs, lefts and rights, and upside downs.

     Now, like I said before, Bryan and I have known each other since we were in diapers, and according to our parents, we've not only known each other that long, but we loved each other that long as well. The day we met was Bryan's first birthday. My mom brought me to his party. I was only eight months old at the time. His mom told us that we talked to each other the whole day in our baby language. Babble this babble that.
That same day, Bryan's mom asked my mom if she needed a babysitter and that she should talk to the woman who babysat Bryan if she did need one. Spoiler alert, she did and she called the woman. Her name was Bailey. I don't remember many memories of Bailey earlier than 5 years old. She babysat Bryan and me for six years before she moved to Sacramento for a new job opportunity. Plus, she had family there.
Bryan and I used to be her full-time job until we got into school, then it was only during school breaks that we got to see her. So, she left. She still calls every once in a while to see how we are doing since we grew up with this woman, and we tell her every time how much we miss her. I remember times when Bryan would cry for her because he missed her so much. When we were in kindergarten, he used to tell me how much he had a crush on her. It was so funny to me because he was five at the time, and she was twenty-two.
     Bryan talked about her all the time until about fourth grade. He didn't talk about her much anymore because he apparently moved on, and by moved on, I mean that he found somebody else. Someone a little closer to his age that is. And when I tell you he crushed on this girl from fourth grade up until freshman year. She is very pretty, though. Her name is Kassady. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She has a pretty smile, and she's very fit. She is a cheerleader, so that's why. That's probably also why Bryan always had a thing for her. Bryan was always a jock even at a young age, so it made sense that he'd be into a cheerleader. He never told her, though. He always talked to her, and shared laughs with her, but I was the only one he talked to about his interest in her. It was adorable really. The smile he always had on his face when he talked about how gorgeous she was, how beautiful her smile was, and how he would melt from the sound of her voice. He begged me to promise him to never tell her or anyone else about his feelings for her because he wanted to be the one to tell her when he was ready. Of course, he never did, but I made a promise to him.
Like I said, I was the only one he talked to about her because I'm a girl. He wanted to know what we girls think about. The things we like to buy, the clothes we like to wear. What's a girl's average shoe size? Yes, he actually asked me that. He had me laughing after that one. Then he said, "What's so funny?" Boy, does he crack me up.
Truth is, nobody really thinks the same or has the same fashion sense or wears the same shoe size. At least not here. We live in Cleveland, Ohio. Both of us were born and raised here. We know everything about this place, and everyone in it. Everybody has their taste. Well, except for football.
     Bryan and his dad keep their eyes glued to the TV when the Browns are playing. Everybody loves the Browns, and if they don't, they're obviously not from Cleveland.
     Anyways, that's a conversation for another day. Back to the main topic here.
     I told Bryan that not all girls are the same. I used myself for example. I'm Julia Rayne. I was named after Julia Roberts, you know, the actress. My mom was obsessed with her back in the day before she had me. She always aspired to look like her, except, she looked nothing like her. My mom looked really good in her own way back then, though.
Anyways, we're getting off topic a bit.
     I'm taller than most of the girls at our school, and I'm not even that tall. I'm only 5'6. I have dirty blonde hair. I wear contacts because I'm blind as a bat, and also because I hate wearing glasses. I look like a geek when I wear glasses. Bryan even makes fun of me when I wear them, and for that reason, I bought contacts. He also makes fun of my music taste. He's really into The Arctic Monkeys, but I'm not a huge fan. I like K-pop music. He makes fun of it every time I listen to it, and every time I tell him he can shut up. Our relationship is just one of a kind.
     After Bryan and I had known each other for years, we became the bestest friends in the world. Everyone knew we were best friends. They all would call us BB & J. His initials are BB and my name is Julia. I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Bryan always hated it though. He said when people called us BB & J it's because they think we're dating. However, I'm always having to reassure him that that's not true.

So, let me take you back to the whole fourth grade days. Like I said previously, Bryan has a huge crush on this girl. Kassady Wilhite. I have to admit, she's beautiful. She's a brunette. She's got this laugh that has Bryan melting, and her eyes are green, which is Bryan's favorite color. And the cherry on top, she's a cheerleader.
Bryan literally joined the basketball team in fourth grade just so he could see her at practice. Bryan was never really into playing basketball. He's always been a football guy. But that girl sure had him wrapped around her finger and she didn't even know it. Not yet at least.
     Bryan would tell me all the time how his practice would go, but every conversation is all about how pretty Kassady is, and how beautiful her smile is. I told Bryan that one of these days he is gonna have to go talk to her. He said he knew that, he just didn't know how to do it. How to say it, how to act it. He said he was afraid he'd embarrass himself, or worse, she'd embarrass him.
     "Bryan, she's a nice girl. We have the same classes, and she's nice to everyone. She would never do that to you."
     He was quiet after that.
     I continued, "You're gonna face your fears and you're gonna tell her... tomorrow."
     "Tomorrow?!" He yelled.
     "Tomorrow's the pep rally, you guys will be together pretty much the whole day. You can wait till after the pep rally if you want. That way you'll have that energy and confidence to do it."
     He hesitated. "I.. I don't know. How do I walk up to her? And w-what do I say?" He slouches back on the couch and sighs heavily.
     I walk up and sit next to him. I put my hand on his shoulder and say, "I can help in that department."
    
     We did some practice at my house. I pretended to be Kassady while he approaches me practicing what he's going to say.
     I stand there looking out in the distance while Bryan approaches me from the side.
     He gives me a warm smile and says, "Hey Kassady, what's up?"
     "Hey Bryan, you guys were great in the pep rally. It was really funny watching you play those weird games with the rest of the team."
     "Yea, totally. It was so funny." He said.
     "Seriously, is that all you got?" I asked.
     "Hey, I'm trying."

     For about another half hour we continued practicing for Bryan's big day. Once it came, Bryan waited outside the front doors of the school until I got there. My school bus is one of the first to arrive at the school at 7:20. Bryan doesn't usually get there till 7:35, but clearly he didn't take the bus and asked his mom to drop him off before heading to work.
     "What took you so long? I've been waiting for like ten minutes." He said.
     I could tell he was really nervous but more anxious to get through the day. "What took you so early?" I said while laughing.
     "It's not funny. I asked mom to drop me off because I don't know what time Kassady gets here. I just wanted to know." He said.
     "Well if you would've asked me, you would know that we ride the same bus." I said.
     "Wait what? Where is she at?" He said while looking around frantically.
     "Probably just now getting off since she always sits in the very back with Valerie."
     Valerie is Kassady's best friend.
     "Valerie?!" He said in a loud whisper. In that exact moment, he saw both Kassady and Valerie walking in our direction. "You know, actually, I think I'm ready to eat breakfast now," he said as he grabbed my hand and rushed us both inside.
     We both sat in the cafeteria waiting for breakfast to be ready. I had no idea why he rushed us inside after all that waiting to see Kassady. So I asked.
     "What was that all about? Why do you not like Valerie?" I asked.
     "It's not that I don't like her, it's that she really likes me." He said.
     A big smile appeared on my face in shock. "Omg, no way! How do you know?" I said a little too loud.
     He shushed me. "Every day she always acts weird around me. She passes notes to me in class and laughs at literally everything I say, and nothing I say is even funny... I really hope she isn't talking about me to Kassady."
I simply laughed amused.
"It's not funny! I don't know how to tell her I'm not interested. I don't wanna be mean, but I can't stand it anymore." He says.
"Wow, so you need help shooting your shot AND shooting them down," I said while bursting out laughing.
He punched me in the arm while starting to laugh as well.
"How about I make you a deal." I said.
"Ok," he said.
"If you go talk to Kassady today and you confess to her, I'll talk to Valerie and let her know you're not interested."
He gave me that look that he really didn't want to do it, but I knew he really wanted me to get Valerie off his back, so he agreed.
"Fine, but please, just don't hurt her feelings. I can tell she's real sensitive." He said.
"Bryan, when have I ever hurt anyone's feelings?"
He looked at me with a stern look as if he's reminding me of all the times I hurt his feelings.
"Ok, don't answer that," I said with a chuckle.
We ate our breakfast and continued talking about random stuff before the bell rang. Bryan had science class and I had math. He wasn't gonna see Kassady till 4th period but me and Valerie have math together. I promised I would help him out. I just hope it doesn't take a rough turn.