It's Been A While

Part 1

(A.N. - Fyi, I will be using my own name in this one, just because I was too lazy to think of another one to use. Also, I am aware that Devin grew up in Michigan, but attended high school in Mississippi. It would've been too complicated to work out if I based every single detail on his actual life lol.)

I missed home, my real home. California just wasn't for me. Life was a lot more simple back in Mississippi. It was also where I left my best friend.

Yes, I'm one of those girls who has a guy as a best friend. Devin and I had been inseparable since birth. Our mothers were friends and they both gave birth at the end of October. Devin was born on October 30th, and I came along the next day. We were raised together and became the best of friends. When we got into school, some people even thought we were related, because we spent so much time together and knew all about each other.

At a young age, both Devin and I developed a love for the game of basketball. Basketball was already in his blood; his father was a professional. However, I picked it up as well, so playing together became a habit. Over time, Devin became more advanced than me, because his dad trained him and pushed him extra hard, where as I only played with him outside or on recreation teams and eventually for school.

It was Devin's dream to be in the NBA, and I believed from the start he could make it there. I gave him the extra motivation whenever he needed it. When we got a bit older, about middle school, I started going to his practices with his father to lend a helping hand and give words of encouragement.

Everything changed the summer before we entered our junior year of high school. Early on into vacation, I learned that my family and I would be packing our bags and moving out to California. My mom found a job out there and she took it without even asking if it was okay. When I found out, I cried for hours on end. How was I supposed to move halfway across the country to a new house, new school, and deal with new people? How was I supposed to leave my best friend of almost 16 years behind?

When I broke the news to Devin, my eyes were puffy from crying prior to telling him. Facing him broke my heart to the point where tears streamed down my face, and I could barely explain what was happening. It made me cry more knowing that I failed to be strong for him before he even knew why I needed to be. All I can remember is being in his warm embrace, trying to stop crying. Devin wasn't normally the type to cry, but I also recall feeling a teardrop fall onto my shoulder and hearing him sniffle. At that point, my heart was shattered like a mirror into a million pieces.

I wanted to think that we weren't saying goodbye the day I left, but I wasn't even sure if I'd ever see Devin again. We had promised to keep in touch with each other whenever possible. That was the case for the first couple of months, but after school started, we slowly drifted apart to the point we didn't talk at all anymore. I'm not sure if he realized it, but I definitely did. It made me wonder if I really meant anything to him all those years, or if I was really that easy to forget.

I thought about him a lot during my junior year. I compared him in my head to the new people I was surrounded with in Southern California. The people here weren't too eager to meet the new girl from Mississippi. It wasn't too hard to adjust to being alone. It let me focus on school and myself more than usual. People didn't go out of their way to talk to me, and I wasn't one to speak first either, so I was by myself all the time. Sometimes as I watched my new classmates walk past, I thought "Is Devin as lonely as I am? He probably isn't."

My old school, Moss Point, was probably ecstatic that I moved away. This was because Devin was the star of the varsity basketball team, and all the girls wanted his attention, while all the guys just wanted to hang out with him and become friends. I was the one who got in the way of all of that. Our first years of high school, just like every other school year, Devin and I spent all of our time together unless we had different classes. He didn't pay attention to anyone except me, and I didn't pay attention to anyone but him. Let me tell you, some of the girls got pretty jealous.

After about a year, Devin sat at the back of my mind. All I was focused on and thought about was graduating high school. As for college, I decided to just go for an Associate's degree and maybe go back and get a Bachelor's later. I guess you could say I even forgot about Devin, because I only thought of him once in a great while when I remembered he existed.

(A.N. - feedback would be much appreciated!(:)