I sit right beside my former best friend. If eighth grade me heard he'd be in this situation right now, he'd think the whoever told him that was was lying. Drew and I were the closest friends can be. We did everything together. Drew and Chance, Chance and Drew. We thought there was nothing that could separate us.
But there was.
Throughout that whole time, I tried to hate him, yell at him, despise him, which I convinced myself that I did. I would make everyone laugh at him, exile him like he was a monster.
What he did was wrong, it was beyond wrong, but so was what I did. I was the one who started this big mess. I don't regret it, not one bit, because now I have my beautiful daughter, but sometimes I wonder how it'd be.
There would be 18 of us guys, us and all of the academic league guys. Drew and I would still be best friends, doing what we used to do. We'd be sitting down in my basement gaming until six in the morning before crashing and sleeping through the whole day. We'd play that silly game where we'd sit off to the side and imagine what everyone else is thinking.
I'd be with Alex still, and Drew would be with Emma. Miles would still be with Amelia. Jon would be with Kylie. Devin and Skyler would be the same happy couple they are today. Brady and Courtney could be together with no problem, not having to hide anything. Everything would butterfly effect, and Michael would still be with Abby.
The 18 of us could do the most epic group photos ever. We could go on each other's shoulder's and could intense hang out sessions. It'd be great.
Instead of that, Abby is dead, Jon is dead, Jaden is dead, Cam is dead, Butcher is dead, and Dorian is dead. My friend group viciously attacks my bandmates on the daily. My cousin and bandmate have had to hide their relationship for the longest time because of this divide. I've also lost my best friend. I might also loose him for good now.
As I sit here, looking over him in his crippled state, millions of thoughts flood through my head, but only one stands out.
I care about Drew. I care about him so much. I'm supposed to "hate" him, but I can't. He's still my best friend, and the rest of the guys aren't different from some of my friends. Sergio and Brady are friends, whether they admit it or not. Courtney, from our side, is dating Brady, from the other side. There shouldn't be this permanent line in between us, keeping us from hanging out with one another. Who cares if we're on different sides? I don't anymore, but I can't announce it. I'd be considered week, but that's beside the point. The line should be crossed. And some people noticed it.
They noticed that maybe, just maybe, maybe, we aren't divided after all.
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And this is the end of divided! I'm putting up the sequel right now. It's called United.
Thank you to all of you guys for making it this far. There's still a lot left of this story, and I hope you guys will join me for it. Trust me, this is about to be one hell of a ride.
It's taken me forever to finish this, but it was worth it. I'm in love with this story.
