Chapter 1
We were six. It was a bright, sunny day. My mom was watching from a bench off to the side while I played with some other kids. I moved to the sandbox, where I found you, sitting on the edge while Zoe ran around, begging you to play with her.
I sat next to you, and I didnโt think you had noticed me until you asked why I was there. I answered with something silly about being friends. You thought I was joking, but I assured you I wasnโt.
You still didnโt believe me. Finally, my mom called me so we could go home. I walked off, waving, knowing Iโd made a friend named Connor Murphy.
Years passed. We grew up in the playground. We shared secrets and talked about girls; normal best friend stuff. Sometimes Zoe and Jared would join us, but usually, we were alone.
We were ten when we had our first fight. I started liking Zoe, and you got mad. We could only be mad for two days before we were complaining about wanting to go see each other.
After some time, we grew out of the playground. You brought me to the orchard. You told me it was your favorite place. I just nodded in awe. We spent hours there.
We were fourteen and stupid. Jared had just come out as gay, and I wanted to explore. We kissed once. It was bad. Neither of us knew what we were doing, so we stopped. I had almost forgotten it happened.
We were 18 when I realized how much you meant to me.
