I should take a little time to introduce a few major players in the events to come. They were my neighbors and best friends. They moved the February before the Summer of Darkness into the house we were renting out. The three kids in the family would become some of the closest friends I could ever ask for. The youngest was a 7 year-old, very annoying, boy named Wyatt. I thought I wouldn't like him, but he turned out to be okay. Then there was Katie. The 11 year-old middle child. My first thought was, She's kinda hot! My second thought was, Crap, I just called an eleven-year-old hot. The oldest was around my age (15). Her name was Jessica and she was the one I was closest to.
It was the day after I got back from the Sunnydale Youth Rally when I heard the knock at my door. It was Jess, Katie, and Wyatt wanting to know if I wanted to go outside with them. I didn't, but I thought that it might be good for me to spend some time with other people for a little bit, so I went. Apparently they could tell something was wrong, because it wasn't long before Jess asked, "You look sad. What's wrong?" I then commenced in telling her the story of the Girl in the Blue Hoodie just as I have told it to you.
In some way that I can't remember, our conversation turned into a fight. All I remember is what follows: "I can't believe you can get so depressed over a girl you've only known for a cumulative total of three weekends!" She yelled.
"You'd never understand!" I snapped back.
"I wouldn't understand?! How could you say that! I had a boyfriend once that I really loved and he broke up with me! Believe me, I completely understand!"
"You couldn't possibly understand!" I returned sharply.
"If you say that I can't understand one more time, I'll punch you in the face!"
"No! There is no way you can understand because you aren't me! You deal with things differently than I do and because of that, you can't possibly understand what I'm going through. I don't give a crap about some guy you had a relation ship with when you were ten! That doesn't count! How can you say you loved him? You can't even know how to love at that age! Your situation is nothing like mine! So don't pretend that you can understand. . . I don't even know why I tell you these things."
What followed was a long silence. Then she finally said, "Because I'm - like - your best friend. . . ever."
That was the first time anyone had ever claimed to be my best friend. I mean, I had people I considered my best friends before, but none of them had ever said that to me. I realized that she was right. She was my best friend and our friendship was too important to let a girl drive a wedge in it. I decided that I would try my best to forget my feelings for Kayla. It was a hopeless cause anyway. She lived nearly 200 miles away and she had a boyfriend. What was the point? I could spend my life miserable, pining over a girl that I had no chance with, or I could move on and enjoy my life with friends who cared about me. I chose the latter. This choice might have stuck, too. Had I not checked that email, the Summer of Darkness could have ended right then and there. But I checked my email that night, and what I found waiting in my inbox was an email from none other than Kayla herself. . .
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