Third Wheel

based on a real life situation

The day I started living was the day I met them.

 

Even when we were younger, he had always been there for me. Of course, he was never my best friend, because he was a boy, and I was a girl, and he had cooties, and he was weird. But we were connected by another girl, who was my best friend and the love of his life. Her name was Grace.

 

We both loved her. I loved her the most, I think.

 

When she left, we found refuge in each other. We grew close, dancing around the line between platonic and romantic, bridging the gap between our lonely sadnesses to create a twisted shared sadness. He became my memories of Grace, and I became his last connection to her. We saw each other the way we saw Grace, because in a way, we were Grace to each other.

 

Once upon a time, I think I may have loved him.

 

Something changed. Suddenly, I couldn't see Grace in him anymore. And everytime he looked at me, he could no longer meet my eyes. He got popular. I got reviled. He became beautiful. I shrunk and shriveled. We grew worlds apart, but still, we were able to find time to talk to each other. At first.

 

I think I had always been the one to reach out to him.

 

Grace was gone from our daily lives, but she continued obsessively clinging to him as support, asking and finally begging him to go out with her. Behind every desperate text to him was me pulling the strings, editing the script. I was the puppeteer to their relationship, and I influenced every word they sent to each other.

 

I will never forget the look on their faces when they found out.

 

He started ignoring me, and I pleaded for his attention. He would only ever notice me when he needed help with something because as the resident genius, I was the best person to ask. I gave my services to him for a second of his presence. I became a slave to who I thought he was. I became depressed, and Grace began asking me to play matchmaker again.

 

I didn't want to live anymore, I didn't want to do anything.

 

He came to me one day after Grace had written him yet another plea for him to date her. The difference was that I had discouraged her from doing it. He told me that their ruined relationship was her fault, because she was weak and she left and she had changed too much for him to love her anymore. Nowadays, he said, he just wanted a cute girl to take to prom.

 

It was then that I realized that the little girl and the little boy I knew was gone.

 

How could they blame each other for destroying their relationship when she wasn't willing to wait and he wasn't willing to try? How could they blame each other for changing when really, both had become so different? I was blinded by my perceived friendship with them, never noticing the truly despicable creatures they had become.

 

That was the day I gave up forever.

 

 

Author's Note

Yay, my first published non-poem!

I feel like my ideas aren't connected, can anyone help me with that?
Also, my title doesn't really match the content of the story, so suggestions for that are greatly appreciated!

Please comment, critique, and review!!!! I am eternally grateful! :)