Today is You’s birthday, and I’ve been stressing out all week about throwing him a virtual-party.

Oddly enough, his birthday coincides with the first time I ever met him – Memorial Day weekend, 2002. It seems so strange that we’ve been friends for four years. Even stranger that it feels like I’ve known him forever. In the beginning, we were not the closest of friends. I met him through a mutual friend, and we started hanging out in the same circles. Most of the time, we didn’t have much to talk about, so we talked about sex. I mean, doesn’t everybody?

Later on, we fell out of touch until he called me up out of the blue, and asked me to lunch. We started all over again that day, and it was rather nice.

Now, he’s my best friend. He’s a reflection of myself that I thought I would never see. People always assume that we’re secretly trying to date each other (even while having relationships with other people), but that just isn’t true. I spend far too much time alone with myself to want to date someone who reminds me of me.

When we talk about things, he really listens. He never interrupts, which makes me feel instantly terrible when I do it to him. We like to read, and often read the same things so that we can discuss them like we’re smart people.

It’s gotten to the point that I can’t comprehend not being friends with him. Even if we didn’t talk for a year, I know that when it comes right down to it, I can always rely on him, even if he isn’t quite dependable.

Even though at the moment things are pretty iffy—what, with neither of us having a car, and his girlfriend hating me and wishing I would die—he’s still my best friend, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of the best days of my life has to be be when he told his girlfriend in a fight that I was his best friend, and of course he was going to hang out with me. It was the first time that someone had ever said I was their best friend, and I didn’t already know it when they said it. I got a little bit drunker after that, and we did end up in bed together, with my sister…

Okay. So we just slept. I suppose I shouldn’t make it sound so slutty.

Anyways. Happy 24th birthday to You, and I hope we do something fun tomorrow to celebrate, even if it’s just getting a hangover.

- “Pennyroyal Tea,” In Utero: Nirvana1

  1. I realize this doesn’t seem like a birthday song quote, but Nirvana is one of our shared favorite bands, and You really likes this song. Or I could be wrong, but anyways I thinks this quote fits rather well with our friendship.[back]