He kept telling us “All my friends are doing it. All I need is a few puffs, what harm
could come from that?” He then started fumbling his words and laughing at every joke.
This is when we knew there was going to be a problem if we didn’t stay with him. So, we
stayed by his side. But at one point we lost sight of him. We asked around and figured out
that he was outside. Just as we walked outside we all his friends giggling as he stepped
off the sidewalk into the street. In their minds this was all just a joke. He just stood there
staring as the headlights crept closer.



The first time we all met she was seven, Zak, and I were nine. She was also loud, talkative and way too friendly. She’d talk to a stranger for hours about any random thing. Actually that’s how we met. Zak and I, we we’re “brothers”. We both have the light brown hair, but he had emerald green eyes where as I had gray. He was the kind of person that made friends easily. I didn’t have that kind of luck. She was actually my first real friend, well besides my brother. Anyway that’s all beside the point. Her, and me we clicked almost instantly. Zak and her, on the other hand, were a different story. They clashed on almost everything, argued most of that day. This is why I was worried to bring him around her; I didn’t want them to fight. But he was my bother, my best friend I couldn’t leave him out. Plus he insisted on coming. At the time I didn’t really know why. Usually if I didn’t get along with someone I didn’t want to be around that person. But now I know it was because he was so used to everyone adoring him and she was the first to stand up to him to tell him flat out that he was wrong. After that he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. The weird thing about our next encounter was that she was almost ecstatic when she saw that he was with me. To this day I don’t really know why, she’s never told me the reason. They talked for hours that day. Getting into a few arguments where neither of them could prove to the other that they were the one that was right. Every now and then they asked for my opinion but other then that they didn’t really include me. I didn’t even feel left out. It was weird; it was like being in their presence was enough to make you feel like you belonged. After that day we were all inseparable. Well, they were inseparable; I was more of the third wheel. I was young and didn’t care as long I was with my friends. Even then I knew they wind up together it just took them a little longer to realize it, six years too long.


Fast-forward six years and she was now fourteen, Zak, and I were both seventeen. Everything should have changed since they were together, but nothing did. They still acted as if they were friends. They still included me in everything. It was weird. What was the point of putting a label on it, which would ruin everything, if you weren’t going to act the part? Relationships always ruin friendships. I don’t care what you have to say it’s the truth whether you like it or not. You might be able to stays friends when the relationship goes up in flames, but its been altered to a point where its basically meaningless. But everything changes eventually its inevitable. I made this point for a
reason because I thought this was going to happen with them. But it never did, there was never really a chance for it. But things did change almost two years later. She was too forgiving and the kind of person that knew what was going on but pretended as if it was happening. I think for this was a defense mechanism. If she didn’t acknowledge it out loud, it wasn’t actually happening. This didn’t really work in any one’s favor besides Zak’s. Everyone knew that he was headed in to a downward spiral, but no one knew the extent of it. We all knew his past and what he went through. For some reason at the time we thought that justified what he was doing. She knew what was going on and tried to help but that caused a bit of a tiff between them. So she started acting as if nothing was wrong and let him continue destroying himself. Anyway we were all invited to a friend’s birthday party. So we went and it being a teenage part obviously there were of course those one kids who brought illegal substances. Everything started out great at that point no one was doing anything stupid. Then the night quickly took a turn for the worst because people started doing idiotic things and this brings us back to where we started. He kept telling us “All my friends are doing it. All I need is a few puffs, what harm could come from that?” But a few puffs turned into a lot of puffs and a few drinks. He then started fumbling his words and laughing at every joke. This is when we knew there was going to be a problem if we didn’t stay with him. So, we stayed by his side even thought at that point we were annoyed with him. But if we didn’t stay who was going to look out for him. At one point we lost sight of him. We asked around and figured out that he was outside. Just as we walked outside we all his friends giggling as he stepped off the sidewalk into the street. In their minds this was all just a joke. He just stood there staring as the headlights crept closer. She was beside me screaming, “Do something!” Then she
took on a dead run towards him probably thinking she could stop it. But it was already too late.