He’s the closest thing that came to being my ‘high school romance’. He was one of the cutest seniors in school and, to my surprise, he was constantly finding excuses to call me up. They were harmless conversations, and even though it seemed like we had close to nothing in common, we were talking non-stop. It followed the pattern every high school relationship does – started as a secret relationship with endless late-night chats and a whole lot of awkward makeout sessions. He was the first guy I kissed, the first guy I went on a date with… And the first guy who made me feel SO special. We parted ways the year he graduated from school. Since all emotions are tripled when you’re a teenage girl, at that time, breaking up with him seemed to be one of the hardest things I went through. He was calm, while I was a complete mess. Things only got easier when I left home to study.
Somehow we managed to stay in touch throughout our college lives. Every few weeks we’d talk and he would tell me about the series of new girlfriends and I would pretend I didn’t mind talking about his escapades. It took me the longest time to get over him! Partly because we’ve remained a part of a larger group of school friends, and partly because he insisted that we should stay in touch.
It wasn’t until I left for my Master’s that our relationship finally transformed into a close friendship. Sure, it was still sparky and we would still flirt, but we would mostly talk for hours about all the teeny-tiny details of our lives.
The thing is – he’s genuinely a great guy. He’s smart, practical and someone I would call whenever I wanted to discuss how I should approach a tricky work problem and sometimes, even when I’d be having issues with my current boyfriend.
All through these years, he was constantly dating someone new. He got serious with a few girls, but you could tell that it wouldn’t last. Last year, when he introduced his new girlfriend to us…something seemed different. While he had always been secretive about his past relationships, he was flaunting this one on social media. Anyone who knew or met the two of them could instantly tell – this was the real deal.
When I got the chance to meet her, I was genuinely thrilled for him. While I always managed to find something wrong with all of his ex-girlfriends, even I found this one pretty perfect. She’s sweet, cute and SO much fun to hang out with! The strange thing is that while he grew more involved with her, our friendship faded. There wasn’t a specific incident or moment that initiated this new setting…but we’ve completely stopped talking.
He got married to her two months back, and I happily danced at their wedding. Not only the baraat, but I was part of the dance performance our crew of school friends had planned! The only thing I felt during the wedding is, an overwhelming amount of love for the couple who are clearly crazy about each other. But then again, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss my friend…
Images: Shutterstock
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