That night I smoked a joint
With my best friend
We found ourselves in bed
When I woke up he was gone
-Diplomat's Son, Vampire Weekend

Brian and Bender, ("the boys", as Claire called them) had spent the night pigging out and laughing together. Brian had made sure that his mother never knew John was there (she'd flip out if she knew her perfect son was hanging out with someone like John Bender) by escorting Bender up to his room and making sure he stayed there.

That night, they smoked and ate, smoked and ate, and talked about things in a way people only did in the confines of a bedroom. Brian had talked about his mom, and how he'd struggled with the pressure way before he brought the gun to school, and how he'd had an identity crisis he'd never really told anyone about. Bender had talked about what his parents were like before his biological mother died and his father started drinking and married a woman who absolutely hated Bender. He'd even talked about his feelings for Claire a little bit.

And each boy had come to an unspoken realization about the other that evening.

For Brian, he'd practically beamed when he found out he was the first person that Bender had shared his news with.

"So, when are you going to tell Claire?" he'd asked.

Bender had just shrugged. "I don't know. I just can't picture someone like Queenie getting excited about dating a guy who has some menial job, when she could be dating a guy who has access to all the money she could ever want without having to work at all." Brian was blown away by such honesty.

And he was also flattered. He'd never had a friend like this before. He felt honored that he'd been the first person on Bender's mind to share such good news with, and when he really thought about it, lately when he had anything of interest to share (any questions about having a social life, any complaints about his parents, any news or anything having happened to him—not that it was all that common for someone like him), his first thought was always that he couldn't wait to tell Bender.

Things that he couldn't imagine feeling comfortable enough to tell to Adam or Dano, or even Dell. He hadn't seen much of them lately, anyway. It was almost as if they were avoiding him.

It had all been enough to make Brian redefine his definition of friendship. And in some weird, alternate-universe way, it had made him realize that John Bender was the best friend he'd ever had. Bender listened to Brian's problems, helped him get a girlfriend, always wanted to hang out with him, and always encouraged him and stood up for him. John Bender was pretty much his best friend.

He hadn't been surprised, though, at all, when Bender wasn't still lying on the other side of his bed when he woke up. Even if it weren't for the fact that he'd had to get up early to go down to the radio station, Bender would never have wanted to face the awkwardness of the morning after such intense conversations as they'd had the night before.

But that was the thing of it, really. Somehow, only months after a time when they'd never even have spoken to each other, they were completely comfortable telling each other things in a non-awkward manner that would have been completely awkward to share with anyone else. Even their girlfriends.

For Bender's part, while Brian had been asleep the night before, he'd laid in bed thinking about how he was experiencing some sense of déjà vu. He had to admit he'd enjoyed celebrating with Brian the night before, and how it was sort of nice to not have to be such a badass all the time, walking around acting as if he had an image to protect.

Brian had seen through that image almost right away, anyway, though. He picked up on Bender's use of big words, his eloquent speech, his puppy dog eyes that revealed the struggles he tried so much to hide, and how he was really at the end of the day, just a boy trying to survive and make his way, just like everyone else.

There was only one person who'd seen right through him so quickly, and lying down thinking about being in Brian's house for the first time reminded him of his first time spending the night at this person's house. And that was Saidie.

He remembered meeting Saidie in middle school, how she'd immediately sought him out as a friend, and how no matter how much he'd tried to scare her off by being the rude badass to her, she hadn't fallen for it or given up. Eventually, he'd realized she was pretty cool, and they'd become friends. And the first time he'd spent the night at her house, it'd been just like this. They'd talked and talked for hours about everything, and she'd smoked with him in her bedroom until they'd both passed out, and he was gone before she woke up.

It hadn't occurred to him (until Brian had brought it up) that he'd thought of Brian first to share his good news with. Not Claire, not Freddie, and not even Saidie. As soon as he'd gotten the call that he had the job, he'd immediately headed for Brian's house.

The dweebie was cool, that much he'd admitted to himself pretty quickly. But they had so little in common, it made no sense that they totally got each other. But they did. He'd bonded with Freddie over being the oldest kids in their grades (Freddie because of illness; Bender because of rebellious behavior and because of missing school after some of the more serious injuries when his father beat him); he'd bonded with Saidie over music. But with Brian there wasn't just one thing. It just came naturally.

And now he barely saw Freddie. Freddie had one last class he had to make up because of his absences, and because he was so good with his hands and with technology, he already had a job lined up for when he completely class and officially graduated. They even let him work as an intern until it was official.

And Saidie? Well, she was no longer his best friend. She had long passed that. She was family. Calling her his best friend would have been like saying Joe Perry was a great guitarist. It just didn't do justice; it wasn't a strong enough sentiment.

It wasn't either of them that he seemed to spend most of his free time with lately. And it certainly wasn't Claire, with their stolen moments and secret dates.

It was Brian.

Brian was the person he was with most days. Brian was the only person, besides Saidie, who took him seriously enough to come to him for advice. Brian was the only person he'd ever have made enough effort for to play matchmaker. And Brian was the person he, John Bender, went to for advice as well.

It would have made sense if it was at least Allison. In a lot of ways, they were connected. They were practically two versions of the same person. But maybe that was why they weren't even closer than they were. They bonded, but they secretly both loathed themselves, and wouldn't form the tightest of bonds with someone so much like themselves.

He'd never have guessed it. But somehow, when he wasn't looking, Brian Johnson had become his best friend. And, if he were to guess, out of all of his high school friends, except Saidie, Brian was the person he was most likely to stay friends with when high school was over.

A/N Don't worry. There'll be more Claire to come! :)

Coming up: Claire and Annabelle bond, confronting their demons. Claire also has a confrontation, and she and Bender exchange unique invites in the heat of the moment.