- May 8, 2022
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I don't believe I'm going to bat in favor of Erynn.I think it's understandable for Erynn to do that if she were caught by surprise and wasn't really sure how to handle the situation. She was basically stalling for time until she could think of something to say. She was caught off-guard and made a mistake. I'm not going to hold that against her. The real problem is that she was friends with Ethan at all after knowing that he was bullying a kid. During her flashback of past events, Erynn specifically asks "Why do you always bully him?", which clearly shows that she knows Ethan has been consistently bullying him in the past, and yet she is still hanging out with Ethan daily.
It wasn't stupid for the main character to cut Erynn out of his life. She had been slowly shutting him out to spend time her new friend that bullied him, so the confession scene was a desperate attempt to get her to pay attention to him, and became the straw that broke the camels back. And let's not forget that this all happened on his birthday. That just adds an extra layer to this big shit sandwich he got that day.
Let's all think for a moment about what would've happened if he had talked with Erynn that day (or shortly after) instead of refusing to see to her. She would've explained that she wasn't laughing at him, and then what? She's still going to turn him down since he's only thirteen years old. So what would change? Would she stop being friends with Ethan and start spending more time with him instead?
She already knew that Ethan was bullying him, and she didn't stop spending time with Ethan before, so why would she now? Her continued relationship with Ethan would later cost her every other friend she had (except for Alexis), and she still stayed friends with Ethan. Even after Ethan lied to Erynn about having sex with Alexis, she still stayed friends with him. It wasn't until Ethan blackmailed Erynn with a sextape that she finally realized that he was trash. Knowing all that, is there any reasonable chance that she would follow through with her promise to stop being friends with Ethan if he continued to insult the MC way back then? Of course not. We even saw her fail to do so in that very same conversation.
Erynn: I told you, he and I are friends. And if you continue like this, you and I won't be anymore.
Ethan: Erynn... Just think about it. He's what? Like 8?
Erynn: 13!
Ethan: 13... Makes no difference. You are 3 years older than him. He's still a pathetic little boy.
Erynn: I told you to stop, Ethan!
Ethan: I can do whatever I want. That has nothing to do with you.
She should've stopped being friends with him right then and there. But she didn't. She just kept making more useless ultimatums that Ethan continued to ignore. It's possible that Erynn would've ditched Ethan if she knew that he shoved him to the ground that day. But if she wasn't there to see it happen, would she believe the MC if he told her about it? She didn't believe Alexis when she accused Ethan of lying, so we know she has some sort of a blind spot for Ethan. I would expect Erynn to doubt the MC, then the MC would get even angrier, and the friendship would end just the same.
The main character made a mistake when he thought Erynn was laughing at him, but it was a reasonable misunderstanding. Erynn was a terrible friend to the MC, and she's the one who ruined their relationship. Not for the confession incident, but for everything leading up to it.
Years ago had a friendship with my next door neighbor, like this story. We hooked up daily. Played house, ball.
All the normie stuff people did before Internet and cellphones.
And like this story we had a age difference too. 2?3? Don't remember exactly but I was younger and she matured first and started mingling with older boys too.
And naturally her focus changed. No more silly games, playing house, hide and seek. That good stuff from innocence.
She was interested in dating, or trying to and even if she liked me(just to make a point). By being younger and naive.
My actions and feelings couldn't follow her maturing psyche and peer pressure from interacting with older boys and girls outside our little backyard.
So slowly but surely. We drifted naturally.
I just don't see how Mc could still be attracted to her, friend sure.