You Don't Know What You Do to Me

“Do you believe in fate?”

Those were the first words John Cornelius O’Callaghan V ever said to me in the 7th grade. I had just moved from Alabama to Tempe, Arizona and I was having trouble adjusting. My mother had died a year earlier and my dad moved us to Arizona because he got promoted, but I knew that he was trying to move us away from the memories. Starting Jr. High thousands of miles away from home was not my idea of a perfect situation.

Tempe was quite a culture shock from Alabama. I had grown up in a rich and prominent southern family, meaning that I was being trained to be a Southern Belle. Kids in Tempe didn’t understand the idea of being a Southern Belle. They made fun of everything about me from my accent to my name. My name is Parker-Blaine. Yes, I have two first names. My parents hyphenated my name, giving me two first names and no middle name. In the south it’s tradition to give your children family names. Parker was the maiden name of my dad’s mother and Blaine was the maiden name of my mom’s mother. Tempe kids didn’t care that my name had special meaning. They found it weird so they made fun of me.

Needless to say, I was a little wary when John approached me and asked if I believed in fate.

“Do you believe in fate?” A tall boy with brown hair and piercing eyes asked me.

“Excuse me?”

“Fate. Do you believe in it? Because your name…” The boy began but I instantly interrupted him.

“Yes, I know that my name is weird. Everyone else has been making fun of me all day so I’d just rather you didn’t.” I answered while trying not to cry. My first day had been awful and I had no clue how I was going to survive in this state. It was a desert for crying out loud! I wanted to go back to Alabama, NOW.

“I wasn’t going to make fun of you, I promise.” The boy said earnestly and then continued, “Believe me, I know what it’s like to have a weird family name. My name is John Cornelius O’Callaghan the fifth. I was just wondering if you believed in fate because my first name initial is J and your first name initials are PB. We’re PB and J which is not only awesome, but also means that we’re meant to be best friends. It’s fate.”

Ever since that conversation John and I became best friends and were nearly inseparable. He knew about my biggest dream and I knew about his.

John dreamed of being the lead singer in a band. I was the only one who knew about this dream for a long time though because he was too shy to sing in front of anyone else. He had an amazing voice but didn’t believe me no matter how many times I told him.

My dream is to be Miss America. I had done pageants when I lived in Alabama and continued them even when I moved to Arizona. I want to be crowned Miss Arizona and then eventually go on to win the Miss America crown. Most of the Tempe kids don’t understand my dream but John has always supported me and always reassures me that my dream will one day come true because I’m gorgeous and an amazing person.

John’s dream has been reached. He and four of our other friends started a band called The Maine. My dream is still a work in progress. I was Miss Arizona Teen my junior year in high school but I’m taking some time off from pageants to join the boys on tour.

John’s best friends soon became my best friends too. Yes, I’m friends with all boys because it’s hard to make friends with the girls in Arizona. I don’t know if the girls are jealous or if they just think I’m weird but, whatever the reason, none of them want to be friends with me so I’m friends with the guys instead. In Junior High John, Jared, and I were best friends. Jared was actually one of the people who made fun of me the most when I first moved to Arizona but he apologized and I forgave him. Freshman year of high school Kennedy joined our group and then eventually Garrett and Pat joined which led to the formation of The Maine.

Over the years I spent more time at John’s house than my own. He seemed to have a normal, functional family… at least more normal than my own. My dad began to travel more and more with each passing year after my mom’s death, which left me alone in my big house all by myself. Instead of being in my house by myself I chose to go over to John’s. Not only did I love his family, they treated me as if I were their daughter. John’s mom became my “adoptive mom” and it was nice to have a woman figure in my life. John liked when I stayed at his house because I was the buffer between him and his dad. His dad didn’t fully support John’s decision to be in a band which led to quite a few fights but I was the buffer between the two of them.

John and I tell each other everything and know nearly every detail about each other. I always know who he’s crushing on, when and why he breaks up with someone, and I even know what/who he writes many of his songs about. John knows about how I miss Alabama even though I’ve grown to love Arizona, how I miss my mom every single day, how I wish my dad would act like he did before my mom died, and how I always looked for the best in people, which sometimes causes me pain.

Yes, John and I are best friends and know nearly everything about each other. There is one thing he doesn’t know about me though… I am truly, madly, deeply in love with him.