Thank you. Thank you for all of it.

Thank you for pulling me back from the flame, for saving my soul and my life. Thank you for accepting me, for letting me be who I was.

You were my friend when I was intense, when I could have done anything and not regretted it. And when I was calm and caring you didn't expect me to be intense, to put on an act.

You were never embarrassed by me and what I did. You were my rock when I hated who I was and who I had become. You reminded me that it was okay for me to be who I was and not worry what others thought. You gave me the courage to be outgoing and not care and you helped me not to feel the eyes burn into me as I did what I wanted. You backed me up and defended me when people didn't understand.

You were also my friend. You hung out with me, ate lunch with me, fought with me and screamed at me when I was doing something incredibly stupid (as opposed to my normal stupidity). You saw in me what no one ever has, a person who has feelings, who does know pain under the facade.

You opened up to me and let me get close. You kept my secrets and I held to yours. We have been through Heaven and Hell together and we stuck together even when our friends wouldn't.

And I love you for it. I love you more than any friend I've ever had. Thank you for looking deeper, for finding out who I was.

It rips my heart out that someone could be so nice to me, that someone could love me so much.

Sincerely,

Chris