[!]
Clicking on a strange link would send you to an unfamiliar delisted YouTube video, named…
Clicking on a strange link would send you to an unfamiliar delisted YouTube video, named…
There were no visuals. Just a black screen and audio.
The video would start off with a big, dramatic sigh before…
The video would start off with a big, dramatic sigh before…
Den:
..Hi there. If you’ve found this video, it means that I’ve decided to actually post this online.
I’m here to talk about a terrible mistake I’ve made as of recent. One which has impacted not only my life but the life of people I care about.
Let me set the scene. As an act to protect the individuals involved, I will be addressing them with codenames. The main names in my story are:
- Annie
- Barry
- And Clarissa
Whilst this tale and these people are 100% factual to my POV, I would like to reiterate that these are fictitious names.
This story begins with Annie and myself. Annie and I have butted heads in the past, leading to a violent outburst from myself. Despite this, Annie and I had patched things up and considered each other friends.
Annie had recently broken up with her boyfriend, Barry, in a particularly awful manner and was in a state of disarray. As a means to try to get her happier, a few friends and I had a drunk-fuelled party. Details are hazy but I distinctly remember having a conversation with Annie about her mental health, stating that she should talk with a the****** about her relationships, in which Annie agreed and promised that she would.
[!]
Den would fall silent for a few seconds, before taking a small breath and continuing.
Den would fall silent for a few seconds, before taking a small breath and continuing.
Den:
Not even a few days past and I see Annie again… with Barry. I attempted striking up a conversation with Annie regarding our promise. Of course, she didn’t remember as she was black-out drunk during our conversation. Regardless, I tried buying off her enthusiasm with a bribe of her favourite thing in the world - oranges. It actually succeeded, kinda? She, once again agreed to therapy. I mean- in the end, she really didn’t go to therapy and I’m, like, severely in debt because I sunk my finances into buying a whole motherload worth of oranges but oh well.
Blunder 1: Don’t make deals with drunk people.
[!]
Den chuckled wryly before cutting off his laughter abruptly
Den chuckled wryly before cutting off his laughter abruptly
Den:
This is a bit of a strange segue but, trust me, it's important to the narrative.
Remember how I said that I had a violent encounter with Annie in the past? It all transpired when I locked her in the journalism club room’s studio for a small moment as a sick joke at her expense. I didn’t realise that she had brought a baseball bat into the studio and she- well-... She bashed the glass door with it.
Blunder 2: Don’t lock people in small rooms, even as a joke.
Back to the present day, my club lead is PISSED with me and for good reason. The door needed money to be fixed and I was expected to cough up the dough considering that I was to blame. Time passed and I was still broke so the ‘debt collectors’ came, those being my club lead and my sister.
They had trapped me in a bathroom and proceeded to dye my hair blue and cut my signature eyelashes, causing me to look… unnatural, to say the least.
Blunder 3: Pay your debts on time.
I bring this up because it made me look so… so unrecognisable from my previous self that even my girlfriend couldn’t recognise me. This caused a whole entire conflict where I asked Annie and Barry for assistance. In the end, they didn’t really do much and I made up with my girlfriend in private. Once again, this is relevant to the story and you’ll see why soon.
Ever since the black-out party between myself and Annie, I was slowly beginning to learn about the nature of the breakup. Every detail which I heard about began to churn my stomach. The most important detail, however, was who Barry had gotten with following the immediate dumping of Annie - Clarissa. In fact- one of the main reasons Annie was so distraught was because of how Barry had left her and gotten with Clarissa in the same breath.
So imagine my utter rage when, whilst Annie, Barry and I were hanging out at the school pool’s fence, Barry makes a cheap joke directed at both myself and Annie in which he states that he’d get into a.. scumbag , cheaty relationship with not only Annie but my- my OWN GIRLFRIEND at the same time?!
In all honesty, I should have just taken it for what it was. A bad joke, nothing more.
I should have just done that and nothing else.
INSTEAD, I got into an altercation with Barry. I argued why I felt like he was terrible for Annie and that I hated his guts. Obviously, this led to violence and I got knocked the fuck out.
Blunder 4: Don’t antagonise people just because you don't like them.
The next day, I met up with Clarissa. I wanted to write an exposé on Barry. I wanted to ruin Barry. I wanted to see his reputation besmirched and to see him as I saw him - an unfaithful liar who, instead of giving valid counterarguments, turns to violence.
We discussed her relationship with Barry and I was shocked to learn how small of a timeframe there was between his breakup with Annie and his subsequent, short-lived relationship with Clarissa.
According to Clarissa, he had gotten into a relationship with her on the 7th of April and they had been on dates in the past during his relationship with Annie. One date stuck out to me in particular as she stated that he said that ‘Nobody has ever made him feel this way’.
This revelation twisted and turned in my stomach as I scrambled to find Annie - I needed her to hear what I had heard. Maybe, this time she’ll understand- maybe, this time she’ll see how I saw Barry and maybe she’d make the ‘right call’... whatever THAT'S supposed to mean.
Blunder 5: Don’t get involved in your friend’s relationships.
I had recorded the important parts of my conversation with Clarissa on a tape recorder to play to Annie. OBVIOUSLY, she was upset by this and called Barry to help settle the dispute. I asked for his timeline of events in which I called him out, pinning him as a cheater. I showed Barry Clarissa’s testimony which he claimed was full of nothing but lies.
He, in anger, then got Clarissa involved which started an even BIGGER argument between the two. Clearly, their relationship had not ended on a good note and I had just reignited a conflict which should have been long dead. I had done nothing but started a ‘He said, she said’ argument.
[!]
Den would, once again, fall silent before taking a small breath and continuing in a softer, solemn tone. He sounds choked up…
Den would, once again, fall silent before taking a small breath and continuing in a softer, solemn tone. He sounds choked up…
Den:
I shouldn’t have gotten involved at all. Looking back on it, all I accomplished was putting a good relationship on the ropes for no other reason than my hero complex. During that argument, all I could do was look down at myself and think ‘You, your pride, and your willingness to write about any cheap topic caused this’ and… and I was right..!
I didn’t want the exposé anymore- I just wanted this whole ordeal to be over again. I mean- it's not like i could write about it anyway - Barry had taken my tape recorder full of Clarissa’s testimony after their little bout. If I tried writing something like an exposé without any form of concrete evidence I’d be doing nothing but quickening the death of my journalistic career.
That’s the root of this entire video, actually. I want to apologise to everyone I’ve impacted with this.. This dumb obsession with exposing Barry as some sort of monster.
Barry - I’m sorry for trying to ruin you. Whilst I don’t know much about you, I don’t think that what I saw was enough to try and get everybody I know on-board with hating you and your guts.
Clarissa - I’m sorry for getting you involved. After my fight with Barry, I should have already abandoned my… my vigilante-ass conquest for revenge. I didn’t mean to drag you back into a conflict with Barry and, yet, I did. I shouldn’t have gotten involved at all.
And finally, Annie. I’m sorry that I broke your trust. I’m sorry that I went behind your back and I am more than sorry for… for trying to destroy your relationship with Barry with what I thought at the time was concrete evidence. Following my sister dyeing my hair blue I’ve… I’ve more or less been trying to remove myself from her. Our relationship was already strained from unresolved fights and bad decision making on both our ends and… I didn’t want anything to do with my sister from that point on. Honestly, I still don't want anything to do with her. A- and- well… I guess I saw you as the next big thing - My next ‘sisterly figure’!
I shouldn’t have projected all of that shit onto you- I shouldn’t have tried to ‘protect’ you from something that you didn’t need protecting from.
All of you. I sincerely apologise. I can’t ask for much but for you to all not collectively hate my guts.
I’ll get out of your hair from this point on.
[!]
The video would suddenly stop.
The video would suddenly stop.
