My Best Friend Couldn’t Watch Our Prom Tape with Me and My Husband But When I Saw What He Did, Everything Clicked — Story of the Day

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My Best Friend Couldn’t Watch Our Prom Tape with Me and My Husband—But When I Saw What He Did, Everything Clicked

Sitting on the couch, I smiled as my husband, Jake, loaded the old VHS tape into the player. “I can’t believe we’re finally watching this,” I said, pulling a blanket over my legs.

It was our prom night video—one I hadn’t seen since high school. My best friend, Ryan, was supposed to watch it with us, but he made a last-minute excuse and left.

“That’s weird,” I muttered. “Ryan was the one who even found this tape in my parents’ attic.”

Jake shrugged. “Maybe he’s just busy?”

I nodded, but something felt off. Ryan and I had been best friends since childhood. He had been my prom date—not romantically, just as best friends—but he had been excited about watching this. So why would he suddenly back out?

As the video flickered to life, I was transported back in time. There I was, in my sparkling blue dress, twirling on the dance floor with Ryan. Jake, who I had been crushing on back then, had been at prom too, but we hadn’t started dating until college.

The video shifted to a clip of me laughing with Ryan outside, away from the crowd. We were sitting on the school steps, my heels kicked off, my head leaning on his shoulder.

Then, the camera shook as whoever was filming—probably one of our classmates—zoomed in.

That’s when I heard it.

“I love you, but I can’t tell her,” Ryan said softly.

My breath caught. I felt Jake tense beside me.

On the screen, Ryan was staring at me, his face filled with something I had never noticed before.

Longing.

Regret.

Pain.

The camera shook again, the filmer whispering, “Dude, just tell her.”

Ryan chuckled bitterly. “She’s in love with Jake. She always talks about him. I could never ruin that.”

I covered my mouth, my heart pounding.

The video ended abruptly.

Silence filled the room.

Jake exhaled. “Wow.”

Tears burned in my eyes. It all clicked—the way Ryan had always been there for me, his sudden excuse not to watch this tape, the small moments I had overlooked.

He had loved me. And I had never known.

I picked up my phone, my fingers trembling.

“I need to talk to him,” I whispered.

Jake nodded. “I think you should.”

My heart ached as I dialed Ryan’s number, wondering if it was too late to say all the things I never realized I needed to say.


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