I don’t know why but everytime I look back on this story, I think of Wade. He really made an impact on me but I seem to be one of very few that even liked him. Honestly, my heart aches justing thinking about him. He was the awkward third wheel friend for the majority of his life but he pretended to be cool with it so he didn’t make things awkward for his friends - and because he was scared of losing them if he spoke up. He was crushing on Griffin but kept it to himself because he knew how much Griffin was in love with Theo and didn’t want to screw that up for him. He listened to his whining for months and was silently supportive and selfless because that’s what good friends do. He had to carry so much baggage for the majority of his childhood because he didn’t want to burden his friends who were too self-absorbed to see he was hurting. He was mocked constantly by Theo but put up with it because they were friends and friends don’t say things like on purpose, right?

Wade was also the only one who told Griffin that he should try and get help for his OCD (in a non-condescending way). He was the only one who pushed him, challenged him, and didn’t allow his mental illness to go unchecked. I know that it was amazing that Jackson automatically slipped into Griffin’s routines to make him feel more at ease but it was Wade - and literally only Wade - that tried to help him be more than his compulsions, who tried to help him. While I don’t believe it is inherently wrong to have OCD, we cannot forget that it is a mental illness, and when it begins to interfere with someone’s quality of life, it is not healthy. In this story, at this point, Griffin’s compulsions were having a negative affect his life and Wade was literally the only person who showed him he could do something about it, that he could take control and be more than his mental illness. He reassured him that his ‘quirks’ were not who made him Griffin. It was not worth sufferings from his compulsions to be ‘different’. Wade was the only one that got that in the whole story.

… and then, the end happened and I was crushed. I wanted more for him. He deserved more. I really hope that the other characters take a long, hard look at Wade and make an effort to be more like him.