James

We became friends during a school play in Year 10, and never looked back. I was the first person he came out to, and it was a long and tortuous process, taking up most of an afternoon before he actually managed to use the word 'gay'. This is possibly because he is one of the most verbose people I've ever met, but as an English graduate, I think it's probably to be expected.

I love him dearly, but know his limits (will count rounds to make sure he has received more drinks than he has paid for), as he knows mine (at school was slightly slutty and would kiss boys while going out with other boys. He disapproved until he discovered his own sex life while at uni, and now I am the moralistic one). He once came to stay for a weekend when Tom and I lived in Paris, and we bickered the entire time, which was fun for Tom. He's like a brother, maybe a twin. He calls me when he's having trouble with reality (like being convinced that he had failed all his exams and he ended up with a First), and I talk him through it. I've been doing this since we were at school. At that point, he did a lot of listening to me talk about boys. I've cut down on that recently, so we don't talk quite as often. When we do talk though, 80% of the conversation is laughter.