Hermit Crab

1. I have a twin brother named Grayson and we share an impressively immense ____. It’s unbreakable, unchanging in its emotional center, runs deep and is unmatched by anyone else in either of our lives.
3. Sure, I hang out with people at this chill leadership club and a few of my classes, but am I really making a real connection with them? Is what I’m doing enough to be called friendship? Are they and me making a __________, or are we just hanging out because we can? Is that what friendship is? Is it? Am I doing it right?
4. Maybe if I didn’t have Grayson, maybe if I was on my own at the start of school like everyone else, my life would be irrevocably altered, things would be different, maybe…we don’t need to go there. _____ this thought thread is irrelevant anyway.
5. I think I’m just not like everyone else; those who are ridiculously confident, chill and fitting in with everyone else, and they seem like everything I’m not: un-stressed, getting all A’s and having lots of friends and being __________ overall.
6. But maybe I’m way overthinking this and it really is as easy as it is in the movies, and I’m stressing myself out way too much unnecessarily, and maybe all I need to do is try and maybe I’m just trying to put a ________ spin on this. Maybe I am doing enough.

2. And I know how people are always talking about doing things that you wouldn’t normally, things that are new to you, stepping out of your comfort zone, gaining ___ __________, and I thought I had done that, what with my decent list of middle school extracurriculars - uncomplicated yet fun school newspaper, the frisbee games that gave me a mental break and enjoyment - and the frickin Math/Sci rigorous, stress-inducing, productively challenging classes, but what if I’m not? What if I’m not making the most of my position to do things with?
4. And as I look at what was just said, I thought I didn’t take it for granted, but if I didn’t, what have I been doing with my life for the last few years? Have I not not made friends, been too shy, because I knew I would always have Grayson to come back to, have him as a “safety net” so to speak, to have him to always come back to, and with that reassurance Is that why friendship with other people my age is _______?
7. Maybe the reason I haven’t had any other friends besides Grayson is because of my love for movies. I adore the vastness that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the escapism that is the Star Wars saga, the adorning of my room with vivid posters and detailed recreations of characters, but maybe I take it too far because Grayson thinks all I talk about is movies and so often he tells me to “get a life” that maybe that’s my _____.