Dear Best Friend's Boyfriend,

First of all let me say, congratulations on one year with my best friend! It makes my heart feel like it's going to explode when I look at pictures of you two in all your adorableness. The fact that you treat her so well and love her from the top of your head to the tips of your toes makes it easier to live 900 miles away from her.

You see, you've known her for a year and some months. I've known her for most of my life. She has been there through it all; the horribly awkward stages where I had no idea how to interact with people my own age, helping me deal with my family, crushes on boys and the drama that comes with them, being a teenager in a small town and, God bless her soul, she never complained about how cold my house was. She just brought over every pillow and blanket she owned and made herself at home. My best friend is the most important person to me and someone I aspire to be like. She is sweet and loving and strong and intelligent and so much more.

It is for these reasons, Best Friend's Boyfriend, that I feel so very protective of her. So when she first told me about you, I couldn't help but be jealous and scared of you. I understand that this may seem strange to you because she and I don't talk every day and we live so far apart, but try to understand that, when you came into the picture, I realized, I could not be there to support her in a way she supported me all those years.

You're her first boyfriend, first true foray into the world of dating. Do you know how hard it is to live 900 miles away and not be able to be at your best friends door if she needs you? This is a thought that is constantly on my mind. What if you hurt her or she needs to just sit and cry or vent or giggle uncontrollably? I understand that she has our other friends from home and she has friends from college, but it's just not the same.

So if I occasionally throw a threatening joke at you, please know, those are the reasons why. She is the most precious person in my life and I would literally walk through hellfire for her.

I know you're probably sitting there thinking "So would I!" and that's fantastic. That's exactly what I need to hear because, Best Friend's Boyfriend, I need to know that she is safe with you. I need to know that you won't be the cause of three am calls filled with sobbing. I need to know that you won't be the guy that breaks her heart into a hundred million pieces, making her question love and herself. I need to know that you will be a good and loving curator of her heart. That you will support her in all that she does, that you will stand up for her when she can't, that you will be there when it's most important and when it's not.

Best Friend's Boyfriend, she deserves nothing less than the universe and I want to make sure that you understand that. I want to make sure you understand why so many of her friends have stepped forward and said something. It isn't because we don't like you or even mistrust you, it's nothing like that. It's just that, she is made of goodness and we want to make sure, that you are too.