You're not my friend.

I was talking to a friend from high school recently. He and I didn't actually become friends until after high school. We had a few similar friends, yet we never really hung out. As soon as I graduated, I left. I moved five hours away, made a new life and new friends. He, on the other hand, stayed in the small community where we grew up. He is trying to save up money and pay off bills from his "toys." You know, boy toys. A huge truck. So while he is still there, I am here. While he has a few of the same friends that he had in high school, I talk with only about three of my old high school friends. And I'm not sad about it.
In high school, I had friends. Well, I thought they were friends. The main one that I'm going to talk about is one that I don't even talk to anymore. She always seemed sure of herself, yet I've come to realize it was all an act. She had, and still has, many problems with herself. Yet, at the time, I trusted her and believed in her. Every time she ditched me, blew me off, talked behind my back, I defended her and stuck with her. Why? Because I believed that she was my friend.
But "friend" is a hard word. I used to believe a friend was someone that I hung out with. Someone that I talked to and saw every day. It didn't matter if I confided in them or not. As long as I had someone to hang out with. Now, my friends are not necessarily the people that I "hang out" with. Yes, I do hang out with my friends. But I trust them. I love them unconditionally. I tell them everything. They know me inside and out, as I do them.
This girl that I am talking about is not a friend to me. Never really was. Never will be, unless she changes. That may sound horrible. "I won't be your friend unless you change." But I have standards. I did before as well. But now my standards are higher. I need friends that I can count on. And I now have them. And actually, about four of these friends are people that I was friends with in high school. When I moved, I stayed in touch with them. Actually, they stayed in touch with me. And that is the biggest reason I am still friends with them. They made an effort to still talk to me, to still hang out with me.
I think that if I had stayed in the same place that I grew up in, I would not have real friends. I would still be in the same position I was in while in high school. Just "hanging out" with people that I thought were friends. Now, I have no doubt in my mind that the people I have here are my real friends. I know I can always count on them. And that's a nice feeling. Something that I rarely had in high school. I feel secure.