ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — It was an emotional night in Alamance County for the Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS) community who gathered to honor two students who were killed in a crash in Orange County last week.
Dozens of students gathered at Southeast Alamance High School to pay their respects.
Monday night's vigil is a testament to how much Brandyn and Adian were loved.
Nearly every student who came out had a memory to share about the both of them.
"I'll never forget the day I met Brandyn," one student said. "The kid you'd see in the hallway picking on you just to get a laugh out of you.
"He always was there when you needed him," one student said about Aidan.
"Brandyn and Aidan would always bring the light, the energy that we would always look for and without them, it's not the same nowhere close," another student said.
With heavy hearts and watery eyes, those at Monday's candlelight vigil made a vow to make sure Brandyn Theus and Aidan Ramos' light lives on inside them.
Nearly a hundred students packed the entrance of Southeast Alamance to honor lives taken too soon.
Both Brandyn and Aidan were students at the high school.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the two died last Thursday in a crash on Oak Grove Church Road in Orange County.
They said the car the students were in left the road hit a tree and caught fire.
It's unclear what caused them to lose control of the car.
"It blows my mind that all of this is happening. I can't even begin. There have been so many times I've wanted to text him, and I have texted him a few times and called him waiting for someone to answer and say it's a joke and it's just not," Eden Havla, a friend of Brandyn shared.
Both Kailyn Holden and Eden Havla were close with Brandyn.
As were many at Monday's vigil, his elementary school teacher even shared a few words.
"He was the kind of kid who showed empathy toward others," Ms. Russell shared.
Heartfelt moments were also shared about Aidan.
"He always was passionate about his cars and everything he did he did with passion," one student shared.
A student read a statement on behalf of Aidan's family.
"Although we are not able to be here today It gives us comfort to know our son has touched so many people and he will be remembered as the kind and good friend that he was."
A night of remembrance, grief, and healing felt by both boys' families and the students' lives they touched.
The students said the halls here at Southeast Alamance will never feel the same.
The principal said he hopes the vigil helps in the healing process.