Adam and Clara first met in 2nd grade and knew each other in passing. They didn't become friends until 8th grade, when they had two classes together: journalism and student council. With spending the last two hours of their school days together, they started spending more time together outside of class. Adam became a part of Clara's friend group and by their freshman year, they spent most of what time at school they could together. In their junior year, Adam had first asked Clara to homecoming before asking her to date him two days later.

Adam had come down to visit Clara at college for the weekend, having just returned from a Bastille concert the day before. The day of "the question", Adam had taken Clara and her friend Bethany out to lunch in Holland and headed to Grand Haven. Unbeknownst to Clara, Adam had recruited Bethany's help over the previous six months, with Bethany helping plan the day, take photos, and get Clara's ring size through a trip to Walmart. When they arrived at the Grand Haven pier, Adam wasted no time proposing to Clara, convincing her that she could see islands off the coast of Muskegon... in Grand Haven. After the question was asked, and a slew of profanities rained from Clara, they became engaged.