It was a crisp, cool afternoon on the banks of the majestic Shelter Cove. It was a jubilant day of celebration as the two strangers strode along the edge of the frothing waves joking and laughing. Unbeknownst to them, a darkness lurked just beneath the waves. The legend goes that a horrific, evil creature roams the waters of this area. The young boy, by the name of Leo, happened to know of this legendary tale. The young girl, by the name of Brianna, was clueless of the horrors this legend foretold. As they walked along the crusty sands of Shelter Cove, Leo being the jester he is, acted out the tale in the form of reptilian interpretive dances and ended by imprinting the thought of - "What if this gruesome beast were to come crawling out of the sea at this very moment, and tear us limb from limb?" At this very moment in time, Brianna knew from the primordial depths of her soul two very important facts that - to this day - still remain true. 1. This kid seriously has ZERO game. 2. I'm going to marry him one day. Leo on the other hand, had absolutely nothing going on upstairs - clueless to the destiny these two weirdos were about to embark on. Years went by - and their friendship continued to grow. So much so, that Leo invited Brianna to his High School Prom.... Twice. Brianna accepted but at a price - 'just as friends'.

Over the years - 7 to be exact - Leo and Brianna continued this epic friendship by listening to one another talk shit about their current relationship and providing philosophical advice on how to 'wear the pants'. Until one fateful day in January 2015, on the dank and sticky dance floor of the infamous Bamboo Night Club. Wishing they were anywhere but there, they were both shocked to see each other. So instead of continuing to 'Jersey Turnpike' and 'Fist Pump' to the latest hot single by Pitbull, they found a relatively quiet corner to catch up. Needless to say, their friends left without them as they continued to joke and laugh about the crazy adventures they've been on since last seeing one another. Brianna even got Leo to put a little boogie in his shoe. From that night on, they were inseparable.

The year flew by as the two of them continued to spend more and more time together. One day, while watching the great American classic - Tusk - Brianna finally asked - "So are we like Facebook official now?", to which Leo replied - "Sure, I guess". Fast forward to some point in 2016 - neither of them could remember - Brianna finally brought over the last bin of her 15,000 shoes into the mini-apartment on the 3rd floor of Leo's Mom's house, living there for a year until they could save enough to get an apartment of their very own. During this time, they adopted a spunky little hedgehog named Lord Nigel Rathgar Archibald III. This was only the beginning of the zoo that they would ultimately build. You see, the problem was, and still is, that neither one of them can say no, so any time one of them suggests a new pet, the answer is always a resounding yes.

By 2018, they were in their own apartment, and two pets richer. One of them being Leo's majestic feline friend, Riley the Magnificent. The other being the infamous Novi Bean who can't swing from a web because she's a pig. Just kidding, she's a fat Corgi. Riley would ultimately bully Nova into submission and imprinted the spiteful attitudes of cats into her. The years flew by, until Leo got an opportunity for a new career in North Carolina. This topic was always a tough conversation, as Brianna was progressing in her own career. Previous conversations always ended up in the decision not to move, as our families, friends, and careers were there. This time was different, Brianna - knowing that everything would fall into place - decided she was ready to make the move. So with that Leo jumped at the opportunity. After a year of renting an apartment, and with both careers on the rise, the two of them decided it was time to plant some roots and buy a house. Lucky for them, they stumbled on a gem in the heart of Cary that was the perfect place to grow into. And especially lucky because the interest rates and housing market exploded the next month. The day they officially moved in, while Leo was stuck on a work call, Brianna ran out to pick up the third addition to the Ski Zoo - Loki the Lovable Oaf. After years of talking about getting a black lab, Loki fell into their laps. But, he isn't just a lab. He was a combination of the most athletic, energetic, and needy dogs out there - Lab, Staffy, Husky, Great Pyrenees, German Shephard, Boxer, and so on. He was a menace, but his stale coffee breath made everything okay. A few months later, another animal just happened to walk right in the door - literally. While in Ohio, a stray kitten wandered onto the deck of an AirBnB the two were staying at. The owners of the AirBnB specifically warned of a "kitten that was dropped off" and "not to touch or feed it". So naturally, that's exactly the opposite of what Leo and Bree did. Before they knew it, they can legally now call their home a zoo for tax purposes due to the amount of creatures running amuck.

If you're one of the few that read this far, we're about to cross the finish line. 7 years from the day the two love birds made it "Facebook Official", and Leo's ultimate plan is about to finally play out. After 7 years of torture in the Friend Zone, Brianna's 7 years of watching re-runs of "Say Yes to the Dress" would finally end. It was a crisp, cool afternoon on the banks of the majestic Carolina Beach. It was a jubilant day of celebration as the two lovers strode along the edge of the frothing waves joking and laughing. Unbeknownst to them, a darkness lurked just beneath the waves. The legend that was once foretold many moons ago, was about to come true. As the sun slowly dipped behind the dunes, a horrible creature emerged from the depths. In horror, Brianna turned to her knight in shining armor - who in reality was also equally as terrified. As the two locked eyes, Leo suddenly dropped to a knee to reveal a glistening diamond ring peeking from a small white box. Time stopped for a moment, as all eyes were on Brianna. One question floated through everyones' mind: "Was she sick of Leo's shit after all these years? Or can she endure another millenia...?" As the fearless Nova & Loki barked away the monster, Brianna jumped into Leo's arms and whispered "Did you want to ask me something first" - to which Leo replied: "Oh right - Will you marry me?" "YES!"