Yes, we know this is sudden...

A curious boy happened upon a girl clad in all black everything, wearing a veil over her face, and asked why she was wearing it. "I'm in mourning," replied the girl. The boy was slightly weirded out, but intrigued nonetheless. The boy discovered that the veiled girl was a fellow Arts High Jaguar. He went on to dance for a hip-hop crew the girl was in, and sometimes even dance with her for other artists. They became close friends, and later on, the boy fell in love with the girl, but--sadly-- it was unrequited... and the girl never knew. Time passed, they had relationships and children with others, found and lost love. One winter day, the two met again, ending up commiserating about their respective failed relationships. The boy, suddenly feeling as if he had nothing left to lose, made his years of feelings known for the girl-- much to the girl's surprise. "You held onto this all this time? Why didn't you say anything?" she asked. "Because I had too much respect for you," he explained. "I didn't want to add to your pain or take away from your happiness." The rest, as they say, is history. Excerpt from GATA's 13th anniversary post to Peace: "I mean, how often is it someone tells you that they've been in love with you for over ten years and said NADA? Here I am, thinking [Peace is] telling me he loves me as his friend, while, albeit true, *wasn't* what [Peace] was trying to say. "I think that, even then, we failed to realise the gravity of the situation. The sheer weight and reality-altering significance of it. I believe we've been transformed-- and for the better. We've become people willing to put in the work for our relationship. We've been true, honest, and open, we've shared insecurities, done the ugly cry, weathered many storms, had each other's six, and grown significantly. We genuinely like each other and enjoy each other's company. "Not too shabby for people who haven't yet walked down the aisle."