Darby's POV: Our story starts August 18, 2019 - otherwise known as the first weekend of our freshman year at Clemson University. I was hanging out with some girls in my building when they suggested we watch the UNC vs USC football game. I don't really like football that much, and I had JUST gotten to CLEMSON, so I wasn't really sure why they wanted to watch it. But my family was at the game, and I didn't have anything else to do, so I agreed. We walked all the way across campus to one of the girl's friend's dorm (cue Harrison) because "they had the biggest TV to watch". I was nervous to go to these random guy's dorm the very first weekend of college (stranger danger ... right??), but when we walked in, I quickly realized these guys were so fun. Harrison, Patrick, and Hunter were kind enough to let us watch the football game with them. I had a fun time, but didn't think much about this day after it was over. Fast forward through the first semester, and I start going to FCA with these same girls. We would go to FCA on Thursday nights, and then we would go to the Wendy's on campus to get a frosty around midnight! It was so much fun. Harrison and Hunter would come to FCA with us, so we get to know them a little more and I realize these guys are so fun to hang out with. I especially liked hanging out with Hunter because he was so easy to talk to and made me feel so comfortable. I even referred to him as "a gentle giant" to my parents and grandparents when I would call and update them on my college adventures. I loved having Hunter as a friend, and found myself quickly looking forward to the Thursday nights we would spend together. Hunter's POV: Freshman year of college. First weekend of football season. My friend had invited some girls over to watch the Carolina – Carolina game. For some reason one of them stood out to me. I felt more comfortable with Darby but didn’t think much about it until later. Flashforward. We are going to FCA at Clemson every week. It became my favorite day of the week. I looked forward all week to those Thursday nights when we would get there early so I could talk to Darby and get to hear how her week was going. Just talking to her and hearing her sweet voice talk to me was incredible. I would always want to find ways to hang out with her in “nonweird” ways outside of FCA. Eventually we all went to baseball games in the spring. I had a hyper sense of confidence one Friday game as the Tigers were playing Stoney Brook. In the middle of the fourth inning, I reached my arm around her as a metaphorical leap of faith. This was the first time I had ever made any type of move or showed her that I liked her. A few days later I get a text and low and behold Darby says she has a donut for me outside of my dorm. I raced down and she handed me an entire dozen of original glazed Krispy Kreme! How she knew that those were my hands down favorite donuts is beyond me, but she knew. As she drove away, I turned to Harrison and declared, “Dude! She is in LOVE with me!”. While she wasn’t in love yet, I knew that she liked me and a few days later, we made it official. Our first date was a trip to a barbeque joint in Greenville (not as romantic as I thought it would be), the Savannah Candy Kitchen (where I let it slip my obsession with gummy sharks), and a deep and long conversation on a bench in Falls Park. It was incredible. I think about that night all the time as the night I fell in love with Darby Dedmond. It was then that I decided that she would be my forever. I couldn’t express that right away but I knew I had found my wife and was going to do anything I needed to make that happen.

Hunter's POV: I knew I was going to ask Darby to marry me as soon as I could. But I also knew that planning the proposal and keeping it a secret from the person I told literally everything was going to be very difficult. I had to get all the plans in place and the pieces where they were supposed to go without bouncing ideas off of Darby. The first step was to get her parents’ permission. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we were at Darby’s grandma’s house about to eat dinner. Darby and her grandmother had left the house to go run some last minute errands, so I was spending time with her parents and her grandfather. I hadn’t planned on asking them yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I asked them for their permission to marry Darby. They answered with a unanimous “yes”. Their responses ensured me that I was joining a loving family with constant support. The next step was to plan exactly how I was going to propose. I wanted it to be perfect. I had known where I wanted to propose since our first date - in front of the very same bench we sat on on our first date. To get Darby there, not suspecting anything, was the hard part. I wanted to propose on a weekday because I knew Falls Park gets busy on the weekends. I made up a story that the plant I work at had been shut down for OSHA violations (something I knew Darby couldn’t fact check…). I asked her to go with me to a restaurant in Greenville that I hadn’t been to to try it out. That day we went to Greenville and parked at the restaurant. I asked if we could take a quick walk through Falls Park before lunch. I proposed in front of the bench while Mrs. Dana and my mom hid behind the bushes and took pictures. I said a few words in a speech that I had practiced in my head numerous times (but I was so nervous I actually don’t remember anything I said!). All I remember was her shaking her head yes while I was down on one knee, and being so excited to finally place the ring on her finger. I was so excited to start a new chapter of our story. Darby’s POV: Hunter is not only my fiancé, but he’s also my very best friend. As any best friend can, I can read Hunter’s facial expressions like a book and know exactly what he is thinking, feeling, and so on. I knew from the way he was acting that something was happening on Wednesday, June 14th, and I could only hope it meant he was proposing. It was perfect, beautiful, and exactly how I pictured the moment would go.