The school year had begun just the same as many before it. John was new to Hillcrest, and I had been attending since preschool. We had a class or two together when I noticed he was alone at lunch. I was shy and didn't want to ask myself, so I nudged my friend to invite him to sit with us. She shouted across the yard, "Come sit with us!" To which John enthusiastically replied, "No!" We took that as a personal challenge and invaded his space. Thus a friendship was sparked. -Nicole

After two years of glowing frienship and healthy rivalry, I asked Nicole to her senior prom as friends. To which she responded with an emphatic, "Sure!" At our Great Gatsby themed prom, the night nearly over, Nicole pulled me onto the dancefloor. This was the moment, I tried to ask her out on a date. She said she loved me like a brother. We of course remained friends, and at the end of the year, I was chosen to do her farewell speech for her graduation. I ended the speech with, "I love you like a sister." And by gosh by golly that bothered her enough to encourage me to ask her out again. This time she said, "Yes." -John

Ten years passed. Some things happened: college, different jobs, different states, a teensy weensy pandemic. We moved to the beautiful state of Colorado together. The first months were full of new growth and new challenges. For our ten year anniversary of dating, we decided to take a trip up to Estes Park. John was giddy with anticipation, because in his backpack he was carrying a diamond gifted to him by late Grandmommy Jones. After hiking to a hidden meadow and watching the mountains and sky, we looked back on happy memories creating things together. Paintings, candles, paper airplanes, and a home. He got on one knee and asked if we would create a ring together. To which Nicole tearfully said, "Yes."