Austin and I first crossed paths in the hallway freshman year of high school. He was the new kid in Huntley, and naturally, I was ready to swoop in and offer my friendship (whether he liked it or not). Our friendship took off when we started driving to school together—although I’m pretty sure I was the reason Austin was late most mornings, because stopping for coffee was a non-negotiable. Fast forward to senior year, when it was time for us to part ways for college. I headed to Oklahoma as a proud Sooner, while Austin became a Redbird at Illinois State. Even with the distance, we stayed tight. I mean, how could we not? We spent four years staying in touch through late-night phone calls talking about our nights out and hanging out when we had winter break. By the time graduation rolled around, we realized, "Wait, why are we still in the ‘friend-zone’?" So, we decided to ditch that label and give this thing a real shot. And guess what? We figured out we were basically meant to be, soulmates from day one. From high school hallways and coffee-fueled tardiness, to realizing we were actually falling in love, it all came full circle.