Who says that once a man is in the friend-zone that he can’t get out of it? Our love story all started with friendship. We met at Wheaton College in Terrace Apartment 1055 C2, and that was the moment... the sweet moment when John knew that he had just met the woman of his dreams. It was also the moment that Lauren realized John was neat-o and would fit perfectly into the friend-zone. But little did she know that just two years later, John would come crawling up out of that dark, bottomless friendly pit of doom and win her over. All joking aside, we met through mutual, wonderful friends at Terrance Apartments our junior year where we shared the same apartment stairwell. Our two apartments ultimately formed a solid friend group and through that, our relationship was really able to flourish. It may not have progressed as fast as John was hoping, but through countless hangouts and game nights, spikeball and pelt, rock climbing and basketball, late night talks and long study sessions, stove s’mores and avalon, to eventually regular one-on-one breakfasts every MWF and even getting questioned by police while late night storm watching at Northside Park, Lauren eventually came around… yeah, it may have taken some FRIENDly nudging, but it happened. And since the moment John asked “wanna date?” and Lauren said “yeah”, our relationship has only grown, our love has only grown, and most importantly, our faith has only grown. Sometimes, wading through that lowly pit of friendly doom and holding out is worth it to make it to the ultimate prize of a true, authentic, action-over-emotion, Christ-like love.