It was two in the morning. I was up late binging Netflix and talking to my friends online some hours before, though I finally decided to hit the hay, until I got a phone call from Dodie. It was expected, since we had been close friends online for many months due to our shared love for gaming, but I had never considered dating anyone within our circle at the time. After two failed relationships and a few too many Bumble dates gone bad, I swore off dating for the foreseeable future. That night, I picked up the phone, nervous that he was going to tell me something terrible, like he didn't want to be friends with me anymore (thanks to my insufferable anxiety). When he mentioned he had something important to tell me, I froze, and stared at my bedroom wall. I honestly thought I had done something to upset him. After a pause that felt like it had lasted an hour, he blurted out that he had feelings for me! I was caught by surprise, as I hadn't expected anyone to even notice me in that light after so many heartbreaks. There was another painfully awkward pause. Silence for about two minutes, as the cogs in my head turned, and I remembered every guy before him. And then, I brutally rejected him. I wanted nothing to do with dating (or so I thought). What also took me by surprise, though, is that he didn't hang up immediately. Instead, we stayed on the phone for four hours, and he asked about my life. He truly cared. From that moment on, I knew he was someone special. Weeks later, we made it official, and we met offline in April of 2022. No one had ever made me feel so safe, seen, and loved. I knew that I wanted to be with him, especially when we survived his torturous trip to Navy boot camp. I'm extremely grateful to have someone as caring, kind, and thoughtful as my husband-to-be is, and I can't wait to experience life with him to the fullest.

One day after a long night of gaming, I met Sarah for the first time in February of 2021. We didn't know each other much outside of our usual circles, but from that night on we became close friends. I was almost shocked to hear that she'd NEVER listened to a single Usher song and I knew I had the sense to educate this girl. We laughed, sang along, and talked that whole unforgettable night. Fast forward, and now its around mid-August of 2021. I'd recently broken off a 2 month relationship that ended badly and I was still upset about the whole situation. All of my friends made attempts to make me feel better, but nothing really made me get over it. That was until the day Sarah recommended we and a couple of our friends watch the movie "A Silent Voice". I couldn't tell you much about the movie itself, but I could tell you how touched I was that Sarah thought of me and made an effort to make me feel better. I knew from that day on that I felt something special between us. I spoke to my friends Zach and Julius about my whole situation and how I was afraid to go back into yet another long distance relationship. I always told my best friend Juan "It's different this time", and they'd look at me funny or know how it would end. But this time it genuinely was. One day, after masterfully planting flirty seeds through I-Message games, at exactly 3 AM EST, I called Sarah and confessed my feelings for her. She was silent, and so was I, until it finally broke and I was rejected. But Mama and Papa didn't raise a quitter. I continued to talk to her, get to know her better, and do things the proper way this time. I never gave up. Now, after four years, 8 months, and 11 days, I am getting married to that very same girl who rejected me. I knew I loved her the day I knelt on one knee for her. I knew it when she stuck by me and embraced me warmly after boot camp. I knew it the night of our first kiss after I picked her up from the airport. I knew it the night she played that movie for me. Now, I know that I'll love her as my wife and as her husband for the rest of our lives. P.S. - Never give up, boys.