Grungy bands played to a packed crowd in Echo Park’s make-shift music venue known as Vega’s. Frankie was there, as was Nicholas. And neither knew each other. Frankie offered to show her friends how to flirt. Propped against wood siding, she locked her gaze onto Nicholas, slung her arm behind her head, and waved her fingers at him. Nicholas had noticed her when he first arrived. Yet he couldn’t look at her. He was too shy. She became more brazen. Winking, nodding her head at him, and willing him to look! He could not bear to look up, so he left. "Whatever," she shrugged. She thought that was the end of that. Hours later, they both ended up at the same party and then walked with the same group to a nearby bar. Outside, while her friends settled tabs, Frankie cozied into Nicholas' clique. Soon, his wingmen broke off to leave Nicholas and Frankie to discover how intertwined their communities already were. He worked with one of her best friends. Months before, this friend had told Frankie of a man with a ponytail and sideburns who was very kind and smart and would read big books at lunch. "Ew," she joked then, but she was so very wrong. Just a week before, she saw Nicholas at the Hi-Hat dancing vigorously and alone- the only one on the dance floor. Not sure what to think at first, of this white boy being crazy, she soon admired his courage and freedom. This side-burned, ponytail'd man just doing his thing. Frankie fell in love with his confidence and comfort in his own skin. Falling in love with that awakened her own confidence and vivaciousness. Their love for each other furthers the love for themselves and solidifies the foundation of the life they are building together. He is a moon to her sun, ever present and glowing, no matter how bright she dares to shine.

It was another noisy and rambunctious night at Vega's in Echo Park. All manner of local folks descended upon the DIY venue to see their favorite bands perform. The revelers filled all spaces available to them. For Nicholas, it started as just another Friday night. He could never have known that the woman he would come to love so deeply, the woman that will soon be his wife, would be in attendance. He had been telling jokes and trading smokes with his friends when he saw her from across the alleyway. She had flung her hair and propped her arm over her head, laughing and smiling with her group. His eyes met hers and it was clear she was smiling at him. Her brilliance overpowered him. It was like gazing into the sun. Shy and unsure how to proceed, he slunk away, out of sight, to continue the festivity. Somehow, he ended up at a house he'd never been to. The partygoers present led a march to local bar. The night continued, and Nicholas timidly avoided the beauty whose gaze enchanted him earlier that night. Then, after all the tabs were paid, she approached him outside the bar and struck up a conversation. Nicholas was enamored from that moment on. They were closer than either could have imagined. Their social circles had been moving ever nearer and they had been frequenting the same venues the weeks and months leading to that fateful moment. That night, before they left, she added him on Facebook, because his phone had broken, and because he really wanted to see her again. He didn't know how great his life would become. He only knew that a totally awesome woman with a mesmerizing smile wanted to talk to him too.

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