We have Discovery Elementary to thank for putting us in each other's lives in the second grade. At eight years old, we were seated next to each other in class and quickly became inseparable. We played together at recess, sat side-by-side in computer lab, and held hands while tromping around the woods on a class field trip. Unfortunately, we couldn't make the long distance (a.k.a. being placed in different classrooms) work the next year.

In fifth grade, our paths crossed again. No matter how far away Mrs. Daley seated us, we always found our way back to each other. At the end of the year, we were headed to separate middle schools, and Dane made his first proposal to me with a faux diamond necklace he saved up for and picked out himself. He asked if we could stay together despite the school separation (thank goodness for texting).

After sixth grade, district boundaries changed and we finally ended up at the same middle school. Dane would sit next to me during movies in science class just so we could hold hands under the desk. We'd walk across the street to QFC for after-school snacks and text each other in the dramatically adorable way only thirteen-year-olds can. One Friday afternoon, after loitering around the shopping center, Dane worked up the nerve to kiss me while my two best friends hid behind a tree to give us "privacy".

We stayed close throughout middle and high school, we even made our own "Ross and Rachel" pact that if we weren't married by thirty, we'd marry each other (funny how that worked out, but I'm pretty sure that's not why he proposed). In 2022, I wished Dane a happy 25th birthday, and we haven't stopped talking since. At a time when I needed my oldest friend, he was there. When Dane said he wanted to try dating "for real" now that we were adults, I took a leap and moved from Arizona to Portland, and I'm so glad I did. In May 2025, Dane brought me back to Liberty Theater where we had our first date, and asked his first kiss to be his last.