two become one

They first heard of each other's names early on... they lived in the same area of town, both attended Christian Life Austin, and went to Gorzycki middle school. In 6th grade, Zeta would see Conner in P.E. class and notice his height and his dark hair while Conner would see Zeta, and hardly bat an eyelash. As time goes on, Zeta became very boy crazy and wrote in her diary often. The first time the name 'Conner McNicholas' was mentioned in one of her journal entries was November 11, 2018 which marked the fall semester of 8th grade as the first declaration of interest between the two of them. The word-for-word sentence in her diary is written as, "Uh I'm pretty sure I like Conner. Yeah, Conner McNicholas, the basketball player, Pastor Rex's grandson! I smiled at him in the hallway but he didn't smile back, but whatever." Fast forward to our underclassmen years at Bowie High School, Conner finds himself in a relationship and Zeta is still as boy crazy as ever. Still, they would steal glances at each other in passing, whether that would be in the cafeteria hallways, the high school weight room, or in the lobby at Christian Life Austin. They never grasped each other's attention for too long but they never necessarily lost it either. Their junior year of high school is popularly known as COVID year. This was where they spent the entirety of the fall and spring semester completing online classes, playing sports in masks, and attempting to social distance during practices. When Fall rolled around, both the boy's and girl's basketball team had to schedule around each other to use the facilities due to construction on the gym floors. With that, there were many instances that Conner and Zeta and their respective teams would have to pass each other as they would switch off court times. With both of them being newly matured, the eye contact was different than it had been in middle school. No words were exchanged, it was only ever their actions that spoke. It wasn't long before the whole basketball program knew that there was something there, seeing how Conner would hold the door for only Zeta or how Zeta would do her hair cute to lift weights after the boys did. Rumors flew about crushes but none were ever confirmed. Tuesday February 9th, 2021. Hays high school. Game day. It was the final game of the season for both of them. Conner played for Junior Varsity and Zeta was on Varsity, but her team did not make it to playoffs. And for some odd reason (COVID rules), the boys and girls teams were playing at the same location for once. The JV boys had just finished up their game and ended their season with a win, and Conner played particularly well even with a mask on. After they exited to the locker room, the Varsity girls could start warming up. As Zeta was at center court in line for lay ups, she noticed the boys walking out of the locker room near the baseline of the court. In a moment of boldness, she smiled and waved to him. And after all these years, he finally waved back. That night, after the girls had won their final game, Zeta checks her phone and unexpectedly sees a Snapchat notification from Conner McNicholas. They strike conversation over the phone, chatting back and forth about the game, and eventually find themselves discussing the upcoming holiday, Valentines Day. Conner slyly asks Zeta to be his valentine that night. Many Facetime conversations were held over the course of the next fews weeks, the first one being over 3 hours long and stretching into the late hours of the night. They began to hangout with each other in friend groups first, playing or watching basketball with their teammates. Soon enough they would venture on their own for Sonic car dates or dinner at Torchy's. On March 16th, 2021, floating on paddle boards on Lady Bird Lake, Conner asked Zeta to be his girlfriend. It's been a rollercoaster ever since that day, but it is one they are willing and excited to ride for the rest of their lives.