Our Story Part I

My sophomore year of high school, I wasn't the greatest kid. I didn't do anything too horrible, but it mostly stemmed from the people I was hanging out with. These were the people I had been friends with since middle school, and it was just a given that I woud hang out with them. I always had high morals and high standards, but I seemed to let these slip a bit, and stayed friends with people who weren't the most awesome for my well being. Anyway, it got to the point where I got sick of it all. A friend said that I either pretend her drug use was ok, or we wouldn't be friends.

I don't do ultimatums.
This was about the end of my sophomore year, and by the time I started junior year, I really didn't have any friends. Almost every day, I would eat lunch in my favorite teacher's classroom. It was pretty pathetic. I've always been a very social person, so despite being sick of people's crap, I was really missing having friends. So one day during my lunch hour a saw an old friend of mine, Scott, and decided to have lunch with him. I'd hung out with him a few times before, but I never really thought much of it. In the next few months though, we became very close. I had lunch with him and his friends every day, I was invited when they did things after school, it was like I had been a part of the group the whole time. I'd met most of them before: Dylan, his girlfriend Lauren, and a few others. Scott's brother, however, I'd never met.

Now, I would like to say it was love at first sight, that I was immediately drawn to him, and all that stuff. That wasn't the case though. He was just a really nice guy, that was all.

Honestly, it took him getting a haircut. Steve had shaggy hair, which was sort of fitting with his skateboarder style. One day, though, he cut it off. Yes. I will admit it. I didn't really notice him until he cut his hair.

Ok. I have to admit it. I almost dated Steve’s brother, Scott. I’d always been friends with him, and we had a lot of fun together. As it got closer to us actually dating though, I began to realize that I couldn’t ever be his girlfriend. He was different. He used baby talk to me. It was horrible. Amazing friend? Absolutely. I still consider him a really good friend. Also, I sort of realized I liked his brother, a lot more than as just a friend.
So I became more and more aware of the fact that I was really interested in Steve. He was cute, funny, sweet, and seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that I thought all of that. Then the big high school dilemma- prom was coming up. It was pretty much a given among our friends that Steve would ask me. It got closer and closer to prom and he still didn’t ask me. He was even considering asking another friend of ours. So finally, I took it into my own hands and asked him. I was giving him a ride downtown, and as he was getting out of the car, I said, “So, we’re going to prom together, right?”

He was like “…Um, yeah.” Then he hugged me and left. I was so excited! So we made plans to double date with our friends Dylan and Lauren. I bought my dress, my shoes, and my jewelry. He rented his tux, and even asked me to stop buy to pick the color of his tie to match my dress. The night of prom came, and we all agreed to meet up at Lauren’s house to take pictures. When my parents were trying to get pictures of Steve and I, we were so awkward with each other! We could hardly touch. Looking back, it is the funniest thing. I mean now, we’re 100% comfortable with each other. Maybe even more.

After prom, things started to tense up. Basically, everyone was waiting for him to ask me out. It took our friend Lauren saying that yes, I did want to be his girlfriend; yes I would go out with him. Finally, in May, he got in my car and asked for a ride to his brother’s car, which was parked right down the road. I figured something was up, and finally, he asked me to be his girlfriend, I said yes, we hugged, and he went home.

That’s how you date in high school, by the way.

Our relationship in high school was a lot of fun. Our good friends Lauren and Dylan were also dating, so the group of us would go out to movies or go bowling. I think we both knew that it was more than just a high school thing. It didn’t take long for me to know that I loved him. I haven’t stopped since.

So anyway, things were going good. We were goofy kids in love. Our senior year started, and it was going to be the best year. Then, Steve decided to drop out of school. He was planning on joining the Air Force, and wanted to get his GED and join as soon as he could. This was a big deal to me. We ended up not seeing each other as much, and because of this, Steve decided to end our relationship. I thought it was the worst thing that would ever happen. Maybe I was a little dramatic, but it was horrible.

I spent the next few months in a daze. I just felt like my life wasn’t right without him. We kept talking on myspace, but didn’t see each other. We fought a lot. We talked about our relationship. We were friends, but there was still something there. We talked about getting back together. We talked about hanging out. We’d end up fighting again though. I always wanted to be with him. There wasn't ever a time when I was "over it". I just felt more at ease. I think in the back of my mind I always knew it would work out.