It started in fifth grade, in that quiet hallway where you first smiled at me and struck up a conversation. So awkward, so sweet—the beginning of a love that would stretch across seven whole years. Through middle school drama and high school chaos, you were my constant. Every day, every moment... I was yours, and you were mine.

Senior year flew by in a blur of college applications and goodbyes. Your number stayed in my phone, untouched. How many times did I start typing your name, only to delete it and lock the screen? Too many to count.

And then came college—twenty years old, spring semester, everything fresh and terrifying and full of possibility. April's freshman orientation hit different than I expected. The mixer was loud, chaotic, way more intense than the casual meet-and-greet they'd promised. I was doing fine, actually laughing with some new faces, a drink in my hand to calm the nerves. Just another college party, right?

Then I turned around.

Our eyes locked across the crowded room, and the world just... stopped.

...So you ended up here too.