October 18.
586 Words
From that day on...
We were *we*.
There was no awkward conversation.
No grand confession.
No cheesy, "Will you be my girlfriend?" moment.
We just... knew.
Nothing really changed.
And yet, everything had.
We still talked on the phone every afternoon.
We still teased each other.
We still argued over movies and pizza toppings.
The only difference was...
Now, whenever I heard his voice, I smiled a little bigger.
Whenever we said goodbye, it lingered a little longer.
Somehow, without either of us saying it out loud...
We had become each other's person.
The kiss happened on October 18.
Neither of us officially declared it, but somehow we both remembered the date.
Every year after that, October 18 became our anniversary.
If anyone ever asked when we started dating, we'd both answer the same way.
"October 18."
Then we'd look at each other and laugh because neither of us had actually asked the other out.
High school became a collection of memories with him.
Every homecoming...
He was my date.
Every dance, I looked forward to because I knew I'd be spending it with him.
Neither of us were great dancers.
Most of the time, we'd laugh at ourselves more than actually dance.
We spent weekends together whenever we could, talked on the phone every afternoon, and found every excuse to see each other.
Eventually, we both got our driver's licenses.
It felt like a whole new world had opened up for us.
No more waiting to see if Sophie's brother was available to give us a ride.
No more trying to coordinate with everyone else's schedules.
If we wanted to grab dinner after school or catch a movie on the weekend, we could just go.
It gave us so much more time together, and we took every chance we could to see each other.
For two broke teenagers, dating looked a little different.
We'd save our lunch money all week and put it together for date nights. If we managed to save about twenty-five dollars between us, we'd feel rich. Twenty-five dollars meant we could actually go on a proper date.
Our favorite date was simple. We'd stop by our local taco shop and order one plate of carne asada fries to share.
By then, Matt had already caught me up on all the movie classics he insisted everyone should watch. We could finally experience new movies together. The first Marvel movies had just started coming out, so every release became our date night. We'd spend the entire movie completely invested, then talk about it all the way home, debating our favorite scenes and which superhero was the best.
While Matt and I grew closer and closer...
Things quietly began changing around us.
Somewhere along the way...
Things changed for Sophie and her boyfriend.
The very two people who had worked so hard to bring Matt and me together slowly started drifting apart.
There wasn't one big fight.
No dramatic breakup.
Life just happened.
They became different people.
Wanted different things.
Eventually, they decided they were better off as friends.
It was bittersweet.
If it wasn't for them, Matt and I never would have met.
It's funny...
While they were growing apart...
Matt and I were growing together.
Every phone call.
Every movie.
Every date.
Every little moment together made me fall for him even more.
It's funny how, when you're young, happiness doesn't cost much.
One plate of carne asada fries.
A movie ticket.
And the right person sitting beside you.
That was enough.
- Writer
