Shane and Danielle’s story begins the moment they stopped going to the same school after doing so for seven years. After they graduated high school, the friend groups that Danielle and Shane were a part of throughout high school merged to create one giant group of friends that hung out pretty much every day in the summer of 2018. As summer came to a close, Shane headed East to the University of Nevada, Reno and Danielle went South to Azusa Pacific University.

Heading into the summer before sophomore year, Shane was preparing to transfer out of UNR and go to DVC with the intent to transfer into a school in Southern California. When Danielle came home for summer break, Shane was struck by the love bug because what followed Danielle returning was two months of subtle attempts to hang out just the two of them. This included helping her dad build a fence in their backyard or trying to map out how to sit next to her at the movie theater in a 10-person group hangout. Finally, Shane gained the courage to tell Danielle how he felt about her just two weeks before she went back to Azusa, and against all odds, Danielle agreed to a date.

Shane and Danielle’s first date included a night at the bowling alley and some ice cream. With only enough time for one date, Danielle had to go back to school. You’d think normally just one date in, neither person would commit to trying long distance but this wasn’t a normal relationship, it was love.