Growing up in the same cyber-school allowed for a few crossovers in our younger lives before we ever officially acknowledged each other or even met. This shows to us how God had our lives intertwined, long before it was our own idea. At prom is when we had met in person for the first time, however, so that is where we'll start. If you want the those little details, nag me at our celebration!

Prom

It was my senior prom on the Gateway Clipper and I was standing on the upper portion, leaning over the edge to observe others enjoying themselves. The dance floor wasn't full yet because the music had just started. Well, we all know Joshua loves to dance, and that first song opening must've caught his ear from the roof of the boat. Before I knew it, my eyes were fixated on the entrance to the main room as Joshua burst through the doors in sync with the tunes. It was unexplainable for me, but I could not take my eyes off of him while he dragged various random students onto the dance floor. His energy was magnetic. He was everything opposite of me; outgoing, loud, confident and playful. Normally, those things would deter me, but not this time. We never really talked to each other beyond a greeting because he was more interested in my ex partner at the time. (How dare he!) Though it broke my spirits a little, I could not shake the feeling I had in my heart. For the whole night, my eyes would scour the crowd to keep track of him. Somehow, I knew he was going to be important in my life; it was undeniable for me... I just didn't know how important, until now!

Graduation

A few months later, it's graduation day. There are rows and rows of tables with all students facing the same way. Cyber-school graduation is a little more exciting than average graduation because students are just now meeting their classmates. Many will exchange photos of themselves in emails before the big day, as to find each other amongst the mass. I sat down at my table and I overheard a conversation with familiar nicknames and events being laughed about. Right in front of me, Joshua was sitting and talking with a mutual classmate, having said-conversation. I couldn't believe it; the guy from prom! Even more, based off of the discussion, I realized Joshua and I were actually classmates from my favorite class ever. What are the odds? While I was processing this information and debating interjecting, a girl sitting next to him began to... Well, hit on him. This really lit a fire in me. Joshua had gotten away from me at prom, but not this time! This was my last chance! With newfound competitive confidence, I spoke up and explained that I was also apart of that legendary class he was recollecting. At first, he didn't remember me, but it soon clicked. For the rest of the day, he and I were inseparable. Might I say, even blatantly smitten. It was so exciting!

Friendship

And then, the next day... He left. For a whole year, Joshua was living his dream as a traditional sailor on the Niagara. (He'll tell you all about it!) My feelings were - once again - a little battered. I assumed that because Joshua left immediately after meeting, we would never be able to hold up any type of relationship. Oh well, I had thought. Maybe it was simply a fun day. After all, I wasn't typically a girl that was even interested in dating.

To my surprise, Joshua and I kept in touch through the year. His travelling put him in tricky situations, in which I wouldn't hear from him for weeks. Ironically, during this time, a good portion of conversations consisted of Joshua telling me about every single girl he would meet, and how he was absolutely bewitched by her. There were multiple times I would get a random, full-blown love letter from him in my messages. My heart would lunge for the skies and I would wonder, is this really it?! But soon after, the wifi would connect and cast down my butterflies - one by one. I would get the accompanying text, "Should I send this to her?" These interactions would have me believe that I wasn't anything special to Joshua, so I turned away from my feelings for good. Eventually, we fell off the wagon of keeping-in-touch.

The Question

Then, it is March 2020 and covid takes over the world. Like many, Joshua was forced to come home to Erie. Without being able to go to work anymore, I had a lot of time on my hands. I spent half that time honing my drawing skills, and the other half on social media. One day, I found a little template on Snapchat and I posted it to my story. It had random questions to answer. One of those questions was, "Single or taken?" My answer, according to Joshua, caught his eye; single.

The year he was gone, I was in a complicated series of events that involved 2 relationships of sorts. I had never actually been available all year, and now I was. With this information, Joshua decided to reach out and we started our friendship again. It wasn't long at all before we were obsessively talking to each other, about anything and everything. (We once spent a full 14 hours on Skype!) Those butterflies in my heart returned and I knew I was falling. However, because I was under the impression I wasn't anything special to Joshua earlier in the year, I needed to know the truth. I needed to know whether to shut down my heart... or not. We had never discussed anything like this before, or even acknowledged our playful situation so directly. One night, I popped a very important question.

"Joshua, what do I mean to you?"

I had no idea that simple question would lead to the rest of our lives.

Apparently, Joshua had been in love with me since our first Skype call on July 4th, 2019. However, he knew I was taken. He would chase other girls (The girls he was texting me about!) during his travels, only to distract himself from his feelings for me. I will forever be in debt to that dumb Snapchat template.

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