Their story began during senior year of high school when Joshua arrived as a new student trying to find his place among established cliques. Though they shared two classes during first semester, they remained largely unfamiliar with each other. Despite knowing little about her, Joshua felt an inexplicable desire to learn more about Bailee, while she secretly hoped this new classmate would become her next friend.

Their paths started to converge in Government class when Bailee began sitting at Joshs table group. Through casual small talk, Josh began to notice how fun and bubbly she was, realizing he wanted to be her friend. Their connection deepened during a group assignment when their partners left work unfinished, and both Bailee and Josh stayed behind during lunch to complete it. Though they mostly discussed school-related topics, Joshua never forgot this moment—it revealed Bailees considerate and kind nature.

As the first semester ended, Bailee reached out to Josh on social media, starting conversations that continued throughout Christmas break. When the new semester began, Josh was disappointed to discover they shared no classes; Bailee was bummed that her new friend wasn’t sitting with her, and had just assumed he was out sick. Josh’s disappointment led him to completely rework his schedule so they could take Macroeconomics together. He made sure they sat at the same table, too, using the class as an excuse to spend more time with Bailee while caring much more about their conversations than economics.

In Economics, they had small conversations that Bailee initially considered nothing worth noting. One particularly memorable day, Bailee was having an exceptionally good day and excitedly asked if Joshua had heard about a viral meme. Though she worried he might think she was weird, this moment marked a turning point as they began talking more in class and growing closer as friends. They also discussed their churches, with Joshua sharing his dissatisfaction with his Wednesday ministry.

At the end of January, Bailee invited Josh to her church, Mount Paran North, to see if it might become his spiritual home. Though he missed the first invitation, he attended on February 14th—his 18th birthday. That evening, they discussed potential prom dates with a friend. While Bailee silently prayed, "Please Josh, don't think about asking me," Joshua was already contemplating how much fun he might have taking Bailee to prom. Bailee loved who he was but because of their friendship, she was praying for his personality in a future husband.

The following week, Joshua cut his hair on a whim. When he walked into class with his new look, Bailee had saved their seats per usual but was caught off guard. His fresh haircut accentuated his features in a way that had her practically drooling, though she kept telling herself he was just a friend.

One of their most meaningful moments came when they stayed up until 6:30 AM watching Rio and sharing their testimonies with each other. It was then that Bailee knew she wanted him in her life forever as her best friend, not yet realizing her feelings were deepening into something more.

Shortly after, on a Friday evening while hanging out with friends, Joshua pulled Bailee aside and asked what she would think if he asked her to prom. Her response was encouraging: "You need to do it right and you'll get a guaranteed yes!" That night, Bailee went home thinking about how she viewed Joshua, beginning to realize she might have developed a liking to him.

By the following Tuesday, Joshua had prepared everything—a beautiful poster created with help from a friends sister and his first-ever bouquet of flowers for a girl. When he formally asked Bailee to prom at school, she happily said yes. Joshua was ecstatic, cheesing the whole day as they spent time with friends.

That week, Bailee contemplated her feelings more and realized they weren't just desperation or an attention grab, but something she truly wanted to pursue. She found herself praying, "Lord, if he isn't for me, take him away," worried about potentially wasting Josh's time with her emotions.

Meanwhile, Joshua was falling soooooooo hard and no longer cared if Bailee knew how he felt. He became very open about his feelings, even directly telling her he liked her. As Bailee didn't pull away, they both became more comfortable expressing their fondness for each other. Although, Bailee had spent time asking friends to make sure he liked her, hoping she wasn’t misreading their interactions.

Joshua began building up the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend after praying about it for weeks.

The defining moment arrived while they were hanging out with friends at a volleyball court. While playing with car keys on a table, their hands moved closer until Joshua covered Bailees hand with his, and they interlaced their fingers—a peak moment for him as he thought, "She. Was. Holding. My. Frickin. Hand."

Later that evening, while waiting for her sister to finish work, they were watching movies on the couches at school. As the building was closing, they told her sister to head to the car while they gathered their belongings. Joshua knew he would regret not asking her then and there. "Bailee, can I ask you something?" he nervously asked. When she replied "Yeah?" he blurted out, "Do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

Bailee's immediate response—"Its about damn time!"—said everything about how they both felt. She was thrilled to be dating her best friend, and he was overjoyed that his feelings were reciprocated.

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