We first met through our best friends that were dating at the time. We arranged to watch Erich's choir concert at his high school since Erich and his friend would both be performing. When I first saw Erich, I was so shy. I could barely look him in the eye, but I would still admire him nonchalantly. The little things like his mannerisms, the way he carried himself, and the way he looked at me intrigued me more and more as the afternoon continued. Thinking of these moments still give me the butterflies I felt that whole night. I was so self conscious of my smile, but with every hour the fear of him noticing my insecurities faded as I couldn't stop smiling from his jokes, but most of all being in his overall presence. Erich made me feel safe from the moment we left, even a few feet away felt like a hug.

We ended up watching the fireworks and drove around for a few hours, talking about our pasts and little details of ourselves that we probably wouldn't share with another person we just met. But I felt like I could share anything with him, and wanted to learn more & more about him. We realized it was after midnight and should be returning home, and I didn't want it to end. As shy as I was, I couldn't leave with just a simple goodbye. I asked him if I could have a hug, and he had the biggest smile. I held him for a couple seconds, hoping he would realize I was already head over heels for him and this would be the start of us. To this day, one of my favorite things of Erich is the comfort of his hugs, and I hope he knows that I'll never let go.