He loved skate boarding, his diamond ear piercing, and the way his bowl cut hid his ears. She loved butterfly clips and the soulful rhymes of Ja Rule, and was certain she’d be a guest star on Friends one day. Both 6th graders at Lamar Middle School, they were fast friends and nothing more, because… GROSS! Little did those brace-faced 11-year-olds know they would be in each other's lives forever. Danny and Alex grew to be best friends, supporting each other through life’s biggest challenges. When Alex transferred her freshman year of college, it was Danny who surprised her with a “cheer-up” bouquet at her dorm room (it was valentine’s day, after all). When Danny left for an adventure abroad, it was Alex who gave him an address book with the inscription, "take in what the world has to offer, then write me about it." No matter the distance, they stayed close to each other’s hearts – through grad school and peace corps, across the Midwest and Micronesia. They both still have every letter they ever wrote one another. When they found themselves back in Austin, they picked up right where they left off: just good ol’ platonic friends. Alex kept trying to set Danny up with her friends and Danny kept befriending all of Alex’s beaus. It seemed everyone around them noticed their chemistry before they ever gave it a thought. Then one day, everything changed. Blame it on fate, or the wine by the lake, or the dapper singer crooning in their favorite bar. Whatever it was, things between the two old friends would never be the same. On the walk home from the bar that cold December night in 2016, Alex had the chutzpa to plant one on Danny. She was met with a near face palm and a nervous Danny practically screaming “are you sure? You’re really sure?!” She smiled, he kissed her, they both yelled some iteration of “I REALLY RESPECT YOU!” and they kissed some more. And they’re still old friends, friends in love.