Here is some information about the story of us. We filled these out separately, both answering the same questions without peeking at the other person's answers. Zach's responses to the questions are in teal, and Aubrey's are in purple.
How we met:
I remember first meeting Aubrey when we were in 8th grade. We had several classes together, including jazz band. We became good friends throughout junior high and high school, and would hang out with the same group of friends. As time went on, we grew closer and closer as friends.
To be honest I don’t remember meeting Zach. I’m sure we passed each other in the
hallways in seventh grade, saw each other the first day of eighth grade, and
maybe even chased each other on the playground in kindergarten and first
grade. However, I do have a very
distinct first memory of Zach. In
zero period jazz band, Zach would hold the door open for me every morning. Now, he held it open for everybody else
too, which made it a little less romantic, but it still set him apart from all
of the other thirteen-year-old guys at school.
When we fell for the other:
Aubrey and I started spending more and more time with each other. Throughout junior year of high school, she became my close friend whom I could confide in and vent to. She heard about all my crushes, and about all the girls I would fall for and how they broke my heart. I would go on and on wanting to find the right girl, and Aubrey would hear all about it. We would go out together one on one all the time too. It looked like dates to others, but I would assure people we were only friends. I couldn't think of Aubrey any differently than that.
It wasn't until the morning after Aubrey's dad and step-mom got married were my eyes opened to who I was missing this entire time. We were sitting down by the pool just talking, and I realized that Aubrey knew me better than most other people, that we got along real great, and that I actually really cared about her. I knew we would be right together, but she mentioned that she thought of me as a brother. So for the time being, all hope was lost.
It wasn't until the morning after Aubrey's dad and step-mom got married were my eyes opened to who I was missing this entire time. We were sitting down by the pool just talking, and I realized that Aubrey knew me better than most other people, that we got along real great, and that I actually really cared about her. I knew we would be right together, but she mentioned that she thought of me as a brother. So for the time being, all hope was lost.
As strange as it may sound, that whole holding-the-door-open
thing is really all it took for me to fall for Zach. In my teen years I crushed on a different guy about once a
week, so clearly it didn’t take much.
What was different about Zach, however, was that the crush never really
went away. As I moved from junior
high to high school, I compared everyone I fell for to Zach. Of course, nobody measured up. Some were not as handsome, most could
not make me laugh like him, and others were almost perfect but did not know the
difference between “your” and “you’re,” which I knew I could never
overlook. Zach also had an
intense passion for life (/some really random things) and an incredible
romantic side. People would
complain about how the actors in chick flick movies set standards impossibly
high for men and gave women unrealistic expectations, but it was so obvious to
me that Zach was easily at that caliber…
I’m starting to ramble. In short, I fell for him when I was thirteen, walking into
the jazz band classroom. :)
When we realized the other felt the same way:
That didn't crush how I felt though. I couldn't change that. Since I obviously couldn't talk to Aubrey about how I felt because it might make things awkward or ruin our friendship, I talked to our mutual friend, Ranju. She knew Aubrey really well, and although she was rooting for us to be together, she said it would be a good idea to keep quiet because she liked another guy. So I waited several months, always hiding my feelings to myself. Finally, things didn't seem like they were working out with that other guy she liked, so I felt like this would be my chance to tell her everything. I still didn't think she liked me, but I had decided it was better to tell her everything I felt and be honest with her than not say anything at all. If anything, even if it didn't work out for me, I wanted her to know I greatly cared about her and that she was very special. I wrote her a long love letter explaining everything. Over winter break during Senior year, we were filming the movie Hamlet for our English class. After one of the shoots, I gave Aubrey the note, finally putting everything out there on the line.
A week later, we were back at school, and she said we needed to talk. When I finally felt brave enough to get together with her, I was blown out of my mind to find out she actually felt the same way! So I told her I wanted her to be my girlfriend, but I was going to ask her in a more official and special way. A week after that, I marched into her English class, with my AVID class trailing behind me, and sang to her. I got on one knee and asked her to be with me, and she said yes :-)
A week later, we were back at school, and she said we needed to talk. When I finally felt brave enough to get together with her, I was blown out of my mind to find out she actually felt the same way! So I told her I wanted her to be my girlfriend, but I was going to ask her in a more official and special way. A week after that, I marched into her English class, with my AVID class trailing behind me, and sang to her. I got on one knee and asked her to be with me, and she said yes :-)
This one is going to have a long answer, and for that I
apologize…
The summer before senior year, I started to sense a change
in my relationship with Zach. We
started hanging out in a group less and spent more one-on-one time
together. I specifically remember
going to the zoo together. I had a
great time, which is kind of a big deal, because I usually hate the zoo. Zach said something that really enraged
this monkey there, and it jumped at him and started shrieking at him. I couldn’t stop laughing for about half
an hour. At this point I had
already liked Zach for over four years with him being totally oblivious, so I
tried not to read too much into the increase in one-on-one time. I just focused on my current love
interest and enjoyed the time with Zach for what it was, pushing back any
hopeful feelings.
The morning after my Dad’s wedding I again grew suspicious
that Zach might have feelings for me.
We sat by the pool for a long time talking to each other, and I remember
at one point telling him I thought of him as a brother. This could not have been further from
the truth, and looking back I think I was trying to convince myself that I did
not have feelings for him. I had
harbored those unrequited feelings for so long that I was finally making an
effort to get rid of them and move on, and the idea that I could be reading too
much into Zach’s feelings scared me.
In any case, Zach did not seem to like the whole brother comment, which
secretly made me pretty happy.
Near the end of December/beginning of January, the two of us
went out to Mimi’s Café and then saw Fun with Dick and Jane. Zach seemed so uncharacteristically
nervous that night that it was nearly impossible to deny that his feelings for
me had changed. I remember that
being one of the most awkward times we ever spent together, because it seemed
as though we both liked each other, yet neither one of us wanted to be the one
to bring it up.
Finally, Zach took the risk. We were filming Hamlet for Mrs. Winger’s English class at
Simon’s house. Zach was Laertes
and I was Gertrude, and the movie was freaking awesome, thanks largely to
Scott’s editing talents and our crazy cast. But that’s beside the point. As I was leaving in a rush to pick up my foreign exchange
student, Zach followed me to my car and gave me a letter. The letter revealed that he liked me as
more than a friend, and finally I allowed myself to believe it. Although the writing has faded
slightly, I still have (and treasure) that letter today.
Favorite memory with the other person:
I have a lot of great memories with Aubrey, so it's really hard to pick only one out. Many of them include spending time with her while we went away from each other during college, making every moment as precious as it could be. Going to Disneyland has always been special as well. I also enjoy Christmas with her- our favorite time of the year!
Wow… that’s tough!
I don’t have just one favorite memory; I have a ton. Visiting Disneyland in December and
going to Monterey for our anniversary are near the top of my list, but one of
my most recent favorites took place this summer. Zach and I were just hanging out downstairs in my apartment,
and I was in a horrible mood. I am
usually grumpy in summer anyway because it’s gross, but I was also extremely
stressed out about something that I can no longer remember (probably something
wedding related). Anyway, Zach was
trying to make me feel better and we were looking at different YouTube videos
and somehow that led us to the music video “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry. Before long we were up
dancing like fools, laughing at our reflection in my mirrored wall. We probably listened to that song on
repeat for about ten times in a row, and by the end of it I was cracking up so
much that my stomach hurt.
Favorite thing to do with the other person:
I love going to different places with her- different cities, towns, landmarks. I hope when we're married we are able to travel to far away places together.
I really love traveling together, but one of my current
favorite things to do with Zach is relax, eat pizza, and watch Dexter
marathons. Anything we do that
ends with us doubled over in fits of laughter is also good. :)
Our proposal story:
I had been planning her proposal for a long time. I knew it had to include singing, because that fit me and the way I first asked her out. I knew she didn't want anything in public or too outrageous, but I ignored that because she had to have known what she was getting into ever since she dated me. Although I did know that whatever I did, however I asked her, had to be personal for both of us, and not just a show for others. I planned to do it the night of the Parade of Lights in Old Towne Elk Grove. It happens every Saturday after Thanksgiving, and really kicks off the Christmas season for us, which is our favorite time of year. The night before the big event, I went to her dad's house to ask for his permission to propose to his daughter. I was very nervous that night, but was overjoyed when he said yes. After I asked him, he took me inside to have a toast. Right when we raised our glasses, Aubrey burst into the house, looking for something she had forgotten! In her panic, I was able to come up with a somewhat believable story about how I left something too. Luckily she was too focused on finding her item she didn't really think too much about it, so I got away with it.
So the night of the big event I was so nervous. My friends came with me and were in on it. The hardest part of the event was not doing anything too drastic. Aubrey has always been real good at reading my emotions and thoughts, so anything I did could've tipped her off to it. Luckily, she didn't find out, so I was finally able to do it and surprise her. Instead of explaining everything I did, I think it might be easier just to show you. Enjoy! http://vimeo.com/33566190
I could not believe Zach actually managed to surprise
me! I had expected him to propose
on Christmas Eve. We had plans to
hang out together and I had the perfect outfit picked out and everything. But anyway, I was at the Gute’s
apartment that day to help Erin design her blog. Zach and Derek came to pick us up that evening to hit Elk
Grove’s annual parade of lights, and looking back, Zach did seem a little
distant. Now I know it was because
he was so nervous, but at the time I just chalked it up to him not having had
dinner yet. In any case, we got to
the parade, met up with Ken, Katie, and my family on my dad’s side, and watched
the parade. As usual, I was
focused on taking way too many pictures, but that probably gave Zach a chance
to finalize his plans. As the
parade concluded I finally dropped my camera and stepped back next to Zach to
watch the Christmas tree lighting together. We all counted down until the hastily strewn lights glowed
with color, just like they had since we had gone in the high school days
(albeit at a different tree, but that’s not really relevant). After gazing at the lights for a minute
or so, I heard the intro to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”
playing behind me. I turned around
and there was Ken, lifting a shiny red boom box over his head. Then the lyrics began, and it was not
Mariah Carey’s voice – it was Zach’s!
I knew what was going on right away, and looked around to see if
everybody else knew or if they were as surprised as me. Judging by all of the cameras that were
out, I knew I was one of the last to know. As the verse came to a close, Zach took my hand and said to
me, “I love you so much, Aubrey.
Will you marry me?” I’m not
sure what I said exactly because I was so in shock, but I know I
enthusiastically nodded my head yes.
I felt a little guilty at the time that I did not scream or cry like is
always shown on TV, but I was so surprised that I could not stop shaking! We hugged and kissed, and he asked me
if I liked the ring (which I loved), and then the band started playing “Silent
Night” behind us. The band MC
commented on us too which I hardly noticed at the time because I was so in the
moment with Zach. Then we went to
tell my mom, made some phone calls and went out to Leatherby’s where they gave
us FREE ice cream! It was perfect.
:)