The Boy From The Skating Rink.
The First Time.
I like movies. I like them so much, that my brain used to try and convince me that the things that happen in movies are real. That the cute little love stories actually happen, and that's how you know you've met "the one". I used to daydream about a boy appearing from no where, and sitting next to me, just to introduce himself, and start a conversation. The first time it happened to me, I was 12, near 13 years old, sitting at an old, wooden booth with my friends, at the roller-skating rink in Burlington, WA.
I guess, to say we were "sitting" would be a major understatement. Oh, also, I wasn't JUST "sitting at a booth" with some friends. I was surrounded by friends- every Friday night, during the summer, all the teenagers in town hung out at that rink. My friend, Kayla, and I were making fun of the song "Fergalicious" - by Fergie, by "dancing" around like two complete idiots. Out of nowhere, a boy slid into the booth, right next to me. He began "dancing" along with us, but I stopped what I was doing, and turned to look at him. "Do I know you?", I asked, with probably more attitude than needed. Now he stopped, and turned to look at me. "Nope", he replied, with a smile on his face. He wasn't joking, I had no clue who he was, or where he came from, but this was the first summer that I had actually made friends my age in my summer home, and I wasn't going to turn anyone away. So, I just shrugged my shoulders, and we continued to dance. Like a bunch of idiots. That was the first time I saw him, but it wasn't until the end of the night, while exchanging numbers, that we learned each others names. His was Trung. That was the first time I had ever heard a name like that, and I was terrified that I had possibly spelled it wrong.
P.S.- I didn't.
My Best Friend.
Later that night, while I was busy being a third-wheel to Kayla and her girlfriend, I started texting Trung. This is when he learned that I lived in a completely different state for the majority of the year. I also learned that he didn't live in Burlington either, but he lived about 30 minutes away, in Bellingham. It didn't seem to matter that we both lived in completely different places, we still talked a lot. During the school year, while I was in South Dakota, we mainly communicated though text, or by messaging each other on MySpace. Despite our distance, our friendship never died off, and so getting to see him became one of my favorite parts of my summers with my dad.
I would beg my dad, or my grandma, to drive me up to Bellingham to see him, at least once a summer. When I came to Bellingham, we only got to hangout in the mall for a few hours together, before my dad, or grandma, got tired and wanted to go home. The rest of the summer, Trung would get rides from his friends down to the skating rink in Burlington, on the usual Friday nights. That's where we met, where we became friends, where we became best friends, and eventually, that's where I began to really like him. Yes, like, like him.
Mini Danni & Trung Jr.
The summer of 2008 was a though one for me. I went though my first hard break-up that summer, and I didn't take it very well. At all. One night, at the rink, I found myself crying in a corner. Lots of friends tried to cheer me up, but no one succeeded, until Trung walked over and somehow made me laugh my fricken' head off. That's when I started thinking of him as more than a friend. Before leaving back to Bellingham, he told me to wait by the door of the rink. He ran to his friends car, and when he came back, he handed me a small care bear, that he had won from a claw machine. I named it Trung Jr., and although I wasn't into care bears, I loved it because it smelt like Trung. I promised that I would bring him something the next time he came down to see me. I brought him a little Skelanimals monkey, which he named Mini Danni. Currently they have been reunited, and sit next to each other, on my desk, in our room.
Long Distance Blows.
Near the end of November, during my freshman year of high school, I received a message on MySpace from Trung. I don't remember the whole message, but basically, Trung said he had wanted to ask in person, but couldn't wait anymore; he wanted to know if I would be his girlfriend. I did, obviously, and so we began our relationship 18 hours away from each other. It was difficult being so far away from each other. I remember trying to imagine being wherever he was, when we talked on the phone. I longed to be with him, even just to hold his hand. I went to sleep hugging myself, wishing to be in his arms. It was good though. We talked almost everyday, after school until dinner time. I spent all of my minutes, on my trac phone, texting him. We even came up with little nick-names for each other, and changed our status' on MySpace to: "Feeling: loved by Trungypoo", and "Feeling: loved by Danniboo". I was happy, and I couldn't wait for summer time.
About a month before I left to spend my summer with my dad in Washington, Trung called me. Something was off, I could hear it in his voice. The long distance was to much, and although I would be there for the summer, I would also be leaving again, come the next school year. He broke it off, but we agreed to remain friends. We did love each other, we just didn't love not seeing each other for nine months at a time. Also, we were 14, and 15 years old.
Like Nothing Ever happened.
That summer I continued to beg for rides to see Trung. We met in our usual spot, and we spent as much time as we could together. We held hands through the mall, and got caught kissing behind my dads back, when we thought he wasn't looking. We had fun together, and I got to meet his friends in person, rather than just over the phone.
During the next school year, Trung moved down to San Fransisco to live with his brother. I was very upset. We feel out of touch for awhile, only sending an "I miss you!" message every once in a while, via text or Facebook. Our communication was pretty sparse for about five years..
The Best Vacation.
In the summer of 2014, I decided to take a vacation, and spend two and a half weeks in Washington for my 20th birthday. In addition, I decided to fulfill my dream of making a solo road trip between my two homes, for two reasons: 1. I always wanted to go on a road trip by myself, and 2. Trung was living in Bellingham again, and this way I would have my car, and be able to see him whenever I wanted.
The first few days in Washington weren't great. Another one of my old friends had made me feel uncomfortable, and I was convinced that it had ruined my vacation, from the start. Not to mention, I had ended up in Bellingham, and then chickened out on stopping to see Trung at work, because I was too nervous. Finally, on the day after my birthday, we made plans to meet up, on his day off. I parked my car in the mall parking lot, and texted him to see where he was, then walked in. I didn't even need to see his reply, muscle memory led me right to the arcade, where I found him leaning against the counter, and talking to the employee. We hugged each other for a long time, and my vacation suddenly seemed to get a lot better.
I spent the bigger half of my vacation in Bellingham with him. I made tons of new friends, fell in love the the city, and regained my feelings for Trung as well. One night, while we were laying on his bed, he asked me to be his girlfriend again. I wanted to say yes, but we had already learned that lesson. I had always wanted to live in Washington, ever since I was a small child, and I knew I would get there one day, so I told him "No. Wait until I move here, then ask me again." He agreed. We had so much fun, I almost couldn't bare to leave. When the end of my vacation arrived, I hated every second of it. I hated the goodbyes, and the hugs. I wanted to stay so bad, I almost turned around, and drove back, on the way home. Still my favorite vacation yet.
Life Doesn't Care About Your plans.
We talked quite a bit after I got home, and I continued to miss Trung, and all of the friends I had made there. Missing them made me feel lonely, so I began to spend time with some new friends that lived in South Dakota also. Eventually I began seeing someone that I never expected to last. I continued to tell myself that I would be over before the next summer anyways, and then I would just move to Washington like I had planned. It hurt Trung, and I hated that, but I knew I had to give this guy a shot before I moved.
That shot lasted just about three years. Trung took it like a champ. I think he knew that eventually I would always choose him. During those years, he still made time to see me once a year, when I would visit. He even came to see me, during a trip where I had brought the other guy with me, and attempted to become friends with him.
It was during this trip when I realized, I didn't like it when Trung distanced himself from me, even if it was out of respect for my (at the time) boyfriend. I didn't enjoy the other guy as much as I enjoyed Trung. AND, I did not want to got back to the same old South Dakota life, I wanted to be in Washington with Trung. I was ready.
The Big Decision.
Once I got home, I instantly became infuriated with being there. I started dropping hints to everyone, that I wanted to move. I kept saying things like, "I don't want to be here past May.", and using that to explain why I wouldn't sign a lease, or start college. I got myself a job in Home Care, and started working so much that I didn't have the time to spend my money. It took awhile to admit to myself, that I had already made the decision to flip my life inside out, but eventually I got to a point where I was able to tell my family and friends without wanting to throw-up, or ball my eyes out. I was terrified, but I had Trung, and he made me feel completely sure that I was doing what was right for me, without even trying. I was sad to leave my home in the midwest, but excited to start the rest of my life on the west coast. I emptied my bank account, packed up my Equinox, hugged my mom. It was the beginning of May.
I arrived at my dad's house on the 3rd of May, 2017, tired and sore. On the fourth, I unloaded my car, and drove up to Bellingham to see Trung for the first time as a Washington resident. We went to a double showing of Guardians Of The Galaxy, and the premier of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. II, later that night. During the intermission Trung asked me to be his girlfriend, again. This time, I said yes.
That was a year ago, today.
Happy Anniversary, Trungypoo!
