It started long before either of them knew what it would one day become. Back in the year 2000, at La Presa Middle School. Dylan was in eighth grade, breakdancing through the halls like he owned them. Angela was two years behind, just a sixth grader then, still finding her place.
They didn’t have classes together, but in a small town like Spring Valley, paths have a way of crossing. Maybe it was a look in passing, or a quick hello at lunch, but back then it was more than just familiarity. They barely spoke, but still, there was something — a spark of recognition, like the world was gently introducing them before their time.
Then time did what time does. Dylan moved on to Mount Miguel High, Angela to Steele Canyon High, and life carried them in separate directions.
A few years later, in 2003, Angela was a freshman. She tagged along with some friends to a military ball at Dylan’s high school — the kind of night where everyone dressed their best, nerves ran high, and every slow song felt like it might mean something. They didn’t talk, not really, but after the film from that night was developed — yes, film — Dylan saw her face in one of the pictures. She stood out. She didn’t belong to that crowd, that school. And for a moment, he wondered who she was. But life rolled on, and so did they…
Angela was managing overnight shifts at Abercrombie & Fitch in Fashion Valley Mall when Dylan walked in for his first day. They didn’t recognize each other — too many years, too many changes. But she noticed something about him right away. He worked with a kind of quiet determination — the kind that doesn’t ask for attention, but earns respect all the same. There was pride in the way he carried himself, in the way he showed up and gave his best, shift after shift. Naturally, she kept him on the schedule — for professional reasons, of course.
As the nights went on, the conversations grew easier — small talk that slowly turned into laughter, and laughter that turned into familiarity. Somewhere in those late-night shifts, they discovered they had both gone to La Presa Middle School. It caught them both by surprise. That night, after work, Angela went home and pulled out her old yearbook, thumbing through the pages until she found him — younger, with different hair, but still him. The boy she’d passed in the halls all those years ago.
They still lived in the same town, both in Spring Valley. And when work ended, they’d drive home along the same route at the same time, reaching that one intersection — Jamacha Boulevard — where she’d turn left in her silver Jetta and he’d turn right in his red GTI. Two headlights moving apart into the night. But not for long. Because once they got home, they were both wide awake… and online.
What started as a few messages on Facebook turned into nightly conversations, the kind that stretch past midnight — about work, life, music, and all those little things that make you feel seen. The crushes came easy. Mutual & undeniable.
Even after Dylan left Abercrombie, the connection didn’t fade. The chats turned into texts, the friendship into something more. And by the time 2012 came to a close, they found themselves spending New Year’s Eve together.
One night flowed into the next, and the next after that, until finally, March 10th, 2013 arrived, quietly, like it had been waiting for them all along. That was the night they decided to make it official. 3/10/13 — an easy date to remember. 3+10=13, and somehow… it felt as if the universe itself had leaned in, holding its breath, just to watch them find each other.