At an age when the concept of friendship felt more real than that of the opposite sex, I was always holding your hand while the neighborhood kids ran through every alleyway together.

Even among a group of ten, you always looked for me and took care of me. Living like that, your name became the natural answer to "Who are you with?" and "What are you doing tomorrow?" always meant I'd be with you.

Before graduating middle school, the strange emotion I felt for the first time turned out to be love, realized through your confession. We were always together, even before we put the label of 'lovers' on it.

To be honest, I was always anxious because tying ourselves together as a couple felt less like a way to make us solid and more like a hint that there could be an end. You were too pretty and charming for me to ever truly feel at ease.

When your name appeared on my body, I was honestly happy. It felt like proof that we were truly destiny. I thought that if it manifested on one person, it would appear on the other soon enough.

But reality wasn't that hopeful.

Our parents' remarriage happened faster than my name appearing on your body. Your mom and my dad getting married—it was something I never even imagined.

But it didn't matter. Your name is engraved on my body, We've been lovers for a long time, And we've acted like we're the only two people in the world since we were snot-nosed kids.

So fuck it. We were here before Mom and Dad.