The story begins here. Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. At the young age of fourteen, Victoria and Kellen met in band without a clue of what was to come. 'Woah, he has the same name as Kellan Lutz. I wonder if he's hot," fourteen year old Victoria thought upon hearing his name called on the band roster. 'God she's annoying,' he said to himself when she first approached. Victoria didn't care though. Persistence is everything, and she persisted. In the spring of 2009, they had every class together. Every day, Victoria would start conversation and was met with one-word answers almost every time. That didn't stop her though, and on and on she continued.
By sophomore year of high school, Kellen was tolerating her in bits and pieces. Here and there, they'd have a real conversation spurred by their shared appreciation of baseball or their mutual hatred of their band director. But it was just the start of a growing friendship. By the end of their sophomore year, they were finally becoming friends.
Junior year was a different story. All of the sudden, they actually were friends. They talked regularly, enjoyed each other's company, and got along just fine. They bonded over one of their favorite shows, The Office, and shared with each other their own interests and hobbies. Still, they were just friends, but that was absolutely fine for both of them. By the spring, they were spending Monday afternoons before band together, eating an early dinner and talking about what made them happy (like baseball), and what infuriated them (like ignorant baseball fans). When the band trip to Disney rolled around in May, they spent an entire day together getting lost and not caring at all.
Senior year began with a bang. Victoria knew from the start that being 'just friends' just wasn't enough for her. Every day, from the moment they both got home from school until Kellen fell asleep around 11, they were texting about something. Their conversations moved from just baseball and The Office to anything and everything. They were wonderful friends to each other and genuinely enjoyed each other's presence. In October, Victoria asked Kellen to see Moneyball with him. After the movie, they spent two hours talking in the parking lot in the cold, but Victoria certainly didn't mind spending a little extra time outside with Kellen. By Christmas, they were hanging out outside of school, though Kellen's swim schedule had him a bit crazy. Finally, after months of waiting and talking and playing the game of Will They or Won't They, Victoria and Kellen decided that they wanted to try out the dating idea. And by the time high school graduation rolled around, they knew that losing each other was not something either of them were willing to do.