The feelings were mutual, but sometimes Cupid has to shoot his arrow to nudge things along.

Drunk Epiphany

"Trying to sum up a truly long story..."

"First grade, love at first sight. For me. Not her."

"She moved schools in 7th grade, I was devastated. Thought I'd never see her again, but it was a small city and I was not a smart boy."

"Mutual friends and interests saw us become good friends in high school. Good enough for her to bring me to her prom, but not enough to have a romantic date."

"Through college and after, we'd keep in touch and hang out during holidays back home, but life went on until my second college stint, dating another woman, I was hit with the need to tell her how I felt. Not to get together with her, but just to get it off my chest. She knew I liked her but not to what extent. She was having a bad time at school doing her doctorate in geology. For obvious reasons, my relationship with the other woman failed."

"Damn, this is getting long."

"That January, we got together to watch movies. I was nervous to tell her, so I kept pouring her wine. Turns out, she was nervous to tell me she had been having feelings for me for a year, so she kept drinking the wine. Her dad, laying on the floor watching the movies with us, was oblivious to everything."

"We're finally alone, she says something, I blurt out, 'WAIT, ARE YOU HITTING ON ME?' And we spend our first night as a couple with me holding her hair while she puked."

"Married in 2006, now have two amazing kids and she doesn't drink. ...as much."

– cjsphoto

The Object Of Her Affection

"We met in band when I was 10 years old and I was immediately both terrified of and obsessed with her and couldn't quite identify why- over the course of middle school, the fear kind of faded- I definitely had a crush, but was fairly confident she'd never see me that way and I decided I would just try to be her friend. I definitely made a fool of myself in front of her a few times, but I tried to stay subtle about having a thing for her. At the end of 8th grade, she mentioned offhand that she was interested in someone, and I pestered her about who it was until she finally told me that it was me. Once the complete and utter shock wore off, I asked if I could hold her hand. That was 10 years ago and I plan on asking her to marry me later this year."

– molybdenum9596

If your crush is meant to be your partner in life, then there should be no rush in getting together, as these couples have experienced.

The Right Time

"Uk based story."

"School trip to Longleat, a pretty blond girl on the back seat of the coach caught my eye... but I was shy when I was 14. It was ok though, I'd caught her eye and her friend told me to sit next to her."

"We dated on and off through school. I always had a crush on her. Then she wasn't there any more. I now know that her dad had got a job in Hong Kong. The plan was for her to do Olevels and she'd been accepted into the RAF and the England Hockey summer camp, so she had things lined up. But her mum decided at Christmas that she wanted to be in Hong Kong too... and by new year 1985 had emigrated with her plans and exams ruined."

"When I was 17 I got a job at the local supermarket for spending money. I was behind the cheese counter. I saw her come in, I was mortified, in my white coat and plastic trilby, so I hid in the fridge."

"I assumed she was back in town... but I didn't see her again. I thought about her often, spoke about her to my best mate wondering where she'd gone"

"I went on to my normal life, had kids etc."

"She went on to an extreme life, she'd had to steal money to run away from Hong Kong to England, with just a Teddy bear - and as it turned out, no money to get from Heathrow to Liverpool because someone stitched her up bouncing a check. Luckily the CEO of British Caledonian had seen her on the airplane and was walking past when he realised she was in trouble. She was eyecatchingly beautiful.... he got a driver to take her to Liverpool."

"She went to art college, but a friend died of drugs and felt she might go the same way, so she left there.... but then lived a life of homelessness, suffered much violence, and a full on drug fueled party lifestyle. Although also some great highs - she counted pop stars and artists as friends, ate at top restaurants and stayed in top hotels."

"When I was 40, its 2008 now - freshly divorced, very broke and in a bad way mentally her name popped up on Facebook."

"We met up... she had also thought about me in time apart. We moved in together, and have been married for 8 years and are very very happy."

"I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't hid in the fridge. I dwell on it sometimes. She has largely got over the worst parts of her early life and had successfully quit drugs in 2000 so I didn't see the party girl. But her scars remain and that saddens me when I think about it."

– plentyofeight

Guy With The Waist-Length Curls

"We met our first day of high school in 1996. I sat behind him in third period English. He had gorgeous thick waist-length black curls that my hands just itched to play with. We had a few mutual friends, hung out in the same group during lunch. Most of our classes were coincidentally next door to each other, so we ended up walking from class to class together every day. Those five-minute walks became the highlight of my life that year."

"Obviously I had the biggest crush on him. I was nowhere near confident enough to tell him in high school or, for that matter, during the following thirteen years as we navigated the awkward transition into adulthood. We drifted in and out of each other's lives like best friends do at that age, but we never lost that thread that connected us. After we graduated, we met at a local diner every few months, drank bad coffee and debated Kantian ethics late into the night. (We've never quite seen eye-to-eye on the Germans, still don't). He was my confidante, the only person I could share the deepest parts of my soul with. That intense schoolgirl crush faded over time into something that felt a little more like a bottomless pool of affection and respect."

"Fast forward to 2009. I was 27. I'd just ended a six-year relationship six weeks earlier. I was emotionally adrift that summer. I certainly wasn't ready to start dating again. I called to wish him a happy birthday; he said if I wasn't doing anything, I should swing by his parents' for a slice of cake and champagne. I drove across town to find most of his guy friends helping him move his things into his parents' garage. His fiancée had called off their four-year engagement on his birthday."

"Later that night, after everyone else had gone home, we laid on his parents' driveway staring up at the stars. I asked him why he just walked away without a fight when she gave him back the ring. He said: 'Because I won't risk losing my window again. This is the first time since high school you've been single for more than five minutes. I love you. I've always loved you. I'll buy you a ring tomorrow if you say yes.'"

"I said no."

"He asked if I'd go out on a date with him. I said no, I wasn't ready."

"Then he asked if we could go get coffee at the diner. I said yes."

"As we parted again at sunrise, he kissed my forehead and said, 'There's no expiration date on that proposal.' We started dating three weeks later, moved in together two months after that. Somewhere along the way, I realized 'bottomless pool of affection and respect' is the mature way of saying 'love of your life.' We got married on our fifth anniversary, barefoot in my parents' living room, in a thirty-second ceremony officiated by my father. August will be our 7th wedding anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the first walk we took together."

"And for the record, he still has waist-length curls and I get to play with them anytime I want now."

– tinquerbelle

The progression of relationships like these come naturally without any pressure.

The Friendship

"We met in middle school. Became really good friends, dated for a week as you can date in middle school. We broke up and dated a few other people. Two weeks into high school I told him to come keep me warm at the high school football game. He's been doing it now for 30 years. Three kids together now. Love every day with him."

– vmgallegos13

The "Dead Weight"

"She was the only gay girl in school. She had a beautiful bob with waves in it and the sweetest green eyes. She ended up in my bio class so I had an excuse to get her number. Thousands of texts later, she said she liked me outside English. I was floored but obviously said I did too because I would stare at her endlessly. After the best first date that closeted 14 year old me could muster up, we kissed. We started dating and I brought her home at 16. My parents were so excited and threw us a party because that's what happens when your parents are hippies.

She's amazing at soccer and got a scholarship. I followed her and we moved in together. I'm dead weight to her. I can't cook, she cleans, and she never gets angry. I have actually burned water before, am a horrible cleaner, and am frustrated 24/7. She never asks for anything and thanks me for the bare minimum. Every day, I want to improve for her because she's so amazing. Both 20 now and never been better. My first kiss and my last <3"

– classykiwi_

I know a few couples who were high school sweethearts, and they remain happily married to this day.

I find those relationships particularly endearing because they have known each other the longest and have been through many challenges in adulthood together.

But I don't frown upon those who had to spend time alone before finding the love of their life. Because no one should ever have to settle when it comes to sharing a life together.