I still don't know how we ended up together but this is our story.

I was 18, nearly 19 when we met. It was freshers week at my Uni and I was new there, he was a second year. I met him doing Kung Fu and didn't think much of it. He was cute, but very quiet and didn't really say anything. As the weeks went on we said hi to each other, but we barely said anything more, I was hanging out with my first friends in years (long story there, where I had come from wasn't a good place) and enjoying finally being with people who weren't cruel to me. Towards the end of my first real month there mum went off the radar. Before I had left she had threatened to kill herself because I was leaving. I was out of money so I couldn't call her and when I did she never answered. I was really upset as well because she missed my birthday on purpose to "teach me a lesson". It was at a Kung Fu class that he asked me if I was ok. I wasn't but we got talking a little and he was really sweet. We started chatting on Facebook after that, but in person we rarely said a thing, but he would make sure he was next to me in class and always made sure to wait for me outside or follow me out so we could talk a little, very awkwardly for a bit. To be honest, I'd never met a person like him before and didn't know if he liked me or was just being friendly (never had a boyfriend before him). We got over the whole awkward thing after I kind of kicked his ass in sparring one night and started hanging out together. A few weeks after that he asked me out, I was so damn shy and nodded a little. It's will be eight years in November since we started going out. A lot has happened and changed since then. We've had our ups and our downs but overall we work together perfectly. He's helped me become a better person, taught me how to be social, helped me get over a lot of my problems and deal with my issues. I wouldn't be the person I am today without him. He's a great guy and the best friend I've ever had.

Advice for people. Don't force anything, it will just end in tears. Talk to each other when you have issues and listen to each other. Things are better when you do. Do fun things together, even if its just a movie or watching a TV show and make sure to let them know how much you care about them. Also, give each other space. You don't need to be with each other 24/7. Have other friends and interests from each other and go do them. You guys need space to be yourselves, especially since you aren't one person. If you want more time together, speak to the other person. Just get that balance right and things tend to work better. The biggest thing for me is trust each other. This was especially difficult for me because of where I had come from, but I knew I had to do that because if I didn't the relationship was never going to be successful.