Her Raya date turned out to be the school crush who'd worked all summer to buy her a Hello Kitty watch. This time he was determined to friend-zone her

School crushes can be intense, but how long can they last? Katie Kelly (@bykatiekelly) took to TikTok on September 17 to share how she reconnected with a boy from elementary school. She matched with him on a dating app called Raya, but when she recognized him, she immediately messaged him on Instagram. They reminisced about their school days and hung out. It went well. He even admitted he had a crush on her in school and reminded her of the Hello Kitty watch he gave her in 5th grade. But what he said before the night ended threw her off completely. The video received 4.5 million views, 401,700 likes, and 3,357 comments.

Pink Hello Kitty watch

Kelly was already impressed by the man from the moment he picked her up. "He's waiting at the front door for me! What? We're waiting in this Texas heat in 2,000 degrees?" They went to a bar and talked about their school days, and he confessed he had a crush on her in school. He was new to the town at the time and felt ostracized by the other children. 

He explained, "I would sit next to you in class, and you always talked to me. That was really the only thing I had to look forward to. I was going through a really hard season in my life, and the only thing getting me through that was that I knew I was gonna go to school and I was gonna see you." Kelly was touched. He then reminded her of the pink Hello Kitty watch he bought her in fifth grade. It also had a story. "I got a job the summer of fourth grade, and I worked all summer long just so I could save up to buy you that watch," he revealed.

Just friends?

Kelly's date brought up deep conversations they had, such as leaving town and becoming successful when they're older. They promised each other they would always have each other's backs, and he told Kelly, "When I got my job, my first day on the job, I thought about you. Even though I hadn't seen you in so many years, I just thought, 'We made it.'" He admitted that Kelly was the reason why women with blonde hair and blue eyes were his type. He taught her how to two-step during their date, and Kelly was swooning. But what he said next stopped her in her tracks.

"When I had you in my life before, it was really impactful for me. And then when I didn't have you in my life anymore, it was really difficult for me... I don't have any intention of being anything more than your friend because I can't imagine not having you in my life anymore. I have this opportunity to have you back in my life, and I just feel like I don't want to mess it up. So, we should be friends." Kelly was obviously interested in him romantically and was baffled by his suggestion. 

Not always 'friends-to-lovers'

It is not unusual for friends to become lovers. A 2023 Survey Center on American Life study found that 50% of women and 34% of men were in relationships with people they were friends with before they started dating. But Kelly's friend from elementary school did not seem to want that anymore now that they're adults. A 2019 YouGov survey also revealed that 50% of American adults had romantic feelings for someone who thought of them as a platonic friend.

But maybe Kelly's date had the right idea when he proposed to stay just friends. A study by Leah LeFebvre found that the majority of people who tried to get out of the friend zone failed (49%). It also found that respondents directly rejected (28.4%) their friend's interest in becoming more than friends, while 28.6% showed interest. But most importantly, 28.9% of the friendships were strained after the confession, and 30% remained the same. Only 2.7% reported their friendship blooming into a romantic relationship.

'The Notebook' type of story

People in the comment section were debating whether Kelly's date was love-bombing her or if he was actually genuine. @carollinnx3 wrote, "I immediately saw red flags." @zerofox77 added, "Oh my God, this is either going to be like The Notebook-level romance or a straight-up traumatizing horror sh*t show, I’m rooting for The Notebook all the way!" 

You can follow Katie Kelly (@bykatiekelly) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

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