(laughter)
So... good birthday?
Mm, considering it was over a month late
Okay well, well, when we met
it had just passed
If you think about it, I'm 11 months early
I know I'm kidding
It was a really nice surprise
So was meeting you
You're welcome
(laughter)
(typing)
Hey, I think I need some air
Wanna take a break with me?
We can go get some ice cream
You know I can't right now, Janice
So, for my birthday next week
Do you think I should do a big party or
just something small with close friends?
Whatever you want
Doesn't matter to me
I want it to matter to you
(sigh) Okay, sorry
What's going on?
Nothing.
Don't... do that.
Something's obviously on your mind.
It's hard for me to explain.
Well, can you try?
Otherwise it's just gonna build up inside you and I'm gonna be in more trouble for it later
Um...
You like working with charts and graphs, right?
Sure
Imagine....
A graph
One axis
is our emotional investment in each other
The other axis
is time.
I want to tell you a story
A story
about two hearts
that started in very different places
and the day they switched spots.
Do you remember when we first met?
Of course I do.
(Skype call sounds)
Hi!
Can you hear me?
Yup, this is Sean.
Uhh, I think we're still waiting on Jeff and Linda from marketing.
Hi Sean
Analytics, right?
Yeah
I'm Janice from the product team.
Nice to meet you.
You too.
Not how we met, but
how you felt when we did.
Hey, sorry we're late
Yeah, thanks for waiting.
Hey guys! It's okay,
Janice was uh just correcting all my data.
Alright, so
It's been looking good...
Even though it was through a webcam
I could still see the shine in your eyes
That's how enamored you were.
I'll never forget how hard you tried
to keep that boring conference call going.
Is that my line way up there?
Yeah
You were sprung
I guess I was pretty excited to have met you
But, you weren't having any of it
(chuckles)
Yeah
And I'm sorry for being so standoffish
I did think you were cute
But I kept my distance
Safe to say
my line started very low
You were doubtful of yourself.
and of falling in love.
There were so many times in my past that,
I had thought I had found something real.
From
high school puppy love
to
college boyfriends
and
each time they ended
I felt so stupid
Why did I allow myself to fall?
Why did I let my walls down?
So I built them higher
To protect myself from
people trying to make me believe again
But then you came along
You came along with your smile
your strong hands
your
funny hashtags and perfect use of emojis
You came along with confidence
not just in yourself
but in our potential
I felt emotions stirring but
I kept them down
I told myself not to get attached
Convincing myself I wasn't that interested
But instead of getting discouraged
you could tell that I was just afraid
So you sent messages to make me smile
You listened
to difficult answers
You let your arm graze mine and
brushed my hair to the side
You really believed that after
all the failed relationships in each of our past
that this is what it was all for
Then one day
You made me believe, too
(music)
With every night spent in your arms
with every time I called you boyfriend
my emotions grew and my dependence on you deepened
And for some time
I enjoyed this rise in my line
We both did
(music)
But something happened after a while
something...
I saw in all my past relationships
and so many around me
As my line continued to rise
your line began to fall
And despite sensing this
I kept holding on to the hope that it was temporary
and it would eventually level out
And the sad thing is
the more I saw it fall
the deeper I fell
I became afraid of losing you
But Sean, I have been here before
and I know where this goes
If our lines continue to go this way
then they will eventually cross
And pretty soon
the guy who
looked forward to conference calls with me
will find excuses to hang up
And the girl who avoided you for weeks
will end up crying over losing you
I'll toil over how someone
who was so anxious to be with me
could become so indifferent
Where do those emotions go?
What happens to that wonder?
Why does interest inevitably diminish
after the start of a relationship?
You got me.
Is that all you wanted?
Did you not want to keep me?
This is where are now, Sean
Right here
I still believe in you
and that we don't have to end up that way
But this is where we are right now
I need to know
which way are you going?
(music)