- When I was a kid, I had a crush on a girl named Zoe.
She and I were friends from preschool
all the way through high school,
but in elementary and middle school, I was smitten.
I never told her though I suspect
I wasn't that subtle about it,
I'm not good at this kinda stuff.
But now, I'm 26-years old and I'm single,
so I'm gonna ask her out.
(upbeat orchestral music)
(phone ringing)
- [Zoe] Hello.
- Hi, Zoe.
- Hey, Dakota.
- Sorry, this is weird,
I had a crush on you in elementary school and middle school,
and I was wondering if you would wanna go on a date with me?
- [Zoe] Oh, yeah, sure.
- Are you free at all this week?
- [Zoe] I'm free on Thursday.
- Yeah, Thursday, Thursday should work,
let's do Thursday.
The date was set, so now I had to prep everything
to make sure it was the best it could be.
So I decided to start the date off here
at our elementary school that Zoe and I both went to.
I figured it'd be kinda fun to meet here,
kinda where I first had a little crush.
I haven't seen Zoe since like high school, really,
so it's been eight years now.
I truly like don't know what she's up to,
or what she's doing.
If it goes well I think at the end
maybe I will see if she wants to go out on a real date
without cameras, I'm kinda nervous
about that though (chuckling).
Zoe and I grew up really good friends,
but after high school I moved to New York for college
and as with many high school friends we drifted apart.
So I was excited to get to see her and reconnect.
Pretty soon, she arrived.
She is here, hello!
Oh my god. - Hi.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Oh, it's really good
to see you. - Yeah, you too.
- [Dakota] It's too bad
it's been awhile. - It's been awhile.
It's pretty here I kinda forgot how nice it is.
- This playground
has changed a lot. - Yeah.
- It seems more tame.
- You can't really get the injuries
that we used to get.
- I miss that.
- Yeah, remember rocket day here?
- Yes. - So I was just
thinking about.
- I think my rocket got lost in the woods.
- See, mine completely
fell apart. - Oh, okay.
- I was so bummed. - I'm sorry.
So, do you have any idea what's happening today.
- No, I have no idea what's happening,
you won't tell me anything.
- No, and that's the fun of it.
- I'm nervous. - Yeah.
- So, what are we doing?
- I'm not telling you,
we're just gonna go to there- - Where?
- And then you'll see.
- [Zoe] Should I jump, one, two,
god, now I'm scared,
three, woo, oh.
- Are you okay, oh my god, Zoe.
- Yeah. - Are you okay?
- [Zoe] I stuck it initially.
- Yeah, you did and then you fell.
It was time to head out,
but we couldn't get there any old way
so to properly capture the middle school date experience,
I'd rented a minivan and hired a special driver.
- Oh, hi Laura. - Hi, hi,
it's nice to see you. - Yeah, you too,
how are you? - I'm good, how are you?
- [Zoe] Good.
- [Dakota] I figured it be fun
to be driven to a date like we were in middle school.
I was a little nervous about how the date was gonna go,
but as we sat in the car the conversation
and the memories started flowing.
- [Zoe] Remember Jerry, the old bus driver?
He used to live down there. - Yeah.
- [Zoe] I used to buy my maple syrup from him.
So my mom would give me money
and I would get on the bus and give him money
and he would hand me
a gallon of maple syrup- (laughing)
On the school bus.
- [Dakota] And soon enough, we are at our next stop.
- [Zoe] Hey, are we going on a boat?
- [Dakota] Yeah.
- [Zoe] Yes!
(laughing)
- It's a nice day. - Awesome, it's beautiful,
this is gonna be so fun. - I figured,
what the hey. - All right.
- [Dakota] Let's hop this fence,
and don't fall. - I'm not gonna risk it.
- Okay, bye mom.
- Bye, Laura.
Kinda forget, like in the winter,
how nice the summer is here.
Nothing like a boat
on Lake Champlain. - I know,
I haven't been on a boat in a long time.
During kindergarten Zoe's family
went back to England for a few years
and when she returned to school
I immediately had a crush, and so did my best friend, Kyle.
We spent many sleepovers arguing over who got to like her.
(upbeat light music)
Then things started to get a bit wet.
- Whoo. - Whoo (laughing).
Okay. - This is awesome.
- [Driver] Dakota, you got the worst of it.
- That's fine, I'll survive.
- I don't know, (indistinct) you shirt I guess.
- Oh my god, I almost did. - Me too.
- [Dakota] Pretty soon though we had arrived.
- [Zoe] Where are we.
- An island. - An island.
Thanks, Dakota. - You're welcome.
- Thank you. - Welcome to
our private island for the day.
- Wow, it's beautiful.
- So I haven't really seen you since after high school
very much. - Yeah, yeah,
like a couple times. - Yeah.
- But now- - This fun little path
into the woods. - The most dangerous game,
we're just gonna hunt me
at some point? - Yeah.
- [Zoe] Well, I'm gonna start scoping out places then,
to hide, let me grab some weapons.
So I studied athletic training
and then now I work at a high school as an athletic trainer.
- Are you like the cool teacher?
- No. - No, definitely not.
- [Dakota] Why not?
- [Zoe] 'Cause I'm not cool (laughing).
- [Dakota] Yeah you are.
- [Zoe] NYU.
- I went to NYU for film. - That's awesome.
- And now I make YouTube videos for a living.
- You're doing a good job
they're so fun to watch. - Thank you.
So, we are here- - Wow.
- At this here tower. - Oh my god.
- [Dakota] Do you wanna go up?
- [Zoe] Yeah.
- [Dakota] We climbed up the fire tower
to get a better view of the island
and the beauty of Lake Champlain.
(light upbeat music)
From this vantage we could also see
the next stop on our date.
You see that hill over there? - Yeah.
- We're gonna go over
to that hill. - Okay.
- Because I have something prepared.
- Okay.
- I like how you're just going along with this.
(upbeat light music)
- [Zoe] This looks so good.
- We're having a picnic,
but I forgot the blanket. - That's okay.
- So we're gonna sit on a rock.
- Perfect, this looks amazing, Dakota.
Shall we pop the champagne?
- I guess so.
- Or should we start with the wine?
- This is a screw top, it's easier.
- Perfect, good call.
(laughing)
So, are you planning on staying in New York forever?
- I don't know- - Or you're.
- I'm actually considering moving to London next year.
- That's awesome.
- You're gonna move out West
maybe, like. - I'm hoping at some point,
I mean I've always wanted to go
and my sister's out there- - Yeah.
- And as I much as I love here it's,
I feel like where I'd wanna be when I'm older,
so I feel like I wanna leave for a little bit.
- Okay, this strawberry is perfect.
- Yeah, that looks so good. - Look at that.
- I already have a piece of bread in my wine.
- That's okay, that's part
of the aesthetic. - Yeah, I'm eating
both anyway, so.
- How old were you when you came back from England,
was that third grade, fourth grade.
- It was, yeah, the summer before fourth grade,
I think I was 10. - Yeah right,
obviously I already knew you.
- Yeah, we knew each other from preschool,
but then I was gone and we didn't see each other for awhile.
- So sad, when you came back I was like, oh my god,
(laughing) this little ginger girl with a British accent.
- Only because I had
an accent. - It was all the accent.
- Like I see it with my mom all the time,
people are blinded by an English accent.
- It's true.
- And I'm so mad I don't have mine anymore
because I would be so much more successful,
like I would've gone so much farther in life.
- You should just fake it.
- I wish I could- - You can't do it?
- No. - Oh, that's so sad.
Kyle and I both had
crushes on you. - Oh my god.
- In elementary school.
- I didn't know that, Kyle has told me
multiple times. - Oh, of course he has.
- But I didn't know that you ever did.
- Oh yeah, I did.
- Oh, well Dakota. - Oh, we all
had crushes on you too. - Wait, really?
- Yeah. - Wait, when?
- Elementary school
I remember for sure. - Okay.
- Shelby and Sarah too, on no,
goat cheese down. - I'm an oblivious person.
I do remember one time we were,
it was like middle school I think,
I was riding home on the bus,
I don't know why this memory is vivid in my brain,
and Colton like screamed at us like,
"Zoe, Dakota, you guys should date."
- I probably just turned
beet red. - Absolutely, same,
it was like
a traumatizing experience. - Yeah.
- I think that's why it
sticks with me. - You still remember?
- Oh yeah, I do.
That's the weird thing, like as a child
your emotions feel so strong
and they also feel like life or death.
Like now I have feelings for someone and I'm like,
oh, it'll be nice, or not. - Yeah.
- It's fine. - And I wonder
if it's 'cause you have so much other stuff
going on with your life.
If I had a crush on someone I was
obsessed with them. - Yeah.
- Me and my friends would have like
a nickname for them. - Yeah, who'd you have
crushes on, other than me of course.
- I mean, pretty much. (laughing)
Carter, Luke- - Oh yeah, of course.
- Kyle and Fitzy.
When I lost the accent was it done for you?
- Absolutely, no, no.
- I don't think so. (cork popping)
Jesus, that scared me. - That was (indistinct).
- I spilled wine on myself (laughing).
- Oh my god, that's all foam. - Thank you.
- It's all foam.
- That's okay.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
- Cheers, to our childhood.
If you did not know me in the slightest
and you encountered me say out and about,
would you have said, yes, to a date?
- Like if we were at a bar, or something,
and I was getting to know you? - Yeah.
- Yeah. - Okay.
- You're fun. - That's nice to know.
- You're really nice. - Wow, on my god,
I actually made this video
to be complimented a lot. - For sure.
(laughing)
Well, here I am.
- I'd probably say, yes,
to you as well. - If you talked to me now?
- Yeah. - But I don't have
the accent anymore so. - I know,
so how can I like you. - I know.
- It's impossible. - It's kinda gone,
just done. - I've moved on
to (indistinct).
Things were going really well
and Zoe and I continued to talk late into the afternoon,
but eventually it was time for her to go.
- What a cool date, you did- - More elaborate
then most of the time.
- Yeah. - I will say,
I don't usually do this. - Okay, well good to know.
- I actually have to one-up myself.
- Yeah, every time. - Like the best time.
In that moment, time froze as I prepared
to ask the question I'd been thinking about all day.
Would you by chance wanna go on another one at some point?
- Yeah, that's be fun.
- Okay. - Let's do it.
- I'd love that. - Okay.
- Cool, well, I'll see you. - Yeah, bye.
- Bye.
Success, I'd fulfilled my childhood dreams
and as I watched Zoe drive away on the boat
I look forward to seeing her again.
That went well, I'm really excited
for maybe the second date, especially if we're doing it
without a camera.
(upbeat orchestral music)