Long gone are the days of “going steady.” Those brave enough to play the field are now faced with countless classifications for the varying degrees of dating, from “texting” to “Facebook official.” Depending on which stage you’re in, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day without coming off as too forward or nonchalant.
Double take
Whether it was walking through campus, while browning out at a party or during a Facebook creeping session, you just did a double take. The sky clears up and the heavens sing when this person walks by and you’re finding it difficult to de-clutter your mind of images of them dancing in a field of poppies or lying in bed with you.
What you should do for VDay: Let’s start with letting them know you exist, but hold off on the cheesy pick up lines. Bonus points if you can work up the courage to say, “Hey,” in person. Even if you stumble over your words, it’s guaranteed to be more charming than a Facebook message.
Flirty friends
You’ve run into each other a few times by now and consider each other friends. There’s a 98 percent chance the thought of sleeping with this person has crossed one or both of your minds, which is made obvious to everyone by the magnetic pull you have toward each other in public places. You laugh a little too loud at their jokes and revert back to the days of cooties by punching them in the arm when they make one at your expense.
What you should do for VDay: Have a night out at the bars with your single friends. Who knows? The night may take a turn if you run into your secret crush.
Texting
You finally exchanged numbers, but no longer are the days of waiting for the phone to ring. Thanks to modern technology, you barely exist in social settings now because you’re constantly tapping away at your phone with a deranged smile on your face. When they don’t text you back, you have hot flashes of anger and worry. But the texting phase has its perks; now
you can weed out the emoticon-happy creeps and the grammar-neglecting fools without even hearing their voice.
What to do for VDay: Making a move too soon may scare your potential flame away, so it may be best to keep the Valentine’s Day plans in the text zone. A simple “Happy Valentine’s Day” without too many emojis will do the trick.
Hanging out
You watch movies together, meet up for lunch in between classes and can have a conversation without too many awkward lulls. The friend groups are beginning to merge and you’ve probably had at least one alcohol-induced hook up. You feel compelled to make a decision between forever keeping each other in the friend zone or diving into the relationship pool.
What to do for VDay: Revert back to the middle school days by making a construction paper Valentine’s Day card, or celebrate your hate for the holiday together by watching a slew of anti-romance movies “just as friends.”
Talking
Although it was blatantly obvious before, you’ve vocally established that you like each other a little more than friends. You continue to do all the things you did in the “hanging out” stage, but it’s a little bit sweeter now that you know they like you.
What to do for VDay: They say the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, so keep it sweet and simple with a homemade goodie bag of heart-shaped cookies and candies.
Dating/Exclusive
Congratulations, you like each other so much you’ve decided to put your other booty calls on hold for a while. You look like a couple, you act like a couple, but you decide to prolong your fear of commitment by laying off the labels.
What to do on VDay: Kick your roommates out for the night and keep it casual and intimate by having an indoor picnic for two.
E-fficial
Because telling your immediate group of family and friends about your new beau isn’t enough, it’s important to let all 782 of your Facebook friends know you’re off the market. People you haven’t talked to since high school crawl out the woodwork with supportive likes and comments and suddenly you’re one friend shorter after your ex deletes you.
What to do on VDay: Date night — take the traditional approach by treating your love to a fancy dinner, or keep it quirky by making White Castle reservations. (What’s more romantic than a Crave Case?)
The L word
Whether it took a bit of liquid courage or not, your love for this person was bubbling up so much inside you that you finally spilled the beans. Hopefully they said it back, (a “thank you” in response may cause the relationship to take a darker turn) so now you can gross all your friends out with a ridiculous amount of PDA.
What to do on VDay: Assuming you can even keep your hands off of one another long enough to open them, exchange gifts with sentimental value. Try to find their favorite book series or artist discography on Amazon. Check out craft websites for inspiration; anything homemade adds to the sentiment.
Shacking up
You haven’t stepped foot in your own apartment for weeks and the drawer at your boo’s house just isn’t cutting it anymore. Whether talk of marriage is in the air or you’ve just decided to cohabitate to save some money on rent, you’re serious enough to move in together. If you thought you really knew each other before, wait until they feel comfortable enough to leave the bathroom door open while doing their business.
What to do on VDay: Give something that can double as a house warmer such as flowers or a framed picture of the two of you or build a “love nest” out of sheets and blankets to roll around in in your new living room.
Life commitment
Whether it took three weeks or three years to decide, you know that this one is the one. ‘Till death do you part, you can’t wait to yell, “Stay off the lawn!” at the neighborhood kids with this person when you’re old and grey. Mazel tov!
What to do on VDay: Escape from friend’s buzzing about wedding plans and your future children by taking a weekend trip to a nearby cabin in Brown County or a hotel in downtown Indianapolis.
