Chain Reaction

In the spirit of Valentines, I'm starting a week (or so) of stories related to relationships (both in dating and in friendship). First off, I'm going to start with a strange story that took years to build, but it led me to believe there was a chain reaction going on.

I will explain...

Ace and I were always each other's wingman, so we knew what was going on when it came to dating. However, in the spring of 2010, Ace came to me and realized that something strange was happening with us. We were starting to develop a pattern. Every time one of our relationships ended, the other one would start one. Without fail. How did this come about? It all goes back to 2009.

I started wondering if something odd was happening.

During the fall of 2009, Ace was in a strange relationship with an exotic dancer (no kidding) and I was their third wheel from time to time (on normal dates, nothing strange). All went normally, until the start of 2010 when I met Amy (again, another story there). Suddenly, when my relationship with Amy was set in stone and we became official, Ace showed up at my house with a bag of chips. Why chips? Whenever Ace brought a bag of chips over to my house, it means he got dumped. First time it happened to him, he stayed at home so much that I just joked to him "next time you get dumped, at least bring some snacks if we are going to be all night moping."

Little did I know that he actually took it to heart. And it's still a tradition to this day. But back to the story.

So my relationship was starting, and his was suddenly ending. All in the same week. Flash forward to the end of 2010, Ace went up to me to tell me he might be starting a new relationship. I worried a bit, since my own relationship was in a downward spiral, but I still joked. "You getting in a new relationship? Does that mean mine is going to end because you got a girl?"

I got dumped 24 hours later.

And thus, a chain reaction was discovered. Whenever one of us would begin a relationship, it meant the other's was going to end. And it happened yet again last year. During the time Ace came home during the spring of 2011, I was starting a relationship with Linda. We still can't explain the crazy coincidence.

But I guess the chain is broken now. During my first official date with Linda, Ace and his new girl were already set, so in a way, it broke the chain. For once, both of us had relationships at the same time, so the four of us got to see each other often. However, on Halloween, Linda and I broke up and it was back to restoring the balance of the universe. Ace was still in a relationship and I wasn't.

And now that I moved away, I wonder if the chain reaction will continue or if it will stay the same. I wonder what will happen to Ace whenever I do meet someone new. But for now, the universe is back to normal.