How to get back together with your ex

First: Date for 2 years. Then: Go to different schools. On opposite sides of the country. Decide that instead of pining and being depressed all the time, you're going to have fun. Break up with your best friend. Be too much of a coward to do it to his face, so tell him you "need to talk" over Facebook chat. Tell him you don't want it to be bitter. Be annoyed when the comments on his changed relationship status make you look like a heartless bitch.

Go out that same night. Revel in your newfound freedom. For the first time in two years you can (almost) guiltlessly check out guys. Two years! Feel weird answering "No" to the question "Do you have a boyfriend?". Accidentally say yes to a woman at work, and then correct yourself, explaining "I just got so used to saying yes..."

Have your first fling that doesn't end bitterly. Feel mature.

Have a fling that ends bitterly, and not on your own terms. Feel mad at the fact that for once, someone isn't totally in love with you. Wonder if that was why you were interested. Talk about nothing else for a month.

Ruin your relationship with your significant parent. Fight over everything, but mostly why you broke up with your boyfriend. They won't understand, but more importantly, don't understand it yourself. Miss how things used to be so perfect. Wonder if you're glamorizing it. Decide that you are, and tell people "It's hard not to romanticize our relationship... I really only remember the good things."

Have all encounters with your ex be bitter. Allow yourself to be a bitch. Say things you don't mean, things that are meant to hurt his feelings. Feel bad about it afterwards, but not enough to apologize (and hurt your pride).

Hang out with him and a mutual group of friends over Christmas break. Try to ignore the way your stomach drops when you see him for the first time. Be unable to ignore it as tears pop into your eyes.

Miss the stability of having a boyfriend.

Ignore each other for the remainder of the school year.

Calm down after about 8 months of officially being "broken up". Your relationship with your significant parent has been mostly repaired. Invite your ex to a family event (after all, your family still loves him). You can peacefully coexist now, you realize.

Invite him to dinner, 2 months later, when he gets back from visiting the other side of his family.

Be surprised (or don't) at how things can be exactly the way they were before you broke up. Think about how weird it is that you do the exact same things, but in a completely different context.

Hug him a little bit too long. Hate that you can't kiss him. Cry about it a little bit. Kinda feel like your heart is breaking.

Consider the idea of getting back together. Talk to your drunk sibling about it. They're right.

Talk to your significant parent about getting back together with him. They're so happy they cry a little bit. They're not just happy because this is what they always wanted, they're happy because now you're doing it because you want it.

Tell him over pancakes that you're playing with the idea of getting back together. Love the look of disbelief on his face. Tell him that you have nothing to lose, that you might as well give it a chance. Understand his hesitation, and start crying a little bit, because if he doesn't take you back, you don't want anyone else.

But if you were him you probably wouldn't take you back either.

Love the way he catches your waist on the way out of the restaurant. Love that he pays for your pancakes too, even though he didn't eat any.

Be so happy that you cry.

You cry a lot. Not because you miss him (long distance is never easy), but because you can't believe he's yours. It took you this long, but you finally see what's right in front of you. And cry about missing him. But not as often as you thought you would.