By Shaelyn Davis
It often starts with a simple social moment — a conversation, spending time together, and the shared laughter between you and that special someone. Over time, it will become less about the routines and more about stepping out of your comfort zone to connect with someone who unexpectedly stepped into your life.
But once the comfort sets in, the “ick” begins to reveal itself. Those habits — a tone or even a surprising reaction — can suddenly change the energy between two people.
For senior Brianna Jones, that shift came from communication differences.
“I’m not really one for communicating my feelings and Elijah is very much a communicator,” Jones says. “He definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone in the way that when I feel something or some way about something I have to communicate it to him.”
She and her boyfriend, junior Elijah Bell, have been dating since Brianna’s sophomore year.
What at first felt like an ick, the pressure to open up is something she had to overcome. It wasn’t very easy to do but with help and a little bit of comfort it made their relationship move forward easier.
Freshmen Quinn Morris and Ty Jackson know how small moments can feel like icks before they become something deeper.
”Quinn has always been good at telling when I get emotional or sensitive, and she’s just very sweet and reassures me that everything is okay,” Jackson says.
For Jackson being scanned so easily was once an ick. Feeling exposed or obvious eventually turns into them both being more open with each other.
Even the healthiest relationships come with these little cringey moments. The surprise isn’t that they happen but how the other person takes it.
Sophomore Ruthie Peckinpaugh and junior Sam Mosier have had their own icks, many tied down to a routine and communication.
“Sam communicates with me more of his schedule now so we can know when we are both busy,” Peckinpaugh says.
Their early icks came from misunderstanding — missed texts,responses, mismatched schedules and even guesses on the next time they’d hang out.
Across all these relationships, icks don’t signal doom. Instead, they expose different habits, emotions and predictions.
When teens talk about those uncomfortable moments, they catch the misunderstandings early on before they can even turn into something bigger.
Icks might feel weird, embarrassing or even annoying, but they are the beginnings of the small sparks that push young couples to communicate, apologize and understand each other on a deeper level.
