Waayyy back I asked people, "What's the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in front of your crush when you were a kid?" And the stories were full of experiences that made elementary school, middle school, and high school me feel totally seen. You can read the original post here. Thankfully, people told even more embarrassing stories for us to all find solace in.
So, what's a better time than now to go back and relive the moments we thought we would never live down? Here's what everyone had to say:
1. "On the first day of 8th grade, we had a common area where we all ate snacks, and I was sitting on a bench with one of my friends. There were maybe 90 kids in my grade, so it was pretty packed. My crush of three years was fake fighting with his friend when he fell back and almost onto my lap."
2. "I remember saying a bad word in the second grade, not knowing it was a curse word. My crush told me not to say it because it was BAD (duh) and I thought that it was funny, so I repeated it back to them three times. After that, he thought I was a gross delinquent and never talked to me again."
3. "When I was in elementary school, I had a HUGE crush on this guy. One day during lunch, I went out of my way (with my lunch tray in hand) just to walk past him and wave. When I was walking by, I was looking at him, not the floor, and there happened to be a humongous puddle of water."
4. "I nearly killed my crush in fifth grade. I was up to bat during outdoor gym class. I used to play softball, so I wasn’t useless, but the boys still crowded the plate, trying to 'coach.' I hit the ball and tossed the bat behind me, and as I was running to first base, everyone was running in, yelling, 'You KILLED Corey!' Sigh."
5. "I developed a crush on my best friend in high school. I tried dating other guys, thinking I would be able to move on. One day, he came over to hang out while I was with my boyfriend at the time."
6. "In the eighth grade, I had a mad crush on this beautiful girl. My cousin was good friends with her. My cousin invited her back to her house. I lived down the street from my cousin, and we had it planned. I would stop over and talk to this girl, and then ask her out."
"The girl took the bus home with me and my cousin. After we all departed the bus, I was walking ahead of the girl, and my cousin and I kept looking back at the girl. BAM! I walked right into a stop sign and fell to the ground. Everyone who departed the bus, including this girl, all started laughing at me. The girl was laughing so hard that she almost fell to the ground. At that time, my plan to ask her out and my crush were over!"
—Anonymous
7. "We were sitting next to each other in the computer lab with a few other students from our 6th-grade class, watching one of them play the Oregon Trail. That classmate started putting in hilariously obscene names for their characters, and I felt the uncontrollable urge to laugh at those. ...Except that when I opened my mouth to laugh, I instead involuntarily and inexplicably hocked a major loogie right on my crush's arm."
8. "My fifth-grade history teacher noticed I was doodling in my notebook. She proceeded to take my notebook and show the entire class my crush's name written inside of a heart. I could’ve died. I quickly learned that his girlfriend (if it even counts as a relationship at that age, lol) was sitting two desks over."
9. "When I was in the fifth grade, I had a crush on a guy, and another girl also liked him. I made him a card for Valentine's Day and had my friend give it to him from me (this was during lunch, mind you). When I went to the trash to throw my tray out, the card I made for him was in the trash. I was actually so upset that I couldn't face him. A lot of people knew I liked him too."
10. "I accidentally went live on Instagram once when I was on the toilet and didn't realize. I then found my phone on live, and my high school crush of three years was on it."
—Anonymous
11. "Oof, repressed memory syndrome hit hard here. I had a massive crush on this boy in grade school. I got an AIM account just to talk to him after far too many failed prank calls to his house and genuinely annoying his poor, hard-working single mother. Anyway, I finally got the courage to tell him I liked him, which he followed with 'sry.' It devastated me."
12. "I was basically a Disney princess growing up and sang all my feelings, including during one recess in the second grade about how I have a crush on this guy, and yes, I said his name. I just wish I handled it more confidently."
13. "My embarrassing crush story would be from fifth grade. I had a crush on this boy named Jason. That year, my mom introduced me to training bras, so I could get used to wearing one. Not being used to it, I felt super uncomfortable and decided to go and take it off. I walked to the bathroom down the hallway, took it off, and wrapped it up in my jacket, then went back to my class."
14. "In third grade, my friend told my crush that I liked him. He screamed 'EW!' and threw himself down the curly slide. I still haven't recovered from the sick burn, and it's been 20 years."
And finally, here's a story that feels like it's straight out of an early 2000s teen TV show:
15. "I had a huge crush on this boy and was super excited when he came over to my friend’s house for a small pool party. The group of us decided to try catching a football thrown at us while we jumped off the diving board. I was feeling pretty confident in my ability and wanted to show off my skills."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.