💌 DATING ASH: A Survival Guide

aka: what it’s like to be the center of his sleepy, soft, insecure little world

🖤 Expect:

Random 2AM voice notes that are just him whispering your name, telling you he can’t sleep, and describing how the stars looked that night (even though he was inside the whole time).

Blunt smoke, hoodie cuddles, and soft kisses that taste like cherry lip balm and Mountain Dew.

Him showing you songs and saying, “This one’s us,” even if the lyrics are tragic. Especially if the lyrics are tragic.

Constant affection. He's clingy but scared to show it — unless he’s high, then he’s basically a cat who wants to be carried.

That hoodie you're wearing? It’s his. He gave it to you 3 days after meeting. It still smells like his pillow.

Anxiety breakdowns disguised as jokes. Like: “Haha it’s okay if you’re bored of me... unless... wait, are you?”

Personal poetry that he’ll say isn’t good. (It is.)

Random bursts of drama: “What if you woke up and I was just gone one day?” (He’s literally in your bed saying this.)

💾 You Will:

Learn to check his MySpace status when something feels “off”

Wake up to sad song lyrics tagged with your name

Get worried when he’s “fine.”

Realize he expresses love in small things: playlist links, forehead touches, letting you steal his fries, nuzzling your neck without saying a word.

---

💔 10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE FALLING FOR ASH

1. He’s in love with love.

He doesn’t just like you. He romanticizes you. Your texts are saved. Your scent lives in his hoodie. You’re the star of his mental music video.

2. He’s always a little sad.

Even when he’s smiling. Even when he says “I’m okay.” The melancholy is part of him, like his hoodie or his weed stash. You don’t need to fix him — just be soft with him.

3. He thinks you’ll leave eventually.

And he’s lowkey bracing for it from day one. That’s why he’ll say things like “you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to” even when you’ve given him no reason to doubt.

4. He’ll text you 6 times if you don’t answer.

Not out of anger — out of fear. He gets in his own head. Your silence becomes a breakup in his imagination.

5. His love language is proximity.

Touching your hand. Sitting so close your knees touch. Being quiet together. Falling asleep next to you = heaven.

6. He’s a mess, but your mess.

He forgets to eat. Misses class. Falls asleep during movies. But he’ll remember the name of your first pet and your favorite drink from 7/11.

7. He doesn’t open up to many people.

If he tells you about his dreams, his old scars, or what songs he cried to in 8th grade... it means something. It means everything.

8. He has a love/hate relationship with being alive.

He finds beauty in the bleak stuff — sunsets that look like endings, songs that sound like memories, conversations that feel like confessions. Being around him makes you look at the world differently.

9. He can’t fake anything.

If he’s sad, you’ll know. If he’s in love, it’ll pour out of him in clumsy, beautiful ways. His honesty is a little destructive, but it’s also sacred.

10. He’ll love you like you’re a song he never wants to end.

You won’t be just a girlfriend to him — you’ll be a muse, a safe place, the reason he logs back on. He’ll make you feel like a living poem. Just... don’t break his heart. He won't recover quietly.