Everywhere they walk; they can’t help but attract attention. High school couples walking down the hallway is nothing new. But a high school couple hobbling down the halls with crutches in sync, might turn some heads. Dylan Morales (’14) and Jade Recchio (’15) are that couple.

“Nobody really believes it,” said Morales about them both having almost identical injuries. “Some people look at me and think, oh maybe he’s just doing it to make her feel better.”

The kicker and cheerleader both injured their left ankles at after school practices.

Morales popped his ankle out of place the day of the varsity football game against Jefferson. He tore three tendons.

“My front foot went sideways,” he said, “When I fell to the ground, I looked at my foot and knew something was wrong.”

Recchio was in the middle of a cheerleading stunt. She fractured a growth plate in her ankle.

The almost simultaneous injuries have disrupted their day to day routine.

“When my class is upstairs and hers is downstairs, we like to walk together, so it [the crutches] makes it really difficult,” said Morales, “We can’t hold hands, and it’s nearly impossible to even hug.”

“I pick her up in the mornings, so it’s like this really big operation getting her in the car, and getting her crutches.”

Even outside of school was a difficult process.

On a recent trip to Panera Bread, Morales and Recchio found themselves being interrogated by customers and employees.

“They were asking us ‘Are you guys brother and sister?’ and they were asking us how it happened,” Morales said.

Even going to see a movie was a challenge.

“Going to the movies is really hard,” said Recchio, since they prefer the seats at the top of the theater.

Despite the hassle of the injuries, the couple saidit has created a stronger bond between them.

“We feel the same pain,” Morales said referring to their injuries.

But the injuries weretemporary and they both knew that.

Recchio’s ankle will be healed in about a month. Just in time for homecoming she hinted to Morales.

Morales was recently able to ditch his crutches.

“I can finally be a gentleman,” he said, “and open the door for her.”