Dating in middle school was tough. It might bring you back to memories of someone sharing your pencil, or crying listening to a pop-punk band. But there are also a lot of things about dating in grades six to eight that might still be relevant, even if you've long since forgotten. Middle school dating is complicated, to say the least, but thirteen-year-olds do have a couple things right.

First dates can be exciting, a little bit nerve-wracking, and unpredictable. But, there's a lot that you can learn about a person on the first date.

I always used to think of myself as a "natural flirt." Whenever I flirted with someone other than my SO, it didn’t mean anything because I didn’t expect anything to come of it. When I was single and interested, it was a different kind of flirting. At the time, I felt like I wasn't doing anything wrong, until my flirting got me dangerously close to crossing the line between what's appropriate behavior, and what isn't. I started thinking, does flirting count as micro-cheating?