10-Year-Old Uvalde Sweethearts Buried Side-by-Side

Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez and Xavier James Lopez used to pass each other notes in class and text each other every night to say “I love you.”

They also made the honor roll on the morning of May 24, mere hours before a gunman would come inside the school and kill them, along with 17 other students and two teachers. Now, they’re buried next to one another as a testament to their young love.

The pair first met at the beginning of their fourth-grade year. According to their mothers, Monica Gallegos and Felicha Martinez, Annabell came home to talk about a boy who looked and smelled “really nice.” That boy was Xavier.

Their romance lasted throughout the year, and before long, their families were getting together for barbeques while the kids played tag in the backyard.

They were even texting each other “I love you” at the end of every night. “Me and Felicha [Xavier’s mother]  would laugh, like, ‘How do y’all know about love?'” Gallegos told ABC News.

Arnulfo Reyes, the third and fourth-grade teacher who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary and is currently recovering from two gunshot wounds, said, “He would make things for her, he would write notes for her. It brings a smile to your face just to think they really loved each other.”

According to HuffPost, the two kids actually knew each other when they were just toddlers and reconnected in Reyes’ fourth-grade classroom. By the end of the year, Annabell was wearing a picture of Xavier around her neck everywhere she went.

“I’m not ready,” Gallegos said as she made final arrangements for her daughter’s funeral. The children were buried at Hillcrest Cemetery in Uvalde, Texas. Annabell was buried on Wednesday and Xavier just a day earlier.

Per the outlet, the decision to bury their children side-by-side was made by the mothers.