A picture speaks a thousand words, but sometimes only the people who were there can explain the moment.

Julius Long was watching the protests outside of Richard Spencer’s rally. Randy Furniss was there to hear Spencer speak.

they say meeting each other was fate.

“Devine timing,” Long said.

“It was worth getting my teeth knocked into,” Furniss said.

They met when tickets sold out and Furniss was turned away.

He says protesters swarmed him - kicking, spitting, and even punching him.

“The only thing I saw out there at the rally was more racial separation,” Furniss said.

Long stepped in to help Furniss, and both were kicked out of the protest area..

“The people that were saying anti-hate, love, love, love, were the same people showing that ignorance and showing hate,” Long said.

But they say everything that happened that day was fate.

“They said, 'what would’ve happened if you got in there?’ I said, there’s a great possibility I would’ve been re-raticalized,” Furniss said.

Furniss and Long walked around talking for hours.

"They looked so confused to see us walking down the street, and we were just talking, having a conversation,” Long said.

Furniss talked about his radical past, and both said they came to campus out of curiosity.

“I was going on a risk and he went for a risk, and it paid of,” Furniss said.

The unlikely pair found friendship during a day of division.

“With communication we can get an understanding and build relationships,” Long said.

There was not major violence at the rally, but they say any amount is too much.

They say the way protestors reacted, with violence, will never lead to the unity they found.

“Of course not, they might have said they wanted unity, but they were pushing ignorance,” Long said.

But they’re also glad things turned out the way they did.

“It was worth the 500,000 in security spent, that one moment,” Long said.

A lifelong friendship has begun.

“We’re going to have some adventures together,” Long said.

Long and Furniss hope together they can spread a message of love, rather than one of hate.

“We need to sit down with Richard Spencer. That’s what we want. People are not always what they seem,” Long said.