AN: This was my attempt at Nanowrimo 2008. I only got 10,000 words, but I like the story. I'm just finding it hard to finish. Here's the first little taste.

The Beginning

The day I met Jeremiah was our first day of kindergarten together. Due to the fact that we were seated in alphabetical order, I had the pleasure of sitting right next to him. I watched him twiddle his thumbs and giggle to himself, and I wondered what it was he found so funny. He must've known I was staring at him strangely, because he looked back in my direction and tilted his head, causing his dark, long hair to tilt with it. And a grin was still spread across his face.

"My name's Jeremiah Carpenter and I'm 5 years old and my birthday is July 22. What about you?"

I was taken aback, and stared at him a while before answering, "Umm, Elizabeth Carson. I'm 5 and my birthday's June 16."

He smiled at me and kept giggling to himself as though he'd just told a very funny joke; one only he understood.

"Why do you keep laughing?"

He stopped the madness only briefly, looking at me with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen and replied, "This morning, my dog ran into a puddle and kept slipping all over the place. I keep thinking about it and it's really funny."

"You have a dog?" I asked.

"Yep. His name's Sparky. You wanna meet him sometime?"

"Sure!"

And so we were friends.

We spent all of elementary school together, never really needing anyone else's company. Our constant time together brought with it a lot of teasing from our peers. But whenever we were together, none of it seemed to really matter.

We had even spent many of our summers together, making sure to celebrate both of our birthdays. I always teased him for the month or so I was "older" than he was. He would respond by pulling one of my blonde pigtails and running off.

The summer before we began middle school, we both went away to a "sleep-away" camp. We spent a week there, always doing the same activities and doing everything in the same way.

One night as were walking back to our separate cabins, we stopped at a clearing in the woods. Jeremiah pointed up and whispered, "Look."

I tilted my head back and saw stars glittering everywhere. "Woah," I gasped. "There's like a gazillion of them."

"I know! Isn't it cool?"

We stood there, looking up at the stars before a counselor appeared. "You kids need to go back to your cabins. You'll be exhausted tomorrow."

"Yes sir," We said, saluting him and marching off.

When we came to the spot where we usually parted ways, Jeremiah grabbed my hand. "Hey, Elizabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise we'll be best friends forever?"

I looked at his boyish face then. It appeared to be full of worry, and I couldn't figure out what was causing this change of attitude in him. "Of course," I answered. "Always." He sighed with relief and began walking back to his cabin. I stared after him for a second before finally retreating to my own bed.