The Fordman's and the Lang's has always been close family friends. Whitney and Lana used to have play dates in the sandbox growing up, until the meteor attack and her parents unfortunate passing. When Nell had to take in Lana, the Fordman's helped pick up the slack when the young lady couldn't handle her rambunctious tot. Lana and Whitney grew inseparable; that is, until grammar school hammered home the idea that boys and girls just couldn't be friends.
By the time high school rolled around, the two hardly spent much time together. Whitney was tall, good looking, and popular, and he dated a lot, he didn't have time to play with a middle schooler. Then one day he turned around and Lana wasn't his irritating, younger, best friend, but a very pretty, very teenaged girl. At first, he wasn't sure she'd feel the same way, but after a few conversations he saw that his crush was reciprocated, and he made his move. It was something out of a movie, really; he was a football player, she was a cheerleader, and he asked her to homecoming.
She said yes, of course, and he'd never seen anything so lovely as his girlfriend descending down the stairs in her light purple dress, hair all curled and clipped back, to show her pretty face. She was on the freshman homecoming court, and he was her dutiful escort. They didn't know it then, but the next year she'd be the sophomore princess and he'd be king, and the two would danced together after he was crowned. That was to be their last school dance as a couple.
But before then they'd had many more happy times together. After a football games they'd go celebrate with the team, her in his varsity jacket, his arm around her shoulder. They'd drive over in his red pickup truck and he'd hum along to a country song, even though in front of his friends he was all about the rock 'n' roll. When they got to the diner he'd nab her French fries, while she stole sips of his chocolate milkshake, until the guys would rag on them for their disturbing PDA.
On the weekends they split their time between parties and the old movie theater she'd always loved. They'd watch discounted classics or silly children's movies. Sometimes in the wintertime they'd go to the ice rink. He was an excellent skater and she was always trying to best him, but she was pretty terrible; she had no balance and could never get any momentum going. He just thought she looked cute when she screwed her face up in concentration and he liked curing her competitiveness with a cup of hot cocoa and a soft pretzel.
Besides that, Christmas time was better with Whitney. Sure, it still sucked because her parents couldn't be there, but the Fordman's always made such a big deal out of Christmas, and made her feel like one of the family. They exchanged presents, sang cheesy Christmas carols, and Mrs. Fordman always invited her and Nell for Christmas dinner with their grandparents. It wasn't the same as having her parents around, but it was definitely better than nothing. A lot of things were better with Whitney.