Author's note: One of my first *short* stories... I hope you like it :) try to give some feedback? I'm not used to publishing my work and I'm really nervous about it.

Deliberating her actions in secrecy was not something that 17-year-old Anna was accustomed to doing. Most things in her life seemed to happen excitingly spontaneously. She rather enjoyed spontaneity, choosing it over well-organised, detailed plans. She liked action, sports, and her friend since conception, Dylan. All 17 years of her life, Anna had glued herself to Dylan's side and spent every moment with him. Neither child had ever da any desire for "personal space" or any kind of privacy around each other. Their parents didn't seem to realize that even at twelve years old, the two were still taking baths together. Anna had never willingly separated herself from Dylan by a closed door on purpose. It had never bothered her that she couldn't have a moment alone. Until now.

Dylan busily swept his dirty clothes and old homework off the floor. He shook the two sleeping bags out of their storage sacks and unzipped them both. He then proceeded to attatch the zippers to each other in order to zip them both together. He had gotten fairly skillful with this task, though Anna usually did it instead (she had nimbler, less fumbly fingers). And it had been her invention in the first place. She used to get lonely when she was separated by him, even by something as trivial as a blanket. She always insisted on sleeping in the same bag. Having outgrown the ability to sleep together in the same one-person sleeping bag, they had to get creative. Finishing his task, Dylan stood up, straightened out their double bag on the king-sized mattress, and scooped up his dirty laundry. He opened the door to the bathroom without bothering to knock. A high-pitched, eardrum-butsting squeal errupted from the half-naked figure in the middle of the room. Dylan promptly dropped his laundry in surprise.

"You okay, there?" he asked, looking directly at her.
"Not quite," Anna replied. She hastily threw a shirt over her head. It was one of Dylan's, but it didn't matter. "You didn't knock," she said stiffly.
"Knock?" he had never knocked before. There wasn't anything he hadn't already seen.
"Yes. What if I'd been... doing something personal?"
"Personal."

She made an annoyed sound, snatched up all the dirty clothes that had been dropped on the floor and dumped them into the laundry basket. He'd seen it all before, though, and he couldn't think of anything personal she could have been doing that she wouldn't want him to know about. Everything was old news at this point.

Anna slipped brusquely past him and hurried out of the bathroom. She paused, and sighed at the sight of the large double sleeping bag in the middle of the floor. He'd already made it, so it would be quite rude to disassemble it. Plus, Dylan didn't seem to understand the problem. Of course, in his eyes, Anna wan't really a girl. She had boobs and a vagina, but she was just Anna Riley. And Dylan probably assumed that she felt the same way about him. She knew that sharing a decade and a half with someone created a special bond, but she felt that Dylan was even more to her than the best friend thing. She thought he was the only person she ever needed, ever wanted, ever loved. For as long as she could remember, she had only been able to keep one secret from him. He knew her monthly cycles, he knew her skipped homework, he knw she never showered on Tuesdays... but her didn't have the slightest clue that she loved him. Really loved him. Recently, she knew she had to put space between herself and Dylan if she ever wanted to get over the feelings she had. Every morning when she woke up curled around his body, or with his head on her stomach, gave her delightful butterflies. When she was changing, she could only hope that he would look over and suddenly remember she was a maturing girl, a pretty attractive girl at that.

Dylan stood in the doorjamb of the bathroom and gazed at the spritey girl curled up on the floor of his room ("his" room, like she didn't own half the things in their anyways). She must have realized his desire to touch her. He tried to be inconspicuous, but more and more often she edged away from him. Her cute little body amused him. She was average height and slender, but athletic. She seemed comfortable in her skin; sometimes he became jealous of her confidence. She slipped into the sleeping bag and curled up. Her pixie-like face looked adorably peaceful. He looked away to check his own appearance in the mirror. His hand hovered around the bottle of Axe on the counter, but he didn't touch it. She probably wouldn't even notice anyways.

Anna heard him move around the room for awhile. His steps were too hurried, his tracks around the room seemed pointless, a waste of time. His knees cracked like Rice Krispies every time he knelt down to pick up another stray pice of trash or crap on the floor. Eventually, she heard him come over to the top of the sleeping bag. Her muscles tensed as he slipped into their makeshift bed. He stayed a good distance away (as much as was possible in the small confinement) and absolutely silent for an immeasureably long time.

"Riles, you awake?" he whispered
"Yeah," her voice came out meek and hesistant.
Dylan winced in anticipation. "Do you still love me?"
She smiled, a bittersweet smile. He would never know. "Yep."

He reached out to find her body. His searching hand landed on her waist. He rolled her over and tucked his own lanky limbs around her. She relaxed and tried to slow down the heart in her chest that was slamming painfully against her ribcage. Dylan's hands on her body was a normal occurrence, nothing to get worked up about. He always tended to use her as a teddy bear.

"You haven't outgrown my company yet?" he said, his breath blowing soft puffs of air onto her neck.
"Nope"

They both lay still, close enough to feel each other's heartbeats and smell their favorite minty toothpaste on each other's breath. Neither could close their eyes for a moment. Dylan could feel the thought she wasn't saying through the rigidness of her body. Anna struggled with her exploding heart until she couldn't bear it any more. She saw her moment to get over her hopeless crush and face another opportunity.

"Elliott asked me out," she blurted, too loudly.
Dylan was struck dumb. His digital watch beeped to signify 11:00. He shifted to remove himself from Anna's proximity. "What did you say to him?" he asked cautiously.
Anna failed to detect the sadness in his voice. "I haven't given him a good answer. I said I had to go, but I would let him know if I was free this weekend."
Dylan pursed his lips. "Do you like him?"
"He's nice enough," she said, thinking that Elliott could never even compare to Dylan.

Dylan felt uneasy. Anna was too good for Elliott Shapiro. Anna had never had a boyfriend before. Just like he'd never had a girlfriend. If Anna started going out with some guy, Dylan would have to go out with some girl, right? They had to go through this together. Just like everything else.

"So... why wouldn't you?"
"Because--" she struggled. She had hoped Dylan might claim her as his own and forbid her to go out with Elliott. "I don't know. If we went to the movies, would you come with me? I don't know what he expects to happen on a first date... what if I don't like him and..." she rolled over to crush herself against Dylan.
"I won't go," he said firmly. He didn't really desire to see anything that might happen between Anna and Elliott. "Don't go past first base on your first date."
She made a face. "Why would I ever want someone else to touch me? I don't even know him. I should say no."
"No. Say yes," Dylan insisted, not believing that the lies he let out could possibly sound true. "It's time you had a life."
She giggled half-heartedly. "Thanks."
"If he hurts you, tell me. I'll fix him," Dylan said, the passion spilling out through his words. This wasn't a lie. His uncondicional love for his best friend wouldn't prevent her from experimenting, but he would protect her to the best of his ability. His arms fell around her.
She looked up to see his face. "You would, wouldn't you."

He pressed his lips to hers. He didn't cout this as a kiss, technically speaking. He meant it to signify his agreement to her statement. The unbreakable vow, if you will. This not-strictly-speaking-kiss lasted only several seconds too long. He pulled back. Anna's body trembled, but she clung faithfully to his side.

From the moment he released her lips, she lost all train of thought whatsoever. They'd kissed before, under different circumstances, and it was always perfectly timed. Just when she needed it most, he had that reassuring touch. Most of their best memories occurred when they were along together. Every single thought in Anna's brain had to do with Dylan, and a hundred percent of her memories included him, usually standing right next to her through it all.

Their parents basically learned to accept the bond between the kids. At first, it was unhealthy. Anna refused to play at the park with anyone else but Dylan. Dylan never went to the grocery store with his parents without Anna. They threw the wildest tantrums if ever faced with separation. Dylan spent a month over summer vacation with his grandmother one year and tried to starve himself to death. Needless to say, next time Grandma asked for a visit from her grandson, she also got to meet Anna. Both sets of parents got into the habit of treating the kids like siblings. Anna's mom automatically bought a fourth plane ticket when planning a trip to Disney Land. Dylan's father even signed Anna's name on the family Christmas card. Routinely, they took turns sleeping over at each other's houses. Both had their own boxes of clothes at the other's place, and neither parent bothered to call and check where their child was. Anna called Dylan's parents mom and dad, too, and couldn't refer to anything as "his" or "mine."

Argueably, though, Dylan was the more attatched child, the bigger dependent in their relationship. He constantly peppered Anna with his problems, emptied his thoughts to her, and rambled nonsense for hours on end. Sensible Anna was more willing to try an all-girls camp one summer, but Dylan threw a fit and talked her out of it. Their lives were impossibly intertwined in a complex support system. Only Anna could bring herself to question how unusually tightly she was bonded to Dylan. Where they as indestructible as they seemed? In a sudden, fitful spasm, she pulled the body of the boy she loved even closer to herself.

At least they both tried to make other friends. Anna occasionally hung out with a sweet group of kids at lunch, and they seemed to accept Dylan's company as well. He only had friends through Anna. She was the cuter, friendlier, more innocent of the two, the more easily likeable. So it shouldn't have been a surprise to him that someone asked her out. Of course not. It was her reaction that surprised him. All their lives, they rid themself of dependency on other people. Some they grew out of, some they meticulously plucked away. It amazed him that now she wanted another boy to give her attention to. All in all, Dylan had no personal reasons to distrust Elliott, but he began to feel a fairly strong resentment towards the other boy. Anna wanted someone else. Maybe it was just a short phase, naturally occuring and unrevolutionary. He felt her arms tighten around him. He was the only person she would ever truly need. He would make sure of that.