Ten year-old Alan Tracy pushed damp blond hair out of his eyes and hid behind a tall tree on the schoolyard limits. Rain beat down on him and turned the dirt beneath his worn running shoes to mud. He had slipped and slid until he'd found his favourite hiding spot on the property. From there, he was invisible to everyone around, but he could watch everything they did.

He snickered quietly to himself as he peered around the tree trunk and saw the girl chasing him stop dead in her tracks, wondering where he'd gone. Shining black hair fell to her shoulders, framing a delicate face set with dark, inquisitive eyes. She looked around, eyes narrowing as she searched the grove of trees for her fair companion.

Tin-Tin Kyrano had been one of Alan's best friends since the beginning of grade school. While other boys were shrieking about girls having cooties, Alan and Tin-Tin had ignored them and stayed close while other childhood friendships shattered into a million pieces before them. They'd become a form of outcasts, suffering relentless ridiculing from all their previous friends.

But Alan and Tin-Tin didn't care. They had each other, and they knew they'd be best friends regardless of what anyone else said or did to them.

"Alan!" Tin-Tin yelled, putting her hands on her hips. "Alan, my father wants me home in ten minutes! Please come out!"

The look on her face was full of worry at the thought of being late for her curfew. Rain dripped off her features and ran trails down her cheeks, sliding down her neck and disappearing into the fabric of her light summer dress. From his hiding place, he could study her.

To Alan, she was beautiful. She always had been, but now he was really beginning to notice it.

"Come get me!" He taunted, pressing himself against the tree, keeping his gaze on her.

Tin-Tin scowled slightly and followed his voice, stepping daintily through the mud. It splattered up her legs but she didn't breathe a word of complaint. It wasn't long before she found herself beneath the cover of the trees and she pushed her ebony hair out of her eyes, strands hanging in limp sections down her back.

"Alan!" She called again, getting frustrated. It was cold, she was wet and muddy – she just wanted to go home.

"Come get me, come get me!" He repeated, smirking to himself.

Tin-Tin listened intently and walked to her right a few paces, coming within only feet of his hideout. "Alan?"

He kept quiet now, knowing if he spoke she'd find him. She was aware she was close because of his silence and peeked around the tree.

"I found you!" She said, smiling triumphantly.

He sighed and moved towards her. "That's not fair. You made me talk," he grumbled.

"I didn't make you talk," she pointed out. "You spoke up by your own free will."

Alan glared at her and crossed his arms, hair falling into his eyes and obstructing his vision. He didn't have anything to say to that.

She grinned and pulled him away from the tree. "Come on, I really have to get home. It's my turn to cook dinner."

He perked up at that. "What are you going to make? Can I come for supper?"

"You've been over for the last two nights, Alan. Father's going to be sick of you."

"Then why don't you come to our place? Grandma's making spaghetti." He looked at her pleadingly. "Please, Tin-Tin? I don't want to say goodnight yet."

Tin-Tin smiled at him, making his heart do things it hadn't done mere months ago. "I love spaghetti."

"I bet Grandma's spaghetti is better than your dad's!" He challenged, not even noticing where he was walking any more. All he saw was her.

She looked across the muddy field towards the group of houses on the other side. Their two families had been neighbors since before she could remember. "We'll have to see about that."

"Then come over for dinner!" He proceeded to coax her into accepting his invitation, putting on his best pouting face.

Thunder roared in the distance and lightning flashed a few miles away. She shivered beneath her thin dress and realized she was still holding on his hand. Tin-Tin immediately blushed, dropped it and picked up her pace. "Hurry, Alan, I think a storm's coming."

He took her hand again, his own freezing because of the rain, and dashed across the field, pulling her with him.

Tin-Tin shrieked and followed, tugged harshly along by his grasp. Rain continued to pour down on them, soaking them to the bone.

They say we're too young to know
We're too young to fall in love
But all I keep dreaming of
Is marrying you

It had rained for the rest of the afternoon, turning into hail when the sky began to get darker. He'd sat at his window and watched Tin-Tin run home; watched her intentionally jump in every puddle in her way; watched her giggle with glee as her dress got soaked again.

Despite Grandma's offers to put her cotton dress in the dryer while they ate, Tin-Tin had spent the evening leaving imprints of water wherever she sat or stood. Alan's father had just shaken his head when he saw the stain on the couch.

"Someday," Jeff had said to his mother, "she'll be one of those teenagers that flips out when she spills something on her clothes."

When he'd overheard the remark, Alan had giggled. He couldn't imagine Tin-Tin any different than the way she was, and he hoped he wouldn't have to adjust to his best friend becoming a young woman who was more concerned about fashion than catching frogs in the pond during the long summer days. The thought scared him. He never wanted to lose the Tin-Tin he had, even if he gained the Tin-Tin that would show up later.

Alan woke up the next morning thinking of those things. They lingered in his mind all through the day and he avoided Tin-Tin at every opportunity. She came up to him at lunch break, eyes sparkling in the fresh sunlight that was only appreciated after a terrible storm.

"Thanks for having me for dinner yesterday, Alan." She beamed at him. "But I still think my father's spaghetti could give your grandmother a run for her money."

He pushed the swing he was sitting on a little higher, dragging his feet along the ground when he passed it. "You're welcome," he replied simply, in no mood to chat.

He'd realized something the night before, as he'd watched her dance in the rain from his window. Something that twisted his gut just at her name, made him feel sick to even think of feeling how he did. At ten years old, Alan wasn't even sure he knew what was going on. But he certainly had an idea.

Alan thought he was in love with Tin-Tin.

They say we're too young to know
Then how come it hurts inside
And how come I cry at night
When you say we are through

"Alan?" Tin-Tin asked as they walked home together after school. He'd tried to get out of the building without bumping into her, but had failed.

"Yeah?"

"Is something the matter?"

He shook his head, trying to keep from looking at her. "No."

"Are you sure? You didn't talk to me in Math, and I was sitting right beside you. You always talk to me in that class."

"Yes, I'm sure. Just leave me alone, Tin-Tin."

She turned her eyes from the sidewalk to him, hurt evident in her expression. "But Alan…"

"Stop talking to me!" He glared at her. "Why would I talk to you? You're just a disgusting girl." Inside, his heart lurched. The look on her face was dejected and pained and it hurt him just to look at her.

She fell silent for a long moment, looking down at her shoes. "I thought you didn't care that I was a girl."

"Well, now I do. Go away, Tin-Tin. I don't want to talk to you again." He ran the rest of the way home, blinded by tears.

Why was he feeling this way? And why was he pushing her away when all he wanted was to pull her closer?

They don't understand a thing
Nothing will change our plans
They say, let it go
'Cause we're too young to know

That night, Alan found his older brother Scott sitting in the living room. Scott was nine years older than him and Alan looked up to his eldest sibling, wanting to be just like him.

"Scott?" Alan said shyly as he entered the living room to find Scott lying on his back on the couch reading a pilot's magazine.

Scott raised his head at Alan's voice and smiled warmly at him. "Hi, squirt. What can I do for you?"

Alan made a face. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry, squirt." Scott sat up and put his magazine on the coffee table. "Why the long face?" 

Alan sat down on the couch beside him and sighed. "Scott, have you ever loved a girl?"

The question took the dark-haired Tracy by surprise. He raised an eyebrow at Alan. "What are you getting at, Alan?"

"I think I love Tin-Tin," he murmured, studying his hands in shame.

Scott grinned widely. "Are you sure, Alan?" His brother was so young to be feeling such things – surely it was just some childish game he was playing. Scott was just waiting for Alan to jump up off the couch and confess that it was a joke.

Alan nodded and sniffled slightly.

"Hey, squirt, don't cry." Scott raised his head with a calming hand. "Why does this upset you?" He still couldn't believe it. "You're only ten years old. You're too young to be in love."

Alan met his gaze with weary, tear-filled eyes. "I'm always too young for everything," he complained quietly.

"No, you're not. You're just too young to know what love is, squirt. It'll come to you when you're older."

"I'm not too young!" Alan protested, his sadness turning to anger. "I'm not!"

"Calm down, Alan. You're just confused."

"I'm not confused, Scott. I know what I'm talking about. I love Tin-Tin!"

Scott was taken aback by his younger brother's sudden attitude change. "Maybe you need some time away from her. Then you'll see you're just misunderstanding your feelings for her. Tin-Tin is your friend, Alan. You're only ten years old," he reminded him carefully. "It's impossible for you to know what love feels like when you're only ten."

"That's not true," Alan muttered. "I know. I know I do. Because I do love Tin-Tin. I do Scott, I do!"

"Alan, take a break from seeing her for a few days, all right? It might do the both of you some good. You spend too much time together as it is."

Alan nodded silently and pulled away from his sibling. "I'm going to go play my video games then."

Scott's smile returned. "Good idea, Alan. I'll call you when lunch is ready."

Alan left the room, not sure how he was going to survive not seeing Tin-Tin for so long.

They say we spend too much time together
Too many hours alone
The nights on the telephone
Just me and you

Tin-Tin had grown tired of trying to bring Alan to his window. She dropped the pebbles she'd been using to get his attention on the grass and shuffled home.

"I hate him," she murmured to herself as she started up her driveway. "I hate Alan Tracy."

From her bedroom's window seat, she could sit and look right into his bedroom. She remembered when they'd made a tin can communication system like they'd learned in Science class. They'd spent hours talking into it from one window to the other, having made the string long enough to pass over the street.

She sighed quietly and lowered herself onto the seat. The lights were off in his room, but a lonely shadow stood by the window. It disappeared behind the curtain when it noticed her. Tin-Tin squinted, trying to see if it were Alan. She recognized the shape and knew it couldn't be anyone but him.

"Why won't you talk to me, Alan?" She asked the shifting curtain across the street, knowing he was probably standing behind it watching her. "What did I do?"

They say it's for our own good
That we should stay apart
But what is a broken heart
Supposed to do

Alan was going crazy. There was no other way to put it.

He played video games on his Nintendo system until his eyes were bloodshot. He played 'Go Fish' with Gordon until he couldn't tell the difference between a heart and a diamond. He played within the walls of the house with his race car models despite the glorious sunshine outside calling to him.

That afternoon found him sitting at his window, looking across the street into Tin-Tin's bedroom. She was in the kitchen helping her father cook dinner and her room was vacant. He could see the edge of a poster if he turned his head just right, and her mirror if he looked in the other direction. He wanted to go over there and apologize, but Scott had said to stay away.

So he did.

When tears fall from my eyes
Like rain from the silver skies
Let this heartache go
'Cause we're too young to know

"Father?" Tin-Tin asked timidly as she tore up lettuce for their Caesar salad. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Tin-Tin." Kyrano, as he was known as, smiled at his only daughter.

"Is Mr. Tracy on vacation with his sons this weekend?" She knew very well that he wasn't, but she didn't want to admit to herself that her best friend was ignoring her.

Kyrano shook his head. "No, Tin-Tin, I don't believe so." He paused in mid-peel of the potato in his hand. "Is Alan not home?"

"He is, Father, he just won't talk to me."

"Why is that?"

"He said I was just a disgusting girl." Tin-Tin's eyes watered and she blinked, trying to keep tears away.

Kyrano watched her, noting the heartbroken look on her face. "Oh, Tin-Tin, that's not true."

"But he thinks so." She put down the lettuce and washed her hands, drying them before wiping at the tears that trickled down her face. "I thought he was my friend."

"I thought he was too." Kyrano frowned, deep in thought. "Do you want me to call Mr. Tracy and ask him about Alan?"

"No!" Tin-Tin exclaimed immediately. "No, Father, please don't. I don't want Alan to know he upset me."

Kyrano squeezed her shoulder gently. "All right, my daughter. I won't interfere."

She smiled at him through her tears. "Thank you, Father."

He returned the smile and went back to his work. "Why don't you go play outside while I finish this?"

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Yes, go on, Tin-Tin. You've been in the house all weekend. There's a birds nest in the big tree in the backyard. You should go see if there are any eggs in it."

Her eyes brightened. "Okay, Father. Thank you."

He watched her dash out the door and shook his head lightly. She and Alan were so close…what could have possibly gotten into the youngest of his dear friend's sons?

And if there's a chance one day
That we could run away
Would our love grow
They say we're too young to know

"Hi, Tin-Tin."

Tin-Tin screamed and jumped in surprise at the quiet voice. It wasn't an unusual occurrence to find Alan sitting on top of the monkey bars of her jungle gym, but it was just then.

"Alan, what are you doing here?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips and looking up at him sternly.

"I came to talk to you."

"Why?"

"Because I'm sorry." Alan swung down from his perch and landed on the grass beside her.

"For calling me a disgusting girl?"

Alan had never seen her this angry with him. He nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Tin-Tin."

Her gaze softened slightly. "You didn't mean it, right?"

Alan shook his head. "No, I didn't mean it. I don't know why I said it, either. I really am sorry." His blue eyes were large and apologetic, begging her to forgive him.

Tin-Tin sighed quietly. "Okay, I believe you." She smiled at him this time and extended her hand for their secret handshake. "Friends?"

He shook his head again and she recoiled her hand in revelation. She'd hoped everything could go back to normal. Alan stepped towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips. He was as astonished as she was at his action and blushed bright crimson. "I love you, Tin-Tin."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "You…You love me?" She stammered. "What are you talking about, Alan?" Her mouth tingled where he'd put his and she tried to ignore it.

"I don't know what I'm talking about." His expression was so sincere it took her breath away. "But I love you."

"Alan," she murmured hesitantly, "what do you think love is?"

He thought for a moment. "It's…I don't know. I guess it's painful to be apart." He recalled the last two days he'd gone without seeing her. "And it's not wanting to lose the other person no matter what happens. I think it's not listening to what other people say about you, because it's not important. It's…It's just something special, I think." He looked at her hopefully, wanting her to return his feelings.

Her gentle smile that always made his heart do back flips returned for the first time in days. "In that case…I love you too, Alan."

++++++++++++++

First off, I know this goes against everything Thunderbirds related. Alan and Tin-Tin didn't meet until Jeff found Kyrano, and the Tracy boys lived on a farm in Kansas…I know. Okay? So please don't point out all my errors to me.

Happy late Valentine's Day everyone :)

(If they sound a bit too mature for their age, blame it on 21st century education. Maybe it's gotten better for younger kids? LOL.)

The song is called "Too Young to Know" by Adam Gregory. I don't claim to own it or Thunderbirds. =D