Late August, 1979

Winthrop, Mass

Third Person POV

Throwing yet another worn though youth-hockey t-shirt into a box, Isabella Eruzione sighed dramatically and plopped down on her bed. Her friend Jaime rolled her eyes, but Izzy was too caught up in her own thoughts to notice.

As she reached her arm out to her left, her fingers grasped a photo that she knew all too well. Three smiling faces looked out at her. She reflected their expressions as her eyes scanned the picture. Her brother Mike's sitting on the right, brown eyes gleaming with shameless joy. Izzy herself was sandwiched in the middle, with big green eyes and dark curly hair framing her laughing face. And there he is, on her left, his usual cocky grin replaced by a genuine look of happiness. It was taken last New Year's Eve, when everything was perfect. Izzy was reminded once again how much life can change in less than nine months.

"Well isn't this just my luck. I transfer from BU to the U of M so that I can get away from Jack and now he's going to be there. What did I do to deserve this?"

This comment earned another eye roll from Jaime.

"Well, obviously I mean besides having a two year relationship with one of my brother's best friends, falling in love and sleeping with the aforementioned friend and going against all of my family's wishes in order to get away from the friend, and of course keeping this all a secret from my brother."

"Obviously," Jamie replied dryly, "Let's cut the crap here Izzy, you have two options: change your plans yet again to avoid Jack like you originally planned, or you can put on the big girl pants and go face your 'lover' like you should."

"Ouch Jamie, your words cut me real deep." Said Izzy sarcastically, "But really, what am I supposed to do? Every time I see him I want to go back on everything we said this summer."

"Well, I still don't understand why that would be such a bad thing. You never gave me the dish on the big split."

"Let's just say that no matter how much we want to, there's no going back now."

"OK, now you officially have to tell me. It's the Best Friends Code."

"Best Friends Code, what the heck is that?"

'C'mon Izzy, you know about the BFC."

From the blank stare on Izzy's face she obviously had no idea what Jamie was blabbering on about.

"You poor deprived child," Jamie shook her head with overemphasized sadness, "The code is a list of rules that best friends have to follow and as your best friend I am obligated to pry every-"

"If I tell you why we broke up will you stop blabbering on about the damn BFC?"

"Of course I will! Now spill the beans."

"The night of his graduation, Jack proposed to me."

"Isabella Margaret Eruzione stop lying and tell me the truth right now."

"I'm serious, he asked me to marry him and I said no."

"No? You said no? Why in the name of all that is holy did you say no?"

"Because as far as my family is concerned there is not nor has there ever been a relationship between Jack O'Callahan and me. What was I supposed to say to them Jamie, 'Hey Ma, remember Jack? Well funny story, we started dating 2 years ago and now we're gonna get married! Tell Mikey to throw in a couple more meatballs!' I don't think they would have been too happy about that."

"Ok, ok, marriage might not have been the next logical choice, but why'd it have to end completely, you could have gone back to how it was."

"Yeah, but when I said no, he asked me why, and I told him what I told you, and for some reason it offended him and we got in this huge fight and all this stuff that we'd been holding in just came pouring out. It was totally awful." Tears were now spilling out of Izzy's emerald eyes, "The next time I saw him, he would barely speak to me, and when we were finally alone, he broke it off. I've seen him maybe twice since then."

Jamie reached over and scooped her friend op into a hug.

"Iz, you're going to be alright. You're only 20 years old, and I'm sure that there will be some fine Nordic prince waiting for you out in Minnesota."

The brunette laughed through her tears, and brought a delicate hand up to wipe the drops away.

"We should probably finish packing," she said, lifting the abandoned photo and placing it gently in a nearby box, "but, if you find them, leave those big girl pants out for me. I'll be needing them."