Chapter 1

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

In the summer of 1998, life looked pretty good. This was especially true at the end of Sycamore Street in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the end of a cul de sac were two houses that sat side by side. In one house lived the Martin family – Kurt, Carey and their twin five year old twin sons, Zack and Cody. In the house next door lived the Pickett family – George, Sally and their nine daughters with one more on the way. If you asked the two mothers which house was the most chaotic, both would declare without a doubt it was theirs.

The two families were extremely close. In fact, George and Kurt worked together for the same company in Kansas City. George had moved away from the family farm to make it on his own. Kurt had given up his desire for a career in music when his sons were on the way. And the two mothers were close as well as both had been pregnant at the same time – Carey with her twin boys and Sally with her daughter Bailey. In fact, to get an idea of just how close the families were, both Carey and Sally had gone into labor on the exact same day.

The mothers had laughed that their children would probably be as close as siblings growing up. Well, they were half right. Zack wanted absolutely nothing to do with what he perceived to be icky girls. So, he focused on playing with several of the boys down the street. However, Cody and Bailey were the best of friends from the very beginning. As they grew older, it never occurred to them that people would think it was weird that their best friend was of the other sex. It didn't matter to them. They were like two peas in a pod even from the beginning. They would share pacifiers. They would take nap time together. They even shared the occasional bath time together.

Growing up, they were inseparable. Both mothers thought it was adorable, and on more than a few occasions, mused that they might be in-laws someday. This isn't to say that everyone thought it was cute. Zack loved to tease them constantly. He was always pulling on Bailey's pigtails or doing something else devious to torture them. However, Cody began to fight back and often the two twins would end up in scrapes over it.

To Cody, Bailey was his best friend, and if anyone had a problem with that, then he would deal with them. And to Bailey, Cody was her best friend and loved that he would stand up for her. They were always together except when one of their mothers would call them in for dinner or for bedtime. Many a day, they would go on nature walks together around their backyards, and both were fascinated by the littlest of things. It would be safe to say that early on, both had a thirst for knowledge, and it make them both feel good that their best friend shared that with them. And both were completely honest with each other always asking the other questions about anything and everything.

However, the one thing neither would tell the other was that they both secretly had crushes on the other. Bailey didn't want to say anything because she feared losing her best friend. In a house with eight other sisters and another on the way, she found it rare to be the center of attention. But she always felt that when she was with Cody, she was special. And Cody always appreciated the fact that Bailey treated him as an individual person instead of half of a set. He always felt like she made him feel special and unique too.

Life looked pretty good to the both of them. It was the summer before they were going to begin kindergarten, and both were excited as could be. They couldn't stop talking about going to school together. Of course, this lead to Zack making fun of them even more, but they didn't care.

However, something was about to happen to throw their lives completely upside down. It seems the company that George and Kurt worked for was having some problems. Downsizing was the only option it had, and according the higher ups, they were only going to keep one of the two men. Both were made aware of this, and both took it hard. But, each had a family to support and busted their humps to make sure they were the one kept. This added tension to the friendship. Finally, both felt that the other was trying to one up or sabotage the other's work. Tempers flared and hurtful words were said.

Neither Cody or Bailey were old enough to understand what was really going on, they both just knew their dads looked really unhappy. And they heard their dads talking bad about the other's dad. They both wanted to yell at their dads and tell them to play nice, but never could find the time to do so. Cody often found George glaring at him when he would be playing with Bailey, and Bailey found Kurt doing the same to her. But that didn't matter to them. Their best friend was worth it.

Finally, the company made their decision, and it was Kurt. This caused even more arguments as George took the fact that he was now unemployed personally. He forbid Bailey to fraternize with Cody, and Kurt did the same with Cody. But again, neither cared. They would sneak away as often they could just to be together. To them, nothing was going to interfere with their friendship.

However, with George out of work, the Pickett family had to make a tough decision. George wasn't having much luck finding a new job that would let him support his large family as he had before. He and Sally spent many late nights talking, and finally agreed that their only option was to move back to the family farm in his hometown of Kettlecorn. That night, they gathered their children and broke the news to them. Their daughters didn't like it, but none of them took it harder than Bailey. She immediately ran out of the house. And there was only one place she was going – to find Cody. And she found him in his backyard.

With tears in her eyes, she dragged Cody to a special place that they thought was their own. Cody was scared because Bailey was crying and he didn't know what to do. So, he did the only thing he could think of – he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. Finally, Bailey was able to get her emotions under check and she was finally able to get out what her parents had just said. Cody was horrified.

"Bailey...I won't let them take you away..."

Bailey wiped her tears and just looked at her best friend. "How?"

Cody paused. He didn't know the answer to that one. "I don't know...We'll...we'll...we'll run away together!"

That brought a smile to Bailey's young face. "Really?"

Cody nodded. He would do anything for her. "Yeah...I mean, it can't be that hard, right?"

"Where will we go?"

"We'll go to Never Never Land...That way we don't have to grow up and become like our dads!"

"I don't want to end up like that, Cody..."

"Me either, Bails..."

Bailey had to smile. "Bails?"

Cody blushed. "I...uhhh...I..."

"Its okay. I kinda like it..."

"Don't worry, Bailey...We'll take care of each other."

Bailey just looked in Cody's eyes and she believed him. "Lets do it..."

"When do you want to leave?"

"Monday morning...that way they won't look for us until dinnertime..."

Cody nodded. "Deal..."

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails..."

"Thank you..."

Cody smiled. "What are best friends for?"

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Cody..." She leaned in and hugged him again.

Both thought their plan was foolproof. However, they were only five and had a lot to learn about the world. Bailey's parents weren't wasting time. They were leaving to head back to Kansas on Monday unbeknownst to their daughter. While Bailey had snuck out to see Cody again, Sally packed up all of her things. A U-Haul trailer was filled with all of their belongings and they were ready to leave.

On Monday morning, Bailey was woken up by her mother telling her that she needed to get up as they were leaving soon. Bailey began to panic. She was supposed to run away with Cody today! She couldn't leave now. But, she wasn't given much of a choice. Bailey kept looking for a way to get to Cody, but her father was watching her like a hawk. Finally, the last bag was packed and put in the station wagon.

Bailey was crying again as she saw nothing she could do. Knowing she was out of options, she finally begged her father the chance to say goodbye to Cody. George wasn't happy about it, but he finally let her go. Bailey ran out the back door and over to the Martin backyard. There, she found Cody waiting on her.

"What happened? You were supposed to be here hours ago!"

Bailey was still crying though.

"Bails? What's wrong?"

"Cody, we're moving today!"

"Noooo...No, you can't...We'll leave right now!"

"Cody, we can't...My Dad said I had five minutes to say goodbye to you..."

"Bailey, I don't want to say goodbye to you...I...I..."

Bailey just threw her arms around Cody's neck. "I'm going to miss you so much Cody...Promise me we'll write each other all the time..."

Cody felt a lump growing in his throat. "I promise, Bails..."

"And promise when we're older that no one will ever keep us apart again..."

"I promise that too..."

Bailey pulled back and just looked at Cody. "Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you will wait for me and won't ever forget me..."

"Bails, I could never forget you...I'll wait for you for as long as I have to..."

Bailey nodded as more tears rolled down her face. "I have to go now..."

Cody couldn't seem to find the words and watched as Bailey turned and began to walk away. But he knew he had to say something. "Bailey!"

She turned around to face him and Cody made up the distance between them.

"Bailey..."

"What is it, Cody?"

"I...ummm...I..." Cody couldn't find the words, so he just acted. He leaned in and kissed her.

To Cody, it was the most amazing feeling in the world. To Bailey, once she got over her initial surprise, she never wanted to stop. But they had to when Bailey heard her father calling her name. They just looked at each other one last time before Bailey turned and ran away.

Both had tears in their eyes wondering if they would ever see their best friend ever again.

To be Continued...