Chop and Izzy had been friends forever, they'd just always been in each other's lives. Living three doors away from each other meant that their parents were friends and so they naturally played together as kids. Even at school they never drifted very far away from one another. Anyone who made cruel ginger jokes about Izzy got roughed up a bit and anyone who might have laughed Chop or his family and their reputation had a small feisty red-head trying to sink her teeth into them. Sure, they made new friends, Izzy going off with the girls and Chop hanging out with the lads from the estate, but they never stopped being there: walking home together and hanging out with groups of mutual friends at the weekends. Chop always made sure Izzy got home safe and Izzy always kept Chop away from too much trouble. They knew each other inside and out, so it was only natural for their friendship to develop into something more. Their parents always had joked that they were going to end up as family one day.