John was good about one thing: he kept in touch with Aubrey. Everyday when she'd walk in from school with her brothers, the phone would be ringing and she knew it was him. They would talk for an hour and then he'd have to go to a class so they'd hang up. She would call him at eight and they would talk until her mom yelled at her to get to sleep. The phone calls were a small comfort, but it was better than not hearing from John at all.

Every holiday and every summer John would come home from school and the moment he walked in the door, he would kiss his mother hello, say hi to his brothers and his father, and then walk over to Aubrey's house to see how she was doing. By the time he graduated, she was fifteen going on sixteen and was maturing into a beautiful young woman. He often found it hard to see the little girl he'd grown up with because she had changed so much. She was still the same Aubrey though, appearances aside. They would play basketball together, she'd kick his butt in soccer, and they'd spend all day and all evening outside. Once it was too dark to continue playing sports, they would sit on his back porch and talk for hours.

Boarding school had changed John. Before he'd left he was a somewhat quiet kid in school. He was into hip-hop, something others scoffed at him for, and he was often criticized for his taste in music, clothing, and the way he talked. In his new school he had found guys with his interests and had become more outspoken because of them. Aubrey liked John's newfound sense of confidence, and she also liked the fact that he had so many funny stories to tell her about the gallivanting he and his new friends did. She especially liked the story about the time he and his friend Steve ran around their dorms in nothing but wrestling boots, with jock straps on their faces.

"So did you guys get caught?" Aubrey asked between laughs.

"Nah, we never get caught. We're just two idiots who run around naked all night. Good thing it's an all guys dorm, or we'd be in trouble," John sighed in content and leaned back on the step behind him. Aubrey couldn't help noticing the now defined muscles on his arms flexing as he shifted around.

"You've been working out more," she commented, continuing to stare at his toned body. It was making her feel suddenly strange that she was taking notice of her best friend's body. Never in her life had she looked at him the way she was looking at him now.

"Yeah I have. Check this out!" John stood up and pulled his t-shirt off, tossing it at her as he started doing some poses.

Aubrey laughed out loud and clapped, but inside her head was spinning. Did she have a crush on John? No, it wasn't possible. He was like her brother. Although her brothers didn't have the body John had.

"You look great John. Boarding school's been good for you, huh?"

"It definitely has. I had the time of my life there. And I got into a great college because of it."

"College...I never thought I'd hear that word come out of your mouth. Hey, are you going to be here for my sweet sixteen?" She fluttered her eyelashes and gave him the patented Aubrey-Pout.

John smiled and put his shirt back on, "You bet. It's a date, lady."

"Actually, speaking of dates..."

John's expression suddenly turned serious, "You have a boyfriend?"

Aubrey blinked, "Where would you get a crazy idea like that? I was going to ask you to be my date for my party. Y'know, walk me into the hall and maybe dance with me. All the cheesy stuff."

The smile on John's face returned, "Why I'd love to, my dear. Who better than your best friend to be your date?"

Aubrey grinned as he took her hand in his much larger one and kissed it, before pulling her up and dragging her around the yard in a demented waltz. The two were laughing and stumbling over each other for a couple minutes, before John slapped Aubrey on the arm, yelling, "You're it!"

"John! We're too old for this!" Aubrey exclaimed, chasing after her friend as he darted in a zigzag across the grass.

"You're never too old for a good game of tag!" He yelled back, turning to run backwards so he could see where she was going. Aubrey laughed as he ran into a tree and fell to his knees.

"You ok, man?" She knelt down next to him to make sure he hadn't had the wind knocked out of him.

"I'm good. Since when has that tree been there?"

"Oh I don't know. Since we were kids, maybe? Oh, by the way, YOU'RE IT!"

Aubrey slapped John on the back and took off running. He jumped up and bolted after her, laughing his head off. Aubrey ducked out of his grip a few times, but finally fell pray to his old football fake-out and found herself "it" once again. She chased after John, as if they were still children, and when she got close enough, she pounced on his back, taking them both to the ground. John rolled over onto his back, so she was laying half on top of him. They smiled at each other and laughed a little as they caught their breath.

"God, I remember when we used to do that for hours," John said, looking up at the sky. The sun was almost finished setting and the light daylight blue had become a dark, almost black, blue broken up by hundreds of twinkling stars.

"No kidding. You used to be faster."

"Actually, you used to be slower. Are you on the track team now or something?"

"Me? Track? Please John, there's only two times I'll run: if there's a car running me down or if we're playing tag."

"John? Aubrey? Why don't you come on in now, we're going to have some ice cream and sing happy birthday to Kevin!" John's mother yelled from the back door.

The two smiled and got to their feet as they exchanged a look that said, "Just like old times."