A Childhood Promise

The night air whipped around causing my long black hair to whirl around my chubby face. My stubby little fingers wrapped around my hoodie that clung to my small frame shielding me away from the cool air. As I walked along the same path like I did everyday since I was five. Walking towards the same house I visited everyday since I was allowed.

My short legs carried me towards the house I called my second home. As I walked up the street I found myself pulling my jacket closer and closer. I was used to walking the streets at night by myself since I could remember, but tonight something was nagging at me, something deep inside I was scared, and I didn't know why. As my feet took me to the front door I took a deep breathe before I reached my hand from around my waist and knocked on the door in front of me.

Three knocks later and the door opened, to reveal my best friend, Nick. A smile broke out on his face when he saw it was me, he stepped aside and let me come in, closing the door behind me. I said a quick hello to his parents, and then we climbed the stairs towards his room. Once in the confides of his room was when I started to relaxed. Like everything was safe.

"Hey Nick," I said giving my best friend a hug before sitting on his bed.

"Hey Jasmine," He chuckled and returned the hug before he too took residence on his bed.

I was sitting down on the left side as he was on the right side. He was lying down on his back with his hands behind his head looking up at the ceiling. I was sitting with my legs crossed looking at him looking at the ceiling. We have known each other since we attended the same Kindergarten. I always had his back, and he'd always have mine.

We stayed in his room for hours just talking and laughing, it's what we usually did, every night, but we'd play tag, it was my house then his and kept swapping. Tonight was his night. It was now really dark outside and I should really be getting home – Nick would walk me back – I looked at my friend, who was falling asleep next to my now lying body. A smile formed on my lips as I thought of a plan.

I slowly and gently got onto my knees facing Nick. I then reached down and put both hands onto his shoulders.

"Rah," I screamed and shook him.

"ARGH!" Nick yelled and gave me a dirty look as he got up.

I was laughing so hard that I didn't see Nick come towards me with arms out stretched. Before I could retaliate, Nick had me pinned down on the bed tickling me. I was a very ticklish person and he knew that. I writhed beneath his body, tears escaping my eyes from laugh. I tried several times to push him off but failed everytime, seeing as he was a lot stronger then I was.

"Say you're sorry Jazzy," Nick said using my nickname.

"No, you're the one who was falling asleep on me," I said swatting his hands away.

"So, you scared the beejeebus out of me," He said still attacking me.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry Nick," I said and he stopped tickling me and I got up and caught my breathe while wiping the tears away from my eyes.

"You're so mean," I mumbled.

"What was that?" Nick said raising his eyebrow.

"Nothing, I better be going now Nickypoo," I said using his nickname he hated.

"Argh, I hate that name," Nick cringed.

"Aww poor baby, let's go loser," I said getting up and adjusted my clothes so I was comfortable again.

"Fine, let's go Mini," He said referring to the nickname I hated.

"Okay I won't call you that again, just don't call me that," I sighed.

"Good, let's go," He said and grabbed a hoodie off his chair.

We exited his room and I said goodbye to his family, and then we were off walking on the path towards my house that was three houses down. The walk was filled with silence bar the night creatures. We didn't say anything to each other. I found this to be weird, because normally everytime we walked home we'd always be talking. Pushing the feeling aside we walked up to the front steps of my house. I reached into my jean pocket to retrieve my keys. I was about to place them into the keyhole when Nick stopped me.

"Wait, I want to ask you something before you go inside, you got to promise me not to laugh though," He said looking nervous.

"Sure anything Nick you know that, and I promise," I said taking a step away from the door.

He led me back to the top of the steps and motioned to sit down. We sat next to each other; he was facing me as I was waiting for what he had to say.

"Jazzy we have known each other what, 13 years and we have both been there for each other through everything right?" He said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Well can you promise me that by we'd still be together, like we'd always be friends forever, but we'd be together, cause there is no one else I rather spend my life with other then you," He said looking into my baby blues.

I was surprised. I knew that we'd be friends forever, we rarely fought, we had so much in common, and we had been friends too long not to be there for each other. We are sixteen and there is a lifetime ahead of us and anything can happen between then but I too knew that I didn't want to spend my life with anyone other then him either, so I agreed.

"Sure Nick, it'll be us until the end," I smiled.

He returned the smile and gave me a hug which I returned. We broke a part and got up and I unlocked my door, but before heading inside I reached out my hand towards him.

"Pinky promise?" I said showing him my pinky.

"Pinky promise," He said and we shock pinkies.

"Night Nick," I said.

"Night Jasmine," He said and walked back to his house.

I closed the door and locked it. I went straight up to my room and got changed into my pajamas.

The room around me was buzzing with the chatter from the people that occupied this room with me. I was sitting in the corner with my headphones in one hand, and my iPod in the other one. Not feeling the need to add to the chatter, I placed the headphones in my ear, and pressed play on my iPod. I was instantly met with Gives You Hell by The All-American Rejects.

I leaned back in the chair that I was currently sitting in, relaxing every muscle in my body. Feeling my eyes close, I didn't fight it and let it happed. I just sat there listening to the music and the lyrics letting my thoughts take me where ever they desired. I should have known that listening to them would only make me think of them.

Being in a semi-crowded café, I sure as hell wanted to escape the current atmosphere I was in. I was close friends with the band I was listening to, and best friends with lead guitarist, Nick Wheeler. I was in Kindergarten when I had met him, and ever since then we had clicked and been the best of friends ever since. His band was famous, and toured often, I would go with them, not caring that I have seen them play several times before.

Especially when they were starting out, I was often the only audience member in the crowd when they practiced, and it only seemed right that I was there when they played at every show. It was a tradition now. As I heard the guitar solo, Nick's part, I was then transported to the time when we were sixteen and we alternated each night whose place we were going to spend time at, most of the times we would just hang and talk.

When we had homework we would complete that before doing anything remotely fun-based. As school was a priority. There were the occasions that the other guys came over and we all hung out, but it was the occasions that we spent together that I will always hold dear to my heart. No matter what life threw at us, we handled it together or worked through it together. There was nothing that life couldn't throw at us that we couldn't get through.

Even now we are stronger then we were back then, we had grown up, matured, lived in the real world. We had witnessed life and still are witnessing it. As the song was coming to an end, I heard the chime above the door ring and I turned my attention towards the door. I smiled seeing the person I was waiting for walk through the door.

I turned my iPod off and was pulling out the ear buds, when Nick reached my table. Smiling down at me I stood up and engulfed him into a hug. He returned the hug and soon we let go of each other and sat down opposite each other.

"What were you listening to?" He asked nodding towards my iPod that lay on the table.

"Gives You Hell," I smiled.

"Oh really?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, haha," I laughed.

"So how have you been?" He asked.

"I am okay, you?" I asked. Even though it's been 24 hours since we've seen each other, we still asked each other how we were, because sometimes, what we seemed to be – mostly on my part – isn't exactly how we were feeling. Being best friends, we always knew the others cover-ups.

"I am good," He said leaning forward into his chair.

"That's good then, so what are we going to do today?" I asked my friend.

"Whatever you wanted to do," He said.

"Hmm, how bout we go back to mine and watch movies all day," I suggested.

"Sounds perfect," He said and he got up from his spot.

I also got up from my spot, and we both went to the counter and ordered a coffee to go and headed towards my house. The café wasn't that far from our house, so we walked back to my house. I would have just stayed home and waited until Nick came over, but he was at Tyson's house so we decided to meet at the café just up the road from us. We were walking up the path to my house and I opened the screen door. Nick greeted my family briefly as we walked in and walked up to my room.

Once in my room, I closed the door behind us and fetched a few DVD's from my collection and held them up for Nick to decide. Picking one, I placed it into the player and kicked off my shoes next to Nick's and took residence beside Nick on my bed, lying down. I pressed play and we watched the movie.

xxx

It was a couple movies later that we decided that we had enough and switched the television off and was now talking about things. We were facing each other and under my blanket. I was looking past Nick at my calendar; it was a couple of months until his 28th birthday. I was instantly bought back to the memory of Nick asking me to keep a promise when we were sixteen and sitting outside my house after talking forever over at his place.

I scooted closer to Nick and placed my arm around his midsection under the blanket. I looked at him in the eyes and I brought my face closer to his, resting my forehead against his forehead. His breathe played on my lips as we were caught up in the moment. Nick placed his arm around my midsection and at the tough of his arm against my exposed skin as lying down under a blanket, moving about, causes your t-shirt to rise.

At the touch I could feel the same feeling I have been getting lately in my stomach. Being 27 years old, I should know what this feeling was, I have had this feeling once before and that was when I was 18, and in-love. Was I in-love with Nick? I thought as we continued to lay there, not moving. This behaviour, the touching the close proximity was always between us, plenty of people have always mistaken us for being a couple with the way were are always holding hands, snuggling, always around each other, wiping food off each others faces.

We had always denied the questions and I have always just brushed it off as being just one of those things. But lately I have been getting nervous, the whole butterflies in my stomach when Nick's body makes contact with my own, my heart speeds up everytime I hear him, and my body goes weak just thinking about him. I have brushed the feelings off every single time it happens, and just blamed it on the thoughts people have voiced.

But could it be possible that I have falling for him, it was bound to happen sometime wasn't it? I thought. I closed my eyes and just laid there listening to our breathing, and the night falling around us and the minutes pass as we just stayed in the same position for what seemed like years. When I finally opened my eyes again, I saw that Nick too had his eyes closed. Taking the advantage of him not seeing what I was about to do, I closed the gap between our lips. His eyes instantly flew open, but automatically closed as he returned the kiss. Mirroring him, my eyes too closed automatically as we kissed.

His arm that was around my body was now upon my check cupping it in his hands as I pulled him closer to me with my hand that once was around his waist was now gripping and pulling around his neck. We broke a part and let the oxygen return to our lungs. He rested his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes as I could hear our breathing become in sync and the minutes pass by as we lay there together.

…and the childhood promise was kept.