"Eli Goldsworthy and Clare Edwards were laying in a tent in Clare's back yard, it was around midnight they were still up watching movies on Eli's laptop. It was the last day of summer, and Clare was about to go into grade nine, Eli would start grade ten. Both kids were happy to be together at school again as they were inseparable, you never saw one without the other. It had been hard on both to be apart for so long. Clare turned looked over at her best friend and smiled they were going to be together at school again she had missed him this year. Eli stuck out his tongue out at her, Why are you looking at me Edwards?'' He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. ''Do you want this?'' He gave her one of his cocky smiles. ''I KNOW you think i'm hot like every other girl at school!'' Clare rolled her eyes there was one girl who had a crush on Eli and, that was it. She didn't say any thing and Eli shoved her playfully. ''Oh my GOD you do!'' he Joked. Eli knew she didn't already, and she knew he had no feelings of love for her besides in a brother sister way. They had made it clear to everyone that there was noting romantic between them. She crossed her arms and gave him a fake pout.

''Shut UP! I do not, and you know it!'' He raised an eyebrow at her as she punched him in the shoulder, she knew that her punches never hurt because Eli never failed to tell her they didn't. Sure enough he only rolled his eyes and began to eat popcorn. he saw she was still glaring at him and he put his arm around her and gave her a smile. She could never stay mad at him when he did that and that's why he did it whenever she was mad at him.

''Chill out Clare, I'm joking, but you know Imogen wants me!'' Clare rolled her eyes, the girl was always stalking Eli. She and Clare did not get along at all. Eli didn't mind her, however he avoided her at school because he didn't know how to reject her. She giggled at his smile he was so full of himself when he wanted to be. ''Could you be more smug?'' She asked raising her eyebrows at him. Eli put his hands to his chest jokingly.

''Absolutely!'' This was one of their many inside jokes, Clare said this whenever she thought Eli was being cocky and he always answered like that. Clare turned back to the laptop as sighed as Bella and Edward began to kiss, Eli had grudgingly agreed to watch Twilight with her. Not without sarcastic comments every two seconds. He rolled his eyes as Clare began to tear up. ''Clare, you've seen this 40 million times and you always cry at this part!'' Clare scowled at Eli punching him in the shoulder as hard as she could.

''Its called having emotions Eli.'' She snapped. They had this fight whenever Clare got him to watch Twilight. Eli rolled his eyes at her. She reached over and socked him in the arm again. ''You're a jerk''. Eli rolled his eyes again at her weak insult Clare never cussed ever.

'You hit Like a girl''. Clare swore Eli thought she was a guy, and she wasn't even a Tomboy although she wasn't like any other girl in her Class. She always did her homework, she got straight As and liked to read at lunch. She had braces and Glasses she hated both. Clare was you're everyday geek she hated the way she looked, but Eli would always tell her she was beautiful. However, she hated it when he forgot she was a girl.

''I AM a girl you tweeb''. She chucked a handful of popcorn at him, Eli snickered and sat up and threw his pillow over her face making her scream. To them gender had never mattered, Eli and Clare had always treated one another differently from anyone else in their lives anyway. Everyone could tell that the two of them were best friends, you would even think they were a couple if you didn't know them well. Eli and Clare knew this because it always happened to them whenever they hung out at the park.

''How could I forget?'' He reached over and wiped a tear from her eyes, and she glared at him and, smacked his arm away. He smirked at her and they laid down together in their sleeping bags as the the movie played. ''You cry like one at every movie we've ever watched''. Eli and Clare had a bond that they shared with no one else in the world, and they liked it that way. Clare hated to think of any girl being as close or God forbid closer to Eli then her. In fact it was even weird to think of Eli having a girlfriend, she didn't like to think about having to share Eli with another girl.

"Eli was the only person in the world who knew Clare on hundred percent, the only one who knew all her secrets. That she still slept with the stuffed toy her Dad gave her when she was five, she was the the only person who knew that the loner boy who everyone at Degrassi was afraid of was really a sweet, kind,creative and smart boy. They both knew neither one had kissed anyone yet aside from the kiss they shared when they were seven it had of course meant nothing to either of them. As Clare was thinking about this, she didn't notice Eli was crawling out of his sleeping bag.

''BOO!'' Clare screamed as Eli jumped on top of her and began to tickle her, she giggled as her stood over her tickled her.

''ELI!'' She screamed at the top of her lungs. ''ELI, ELI, ELI STOP!'' She tried to take hold of his arms but he was way stronger then her. She managed to rolled over and get on top of Eli and tickle him. ''HA HA''. She screamed as she kept tickling him, both of them were equally as ticklish. Eli raised his eyebrows as if he were surprised, then a sneaky smile creeped on to his face.

''You're stronger then you look Edwards!'' He said as he put his arms around her and flipped her back over. ''But not strong enough!'' he kept his arms around her and they continued to roll around. There was a shadow approaching the tent and Clare began to shake, she'd watched to many horror movies with Eli, this evening. The tent door began to unzip, and she felt Eli trembling as well. Clare screamed and Eli hugged her close to him protectively, for all they knew it could be an ax murder.

''Oh relax you two, its me!'' Darcy snapped as she crawled into the tent, and stood up, crossing her arms. ''Look, I need you two to shut up and go to sleep, so that we can all get some sleep!'' She snarled running her hands through her hair. They both rolled their eyes, this was a yearly thing at their sleepovers the night before the first day of school. They would stay up till some ungodly hour, and Darcy would come out to scream at them. She raised her eyebrows when she saw they were laying on the floor with arms around one another. ''You two are cute''. She said with a scowl and with that she existed the tent. Eli simply squeezed Clare tighter and gave her a smile, they crawled into their sleeping bags and looked at the ceiling. Things were silent for a few moments till Eli spoke.

''You're sisters such a buzz kill!''' He whispered, he gave her a fake pout and she giggled and rubbed his shoulder making him give her a affectionate smile. ''Not that you're much better''. Clare had spent all their lives stopping Eli from breaking his neck, once he'd wanted to jump off the swings while the swings were in the air, and Clare had nagged him into not doing it. She gave him a look of fake hurt and he gave her a goofy smile.

''Joking''.

''You better be Mr''. They rolled over again to face one another supported their heads with their elbows. Imogen always said Eli had pretty eyes, she didn't see it, but then again she didn't focus on his looks. They looked at one another for a second Eli gave her a smile and Clare smiled back, she knew that her and Eli would be close forever.

''Clare?'' He spoke softly as if he wanted only Clare to hear him. She glanced up at him, this was the first time he'd been serious that night. ''You know how everything Changed in middle school? Like you're parents breakup and every one in our classes went from being best friends to hating one another?'' Clare sighed thinking of all the girls in her grade who were close in seventh grade and no longer spoke now. It was like they had never even been best friends, they never spoke to one another in the halls anymore.

''Yeah I do''. He took her hand and looked in to her eyes, Care was wondering where he was going with this, she knew he was serious about it though. ''It's sad''. She looked at the grass and he put his finger under her chin and raised her head so she was looking in his eyes, then he gave her a smile.

''Can we promise that that'll never happen to us? That nobody and nothing will ever break our friendship?'' he looked so worried, Clare was worried about it too now she had been last year when Eli changed schools. But she nodded and gave Eli a reassuring smile. They'd made it this far and they'd make it through high school and they'd always be best friends Clare was sure of it.

''Eli, I can promise you that, it will always be just us and nobody else''. She put her arms around him and he hugged her close to him, everybody thought that they were dating or in love, they weren't it was as simple as that. But Clare did know Eli was her soul mate, you couldn't be this close to some one and not be soul-mates. You didn't always have to fall in love with you're soul mate sometimes it was deeper then that and with Clare and Eli, it was.

''Maybe not...'' Clare's heart stopped was he trying to tell her something?! ''I mean, one day we'll have to get married, our lives will have to be all about that person won't it? What happens to us then?'' Clare gave a sigh of relief, but she had never thought of that and now she was, she supposed she'd have to marry Eli because there was no man in her life that could compare to him in her life.

''Well then I guess we'll just have to get married then''. She squeezed his hand to reassure him.

"Don't you have to love each other to get married?'' He asked her giving her a tired smile. ''Don't you have to want to have sex and all that?'' Clare shook her head she wondered sometimes if she and Eli were TO close if Eli could say the word sex in front of her with no problem, again that was how it had always been, they could even change in the same room and not feel awkward.

''Marriage is about love, we may not be IN love, but we love each other Eli don't we?'' She did love Eli she always had, from the time she knew what love was shes loved Eli. But she'd never had a crush on him or anything close. People didn't understand that a life partner didn't have to be someone you have sex with or someone you made out with every day. It could be you're best friend in the whole world, and that was what Eli was to her. Eli seemed to feel better because he hugged her tighter and sighed.

''I never thought of it that way, I always thought of marriage as something couples do, but I suppose we don't even have to get married. We could just live together like we always wanted''. Clare smiled fondly, when they were little kids Eli and Clare had always talked like this, they had promised that they would live together like brothers and sisters were supposed to, they'd always thought as themselves as brother and sister. They had abandoned that a a childish dream in middle school, but she supposed it wasn't that far fetched.

''I suppose we could''. She said as they hugged close to one another trying to keep warm from the cold fall air. ''As long as we can make sure we'll be friends forever.''

''Deal?'' Eli said reaching for her hand from underneath the sleep bags she took it as squeezed it. ''Friends forever?'' She smiled and shook his hand.

''BEST friends forever''. She replied. Again everything went silent till Clare spoke this time, ''Eli?'' She said in the most fake Serious tone she could muster.
'Yes Clare?'' She smacked him with her pillow again causing him to yell, he smacked her and they began to have a pillow fight. They would NEVER get to sleep at this point in the night and neither of them cared because they were together like always, it would always be like that too.