{ flashback - before the draft }
"Come on Jonny! We're gonna be late!" I yelled at my best friend, Jonathan Toews. Today was my brother's 13th birthday, and Jonny and I had promised that we would be home by dinner to celebrate.

"Hey! Don't rush me Raegan! I need to talk to you." He said, grabbing my arm and gently pulling me close to him. Even at the age of 17, Jonny's 6'2 stature towered over me, being only 5'3. I looked at him slightly confused. "What is it?" I asked him, worrying about what he was going to say. Jonny and I were those two best friends that everyone expected to end up falling in love and being together forever, and to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if that's what actually happened.

Jonny looked deeply into my eyes, and smiled at me. "Rae, I want to promise you something." He said. I only nodded in response, wanting to hear him speak.

"I want to promise that I'll never forget you. That you'll always be my best friend. That I'll always keep in touch, and that," He pauses for a moment, and takes a deep breath,"I'll always love you." His last words practically make my heart beat out of my chest.

"Oh Jonny," I whisper quietly, gently cupping the side of his face with my hand. "I'll always love you too." I say as I slowly bring his face down to mine. As our lips meet, we only kiss for a few seconds, but for us it felt like a lifetime. This wasn't our first kiss, but this kiss meant the most. This kiss was the one I would remember for years because it was with someone I truly knew I loved.

I pulled my face away from his, and we both shared a smile. Jonny pulled me into his chest, and said,"Now lets get to that birthday party." I giggled, and quickly agree, taking his hand and pulling him along.

~~~~~~

{ after the draft }
It's been a couple weeks since I last saw Jonny because of the draft, and he's kept his promise and we've talked almost everyday. But lately, he's been calling less and we haven't talked as much.

J: I miss you
R: I miss you too! But you're out there living your dream, I'm fine back here at home. Don't have too much fun in Chicago without me!
J: Like that's even possible Rae.
R: I love you, and I'm going to come visit soon I promise.
J: I love you too, and you better! I need someone to lighten the mood from all these serious guys.
R: Just tell me when you're not busy and I'll make my way down there!
J: Okay babe will do. I have to go now, a lot of stuff with orientation! Bye!
R: Bye! Have fun.
And after that, I haven't heard from Jonathan Toews in years.

Notes

Hi guys! Yes, this is really REALLY short and I apologize but I kind of want to take this story a little slow ya know! I'm going to warn everyone who reads this that there will be slow updates because I have a lot of stuff going on. But I will try to update as often as I can!
-Courtney