Emily was running in the vast green park of Cheltenham, the skirt of her light blue dress tickling her knees as she took her large and hurried steps. The blades of grass bent as the soles of her shoes crashed upon them, while her two honey blonde braids were bouncing in her back. Her lungs stung as she had been running for a while now, trying to shake off her boy friend. She knew he had asthma and could not run like she could; she took a look behind his back and saw him walking fast, trying to join her.

With a smirk, Emily looked at the tree standing a few metres away from her. She considered climbing it for a minute, but she knew it would stain or damage her dress, and her mother would kill her. Anyway, she ran up to it and quickly climbed to the first branch, which was not very high, but there were so many leaves that it could easily hide her. She sat on it and waited, wiggling her short child's legs as she held herself to the trunk. She waited around one minute, which seemed to be twice an eternity.

Finally, Brian appeared underneath her, scratching his short blond hair, looking all around him with confusion. From where she was sitting, she could see the sun reflecting on his glasses, which did not help him find her. She pressed a hand on her grinning lips, as she tried not to make him notice she was above him; in fact, she really was not that high. The tip of her shoes were less than fifty centimetres above his head. An idea popped in her mind: she let go of the trunk and let herself slip off the branch. She heavily landed on Brian, who gasped in surprise and fell on his stomach on the grass.

Emily was laughing out loud, sitting on his backside. Brian was trying to figure out what had just happened; as he lost his glasses when falling, he was patting as far as he could to try to reach them. He finally did and clumsily put them back on: then, he spun round with furious eyes, gazing at Emily. She smiled at him. “I got you!”

“Yeah, that was not funny! You could've broken my spine or something!”

“Come on, Brian, fart, you'll feel better!”

Brian's grey eyes widened, and he could not refrain from laughing. Emily kissed him on the cheek, and enabled him to sit up properly. He rubbed his back for a few seconds, before standing up to lie on his back on the grass, right under the tree, where the sun would not blind him. With a grin, she joined him and lay beside him, taking his hand; his pale cheeks turned red, and he turned his head to hide it.

Emily looked at him and smiled. Brian was two months older than her, and they met at a funfair in Cheltenham two years before, when both were only seven. Brian's parents were quite nice to her, but her own parents never appreciated her having a boy for only friend. But what could she do? They always got on well together, and they could not be separated from each other for long.

The sun pierced through the leaves and blinded Brian again. The poor thing started to grumble and find a good position to be free from it. He lay on his side, facing his friend and smiled at her. He rested his head on his bent arm. Emily was blushing lightly. “You're quite pretty” he stuttered. “I've been thinking about it for a while now.”

“Oh” she shyly said “thank you, Brian.”

“I know I'm not really handsome, but I don't care. One day, I'll look way better, you'll see, and perhaps you'll think that about me too.”

“I already do, Speccy!”

“Hey, don't call me that!” he laughed. “You're the only one who's allowed to give me that name, though. Nobody else can.”

“Why me?”

“It's different when it comes from you. It almost sounds like a compliment.” Emily giggled and pecked him on the cheek, still holding his hand in hers. She also lay on her side, so they simply would face each other.

“Hey, Brian...”

“Yes?”

“Will we be bestfriends forever?”

“Oh yes, and more!”

Emily smiled broadly and blushed. “Do you promise?”

“I do.”

----------------------------

“Emily?” Brian's voice shouted in the park. “Mily? Mily, Mily?”

Emily smacked both of her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from laughing too loud. Brian was running everywhere in Hyde Park; Emily was there for the weekend, since he moved to London two years before, in 1961. Both were young adults now, and they still were the best friends in the world, like Brian promised her.

As they decided to go out for a walk in the park, Emily started to run, teasing him about his asthma, which was the topic he could laugh about only with her. Now, he was lost in the middle of it, looking for her.

“Mily?” he called over and over. “Come on, get out of your hideout!”

When he got closer to her tree and found himself below her, she let herself fall off the branch. However, hearing the branch crack lightly, he stepped backward and stretched out his arms before him, catching her a bit clumsily, but without falling. She laughed, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Come on, this joke is more than ten years old!”

“Oh, you're not funny, love!” she chuckled, tousling his long blonde hair that fell across his forehead and over his ears, causing him to protest. Brian was quite obsessed with his hair. Like he said when they were nine, he grew way more good-looking than he was, and Emily got thrilled every time she would see him. He let his hair grow and got rid of his glasses, for his eyesight got better.

Brian let her stand on her feet and took her hand like they used to do when they were younger. They silently crossed the park, their shoulders touching, while she gave him a few gentle hip kicks from time to time to tease him. The Sunday sun was shining all over their faces, warming them a bit in the September breeze. They spotted a bench nearby and ran up to it. When they sat on it, they pushed each other to get all the space, dying of laughter. That still was magical whereas they both were twenty-one: anything could make them laugh and feel like they're having the time of their lives.

They calmed down, and Brian gave her more space on the bench, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She snuggled against his chest, resting her long-haired head on his collar bone, looking down at their hands. She was playing with his soft fingers that had been playing the guitar and other instruments so well for the past few years. Now he was in a band, and she knew that soon or later, they would know fame. Therefore, she would see him even less often than she already did. However, she did not want to think about that right now. She was with him and that was all that mattered.

Brian's sweet lips landed on her honey hair, kissing it tenderly, before resting his cheek against her head. “It feels good being here with you, Mily” he whispered.

“Oh yes, it does.” Emily smiled widely and closed her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the sound of his breath and the softness of his touch. As for Brian, he was watching people passing by, silently laughing at those who were horrified to see his haircut. “Why are you laughing?” she whispered.

“For nothing, don't worry. It's just funny to see the reactions about my hair.”

“They're stupid to hate on your hair. It's gorgeous.”

“Thanks” he smiled. He kissed her hair repeatedly, before letting go of her hand to stroke her cheek. He knew that she would leave again for Cheltenham a few hours after, and it broke his heart. He felt so relaxed every time they were together, even when they played the craziest pranks. Even though he struggled not to think about her departure, it always hit him like a violent slap. He cleared his throat, trying to think about happier things. He remembered this day in 1951, when they both ran in the green park of Cheltenham, when she climbed the tree to fall over him. He smiled widely and recalled his vow. Imitating Emily's high-pitched voice, he looked at her and said “Will we be bestfriends forever?”

Emily immediately understood what he was referring to. In a giggle, she took a deeper voice and faced him. “Oh yes, even more!”

“Actually, I said and more! You can't even quote me right! I can't believe it! After all those years!”

“Oh, shut up, Jones!” she chuckled. She cupped his face with her hands and pressed her lips against his with all the tenderness that burnt in her at the moment. He smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her graceful waist. They broke the kiss after a while, and stared at each other lovingly. “Happy fifth anniversary to us!” Brian whispered.

“Happy fifth anniversary to us! I know it won't be the last.”

“It won't. Because we'll never get away from each other.”