“Traaaaaaaace. Come ooooooon,” Mack, now eleven, begged as she spun the black and white ball in her hands. “Play with me for a little bit. Pleeeeeeeeeease?” She leaned over the back of the couch so her head was hovering next to Trace’s. The twelve-year-old looked up from the magazine he was reading and turned his head slightly so he was looking at her. “I’m bored. Play with me.”

“Later,” he insisted.

She huffed. “I always play basketball with you guys. Why won’t you play soccer with me? Come on, it’ll make time go by faster and J will be home before you know it.”

Trace sighed heavily and closed the magazine with a loud snap! He tilted his head back so he was looking at her and immediately flinched. She was pouting at him. He groaned. He hated her pout, he could never resist her pout and it was obvious she knew it because she used it on him a lot to get her way. He sighed heavily again and she grinned, bouncing on her toes. “You can’t say I don’t do nothing fer ya, Little Girl.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Mack stopped on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best!”

“Yeah yeah.” Trace took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “Why don’t you just play with Rachel?” he asked, following her out the front door.

Mack shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Rachel and I don’t get along.”

“Why not? She’s J’s cousin and your best friend.”

“I know, we’re just…too different. She likes clothes and make up and…and boys.”

Trace laughed as she made a face. “What’s wrong with boys? I’m a boy,” he said, nudging her.

She looked at him and said, grinning teasingly, “Barely.”

Trace slapped his hand on his chest. “Ouch, Mackie, that hurt.”

She stuck out her tongue before putting the ball on the ground. Trace backed up a couple of paces before she kicked it to him. He kicked it back and they started passing the ball back and forth, slowly getting more and more into the game, trying to kick it hard enough so the other wouldn’t get to it in time. Trace kicked harder than Mack did but she was able to get to the ball faster.

Trace kicked once more and the ball went sailing over her head, flying a great distance before it finally hit the ground and bounced towards the road. “Trace, you chowderhead!” Mack huffed before running to get it as it continued to roll.

“Sorry,” he called after her, running with her. “Race you there!” He took off, laughing, easily passing her.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” She shouted, urging her legs to carry her faster. Soon the two were merely running around the yard, arms spread as if they could fly, Mack’s braided pigtails lightly slapping against her back, their laughter blending in with the chirps of the birds. She ran towards the road, itching to kick the soccer ball around again, but didn’t pay attention. She jumped back when she heard the sound of squealing tires and shifting gravel reached her eyes.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you to look both ways before you cross the street, honey?”

Mack lifted her head once the voice reached her ears. She sucked in her breath as Lynn Harless closed the driver’s door and smiled at her. Mack switched her attention to Justin, now twelve, who had jumped out of the passenger seat and closed the small distance between the two. “Justin! You’re back!”

She laughed as he picked her up and spun her around, grinning widely. When she felt herself getting dizzy she tapped his shoulders and he immediately set her down, holding onto her arm as she waited for the dizziness to pass. She was smiling so big dimples were carved into her cheeks.

“J, man!” Trace held out his hand. Justin slapped it and the two did some sort of handshake before stepping close to each other and hugging, well, if you call slapping each other’s backs a hug. “Can’t believe you’re back. It’s about time, dude. How was Florida?”

“Warm,” Justin replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’m glad to be back,” he admitted. “There was something about the place that was too…spacious? I can’t explain it.” He ran a hand through his curls. “It’s not as close knit as it is here. Sure, everyone’s nice to each other but they’re not a close-knit community like it is here and I missed it.”

“What about us?” Mack demanded, glancing at Trace. “Didn’t you miss us?”

Justin chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Of course I did, Squirt.” She made a face and ran her hands through her hair until she smoothed it back into place. He paused and squinted. He held his hand up, pressing the side against the top of her head, before moving it to himself. “Did you grow?” He questioned.

“A bit, yeah,” she replied.

“You finally grew a bit and I missed it?” he pressed a palm against his cheek in fake shock. “This should go down in history.”

“Ha ha, Timberlake. Did you stick your finger in a socket or is a poodle living on your head?” She questioned, picking up the black and white ball that was by her foot.

Justin frowned. She knew he was sensitive about his curls; he’s been teased about it for years and being in Orlando made him forget about it for a bit. In fact, it was part of the reason why he had gotten a call back for the MMC in the first place.

“Don’t be rude,” Trace said, lightly slapping the back of her head. She grumbled something under her breath, spinning the soccer ball in her hands. The trio looked up and Mack groaned when she heard her mother calling for her from her house.

“Awww, but you just got back,” she whined, turning her bright blue eyes to Justin.

“Don’t worry, Mackie, we have plenty of time to catch up. Come over after dinner, ok?” He squeezed her tight and kissed her forehead before lightly pushing her towards the direction of her house. The two boys watched as she put the soccer ball down and dribbled it the entire way to her home, abandoning it in the front yard before disappearing into the house.

“Before you do anything, Justin, you need to take your stuff to your room,” Lynn said before Justin could run off.

“But Momma,” Justin whined.

“It’s ok, man, I can help you,” Trace offered. Justin smiled his thanks and led Trace to the back of the car. He helped Justin carry some bags across the vast yard and to the Harless home. He couldn’t ignore the anxious waves that were radiating off of Justin like heat in a cold room. Justin was strangely quiet as Trace helped his friend unpack his things and put them in their respected places.

“Hey,” Justin spoke up suddenly, causing Trace to jump. “You want to go to the pond?”

Trace knew then and there that something was wrong. The pond was their thinking spot; they only went there if they wanted to think, if they had gotten into a fight with their parents, or if they had to tell the others something important. Trace studied Justin’s face to try and find the answer himself but his face was surprisingly blank. “Sure.”

“Cool, I’ll just tell my mom and Paul.” Trace followed Justin out of his room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen where Lynn and Paul were talking quietly. “Momma, Trace and I are going to the pond. We’ll be back in ten minutes, ok?’

“Ok, but if you’ve even a minute late I won’t hesitate to come and get you myself,” Lynn warned while Justin made a face. Sometimes the neighborhood boys went to the pond. Justin didn’t want his mother to embarrass him by calling out his name and dragging him away.

“Ok, Momma, ten minutes. C’mon T.”

The boys dashed out of the house and ran across the yard, following the path that would lead them to the pond. A smile formed on Trace’s face as he remembered the many times they ran through the woods when they were younger, playing hide ‘n’ seek, pretending to be hunting mythological creatures, playing flashlight tag, the highlights of their childhood.

They finally reached the pond and settled down at the edge of the dock. They rolled their pants up to their knees and took off their socks and shoes, gently kicking their feet back and forth in the water, feeling the water move in between their toes.

“How’d the audition go?” Trace finally asked the question that was on his mind.

“Good I think,” Justin replied. “I met a guy named Ryan while I was waiting for my turn to audition. He’s pretty funny. He’s from Canada and he taught me a new way to roll snowballs so they have a better chance of hitting their target.”

“Doesn’t it have something to do with how you throw it or what type of snow is used or something like that?” Trace questioned.

Justin shrugged. “Either way it will make snowball fights more interesting.”

Trace grunted. “Yeah, if we ever get snow around here this year.”

“Yeah.” Silence stretched between the two as they searched for something to say. Justin was finally the one who broke it. “As I said the audition went good. I guess they really liked my singing and dancing.”

“Yeah, ‘cause we all know you can’t act,” Trace chuckled.

Justin smiled a bit. “I do need some work on that part, but…”he hesitated. “I guess it was enough because…they gave me the job.” He looked at Trace.

“What?” Trace asked. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I’m going to be on the next season of the MMC,” Justin replied.

“That’s so great!” Trace grinned but it slipped when Justin slowly shook his head and avoided Trace’s gaze. “What’s wrong? I thought you wanted this. I thought you wanted to prove me wrong, which you have, by the way.”

“I know, I do want this, that’s not the problem,” Justin replied, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, what is the problem?”

“The show is in Orlando, T.”

“I know that.”

“I can’t keep flying back and forth between here and Florida to be on the show.”

Trace’s eyes slowly lost their shine. “So that means…?”

Justin sighed. “I…I have to move…to Orlando,” he finally choked out.

Trace’s mouth fell open. “Wha….what?”

“It’s the only way I can be on the show. With the format they have there’s a new episode every day and that means I’d have to learn a new song, learn a new dance, and memorize my lines in a pressed amount of time as well as get my school work done. There’s just no way I can go back and forth every day. I have to move to get this part and… I really want it.” He lowered his head. “I just don’t want to leave you guys.”

Trace put a hand on Justin’s shoulder. “I get it, man. I don’t want to hold you back doing what you love. I’ll still be here when you come back and I’ll come down and visit as much as possible.”

“You’re fine with it?” Justin asked in suspicion.

“Well, it’ll be weird not having you here to help make fun of Mack or help me with school and stuff but yeah, I’m fine with it.” He shrugged. “Have you told her yet?”

“No, not yet. I was afraid she’d be mad at me.”

“You got that right. She’d think you’re breaking the pact or something, but you can’t blame her for thinking that.”

“No, I guess I can’t. But if she doesn’t want me to go then I’ll stay.”

Trace shook his head. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not giving this up. I’ll talk to her about it, I’ll get her to understand.”

“Thanks, T.”

“Well, to put it lightly, this sucks,” Trace commented. “But we’ll always be buds, right?”

“Of course!” Justin lifted his head. “That’s never going to change. I won’t ever change, you can count on it.”

“Cool.” Trace looked at his watch. “We should get going if you don’t want your momma to come and look for you.”

“You go ahead, I’ll stay here a bit longer.”

“Ok. See ya, man.”

“See ya.” Justin looked out at the surface of the pond again. He pulled his feet out of the water and pulled his knees to his chest, resting his chin on them. He buried his face in his elbow and let out a shaky breath, wondering how something that was so great turned into a bittersweet moment.