wish list | daerin

Wish List 2 Year anniversary special chapter

The gym hadn't changed much, but they had.

The streamers overhead, the dusty disco ball, the pop playlist from a decade ago—it was all trying a little too hard to recreate something that only existed in memory. But Riley still smiled as she stepped through the doors, Mason's hand clasped in hers.

"It still smells like sweaty sneakers and vending machine chips," Mason muttered, and Riley nudged her with her shoulder.

"Don't ruin the magic," she said, teasing. "We slow danced in this exact spot."

"I remember," Mason said, her thumb brushing over their wedding ring. "You stepped on my foot. Twice."

She laughed.

Ellie and Mara were already there, waiting near the photo booth that had a fake sequin curtain and props no one wanted to touch. But they weren't looking at the camera. Their gazes were fixed on the memorial display set up in the far corner.

Riley's heart ached before her eyes even reached the picture.

Mavis Pham. Her smile frozen in time, framed by fairy lights and surrounded by little notes people had left throughout the night.

Mara had left a tiny bottle of her favorite nail polish. Ellie had taped a polaroid of the four of them in their Halloween costumes—Mavis dressed as a vampire with plastic fangs she refused to take out all day.

Riley swallowed.

"She would've loved this," Mason said beside her, voice low, respectful. "Hated the lighting, but loved the attention."

"She would've dragged us into the photo booth and made us wear those stupid glitter hats," Riley added softly.

Ellie walked over and pulled Riley into a hug. "She's here. You know she is."

"Always," Riley whispered.

—

Later, the four of them sat together at a corner table—Riley, Mason, Mara, and Ellie—watching old classmates attempt dance moves they never quite perfected in high school.

There was a quiet kind of joy to it. They weren't just survivors of adolescence—they were tethered to each other. Through time, grief, and everything in between.

Riley leaned into Mason's shoulder. "Can you believe we're the boring married couple now?"

"Excuse me," Mason said, offended. "I am the life of the party."

"You literally brought earplugs."

"For the music. Not the people."

She rolled her eyes and kissed Mason's cheek.

Across the table, Mara raised her cup in a small toast. "To the ones who stayed."

Ellie added softly, "And the one we lost."

They clinked plastic cups together.

And for a moment, just a fleeting moment, everything felt full. Like Mavis was still with them—tugging at Mara's earrings, laughing at Mason's jokes, daring Riley to dance on top of the cafeteria tables again.

Gone but not forgotten.
Loved and still here—just in a different way.

The night had stretched on with too many reintroductions and not enough space to breathe. Riley glanced at Mason, who was half-listening to a conversation about someone's crypto startup, her smile just tight enough to say help me.

Riley stood and reached for her hand. "Come with me."

Mason didn't ask questions. She never really had to.