gladly [haim] DISCONTINUED

xxv

,,

"Are you going to risk it?"

"I'm a little scared, but I leave in a week and a half, vivian." Blowing the smoke out from the cigarette in between her fingers, Neely looked up at the sky as she leaned back on the roof looking at the stars.

Nodding, Vivian smashed her cigarette butt walking inside to head towards her room. Following behind, Neely smiled as she laid on her bed seeping in the darkness of her room.

For the past week her and Corey had communicated through different Aliases. It was something both of them sat by the radio to record.

Just as a song by pulp was over, she smiled picking up the phone. With an urge to hear his voice again, Neely sighed hearing the voice of the conductor.

Hoping Corey was still awake at this time, she risked it. "Next caller, what song will you request and for who?"

"Call me by blondie... for Corey."

"Any messages?"

"I'm serious owl brains." Remembering their insults at the beginning of it all, she giggled after hanging up.

On the other side Corey had been awake. He refused to go to sleep until either one of them requested a goodnight song.

With a chuckle at her insult, Corey reached for his phone. Sighing deeply he dialed her number, immediately calling.

Within the second ring, Neely answered as she feared her parents would walk inside from outside where they sat enjoying a summer of 1990.

"Neely?"

"Corey."

With a sigh of relief, she smiled letting out a small laugh.

"How have you been?" She asked, her grip on the pillow tightening. "Listen to the mixtape I made you during the last week of school."

Laughing lightly in pure bliss, Corey began speaking as he took out the cassette from a box he kept locked.

"Uh it's okay. Could be better if I was ab-" in the moment he heard the beginning of hand in glove, Corey slowly began breaking down. His sobs becoming louder.

"Oh god, fuck it. I miss you so much. So fucking much. God I miss holding you in my arms as we laid anywhere listening to this exact song... I want to hold you again."

As tough as she wanted to act, Neely tried swallowing the lump in her throat as she heard his words.

"We'll be together again... eventually."

"When, Neely? I had to tell my mom you're out of the country visiting family so she won't ask me why you're not around anymore." Running a hand through his messy hair, Corey sighed looking out the window.

"Let's just try to remember things we've done before. Prom for example— remember how we went with different dates and every time they would go get something or go to the restroom, we would run to each other."

Laughing Corey took out their prom picture. "Funny because even back then we believed we hated each other... when it came time to pictures with our prom dates- you and I lied to them and snuck to get our picture. It's the only prom picture I've kept. The rest have been lost."

His sense of loyalty made her feel worse as she's letting this amazing guy wait.

"And when you and that blonde cheerleader won prom queen and king, you stole her tiara when she wasn't looking and gave it to me and that's how we took our pictures... I still have the tiara by the way."