-Relief-

Six Months Later…

[Hey…]

Ba-dump. "Hey…"

She didn't know what had possessed her to pick up the phone, but she had. Now, hearing the voice of her ex best friend for the first time in about eight months, she was torn between happiness and the anxiety of not knowing what to expect.

Would they fight? Their last interaction hadn't exactly been the most positive of chats…

What did Sam want? Last Carly had checked, the girl's life was going great. She had gotten into a good school and was majoring in English—presumably to teach little brats. Freddie, who was majoring in film, kept her updated on the latest, so she also knew that the blonde and Juliet were no more.

She was a horrible person for feeling a twinge of satisfaction at that.

So what? Why the call? It seemed rude to ask, but the lull following their exchange of greetings was getting awkward.

[How's New York?]

"Great. There are so many interesting people here and the pizza is the best. You'd love it. I've got job in a posh restaurant, a cat named Felix, and my classes are going really well. Spencer is all over the art galleries and coffee shops with Lana all day and I'm starting to think he likes her."

It was surprisingly easy to just… talk. As though these past two years hadn't happened and they were still friends—best friends—living in the same town, going to the same school, and spending the majority of their free time together.

It was both frightening and comforting , because that meant she needed Sam… But also that Sam needed her.

[That's great. Things are the same old, same old here. Mom's still a pain, school's still a pain, and Freddie hooked up with some chick. She's cute, but I dunno... She'd better be nice to him.]

This was the Sam she remembered: blasé, gruff, protective of her friends.

"Hey, Sam?"

[Yeah?]

"Don't ever change."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Sam?"

A soft sound—was the blonde… crying? Before Carly could ask, the other girl said softly, [I miss you, Carls.]

Her heart skipped a beat and she actually pinched her skin between her thumb and forefinger, convinced that she was dreaming. When the action did in fact hurt, she released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding, the tension that she had been carrying since seeing that familiar number—she just couldn't make herself forget—on her phone's display melting away completely.

True friends always found their way back to each other.

The muscle throbbed, the healing scars sealing up further at those four simple words and prompting her to admit, equally as quietly, "I miss you, too."

[… Really?] She wasn't used to the vulnerability in that hesitant question. There was surprise and, above all, elation there as well.

"Really. You should come visit sometime."

"I'd like that."

This was what any mistake-maker could ever want: a chance to start over. This time, she wouldn't miss her chance.

-End-

Thanks for reading, guys! It was fun, but this is as far as I'm taking the girls. Until next time :3