It happened faster than any of them were ready for.
One week after graduation, they all scattered like stars across the same wide city — same colleges, different campuses, different dreams.
Schedules tangled like headphone wires, and before anyone knew it, the meetups, the movie marathons, the endless sleepovers — all of it became something they talked about doing, instead of actually doing.
And just like that, real life started.
Classes. Deadlines. Cafés filled with open laptops and half-finished notes.
It wasn't like they forgot each other — no, never that. It was more like...life kept pulling at their sleeves, tugging them away from each other, little by little.
Erica stared at her phone one night, lying flat on her bed in the cramped little dorm room she now shared with Angel.
Text notifications lit up her screen — Risha complaining about her lab class, Kim sending cursed memes, Claude ranting about her lazy groupmates.
The usual chaos.
But somehow...it felt lonelier now.
"You miss them too, huh?" Angel's voice broke the silence. She was curled up on the bottom bunk, scrolling through the same group chat. Her voice was soft, almost sleepy.
"Yeah," Erica mumbled, tossing her phone onto the pillow. "Like hell."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The hum of the air conditioner filled the space between them.
Then Angel sat up, grinning mischievously. "You wanna crash the group chat?"
Erica blinked. "You mean...call?"
Angel smirked. "Why not? Bet they're all awake, whining about homework."
Without waiting, Angel pressed the Call Group button.
One by one, familiar faces popped up — pixelated, sleepy, and immediately full of chaos.
"HEY, FREAKS!!" Kim yelled into her mic.
"Shut up, Kim, I'm in the library!!" Risha whisper-yelled back.
"Brooo I miss you guys!" Claude wailed dramatically.
"You saw me three hours ago," Vinish said dryly, sipping from a huge coffee cup.
Audrey and Steph waved from their shared screen, looking way too cozy for people buried under exams.
Nicole popped up last, yawning into her camera, hair messy from sleep. "What's this emergency call for?" she said, voice gravelly.
Erica laughed, warmth blooming in her chest. It felt like home, even through the cold glass screen.
"We were just thinking..." Angel started, but Kim immediately cut in, evil grin spreading.
"OOOH I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING."
Angel blinked. "Huh?"
"You two are roommates, right?" Audrey chimed in, wiggling her eyebrows.
"And you're still alive?" Steph gasped mockingly. "Erica didn't murder you in your sleep yet?"
"Not yet," Angel deadpanned, side-eyeing Erica with a smirk.
"Maybe they're too busy doing other...activities," Risha teased, voice dripping with fake innocence.
Everyone exploded into laughter.
Erica groaned, dragging a pillow over her face. "You guys are the worst," she mumbled through the fabric.
Angel just laughed, leaning back against the wall. "Please. She's the clingy one."
"YOU LIAR!" Erica threw the pillow at her, missing by an embarrassing mile.
Nicole, who had been quietly smirking this whole time, finally spoke up, voice low:
"Honestly? I'm surprised they haven't kissed already."
Dead. Silence.
All eyes turned to Nicole, wide-eyed.
Erica's heart skipped painfully, cheeks burning.
Angel just blinked...then let out the tiniest, most mischievous smile.
Claude cackled. "NICOLE SAID IT, NOT ME!!"
"Anyway," Risha said, dramatically clearing her throat like a news reporter, "can we please focus?? How are we gonna hang out if everyone's buried in deadlines and dying inside?"
"Good question," Vinish said, raising his coffee cup in salute. "I'm already dead."
For a second, everyone was quiet — the kind of silence that's heavy, not awkward.
Like they all felt the same bittersweet ache in their chest.
They had spent years together — laughing, fighting, making promises.
Now they were adults.
And no matter how much they joked or teased or pretended...
They all knew it wasn't going to be the same anymore.
"I don't want to lose this," Audrey said suddenly, voice cracking just a little.
"We won't," Steph said quickly, fierce in a way that made Erica's chest hurt.
"Maybe...maybe we can't hang out every day anymore," Risha said quietly. "But we can still call. We can still visit. We can still...try."
"Even if it's just once a month," Kim added.
"Or once every two months," Vinish shrugged.
"As long as we don't let go," Nicole said, voice steady.
Another small silence.
This time, full of stubborn hope.
Erica swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling Angel's hand casually brush hers under the blanket.
She didn't move away.
"Promise?" Erica said, hating how small her voice sounded.
"Promise," they all said together.
Somewhere, across the screens, smiles broke out like sunrise.
"Also," Kim grinned, "I promise to keep bullying Angel and Erica for being lovebirds."
"SHUT UP, KIM!!" Erica and Angel yelled at the same time, faces flaming red.
"See??!" Claude laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair. "SYNCED!! TRUE LOVE CONFIRMED!!"
And just like that — despite the classes, the deadlines, the growing up — it felt like nothing had changed at all.
They were still them.
And maybe...
That was enough.