When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

"Eighties flicks!"

The three of us were sat around on Kelsey's large couch. M had thrown blankets at us and made us popcorn. I was looking through a stack of DVDs.

"Pretty in Pink," Kelsey said, picking one out of her stack.

"Screw that, Ferris Beuller!" I stated excitedly.

"You missed it the other night and we're not watching it again!" Sarah said with a roll of her eyes.

It was amazing how good it was for me to just hang out with these girls and let everything go. No stress, no worries, no nothing. Just fun.

My cellphone, which had been laying on the coffee table motionless, started vibrating.

"I'll get it!" Kelsey said, reaching for it and getting to it before I did, considering she was much closer. I sighed and watched her as her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"Who is it?" I asked. The phone vibrated again in her hand.

"Sarah, catch!" Kelsey said as I reached for the phone, throwing it to the other side of the room where Sarah sat with her stack of movies. Sarah caught the phone right when it started to vibrate again and looked down at the caller ID with a different expression than Kelsey had had. Sarah's expression held an aw to it and I didn't like it.

"Who is it?" I asked again. Sarah threw the phone across the room and I caught just as it was about to vibrate for the fourth time. I stared down at the blue letters of the caller ID and felt my heart skip a beat.

Frank.

It was probably just his mom, though...

"Hello?" I said after flipping the phone open and bringing it to my ear.

"Hey, beautiful."

I helplessly smiled, feeling my cheeks warm up. His voice sounded so weak and soft but it still had that power over me. It was so easy for him to make me smile. Kelsey and Sarah stood from their seats on the couch and sat on either side of me, huge grins playing across their faces.

"Hey, Frank," I said into the phone.

"Oh, she's blushing!" Sarah gushed.

"I was just wondering if you were...you know...feeling better?" he said, his voice growing louder and not as nasally as it had sounded before.

"I'm fine," I told him. "You're not."

"You'd be surprised. After seeing you earlier today...I've felt a whole lot better. See? I haven't coughed once."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad."

"Frankie and Layla, sittin' in a tree!" Kelsey burst out, too loudly and way too close to the mouthpiece. I shoved her away and she laughed.

"Was that Kelsey?" Frank asked amusedly, his voice honestly not sounding nasally anymore.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" says Sarah, laughing.

"First comes love," I whispered into the phone. I heard Frank chuckle.

"And I love you," he said softly.

"I love you, too," I told him.

"AW!" Kelsey and Sarah said. I rolled my eyes and Frank chuckled. Kelsey got up and leaned against my ear, trying to hear what Frank was saying.

"I want to see you again," he said softly. "I need to see you."

"That's so sweet," Kelsey whispered.

"Come over tomorrow," I told him, biting my lip and pushing Kelsey away. It was so unexpected that she lost her balance and fell off of the couch. I smiled as Sarah came up and leaned against my ear.

"My mom won't let me," he said with a sigh. "You know how she is. She wants to make sure I'm better."

"Sneak out, then," I said jokingly.

"I'll try." I could hear him smiling. In the background, I heard a door slam shut. His voice dropped to a whisper. "But right now, I gotta go."

"Okay," I said sadly. I didn't want to stop talking to him. I didn't want to stop hearing his voice. "Bye."

"Bye. And, hey, why do you sound so sad?"

By now, Sarah and Kelsey were fighting over who gets the spot next to my ear.

"I don't want to stop hearing your voice," I admitted.

"You'll hear it again soon. I promise. Good night, Layla."

I smiled as the phone line abruptly died. I flipped closed the phone and looked at the giddy smiles my friends were giving me. I picked up the next DVD on my stack.

"How 'bout...Breakfast Club?" I said innocently.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. Sarah winked. I couldn't stop smiling.