Call it Magic

Two

Summer came very quickly after graduation. The temperatures rose to a sweltering 34 degrees Celsius, unusually hot for our small English town of Devon. The children of the town were turned loose from their already exhausted parents, letting kids as young as six or seven roam free throughout the town. Of course, things such as kidnappings and pedophilia were rarely heard of from our town, as it was really too small to be much of a target to predators.

Phil and I sit on our swings on Violet Hill, my boyfriend holding me close next to him. Our bodies are pressed next to each other as we snuggle close, sweat dripping down my thighs from the extra body heat. He sighs, and I lean even closer to him, if it's even possible to get closer to him.

"How come I haven't gotten any acceptance letters yet?" He asks, clearly upset about the fact that no universities have emailed him about it yet. Classic Phil, always worried about his grades, no matter the circumstance.

I giggle and take his hand. "It's still the beginning of summer, Philly. I'm sure they'll come."

He squeezes my hand and nods. "I mean, I think they would. I made it through school with only a couple of bad marks. Do you think universities won't accept because of them?"

I shake my head. "Well, you know you could always come to UCL with me," I say, for the first time revealing that I've been accepted into University College London.

It takes a minute to register, but when it does, he gasps and hugs me. "You got accepted?" He asks.

I grin and nod, and he kisses my cheek like Mum does when she's proud of me. "I'm so proud of you!" He says, adding to my comparison.

"I think I'm going to take some music courses there," I admits.

Phil nods. "Do you have a backup plan?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, studying music doesn't guarantee a career in music."

"Nothing is guaranteed."

"That's why I'm suggesting you minor in something else that you love, something that you would still be happy doing if you don't get a job in music."

I blush. "To be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of being an actual musician. You know, like starting a band and... yeah. I don't know. Maybe that's dumb but... it's always been a dream of mine."

Phil chuckles and kisses my head. "You act like I haven't been your friend since we were little. I know, silly."

I smile at how obvious my statement is. I only talk about being in a band all the bloody time. I learned the guitar when I was little for the sole purpose of being in a band with someone. Of course, I've always been the dorkiest bloke in the school, so no one has ever wanted to be seen making music with me. I wonder if it will still be like that when I go to Uni.

Uni...

Will Uni be any different from my years of suffering at school? What if they don't like me there, either? For years, I've stood by Phil's side, and he's always protected me, as I have him. What will I do if he gets into a school such as Cambridge? He definitely deserves to get into something more academically suited for him. What if... we're split up?

"Phil," I begin, my head on his shoulder, looking up at him. He smiles down at me and nods for me to continue. "What will happen to us if we're separated? You know, like, what if you get into a really good university and I'm stuck at UCL? How will we see each other? How will we stay together?"

He sighs. "We'll find a way, Chris. We'll find a way."

We sit at that swing until the stars are slowly revealed from behind the curtain of light, and together we admire the numerous suns, clustered together and scattered across the night sky like marbles. The night sky has never ceased to amaze me. Infinity itself exists outside of what we can even comprehend about the universe, and that blows my mind every time I think about it. While Phil has never been as astounded by space as I have, he can't deny that the stars are a marvel to watch, and all that happens around the stars.