Top 40 Kiss Fm 2012 -

By the time they hit Number 4—Ellie Goulding’s "Lights"—Mia’s eyes were wet. The song wasn't sad, but the synth arpeggios felt like memories slipping through her fingers.

"It's time," Chloe would whisper, pressing the preset button for the third time. The robotic voice of the DJ would crackle through: "KISS FM. Your home for the Top 40."

But in that moment, frozen in the static of the KISS FM bumper, they were exactly where they belonged. top 40 kiss fm 2012

Mia nodded. "I'll have the Top 40 ready."

Mia looked at Chloe. Chloe looked at Mia. In the rearview mirror, the summer of 2012 stretched out like a ribbon of asphalt. School was starting. The Mayan calendar hype was dying down. Everyone was getting iPhones that didn't have a home button that stuck. By the time they hit Number 4—Ellie Goulding’s

It was the summer of 2012, and the only thing that could cut through the humidity of a Midwestern July was the blast of "Top 40 at 4:00" on 98.7 KISS FM. For sixteen-year-old Mia, that countdown wasn't just a radio segment; it was the soundtrack to the end of the world as she knew it.

They stopped for slushies at the gas station. They drove the loop around the high school parking lot. And as the sun bled orange and pink across the cornfields, the countdown began. The robotic voice of the DJ would crackle through: "KISS FM

"Tonight, we are young / So let's set the world on fire / We can burn brighter than the sun."

The song faded. The DJ came back on. "That was your number one. Keep it locked."

"I'll pick you up for Thanksgiving," Chloe said, her voice thick.