𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆|𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐀

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

"Sixteen. An adult. A little woman and man. My little woman and man."

"Louisa May Alcott's all atingle." Ginny commented.

"You really are growing up."

"That mean you'll treat Monty and I like grown-ups? Trust us with important factors in your life? Like, I don't know, off the cuff, the fact that you have a sister and your real name is Mary." Georgia just smiled warmly at Ginny before taking her cake and smearing it all over her face. Monty had finally had enough, grabbing his cake and backpack before making his way out the door.

*********

At school, Monty was still miserable as ever. If it wasn't for him storming out to try and look dramatic he would've just skipped and stayed home. It was his birthday after all, so technically he was allowed to do whatever he wanted. But he didn't do that, which is how he got stuck walking through the halls of his stupid and annoying school. The only thing keeping him going was all of the birthday messages he was receiving. His father had sent him a new pair of shoes he had been asking for months so that was keeping him going as well.

"I think it's someone's birthday today, but I can't remember who." Elijah joked, making his way over to Monty who had opened his locker.

Monty shrugged. "Maybe it's Ginny's birthday. You should go check with her."

"Wait, just remembered. Happy birthday man. Got you something." Elijah reached inside his bag, pulling out a nicely wrapped box. Monty grinned, ripping off the wrapping paper and opening the box.

"You got me the new madden game?" He questioned. "How'd you know that I've been wanting this game since forever?"

"I asked Ginny what you may what for your birthday. Got her something too."

That's the thing Monty liked about Elijah. Instead of treating his sister like some stranger or someone he could hook up with, he respected Ginny and started conversations with her whenever he came over. Most of the guys on Montys old football team all saw Ginny as a piece of meat that they could hook up with.

"Thank you, this means so much to me." Monty hugged Elijah before pulling away and opening his locker. He grabbed his books, placing his books in his bag. Monty furrowed his brows however when he saw a letter, one that was written in pink pen. Elijah peeked inside his locker to see what he was looking at, and he raised a brow as well.

"You got a secret admirer?" He questioned, snorting soon afterwards. Monty didn't respond at first, instead pulling out the letter. Attached to it was a pack of skittles, specifically the sour ones.

Happy birthday Monty! Enjoy the candy.

Abby :)

The grin on Montys face grew wider and wider as he continued to read the letter. The fact that even after everything that happened Abby still ent out and got him a gift, it meant the world to him. And suddenly the feeling that Monty had been feeling returned, such as the butterflies in his stomach and the constant smiling and blushing.

Elijah smiled, already knowing how the letter got in his locker in the first place. A few days ago, Abby had approached Elijah and told him she had a plan for Monty's birthday. Of course, he wanted to decline, for his best friends heart just got broken and the last thing he wanted was to help out the girl who was behind it all. But when she began whining and whining about how sorry she was for everything that happened, Elijah knew he couldn't refuse. So he took it upon himself to memorize Monty's locker code, standing by his locker each day and intensely watching the way his fingers worked. Elijah had finally remembered the code this morning and texted it to Abby.