Endless

Happy Birthday

"This is from both of us," he said. I tore the wrapping paper off and revealed a brand new laptop — a MacBook Air.

"Holy shit," I muttered. "No way."

"We know your laptop broke, so we wanted to get you a new one. We've been saving up for a while," Leo told me, grinning. I looked to Angel and he nodded, encouraging me to take it out, so I did. I pulled the tape off of the box that it was in and removed the lid, my eyes brightening.

It was silver, sleek, and slim. I ran my hand over the top, admiring how smooth it was. I stood, carefully placing it on my desk before facing my friends.

"Thank you, guys. I love it." They smiled and Leo cooed.

"Friend hugs!" I laughed softly, the three of us moving in for a group hug. We pulled apart as a knock came to the front door.

"That's probably Terry and Carlos, they said they had a present for you," Angel told me. Ben, Leo and Skylar sat themselves in the living room while Angel and I went to the door. Terry grinned at the two of us, Carlos pulling me in first.

"Happy birthday, Sage."

"Thanks, Carlos."

"Twenty-one, man. That's insane." I let out a puff of air, nodding.

"Tell me about it." That's when Terry hugged me.

"Happy birthday, Sage. You've made my Angel the happiest person alive, and for that, I'm grateful for you." While her words warmed my heart, her arms were cutting off my airway.

"Terry... Need... air," I choked out. She let go immediately, Angel and Carlos chuckling. I smiled at her, rubbing the back of my neck. "Thank you, Terry."

I'd grown closer with Carlos and Terry over the past month and they'd become two of my closest friends.

The four of us joined the other three in the living room, and as we sat on the couch and talked, I sighed quietly. Angel turned to me, eyes questioning.

"You okay?" I nodded.

"I'm more than okay," I said quietly. "You guys are just..." I trailed off, looking around at my friends and sister, conversing with easy smiles. "...good." Angel reached behind me, rubbing soothing circles on the small of my back.

We continued to talk for a good hour before we began to prepare for my party. Angel had set it all up, so I was intrigued to see how it turned out.

Leo and I were in my bathroom while I showered, him telling me about Ben and the party.

"You guys aren't going to be in an argument all night, are you?" I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut to block the water.

"No, he's just being annoying." Suddenly, I heard something from the other side of the bathroom wall.

"I heard that!" Ben yelled.

"You were meant to!" I laughed as I rinsed the soap off of my body, grabbing the towel hanging beside the shower and wrapping it around my waist before stepping out. I dried my feet off and rubbed the fog off of the mirror, glancing at Leo who was texting.

"Who are you talking to?" I wondered.

"Justin from down the hall." I quirked an eyebrow. "You know, Josh's roommate?" I formed an 'O' shape with my mouth, nodding. "Well, he wants to know if he should bring drinks tonight."

"Angel got enough."

"He can't bring more?"

"Well..." I trailed off, indifferent to the idea.