Fire Emblem: High School Years (High School AU) - Sophomore Year

Happy Birthday

Chrom

"Are you sure this is all you want to do for your birthday?" Anna asked me, sitting down on my couch. "Staying and chilling at your place? We could go out, you know."

"I know, but I didn't really feel like doing anything huge," I said, sitting down next to her. "I'd much rather it just be you and me hanging out and doing nothing."

She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say, dingus." The day of my seventeenth birthday had finally arrived. The shocking reality of being this old hit me in ways I wasn't really ready to feel. I was getting old, I was almost an adult, and I still didn't know how taxes worked.

Would tonight be the night I confessed to Anna? A huge reason why I asked her to hang out was so we could talk privately, but I was still feeling a ton of anxiety. It was just three words: I love you. Just say it and be done.

 She handed me a bright blue gift bag, polka dot paper peeking out. "Don't think you can't get out of your birthday without a gift."

I took it from her smiling. "You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did." She elbowed my side. "Now open it, dork."

"Laying it on heavy with the pet-names, I see." Gods, I love it when you call me those, though. Before I could open my gift, I saw Anna check something on her phone, biting her lip and sighing. I've caught her doing that multiple times throughout the evening.

"Something the matter?" What if it's a guy? Or a girl? Wait, what?

Anna looked up to me, anxiety written on her face. "I-it's nothing."

I set the bag aside, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Anna, I know your tells. Whenever you're nervous, you exhale very audibly and chew on some part of your mouth," I explained. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, leaning further back on the couch. "I wasn't going to bring it up because I didn't want to put a damper on your birthday, but the results for the Honors Choir are supposed to come out today. I'm freaking the hell out because I don't know how the results will go down. I'm so nervous."

Oh, I forgot all about that. I thought auditions were over two months ago? Gods, they sure took their time. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "It'll be fine, I promise. I'm sure you got in."

She wrung her hands. "I'm not so sure, Chrom I didn't do as good as I would have hoped, so my expectations are low. Very low."

"Don't say that." I smiled. "You never know until you get the results."

She checked her phone once more, shoulders slumping. "Still..."

I guess the whole "no news is better than bad news" thing doesn't apply here. "Listen, you need a distraction. Something to get your mind off of this for a little while."

She nodded shallowly, putting her phone away. "Y-you're right."

"Kids! Dinner is ready!" Mom bellowed from downstairs.

Perfect timing. "C'mon. Food is one way to distract you."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine."

...

Dinner was great, as always. Especially the cake. You could honestly never go wrong with cake.

As soon as Anna and I went back to my room, she checked her phone. This time, her reaction was different. She gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Did you get an email?" I asked, anxiety gripping my heart.

She nodded, frantically scrolling through the message.

I waited in silence for what felt like years.

I cleared by throat. "...Well?"

"I...I didn't get in."

The world felt like it collapsed on me; I couldn't imagine how much worse it must feel for my best friend. "Anna, I'm so sorry-"

"But I did get into a different ensemble." A grin broke out on her face. "They're starting a Treble Choir. I got in."

Relief washed over me. "I-is that a good thing?!"

"It's amazing. It's better than I could have ever hoped for," she laughed. "I get to be one of the first members of this thing. I-I'm so happy!"

I pulled her into a hug, smiling against her hair. "I'm so proud of you," I said, pressing a soft kiss on the top of her head. "You really deserve it."

She hugged me tightly. "Thank you..."

I couldn't be any happier for her. It's about time her talents were appreciated.

*****
After the week I've had, I needed to write some straight-up wholesome crap. Ahhhh. We love a stress and preparing for exams. Speaking of which, I realized HSY:2 will be coming to a close pretty soon. Don't worry, it'll be back next year, I promise. Anyway! So there is some truth in this, I actually got into my school's Chamber Ensemble instead of the top one. But, I'm super happy about it, so I don't really mind. Yee yee. Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!