CELESTIAL | legacies

eight.

"Wait!" Natalie says sitting up straighter, "Lizzie and Raf? How? When? Why? Gross."

"I know," Josie says shaking her head, "But I'm not gonna let it get me down, besides I wasn't that into him anyway."

"Really? Because I told Penelope you were to hurt her feelings."

"What didn't you tell Penelope?" Josie asks her and Natalie chews on her lip nervously.

"I didn't tell her that I'm a hybrid," Natalie says with a grin and Josie rolls her eyes as she jumps on Natalie's bed.

"I'm mad at you," Josie says as she rests her chin on the palm of her hand, "But I have a way that you can make it up to me. Let me be your escort."

"Ugh," Natalie says, "Fine, but only because everyone else is taken."

Josie shoves her gently, "Jerk."

"You love me," Natalie teases and Josie smiles as she leans over and rests her head on Natalie's shoulder.

"You're right, I do."

They stay like that, cuddled close to each other in the silence. She eventually wonders how much time has passed Natalie looks at the alarm clock beside her bed, the time was currently 11:59. Her birthday was nearly over.

"Hey, Nat?"

"Yeah, Jo?"

"Happy Birthday."

The clock changed to 12 am, which meant that it was no longer Natalie's birthday, but now Josie and Lizzie's. It was a weird thing she and Josie liked to do. Josie was always the last person to wish her happy birthday while Natalie was always the first to wish Josie happy birthday.

Even when they had been apart, the two always sent magic letters to one another.

"Hey, Jo?"

Josie smiles sleepily as she looks up at Natalie, "Yeah?"

"Happy Birthday."

•••

"Isn't this your party too? Why are you helping decorate?" MG asks Natalie as she helps move a pile of boxes to the snack table.

"Boredom," Natalie answers, "Plus this is Lizzie's Sweet Sixteen and we all know it."

"Bennett's right," Penelope says as she saunters over to the two of them. She smiles at Natalie, "Happy belated, you're thirty-five, right?"

"Seventeen, but close," Natalie retorts with a fake smile.

MG glares at Penelope, "You're lucky that I respect women or else we'd be fighting right now, even if you can kick my ass."

Natalie laughs at that, "What did she do now?"

"I simply told Lizzie and Josie that their mom would be missing their Sweet Sixteen," Penelope says before shrugging, "It was more for Lizzie than it was Josie."

Natalie pouts at the fact that Caroline wasn't coming. She hadn't seen her in a while and she really liked talking with her. Penelope notices the look on her face and rolls her eyes, "Don't tell me you're upset too."

"I'm not," Natalie says quickly, "Just sad, for Josie and Lizzie."

"Speaking of, Lizzie is taking Rafael as her date instead of you," Penelope says pointing a finger at MG, "So why are you trying to make her party perfect?"

"And not to throw in any zingers but she also slept with him," Natalie says as she busies herself opening a box of cupcakes and swiping the frosting off it before shoving her finger in her mouth.