"SURPRISE!"

Aspyn was close to tears. Her hand was slightly shaking as it hovered over her mouth in shock, her eyes travelling around the room at a rapid pace, meeting the eyes of many of her friends and family. There were cute decorations, pink and white balloons scattered at the tops of the ceiling, and a large hand-made banner with the words "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASPYN!" scrubbed messily in large block letters was hung over the wall. There was a variation of food scattered across the table, and she could even spot some of her favourite Filipino foods.

She lowered her hand to reveal the large smile that was hiding behind it, feeling George's palm on her shoulder. She glanced at him, his eyes crinkling at the happiness she was radiating. "You knew about this?"

"Of course," he chuckled, gesturing her to go and mingle. "Go have fun," he whispered lowly with a smile. Aspyn stared at him — she felt thankful, so thankful that she managed to find someone like him in the whirlwind of tragedy she felt like she lived in. Without another thought, she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek, the action causing George to blush madly in front of the entire group.

"Thank you." She said once more before scurrying off in excitement.

George's feet were planted to the ground, his hand subconsciously travelling to touch his cheek and a dazed smile stretched across his face as he did. Sapnap, who began making his way towards his friend after greeting Aspyn, bellowed in laugher and hit his friend's back. "Dude, you look like you're cosplaying the red teletubbie."

The smaller brunette could only smile. "She kissed my cheek!" He squeaked out, as if he were still in a state of disbelief. Sapnap rolled his eyes.

"You're so fucking whipped."

Aspyn had been going around the room to hug everyone and to thank them for coming, when she finally found her sister, who was stood closely next to her brother. She threw herself in her arms, squeezing tightly. Hugs between the Dela Cruz siblings were rare, but neither Aspyn or Rhea felt a drop of discomfort in each other's arms. "Ate— what the heck? How are you here?" Aspyn sputtered out as they separated.

"Wow, I feel the love, Asp." Karsyn earned a soft punch to the shoulder. "Happy birthday, ugly."

Aspyn rolled her eyes, but was grinning nonetheless. "Thank you, Kuya."

"Happy birthday! You have some pretty great friends." Her sister looked off to the side, glancing at Karl. Aspyn melted as she understood.

"I do," Aspyn responded, still looking at Karl with a smile. Everyone around her, every bond she made, it taught her something. Family wasn't always just blood. Family was the unconditional bonds between people. Family was everyone around her who came to celebrate her birthday, regardless of having only an online relationship with her for the majority of the time they knew each other. Family was Karl, and Alex, and everyone she loved and who loved her.

As she was staring at Karl whilst being lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice George approach her. "Hi!" She spun around at the sound of her sister's voice, and found George on the other side of them. Rhea was looking at George with inquisition.

"Hello, I just wanted to formally introduce myself. I'm George, it's nice to actually meet you." He said politely, reaching out to shake Rhea's hand. Aspyn let out a small giggle at her sister's mildly shocked expression.

"Hi George! How are you? Aspyn told me you're a YouTuber?"

George nodded, "yeah, I like to code and I add variations to the Minecraft by kind of toying with the codes, which is most of my content honestly." He chuckled, wondering if he sounded lame. "It's just a video game to most people, but I really enjoy working with its platform and adding new features that essentially make the game more interesting in terms of having different challenges implemented to beat the game."

Rhea didn't understand half of what George explained, but she took notice of the glint in the eyes while he spoke. He was passionate, and she liked that. Like Aspyn, he took his passion and made it into a job. It was inspiring.

"Cake time! Cake time! Cake time!" Karl called out, standing on one of the chairs to get everyone's attention. Aspyn was beckoned to sit at the centre of the table, and everyone gathered to sing "happy birthday". She was internally melting, despite feeling the slightest bit of embarrassment for being the centre of attention. So many of her friends were here, for her. It was like a dream she didn't know she had. She was at a level of happiness she didn't know was possible.

George watched her with admiration from his spot off to the side. He watched as her eyes danced behind the light of the fire, and smiled as she rambled in excitement while cutting the cake. He watched as she let out a loud laugh at Tubbo's choice of plates, and the Minecraft-themed napkins Tommy chose. Her head lifted and her eyes met his. A fond smile was on his face as he observed her, and her smile widened. And at this point, George confirmed the questioning thoughts that lingered in the back of his head for the past few weeks.

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i love my friends. thank you for all the birthday wishes! i'm feeling extra thankful this year ☺️🤍

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HAPPY BIRTHDYA I MADE AN EDIT FOR YOU ❤️❤️

— awww it's so cute, thank you so much! ❤️

— OMG!! np! i hope you're having a good birthday!!!

i love you 🥰🥰

— niki pls take my heart 🤲❤️

❤️❤️❤️❤️

@heyangel liked this comment!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN BBY ❤️❤️

awww that cake is so cuteee!!

— karl and alex bought it :,)

— I WANT THIS FRIENDHSIP PLSEAND

happy birthday again! 😊

— thanks syk! thank u for coming 🥰

Hours of fun later, Aspyn found herself outside and alone. The moon was large as it shined down on her, brightly encapsulating how she felt inside. Golden.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" She hummed in agreement with George at his sudden appearance, feeling a bit somber when it dawned on her that it would only be like this for a few more days. Who knows how long it would be until she saw George again, or anyone.

And as the thought hit her, her smile dropped, and there was a pang in her chest. Without being mindful of it, a tear slipped out of her eye. George frowned, leaning over to wipe away the tear with his thumb. "Aspyn, darling, please don't cry."

His voice was like honey in her ears.

"I-I just—" she gulped, her large eyes desperately looking into his. "I can't imagine being across the world from you, not after experiencing life with you." She admitted quietly, frowning.

George understood how he felt, and obviously, felt the same way. Digging into his pocket, he sighed. "Me too," he brought out the small beaded strings and laid them out on the palm of his hand. "So I made you this, it's not much, but it's something to think of me while you're doing your daily things." He delivered timidly, passing her the blue-coloured bracelet. He then rolled up his sleeve slightly to reveal his multi-coloured one. "And I have a matching one, see?"

Aspyn delicately slipped the bracelet, smiling as she inspected it. It was a small detail, but she noticed that George had used his favourite colour on hers, and her favourite colours (yellow, pink, and orange) on his. "You made these?" She asked in awe. George nodded.

"Yeah, do you like it?"

She nodded, brushing her fingers over the small beaded flowers. "I love it. Thank you."

"No problem... I-I uh, I really care about you, Aspyn." He confessed, his heart beating rapidly as he spoke. Aspyn was no different, her heart beat was accelerating by the second. Her head was tilted up as they stared into each other's eyes. A light push, that was all they needed. "I like you, a lot actually. And I hope this won't be the last time we see each other, because I hate being away from you."

"George," she trailed off, her face breaking into a grin. "I-I.. I like you too." She felt elementary with the confession, but happy nonetheless. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered in excitement.

His smile was wide as it registered in his head. "Really?" His voice cracked in both disbelief and happiness. Aspyn nodded, a light laugh leaving her lips as she understood the situation. He liked her back! She felt over the moon at the revelation. Moving slightly slower and shaking in fresh excitement, his voice dropped as he whispered quietly, his warm breath dancing over her lips. "Can... can I kiss you?"

Aspyn nodded, and at an instant, she felt his soft lips meet hers in a warm conversation. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist. Their hearts were not beating as one, but were beating together in such a rhythm that suggested they were working together. The intense euphoria Aspyn was feeling intensified, and she could feel as George's lips pulled into a smile while they were still pressed against hers. That feeling, right there, was the feeling she didn't know existed. The one she yearning for without knowing she was. There wasn't a rotten pit in her stomach, no worry lingering in the back of her head— no, for all she could think of was how nice it was to be with George. How nice it was to see herself, in her absolute glowing state, because of the help of being around such loveable people.

Aspyn felt whole. She felt loved.

ummm YAY THEY KISSED.

idk if i even wrote it well, i've never

had my first kiss before LOLLL.

anyway, go read the sequel, i'm

gonna put the first chapter up :)