we pile into the car and drive to nandos. nick gets aux this time, and blares really terrible rap music. i try my best not to listen during the 30 minute drive. i make a mental note to bring earbuds next time we get into the car.

once we finally arrive, we head inside the building. it has somewhat of a vintage feel, and i've heard george rave about this place on call, so i'm very excited.

"what do you recommend?" i ask tommy as we walk inside.

"uhh," he says. "the chicken wings are really good. there's a platter that's big, do you want to get that and we can split it?" i nod.

"they look great." i look at a picture of the wings on their menu as we sit down. we're filed into two booths, each with five people in them. in mine, we have me, tommy, tubbo, niki, and wilbur, and in the other clay, george, nick, karl, and alex.

"the entire feral crew is in that booth," tommy whispers to me. i snort.

"and the cool kids are in this booth," i respond. we both start cackling and get a few concerned stares from strangers.

i'm somewhat squished against the wall and next to tommy, and normally i would be bothered in a cramped space. but for some reason i don't mind.

"tommy! look at this!" toby exclaims, showing tommy his phone. during this, niki look at me from across the booth.

"i tried your cookies last night, val," she says. "they were really good. sorry i left after a while, you looked like you were having fun with tommy." she gives me a wink.

"oh yeah, niki had me try one," wilbur adds in while looking at niki next to him. "i loved them. let's just pray alex doesn't get to them. he will inhale all of them in seconds."

"thanks guys. tommy helped a lot, believe it or not," i say while ruffling tommy's hair. he turns to us with a perplexed look on his face.

"what?" he asks, his accent making it sound like he said "wot?" i quietly laugh thinking about it. a waitress comes over and asks for our drink orders. i order water, tommy orders coke (to no one's surprise), toby orders lemonade, wilbur orders coffee, and niki orders tea.

"why water?" toby asks me. "you're so boring!"

"you ordered lemonade," i say.

"and?"

"lemonade is great, shut up val," wilbur says laughing. i start laughing as well.

our drinks come fairly quickly, and i take a long sip of my water. tommy starts being obnoxious and slurps his drink really loudly, and wilbur threatens to make him order water if he doesn't stop.

he stops immediately after that.

"what can i get you guys to eat?" the waitress asks as she approaches our table. tommy orders for us, wilbur gets chicken breast, niki gets chicken thighs, and toby gets his own plate of wings. the waitress confirms our order and walks away.

"you could've just shared with us, big man," tommy says to toby.

"nah, i don't want to ruin your special lady and the tramp moment," toby says. tommy and i both turn beet red and wilbur laughs.

"god, tubzo, that was a good one," wilbur says, giving toby a fist bump. toby nods and fist bumps will while niki laughs.

our food eventually arrives, and i stare in awe at the food placed in front of us. tommy laughs.

"don't drool all over our food, val," he says. i snap out of my trance.

"how are you not drooling? it looks so good," i say.

"that's what all first timers say," wilbur says.

we eat our food, and let me just tell you, that was the best thing i've eaten in a LONG time. we agree to eat desert at home, probably the cookies tommy and i made.

the drive home was quiet, we were all in a food coma, also anxiously awaiting the secret valentine's exchange.

the valentine's exchange.

i get a burst of energy while thinking about it. i can't wait to see who has me, and see the look on george's face when he sees what i got him.

i don't even care if anyone else finds it funny, i just want to see his reaction.

after what feels like an eternity, i start to recognize where we are. we're close to the airbnb. my leg starts bouncing.

"you okay?" niki asks me, turning around to look in the backseat.

"i'm excited," i say. she laughs and nods.

"as am i, but try to stop rocking the car." i sigh and try to sit calmly. finally, we pull up to the airbnb.

"we're home," wilbur says, going up the driveaway. i smile at his choice of words.

home.