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It's Cheryl's birthday, and no one remembered. She'd spent the last week dropping hints, but when the day came no one mentioned it. When she got to school, she thought surely cousin Betty would have remembered, but she was wrong. Betty was in a rush and hardly even glanced her way as she greeted her in passing.
Then she thought Veronica would remember. But Veronica practically ran away and into one of her classes before Cheryl got close enough.
Cheryl is standing at her locker. Arms crossed, and her back against the metal. She couldn't believe no one had remembered. She felt a deep sadness slowly creep across her entire body. There were moments when Cheryl really thought no one would notice if she wasn't there, and this was one of them.
But then someone is tapping her on the shoulder. Her head jerks up in surprise, having been deep in thought.
It's Toni, standing there with a big smile on her face, and Cheryl feels instantly better.
"Happy birthday!"
Toni presents her one solitary candle, held in her hand, and a kiss on Cheryl's cheek. The smile that spreads cross Cheryl's face is wide and strong.
"You remembered." she sighs, as she blows out the candle, she notices Toni has a hand behind her back
"Of course I did. I've planned a whole day for us." Toni says, with a slight furrow in her brow "Starting with this."
From behind her back Toni pulls out a red leather jacket.
Cheryl's gasps and a hand flies up to her mouth.
"For me?"
"Turn around." There's clear excitement in Toni's voice
Cheryl turns, and Toni helps her into the jacket. Once it's sitting comfortably on her shoulders, Cheryl turns back to Toni.
She looks down at it, toying with the zipper and the pockets. Her heart feels heavy, but that good feeling kind of heavy.
"I love it."
"I'm glad."
They lock eyes for a moment, and Cheryl feels warm inside.
"We should go to class, don't want to get in trouble on such an important day." Toni loops her arm through Cheryl's and they walk to class together.
******
Later that day, Cheryl is pretty tired and ready to go home. Toni had pulled her all over town. To the movies, a fancy restaurant that almost didn't let them in due to the way they were dressed, and then they went bowling. Cheryl had never been one for bowling, but she had a genuine good time there with Toni.
And now they're standing in the elevator on the way up to the Lodge apartment, where Cheryl's been living for a few months now. They're kissing and things are getting pretty heated.
Toni keeps trying to cut off the kiss, but Cheryl is good at reeling her in for more. And maybe Toni doesn't totally want to stop; Cheryl looks really good in the new jacket.
The elevator stops on their floor. Cheryl pulls Toni out, but doesn't stop kissing her. Once inside the apartment, Cheryl is feeling along the wall for the light switch.
"Surprise!" is what she hears when she finally turns on the lights. She lets out a shriek as she turns around, coming face to face with all her friends; Betty, Veronica, and Josie. There's party hats, and balloons, and a beautiful cake.
Cheryl knows she should feel some kind of embarrassment, but she can't bring herself to care. She spent a long time not being able to kiss the girls she wanted to, so she wasn't about to stop now that she could.
"Happy birthday!" Veronica says, as she pulls Cheryl in for a hug
"You remembered?" Cheryl, asks, hugging her
"Of course we did, and not just because you've been reminding us several times a day for the past while." Betty says, moving in for a hug
Cheryl doesn't try to hide the relief and happiness she feels. Knowing she matters to the most important people in her life, it's something she hasn't felt in a while.
"But of course, we couldn't have done it without Toni's amazing stalling skills. She kept you busy all day while we were setting up." Josie says
Cheryl turns to Toni, who is standing behind her, a bashful smile on her face.
Cheryl pulls her in by the arm, and kisses her on the cheek.
"Thank you." she whispers