Chapter Text
It was a quiet Wednesday evening in Lily’s garage, the unofficial headquarters of their friend group. Inside sat four close friends—Cristal, James, Eric, and Lily—huddled around an old beanbag, plotting something that sounded very suspicious… if anyone had overheard them.
“Okay, let me get this straight,” Cristal said, eyes wide. “We’re actually kidnapping Kevin?”
“Fake-kidnapping,” James corrected, grinning. “We’re not criminals. We’re just surprise specialists.”
Lily laughed. “Look, Kevin’s birthday is Friday, and the guy hates traditional parties. Remember last year? He ran off when we brought out the cake.”
“He literally hid in the bathroom for twenty minutes,” Eric added with a chuckle.
“So, this year,” Lily continued, “we’re flipping the script. No balloons, no candles, no warning. Just pure chaos and fun.”
Cristal reached into her tote bag and pulled out a folded blueprint—well, not really a blueprint, more like a sketch of the club Kevin was visiting that weekend, hastily drawn on graph paper with color-coded highlighters.
“Kevin arrives at Club Halcyon around ten p.m.,” she began, tapping the drawing. “He’s meeting his other group of friends—aka the ‘boring ones,’ according to Lily.”
“They’re not boring,” Lily said with a shrug. “Just aggressively vanilla.”
“Right,” Cristal said, holding back a snort. “So, we give them time to get settled. Then, at exactly ten-forty-five, we make our move.”
James rubbed his hands together. “The van is ready. Black, unmarked, with tinted windows.”
Eric gave him a skeptical look. “You make it sound like we’re pulling a heist.”
“We are. A heist of the heart,” Lily said dreamily, eyes twinkling. “Or the cake. Depending on your priorities.”
Cristal rolled her eyes. “Focus, people. James, you’re on driving duty. Eric, you’ll handle the music and lighting inside the van.”
Eric looked up again. “Music?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Something dramatic. Like that scene from Mission: Impossible. Let’s make him think something wild is going down.”
“I was thinking of playing the Jaws theme,” Eric said, straight-faced.
Lily gasped. “Yes! Slow build-up, rising dread—it’s perfect.”
Cristal pointed to the sketch again. “We go in, hood him—gently, of course—and toss him in the van. No real roughhousing. He has to believe it, but we can’t give him a concussion.”
“Agreed,” James said. “Then we drive him out to the lake house, where all the guests are waiting in the dark with party poppers and cake. Boom. Best birthday ever.”
The room fell into a collective silence, a rare moment of shared awe at the sheer audacity of their plan. Then Lily clapped her hands.
“I love us.”
Eric groaned. “I still think this is going to go wrong.”
“It won’t,” Cristal said with confidence. “I’ve thought of everything.”
Famous last words.
The week leading up to the so-called "kidnapping" flew by in a flurry of disguised texts, supply shopping, and rehearsals in Lily’s backyard. The group met every evening, refining the plan, tweaking the timing, even practicing fake kidnapping techniques—much to the confusion of Lily’s elderly neighbor, who stared at them from behind her lace curtains like she was watching a Netflix crime series unfold in real life.
On Tuesday evening, two days before the big event, Cristal found herself pacing back and forth in her small apartment. Her phone buzzed with updates—James had picked up the van, Eric had created the playlist (complete with creepy cello instrumentals), and Lily was at the party venue, setting up decorations.
But Cristal couldn’t shake a feeling. Not fear exactly—more like... anticipation wrapped in fog.
She paused by her window, looking out at the quiet street below. Her reflection stared back at her, the soft glow of her fairy lights highlighting the intensity in her eyes. Maybe it was because this plan was hers. Maybe because Kevin was more than just a friend to her.
Much more.
She remembered the first time they met. College, sophomore year, in a Sociology class neither of them wanted to be in. Kevin was charismatic in a way that wasn’t loud, but magnetic—he pulled people toward him with an easy smile and a voice like warmth in winter. Cristal had fallen hard, even if she never said it out loud.
But Kevin had never looked at her that way. He was close to all of them, but his heart seemed locked in a room with no key.
“Maybe this’ll change something,” she whispered to herself.
She hated how hopeful she sounded. Like this insane, over-the-top birthday surprise could somehow turn into a love story.
A knock on the door snapped her back. She opened it to find Lily holding a box of black ski masks and party hats.
“Dual-purpose,” she said, breezing past Cristal. “Terrifying entrance and festive aftermath.”
Cristal smirked. “Are we sure we’re the good guys in this?”
“No,” Lily said cheerfully. “But we’re the fun ones.”
They sat on the couch, sorting gear. Lily pulled out a hoodie labeled “Agent of Chaos” and tossed it to Cristal.
“For the big night. Custom ordered.”
Cristal laughed, holding it up. “Perfect.”
Lily’s grin softened. She leaned back and looked at Cristal. “You, okay?”
Cristal hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Just... I want it to be good, you know? For Kevin.”
Lily studied her for a moment. “Cristal. Are you hoping he’ll... get it? Like, get how you feel?”
Cristal exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“Well,” Lily said at last, standing, “either way, this night is going to be unforgettable.”
The late afternoon sun slanted through the tall windows of Lily’s townhouse, casting a warm, amber glow over the cozy chaos inside. Cups of half-finished coffee, open snack bags, and a stack of mismatched notebooks cluttered the coffee table, surrounded by four friends who looked far too conspiratorial for a regular Thursday.
Cristal leaned forward on the edge of the couch, her long, dark curls falling over her shoulder as she reached for a pen. “Okay, one more time—from the top. Let’s get this perfect.”
James groaned dramatically from the armchair. “We’ve already gone over this three times.”
“Yeah,” Eric added, tossing a popcorn kernel into his mouth from across the room. “I think I could execute this plan in my sleep at this point. Blindfolded. With one hand tied behind my back.”
“I’m serious,” Cristal said, glancing at them sharply. “This isn’t just a regular surprise party. It’s... elaborate.”
“It’s borderline illegal,” Eric muttered.
“Memorable,” Lily corrected, perched on the windowsill, legs swinging casually. “It’s going to be memorable.”
This party—this wild, theatrical, slightly deranged birthday surprise—was her way of doing something big. Something bold. A story they’d laugh about someday. A story that might—just might—open a door between them.
Lily interrupted her thoughts. “Okay, logistics. What’s your code phrase if something goes wrong?”
Cristal blinked. “My what?”
“You know,” Lily said. “Like if security spots you, or he fights back, or you grab the wrong guy. You need a code.”
“I’m not going to grab the wrong guy.”
“That’s what everyone says,” Eric muttered.
Cristal rolled her eyes. “Fine. If I say ‘Operation Fluffy Duck,’ it means abort.”
James groaned. “That is the worst code phrase.”
“Exactly,” Cristal said. “No one would ever say it by accident.”
“Fair,” Lily conceded.
Eric leaned back on the couch. “You know, if this goes well, we’ll have to outdo ourselves next year. Maybe fake an alien abduction or get him invited to a cult retreat.”
“No cults,” Lily said firmly. “I already lost one cousin to a pyramid scheme called ‘Sunlight Ascension.’ Not again.”
Cristal pulled out her notepad. “Alright. Let’s review roles.”
She ticked them off on her fingers.
“James—van and timing. You text me when you’re in position.”
“Roger.”
“Eric—you’re our lookout. Stationed inside the club, close to Kevin’s table. If he moves or if anyone notices me, you signal me.”
“Got it.”
“Lily—party general. Decorations, cake, drinks, and the playlist.”
Lily grinned. “Already done. And yes, the playlist starts with the Mission: Impossible theme.”
Cristal smiled. “Of course, it does.”
A brief silence followed. The kind that came when excitement blurred into a strange kind of awe.
“We’re really doing this,” James said.
“We are,” Cristal replied.
Eric stretched. “God help us all.”
Lily raised an imaginary glass. “To crime!”
Cristal laughed, then stood, adrenaline rushing through her limbs. “Okay, everyone. Final prep tomorrow, execution at ten-thirty sharp. Wear black, no names during the grab, and don’t forget—he might panic, but it’s our job to keep it playful. And fast.”
James rubbed his hands together. “Let’s give Kevin the scare of his life. Then hand him a cupcake.”
Cristal looked out the window. The sun had nearly vanished, the sky painted in strokes of violet and gold.
This was it.
The last normal day before everything changed.
And in her chest, her heart whispered a single hope:
Please let this be the moment he finally sees me.