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The front gates of the Mayor's house loom imposingly in front of Berdly. It's not the first time he's been here, far from it in fact. He can recount multiple study sessions and school projects hosted inside the Holiday house, papers strewn across the living room floor as he and Noelle bury themselves in their textbooks.
This was not a study session, though
This was a party. A house party. In the Mayor's house.
Berdly simply could not fathom what on Earth possessed Noelle to make this decision. There was ‘bad news’ written all over it, and if her mother came home and saw their entire high school class in her home, she'd have a conniption for sure.
There was no way in hell he wouldn't attend, though. Clearly this was looking to be the biggest party of the year, and he wouldn't be caught dead missing it. This could be his moment to solidify his place as the coolest person in class™. Whatever madness has struck his dear friend Noelle can be dealt with later.
Berdly pushes forward and, sure enough, the gates are unlocked. He walks through the gardens towards the front door and checks the time on his pocket watch (only cool people carry a pocket watch). He's 20 minutes early, which means he's 10 minutes late to being a half hour early. Curse his nerves and hesitation. He knocks on the door with a feathered hand and waits.
Luckily, he isn't waiting long. Noelle opens the door, the stress on her face melting away when she sees who it is. “Oh, Berdly! It's you! I thought it might be-” She cuts herself off abruptly before grabbing Berdly's hand and tugging him through the door. “Come in, you can help me set up!”
It's extremely bizarre seeing the Holiday house nearly devoid of Christmas decorations. The holly, garlands, and singing Santas were mysteriously missing, leaving the house looking almost normal. Well, as “normal” as a super rich person's house could be.
“Where's all the..?”
“I put them away!” Noelle responds quickly, nervously. He'd never seen her quite this high strung. “Just for today. Mom will be mad if anything gets ruined.” Her mother will be mad anyway if she discovers what's happening here, but Berdly keeps that to himself.
She leads him to the coffee table in the center of the dining room, the surface littered with snacks and plastic cups. “So I've got enough cheese and crackers for 9 people, do you think that'll be enough?” Berdly is still having trouble picturing 9 people in Noelle's house at all. It's surely big enough for everyone, but a bunch of rowdy teens surrounded by expensive furniture seems like a recipe for disaster.
“Noelle, are you certain this is a good idea? As your best friend, I believe it's my responsibility to make sure you're thinking clearly here.” Before Noelle can respond, there's a loud knock at the door. She rushes over, leaving Berdly standing awkwardly by the coffee table.
“Oh, Susie! Hi!”
Oh. Susie. Everything makes sense now.
His dear friend was not nearly as subtle with her crush as she might think, but this was a new low even for her. Clearly that purple ruffian had persuaded her into a terrible choice for her own selfish gain. Not if Berdly had anything to say about it!
“Kris is here too!” Susie's husky voice rings out and Berdly freezes. It's stupid, the effect the other seems to have over him. No matter how much time they spend playing games or chatting in the library, Berdly can't shake the nervousness he feels around them.
“Oh, right! Right, hi Kris! Please, come inside.” Noelle leads them both into the living room and Berdly still hasn't moved a muscle. Kris observes where one of the singing santas used to be with a look of disappointment, but Noelle pays them no mind.
“Of course birdbrain beat us here.” Susie plops onto the couch next to him with a significant force, already munching on bits of cheese and meat. “You know being early doesn't make you cool, right?”
Berdly squaks in indignation, his feathers successfully ruffled. “You realize you're early too, yes? The party hasn't started yet.” He gestures around to the mostly empty room, pointedly keeping his eyes off of Kris as they meander around observing things. Why do they always do that?
Susie reclines against the sofa, heavy boots landing on the edge of the coffee table as she stretches out. Noelle saves a bowl of chips from toppling onto the carpet, but otherwise ignores Susie's rude behavior. Berdly's eye twtwitches. "I promised Noelle here I'd be early so we can chat before everyone else gets here. Why don't you go bug Kris and leave us alone?” The look in Susie's eyes makes it clear this is an order and not a request. Berdly opens his mouth to oppose, but closes it quickly when Noelle shoots him an absolute death glare. For the first time since they arrived, Berdly allows himself to look directly at Kris. They're shuffling through a drawer on one of the side tables, as if they're looking for something. Bizarre, but Noelle doesn't seem to mind.
“Fine. Noelle, do call out if you need anything.” His response is met with silence, his friend already ignoring him to place her full attention on Susie. Why even have a party if you only want to pay attention to one person? Whatever, Berdly will busy himself elsewhere.
He approaches Kris with a confidence that is completely manufactured and not at all earned, like a peacock strutting before a potential mate. “What are you looking for?”
Kris doesn't quite jump when Berdly speaks, but they do seem surprised. “Batteries.”
Strange, but okay.
“Noelle probably knows where you can find some of those.” The suggestion is helpful, though a bit obvious. Berdly likes to feel helpful; to feel needed.
Kris turns their head to look directly at Noelle before turning back to the bluebird in front of them. “She's busy.” They're quiet for a moment, as if calculating something in their mind. “There might be some in the basement if you want to come help me look.” There's a look on their face that Berdly can't quite pin down. It seems hesitant, but hopeful..
Before he can respond, there's another knock at the door. This is going to get old really quick.
“Berdly, can you get that please?” Noelle calls out, eyes pleading. Of course now that Susie is here, she can't be assed to answer her own door. Though to be fair, Berdly did tell her to call out if she needs anything. Even if this isn't what he had in mind. She's so lucky she's friends with the greatest wingman who ever lived. Berdly continues to praise himself mentally as he excuses himself from Kris’ presence and answers the door.
Snowy and Monster Kid make their way inside, shortly followed by Catti and Jockington. All of them arriving at once makes Berdly feel anxious. Did they all just happen to arrive at the same time? Or were they hanging out beforehand? Did they make plans together and exclude him? This is unacceptable! He's the coolest, smartest person in class! He almost doesn't notice Temmie lagging behind before swiftly joining the other teens. His ego hadn't felt this bruised in a long while.
—
The teens mingle as the party kicks off, everyone drinking what Berdly can only hope are age-appropriate drinks. Noelle and Susie are still nestled together on the couch, the former giggling sweetly at something Susie had said. No one was paying attention to him. This was a disaster.
His eyes scan the room for Kris, but they're nowhere to be found. Berdly wonders if they're still off looking for batteries. He's not quite sure what that's about, but knowing Kris it's probably for some kind of prank. It would be nice, actually; watching Kris prank them all. He wants them all to feel sorry for excluding him.
He really needs to cool off.
Berdly ducks into the kitchen, the loud music masking the sound of the door. He's surprised to see Kris standing at the kitchen counter with a glass of chocolate milk. So this is where they wandered off to. “Ah, Kristophe. I was wondering where you'd gone.”
Kris snorts, rolling their eyes. They seem tired, but Berdly can just barely make out the smallest smile gracing their lips. “That's not my name.” Berdly knows this, but it's part of the game they play. They leave their empty glass on the countertop as they make their way to the dining area. There's a grand piano in the corner of the room, elegant and untouched. Berdly wonders if any of the Holidays have ever actually played it or if it just sits here looking pretty.
Kris pulls out the bench and takes a seat before patting the spot next to them, inviting Berdly to join them at the piano. He can feel his feathers standing on end as goosebumps spread across his arms. There's something intimate and special about just sitting next to Kris that he can't explain, but he suddenly realizes why Noelle couldn't bring herself to leave the couch once she sat down with Susie. This stupid little crush was going to be the death of him.
Once Berdly is seated, Kris begins playing. It's a slow, melancholic sound that completely drowns out the party in the other room. The feeling it invokes is hard to explain. He feels sad, but oddly safe. Like he's trapped in a dark and lonely place, but there's a light keeping him company.
It feels sort of like this party..
“Kris get out here, we're playing games!” Susie nearly pulls the door off the hinges with how much force she uses to open it.
Games! Berdly is good at games! This could be his chance to turn this experience around and show all his classmates how cool and capable he is! He stands abruptly from the bench, full of energy and determination.
The two of them join the others in the living room, only to find everyone seated on the floor in a circle. There isn't a console in sight, and Berdly is starting to realize he may have misunderstood the situation. Susie comes back from the kitchen with a bottle of ketchup in hand. She tilts her head back as she downs the whole thing until it's empty.
Noelle giggles at her antics. “Susie, we have bottled sodas you could've used.”
Susie seems a bit bashful, but shrugs it off. “Who cares, a bottle’s a bottle.” She placed the ketchup bottle in the middle of the circle before placing both hands on Kris’ shoulders and pushing them into a sitting position. “You're playing too, no weaseling your way out of it.”
“Um.. What are we playing exactly?” Berdly's voice is shaky and full of nerves. He has a few ideas in his mind for what this could be, and none of them are good.
Susie scrunchies her snout in annoyance, voice cold like it's the most obvious thing in the world. “We're playing 7 Minutes in Heaven, idiot. Sit down and shut up. Unless you're chicken.” The sneer on her face fills Berdly with disdain. Before he can talk himself out of it, he plops down on the ground with a huff. She wouldn't get the best of him, not today. “Catti, you're up first.”
Catti rolls her eyes, but gives the bottle a spin anyway. It goes around the circle a few times before slowing. It nearly lands on Noelle when Susie sneezes violently, pushing the bottle further before it finally lands on Jockington. There's whooping and catcalling from the group, but Catti doesn't look even remotely amused as she pulls Jockington into the closet.
Berdly didn't realize how long 7 minutes could be. It felt like they were in there forever. What is he going to do when it's his turn? He's never kissed anyone before, let alone for 7 whole minutes! What if he messes up? He'll be the laughing stock of their whole class!
Finally, the two leave the closet to jests and cheers. As if sensing his absolute turmoil, Susie sets her sights directly on Berdly. “Your turn, birdbrain. Better make it count.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?? His life is over. What if he gets Catti and she places a hex on him? Or worse.. what if he has to kiss Temmie?! Her breath probably smells like Temmie flakes!
His hand is shaking and covered in sweat as he gives the bottle a spin, each rotation further increasing his anxiety. He can barely watch as the bottle begins to slow, the nose finally pointing at his victim.
It's Kris.
Thank the angel , it's Kris.
Wait.. oh no.. It's Kris!
Berdly is half excited, half terrified beyond belief. There is no way Kris wants to kiss him! On the one hand, at least he won't have to kiss anyone. On the other, he's going to be shoved into an enclosed space with Kris when he wants to kiss them very very badly.
There is no possible future where this ends well for him.
With a bit (a lot) of prodding from Susie, he and Kris are pushed into the closet. Oh.. this is where Noelle hid all the Christmas decorations. The usually spacious closet is jam-packed with garlands, trinkets, and tiny animatronic santas, leaving very little room to stand. Kris looks like they hit the jackpot, and Berdly can only imagine the kind of mischief going on in their brain right now. Maybe he'll get lucky and Kris will be so busy cooking up schemes that they won't notice how close the two of them are smushed together.
A minute passes. It’s painfully awkward. Berdly can hardly look at them, but he can feel Kris’ intense red eyes on him. Damn, they must want to kill him right now. How is he going to survive 6 more minutes of this? Standing chest to chest, sweaty, nervous, overwhelmed.
“So.. are you gonna kiss me, or..?”
It takes every ounce of Berdly's willpower not to squak in surprise. Kris sounds annoyed but.. hopeful? Like they’re frustrated Berdly won’t… Oh. Wow .
“Yes! I mean, yeah if.. if you want to!” He manages to push the words out despite his nerves getting the best of him.
Kris looks away, suddenly seeming anxious and unsure. “Do you want to?”
Berdly clears his throat, but his voice cracks anyway. “Yes, I want to..”
Precious seconds go by, Berdly still hasn't made a move. He feels frozen in place, his nerves locking down.
Kris has had enough of that.
They grip onto Berdly's shoulders with both hands and tug him forward, pressing their lips to his nervous beak.
They're kissing. They're kissing and Berdly is just standing there like a statue.
He feels like such a jerk.
Kris pulls away disappointed.
“We don't have to do this.” Their voice is monotone and even, but Berdly can still see the hurt in their eyes.
“I'm sorry, Kris. I just.. I need to know this isn't just for the game. That you actually..”
“Like you?” Kris looks confused, almost furiously so. “Of course I like you, why do you think I'm always trying to be alone with you?”
And just like that, everything clicks into place. The late night gaming sessions, Kris coming to the library just to tease him, asking him to help look for batteries in the basement of all places!
His unrequited crush has actually been quite requited! The entire time!
“Oh, I'm so stupid.” He blurts out, face flushed as Kris grins up at him.
“Yeah, I know. Do you think you can stop being stupid long enough to kiss me? We only have like a minute left.”
Okay, he can work with that.
Berdly wraps his arms around Kris’ waist and pulls them into another kiss. For once, he's too excited to feel insecure. They taste like butterscotch and smell like fresh apples. It’s absolutely intoxicating.
He nearly jumps out of his own skin when Susie starts banging hard on the closet door. “HEY! Get out, its been like 10 minutes already!”
He pulls away with a stuttered breath “We should go-” His sentence is cut off as he's pulled back in. It's the first time he hasn't minded being interrupted, but their classmates outside are still shouting so he breaks off again.
Kris shakes their head, crimson eyes pleading. “Just ignore them, they'll get bored.”
How is he supposed to say no to that flawless logic?
He lets Kris pull him back in, and eventually the shouting stops.