"Surprise!"

Skye jumped as her jaw dropped to the floor, covering her mouth in shock as Levi, Xavier, Nini, and Danny jumped out of her bathroom and yelled out the word "surprise". Scott stood behind her with a smile on his face, giving a thumbs up to the group while Skye turned around and saw her dad doing this, then turned back to her friends and realized they were in cahoots for her birthday.

"You guys did this for me?" She asked, sobbing uncontrollably. Yes, Skye may have said she hated surprises, but this was undoubtedly the best surprise ever.

"I know you said you hate-"

Skye completely interrupts Levi, running towards him and wrapping her arms around him. The embrace took him aback, but he returns it and holds her right while everyone else watched the two in awe.

"Thank you." She whispered to him.

"Awe." Everyone said together, making Skye and Levi blush a little and let go of each other in a bit of embarrassment.

"Come on, let's celebrate!" Nini exclaimed. "Our favorite gal is eighteen!"

"I need tissues." Skye giggled, wiping away tears that were shed after being surprised by her friends.

"Bathroom's right here." Xavier pointed. Of course, he would know by now.

Skye furrowed her eyebrows as she walked into the bathroom and turned on the light, scanning the room and questioning why the hell they would hide there out of all places. "Did you guys seriously hide in here?"

"Levi's idea, not mine," Xavier said, putting his hands up in defense, which made Skye laugh some more.

"So, how was the surprise?" Levi asked as Skye grabbed some toilet paper and blotted away her tears and some messy makeup.

"I almost had a heart attack, but I loved it." She replied. "Like, thank you, guys, seriously. I've never had a birthday like this before."

"Nikki could never," Nini whispered, receiving a high-five from Xavier who was proud of the shade thrown just now.

"You guys got a cake, right?" Skye questioned.

"See for yourself," Levi said.

Skye threw away the used toilet paper and headed to the kitchen with her friends following from behind, her jaw dropping as she saw a light blue cake with frosted clouds all around it. She looked over at Levi in shock, seeing how proud he was. "Clouds?"

"Skye like the sky." He smirked.

"I ordered it last week," Scott said out of nowhere.

The sound of her father's voice set off Skye, reminding her of what he put her through before this glorious surprise. "You!"

"Me!"

"You made me look at toilets for over an hour!" She yelled, making her friends laugh as they didn't know that's what Scott did to distract Skye.

"I'm considering the talking toilet." He said. It would be a fancy addition to the house, but really?

"I know we said distract Skye while we decorated, but toilets?" Levi questioned.

"I thought it would be funny." Scott shrugged.

"God, he such a dilf," Xavier whispered to Danny.

"Never say that again," Danny whispered back in disgust.

"You ready to light up the candles?" Scott asked Skye.

"Please say yes, I want cake so bad," Nini whispered to her from behind, feeling her stomach grumble as she didn't eat anything before this wild birthday excursion.

Skye listened to Nini though, immediately agreeing to have cake. "Um, yes!"

While Scott went to get a lighter for the candles, the squad all went to sit around at the dining room table, not forgetting to leave a seat for the birthday girl herself. Levi, as always, made sure there was an empty seat next to him, leaving it open for Skye to sit with him. Nobody ever opposed it, especially Nini who loved watching the magic happen.

"Skye, sit next to me!" Levi begged, patting down on the empty chair. Skye didn't oblige and sat down, then got handed a birthday hat from the stack on the table. "Birthday hat for you."

Despite the silliness, Skye put on the hat, letting out a giggle as she made a pose for Levi. "How do I look?"

"Amazing." He grinned, completely starstruck by her, even in a stupid birthday hat.

Skye's dad lit the candles while everyone carefully kept their heads away from the light, then turned off the light so the candles lit up perfectly. "Ready to sing?"

Nodding in response, Skye grinned as everyone sang the birthday song, looking over at Levi who was looking directly at her with a smile while he sang. Once the song was over, Skye blew out the candles in one perfect blow, then Scott went and turned the lights back on so he could cut the cake.

"I love you guys." She said to everyone.

"Do you love us enough to have a squad sleepover next weekend?" Nini asked enthusiastically. Danny lightly hit her thigh from under the table, also receiving stares from the others as they weren't going to ask about the long-awaited squad sleepover until later.

"What?" Skye raised an eyebrow, staring at everyone in confusion.

"Oh, we talked about that while frantically setting up the party." She replied.

"It's long overdue, you know, just like-" Danny began, almost dropping the biggest bombshell of all time. Skye didn't need that on her birthday though, so Levi immediately interrupted Danny, proposing that they have the sleepover at his place.

"We can have the sleepover at my house!" He exclaimed.

Skye immediately questioned then, looking over at her dad who was placing down plates one by one. "Uh, dad?"

"What? I heard them." Scott said.

"And you're not opposing?" She questioned.

"Nope." He replied.

"Today is so weird," Skye said to herself. Weird was definitely an understatement, but it could've gotten far weirder.

"I will murder someone if I have to though." Scott threatened, ironically holding a knife as he said that, which made Levi incredibly nervous.

"Um..."

"Oh my god, this cake is so good," Nini said, completely oblivious to what Scott just said out loud.

"Except her." He said, pointing to Nini.

"Where's my slice?" Skye pouted as she watched how Nini was housing down her slice of cake already, practically ready to have seconds.

"Right here, pumpkin." Scott chuckled, placing down the plate in front of her and bopping her nose.

Skye wasted no time digging into her cake, swearing she heard a chuckle from Levi as she devoured each bite. "So, Skye."

"Hm?" She questioned, looking up at him with frosting on her lips.

"I noticed a certain gaming console in the living room earlier." He said.

"What? My Nintendo Switch?" Skye raised an eyebrow, receiving a nod from Levi. "I haven't used that in ages. Man, my poor Animal Crossing island."

"Well, I thought it would be a fun party idea if we played Just Dance!" Levi proposed, which everyone was down to do.

"I haven't played that in ages either!" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, also feeling that frosting that was stuck to her lips.

"Oh my god, Skye and I could totally do the song from Dirty Dancing!" Nini exclaimed.

"Wait, I wanna do that with Skye-" Levi pouted, which Nini expected from him.

"Of course you do!" She laughed. "I gotcha good, Levi."

"Are we going now?" Skye asked, finishing up the last bit of her cake and wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Um, yes!" Everyone replied in unison.

"Okay, okay!" Skye said.

The squad also hurried out of their seats, practically pushing each other into the living room and showing no mercy for the birthday girl due to their impatience. They even pushed poor Scott who was just trying to stand by the counter and eat some cake out of the way too. Skye walked over to the TV, crouching down to turn both the TV and her console on, tossing a controller to Levi who caught it perfectly. The two would be going first despite Skye's nerves, but for their friends, it was the show of a lifetime watching them do this.

"Are we gonna have to do the lift?" Skye asked before they went on with the dance.

"I mean, I could lift you, no big deal." Levi shrugged, trying to play it cool and totally not flexing his muscles (lies, he was totally doing this).

"Do it, do it, do it, do it!" They all chanted, which got annoying fairly quickly.

"You better not kill me, Daniels." Skye said, darting her eyes at him with a look that said "I'll haunt you till the end of time", which is exactly what she would do if she were to face an untimely death.

"Trust me, I don't wanna do that." He nervously chuckled.

"Good." She replied. "Let's do this."

The two started the song, Skye one-upping Levi when it came to dance moves. He would surely one up her when it came to the lift at the end, showing off his "strength", but Skye was clearly beating him when it came to the points system.

Nini, Danny, and Xavier all sat close to each other on the couch, whispering nonsense while keeping an eye on Skye and Levi. Skye rolled her eyes as she faintly heard them, assuming correctly on what they were whispering about. Still, she just continued with the dance and ignored them.

Right before the lift at the very end, Levi stood in position while Skye hesitated. She was standing on the complete other side of the living room, preparing to run towards Levi so he could lift her up.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Not really, but I'm gonna go for it!" Skye replied while her heart raced.

"Whenever you're ready, I got you!" Levi assured her.

She figured there was no going back, so Skye just told herself she was ready and went for it. "Okay!"

Skye ran towards Levi at lightning speed, practically throwing her body towards him while he grabbed her waist and lifted her above his head. The squad all gasped in shock, mostly amazed that they were actually doing it and nobody died yet.

"Holy shit!"

"Oh my god!"

"Put me down, put me down, put me down!" Skye screamed, wailing her arms and kicking her feet, which almost hit Levi.

Levi puts her down as she tells him to, his face red and sweaty from having to lift her up like that. Skye pressed her hand against her heart as she felt it race at rapid speeds, also sweating like Levi. At least they somewhat pulled it off, but god was it the most nerve-wracking thing the two had ever done. It might even rank higher than confessing your feelings to someone, only because this seemed like a near-death kind of thing.

Scott rushed into the room after all of the chaos, wondering what the hell was going on in there while he was trying to enjoy some cake. "What are you kids up to?"

"Just Dance." Everyone replied timidly, looking away from Scott but all in different directions.

"I feel like I just heard a homicide go down." He joked. Well, it could've been one if something went wrong with the stunt, but Skye put a little too much trust into Levi with that one.

"Can I just open my presents now?" Skye crossed her arms, wanting nothing to do with such shenanigans anymore.

"Yeah, pumpkin, of course."

•••

Hours later, the party had to come to its end, but thankfully the rest of the party was fun even after Skye thought she was going to die. They all opened presents and ate even more cake, also downing a bunch of soda which put everyone into a bit of a sugar high. Regardless, Skye's eighteenth birthday was a total success.

The squad was all getting ready to leave, Danny and Xavier standing outside the door while Nini slowly walked out and waved goodbye. "Thank you for letting us infiltrate your home, Mr. Simmons!"

"No, thank you for caring so much about my daughter!" Scott replied, waving back at Nini.

"Bye, Skye!" Xavier and Danny exclaimed.

"Bye!" Skye waved.

Levi stayed back, having one last thing to say before making his exit. Since he was everyone's driver, his friends had no choice but to wait in the cold. "I'll meet you guys in the car!"

"Don't make us wait too long, Dr. Love!" Nini teased, which Levi would say something about later.

"Hilarious." Skye laughed innocently. Man, if only she knew.

Scott eyed Levi while he walked into the kitchen, making the teenage boy more nervous than he already needed to be. How could he ever confess his feelings? The world may never know. "Hey, uh, I left something on your desk."

"Oh? What is it?" Skye questioned.

"It's not from me, but, uh, someone left a card in my locker but it had your name on it. I think I know who it's from." He said, beating around the bush. The card was from none other than the shunned Hunter, which Skye immediately suspected. It was either him or Nikki, but both were bad either way.

"Oh."

"I don't know what it says, but I figured you could at least read it, I don't know." Levi shrugged.

"Um, I will. Thanks." She replied.

"No problem. Goodnight." He blushed.

"Goodnight, and thank you again for the party." Skye thanked him. He was the one that made it all happen after all, so there was really no one else to thank but him.

"I'll throw you a million parties, Skye," Levi said.

"And I'll love each and every one." She grinned.

Levi's cheeks burned up even more, so he figured he might as well leave already before embarrassing himself even more. "Night."

Skye watched as he left, not forgetting to wave goodbye like always. She shut the door and locked it after he drove away with the rest of the squad, a smile still present. Skye then walked to the kitchen to see her dad cleaning up, but Skye had something to do before she helped him out.

"I'll help you clean up in a few, okay?" Skye said.

"Okay, pumpkin." Her dad replied.

Skye walked up the stairs and to her room, shutting the door behind her and sitting down in front of her desk, immediately spotting the card Levi mentioned. The blue envelope read her name in messy handwriting, handwriting that she immediately recognized.

Opening up the envelope, Skye pulled out the card, being met with a bunch of glitter sticking to her fingers. "Alright, what's in this card..."

•••

Dear Skye,

I left this in Levi's locker as I knew where it was, so I hope this got to you. Um, Levi, bro, if you're reading this, don't throw it out. Thanks. Appreciate it.

Anyway, Skye, I knew your birthday was coming up and I know I'm not friends with you guys anymore, but I wanted to own up.

I was such an ass to you that night at my party. I wanna say it was the alcohol, but it was still shitty of me to make you so uncomfortable like that. Besides, you're Daniels girl. I did my bro wrong.

I just wanted to apologize to you though. I don't expect any forgiveness as I don't deserve it at all, but apologizing is a good step in the right direction.

Happy birthday, Skye. Hope it's a good one.

Sincerely,

Hunter.

•••

Skye finished reading the card, not bothering to give it another second by throwing it straight into a trash can. "Whatever."

She didn't need his stupid birthday wishes. If Hunter truly sorry, he'd man up and apologize in person, not hide behind a dumb birthday card. All Skye needed now was the people in her life that truly cared, Levi especially. The guy literally practiced for months making the perfect portrait of her as a present, what else did she need? Skye never saw Hunter as any sort of romantic interest, and he surely ruined his chance if he ever got to have one.

It was a little weird that Hunter called her "Daniels girl", but she brushed it off and solely focused on the fact that she had the best birthday ever. That was all that really mattered, and Skye finally learned how much she had to be grateful for. It couldn't get any better than this, or could it?

•••

MARIA TALKS!

okay i feel lowkey bad cause i cut a chunk showing skye opening her presents but this chapter was getting pretty long so i was like alright this gotta go

i blame hunter's birthday card tbh oops

also i've recently begun talking to a guy 👀 it's only been like a little over a week at this point, but we get along really well and i haven't been this happy in a very long time and we've already talked about hanging out in person eventually 🥺 oh and he gives off peter parker vibes so i won 🤪 also i just realized he lowkey reminds me of matt from 13 going on 30 as well- ANOTHER WIN

oh and he's actually real so you will thankfully not see me on mtv's catfish in the future

I'M SORRY BUT ONE LAST THING TOO- so my birthday is the same as danny's canon birthday (lmao peep my meet my oc's book). HIS BIRTHDAY IS THE SAME AS NINI'S!! ISN'T THAT WEIRD?? like, i gave these characters their birthdays MONTHSSSSS AGO! it's a crazy coincidence and i lost my mind anyways dini supremacy

moving on from my developing love life, i hope you enjoyed part two of skye's birthday and don't forget to vote!

see you next time at the long awaited squad sleepover! that should be two parts as well so stay tuned xx