Riley's POV

I wake with a jolt, and a smile spreads across my face. Today is my 21st birthday. I'm finally an adult. I jump out of bed, and wash my face. I look at myself in the mirror. I look different. I look older. My cheekbones are a little more visible, and my lips are thinner. My eyes look darker, like more of a black instead of a brown. I'm still wearing my sports bra and spandex. My body looks slimmer, and a bit more muscular. I turn 21, and I look amazing! 

I look over at Maya's bed, but she's not there. She's probably already downstairs in the cafeteria. 

I head to my closet, and look through my clothes, picking out a few things. I head out, and make sure that my door is locked. 

I try on multiple dresses, but none of them really fit today. I tried on shorts and jeans and multiple crop tops, but nothing fit. I finally decide on a white skin tight crop top, and my white skater skirt. I pull on my white converse, and put on my ring, and my infinity necklace from Lucas. I straighten my hair, and pull a couple strands back, while leaving my bangs out. I clip the strands back with a white bow. I add concealer, powder, and highlighter to my face, and some winged eyeliner and mascara to my eyes. I fill in my eyebrows, and add a bright red lipstick. I look stunning. 

I grab my phone, and head downstairs. Except, all the lights are off. I trip over what I think is a table, and quickly jump up, glad that no one is here to see that. I dust of my skirt, and sigh. I feel around the walls for a light switch, and finally my fingers fumble to one. I quickly switch the lights on, and blind myself. I throw my hand over my eyes, in pain. 

"Happy birthday, Riley!" I hear a lot of people chant. I jump, and lean against the wall, still covering my eyes, and my other hand dramatically over my heart. 

"Mother of god!" I exclaim, moving my hand from my eyes. In front of me, there are streamers and balloons everywhere, and a banner that reads, "Happy 21st Riley!" I smile, and look at everyone. 

Maya, Lucas, Farkle, Mom, Dad, Auggie, Josh, Eric, Shawn, Katy, even Mr. Feeny. There are many students that I go to class with, and even some of my teachers. Their arms are all out, like they're waiting for me to give them a hug. I let out a sigh, close my eyes, and laugh. 

"You guys didn't see me fall, did you?" I ask. They put their hands down. 

"No, but we sure did hear you." Maya says, smirking. I roll my eyes and laugh. I run over and hug everyone, and we eat cake for breakfast. 

"Thank you guys so much." I say with a mouthful of cake. Everyone laughs. 

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After lunch, everyone decided that it was time for presents. 

Lucas picks me up bridal style, and runs to the stage. He places me in a chair, and runs off the stage. Uncle Eric comes up to the stage, and hands me a gift. He stands there, waiting for me to open it. The only people left are my family, and Katy. 

I tear open the box, and open it up. Inside are a new pair of combat boots, and a picture frame. I look at the picture, confused. I was a picture of three guys, and one girl. They all look about my age, and they're all laughing. The girl has medium length, dirty blonde hair, and she looks like Mom. The boy on her right has fluffy dark brown hair, and looks an awful lot like Dad. The other two are on there sides. One boy has hair almost o his shoulders, and it's a dirty blonde. The other's hair is to his ears, and a brown. I look up at Eric. 

"Do you remember when you asked me if I knew a group of friends as tight as the four of you?" he asks, pointing to Lucas, Farkle, and Maya. I nod. 

"Well, they're it." he says, smiling. Then, it hits me. It's Mom, Dad, Shawn, and Eric. I gasp, and smile. 

I jump up, and wrap my arms around Eric. "Thank you." I whisper as he hugs me back. "No problem, niche." he says as I laugh. He steps off of the stage, and Katy and Shawn step on. 

"Hi, kiddo." Shawn says. "Hi." I smile. "Happy 21st." Katy smiles. They hand me a box. I open it up, and find a book. I doesn't have a title, and it looks really rusty. I dust it off, and it has a diamond on it. I look up at them curiously. They have smiles plastered on their faces. 

"What is this?" I ask with curiosity. 

"It's everything you need to know about being a witch. It even has some spells." They whisper and wink at me. I smile and give them a hug. "Thank you." I whisper back. They walk off the stage, and Auggie walks on. He is now twelve, and he's gotten a lot taller. 

He hands me a bag, and I smile while taking the paper out of it. I pull out a card, and open it up. I has a heart colored in with a red marker, and writing written with a black marker. 

Riley- 

We've been through a lot these past couple years. But, in the end, everything turned out okay, no matter what. And I wish that it'll always be like that, and I know it will. And through everything, you were always there for me, even when I was mad. You always cheered me up, and fought through your own battles. You put yourself last, and everyone else first. And I wanted to thank you. Not just for that, but for everything, and for being the best big sister I could ever ask for. And through up and down, you will always be my sister, no matter what. I love you!

-Auggie

Tears fill my eyes as I blink them back, and smile. I hug Auggie, and he seems taken back. "But you haven't even opened the present yet!" he says as I pull away. "I know." I smile, and he smiles back. I tear the rest of the paper out, but the only thing left in the bag is a piece of paper. I look at Auggie, confused, but all he does is smirk. I grab the piece of paper, and unfold it. I look back at Auggie confused. 

Turn around. 

He smirks at me, and I turn around. And behind me, is a beautiful purple guitar, on a stand. I gasp, and run over to it. I pick it up, and it fits me perfectly. I play a couple cords, and start to play a song I wrote. 

"Did you write that, Riley?" Auggie asks from behind me. 

"Yeah." I breathe, not knowing what to say. I put the guitar back on the stand, and squeeze Auggie. "How'd you know that I wanted a guitar? I never told anyone." I say. He shrugs. "I heard you play Maya's guitar that one time she left it in your room. You wrote a whole song that night. From then on, I decided that, that's what I was going to get you on your 21st birthday. I never told anyone, and saved all my money up." He smirks, proudly. I smile, tears filling my eyes. "What? What's wrong?" he asks worriedly. I shake my head. "Nothing, Auggie. It's just amazing that you did that for me." I say and hug him. "Well, I'm glad you like it." 

He walks off the stage, and I set the guitar next to me. My parents walk up to the stage, and smile. I smile back. They hand me a box, and I open it. It's a rather small box, and there's a note inside. 

Riley- 

You're now 21! Stop it. 
Thank you for being the best daughter anyone could ask for. We love you more than anything in the world, and you've been through a lot these past couple years. We wanted to thank you for never loosing your smile through everything. When you loose your smile, so does the world. 
We love you more than life, and I hope you know that. 
Love, Mom and Dad.

I put the note down after laughing. In the box, is a key chain. On it, is a heart, a picture of Maya and I, another picture of the four of us, and a smiley face. In the middle, are keys. To what? I look up at them, confused. They're smirking, and they point to a window. I turn, and everyone is smiling at me. I look out the window, and there's a red convertible. It looks really shiny and new, and I wish that it was mine. 

"Cool, you guys got a new car?" I ask my parents. They laugh. I hear Maya sigh. I gasp. 

"WAIT." I point to the car. "That's mine, isn't it?" I ask, a smile growing on my face. They nod, smiling and laughing. 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I tackle them with hugs. "Your welcome." they laugh. After a while of thanking them, they leave the stage, and Farkle walks on. 

"Lady." he smirks, like he used to. I laugh. "Farkle." I tease, like I used to. "Happy 21st." he says, and hands me a bag. It's an old bag, but pretty big. "Whoa, Farkle. You didn't have to." I say, opening the bag. Inside, there's a pile of clothes from every and any store I can name. "But I wanted to." he shrugs. He sits in front of me, and motions for me to look through it. "I asked Maya for your size, and I just found things that I thought you'd like." he shrugs again. I take out a purple skater dress that has no sleeves, and holes around the stomach. "And you did a really good job." I laugh. 

I pulled out multiple pairs of jeans, some ripped, some bleached, and some just skinny. I also got multiple crop tops, some loose with designs, some tight and just plain patterns. I three other dresses, one green and long, one that was a skater and mint green, and one that is another skater and is red. I really love skater dresses. He also got me two rompers, one tie-dye purple and pink, and one black and white. He got me shorts, some white, some different colors, and some just jean. He also got me shirts, some designs and jokes on them, some plain. He got me a leather jacket, and a pair of ankle boots. And at the bottom, is a note. 

It's the last day of high school!

Finally!

Riley?

Yes?

You ready to take on the world? 

As long as I have you guys. :) 

"It's the note we passed on the last day of high school." I smile and lookup at him. He smiles and shrugs. "I like to think that it keeps us together. And I want you to have it. We can pass it around to each other, and make sure that we always stay friends." I smile. "I love it. All of it. Thank you Farkle." I smile and hug him. I put all the clothes back in the bag. How'd he fit all of that in there? 

Then he walks off the stage, and Lucas walks on. 

"Hey, Princess. Happy birthday." he kisses my forehead, and I smile. 

"Thank you." 

"So, it took me a long time to think of something, and it might not be the best- hell, Farkle did better than I did." I laugh. "But, I got you something that shows you how much I love you." he holds out a note, and I take it and unfold it. 

Happy 21st Riles!

The past few years have been amazing with you, and I want you by my side forever. You are my smile, my light, my happiness. You help me up when I've been pushed down, and you changed me. I was once a person that made bad choices, but once I met you- everything changed. You reminded me of the good in the world. You are the good in the world. My life with you has been amazing. And through everything, you kept your smile. And I'm glad you did, because you are my smile. Thank you. For everything. You are perfect, and always have been. You smile even when you're dying inside, and put others before yourself. And they aren't many people like that. And I love you for that, and many other reasons. 
I don't know where life will take us next, but I do know that I love you. And I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I really hope you feel the same. I want to walk through life with you, and I want to protect you from anything that comes your way. I want to be able to see your beautiful smile everyday. I know that I love you, and that we're meant to be together. 
So, Riley Matthews, will you make me the happiest man ever, and marry me?

I look up with tears in my eyes, and find Lucas, on one knee, smiling at me, holding out the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. I smile as tears fall, and I clasp my hand over my mouth. 

"I know that we are young, and if you want to wait a couple years, that's fine. I will wait for you." Lucas says. 

I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. More tears stream down my face and a huge smile spreads across my face. 

I nod my head furiously, and laugh. 

"Yes! Yes! I love you, Lucas! Yes!" I say as he stands up and smiles. He picks me up and spins me around, kissing my forehead. He sets me me down and kisses me. I hear everyone cheer and clap. I pull away, and he grabs my hand, sliding the ring on it. 

"Say hello to future Mrs.Huckleberry!" I hear Maya yell, and everyone screams louder. I laugh. Lucas kisses me again, and hugs me. 

"Okay, Huckleberry, my turn!" Maya says, pulling Lucas down the stage. I laugh as Maya comes back up. 

She smiles. "Hey Riles. Welcome to adulthood. It sucks. You're gonna love it!" I laugh. She kneels down, and hands me a book. 

I open it, and inside, the pages are blank. I look up at her, confused. 

"It's kind of like a puzzle." she smirks. I gasp. I peel the corner of each page, revealing a hand drawn picture. I smile, and continue until there aren't any pages left. Maya moves out of the way, and I kneel down. I start connecting the pictures, much like I did the night I found everything out. I can feel Maya smirking. 

Like the other time, it's in a circle, around me. Each picture is of a memory we share. "Like the circle of memories." I breathe. She nods, and walks away. 

I look around, trying to find her. "What?" I ask no one in particular. Everyone shrugs, then smirks. 

I hear a guitar strum behind me, and I whip around. I see Maya, sitting on a stool, and playing her guitar. I smile, recognizing the song that I wrote. I stand in the middle of the memories, listening to her play my song. 

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey

Different memories start to light up, like that night. I gasp. 

Her and I after our first dates. 

Her and I after prom. 

Her and I at school.

Her making a fish face while telling the school about Lucas and I's kiss. I laugh. 

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star–
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

Her and I on her 14th birthday. 

Her and I sitting in a cell the night I was going to jail. 

My trial where she roasted people and got me out of jail for it. I laugh. 

Her helping me with my powers. 

Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey, hey (mmm)
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey, hey (yeah)

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane
Told a story about a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land

Her and I on the subway on the first day of school.

Her pushing me into Lucas' lap...both times. 

Her and I doing blind makeovers. 

Her helping me change back to Riley...both times. 

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way?
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?
Was it everything you wanted to find?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken?
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five-hour phone conversation?
The best soy latte that you ever had and me

Me, finding her dead on the bay window. 

Me, crying while reading her letter and opening her gift, with her 'ghost.' 

Me, putting together the puzzle. 

Me, watching the video, and watching the pictures turn to color. 

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way?

And tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star,
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself?

Me, running away to get her. 

Her and I finding each other. 

Her helping me with magic. 

Terry attacking us. 

Lucas breaking through the magic. And Maya's face is priceless! I laugh. 

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na

And did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day?
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
And did you fall for a shooting star, fall for a shooting star?
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
And now you're lonely looking for yourself out there.

The last one turns to color, and I smile. It's her and I, last night. Her head is resting on my shoulder, and we're sitting at the bay window. 

I look up, and Maya smiles. 

"You learned my song." I say. She nods. "And you did the puzzle thing." I say, pointing to the circle of memories. 

I jump over the circle, and jump into her arms. "Thank you, Peaches." I whisper. 

A bright light flashes, and pictures of our past flash before my eyes. I smile. "Well, my best friend turned 21. I needed to make it memorable." she whispers back. 

You did.  

She pulls away, and smiles. 

"Everyone did! I'm engaged! Farkle bought me a boat load of stuff. I got a car, a book on witches, and a picture that I've wanted forever." I shrug, and smile. 

"Wow. Show off." Maya laughs. 

"Please, Witch." I laugh along with her. We link arms, and head down the stairs after jumping over the circle of memories. 

I join my family, best friends, and finance, and dance, before midnight comes, and my fate is decided. 

Maybe I'll be good. Maybe I'll be evil. I don't know. 

But, for now, I'm just going to dance like it's my last.