Previously

"H-Hello...?"

"(Y/N)!" A male voice shouts at me. I physically wince at the loud sound and hold the phone away from my ear.

"Y-Yes?" I put it back.

"Oh my God, (Y/N)! Are you okay!?"

"Um...yes, I-I'm fine..." I take the phone away from my ear and glance at the caller ID, "Fresh."

"You sound tired," he points out.

"Y-Yeah, I just woke up from a..." I check the time, "Ten-minute nap?"

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, no, d-don't worry about it."

"Go back to sleep," he demands.

"What? I-It's okay!"

"If you were sleeping, go back to sleep. We can talk more tonight if you want," he urges but then softens his tone, "Okay?"

"I-I guess so."

"Good. Go back to sleep now."

"Mmm, b-bye then."

"Goodbye."

I hang up and set my phone on the coffee table. I smirk and close my eyes.

'He's just like PJ and Frisk.'

Now

I open my locker door and watch as a piece of looseleaf paper flutters to the ground beside me. I eye it suspiciously and shelve my books before picking it off the ground. I scan through the lines, knowing that I'll probably have to take these words with a grain of salt.

Ready for a scavenger hunt?
In this game, you can lose or you can win
So first, set your bag down and then begin

Sincerely, me
PJ

'Okay, wait, is this some kind of joke?'

I rummage my pocket for my phone to already see a message that PJ sent to me just after lunch. Huh.

PJ 💜:
Dont worry
The scavenger hunt is real

'Oh. Alright.'

I walk out of the school, still clutching the sheet in my hands and mumbling to myself, "Set your bag down...Does he want me to go home?"

It seems like the only option I have. Where else would I set my bag down?

I start speed walking in the direction of my home. When I make it to a neighborhood and see no one around, I swing my bag over to my front and spread my wings. This should, at least, make it a bit faster.

When I make it to the house, I observe from above. No one seems to be around. I land on my front porch and immediately notice a drawing taped to the front door. As I unlock the door, I pull the drawing from the door and examine it.

It looks like some sort of map? That's what I'm assuming since there are a few large red X-s on certain locations.

Follow the signs on the crossroads
Pay close attention to the arrows
A surprise lies at the end after you've won
I really hope you at least had some fun

I grab a pencil, set my bag down, and lock the door behind me. I stuff my phone in my pocket along with my keys and start in the direction I'm pointed towards.

On the corner where the sidewalk meets the road, a sticky note is stuck to a pole sign. It points forward. I use the pencil to very poorly draw the direction I was going, trying really hard not to puncture the paper.

Forward. Forward. Left. Left. Forward. Right.

As I walk, I observe the scenery around me. It's a sunny Spring day. Birds are singing and flowers are blooming. On days like these, kids like me should be out, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Every so often, I would feel the breeze blow by me and smell the crisp fresh air.

Forward. Forward. Left. Forward. Right.

The more I walk, the more away from the town I seem to be getting. Even though this is not where I would normally walk, I still recognize my route. It's all too familiar. I keep marking down my path.

Forward. Left. Forward. Right. Right. Forward.

I make it to a clearing. Of course I know where this is! It's the river and the cherry blossom tree!

Before I can get a full view of the clearing, an arm wraps around my waist and their hand covers my face. I was about to start screaming for help before their voice calms me, "Don't worry, it's me."

"G-Geez," I laugh, "I thought y-you were some creep trying t-to lure me into a quiet p-place!"

"Now, why would I hurt my princess~?"

"O-Oh my g-gosh...PJ..." A flustered giggle bursts from my mouth.

"Ready?"

"F-For what?"

He uncovers my eyes and I finally see the whole picture. On the grassy ground, a large red and white checkered picnic cloth is spread out. On it are a stack of paper plates, an unopen package of various juices, and the most adorable picnic basket I've ever seen.

Scattered around the grass are gold balloon weights with various colors of balloons tied to them. On the tree hang white paper lanterns of different sizes that blend nicely with the pink cherry blossom buds.

"Surprise!" A group of voices yells with enthusiasm. I slightly flinch and squeeze my eyes shut at the loud noise, but still hold a smile on my lips nonetheless. When I open my eyes half a second later, all my friends start popping out of their hiding places, behind the tree and in the bushes surrounding the clearing.

"W-Wow! What's the occasion?"

"Silly! It's your birthday!" Skate runs up to me and traps me in a hug. I return the favor without a second thought.

I pause for a small moment, "What...what d-day is it?" I laugh at my own stupidity.

"February twenty," she lets go of me.

"I um...I guess I forgot m-my own birthday," I chuckle nervously.

I turn to PJ, "Thank you for s-setting this whole thing up!"

"I can't take all the credit!" "Don't give him all the credit!" Two voices say at once. I turn my head back to the bushes where the second voice came from.

"Frisk! Did y-you plan this?"

"With the help of everyone here, of course!" He climbs out and brushes a few leaves out of his hair.

"Don't be so modest!" PJ pats him on the back, causing him to flinch, "He planned the idea and set up most of it!"

"You know w-what, Frisk?"

"What?"

I feel a grin spread across my face as I trap him in my arms "Y-You're the best, you k-know that?"

He returns it and pats me on the back a few times. I can hear him smirking, "I know."

Undyne groans, "Okay, okay, we can stop the sappiness now."

"W-Way to ruin the moment, Undyne," I jokingly call out and release my grip on Frisk.

"Come on! Let's get this show on the road!" BP yells enthusiastically, surprising for his usual calm demeanor.

Frisk grabs me by the wrist and brings me over to the picnic blanket on the ground. I sit in between Frisk and PJ. Skate sits directly across from me, in between Undyne and BP. Hopefully, that'll stop their friendly bickering for the time being.

"Okay, wait, (Y/N), close your eyes for a sec," PJ instructs, reaching his hand into the basket.

Without warning, Frisk places his hands over my eyes and blocks my vision.

"Frisk!" I laugh, my eyes showing nothing but darkness and a little light around the edge of his fingers. Three snaps come from across the picnic blanket, the third one being significantly louder than the other two. An incredibly soft crackling noise starts on my right.

A short pause follows until I hear everyone's voice in unison and my vision return back to normal.

"Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to (Y/N)

Happy Birthday to you!"

PJ holds a large cupcake in front of me. It's (chocolate or vanilla) with rainbow sprinkle pellets and a lit gold-striped candle.

"Make a wish," Frisk murmurs next to me.

'I wish...I wish I could see my family more often...' I smile at the bittersweet feeling and blow out the candle.

Some cheer, and those who don't have wide smiles on their face.

PJ discards the candle and holds it up to my mouth. I happily chomp down, leaving me with a mouthful of frosting and a bite mark on the cupcake.

PJ fails to suppress a laugh as I enjoy the sweetness of the icing.

"Mmph, w-where'd you guys get these?" I ask, covering my mouth as I continue to savor the icing.

"BP baked them!" Skate exclaims, being handed her own cupcake.

"B-But only with the help of NC," he stumbles over his words, "He had something to do, so he couldn't make it...he wanted to wish you a happy birthday though!"

"Well, t-tell him I said thank you so m-much!" I finish the first bite and am ready for another.

Undyne finishes the cupcake in two bites.

"Undyne..." PJ chuckles through a mouthful of cupcake.

"You got a problem?" She jokes accusingly.

"Nonononono. Oh, Asgore," he chortles.

We continue to talk and laugh, luckily, none of us choking, until we finish.

"There's more~," Skate says in a sing-song voice. She stands up and rushes over behind the tree, grabbing a small stack of two boxes wrapped in decorative paper and one gift bag.

"You guys!"

Skate pushes the gifts towards me.

"C-Can I really...?"

It sounds like a stupid question, but as a kid, I never had large birthday parties because I never had the guts to make any friends. But, now, with the ones around me that I can call family, it feels sort of bizarre to receive gifts from them.

"You deserve the best, (Y/N)," Frisk drapes his arms around me and rests his chin on my head.

I hesitantly take the smallest box off the top, a flat, square-shaped, black box, only around two inches in height.

I gently pull on the ivory white ribbon and watch it unravel in front of me. Opening the box, a necklace with a small pendant glitters in the sunlight.

"This is b-beautiful!" I exclaim, "Who's g-gift is this??"

PJ chuckles while putting a hand over his mouth.

"O-Oh, PJ...I don't know if I-I can accept this."

"Please, keep it. I think it'll look beautiful on you," he takes the necklace out of the box as Frisk lets go of me momentarily.

I brush my hair out of the way as he clips the necklace on the back of my neck. I grab the pendent and hold it up to my sight. The necklace consists of a golden chain with three pendants, a pair of golden wings and a silver heart right in between them. It glistens.

Frisk goes back to hugging me the second I drop the pendant.

I grab another box, this one wrapped in blue wrapping paper with white stars on it. I gently tear off the tape on each side, trying to make as small of a mess as I can. Inside the wrapping paper seems to be a book, or well, manga. The front cover shows a girl with fair skin and cat ears. Everything from her hair to her dress is a different shade of pink. She's valiantly holding up a staff with a cat on the end and striking a pose.

"It's the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie manga!" Undyne exclaims, looking the most excited I've ever seen her, "It's the first of the ongoing series and I happened to have an extra copy after buying the rest of the set! You can keep it! I'll tell you, the first book is way better than the first season of the anime, but the second season had a bett—"

I quickly stop her from rambling because I know she'll never stop if I don't interrupt her, "Shhh shhh! Spoilers!"

"Oh, right! I'll leave you to it!"

"T-Thank you, Undyne, I look forward to reading it," I smile and set it aside.

The present is placed in a magenta gift bag with beautiful spiral patterns over it. Inside is a pile of shredded, white tissue paper, covering the gift inside. I submerge my hand into the tissue paper and feel around for any other solid object. My fingernails clink against a cylindrical object seemingly made out of glass. I pull it out, accidentally releasing a few strands of paper out of the bag.

In my hands is what looks like to be a jar, a little wider than a test tube, filled with lucky stars of various colors. It starts with pastel pink, crimson red, tangerine orange, lemon yellow, lime green, sky blue, and lavender purple.

"I learned how to make paper stars as a child, but never really put the skill to good use until now. Not only do they look pretty, but they also signify love and good luck," Skate murmurs sheepishly, almost as if she were embarrassed.

I set down the jar and bag, "Come on, guys. G-Group hug."

Frisk, already hugging me, doesn't move at all. On the right, PJ leans in and embraces both of us. Skate, Undyne, and BP, across from me, join us.

Today...Today, I think is a good day.

~A/N~
Happy Holidays, everyone!
I hope you guys are doing...um...a lot better than I am ^^'
Winter break has started, but some of my friends are still stressing me out
You can probably tell I'm a pretty anxious person
Anyway, have an amazing day/afternoon/evening :)

Word count: 2296 words (including A/N)

*nopes out*