Months had passed since then.

Noah and Iv had begun to text more and more often; the texting soon led to calling, and calling led to hanging out every week.

He enjoyed her company, they would talk as if they'd known each other for years, and always made him laugh with her silliness and jokes. She always had a kind smile on her face, and although quite sarcastic at times, her cheerfulness was contagious.

Alexa had grown suspicious from his sudden better attitude, yet she never asked any questions; but that didn't stop her from continuing her abusive manner.

Right now, he sat on his couch, watching tv. A great way to spend his 23rd birthday, right?

He peeked up at the sound of knocking, soon walking over and opening the door. It didn't surprise him to see Alexa standing there.

What did surprise him was how she threw her arms around his neck in a weird hug. "Happy birthday, baby~!"

"Uh, thanks.." He said as she pulled away, walking inside his apartment.

Noah used to love celebrating his birthday, especially sharing the celebration with his twin sister. They'd always plan their parties together, their house was filled with the delicious smell of their mother's ice cream cake, and their father was the best party planner ever.

Ever since he moved to New York though, the birthday spirit has slowly been dying, and Alexa was part of the reason. Her way of celebrating a birthday was different, and even then, she was barely around.

Shrugging off the memories, Noah sat back on the couch. He had been trying to gather the courage to break up with her for a while now that he had a reason to.

Alexa walked back inside, and he took a deep breath. "Alexa.."

Before he could speak, she leaned down and deeply kissed his lips, catching him off guard. He tried to pull away, but she had already wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting on his lap.

He quickly placed his hands on her stomach, pushing her back a bit. "Wait, don't.."

She didn't pull away, only giving a small smirk. "Relax, babe, just giving you your birthday present~.."

She began to kiss his neck as he continued to push her away, protesting against it. He didn't want this, not with her.

Not after all the pain she's caused him.

"Alexa, stop!!" He yelled as he harshly pushed her away, landing on the couch as he backed away from her.

Noah quickly blinked back his tears before she could see, standing up as he kept a serious expression. "I don't want to do this with you, not now.."

Alexa's expression grew cold, sending a shiver down Noah's spine. Still, he remained serious as she stood up. Once more, he took a deep breath and attempted to speak. "Look, we need to-"

"Save it." She grabbed her bag, glaring at him as she purposely bumped into his side. "Why do I even try with you."

She walked out before Noah could say anything more, leaving him in the once again silent room. After a few seconds, he let himself fall onto the couch, passing a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.

"Some birthday..."

As of on cue, he received a text from a familiar number, bringing a small smile to his face.

"Hey Goofball! UwU" -I

"Hey Iv." -N

"What you up to?" -I

"Nothing rn."
"Why?" -N

"Well, I was wondering if....
You wanted to meet up at Stargazed....?? O3O" -I

"Now?" -N

"Yeh. UwU"
"You can bring your girl too!" -I

Noah's expression fall at the text; she'd beat him to death if he did, after being really rude and isolating him from his friends again.

"She has work at this hour, I'll go alone." -N

"Kk, see you in a bit! UwU" -I

"Alright. 👍" -N

He let out a small sigh, grabbing his winter jacket and scarf before leaving his apartment. Snow covered the streets of New York, along with the holiday lights people would often put up at this time of year.

Thankfully it wasn't snowing, as beautiful as he found the crystal snowflakes. But it meant he didn't have to worry much, even though it was already very cold.

With hands in his pockets and his scarf over his nose, Noah proceeded to make his way to the bar. Soon enough, he saw the familiar sign which now had tint shards of ice hanging from it.

When he entered, his eyebrow raised in a feeling of confusion; there were a few party decorations around, most of them were green. However, he shrugged it off, pulling down his scarf.

He then felt a small tap on his shoulder, turning around to see Iv with an innocent smile.

'Oh boy, what's she planning..'

"Hewo." She greeted, the smile not leaving her face.

"Hi?"

"Did I forget to say Happy Birthday?" Before Noah could answer her question, she had already placed a small party bag on his head, getting startled at the people who hopped out out of their hiding places.

"Surprise!!!"

He looked around; along these passing months, Iv had introduced him to a bunch of her friends, and although it took some time to adjust, to so many people, they all became good friends.

Nate, Austin, Gia, Melody, Auriela, Lola, Hayley, Oscar, Zack, Josh, they were all here!

His eyes were wide, shock obvious in them. He then looked back at Iv, who's smile grew into something more warm.

"Th-this.. this is all for me..?"

"Well duh, you're the only one of us who's born on this day." She replied in a kicking manner.

Maybe throwing a party for someone was normal for her, but that wasn't the case for him anymore. It had been so long since anyone threw Noah a party. It was surprising, in a good way.

A smile soon grew on his face, Melody walking over. "Thank Iv for this, she planned everything."

At Mel's words, Iv's cheeks grew red in embarrassment, crossing her arms and looking away. "I-it's not so big a deal."

She grew even redder when Noah wrapped his arms around her in a hug. His smile was genuine, grateful for what she did only to make this day special.

"Thank you, Iv... This means a lot to me..."

She let out a small chuckle, hugging him back. "Yeah yeah, you're welcome, you doofus.."

Noah pulled away, laughing a bit at the nickname. She then playfully punched his arm. "Now enough sappy-ness, this is a party!"

They cheered as the music began to play; Noah laughed joyously, every fear that had kept him caged down disappearing completely, and for the first time in years, he felt free to be who he was.

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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