tw : long chapter lol

lee's POV

today is the day i finally go back home to london. and everyone knows except for kit because i decided i wanted to surprise him since it's his birthday today.

joe has been blowing my phone up with messages throughout the entire plane-ride across the ocean.

he was given the job to distract kit all day while everyone else prepares for the party we're throwing him tonight. and my job is, of course, to sneak in without him noticing.

one the plane finally lands on solid ground and i immediately pull out my phone and text joe.

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hoe
& lee
-

lee
OKAY WE JUST LANDED
REMEMBER THE PLAN?

hoe
ofc i do 🙄
you go to yaz's apartment,
you guys get ready for the party together,
you guys head to the party,
everyone finishes the preparations,
then kit and i head over and BOOM

lee
perfect
and will is getting the cake now, right?

hoe
uhh i hope so

lee
hang on i'll text him to make sure

☆ ★ ☆

will
& lee
-

lee
you're getting the cake right

will
duh

lee
i was just making sure you didn't forget or something

will
have more faith in me 💔

lee
yeah yeah whatever
wait what type of cake is it

will
the best type

lee
i'm being serious

will
so am i
it's LITERALLY the best type
ik for a fact that kit will love it

lee
okay good

☆ ★ ☆

honestly, this entire situation is so extremely nerve wracking. i want it to be perfect for him.

what if he doesn't like the party? what if he doesn't want to see me? what if everything messes up? what if he doesn't like the cake?

there's so many possibilities of things that can go wrong and it's terrifying. ugh! my mind won't shut up. it's just constantly screaming at me to make everything perfect.

"hey," i jump at the sound of miss manson's voice as she places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "quit worrying, i'm sure he'll love it."

we're currently walking through the airport. just us two. my tour finished a few days ago, but i haven't announced that online publicly yet because i don't want kit to know.

this makes it so much easier to pass through the airport without being bombarded by fans.

still, the memory of mine and kit's first kiss in an airport just like this is burning in the back of my head. i miss him so much. but what if he doesn't miss me as much?

i give her a weak smile, "how can you be so sure?"

"because i see the way he looks at you." she tells me, holding a large door open for me. "everything will be perfect as long as you're there."

we exit the airport and i'm suddenly taken aback by the freezing breeze that blows my hair out of my face. i nearly forgot how cold london is compared to america.

"LEE!"

before i even have the time to lift my head and look at who screamed my name, yaz wraps her arms around my neck. her entire body weight is suddenly forced onto me and i stumble backward a few steps, laughing.

"i missed you so much!" she squeals, not releasing her strong hold on me. "i'm literally so jealous that kit got to see you a few weeks ago and i didn't. but, girl, i have so much to tell you when we get back to my apartment!"

a few minutes later, miss manson leaves us because her husband picks her up. she says her farewells and urges me to tell her all about the party next time we see each other ( which will most likely be tomorrow).

yaz continues rambling on as we walk to her car, keeping an arm around my shoulders. then, she keeps talking throughout the entire drive.

i want to focus on what she's saying. really, i do. but my mind won't stop going back to kit's party.

"hey," yaz says, pausing her ranting and turning to face me at a red light, "what's up with you?"

"hm?" i hum, "i don't know what you're talking about.

yaz eyes me, suspiciously. she definitely won't fall for any of my lies. she knows me too well. before she can say anything else, the light turns green and she has to refocus on the road.

"you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." she says, not tearing her gaze away from the cars in front of her. "but i'm worried. normally, you'd be super excited about this party but right now, you seem like you're in your own world."

"i an excited." i tell her.

i sigh, knowing that i'll end up telling her at some point because we're going to be getting ready together for over an hour. so, deciding to just get it over with, i begin explaining why i'm upset

"i'm just so scared that this party won't be all that i'm hoping it'll be." i admit, leaning my head back against the seat. "what if kit doesn't want to see me? what if he didn't want a party? what if he doesn't like the cake? what if he hates the gift i got him? what-"

"lee." yaz says sharply, interrupting my overthinking.

"...what?"

"it'll be fine," she reassures, quickly smiling at me. just for a moment. "trust me, i'm sure kit will love everything."

i inhale, "okay. i trust you."

☆ ★ ☆
joe's POV

i've taken kit to so many stores within the past few hours that i'm surprised he isn't begging to head back home.

"do you like this shirt?" he asks me, holding up a burgundy tee in front of his chest. "a few months ago, lee mentioned that she likes this color."

"yeah." i say, "i like it"

my feet are sore from walking so much and my back is aching to sit down.

but if we sit anywhere, i'm scared kit will ask a question i can't answer. like what everyone else is doing. or what if he tries to call lee? oh no.

so instead, i've decided to just keep walking around this mall and take kit into any stores catch his eye.

"are you sure?" kit asks, "i should call lee and show her. she'll know."

"NO!" i scream.

everyone in the small, quiet store turns and looks at us as i shout, snatching kits phone out of his hand. he cocks a brow at my strange behavior.

"uh, i think it's a really nice shirt." i say, frantically trying to come up with an excuse. "let's not bother lee, okay? she's probably busy."

"okay?" he replies, still skeptical of me.

i turn around and flip through some of the shirts hanging on the rack behind me, "what about this sweater? i like the color, don't you?"

"uhh," kit looks the shirt up and down. "it's alright."

i shove the sweater in his arms, adding it to his stack of other shirts that i promised to pay for.

"can i have my phone back now?" kit asks me. i look down at the phone in my hand that i forgot i was holding.

"oh! right. yeah. sure. of course. absolutely." i awkwardly hand him back his phone.

☆ ★ ☆
lee's POV

yaz owns so many dresses that it's actually insane. i own a couple, sure. but nothing can compare to the amount of dresses and skirts in yaz's wardrobe.

"here!" she says, holding up a pretty navy blue dress. there's jewels embroidered into the fabric around the waist and hips.

i shake my head, declining the dress. it's way too fancy. id be scared of getting it dirty all night. not to mention how long it is, making me think id definitely trip over it.

"not this one either? i don't blame you, it's kind of itchy after a while." yaz asks, tossing the dress aside into the huge pile of other dresses i've said no to. "what do you like?"

i think for a minute. truth is, i loved all of her dresses. they're just too fancy for me and my clumsiness.

"do you have a plain black one?" i ask her, knowing that it's less likely for me to ruin it if it's plain and simple.

"of course i do. i have tons of black dresses." yaz replies, beginning to dig through her messy closet again. "ooh! i have the perfect one! it'll look so good on you. kit won't be able to take his eyes off you!"

i chuckle, "let me see it!"

she pulls out a small, short dress and holds it up to show me. i instantly fall in love with it. not as much as the others, but this way i won't constantly be worrying.

i took far too much time getting ready with yaz because we kept playing around like little kids.

but after an hour of preparing, i'm happy with how i look in the mirror. meaning, we're finally ready to go to the party.

i'm ready to see kit for the first time in a month.

i literally feel like im going to vomit from a mix of anxiety and excitement.

joe
& lee

lee
yaz and i are heading to the party now
you and kit can finish up what you're doing

hoe
oh thank god
my wallet is literally sobbing

lee
you'll have to tell me all abt it when i see you

hoe
deal
also
are you okay?

lee
yeah
wdym

hoe
don't lie to me
i can tell
im your best friend

lee
yeah im fr okay
im just a little anxious ig
but i'll be alright
so don't worry about it

hoe
if you say so

☆ ★ ☆
kit's POV

this is the best day ever.

joe has been buying me clothes all day. and he's been getting me food. and now he took me to a shoe store knowing damn well how much i love buying shoes.

he's acting a bit strange, though. he won't let me talk to lee and he's been checking his phone non-stop.

but i ignore all of his weird behavior and shove it to the back of my head as i continue to look around at the shoes like a kid in a candy store.

after picking out a pair of shoes i've been dying to get, joe pays for me.

while walking out of the store, joe gets a few text notifications and hides his phone from me as he messages the person back. then he says, "do you want to go to rhea's apartment?"

"what?" i ask with a laugh, "you've been refusing to leave the mall all day, and now you're asking to go to rhea's? what's going on?"

"uh," joe starts to panic, "i don't know what you're talking about. let's just go!"

twenty minutes later

joe still is acting extremely weird. but again, i don't mention anything as i admire my new shirts, pants, and shoes.

he leads me up the stairs of rhea's apartment complex, already knowing her house number for some reason.

"okay," he says, "knock."

"what are you talking about? why me? you're the one who wanted to come here."

"are you saying you don't wanna be here?"

"honestly? no, not really." i admit, because i'm not that close with rhea and id much rather be at my own house and spend the day talking to lee — which joe won't let me do. "i just want to go back to my house and call lee."

he groans, "don't make this difficult and just fucking knock, kit!"

i'm shocked at his sudden outburst, but i don't want to make anything worse. so i knock on the large wooden door in front of us.

rhea opens the door. she's wearing a dress. but not just any dress. she's wearing the same dress she wore on set for the party in heartstopper. what the fuck is going on?

i suddenly notice that all the lights in her apartment behind her are off. the entire house is pitch black. okay, this is getting really weird.

i can't wait to tell lee all about this craziness.

"come in!" rhea says kindly, holding the door open for me. not wanting to be rude about the creepy darkness, i enter her lightless apartment.

her and joes walk in behind me, all of us standing in the dark.

i wait for her to turn on the light. but she doesn't. instead, she slowly shuts the door behind us and i start to feel extremely uncomfortable.

rhea flips on the light and i glance around the place, noticing party decorations and a cake sitting on the kitchen counter. my favorite type of cake.

"SURPRISE!"

about fifty people jump out of tons of hidden areas. how did i not notice them?

out of all the people in the now crowded room, only one person catches my eye. only one person has my attention. only one person is so captivating that i can't look away.

eileen.

she's here.

she's in front of me.

she's here.

"happy birthday, kit!" she says with the most gorgeous smile i've ever seen. "i missed y-"

she can't even finish her sentence before i run up to her and pull her into the tightest hug i possibly can. i lift her up off the ground just barely, nuzzling my head into her shoulder.

the scent of pine fills my nose. the scent of her.

i pull back after a bit, before she grabs my face in her hands and presses her mouth to mine.

i smile against her lips. god i missed this. god i missed her.

☆ ★ ☆

EILEENSTONE MADE A POST.

liked by joelocke03, kit.connor, yazdemand, and 7.2M others.

eileenstone, so happy to spend the day with my favorite person ever

view all 73k comments

joelocke03, you're talking about me right? im ur favorite person
↳ eileenstone, you wish

user3618, no more tour :(

user480, KIT AND LEE CONTENT???
↳ kit.connor, yeppp
↳ user480, AHHHH

kit.connor, you're my favorite
↳ eileenstone, ❤️

user2008, rhea wearing imogen's party dress >>

user6270, lee looks so good in these pics

yazdemand, everyone thank me for how good lee looks today
↳ kit.connor, thank you 🧎‍♀️

user893, THE DRESSWJKSGWJSBQF

sebastiancroft, this was an unforgettable night

user63816, i missed seeing all of them together

rhea.norwood, so honored that a party so amazing was hosted at my place 🥰
↳ eileenstone, honored to plan it there

will.gao_, just so everyone knows : eileen drank so much she puked later that night
↳ eileenstone, WILL YOU CANT SAY THAT WHAT IF I GET CANCELED
↳ will.gao_, i'll break you out
↳ eileenstone, ??? i wont go to prison

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hey guys!! i missed you all and i hope you enjoyed this agonizingly long chapter
i don't make long chapters like EVER and this was something new but i hope you guys liked it
anyway, more importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE KING HIMSELF KIT FUCKING CONNOR!!!