Mai jolted awake, her vision still spinning with specks of light on the edges, and yet, a satisfied feeling still hung in her chest.

Even though she dissed off a dream, she still dissed off somebody, and that was enough to make her feel amused.

Annoying people was a specialty of hers, and it was no secret she enjoyed it.

Mai's mind spun to her conversation with the weird star lady, and she tried to erase the memory into a hazy fog like most of her dreams tended to do. It was annoying and odd that this particular dream didn't do that. But maybe it was the weirdest dreams that tended to stick in heads. This dream was certainly very odd.

Mai, a saviour? Another dimension? A prophecy?

I mean, how stupid can you get?

Mai pushed her thoughts out of her pounding head and groaned, rolling over in her bed and throwing her covers off her suddenly-burning body. She blinked her bleary eyes at the alarm clock that was inches from her face now, as she had rolled over and was now facing it. She struggled to read the flashing red numbers for a while before they finally came into clarity.

5:25. If there was one good thing about this weird dream, it was that it had woken her up in time for classes.

She had no idea why she had thought applying for morning ones had been a good idea, but at least she and her three best friends were the same kind of crazy. They ALL had morning classes, so now at least they could suffer together.

Mai groaned again and rolled out of bed, feet clumsily touching the floor and stumbling for a moment before she righted herself, rubbing sandman crust out of her eyes. She meandered to the bathroom, rolling her still-sleepy eyes at the snores from the other rooms in the flat. Even though class started in little more than 45 minutes, they were still snoring away.

"Dumbasses," Mai snorted quietly as she reached the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and put her hands on the sink, watching her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her long, wavy, dark hair. She scrubbed at her sleep-weary face until her caramel-colored skin began to shine, and her tilted, large, chocolate eyes crinkled with amusement as she smiled dryly at her reflection in the mirror.

Wasting time staring at your ugly face again.

Mai didn't think she was very pretty, even though she did have a few attractive features. Although none of them complimented each other very well (or so she thought). All in all, she was pretty average- big, pretty, almond-shaped eyes, a nose that looked as if someone had broken it (which someone had), full, nice, pink lips, acne-scarred forehead- well, she was okay, she supposed. Definitely not pretty.

Sighing, she pushed herself off the sink after brushing her teeth and slipping into a yellow shirt, a pair of soft, washed-out jeans, and worn sneakers. Regular, comfy clothes. She threw on her black (actually, it was so faded and old it looked more gray) jacket on top because she never went anywhere without it. It was big on her and fell to her mid-thigh, the once-silver buttons now gleaming a burnished bronze, the sleeves covering her hands. It had belonged to her father, once upon a time. Then her brother.

Now, since they were both gone, it was hers.

She snuggled deeper into it and exhaled, her careful eyes still tracking her reflection in the mirror. Mai, on the outside, seemed to be outgoing, reckless, and mainly focused on getting a thrill. While this was true- she wasn't going to deny the fact that she was these things- she was more careful and observant than people realized. She thought things through very thoroughly before deciding to do something. It was a good thing her mind was so quick in processing information, so she could have both of these conflicting sides of her personality in her without seeming bipolar or fake.

It was a good thing she was reckless but judging, a thrill-seeker but careful. Most of the time, she knew when to stop. But the thoughtful side of her mind was the part that caused her the most pain.

Usually in the form of reminding her of the explosion and bombarding her with guilt that she didn't do anything, that she was fine and everyone else in her family had died.

Pushing her thoughts away, Mai's eyes flickered to the clock on the wall, and then she nearly had a heart attack.

YOU SPENT THIRTY MINUTES IN THE BATHROOM????

She didn't even know what was wrong with her right now.

Mai shoved her hair into a loose ponytail and flung the bathroom door open, uneasily taking in the silence- or more specifically, the absence of her friend's snores.

"Um-" Mai began as she poked her head in the kitchen before three pairs of arms were wrapped around her.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAI!"

And then Mai was looking into eyes that were blue and gray and gold (sometimes orange, as they were spiking right now), and she was smiling at her three best friends in the entire world.

Except, could they not be screaming BLOODY MURDER in my EARS?

"Yo guys, hands of the merchandise!" Mai let the words roll off her tongue, only half-joking. They were squeezing her uncomfortably tight. "Even someone as awesome as me needs to breathe!"

Emi let go, sticking her tongue out at her, and then she raced to the back part of the kitchen, no doubt pulling a 'surprise' out from the very depths of fridge, leaving Yuki and Zheng to exact torture on her. She KNEW what they were going to do before they did it but then they did-

"NOOOOO!" Mai screamed, writhing away from Yuki's fingers as they tickled her neck.

"AHAHAHAHA!" he hooted, taking pleasure in her pain. Mai narrowed her eyes as him but was laughing too hard to keep it up. She stumbled back, pouting. Zheng doubled over in laughter at her expression.

Some people thought that Mai and Emiko were dating Yuki or Zheng, and there were guesses as to who was dating who, but SOME PEOPLE just DIDN'T GET a perfectly platonic relationship. As Mai had learned, friendship stayed forever, or at least left its mark forever. They were closer than siblings; their families were also everyone else's families. It was PLATONIC, and that was what Mai meant when she said 'I love you'. Because that was the kind of love they had.

Of course, Mai thought dryly as she glanced at Emi in the kitchen, we still have to do something about Emi's debilitating crush on Yuki.

Which was a problem, because Yuki had a girlfriend.

Well, otherwise, completely normal, no problems in THIS perfectly platonic relationship, thank you very much.

But hey, it wasn't her problem to settle right now, because at this moment she was currently running around the table, escaping the boys' tickling fingers.

"I am literally going to murder you!" she screeched as Zheng scooped her up and let Yuki tickle her some more.

"Oh dear," Zheng made an almost comically-distressed face as Yuki stopped for a moment, but his blue eyes still gleamed with mischief behind his glasses, "I'm pretty sure she means it."

"OF COURSE I MEAN IT YOU-"

At that moment, Emi backhanded Zheng in the gut, making him double over and release Mai, who dropped lightly to her feet, glaring bloody murder at Yuki. He backed away nervously. "Mai, think about this for a-"

Before Mai could lunge, Emi grabbed both boys by their ears, ignoring their whining as she sat them both at the glass table.

"Emi, wait a- OW-"

"OW- We're sor- OW!"

Mai smirked at them behind Emi's back. Without turning around, she called, "Mai, you had better come sit too or else I'll be dragging you over as well."

"Yes Ma'am." Mai's grin dropped off her face in an instant. Emi was gentle and really, really fun-slash-crazy, but when her 'mom mode' kicked in, she was pretty damn scary. So, without any further instructions, she sat down at the table next to Zheng, across from Yuki, who she was still glaring at.

"ALRIGHT, eat your birthday breakfast!" Emi beamed at her before sliding a plate of waffles topped with cream cheese and berries in front of her. Usually, the foursome didn't have time to make elaborate meals, but when each of them tried, they could do a lot.

Mai smiled thankfully at the three of them, her 'anger' at the boys fading away as she felt a blackberry burst on her tongue, the sweet juice making her feel dizzy.

As Mai got up and began to clean her plate in the sink, Zheng sneakily slipped it away from her and began washing it himself (but not before flicking a few water droplets on her face).

"What're you DOING, Zheng?" Mai sighed exasperatedly as she wiped her face, not in the mood for another one of their games right now, seeing as they literally had five minutes before the bus left from the public station downstairs.

"Not today, Queen," he laughed, "it's your birthday, come on. You think so low of us?"

He placed a hand on his chest dramatically, leaning back to wink at her.

"Aww," she cooed after a moment, grinning, "you DO care about me!"

"Ha ha, hilarious," Zheng rolled his eyes before affectionately ruffling her hair.

Her serene feeling did not last long, as as soon as she finished eating, the three of them began singing 'Happy Birthday' in the most off-key voices as they raced out of the apartment building to catch the bus, no doubt earning many strange looks from the people they passed by.

"So, all of us have that Chem quiz today?" Yuki huffed, leaning against the bus pole, still a little out-of-breath from their mad chase through the apartment building to catch the bus in the first place.

"Yeah, but we have it first," Mai looked at Yuki and answered, slight irritation on her face. It wasn't that she was worried, exactly, but rather inconvenienced. She didn't like tests (or, 'Assignments', as their professor called them) any more than the next student. But she wasn't worried. Her brain tended to retain information well.

"Gah, that'll be a nightmare," Emiko taunted. Mai shot her a look. Zheng snickered under his breath.

"Hey!" Zheng yelped as Mai suddenly reached over and yanked on his ear. "What was that for?"

"You were laughing at us," she pouted slightly, putting on an innocent aegyo face.

"UGH WHY DO YOU LOOK SO INNOCENT," Zheng growled. Yuki chuckled.

"We all know she's anything but,"

True, true.

When the bus finally arrived at the stop, the four of them stumbled off and sprinted, because it was very obvious that they were on the verge of being late. Their campus was nice, and the school was one of the top in the country, but handling the loans and money was hard.

They managed.

"Oh, look!" an annoyingly sweet voice wafted up to meet Mai's ears and she fought the urge to groan. "Isn't that your lame ex, Ollie?"

On, no.

Mai turned around and was met with a mop of sickeningly perfect blonde hair, a tall frame, and a charming, crooked smile that once gave Mai butterflies.

Now, it just looked pathetic.

"Yeah," Oliver muttered, looking away. The girl hanging onto his arm- Mai forgot her name- smirked at Mai's flat expression. She flicked her black hair back and simpered at Mai.

"Isn't it your birthday today?"

Mai huffed, irritation clawing at her chest. She kept her face blank as her mind battled itself.

Can we punch her PLEASE?

No, no, that'll show that we give a damn about what she says. So no.

Can we roast her into oblivion?

...hmm.

"Yes? And? What's it to you?" Mai responded, cocking an eyebrow up.

"Oh, how sweet!" the black-haired girl grinned with all her teeth, "you know, Ollie's throwing me a HUGE party on MY birthday. Everyone's going to be there! There'll be a DJ, a disco, a personal pizza oven..."

Mai stopped listening and just stood there, ignoring the glances from the people in the hallway. Emiko, Yuki and Zheng looked back at her, waiting for her to say something. Mai just waited with a bored expression on her face.

Even Oliver looked slightly uneasy. He was pretty much aware that this wasn't what Mai would usually do. He refused to look Mai in the face as his new girlfriend went on her triade.

Incompetent, weak-willed bastard.

"...and it'll be the HIGHLIGHT of the year! I'M going to be planning it all. Hmm, do you want to come?" the black-haired girl smirked, evidently satisfied that this would tick Mai off.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mai deadpanned, "I didn't know that you weren't aware that the universe doesn't revolve around you. Wow. I'm honored you acknowledge my existence, Your Majesty."

The girl furrowed her sharp eyebrows, clearly taking her sweet time to wrap her head around what Mai had said.

"Yeah, you seemed to be at least a little bright when I first saw you, but light travels faster than sound, so that explains why all the confusion was cleared as soon as you started talking." Mai continued, further confusing the poor girl. Her voice remained flat, but Mai couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips when she heard the snickers coming from the few brighter kids in the hallway, including her friends.

"What-" the girl stopped trying to understand and just sneered at Mai, only knowing that Mai was insulting her.

"Sorry if that stressed your single braincell, hon. Not everyone gets it."

With that final comment, Mai whirled around and smirked up at her friends. Yuki was slow clapping. Emi nodded approvingly. Zheng was looking past her with a very hostile expression.

Wait-

"Mai-" Oliver's voice met her ears and she stopped, fighting the urge to growl.

She had liked Oliver. A lot. He was sweet and shy and mumbly and bashful and just purely adorable and he was so caring and Mai really did like him. She also knew he was incredibly weak-willed, which was probably why she was more disappointed than shocked when she saw him pinned up against a wall, Miss raven-hair eating his face off.

It wasn't his fault, but it WAS his fault, and Mai had just fallen out of love with him.

That was just how it worked.

That didn't make it hurt any less, though.

"What, Oliver?" her tone was far less emotionless with him than it had been with his new girlfriend. It was WAY more snappy and angry.

WELL it SERVES HIM RIGHT.

"I just wanted to say happy birthday," he mumbled, looking away. Mai sighed.

WHY was he hurting them both like this? Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Thanks," Mai said before quickly walking ahead and falling right in line with her friends.

DON'T think about him. You're done. You don't want him back. You don't want him back.

"There's our Killer Queen," Yuki smirked down at her, his dyed, white hair falling into his eyes as he did so. "Awesome as always."

Mai did not miss the wistful look Emi shot the two of them.

Okay, sure, she thought, internally rolling her eyes at her moony-eyed friend, Yuki's pretty hot. Even I have to admit that. But you could do better that THIS IDIOTIC BOY, Emi.

"Thanks," Mai said aloud, smirking right back at him, "I try."

"I REALLY hate your dumb ex, Mai," Zheng muttered from her other side. That wasn't a surprise- they were rivals in a lot of things. The last straw must have been maybe last week when he got a better grade on a project that Zheng and him did together, especially when Zheng did most of the work.

Yeah, Oliver was a little bit of an asshole when he wasn't being a pushover.

"I know!" Emi jumped in, "I don't know what you saw in that idiot."

"Is it my birthday or is it question-every-decision-Mai-has-ever-made day?" Mai raised her eyebrows and spoke dryly.

"Okay, okay, we get it. Whatever," Emi sighed before throwing one last thing out there, under her breath. "He's still an idiot though."

"ALRIGHT," Mai said a little too loudly, "I think we need to get to Chemistry now."

Yuki and Mai walked in comfortable silence towards their chemistry classroom, sitting in their usual seats, which were as far away from each other as the teacher could make them. Mai and Yuki were both known troublemakers, and best friends at that. After they had pranked the teacher using beakers and vinegar (don't ask) she had separated them.

Mai smiled at the memory and sat down. To be honest, she only had three close friends. School was lonely when they weren't around her. Sure, people liked her company, but she was only her true self around the three she lived with.

They were gone a lot as well, and Mai had no idea why. She didn't like to press, but she felt weird when they would vanish, alone or together, sometimes for days at a time, sharing glances like it was a secret only Mai knew nothing about.

Or maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

Mai sighed and glanced at the paper in front of her. She hadn't even noticed the teacher passing them out. Their Chem teacher never called them tests, but they were graded assignments that you had to finish in class and you weren't allowed to use books or talk to anyone when taking them. So yeah, pretty much a test. Mai pulled out a well-worn mechanical pencil and set to work, scribbling in answers quickly.

Easy, easy, easy- oh wai- nope, also easy.

Mai was maybe second or third to hand in her test, mostly because she was busy doodling in the margins before realizing she needed to get back on task.

Yuki wrinkled his nose at her as she caught his eye when she was passing by his desk. She smirked at him.

"Yeah, go ahead, laugh at my pain, Mai," he muttered under his breath. The blonde girl next to him caught Mai's eye and grinned.

Ah, yes. His girlfriend.

Yuna was a nice girl, and Mai quite liked her- but she wasn't Emi.

Mai grinned at Yuna (as not to be rude, because Yuna was nice), rolled her eyes affectionately at Yuki and then walked back to her desk, leaving Yuki to his mumbling.

Mai then pulled out a book from her small bag and began reading, letting the time slip by like water through her fingers. Reading was her escape, her heart, her type of fun.

It was just who she was.

Mai read until the bell rang, ending the period. She swept her stuff into her perpetually messy bag and threw it over her shoulder, not even bothering to zip it shut and ignoring the bits of tissue and candy wrapper that floated out.

The teachers must really hate her.

"You're seriously so messy," Yuki popped up behind her and zipped her bag shut in a quick motion, shaking a wad of paper off his hand, sighing. "How are you so smart but so unorganized at the same time?"

"Hey, this genius brain is too full of smartness, it has no time in hell for organization." Mai patted his chest, making him huff.

"For god's sake, Mai," he rolled his eyes at the quirky girl, and mumbled something under his breath as he spun around to get to his next class, which made Mai's wars perk up.

"And THIS is the heroic saviour of the prophecy,"

Mai stared at his retreating form in astonishment.

What the hell?

That wasn't right. She must have misheard. Maybe her dreams were making her freaking paranoid. Yeah, that was probably it.

Mai shoved the thoughts forcefully aside and trudged to her next class, all alone, prepared to cover the monotonous tone of her professor driving on about things she already knew with doodles and reading under the desk.

So, all in all, a normal day.

X        X        X

Well, at least school was over.

Mai, Emi, Yuki, and Zheng slammed their lockers shut and raced out of the campus, running as quickly as they could to beat the line at their favorite coffee shop, which happened to be almost everyone at campus's favorite too. Hence, why they were running.

Mai winced as a sharp jolt of pain flickered through her heel, but she forced her mind to ignore it, continuing her mad dash to the coffee shop, giggling at something Emi said.

It's not the end of the world, so keep running or else we'll be late and then it REALLY WILL BE SO SHUSH.

Zheng got there first, and was already skidding into line when the other three flung the doors open and staggered behind him, casting sheepish glances at the disgruntled customers who were filing in.

They gave their usual orders and then walked out. Mai sighed in contentment as her extremely sugary frappuccino hit her tongue. It was literally amazing, but she didn't treat herself to it that often. Usually, she took the less sugary alternatives, but today was her birthday.

Mai grinned at her bickering friends as they walked home, the boys leaping over each other and occasionally into the gutter, which would make both girls flinch back at the spray of muddy water. The boys, naturally, didn't care.

This was what she loved about her life.

The fun, the peace, the quiet.

A screech cut through the air, making Mai flinch back at the monstrous sound.

Okay, maybe not so quiet.

Mai laughed at Emi as she hugged tightly into Zheng's back, who raced ahead of Yuki and Mai.

Yuki glanced slyly at Mai. "Wanna do the same?"

"In your dreams, snow head!" Mai yelled. Yuki smirked wider.

"Okay then." he relented, rolling his shoulders- and then lunging at Mai, scooping her up bridal style and running along the sidewalk, all the while enduring Mai's screeches of protest.

"YUKI PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Mai hollered over the wind in her ears as she thrashed against the gray-eyed boy's tight grip.

"How about 'NO', birthday girl?" he laughed back. Mai gave him a dirty look.

"Oh come on..." she whined, causing Yuki to laugh again, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

They caught up to Zheng and Emiko, and together they wandered the city, wandering the streets and laughing and sipping cold coffee in the midday heat. And, finally, she pried herself from Yuki's grip. With a bit of bribery, it wasn't difficult.

Mai didn't want the hours she was spending here to slip like water between her fingers, to lose the hazy gorgeousness of the time they were spending right now, with sweat beading off their bodies, getting tanner and tanner as they took buses across the city, going to the beach and kicking water at each other, going to the outdoor malls and racing in the stores and making fun of each other as they each modeled ridiculous clothes, buying tickets for the aquarium and the zoon and acting as wild as the animals in the cages- and then, nearing sunset, they just walked, just spent time with each other.

Mai didn't want to leave the bickering and laughter behind. Her footsteps dragged for a moment as a jolt of pain rolled through her heel, making her fall behind for a heartbeat.

In the ever-increasing shadows the evening brought, there was a sense of darkness, of pure darkness, behind her. With a quick look around, Mai's eyes caught an eerie green glow in the shadow.

A pair of venom green eyes peered back at her from behind a Starbucks, the darkness and shadows of the building's alley building a shape that looked almost like a body- but with no definite shape or form. It was just... there but not there.

Alright, if you're going to be menacing, then don't you think you should choose a location where there isn't a giant green mermaid logo above you? Like, Starbucks? Really?

Also, that's not possible.

Mai shook her head and looked back, ignoring the unsettling, creeping, scraping feeling like ooze in her mind.

And then she blinked, and then the green eyes and darkness were gone.

"Mai!"

Mai was jolted out of her thoughts when Emi called for her, looking concerned.

"You good, Queen?" she jogged back, and Mai looked at her with a blank, almost confused expression, the memory of the terrifyingly green eyes floating in her brain. Emi peered at Mai's face, golden eyes flashing a dull amber for half a second.

"Huh?" Mai slowly focused her eyes on Emi, forcing the green away, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

Emiko didn't look convinced. Mai plastered a bright grin on her face and poked Emi in the chest. "YOU'RE IT!"

As she raced ahead, she forgot all about the mind-numbing green eyes, and soon enough, she didn't have to fake her smile anymore.

If only all my problems could vanish so quickly.

"Be thankful, Killer Queen," Yuki grumbled as he sifted through his wallet, their wild game of tag over (for now). "Our pockets are going to be empty by the end of this."

"Wh-"

Zheng shot her an almost amused look. "You didn't think we'd let your birthday go by without taking you to The Cheesecake Factory, did you?"

Mai's eyes lit up.

"Seriously?" she squealed, her face unable to hold her grin.

"Yes, seriously," Emiko huffed, looking slightly offended.

Her favorite restaurant in the world? Could things get any better?

No, the dark part of her mind whispered, sending chills down her spine, but they can certainly get worse.

X         X         X

Mai was stuffed to the brim and grinning and drunk on the music from her dance studio where the four of them had hung out for a bit, dancing to songs and acting absolutely insane. It had been fun, though. It was about eleven by the time they had finally staggered out, a cheesecake still in the bag they had taken it out in, ready to be eaten before the lot of them crashed on their bed without any preparation for it.

Hey, it was just really obvious. Well, to Mai, at least.

Mai sighed as she clumsily unlocked the apartment door, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. She had tried to forget about the star lady's warning, and the odd things that had happened that day, but they still lingered in her mind like mildew.

She leaned on the kitchen counter, pondering whether she should ask her friends if they could lay the cake off for tomorrow, but the whispering stopped her.

"You go first!"

"Why the hell is it me?"

"Oh, screw your fu-"

"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE YOUNG MAN,"

"Oh shove off-"

"Just go do it before I stab you in the eyeball!"

Mai perked her ears at the familiar bickering as Yuki was shoved in front of her. He gave her a smile, then slid a large parcel across the counter, wrapped in haphazard starry wrapping paper that was taped together in random places like he had done it in his sleep.

Which he probably did.

"Open it!" he yelped, genuine and sweet. Mai's eyes shone with delight as she slowly unwrapped the package, making sure to preserve the sloppy wrapping.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" she squeaked, beaming as she lifted a sleek, boxy, black backpack with a charging port on the side and a headphone jack on the strap and glowing panels on the front, a headphone emblazoned on it in shifting chrome colors.

"Wow," Emi whistled, raising her eyebrows at the beautiful thing.

"It's GORGEOUS!" Mai beamed brighter than the lights on the backpack, wrapping her arms around Yuki's chest.

"Alright, alright, we get it, I'm awesome," Yuki smirked down at Mai before a real smile touched his face. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, you lazy paperclip," Mai grinned affectionately as he scowled playfully and ruffled her already-messy hair.

"My turn!" Zheng laughed as he slid a long, thin package in the shape of a box towards her. The wrapping here was much neater, as expected, and black with white triangles on it.

Mai tilted her head at him before opening it, again, preserving the wrapping, and then opened the box inside after wrestling with the annoying plastic covering on top, much to her friend's amusement.

"SHUT UP," she whined.

Their snickers were instantly silenced when Mai was left gaping at the finally-open box.

"Oh, wow," she breathed, pulling out a sleek, polished, perfectly smooth wooden bow, simple and beautiful, with a wooden quiver and arrows on the side of the box, a couple of knives in the corner, their sheath obviously meant to be wrapped around a limb.

"You said you used to ride horses and do archery when you were little, and a horse was SERIOUSLY expensive, also where would you keep a horse, soooo..."

Mai leaped up and hugged Zheng, fighting tears. Her mother had loved doing archery with her, and now it just brought back fresh memories. Memories that weren't centered around a freak gas leak or explosion of death.

"Thank you," she grinned up at him.

"Happy birthday, Mai!"

"Okay, move over doofuses, it's my turn," Emiko placed another box-looking package in front of her, this wrapping gold and neat.

Mai opened it (again, carefully), and then grinned again.

"You know you're the best, right?"

Art supplies. A whole lotta art supplies that would be perfect for when she finally cleared off her desk. Mai loved drawing and making characters and just art in general.

"Oh yeah, and this one's from me. That's just from Mina," Emiko revealed a smaller box from her pocket.

"Ah," Mai looked at the art supplies once more. "Tell Mina thanks."

"Okay, I will, now open mine!"

Mai turned the black, velvet jewelry box in her fingers. "This had better not be an engagement ring."

"Ha, ha hilarious," Emi rolled her eyes. "Now open it or I will punch you."

"Alright, alright, jeez!"

Mai opened the small box and gasped at the beautiful necklace within. The black leather cord that held it was long, and tickled her lower ribs when she put it on. The pendant was an elegant, minimal swirl of gold wires that held a beautiful blue gem in place that glimmered other colors when the light hit it just right.

Mai stared at it, the jewel mesmerizing her.

"Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you all so much,"

"Happy birthday, Queen,"

Mai felt tears in her deep brown eyes, making them shimmer in the low light.

Her friends were amazing.

"Thank youuuuuuu!!!!!" Mai screeched, pulling the three idiots she called her family in for a group hug.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" they hollered back in unison, making each and every one of them double over in laughter, still snickering when they opened the cake box and began to eat a slightly wilted mango key lime cheesecake.

It was really late when the four of them finally finished, cleaned up, and sauntered down the hallway to bed- not quite midnight, but close. Mai gently scooped up her presents and placed the art supplies on her desk, casting one eye over them before stashing her pencil case in her new backpack- but not before filling it with a couple nice pencils, a quill and ink bottle (for fun, honestly), sticky notes, and some markers.

She dropped her bag and the box with her bow on the floor next to her bed and flopped onto the sheets, sighing in contentment.

No problems... no worries... no stupid prophecies.

That day had been tiring, but fun. And now she was blissful, content, lying spread-eagled on her bed and letting her eyes flutter close just a few minutes before midnight, thinking of that one, amazing, wonderful, good day.

One unprecedented thought fluttered in her mind, flapping around feebly before succumbing to sleep.

The thing is, it whispered, nothing good can last.

A/N:

WOoHOOO!

Another brilliantly edited chapter FINISHED!!!

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

This one took way longer because I had to find a way to sneak in a lot of extra detail and stuff... mostly because I thought that Mai's story seemed a little flat before she got sucked into prophecy-world. So.

I guess my page count will increase? That's good?

Anyway, please enjoy the story, and I promise, BTS is going to be introduced soon.

I promise I PROMISE don't give up guys!

See you soon, Lovelies!

-MyOwnA.R.M.Y