"Every time I see you smile, I fall in love all over again."

.

"I don't see why we need a car to go to Breadsticks."

"We're lazy people, don't judge us." Skye replied truthfully"Brendon has the physique of a sixty-year-old."

"Lies." Brendon shot back, clearly offended"I can make a flip. I can run. I can dance. I can jive."-he stopped for a dramatic effect-"Having the time of my life."

"I'm actively regretting every decision that has led me to this."

"Come on, Skye with a 'y', sing along!"

Quinn giggled at their spat while Newt only sighed, trying to hide the small smile forming on his lips. He glanced at his phone to see that Charlie had sent him a crown emoji. He supposed that meant that everything was ready for the party. Otherwise, he should have probably given him a bit more info. 

"Why is Charlie texting you a crown?" Quinn questioned. As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Skye hit the brakes sending them all slightly forward. The impact lunged Brendon forward making him hit his head on the top of the car. Before Quinn could speak, a sudden bark caught their attention. Both Quinn and Newt turned to look behind their seats to find Buddy in the trank. "Skye, why is your dog coming with us?"

"He gets lonely."

"I'm pretty sure the restaurant doesn't allow--"

"We're here!"

.

"Dan."

"Yes?"

"Why are there like fifty kids but not Quinn?"

"Don't look at me like that. I only told ten people." 

"Might be my fault." Phil chipped in"I told two kids in my chemistry class and Zoe."

"Well, that explains why all the cheerleaders showed up," Charlie told them as he briefly took a look at the people who had come. He noticed that his friends weren't the only ones missing since Matteusz hadn't shown up either. He would come though, Charlie was sure of it.

"Oh shit. Skye texted me. They're here." Dan announced turning to Charlie"What do we do?"

"I have no idea."

"Charlie, I thought Skye told you the plan."

"The plan was that there would be like ten people here," Charlie argued while pacing. Dan pressed both of his palms against his forehead, trying to think. It was then that Phil put his hand on Dan's back, making him less tense, and moved towards one of the stools, climbing it. Charlie hoped the garden decors wouldn't break, otherwise, Quill would have his head.

"Listen up people!"-a large crowd turned to watch Phil-"Quinn will be here in any second so--"

"Yo, who's Quinn?" a guy shout.

"You're at her surprise birthday, asshole." Dan yelled at him before returning his attention to Phil. "Go on."

"As I was saying, Quinn will be here in any second, so if you would all be kind enough to hide behind the trees over there, it would be great."

Indeed, all the slightly drunk teens went into hiding without complaints. Dan was coloured impressed, to say the least. He was certain Phil Lester was a wizard who charmed every person that met him. There was no other logical explanation to this.

"Guys, it's really sweet how you thought we should come here, it really is." Quinn's voice echoed from a little further. "I've been dealing with so many things lately and I feel as if,"-she stopped, her voice cracking, Dan and Charlie couldn't see her from behind the trees but they knew this was probably the best time to surprise her-"God, this is so hard to say. I think I'm starting to--"

"Surprise!" the crowd shout at their top of the lungs. Brendon and Skye grinned as they joined them. Quinn stood frozen, her expression unreadable, and Newt was right next to her looking almost melancholic. Charlie gave them a puzzled look. Luckily, the interaction didn't last long as Quinn hugged Skye, Brendon and Dan. She motioned Newt and Charlie to come closer.

"Can we party now?" the guy from before questioned.

"Yes, we can!"

.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"We're stuck on fence duty."

"It's a little fun, though." Phil smiled warmly at Dan"There is music. And new people coming in. Oh, and the stars! They shine so brightly here."

Well, maybe he wasn't a wizard but a Disney princess. That worked as well. Dan was lost in thought, lost in the night, lost in Phil--he fixed his composure. He turned to grab his backpack and took out a flask. "I'm prepared."

Phil chuckled. If only he knew.

Dan took a step outside the fence and saw Ryan Ross approaching with Patrick, Pete and Joe. The four guys went through the fence's hole and tried to make their way towards the party until Dan grabbed Ryan by the arm. "Yeah, not happening."

"Come on, Howell. It's not a party if we don't come." Joe told him jokingly. Phil wasn't sure he agreed. From the few parties, he had attended this year-too many compared to his old school-he had seen that Pete and Joe were usually the drug dealers of the parties whereas Ryan was, well, a bit of a troublemaker.

"It's my best friend's birthday and I don't want trouble coming up."

"We'll be good." Patrick vouched. 

"It's not you, I worry about." Dan snarled gripping Ryan's arm tighter. Ryan didn't speak, just tried to release himself from Dan's grip. Patrick looked at Phil and Dan before turning to Pete, his gaze firm. Pete sighed in defeat and walked up to Dan, whispering something to him. Dan seemed sceptical at first but then nodded, releasing Ryan. Pete smiled proudly, shoved his hand in his pocket, and threw something at Dan.

"Love making business with ya, Danny boy."

"Play nice."

.

Brendon's task was simple. Take the bottles of liquor-and juice since most of the cheerleaders were doing homeotherapy as miss Sylvester insisted-and place them on top of the table. Yet, he couldn't seem to focus. The music was too noisy, the people were too loud and his thoughts were lost in the sound. His mind drifted to his pills, he should have taken them today. But he didn't want to, they made him numb, he couldn't be numb today. They would notice. They couldn't notice.

His gaze travelled to the end of the table where his friends stood. They weren't that far, they could probably see him losing his mind. Why was he losing his mind? He was doing a casual job. He was helping out. No one thought he acted weird. It was fine. He was being paranoid. A gentle tap on his shoulder startled him.

"Table." he mumbled as Ryan gave him a confused look" I mean, is it hot here? I feel as it's suddenly really hot which makes little sense because we're in the woods. Or maybe it's the fire? Wait there's a fire. Why is there a fire?"

"First of all, hi."

"Hey."

"You seem a little off. Everything okay?"

No. Nothing was okay at the moment. 

"I'm just, a little all over the place right now. I'm probably homesick." in a way, he was. He missed the familiarity of home and he missed the calmness of it. He missed the group of friends he had, not ideal, but at least they knew him. They knew his struggles. He didn't have to be fake with them because they knew of his mind. People here, however? They knew nothing. They didn't have to and quite frankly, Brendon wasn't sure if he wanted them to know. They would only feel betrayed.

(He couldn't have that.)

"Makes sense. Holidays are coming." Ryan told him with a smile"Will you visit your parents?"

"I don't think so. Maybe." he sighed"I'm not in the best financial place right now."

"Which means?"

"I'm broke."

"Welcome to the club, Urie." he smirked, "We have meetings on Sunday mornings behind Leon."

He couldn't help laughing with the poor joke. 

(They talk for the rest of the night.)

.

Dan could feel his head becoming heavier with every passing second. It was a feeling of pure bliss and happiness that came so strong, it hid the red flags inside his brain. Somewhere, his brain kept shouting 'wrong wrong wrong' but Dan couldn't do anything about it. He was powerless, it was always the same about it, a powerless child wanting to have control by giving up on it.

"Dan." Phil's voice came out like a waking alarm. "Are you alright?"

He wasn't. He never is. He's just there, sometimes tired, others energetic but never alright. He's always just a little too much.

"I'm," he pauses "a bit thirsty."

Phil hands him a bottle and doesn't question it further.

.

Charlie always wanted to be an optimist. He never was, mind you, but he wanted and tried and it was almost as good as it got. Yet, right now, outdoors, with a bunch of kids he didn't really know, half-passed out, drunk, moral-less, alone, he felt as if the glass was truly half-full. With poison. And he was forced to drink every drop it contained.

Skye had taken the only pure soul in this chaos, aka Buddy the lab, and tried to teach him a few tricks with the helpful, he assumed, assistance of Ward. How she had made on of the most emotionless and snobby kid in the entire school squeal with excitement at the sight of a dog chasing his tail, he still didn't know.

Then, there was Newt, who as expected, stared longingly at the sea of drunk kids. Charlie too knew the agony of high school love, as Quill had remarked, but he had to admit Newt was a little too in love. Dived in with all the force he had and Charlie, being a hopeless pessimistic, awaited the dreadful result. He hoped, in the back of his mind, Thomas wouldn't come to the party. Why should he? He didn't know Quinn, he didn't really know any of the Coal Hill students, and Charlie didn't really believe he would come for only Newt.

Finally, having ignored both Dan and Brendon who seemed happy enough with their speaking partners, he caught a glimpse of Quinn leaning against a tree. What an awful way to spend her birthday. He figured he should talk to her but he couldn't think of anything to say.

There was an unspoken rule, thanks to the movie industry, that you should always talk with friends without thinking. Charlie thought this seemed a bit excessive but he, himself, didn't have enough experience with friends to back it up. And if by psychological terms, his friendship with the group wasn't healthy and proper, he didn't really want to give it up. Maybe he was scared of change, maybe he liked being accepted, and regardless of the reason of him holding on, he intended to keep his friends close. They were, after all, all that remained.

"Charlie!" April beamed at him.

"April, hi." He greeted the girl with a warm smile. "You look really pretty today."

April blushed slightly and cleared her throat. "I came by to check on you, you seemed a little—"

"Depressed?"

"Lonely." April corrected "I urged Matteusz to come with me, since Ram and Tanya are in a very heated argument about P.E., but he blushed like a tomato and stammered that he had to do something. I personally think he has a crush on you."

Hopefully. If not, this relationship wouldn't last very long.

"You think?"

"I'm almost certain. I tried talking to him about it but he always avoids the topic. But he tends to look at you in a certain way." April explained, a little embarrassed due to how much she had noticed, "I swear I'm not stalking or anything."

"Your words, not mine." Charlie smiled.

"Well, if I'm being totally honest, I mostly noticed because I used to have a crush on you."

"What?"

"Oh don't be fake surprised, I was pretty obvious."

"You really weren't."

"I asked you to prom last year."

"Yeah, as friends."

"Charlie, I promise, if you remember our talk, you'll also remember that I never once described it as a friendly date."

"Oh."

Well, he thought, that's kind of sad. If he knew April liked him, he would have kindly explained to her that he wasn't interested.

"I mean, no offense or anything but, I'm extremely gay."

"Yeah I know. Now at least."

"I get bullied for it."

"That's not a fair point though, boys have a tendency to through gay around as an insult all the time." April told him "Either way, after a pretty long fight with Ram, I saw how obvious you were."

"Thanks?"

"Sorry, I tend to over-do it at times."

"It's fine, really." There was a small pause. "So, did you come here to admit your past undying love for me and match-make me with Matteusz?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Well, actually—"

"Hey." Matteusz greeted them both with a bright smile.

"And that's my cue," April mumbled with a smile. She gave Matteusz a pat on the back and walked away leaving the boy slightly confused and Charlie feeling less lonely than before.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing much. We just talked about you."

"Good things, I hope."

Charlie looked at his boyfriend lovingly. "Only the best."

.

"Happy birthday, Quinn!" said the twins with bright toothy grins.

"This is, by all means, weird," Newt mumbled. Quinn gave him a subtle nod.

"Thank you, Rachel. Noah." There was once again silence. Newt and Quinn exchanged worried looks. Meanwhile, Rachel and Noah would either smile at Quinn or glare at each other. "I wasn't really expecting you."

"Ward brought us."

"No, Ward brought me. You just tagged along like the leech you are." Noah shot back.

"Whatever, idiot." She glanced behind Quinn and scoffed. "You invited the wicked squad?" her tone was almost hurt. WCKD was not only the rival school to Coal Hill but most of its students were, to say the least, aggressive towards others. The cheerleading squad, in fact, was almost as bad as Kara herself.

"I don't know. Honestly." She turned to Newt "Do you—"

"No." he cut her off "I'm going to check it out."

"I'm not sure you should go, you know how these kids are."

"I can go with him, if you want to, Quinn." Noah smiled. Despite his large built-up, Newt didn't feel safer.

"That would be great."

"Would it, though?"

"Glad I can help. Come on, June, let's kick some wicked ass."

"I will die."

"I will remember you." Smiled Quinn and squeezed his hand "Kick their asses, babe."

"I will!" Noah shouts back. Quinn smiled awkwardly at him. He really wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. As soon as the two boys disappeared, Rachel coughed. Quinn turned to look at her and found the brunette holding an envelope in her hand.

"Since it's your birthday, I figured a gift would be appropriate."

"You didn't have to."

"Maybe, but I wanted to." She smiled and handed it over. "It's two tickets for Hadestown, I wasn't sure if you liked musicals all that much, but I did notice you like mythology so."-she paused-"It's a love story."

"Sounds great." Quinn smiled "So, when are we going?"

"Oh, you don't have to take me. I mean, I won't say no, if you want. But you don't own it."

"That's great but I'd still like to take you. Musicals are probably more your style than any other of my friends."

"I'm your friend?"

"I suppose. I wiped your tears in a bathroom. To me, this is a solid third base in friendship scale."

Rachel couldn't keep her smile hidden.

Be fed my children. Be fed as I have written like 1/3 out of the new chapter.