When I wake up Sunday morning, I can't help but smile.

It's been almost three weeks since all of my friends have spent time together and we are finally getting together for Jasper's birthday.

Jasper and Connor have been really busy with their swim practices and Sabrina recently got a job so there hasn't really been time for all of us to get together outside of school.

But it is now Thanksgiving break so we will hopefully have plenty of time to hang out. I've really missed my friends.

I get out of bed and head down to the kitchen where I find my parents talking. The both turn to me when I walk into the room.

"Good morning sweets," my moms smiles.

I smile back and pour myself a cup of coffee.

"What do you have planned for the day?" My dad asks.

"Today is Jaspers birthday so we're all going to celebrate with him today," I answer.

"Oh that's great! Make sure to tell him happy birthday for us. I can't believe he's already eighteen," my mom sighs.

I roll my eyes, "He sure doesn't act like an adult."

"As I recall, he's the smartest of all of you guys," my dad says.

"Dad!"

My mom lightly elbows my dad and gives him a stern look. He raises his arms in defense.

"I still think you're smart sweetheart, don't worry."

I glare at him but it doesn't last long and I soon have a smile on my face.

"You weren't wrong though, Jasper is the smartest of all of us," I say.

My dad looks at my mom with pride for actually knowing something about one of my friends. My mom continues to look at him with disappointment but then smiles when she sees his little grin.

I pour myself a bowl of cereal and sit down at the table with my parents.

"So what are all of you doing for Jasper's birthday? I can't imagine that he wants a super crazy party or anything like that," my mom says.

"Yeah a birthday bash is much more Kayla and Sabrina's style. We are going to go to a skating rink for a while and then we are just going to celebrate some more at his house," I explain.

"Are you spending the night?" my mom asks carefully. She glances at my dad who now as a serious look on his face.

"I think we were planning on it, if that's okay with you guys," I say glancing between the two of them.

My parents have a silent conversation with their eyes and then my dad looks over at me.

"Is Connor going to be there?" he asks.

"I mean, he's one of Jasper's best friend, so yes, he will be there."

My dad thinks for a moment and then sighs. "You can spend the night there, just please be safe.

"He means that you should use protection," Greyson says as he walks into the kitchen.

"Grey!" my mom scolds.

Greyson raises hands in defense, "Listen, I just walked in here and was adding some clarification for Nova. Sometimes dad doesn't explain things very well."

"Thanks for the tip Grey, but I'm not going to be sleeping with anyone tonight. I appreciate all of your concern, but I am celebrating Jasper's birthday today, nothing else," I say slightly annoyed.

"We know that sweetheart, we just wanted to make sure that you are careful and prepared," my mom says.

"Okay, I just want to make this clear with all of you: I am not going to sleep with Connor tonight. And I would really appreciate it if we never talk about my sex life ever again, thank you very much," I say heatedly.

I push my bowl of cereal towards Greyson and get up from the table. I leave the kitchen and walk up to my room. 

I flop down on my bed and stare up at my ceiling. I can't believe some of the things my family will say to me. 

I look at my phone and am greeted by multiple texts in our group chat.

Jasper:

-Who's ready to party??

Kayla:

-ME! Are you ready birthday boy?

Jasper:

-You know I am. Meet at the skating rink around 1! Remember, no presents

Sabrina:

-No presents? Thank god. I didn't get you anything

I text back that I'm looking forward to it and start digging through my closet. 

I put on a pair of black high-waisted mom jeans and a black crop top along with a yellow flannel. I pull my hair into two loose braids and put on some mascara.

I think I look cute. Right? 

Who am I trying to impress anyway? I mean, it's just my friends. And Connor. 

Over the past couple of weeks Connor and I haven't really talked as much as I would like to. I know that he has practice, but I was still hoping to talk to him more.

We still play our little game every day we see each other at school. It's nice to learn little things about him. I learned that he likes dark chocolate best and that he likes to smell of a campfire. 

He still has no clue that I like him, as far as I know, and I am no closer to finding out if my feelings are being matched by him.

Maybe I'll be able to figure something out today. Though I seriously doubt it.

I pack a bag with things for spending the night and then I put on my shoes to leave. 

When I go downstairs I find my parents in the living room watching TV. They both turn to look at me when they hear me.

"You getting ready to leave?" my dad asks.

"Yeah, Jasper wanted us to all meet at the skating rink around one."

"Nova we just wanted to make sure that you aren't upset with us for what happened this morning. Remember that we are your parents and we just want you to be safe," my mom explains.

"I know. I overreacted a little bit. I promise that nothing like that will happen tonight, but I know that you guys are just looking out for me," I say.

"Good. Now get out of here," my dad nods towards the door.

"Make sure to have fun!" My mom calls after me.

"I will!" I say as I walk out the door.

I quickly get into my car and start driving towards the skating rink. It's not too far away, only about a town over, so I soon arrive.

I am happy to see that Becky and Jasper's car are already there. I walk inside and can't find any of them at first. Then I see the back of a brown-haired head, and I know that it's the birthday boy.

I carefully run up behind him and make sure to signal Sabrina to stay quiet. When I am right behind him I jump on his back and Jasper leaps up into the air.

"Happy Birthday!" I yell while Jasper screams from his own shock.

I get off of his back and smile at him while he tries to catch his breath.

"Nova, I love you, but please never do that again. I almost had a heart attack," Jasper gasps.

"You turn eighteen and you're already acting like an old man? I expected better from you Warren," Sabrina grins.

Just then Allie and Tony walk up to us and Jasper smiles and welcomes them with open arms. "Good, people who aren't trying to kill me or make fun of me."

Allie turns to Sabrina, "Don't make fun of him. It's his birthday."

"Why did you think I was the one who made fun of him?" Sabrina asks.

Allie looks at her and shrugs, "Come on, that's a very Sabrina thing to do."

Sabrina's mouth opens with surprise, "I mean you're not wrong but I didn't think you would say it."

Allie smiles and then turns to Tony. He was just watching the whole conversation with a small smile on his face.

None of us really know what Tony said to Allie that one day after school. I'm assuming he apologized because they are just as good of friends as they were before the whole situation. They may even be closer.

Soon Kayla arrives and she is closely followed by Adam and Connor. Connor is holding a bag that looks an awful lot like a present. I turn to Jasper and can see that he has also noticed the bag.

"Happy Birthday man!" Connor says and claps Jasper on the shoulder.

"Thanks!" Jasper says, eyeing the bag, "Did you read the group chat? I didn't want any presents."

"Trust me, I know. This is from Jenny. She wouldn't let me leave the house unless I brought this to you," Connor explains.

After hearing that the present is from Jenny, Jasper's expression softens. He takes the bag from Connor and opens it. When he looks inside a smile spreads across his face.

He takes out a container that is filled with cookies and raises it above his head. "This is the best day ever!"

Connor laughs and then points at the bag, "There is still something else in there."

Jasper's eyes widen and then he searches the bag. He pulls out a card and reads it out loud. "I owe you one batch of cookies whenever you want. Use this gift wisely."

"Connor, your sister is an absolute sweetheart," Kayla says.

"I think she has a little crush on Jasper. She is not nearly this nice to me all the time," Connor responds.

"It must be you then Sunshine, she's nice to me," I say.

"Well she loves you too. Same with my dad. I'm starting to think my family likes you a lot more than they like me," Connor grumbles.

I smile at him and his expression lightens up.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's get our skates," Jasper commands.

We all go up to the counter and get our roller-skates. Everyone starts to put them on and soon Sabrina and Kayla go into the rink together laughing and holding hands. Jasper and Adam soon follow and try to catch up with them.

I look over at Connor and see that he has his skates all tied up, but he has a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong Sunshine?" I ask.

Connor quickly looks up at me with a shy look on his face. "I uh- I've never done this before."

"You've never roller-skated before?" I ask, surprised.

"No, I haven't. So it looks like you're going to have to help me out, Superstar," Connor grins.

I carefully get up from my chair and roll over to him. I hold my hands out for him to grab onto and he slowly gets up. 

He wobbles a little bit and tightly holds onto my hands. I lead him to the rink and we slowly start skating.

"You have to move your feet outwards, not forward and back," I advise.

He looks down at his feet and slowly moves them outwards. He goes for a little bit, but starts to lose his balance. I grab his hands tightly and help to steady him.

"Please don't let me fall," Connor pleads.

"I got you, don't worry."

I continue to hold onto both of his hands and lead him around the rink. After a while he starts to get the hang of it and I let go of one of his hands. I still hold onto one of them, but now we are able to skate side by side.

"I think you're getting the hang of this Sunshine," I smile.

I look over at him and see his concentration all over his face. He must notice that I'm looking at him because he looks up at me. He gives a smile towards me, but it doesn't last long.

Suddenly I feel myself getting pulled down and the next thing I know, I am sprawled on the floor.

I groan and look over at Connor, who is also laying on the floor.

He sits up and glares at me, "I thought you said I wouldn't fall!"

"You pulled me down with you! I was caught off guard," I complain.

I hear a laugh come past us and see Jasper and Adam skate past us.

"Lookin' good you two!" Jasper laughs.

Connor looks up at him and flips him off as they skate passed us. Soon Tony and Allie skate up to us and stop when they see us.

"Are you guys okay?" Allie asks worriedly. 

"Yeah we're good. I could use a hand though," I say.

Allie helps get me up while Tony lends a hand to Connor.

"I'm not really sure if I want to keep skating," Connor says.

"You have to. It's the only way you can get better at it," I say sternly.

"She's right you know," Tony adds, "I used to suck at skating, but Allie and Nova helped me out."

"I remember you trying to skate the first time. You fell down almost ten times," Allie laughs.

Tony scowls for a moment but it doesn't last long when Allie continues to laugh. 

"Yeah, you're doing great Connor. Much better than I was," Tony mutters.

"The only way you can get better is if you keep trying," I say to Connor.

He sighs, "Fine. Let's keep going."

The four of us skate slowly for a while, letting Connor get the hang of everything himself. 

Kayla and Sabrina continue to skate past us really fast. Jasper and Adam continue to race after them. 

After a while Connor is able to skate all by himself, granted it's not very fast, but he was able to do it. We all skate together after that, making one long chain of all of us holding hands. 

We skate together like that for a while and we all laugh and sing along to the 80's music that is playing.

Soon we all get tired and decide to head over to Jasper's house to continue the celebration.

When we get to Jasper's house there is a banner inside and his parents are standing under it.

"Happy Birthday Jasper!" They both yell.

Jasper groans when he sees the two of them. "I told you to not make a big deal out of it."

"You turned eighteen Jasper, we have to make a big deal out of it," Mark sighs.

"There's a cake in the kitchen," Florence offers.

Jasper tries to put up a tough front but quickly cracks and hugs his parents. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it."

The rest of us bring our stuff downstairs and go back upstairs to eat some cake.

After a very loud and annoying rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Jasper, we all sit at the table and enjoy pieces of cake. 

After Jasper finishes eating his cake, he takes out his container of cookies and starts to eat those as well.

"How can you eat so much?" Kayla asks with disgust on her face.

Jasper looks up to her with confusion and cookie crumbs all over his face. "Huh?"

We all laugh and it feels good. I have really missed these guys.

"Speaking of eating a lot, what are all of your plans for Thanksgiving?" Adam asks.

"We are all driving up to my grandparents house, they live a couple of hours away," Jasper responds.

"Yeah, I'm leaving town too. My aunt and uncle live a bit away as well," Kayla adds.

"Well we are having Thanksgiving at my house again. I'm assuming that you two are going to join us?" I ask pointing at Sabrina and Allie.

"Of course. I can't wait to have your mom's pumpkin pie," Sabrina says.

"Yeah my mom is bringing her green bean casserole," Allie smiles.

"We are having Thanksgiving at my house as well," Tony adds.

"What is your family doing Adam?" Kayla asks.

"We're all going out of state. There is always a lot of food and family football," Adam smiles.

I smile at the thought of friends and family all getting together. It's one of the reasons I love Thanksgiving. Along with all of the food we get to eat.

After a moment I realize that Connor never said what he was doing for Thanksgiving.

I turn to look at him. "What about you? What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

Connor looks up at me shyly and fidgets with his hands for a moment.

"We uh, we used to have Thanksgiving with my moms family. Guess we can't really do that this year," Connor chuckles.

"Well you can come over to my house for Thanksgiving then. We would love to have you guys," I offer.

"Nah, I don't want to cause you guys any trouble," Connor shakes his head.

"You'll be causing me trouble if my mom finds out you guys aren't having Thanksgiving. Really, I insist that you join us. Sabrina and Allie will be there too," I add.

Connor thinks for a moment and then sighs, "I'll talk to my dad about it."

I smile at his response and then turn my attention back to the rest of the group. I look over at Adam and he gives a small wink and I just roll my eyes at him. 

"So what do you want to do for the rest of the night Jasper? It's your night after all," Kayla questions.

Jasper thinks for a moment. "We don't have to do anything crazy. We could just go downstairs and play some games or watch some movies."

"Then lets head downstairs," Tony says while getting up from the table.

We all get up from the table and we start making our way to the basement. Before we go down Connor stops and looks out the window that is in the kitchen.

"What is it?" I ask.

"The sky is getting really dark. I think there is going to be a storm tonight," he says softly.

I feel my heart rate increase and I start to sweat. Connor looks at me with worry and reaches out to take my hand.

"I've got you, don't worry," Connor smiles softly.

I grin when I remember that I said the exact same thing to him earlier today. We go downstairs and join the others who are sprawled out on the couch.

Jasper is looking through movies for us to watch while the rest of us all get changed into our pajamas. Us girls go into a separate room before changing.

"It took my parents a lot of convincing to let me stay here for the night," Kayla says.

"Yeah I left the kitchen before I heard the rest of the sex talk from my parents," I laugh.

"Do they really think that something is going to happen? I mean we are all together, it's not like we would do anything in front each other," Sabrina adds.

"Your parents are just looking out for you," Allie says.

"Yeah, but they don't have to be so annoying," Kayla mutters.

We leave our room and join the boys. Jasper has put The Avengers up on the TV and we all get comfortable on the couch.

I find a spot next to Connor and he smiles when I sit down next to him.

Everyone gets settled and we enjoy the movie. While we are watching, I hear a rumble of thunder and grab onto Connor's hand.

He looks over at me with concern in his eyes and squeezes my hand when he looks into my hand. My hands start to shake a little bit when I hear another round of thunder.

Connor pulls my arm towards him and pulls me close to his chest. He wraps his arms around me and I can feel my hands steady. 

"I'm right here Superstar," Connor whispers in my ear.

I nod my head and relax into his chest.

We spend the rest of the movie like that and when Jasper starts another movie, I start to feel myself drift off in the middle of it.

While I start to fall asleep, I listen to the sound of Connor's heart beat to help drown out the thunder.

***

Thank you so much for reading!

I think that this chapter is just so cute, and I hope that you felt the same way. I'm looking forward to the next couple of chapters. Thanksgiving is going to be interesting!

Love you all!