"You!" Kira fell into pace beside Malia in the hallway, throwing her arm around the other girl's waist. "We have to talk."

Malia cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. "Did I do something?"

"Oh, you." Lydia joined them, her arm going around Malia's shoulders. "You are in trouble."

Malia looked between them. "I don't know what I..." She trailed off, waiting for them to explain.

Lydia leaned into her ear and whispered, "We know."

Something dropped from her heart into her stomach as a thought hit her. Did they know know? Did they somehow find out about Theo? "I... Know what?"

Lydia grinned at Kira, who winked. Malia was growing anxious, which was making her irritated. She was just about to snap at them to tell her what they meant when the girls led her into Mr. Yukimura's classroom. Malia's mouth dropped open at the sight as the girls released her and bounded ahead, stopping beside each other and spreading their arms.

"Happy birthday!" they said together. Lydia grinned at her excitedly, her eyes absolutely beaming. Kira bit her lip as she grinned, still maintaining her shy look.

There was a banner stretched above the white board, streamers and bright colored pieces of paper everywhere. On the announcement board there was a pinned picture of a coyote puppy, which made Malia smile against her will. How fitting.

"She's smiling!" Kira clapped her hands together and bounced once, looking absolutely thrilled. "Look at her!"

Malia ducked her head and slowly moved forward, overcome with emotion that she didn't know that she could feel. Her first birthday since she'd become human again. She wrapped her two friends in a hug, wondering why the hell she felt close to tears. It was stupid. It wasn't that big of a-

"We love you Malia," Kira whispered.

Malia felt her body shake, much to her surprise, and tears slowly and gently fell from her eyes. It was stupid. Birthdays were stupid, that was why she hadn't told anyone. She had actually forgotten.

"Oh, honey." Lydia's arms tightened around her. "It's okay." Her voice was choked with a small laugh, but it was the kind of laugh that told Malia that she was trying not to cry as well.

"I shouldn't be crying," Malia muttered, reaching up to wipe her eyes. "I don't even... I mean, come on. Birthdays aren't that important."

"This is your first birthday in a very long time," Lydia whispered. "It's okay. It can be a big deal. In fact." She pulled away and grinned at Malia. "See, we thought about throwing you a big party tonight."

"But then we remembered that you really aren't that huge on crowds. I mean, they're okay for dancing and stuff but..." Kira continued.

"They aren't your favorite," Lydia went on. "So."

"We realized that Lydia's mom is out of town."

"And so we're going to have a girls' night. Just the three of us, staying up all night."

"We already ran it by your dad," Kira said quickly.

Malia let out a small, watery laugh, trying hard not to cry again. "Okay." It was one word, one little word, but it was the hardest thing she had ever said. It was hard to speak. She hadn't ever known that you could be this overcome with a positive emotion before. But she was. She was loved, truly loved.

The doors opened and other students started filing in. Malia quickly wiped her eyes again, just to make sure. The last thing she wanted was people seeing that. A pair of hands clapped her shoulders, grasping them. "Happy birthday."

Malia turned to see Stiles, Scott beside him. She eyed him for a second. They hadn't had a whole lot of interaction since the breakup. Things hadn't been weird so much as... different. It took only a moment for her to make up her mind on how to act. She wrapped him in a hug, pulling him close. "Thank you."

Stiles seemed surprised but not unhappy. His arms laced around her. "You're welcome," he said quietly.

He released her a moment later and Scott pulled her into a hug, saying a soft, "Happy birthday Malia."

"We knew you wouldn't want a big deal made," Kira said, as if reading her mind.

"But we decided that was a stupid plan," Lydia continued.

Malia laughed softly and rolled her eyes at how very much like her friends that sounded. "I'm sure," she told them. "Can we please get that down before...?"

"Hell no," Stiles said, going to his seat. "Kira had to bribe her dad to get that up there all class."

"How did you know that?" Kira stared at him.

Stiles stared back. "It's true?!"

Kira laughed. "No. I just wanted to see your face. I just asked him nicely and made him breakfast."

Stiles scoffed. "Food is bribery for a man."

Malia snorted and shook her head. This group may be strange, but it was hers.

Class went as normal, except for her friends occasionally passing her a note that said happy birthday or it's your birthday! When they parted ways for their next class, Malia went to her locker, still feeling numb with disbelief. They remembered her birthday. She even forgot. But they remembered.

Malia opened her locker and grabbed the books for her next class. Before she could register what had happened, or even that something had happened, someone grabbed her from behind. Malia didn't have time to react before she was dragged into an empty classroom.

She used all of her strength to throw her attacker over her head and immediately she was on him, her knee in his throat, her teeth and claws out.

Theo grinned up at her and Malia slowly let herself relax. What the hell was he thinking? Was he crazy? She opened her mouth to tell him off when he leaned up, pressing his lips against hers for just a moment. He pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Happy birthday," he whispered.

Malia looked down at him, eyes narrowed, hoping that her face let him know that she was not amused. But she didn't want to admit that she wasn't really angry. She couldn't be. Theo Raeken remembered her birthday. And that shocked her.

Did she even tell him? No. She didn't. She barely even remembered.

"How did you know?" she asked quietly as his hands slid to her hips. He wasn't making a move or feeling her up, he was just... with her.

"Scott." He smiled at her softy. "He mentioned it in passing."

Malia slowly rolled onto the ground beside him, laying on her back. "Ah."

Theo looked at her with a look that was almost fondness. But Malia quickly brushed it away. It wasn't- couldn't be- fondness. They weren't anything but sex. They had to stay that way. But she didn't get up.

She stayed.

"I have class," he sighed beside her. He didn't move either.

Malia gave a small smile. "Me too."

Theo looked at her, his face breaking into a grin- that lit up grin that Malia was growing to truly adore appreciate. "So... While we're ditching anyway, do you want your present?"

Malia grinned and pushed herself up. "I could go for that," she murmured, planting her lips on his neck. She could feel him shudder under her lips.

"Mmmm, as nice as that is, that's not what I meant."

Malia jerked away immediately and sat up, feeling too taken aback to do anything else. "I'm sorry, what?"

Theo grinned at her and pushed himself into a sitting position. "I have a gift."

"A gift?" She blinked and raised her eyebrows, her dubious tone obvious to even her. "Are you serious?"

Theo gave a small laugh and pulled his backpack to him from where he'd dropped it when he pulled her in the room. "Deadly."

"We don't do gifts," she said.

Theo looked up at her, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Malia Tate," he said slowly, sternly even, but his tone was still playful. Malia very nearly rolled her eyes. How was he so much like a puppy? "The whole point of this is that we don't abide by rules."

That rendered her with no argument so she fell silent and crossed her arms instead. Theo pulled out a small, wrapped package and handed it to her. "And here we go."

Malia hesitated before slowly pulling the paper off. And there was a soft to the touch, new, slouchie beanie, just like the ones that she liked to wear. She looked up at him and gave a small smile. She opened her mouth to say thank you when he shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. "There's more. In the hat."

Perplexed, Malia opened the hat up and, sure enough, sitting in there was a smaller wrapped package. She gave him an amused look as she pulled it out. "Oh, really?"

"Hell, yeah." He grinned at her and leaned back. "Theo Raeken doesn't half ass anything."

Malia gave a small snort as she opened it. Inside the package was a pendant. It was bronze and in the shape of a coyote. She looked up at him, lips parting slowly. Theo smiled softly. "What do you think?" he asked gently.

Malia lookd down at it again before looking back. "I like it," she whispered, nearly at a loss for words. "Thank you, Theo."

He smiled. "May I?"

Malia nodded and Theo took it from her slowly, moving so thathe was sitting behind her. "This leads me to the real gift," he said softly. Before Malia could ask, he whispered, "No matter what, Coyote, I will help you turn back. Happy birthday." His lips grazed her cheek.

Malia spent the afternoon with her father, who was more emotional than she had seen him in a long time. He gazed at her a lot, as if he couldn't believe that his daughter was truly home for her birthday, that she was really with him.

She wasn't really sure if she should go to Lydia's after all but he insisted that he was fine, that she should enjoy time with her friends. She wasn't positive, but she could have sworn that he had teared up as he told her how much they loved her and how excited they had been when they posed the idea.

And so she went.

The moment she walked into the door, her eyes flew wide open at the decorations that Lydia and Kira had strewn all over the house. She gave a small chuckle before the girls both hurtled into the room, throwing their arms around her.

Malia would have fallen over if she were human and had never been more thankful that she wasn't. Her arms went around them slowly, pulling them close to her.

"How's your day been?" Kira asked.

"Fine."

"Please tell me it's more than fine," Lydia said. "It's your birthday! This is huge!"

Malia grinned between them. "It's not huge. It's a birthday."

"Another birthday that you survived to," Lydia pointed out. "That is big."

Malia's thoughts flashed to the girl that she had never gotten to meet but who haunted the group. Allison. She hadn't made it to her next birthday. Malia nodded. "You're right."

"So." Kira nudged them both, keeping them on a lighthearted path. "We have a celebration to get to." She bounced into the kitchen. Lydia glanced at Malia and gave a small grin, cocking her head in the direction Kira had gone in. She led the way in the kitchen.

In an hour, there were plates piled in the sink, Tv dinner boxes spread everywhere, and a billion deserts laid among the counter space. the girls were laying on the living room floor, music blaring. Lydia was staring at the ceiling. "I want to do something contrived."

Malia glanced at her, furrowing her brows. "Okay?" she asked tentatively. "What exactly is it?"

"Truth or dare."

Kira looked at her, her face drawn into a quizzical expression. "You're not serious?"

"I am." Lydia pushed herself onto her stomach and crossed her arms on the floor, propping herself up. In that moment, she truly looked like Ariel from the Little Mermaid. "Face it, every group of girls has to play it at one point. It's basically girl law." Her green eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Fine. I'm in." Malia quickly moved into a sitting position, surprising even herself with how quickly she got on board the plan. "Truth or dare."

Kira shrugged. "Okay. Yeah, it sounds fun. Let's do it. Who starts?"

"Birthday girl," Lydia said, turning her head to her. "Truth or dare."

Malia eyed her, silently weighing the options in her mind. Dare could be anything in the world, but she wasn't afraid. Truth was more limited, it seemed safer. So here was the real question: play it safe or live dangerously? Theo flashed in her mind. "Dare."

"Lydia, truth or dare." Malia rolled onto her stomach, pulling one of the many pillows surrounding them to her chest. They'd been at it for hours, somehow having yet to tire of a game that should have been boring. Somehow, everything was funnier in this moment. Looking back, Malia knew it was because she was with her friends, the two people that she trusted above anyone in the world.

"Truth," Lydia said after a moment.

"Are you in love with Stiles?"

The question shot out of Malia's mouth before she could stop it. Although a part of her wished she could take it back, the majority of her wanted to know. It was almost like a need. Only she wasn't sure why. What had brought on this explainable, unstoppable need to know about Lydia and Stiles?

Lydia sucked in a breath, looking shell shocked, completely taken aback. She bit her lower lip as she looked back at her friend. "I... Malia..."

"it's okay." Malia gave her a small smile. "You're my friend, Lydia."

Lydia hesitated and was quiet for a long moment before replying, "Yes."

Malia was hit with a wave of emotion that quite nearly startled her. It was warmth, love, compassion. All emotions that had been the hardest for Malia to figure out when she had first become human. "It's okay," she said gently, because Lydia looked like she might be close to tears. "Lydia, I'm happy."

Lydia stared at her. "You're what?"

Malia smiled. "I'm happy. I love you. I love him, just in a different way than I first thought I did. It's okay. I want you to be happy and I'm not blind. It's Stiles. And that's okay. Consider this my blessing."

Before Malia could even register what was happening, Lydia was on top of her, squeezing the life out of her. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"You're welcome," Malia choked out, trying not to laugh. When Lydia finally let her go, Malia looked over at Kira, who was smiling at them. These two girls were hers. They were Malia's and they always would be. Once again, she was hit with a wave of affection that she wasn't quite prepared for. "I need to tell you two something. And I'm sorry I didn't do it before."

Lydia eyed her, concern immediately taking over her features. "Are you okay?"

"I am." Malia eyed them both carefully, unsure of her decision to be honest. She wanted to, but was it smart? "I am. But I need you to believe me on that. I'm okay. You don't need to stop this or intervene or protect me. It's my choice."

"You're really scaring me now," Kira said slowly.

Malia took a deep breath. "I'm sleeping with Theo."

Both girls stared at her. Lydia recoiled slightly, not in disgust but surprise. She looked almost as if Malia had physically thrown something at her, maybe a food substance. She looked like she was trying to digest it, trying to decide if it had tasted good or not.

Kira still looked shocked. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open. She looked more as if she had just seen a streaker running across Lydia's living room. Yet, somehow, Kira was the one who found words first. "You're okay?" she finally asked tentatively.

Malia nodded. "I'm fine. It's not even a rebound, really. It has nothing to do with Stiles. It's not a cry for help. It just is. I don't want everyone to know. But I wanted you two to know."

Lydia slowly nodded her head. "Are you sure it's not rebound? That's what Aiden was for me, at least partly."

Malia shook her head. "No. It's not about Stiles. It's about Theo." she saw Lydia start to open her mouth again and she quickly cut her off, "No, I am not in love with him. It's not about that either."

Lydia and Kira exchanged looks, not judging or worried. They were more curious than anything. Slowly, Kira said, "So... Then what is it about?"

Malia fell quiet, letting the question roll around her head for a few minutes. What was Theo Raeken? She answered before she had even realized she had found the answer. "He's my friend."