"Happy birthday!" Amethyst yelled, wrapping her arms around Angela in the parking lot that Friday. She squeezed the girl, smiling when she noticed the blush that was spreading across her face.
Tyler approached them with the tray of cupcakes the brunette had made the previous day after track practice, a huge grin on his face. "Happy birthday, Ang." He opened the box to show the girl what was inside.
Angela blushed more deeply. "Thank you both, really. But this is too much."
"No," Amethyst said, reaching around her friend to grab a cupcake. "This is too much." She pressed the cupcake against her friend's nose, laughing as everyone else stared at them in shock.
The tall girl stared laughing a minute later, everyone else breathing out a sigh of relief. "You're going to regret that," Angela said, wiping some of the cake off her face to toss back at Amethyst, who squealed with laughter as she pulled away.
Both girls went to the bathroom to clean themselves up before class, Amethyst making sure she cleaned all of the frosting off her friend's face.
"Don't hate me too much," the brunette said with a small smile, wetting the paper towel before cleaning the last part off from beside her friend's nose.
"Hate you? This is one of my favorite starts to a birthday so far."
They smiled at each other before hurrying to their first class, where Amethyst only paid enough attention to make sure she could do her homework that night.
At lunch, Tyler ran out to grab the container of cupcakes he had stored back in the van before classes, grinning when he opened the container in front of Angela.
"I would make everyone sing to you, but I'm not sure anyone actually wants to hear that," Amethyst said, smiling at the girl as she reclined in her chair.
"You really didn't have to do this."
"But we did," she insisted, leaning over to shake Angela's leg softly. "My birthday was fantastic because of you guys, and we have to wait until October to celebrate Tyler."
The boy glanced over with a raised eyebrow. "That is absolutely not true. You guys can celebrate me every day."
Electric blue eyes rolled as she shoved Tyler's face, smiling when Angela giggled. "But you guys are all coming over tomorrow, right?"
Everyone around the table chorused their agreement, but the brunette noticed her friend seemed to be speaking more specifically to Ben. She hid a smile in her drink, taking a sip as she watched the two decide which kind of cupcakes they wanted to eat.
When the bell rang, Amethyst got up to head to gym, pleased that Angela was having a good birthday to that point. However, the girl pulled on her arm before she could get too far.
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Bella and Jessica are going to be there tomorrow night."
The brunette nodded. "I figured as much. They are your friends, after all."
"But it is going to be weird for you?"
Amethyst smiled slightly, reaching out to squeeze the girl's arm. "Ang, it's your birthday. Literally whatever makes you happy will make me happy. Even if it doesn't,, I can suck it up for you just for this one day." She squeezed again before she walked off to class, humming quietly to herself.
While most of her teammates were changing before track practice, she knocked on her coach's door. "Hey, Coach Leah?"
"What's up, Amethyst?" the woman asked, looking up from her paperwork to smile at the girl.
"I know that you got a full report for my physical this year."
Coach nodded, her face tightening a small bit. "Is there anything particular in there you wanted to talk about?"
"Diabetes is still a relatively new concept to me, and I'm not entirely sure how training affects it. But it doesn't seem to be positive, because my blood sugar keeps dropping no matter what I'm eating or anything like that."
"Well, your doctor did tell you that exercising a lot can have a similar effect on diabetes as eating improperly?"
She searched her brain for a moment. "Maybe?"
Coach Leah let out a small laugh. "Well, athletes who are diabetics do have a more difficult time controlling their blood sugar because of the strain on their body. You have to take in more sugar, generally in carb form, because your body will be burning it off faster." She looked at the girl carefully. "Tyler said you missed practice a few days ago because you were having issues."
"Yeah, my sugar keeps dropping and it doesn't really feel as if I can control it. I wanted to ask you for help first because I'd rather avoid doctors if I can."
"Well, I'm obviously not an expert and really do think you should talk to a doctor about it, but it is all about taking the extra steps to keep your sugar balanced. Now go get changed."
After showering that evening, Amethyst convinced Tyler to watch Aladdin with her, but she drifted off to sleep before the movie was halfway over. The boy shook her awake for dinner, so she scrubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way over to the table.
The brunette crossed her legs when she sat down, smiling at Mr. Crowley across the table. Tyler was carrying the spaghetti to the table for his mother, who was pulling the garlic bread out of the oven.
About halfway through their meal, a thought clicked in Amethyst's head.
"Mrs. Crowley?"
"Yes, dear."
"Angela's birthday was today and she's planning on having everyone over tomorrow after we get off work. Both Tyler and I were invited to go and hang out, and the girls were invited to spend the night. Would you mind if we went?"
The woman shook her head. "Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Thank you for asking, though. Will you write down her phone number before you leave just in case we need to contact you two?"
"Of course," she said with a smile before going back to her food with a small smile on her face.
Amethyst waited outside Angela's house the next morning, covering her mouth when a yawn escaped. She hadn't slept well the night before and had gotten up to run a full five miles that morning, leaving her more exhausted than she wanted to admit. Tyler had shared a bowl of whatever sugary cereal he tended to eat with her, which she hoped would keep her feeling relatively normal throughout the day.
Her friend came rushing out of the house a few moments later, scraping her hair up into a ponytail as she climbed into the car. The brunette raised an eyebrow at her as she continued to let the car idle. Angela sighed as she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.
"You are so lucky you don't have little brothers."
Amethyst snorted as she put the car into gear, pulling away toward the library. "We've been over this before. I may not have little brothers, but I do live with Tyler."
Angela ran books back as the brunette worked the desk that day, surprised by how many families were inside the library on that particular Saturday. Children weren't exactly her specialty, but she knew she would have to work with them over the summer as well so she put on her best smile.
One little girl smiled shyly at Amethyst as she brought her books up to the circulation desk, pushing three over toward the girl.
"Hi, sweetheart. Did you find everything you wanted today?"
The girl looked up to her mother, who instantly began gesturing with her hands. Amethyst watched with surprise as the girl gestured back, turning to look at the mother as well.
"Sorry about that. Carrie's deaf," the woman explained, digging through her purse. "She said she really likes the amount of books you guys have here."
The brunette turned to the younger girl and pressed her lips into a smile, not entirely sure how to respond.
"Here it is," the mother said, pulling a library card out of her bag and handing it over to Amethyst.
"Will you tell her thank you?" she said as she took the library card. "It's always nice to hear that someone enjoys our library."
She watched the two of them sign out of the corner of her eye as she went through the motions of checking the book out, noticing the two normally came on Thursdays to get their books, which would be why she hadn't ever seen them before.
"Here you go," Amethyst said, sliding the books back toward Carrie. "They're due back in two weeks," she said, holding up two fingers to the little girl.
Her mother chuckled as Carrie nodded enthusiastically, smiling at the brunette as she pulled the books into her arms. "Thanks so much," the woman said, gently guiding her daughter toward the door.
Amethyst sat back in her chair for a moment, noticing she didn't have a line. She chewed on the inside of her lip for just a moment before making a decision.
"Ma'am," she called, standing up and moving toward the exit door.
The woman turned around with a small amount of surprise on her face. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, ma'am, I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you about something. I'm a student at Forks High School, and for my photography course, I have to do a photo story. I really wanted to focus on a person with the story, and was wondering if you would agree to me telling your daughter's story."
The woman looked at her with a slightly concerned look on her face. "I don't know. Carrie deserves her privacy."
"Of course she does. I don't want to intrude, I just can't imagine what she goes through on a daily basis and and to know more about what it's like. It would just be a project for my class; no publication or anything. My teacher could reach out to you to give you more information, if you'd like."
"I really don't know about all that."
"Well let me give you my number," Amethyst said. "I promise, this isn't meant to be creepy or intrusive. I just really want to tell a story about humanity and the things people don't really think about. I can't imagine not being able to hear, and the way your daughter deals with it at such a young age is awe inspiring."
The woman frowned slightly, looking down at her daughter who was pulling on her hand. She quickly signed something to the little girl who was wearing a very impatient expression. "I still don't know. We don't know who you are at all."
"I know, which is why I said I can offer you my number so you can reach out to me if you change your mind. You can speak with my teacher or Chloe here about who I am so you can have absolute confidence before committing to anything." She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down her phone number, offering it to the woman. "Trust me, I don't know how I'd react if a stranger asked me to do what I'm asking you do to right now. But I really just want to tell the story. That's all."
"I'm not promising anything," the woman said after a moment, reaching out to take the number. "I'm still not sure about the idea at all."
"Of course. But you can just think about me like a babysitter, if that makes the idea a little bit easier. My photographs are exclusively for my class. But thank you for being willing to listen."
The woman nodded before leading her daughter out of the library, making Amethyst sigh heavily as she walked back to her chair.
Angela raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What was that about?"
"I asked her if I could do my photography project about her daughter."
"Do you know her?"
"Nope. And I do realize how creepy that is. But at the same time, that's a photographers job." She glanced at her friend with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You better get used to the idea, Miss Photojournalist."
They traded jobs for the rest of the day as Amethyst was getting too restless behind the desk. They called their goodbyes to Chloe on their way out, making sure the redhead was set to handle the last hour the library was open on her own.
Angela's stomach growled loudly when they climbed into the car, making the brunette burst into laughter. Her friend reached over to smack her arm, a light blush dusting her face.
"I told you I didn't have time for breakfast this morning after dealing with the boys."
"Still, that was a big stomach growl for a small girl. Let's go satisfy it," she teased, starting up the car.
They drove back to Angela's house and made sandwiches before going down to rearrange the basement. Her parents had purchased some food and drinks for the night which Amethyst laid out on a table while her friend went around with a trash bag, cleaning up the general mess from her family.
Angela also vacuumed while the brunette pushed the couches closer to the television, putting together a space for them to watch movies or play games.
Tyler was the first to arrive, bringing two presents with him. Angela glared when she saw them, turning to Amethyst.
"I said no presents."
"After what you and Tyler did for my birthday? Yeah, I was totally going to listen to that," she snorted, pointing to the spot where Tyler could start the stack of presents.
"You already made me cupcakes and drive me to work every weekend without charging me for gas."
She shrugged. "I felt like baking and it's on the way."
Angela sighed, walking over to wrap her arm around the girl. "Thank you. For everything."
"Ang, you really don't have anything to thank me for," Amethyst said, hugging the girl tightly. "It's called being your friend."
"Well then you're the best friend anyone could be lucky enough to have."
Tyler gathered both girls in his arms, making them start laughing. "I love you both so much," he pretended to sob, pressing his face against Amethyst's. "You're both the best things in my life."
"Get off, you oaf," the brunette laughed, finally managing to shove him away. The doorbell rang as their laughter settled, so Angela went upstairs to invite the others inside.
The moment she was gone, Amethyst turned to Tyler. "Did you bring them?"
"I had to dig them out of the garage, but they're in the trunk, filled and ready to go."
The girl grinned, pleased the rain seemed to be holding off for the day.
Eventually, Mike, Eric, Ben, Tyler, Bella, Jessica, Angela and Amethyst were gathered around a game of Monopoly. Jessica had said she didn't really want to play while Amethyst teamed up with Angela, strategizing with the girl.
"You know, if you offer him your two brown properties, you might be able to get the other blue from Mike," Amethyst murmured, her eyes scanning the cards. "Of course, if you grin wide enough and flip your hair a few times he might just hand it over."
"I can hear you," Mike said as the others dissolved into laugher. "And I have a girlfriend, thank you very much."
The brunette shrugged. "All is fair in love and Monopoly."
After eventually calling a stalemate when Eric and Angela both owned about half the board, the group settled in to watch a movie that Jessica had picked up on her way over. It ended up being a chick flick, which Amethyst wasn't really in the mood for, so she reached out and tapped Bella with her foot.
"How're things with Edward?" she asked quietly, moving away from Angela who was actually watching.
Bella shrugged. "They've gotten better since we got back. I really love him."
"And you guys haven't fought about anything?" Amethyst asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"No. He's great."
She pressed her lips together. "There's nothing that bothers you about the relationship?"
"Shut up," Mike called, tossing some chips over in the girl's direction. She threw them back harder, glaring at the guy slightly. "The movie's almost over and you can talk later."
Amethyst scooted back into her spot beside Angela, letting the girl lay her head on her shoulder. The brunette still looked at Bella curiously as she played with her friend's hair, waiting rather impatiently for the movie to end."
"Who wants to go play with sparklers?" Tyler asked the moment the movie ended, jumping up from his seat. Amethyst had to stifle her giggle at his reaction, realizing he had hated the movie as much as she did. "I have some out in the car."
"I don't know. It's getting late," Angela said, glancing out the window.
"That's the time to set off sparklers, Ang."
Amethyst glanced at her watch. "It's only 10. Do you think your parents would mind?"
The tall girl chewed on her lip for a moment before shaking her head. "As long as we don't wake my brothers, they probably won't be upset."
The group went upstairs, Angela stopping to talk to her parents who were still in the living room. After they agreed the teenagers were fine, Tyler went out to his car while the others headed out to the back yard.
"Why did you guys bring sparklers?" Angela asked as they stopped to pull their shoes on.
"Because we're young, Ang. How much longer are we going to be able to go out and play with sparklers for no reason other than we can?"
Tyler handed out packs of sparklers and matches to each of them, only not handing one to Amethyst. The two of them watched everyone else play for a little while, smiling at their friends.
"Hey, where are your sparklers?" Mike called, noticing neither of them were playing.
Amethyst sighed. "He must have forgotten our packs," she said, reaching over to hit the boy's arm. "We'll go grab them now."
Mike shrugged and went back to drawing in the air as the two of them walked back around to the front of the house, popping Tyler's drunk.
Amethyst pulled out two water guns with a huge grin. "And you dyed the water?"
"We've got purple, green, yellow and blue," he said, grabbing the other two. "They aren't going to know what hit them."
After closing the trunk, Amethyst led the way to the back yard, making sure all of her friends were busy before walking around the corner with her guns. She took aim at Mike and Eric first, unloading the water that turned out to be purple and blue.
Tyler spluttered as it hit the side of his face, while Eric let out somewhat of a shriek. She laughed as she heard similar reactions from Ben and Jessica, who Tyler had apparently picked as his targets.
Amethyst handed one of her guns over to Angela, who looked rather shocked at the whole situation, before turning her gun on Bella, who looked positively panicked. She took partial pity on the girl and sprayed her pants instead of her face, like most of the others had to deal with.
Mike wrestled one of Tyler's guns away, taking aim at the boy who immediately let out his own shout. Amethyst laughed as she tossed her gun to Ben, who also began to unload at the boy.
She took a step back, watching as Jessica stole the gun from Angela to start shooting at Mike. Bella was hiding away from all of it, but she wasn't going to let the girl ruin their fun. Amethyst let out a small shriek as Tyler turned his gun on her, rushing back into the battle to grapple with him for the gun.
They passed out the towels they had brought after the water guns were finally empty, tossing them all inside a trash bag for Tyler to take home and wash. Everyone seemed to be happy which was infectious for Amethyst, who was wearing a huge grin on her face. The boys said their goodnights at that point, hopping in their cars as the girls went back inside to change.
The four girls spread out on the basement floor about an hour later. Amethyst and Angela had work the next day, and the other two seemed to be exhausted from the day. As the brunette laid there, she listened to her friend's breaths even out before turning to look at Angela. She reached over and tapped the girl's had lightly, surprised when she got a reaction.
"Are you okay?"
"Were you sleeping?" Amethyst whispered back, getting closer to the girl.
Angela sighed. "No. I forgot how difficult it is to sleep with other people around."
"I know," she replied with a small laugh. "Maybe there's a reason we quit having sleepovers at 10 years old."
A silence fell between the two of them for a moment as Amethyst took her friend's hand, squeezing gently.
"Is this what you wanted for your birthday?"
"It was so much better than what I expected. Really. You and Tyler are so great to me."
"You deserve so much more. Did you open your presents?"
Angela shook her head. "I was planning on doing that tomorrow after work."
"Well, I hope my present makes up for my lacking as a friend recently."
"What're you talking about?"
Amethyst sighed. "I haven't always been here for you through everything. I don't spend as much time with you as I should and I don't always know what to say. But you are absolutely my best female friend here, and I couldn't make it through school without you."
"You've been busy," the tall girl replied. "I don't even understand how you have time to breathe at some points. And then there's the whole Jasper thing."
Ah, yes. The whole Jasper thing. "That doesn't excuse being a bad friend."
"You aren't a bad friend. You're human."
Angela squeezed her hand one more time before rolling over to get some sleep.
Amethyst rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling as she debated what exactly the whole Jasper thing was and how she would deal with it at school the next week.
A/N:
Okay guys, I'm desperately seeking a beta reader or someone to help me talk through my ideas. I'm really hitting walls in these chapters, and I'm happy to even get them to a decent length. But someone who would be willing to PM/e-mail/text me and talk through ideas would be greatly appreciated. Just PM me if you're interested and we can figure it out.
This chapter was just a little more character and relationship building for everyone's enjoyment. We'll get back to the issues next chapter, probably with a time jump first.
As always, I hope you guys enjoy the story and I look forward to hearing from you.
-Situation