A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Thirty-eight

V I C T Ø R I A♡
I walked to my locker as the school bell rang and spotted Max leaning against it with a smile.

I opened my locker to grab my items, then shut it and focused all of my attention on Max. "What's the plan?"

He held up a blindfold and smirked. "What?" He handed it to me and crossed his arms. "You can't know where we're going, so you have to wear it." I shrugged off my backpack and set it by my feet.

"Max, I'd rather not risk hurting myself wearing this to your car. Can it wait?" He finally nodded and took my bag, motioning for me to follow him.

He held the door to his passenger seat open for me and let me in, shutting it and setting my bag in the backseat.

When he got in, I put on the blindfold and he started the car.

We drove for thirty-five minutes.

"Max, how much longer? I'm getting bored!" He chuckled and pulled the blindfold down when I tried to push it up.

"We're almost there. Relax." He drove for a little longer and then I felt the car stop. I heard his door open, then heard my door open and Max took my hand.

He got me out and led me to wherever we were, not letting me take the blindfold off.

"And now you can take it off." I yanked it off and my eyes adjusted to see my friends, Peter, Max, and Elizabeth all standing in front of me, yelling, "SURPRISE!"

We were at a trampoline park.

"Oh, my gosh!" I grinned and Ruby led me over to the table. "We figured you'd enjoy this. Now, let's do some jumping before pizza and cake!"

We all cheered and took off our shoes, following Tony to the trampolines.

I had never been to a trampoline park.

Josh flew with Tyler and Jenna back to Ohio after Thanksgiving for Tyler's birthday, while I stayed home because of school.

I was sad I couldn't go, but I got to spend plenty of time with Debby.

"Having fun?" Max jumped onto the trampoline I was on and jumped with me. I nodded and we synchronized our jumping.

"Isn't it too much to have more than one person on a trampoline?" He shook his head and laughed until I slipped and fell on top of him.

"I'm so sorry!" I held myself up, hovering over him and we locked eyes.

He softly smiled, "Hi." I smiled back until Mikayla's words jogged my memory, and I scrambled off of him, wandering over to Ruby and Elizabeth.

"Hi, Tori!" We jumped around for almost two hours when Max called us over for pizza and cake.

While we ate pizza, everyone encouraged me to open my gifts.

I did so, and then Max lit the candles on the cake and they began to sing happy birthday to me, ending it by blowing out my candles in one blow.

I passed on a slice, but everyone else took one.

Soon, everyone started leaving, and Peter, Max, and I brought the leftover cake and my gifts to Max's car.

Peter left, and Max took me home.

"Did you enjoy your birthday?" He asked as he turned onto my street. I nodded and smiled at him. He pulled into my driveway.

"Yes. Thanks, for everything." He nodded and we stared at each other, just like we did when I fell on him.

I was the first to look away and got out, reaching into the back to get everything. "Do you need help bringing in anything?" I shook my head and shut the door, waving to him.

It was dark and as I watched him leave, I noticed that Josh's car wasn't in the driveway like it normally was.

Was I home alone?

I opened the door, surprised it was unlocked. The lights were off, so I turned on my phone flashlight and set my stuff by the stairs.

I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and turned around to see candles. "Happy birthday to you," I heard Josh singing, and once my eyes adjusted, I saw Josh, Debby, Jenna, and Tyler walking towards me, singing.

I smiled and blew out the candles.

"Happy birthday, Tori!" I hugged Jenna, Tyler, and Debby, saving Josh for last.

"Happy birthday, kiddo." He rubbed my back and I looked up at him. "Thanks," I paused for a moment.

"Dad." He instantly pulled away and looked at me, pulling me into an even tighter hug.

♡

That night, while I was laying in bed, I got an Instagram notification.

Max had tagged me in a post.

I clicked on it, opening it to read the caption. 'Happy birthday to my number one girl. Thanks for making me smile, laugh, and really enjoy life these past few months. Here's to many more birthdays😉🎉'

I smiled and looked at the comments, my smile disappearing as soon as I saw Mikayla's comment.

'I thought I was your number one girl😞'

Her words swirled around my head and I clicked on Max's profile.

I thought long and hard before I hit the following button, unfollowing him.