"Best Friends"

Party

"Ugh, why can't we just skip junior year and go to senior year already?" Anti groaned as he and Dark walked home from another long day of school.

Colorful leaves scattered around them in the cool October breeze that ruffled Dark and Anti's hair, the faint sunlight that shone through the clouds providing a bit of warmth.

"I wish." Dark sighed wistfully, eager to put junior year behind him due to all of the tests and stress.

"Ya know, you should join choir." Anti remarked casually.

"W-what?" Dark stammered, caught off guard by the question.

"I've heard you sing before in August when school started, and you sound amazing!" Anti complimented, making the other teen blush red in embarrassment.

"Ya know, we should stop by the park before we go home." Anti adder hastily as he steered Dark away from his home before they could reach it.

"O-okay." Dark replied with a confused frown, following his friend nonetheless.

"So, you know what today is?" Anti prompted as they sat on the swings.

"Today is October 30th." Dark stated even though he knew what Anti meant.

Today was Dark's sixteenth birthday, something he had been eagerly awaiting so he could drive.

"You're a douche canoe." Anti snorted teasingly as he playfully punched Dark on the shoulder.

"Douche canoe?" Dark repeated with a snicker at the absurd name.

"What can I say, I'm a creative insulter." Anti shrugged.

Dark looked over at Anti and couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, he could muster up the courage to ask him out.

He had waited a few months so he could recuperate from the sudden breakup, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand waiting.

"Hey Anti-"

"Happy birthday!"

Dark nearly fell off of his swing as his family and few friends popped out of seemingly nowhere, all wearing party hats with gifts and cards in hand.

"Surprise! We have a cake over at the shelter for ya." Dark's dad informed Dark with a grin.

Dark scrambled off of the swing and tackled his dad in a hug, earning a chorus of awwws from the group.

"Hey, I'm not really sure what you like, but I got you this." Dan said as he handed Dark a Steam gift card.

"Awesome, thank you!" Dark exclaimed as he hugged the shy Brit.

"N-no problem, Phil helped pay for it." Dan stuttered.

Before Dark could say more, he felt something smear onto the side of his face that made him recoil in surprise.

Anti had wiped icing onto Dark's cheek, a mischievous gleam shining in his eyes as he licked the rest of the white icing off of his finger.

Dark smirked as he followed Anti to the table and grabbed a slice of cake for himself, devouring it almost instantly so he could open gifts.

"Oh oh oh, start with mine!" Anti pleaded excitedly, shoving a small black box into Dark's hands.

"Okay." Dark laughed as he tore through the wrapping paper.

Inside was a pixel heart keychain with nothing else inside except red tissue paper.

Dark looked up at Anti with a confused expression, holding the keychain in his hand.

"I've been saving up for awhile and everyone else chipped in, but..." Anti trailed off as Mark came riding in on a black motorcycle with red flames on the side, a black helmet buckled on his head.

Dark's cousin skidded to a stop next to him and hopped off, tossing him the keys.

"Happy birthday!" Mark cheered with a smile, laughing as Dark pulled him into a tight hug.

The party lasted until evening set, the air becoming chillier and the sky darkening.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Dark promised Anti as they walked home.

"Wait, what was the thing you wanted to tell me before the party?" Anti asked as they paused on Dark's doorstep.

"Oh, um, I just wanted to say that I'm glad to have a friend like you in my life." Dark lied.

"Oh, thanks!" Anti exclaimed as he hugged Dark.

Dark could've swore he saw a flash of hurt shine in Anti's eyes, but it disappeared before Dark could analyze it further.

"See ya later." Anti smirked as he gave Dark a high five.

Dark sighed as he watched Anti leave, feeling like his heart was leaving with him as Anti disappeared out of sight into his house.