𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 [a rini au]

one hundred

the night of nina's eighteenth birthday was one filled with hearty laughter, infectious sarcasm, and unforgettable memories.

ej picked her up promptly at her home, refusing to answer the girl as she poked him with questions regarding their plans. she wasn't surprised when he passed ashlyn's street and turned onto the freeway, but she decided not to object and let the events play out. they arrived at one of salt lake city's fanciest restaurants, where ej proceeded to blindfold nina once they parked. leading her carefully inside, the boy stripped her of the blindfold when they made it to the surprise. inside the restaurant's designated party room were ashlyn and kourtney, as nina expected, but what she didn't anticipate was the decked out table and giant gift box on one of the chairs.

the group enjoyed a delicious meal and an even more delectable dessert, complimented by cheesy "happy birthday" singing from the waitstaff. after opening her present – a brand new pair of doc martens – nina excused herself to use the restroom quickly. in her absence, the remaining three friends chatted about the success of the surprise while checking their phones. however, the energy was disrupted when ashlyn let out a baffled scoff.

ej, sitting next to her, gave her a side eye. "you okay?" he questioned, fighting his urge to peek at her phone screen. ashlyn pursed her lips, squirming in her seat as she digested what she was looking at.

"ash, what's wrong?" kourtney added from across the table, leaning forward slightly.

"um, code red?" she answered with a question-like tone. ashlyn first checked in the direction of the bathroom, then turned her phone around once the coast was clear. she placed it on the table, ej and kourtney swarming over it like hawks. their jaws dropped after a few seconds of staring.

"what are you doing?"

the group jumped in their seats, hearts stopping when they saw nina approaching them again. ashlyn snagged her phone from the table, immediately putting it back in her purse. "i-i was just showing them my grades," she lied easily, ej and kourtney nodding in reluctant agreement. "they love seeing a good seventy in physics."

nina rolled her eyes, pulling her chair out so she could sit down. "you are another breed, ash," she chuckled, failing to pick up on the uncomfortable looks her friends were attempting to suppress. "so. is movie night still on the table?"

___

with a night-altering secret they now had to carry, ej, ashlyn, and kourtney were determined to keep nina distracted for as long as they could. they accepted her proposal for the movie night, all convening at ashlyn's house to hang out. luckily for them, nina was off her phone for the most part, only using it to upload her birthday instagram post. they allowed it, too, for instagram wasn't the culprit. nina chose mean girls as their movie, invested in it the entire time. however, the other three were trying their hardest not to appear on edge.

it was approaching midnight when everyone seemed to be dozing off. ashlyn, who rested beside nina on the couch, was assigned to keep tabs on the birthday girl, ensuring that she stayed off her phone as much as possible. but, ashlyn's eyes were fluttering shut by the second. with her conscience slowing slipping into sleep, she wasn't able to catch nina in time.

ashlyn didn't know how long she had been lightly sleeping for, but a sneeze from nina startled her. she lifted her head off of nina's shoulder, soul leaving her body when she saw the girl scrolling through her notifications. "what are you doing?!" ashlyn shrieked, frightening ej and kourtney in the process.

nina just kept glaring at her phone intently. "i haven't checked my phone since i posted," she responded, "and my twitter notifications are blowing up for what reason?"