3:26 am

f o u r t e e n

f o u r t e e n

"Quinn, we're here!" I smiled as I heard Ellie yell and I started to head out of the kitchen, to the entrance of my apartment.

"Hey, come on in!" I said, smiling widely as I saw Ellie.

"Happy birthday!" Ellie ran to me and hugged me tightly, nearly causing me to lose my balance as she knocked into me.

"Thank you," I said, returning her tight hug as much as I possibly could without squeezing her too hard. She pulled away from me and kissed me on the forehead, leaving me in laughter.

"Happy birthday, Quinn! Uh, thanks for letting me tag along," I looked to the side of Ellie to see a smiling Peter and continued to smile at him. He had a couple bottles of wine in his hand and I thanked him as he handed them to me.

"Thank you, and no problem, you're always welcome," The three of us walked further into my apartment and to the living room. I sat the wine down on the coffee table and looked over at the couple. "Walt should be here soon, and he's bringing Keith, do you remember Keith?" Ellie nodded as I referred to Walt's best friend growing up, and I nodded as well before excusing myself and going back to the kitchen. I had prepared some food to snack on while everyone was over, so I brought the tray out to the living room.

"I can't believe there's only a couple weeks until Christmas," Ellie said while I walked into the room. She thanked me as I laid the tray in front of her and Peter.

"Yeah, me neither," I told her, shaking my head.

"Speaking of Christmas... have you heard from Holden?" Ellie asked, smiling sadly at me as she brought him up.

Holden and I had been talking less and less, which was expected. At least from me, that is. I knew talking about the break up could make things awkward, but that wasn't the only reason things hadn't been too alive between us. After he decided to text Andy, go to see Andy, and go on a date with Andy... all he wanted to talk about was Andy.

"I think the last time we talked was three days ago or something," I responded to Ellie as I shook my head. "I was hoping he might text me today, but it doesn't seem like he's gotten around to it. How are you guys?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We're good," Ellie said, letting the topic dissipate without problem. "The bar's good... everything is good."

"I'm no longer a jealous idiot, so I've got that going for me," Peter told me and I laughed quietly at his reference to what had happened a couple weeks prior. "I think we're great," Peter smiled as he looked over at Ellie and she smiled back at him before he leaned in and kissed her. I smiled to myself and looked down at my hands, feeling like I was interrupting them somehow.

"You guys want beers? I'll get some beers," Before either one of them could respond, I got up and made my way back to the kitchen. I got two beers out of the fridge, and a wine glass for myself. I started making my way back to the living room once I was successfully carrying everything. Just as I was setting everything down on the coffee table, I heard the doorbell. "I'll be back."

I walked to the front door of my apartment and opened the door to see Walt and Keith, both of them were smiling widely.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile as well.

"Happy birthday!" Walt and Keith engulfed me into a hug and I giggled as they lifted me off the ground. I hugged them both back, and thanked them before dragging them to the living room. "Peter, this is my brother, Walt, and his friend, Keith... Peter is Ellie's boyfriend." The boys started to talk and I made my way to the kitchen again, figuring Walt and Keith would want a drink as well.