I nod eagerly and unwrap the first one. The paper’s light blue, patterned with bunnies and kittens. I plan to save the scraps for my mood board. Inside, I find a lilac Mp3 player decorated with tiny white butterflies.
I glance up, immediately locking eyes with Vincent. Memories flood back. When we were kids, he lent me his Mp3 because his parents had given him a phone.
His Mp3 was gray, and I engraved his initials on the back so a part of him would always stay with me. Even after I got my own phone, I never stopped using it. That Mp3 was a treasure. Its two headphone jacks let us share music without anyone else intruding.
And now, seeing this new lilac Mp3—it feels like the start of a new era. Maybe it’s true. Maybe the world’s finally about to turn in my favor.
“Do you like it? I thought you might enjoy a new model. I had it plated in lilac with butterflies just for you,” Sam says, taking another bite of his donut.
I spin toward him and leap into his arms. He barely saves the plate of donuts before catching me.
“Good thing my reflexes are Olympic medalist level—or we’d have lost the donuts,” he chuckles, patting my back as I cling to him.
Emotion wells up in me. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You’re always the best.”
“All right, my turn,” Maggie murmurs.
I climb off Sam and sit back beside her, resting my head on her shoulder and she wraps her arm around me.
Her gift’s wrapped in pale pink paper covered in tiny rainbows. Inside, I find a white crocheted top decorated with delicate purple flowers. It’s gorgeous.
I throw my arms around her and collapse fully on top of her. “Sothat’swhy you didn’t want to show me what you were working on,” I whisper through happy tears, hiding my face against her neck. “It’s the most beautiful top I’ve ever seen. I’ll wear it every day.”
Maggie chuckles, stroking my hair as I cling to her. “I’m glad you love it. I saw it on Pinterest and thought it would suit you perfectly. You’ll look gorgeous when you wear it. Like a star.”
I smile and kiss her cheek before taking the third gift—Will’s—and start unwrapping it. It’s wrapped in gift paper covered with Simpson illustrations.
I laugh quietly to myself as I look at it. I always wonder how he finds such unique things, so unmistakably...Will. Inside the package, I find a DC Lego set. A few years ago, we decided to start building and collecting all the Lego sets from that universe together, since Will is a huge fan of both DC and Marvel. He was actually the one who first made me watch the Superman movies.
As soon as we finish collecting all the DC sets, we’ll move on to the Marvel ones. My favorite superheroes are The Flash and Spider-Man, while his has always been Superman.
Every year, we rewatch all our favorite movies together and argue endlessly about who the better superhero is—especially when it comes to Spider-Man. He’s fiercely loyal to Tobey Maguire, while I’m the biggest Andrew Garfield fan.
One funny thing about Will Matthews is that the first time he meets you, his brain instantly associates you with a superhero—or a character from that world—that he thinks fits you best. When we first met, he told me I was the spitting image of Cassandra Sandsmark, he pegged Maggie as Lois Lane, and Steven as Richard Grayson.
When we watchedYoung Justice,Batman, everySupermanmovie, andSmallville, I understood why he thought that. Anyway, for me, Will is Wally West’s alter-ego.
I think that if Will had known Steven in high school, he would’ve associated him with Superboy. Conner Kent’s exactly like Steven when he was younger.
So far, we’ve built the Batmobile, Superman versus Lex Luthor, and Batman versus Harley Quinn. But what he’s given me this time is beyond amazing—I’m almost speechless. It’s the entire Gotham City set. We always said that would be the last one we’d buy together, since it’s so expensive, and now, seeing it right in front of me, I can’t stop crying. I can’t believe I have friends like this.
“Why are you crying? Shit, I knew I should’ve gotten you Wonder Girl and Batgirl keychains. I’m sorry, Nova. Oh my God, why is she still crying? How do I make it stop?”
Sam and Maggie roll their eyes in unison, Vincent observes the scene while holding back a smile, and Steven pats Will on the back.
I burst out laughing at my friend’s panic and throw my arms around him in a tight hug. “We can build it tomorrow night,” I propose.
He nods once we pull away. “All right. Just don’t cry over me again.”
I giggle and nod.
The next gift’s wrapped in red paper with white polka dots—the bookstore’s signature wrapping. I don’t even need to look at the label. Inside, I find two copies of Stephen King’sYou Like It Darker, a collection of short stories.
I glance up at my boyfriend. He’s smiling softly at me, and I feel the tears threatening again after such a thoughtful gesture.
“I thought we could try reading together again. Would you like that?” he offers, moving closer.
Back in high school, I had tried joining a book club he and Aurora started, and I even tried reading on my own without getting distracted. Eventually, Steven began lending me his manga because it was easier for me to follow through to the end. Later, when we started dating, he suggested we buy the same book and read it together, exchanging copies afterward with our notes scribbled inside. Thanks to him, I managed to finish three of his favorite novels.
