DIANA WOKE UP TO JESSE JUMPING ON HER BED AND FLASH POURING ICE WATER ALL OVER HER. JUST ANOTHER BIRTHDAY IN THE THOMPSON RESIDENCE. It took her a few minutes to realize that it was her birthday, her mind still stuck on the fact that she was soaking wet and freezing. When she finally came back to reality, she chased the two siblings around the apartment, cursing and throwing random things they had left around the house.

Rosie stopped her before she could throw a pot.

"Murderers don't get birthday breakfasts," she said, taking the pot and setting it on the counter, guiding Diana towards her seat.

Diana smiled when she saw the three cinnamon rolls sitting in front of her, five candles stuck in each. They did this every year, but it never stopped being fun.

"Happy birthday to you..." Jesse started to sing, Flash and Rosie joining in. Diana laughed as Flash shook her shoulders, shouting the song in her ear.

"Make a wish," Rosie sang, pulling out her phone and taking a picture of her three kids who were smiling at the candles.

Diana took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She usually just blew out the candles and came up with her wish afterwards. However, something stopped her this time and she really thought about what she wanted.

She blew out the candles, grinning as the flames extinguished in one go. That never happened.

Flash handed her a fork and winked, sitting next to her with a bowl of cereal. She broke off a piece of the cinnamon roll, smiling at the taste of the sweet frosting. She broke off another piece and held out her fork to Flash who snuck the piece quickly, not wanting his sister or mother to see.

"Gwen texted me last night, she was still baking," he said as Diana walked towards the bathroom, still soaking wet from the ice water he had dumped on her.

She grinned excitedly. She had a sweet tooth and the thought of her friend bringing baked goods to school was enough to get her moving faster into the bathroom, wanting to leave the apartment as early as she could.

She showered quickly, opening the door to find Jesse standing in front with her makeup bag, begging Diana to let her do her hair and makeup.

Jesse was everything Diana had wished she had been. The younger girl was much more knowledgeable when it came to fashion and makeup and things of the like. She was much more confident, more sociable, easy to talk to.

"Of course," she said, opening the door to let the girl in, "You want to help me pick out an outfit too?"

By the younger girl's reaction, one would think Diana told her she won the lottery. Diana was all but dragged into her room, forced to sit on her bed—Flash had replaced the sheets while she had been showering—watching as Jesse rummaged through her closet, muttering comments as she searched.

Finally, after Flash knocked on her door and shouted for them to hurry up, Jesse settled on one of Diana's various striped shirts and one of the large coats that Rosie had gotten her for her last birthday.

"Light green jeans?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jesse just smiled and motioned for her to get dressed so she could be dragged back to the bathroom.

When they passed Flash on the way there, he groaned and dropped his head onto the floor. "Why?" he whined.

"Shush," Jesse snapped, pushing Diana into the bathroom, "Go text Gwen."

He waved his phone, displaying his text messages. "I have been for the past three hours."

Diana laughed, but was quickly shushed by Jesse who immediately got to work, opening her makeup bag and sitting the girl down on top of the counter. Diana wasn't quite aware of what was happening, just doing whatever the younger girl told her to do.

"You look terrified," Jesse giggled, letting Diana apply her own lipstick.

"I am," the older girl said, sounding odd as she applied the lipstick, "I wish I understood how any of this worked."

"I can teach you," Jesse said, "There's also YouTube. First thing you need is makeup to start with." She motioned to Diana's designated drawers that were starved for makeup.

"I wouldn't know what to get," she argued, "Help."

Jesse's expression was something she couldn't read. She seemed to be excited, but was trying to hide it, like she had a secret she couldn't tell. Diana simply smiled, hoping that whatever Jesse was planning wasn't going to backfire.

The two jumped when there was a loud knock. "Girls! Gwen stopped talking to me, so it's time to go!"

º º º º º

If the ambush at home was something shocking, it was nothing compared to the one she received at school.

The second she stepped into her E period classroom, just before the bell, she was immediately jumped by Gwen who wrapped her legs around her waist, squealing loudly. She nearly toppled over, but was caught by Harry who carried her bridal style, knocking Gwen off, spinning her around.

"Put me down!" Diana shrieked, her arms thrown around his neck, eyes shut tight.

"Mr. Osborn!" a voice called sharply, "Put Ms. Smith down and take your seat. You too, Ms. Stacy."

Harry sighed and dropped Diana onto the ground, steadying her as she shakily made her way to her table.

Gwen rushed over to her bag and thrust a venti Starbucks coffee into Diana's hands. "I have fifteen containers, each with something different. This is the first. Have fun." Then she rushed back to her seat, opening her notebook.

Diana laughed, sitting down, casting a smile to her teacher that she hoped looked apologetic. She just received a small smile and a quiet "happy birthday" before class returned back to normal.

When they were dismissed to work on the group projects they were assigned, all the three talked about were what Diana's plans were for her birthday and why Gwen and Flash were texting for three hours that morning, but Harry didn't so much as get a Snapchat for streaks.

"I feel replaced," Harry said, a hand over his heart.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Trust me. Flash isn't taking your place. It would be a conflict of interest."

Diana and Harry shared a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you three working?"

They all looked up to see their teacher pointing to their empty note sheet. Diana and Gwen looked at each other, minds empty.

Harry flashed a smile. "We're still arguing about what to start with. Gwen wants to do something on police brutality, I want to talk about business in relation to science, and Diana wants to do something on nursing."

It was a complete lie and it wasn't well thought out, but it was enough to convince their teacher to let them carry on with a reminder to focus and pick something soon.

The two girls turned to look at Harry, jaws dropped. He flashed another smile, winking. "Like I said, I'm good."

º º º º º

When classed ended, the three met up with Flash who had sprinted from his class to walk with them to their table.

"You gonna actually sit with us today?" Gwen asked, linking her arm with Diana.

Flash rolled his eyes and tapped her chin. "I dunno...Diana?"

"Please, do," she said, nodding furiously. Flash hadn't sat at their table in months.

He nodded. "It's your lucky day, Stacy, I will sit with you."

Gwen scoffed. "I didn't ask for me, I asked for Harry."

Diana laughed as she listened to the three of them argue, Harry trying to kiss Flash at one point before being shoved away by Gwen who told him to kiss Diana and kiss Flash the next week on his birthday. Diana immediately sprinted away, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

She waited for her friends and they all sat down together, Gwen handing two containers, one with two cupcakes and the other with three cookies.

"I love snickerdoodles," Diana gasped, biting into one of the cookies.

Gwen flipped her hair back. "I know."

Flash made a face. "I told you."

"Shut up."

Just then, a small wrapped package was placed in front of Diana and she turned to see someone sit on her left.

"Happy birthday," he greeted, giving her one of his boyish smiles that she had grown so fond of over the months.

She picked up the small package, shaking her head. "You had one job, Parker."

He laughed, throwing his head back; she had never seen him do that. "I know, I know, but I saw it and I couldn't resist. This isn't your present though, not all of it at least."

"What does that mean?" Flash asked.

Diana turned to look at him, Peter immediately looking down at his hands. He and Flash had an odd relationship by that point, he wasn't a bully, but he wasn't a friend either. They were still at odds, but it seemed academic decathlon forced them to settle their differences to some degree.

At everyone's looks, he shrugged. "I'm just asking, it's not like I told him to leave. You know, never mind." After a few beats, he sighed and added, "Sorry, Parker."

"It's cool," Peter mumbled. When Diana turned back to him, he pulled out his phone, whispering, "I'll text you about it, put in your number."

She typed it in quickly, surprised that she hadn't given it to him sooner. "What's your plan?"

He shook his head, giving her another one of his shy smiles. "It's a secret. I'll see you later. Happy birthday."

"Bye, Peter," she whispered, watching as he reached over to return Harry's fist bump and smile at Gwen.

He nodded to Flash before placing a hand on Diana's shoulder. "Bye." He lingered for a moment before pulling away, walking over to Ned who was watching with wide eyes, clearly trying to contain him comments until his friend reached their table.

The second Peter was out of earshot, Gwen rounded on Diana, palms flat on the table. "Are you dating Peter Parker?"

Diana shook her head, feeling her cheeks start to warm. "No, we're not dating, I'm not—I mean, he doesn't—"

Gwen gasped, grinning at everyone at the table. "You like him!"

She shook her head wildly, but stopped when she felt Flash touch her arm. "Dina, it's cool if you do."

She sighed and shrugged. "I dunno, maybe I do? I dunno..."

Gwen squealed and Harry laughed, running over to her side of the table. "Open the present, what did he get you?"

She looked down at the brown package, having completely forgotten of its existence. It was rectangular, taped at the bottom. She peeled away the tape, raising her eyebrows as she recognized the familiar light beige of a jewelry box.

"Holy shit..." Gwen whispered, walking over to the other side as well, peering over Flash's shoulder.

Diana's hands shook as she carefully lifted the lid. Inside was a necklace with various circular objects dangling from some of the chain's links. They were different colors and one had a ring around it. It took her a few moments to understand what it was.

Then she noticed that there were nine of them.

"He didn't!" she shouted, clasping a hand over her mouth as her voice echoed throughout the room, everyone going quiet.

She heard a laugh and looked up to see Peter leaning back, his eyes closed as he laughed so hard he was completely silent.

She pointed to the necklace, too shocked to care that everyone was watching. "You didn't! So you admit it!"

He doubled over, shaking his head. He tried to respond, but was too breathless, opting to just drop his head on his table, shoulders shaking.

"What is it?" Flash asked, still trying to piece together why Diana was so worked up.

She lifted the necklace, practically shoving it in his face. "It's the solar system. With Pluto."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 06.20.17 )

That's the end of the birthday celebration part one. I was going to have it go until the end of the day, but I liked the end of this so I'm keeping it.

Let it be known, I don't actually pay attention to her class schedule in this fic, I might pay more attention next part when we see Peter's schedule, but like...not this part, so let's just ignore the inconsistencies.

I just wanted this chapter and the next to be happy and fun, you know? Just pure happiness before it all comes crashing down. Not directly after, that's happy too, but the chapter directly after that. So cherish this.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!