A shift in fate | Mattheo Riddle

Song: It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)- The 1975

The rest of the week had been a whirlwind of excitement, chaos, and—of course—a lot of teasing. While I had failed miserably in making Mattheo cave in first, I was determined not to give up. His ego was already inflated enough as it was, and I wasn't going to let him win this bet without a fight. It was my birthday on Friday, and I wasn't going to let anything ruin it—especially not a bet.

And so, the fated Friday finally arrived. The day of both my birthday and the surprise party that Lorenzo and the gang had been planning all week..

I was still half-asleep, very much enjoying the peace of my cozy bed, when suddenly—

"WAKE UP, BIRTHDAY GIRL!"

I nearly ascended straight to heaven from pure shock.

There was Jane. Hovering above me like an overly excited golden retriever in human form, practically vibrating with joy.

"Happy fucking birthday, bitch!" she squealed, aggressively hugging me.

"Jesus Christ, Jane—" I groaned, laughing sleepily as I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

She pulled back, already shoving a fancy-looking gift bag in my face. It was heavy. And definitely not from the local discount shop.

"Here. Open this first!" she grinned.

I blinked at it. "... Jane, what the hell did you do?"

"Just open it!"

I carefully pulled the tissue paper away — only to be met with something that made my jaw practically hit the floor.

A silver necklace. Delicate. Elegant. And expensive as fuck.

"Jane—" I gawked at her. "Are you insane? This is—this is like real jewelry. Like, real money jewelry."

She flipped her hair like it was nothing. "Duh. You deserve real money jewelry."

"I—I can't accept this—"

"Shut the fuck up and put it on before I cry," she deadpanned.

I laughed helplessly, feeling that warm little lump in my throat because, "You're actually crazy, this is way too much!"

"And you're actually worth it," she shot back, crossing her arms like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I clasped the necklace on with a huge smile, admiring it in the mirror.

"This is... wow. Thank you, seriously."

"Don't get all sappy on me now," Jane teased. "Because—"

Her grin turned absolutely evil. "There's one more thing."

Immediately, I got nervous. "Oh god."

She dove back into the bag — and emerged holding... a box. A small. Rectangular. Box.

With way too familiar branding.

"No," I gasped, already laughing. "Jane—don't you fucking dare—"

She practically threw the box of condoms into my lap.

"Consider it phase two of your gift," she announced proudly.

I stared down at the box in my lap like it was an actual bomb.

"You didn't," I whispered, horrified.

"Oh, I absolutely did," Jane grinned like the devil himself.