Archive of Our Own ^beta

Andrea Davenport didn't know quite what to make of the strange and awkward social situation she now found herself in. Her new best friend Molly McGee, who had just missed her 13^th birthday party, was standing in front of her house with that new kid Ollie Chen (who Andrea still totally shipped with Molly!). The two were drenched in sweat and definitely needed to shower, but it was the thought that counted, right? After all, Molly had just handed her a gift... which was also drenched in sweat and very gross smelling, but still, she'd tried her best. Andrea was trying her hardest to be a better person, so even though Molly had just missed her very special birthday party, there had to be an explanation, right?

“Andrea, I'm so sorry I missed your party, and I can totally explain...”

There it was .

“N...no problem, Molly,” Andrea replied with a smile, even taking a step forward despite the awful smell emanating from her friend and Ollie. “I know your family's not in the... best financial situation, did you guys have car trouble, or...?”

“Actually, our car works just fine,” Molly said, looking slightly away with an embarrassed expression. “Do you... remember that climate change video Ms. Lightfoot showed in our class?”

“Yeah, it was kinda scary,” replied Andrea, the vivid visuals of natural disasters and the planet catching fire still replaying in her mind. She hadn't had the visceral reaction that some of her classmates had had to the video, but it did get her to talk to her dad about Davenport's carbon footprint, and he assured her that the company was taking steps to go green, though after the whole incident with 'Davenport's On Demand', she wasn't quite sure how honest he was being with her.

“Well... Ollie and I have been trying to go totally 'carbon zero', and that means no riding in cars! At all!” Molly said, a nervous laugh creeping into her voice.

“And we've been composting too, which... uh, that's why we smell like your pony,” said Ollie, laughing just as nervously. “That and all the sweating.”

“Riiiiiiiiiiight,” said Andrea, blinking her eyes. Clearly, Ms. Lightfoot's video had had quite the impact... and then, Andrea let out a small gasp, remembering someone else who was missing from the party who she'd really wanted to come. “Wait, does that explain Libby too?”

“Oh, Libby's totally given up on humanity, she's stocking an underground bunker to prepare for the inevitable collapse of civilization,” Molly replied, her smile totally incongruous with what she'd just told Andrea. “But she says you're welcome to join her to wait out Armageddon!”

And I thought I had issues... thought Andrea, fighting the urge to make a snarky comment before reminding herself that Molly was just doing what she was doing out of her usual community spirit, and that Libby had a tendency to look on the gloomier side of things, especially after seeing such a scary video. Regardless of their current struggles, it was nothing compared to how Andrea used to treat people just for mispronouncing her name... and that even though they'd missed her party, Molly and Libby were still her best friends and had perfectly good reasons for doing so, regardless of how strange those reasons were. And so, after a few moments of awkward silence, Andrea let out a quiet giggle and walked over to Molly, placing a supportive hand on her sweaty shoulder and doing her best to breathe through her mouth.

“Again, Andrea, I'm really sorry... you've been an awesome friend lately and I should've left earlier to get to your party... and I should've tried to snap Libby out of her prepper mode long enough to come along. It looks like you really wanted everyone to have a great time and I'm sure it was awesome. If there's anything we can do to make it up to you, just say the word... um, as long as it doesn't use any fossil fuels!”

Andrea just smiled and sighed and shook her head... her new BFF had nothing to apologize for.

“Molly, it's okay, I should've called to see if you were having trouble. Maybe I could've sent a pony-drawn carriage for you!”

“Oh my gosh that would've been amazing,” Molly said quickly under her breath.

“And, uh, sorry we smell like poop,” Ollie added, blushing with embarrassment.

“Mmm, tell you what, just name a time when it's convenient and I'll ask daddy if he can throw a makeup party just for you guys!” Andrea said happily, clapping her hands together. “I don't know if I can get the pony back, but all the other stuff we can totally do!”

“You don't have to do that, Andrea, really-” Molly began before Andrea interrupted her.

“Oh, it's the least I can do for my new BFF and her super cute boyfriend!”

“Actually,” said Ollie with a blush, “we're not-”

“Let her cook, Ollie, let her cook!” said Molly excitedly, reaching forward and grabbing Andrea's hands rather overzealously. The blue-haired girl winced, her mind racing with thoughts of 'oh my god she's so sweaty gross gross gross gross gross ewwwww!', but she truly did want to experience her super special 13^th birthday with her new friends Molly and Libby, and the chance to have two parties in one was just the icing on the cake.

“And this time if you need a ride, I'll have a limo swing by to pick you and your friends up, no worries at all!”

“But what about the fossil fuels?” asked Molly.

“Don't worry, I'll have daddy buy a carbon offset. They'll plant a tree in the Amazon rainforest to suck up all the carbon generated by the limo ride!”

“Uh, about that,” said Ollie, raising a finger in the air. “Aren't carbon offsets just a way for rich corporations to generate more pollution while-”

But Molly, sore and exhausted from the bike ride, was ready to take any shortcut she was offered, and slapped her hand tightly over Ollie's mouth, deciding that if she didn't hear how carbon offsets were cheating, they weren't cheating. Ollie grimaced, feeling just as grossed out as Andrea was as Molly's sweaty hand pressed against his skin.

“Yes! That's perfect! Offset the limo ride, we accept!” shouted Molly, desperation creeping into her cheerful voice. “We'll, uh, set up a time and date soon! Enjoy the handcrafted bracelet! Happy birthday, Andrea!”

Molly then slid her hand down from Ollie's face before climbing back onto her bike to start the long ride back home. Ollie just gave Andrea a nervous wave before getting back onto his own bike to leave, and Andrea replied with a wave of her own.

“Okay, byyyyeeeee!” Andrea told them, waving until they disappeared over the hill before gingerly unwrapping the newspaper from Molly's gift and taking out the sweat-soaked bracelet, holding it out in front of her. As gross as it was, it hadn't lost any of its color or quality... it was absolutely beautiful, and despite all the expensive gifts Andrea had received, the bracelet was perhaps the most meaningful of all. Molly had really taken her time to make it, the intricate weaving and carefully selected beads all came together to create a lovely symphony of shades and hues, and even though it sort of smelled like a sweaty pony, Andrea went ahead and put it on her wrist, looking at it with a smile even as a bit of lingering regret over how she'd treated Molly still echoed in her mind. Thank you, Molly McGee...

She then turned and walked back into her house, making her way immediately to her dad to plan that makeup party.

O-O-O

And the very next weekend, the Davenport mansion was once again the site of a birthday party... but this time, a much more intimate one, with Andrea's closest friends: Molly, Libby, Ollie... and even Darryl, who'd decided to tag along. The five were surrounded by birthday decorations as they crowded into the Davenports' home theater together to watch Country Pumpkin 3: Seeds Of Doubt... the movie Molly and Ollie had elected to miss as part of their previous 'carbon zero' zeal.

“Hey, Andrea, thanks for getting your dad to sign onto the new 'Green Brighton' program,” said Molly, as she and Andrea both reached for slices of pizza. “Davenport's effort to go carbon zero will make a huge difference in shrinking Brighton's carbon footprint!”

“Oh, he was totally down for it once I told him how much more business the store will get from environmentally aware zoomers,” Andrea replied, more than happy to lean into Molly now that she smelled of bubblegum shampoo rather than compost. “Although he did seem a bit worried about increasing the store's overhead costs... was muttering something about Bizmart's skylights and record low weekly sales or something, but I didn't really listen.”

“Speaking of overhead costs, this is a pretty sweet party,” said Darryl, kicking his feet up on the top of the table in front of him as he leaned back in the fancy reclining chair to enjoy the movie. “Hope your dad didn't freak out about throwing two birthdays in one week. Also, you gotta tell me how you convinced him. For, uh... reasons.”

Molly glared at Darryl as he gave Andrea a suspicious smirk, but she couldn't stay mad at her brother for long... she was having too much fun with her friends to care about what schemes he might be trying to pull.

“Hope this movie's not too scary for you, Andrea,” said Molly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. “I know you're a fan of horror movies that have romance in them, but this one's just straight up horror... even the two teens making out get interrupted when the scarecrow shows up and kills them.”

“I've gotta say, as far as horror goes, this movie's a bit on the dull side,” said Libby. “I mean, what's the scarecrow's motivation? What deep seeded psychological distress compels him to consume the flesh of the living?”

“They hollowed him out and stuck his head on a straw body,” said Ollie, gesturing toward the screen.

“Yes, but what's the symbolism?” Libby replied.

“OHMYGOD!!!!” Andrea shrieked, watching as the scarecrow began hollowing out the skull of one of his victims, a scene that also made Molly scream and jump from her seat in terror.

“Nice practical effects though,” Libby commented with a smile, leaning in as the gory scene continued to play out on screen.

“Hey, Andrea, where's your phone?” asked Molly, once she'd calmed down enough from watching the pumpkin-headed scarecrow's latest brutal murder. “I saw the video from your last birthday party, you were streaming pretty much the whole time.”

“Yeah, I figured my Fandreas should have a chance to share in my super sweet 13 with me,” said Andrea. “But this party's special... it's just me and my BFFs hanging out and having fun together. I can leave the phone in my pocket for this one.”

Andrea's friends all looked at her, varying degrees of gratitude and happiness on their faces. Even Darryl, who'd only come for the food and the chance to hang out in a super sweet mansion (and maybe also because of the secret crush he'd started to develop on Andrea that he'd have to kill Molly if she ever found out about even though she already sort of knew), seemed slightly touched by Andrea's words... at least touched enough to take his eyes off the screen and stop slurping from the soda in his hand.

“Thanks, Andrea,” said Molly, smiling warmly. “It really means a lot that you'd throw a second party just for us.”

“Yeah... sorry I got so caught up in my doomerism that I completely forgot about your birthday party,” Libby replied, blushing with embarrassment as she looked over at Andrea. “It was kind of you to invite me.”

“After the way I treated you for years, it was the absolute least I could do, Libby,” Andrea said, reaching over and taking Libby's hand in hers. “And the next time that you're scared enough to hide in an underground bunker, maybe call me first? I'm not the best at reassuring people, but at the very least I'll be there if you need to talk.”

“And we'll be there for you too, Andrea,” said Molly. “Because that's what friends do!”

“So, uh, are we friends too?” asked Darryl, leaning over. “Because your house is awesome and I'd love to play Soldiers Of Duty on your sweet home theater screen sometime.”

“Darryl!” snapped Molly, shooting her little brother a glare.

“Mmmm, it's okay, that sounds fun! By the way, Molly tells me you're good at computer hacking...? I just started programming but maybe you could give me some pointers sometime, hmm?” said Andrea, giggling at Darryl and causing him to blush slightly.

“Uh.... yeah... computers... and stuff,” Darryl replied, before Molly put her hands on the sides of his head and gently turned him back in the direction of the screen.

And the five continued to watch the movie together, laughing and joking and sometimes screaming, but having a great time even if that big home theater projector was using a lot of electricity. Andrea, Molly, and Libby all had their strange quirks, but somehow they'd all come together to be best friends, and though none of them knew it just yet, they'd all come to need each other more than any of them would know. Next up was karaoke, and as one of the Davenports' butlers was setting up the necessary equipment, the five kids all sat down and enjoyed each other's company, enjoying all the delicious snacks they could eat and getting to know each other better than before.

“I'm so glad I did this second party,” said Andrea. “The first one was fun, but I've realized something since I decided to change things and open myself up... I really enjoy having close friends, not just Fandreas, but you guys in particular. I don't care how you pronounce my name or whether you have lots of followers. You're really nice and fun to spend time with, and... I'm glad you accepted me as a friend.”

“...I still feel bad about missing your first party though,” said Molly, looking slightly guilty. “I could tell you really missed us.”

“I did, but I knew you had your reasons,” replied Andrea.

“You trusted us,” said Libby, smiling and looking into Andrea's eyes.

“...just like you two trusted me,” Andrea replied, reaching over and taking their hands.

As Andrea held their hands, Molly and Libby both looked at each other, and then at Ollie. They did trust Andrea now, to be a kind and sweet friend who'd never hurt them like she'd done before... and if they could trust her with that, maybe they could trust her with something else too. They were all thinking the same thing.

Maybe I should tell her about Scratch...? thought Molly, blinking as she imagined how Andrea might react.

Should she know about ghosts? It really threw me for a loop when I learned that ghosts were real... thought Libby, pondering the question more deeply.

I'm surprised Molly hasn't told her already, thought Ollie. After all, she doesn't come from a family of ghost hunters like I do...

But after a few moments of thinking, the three silently agreed that Andrea wasn't quite ready to know... and the thought hadn't even crossed Darryl's mind, as he was finishing off the last of the pizza and wondering how he might endear himself further to Andrea.

She just turned 13... she's only like fifteen months older than me! That's not that weird, right?

Darryl looked over at the three girls as they all shared a group hug together, rolling his eyes at the display of affection even as he was slightly jealous that Andrea wasn't hugging him like that.

“Yeah, girls do that sometimes,” said Ollie, smirking at Darryl. “So, you play Soldiers Of Duty too? I'm level 23 online!”

“Psssshhh, level 23? Molly told me you suck, but even I didn't think you sucked that bad. You're lookin' at a level 74. Prestige Level 74, not regular level, so technically that's 174.”

“...Molly told you I suck at Soldiers Of Duty?” said Ollie, suddenly looking quite worried and upset.

“I mean, she didn't use the word 'suck', she just said she beat you a couple times.”

“I let her win! To be nice!” Ollie exclaimed, his eyes darting back and forth.

And while Darryl laughed at Ollie, enjoying messing with him while also appreciating how happy he made Molly, the three girls parted from their hug, holding each other's hands as they did so.

“You two are the best,” said Andrea, tightening her grip on their hands.

“Happy birthday, Andrea,” Molly replied, her eyes briefly glancing at Andrea's wrists, one of which held the bracelet she'd made for her the previous week, and one of which held the new bracelet Molly had just made and given to her that day. “I'm surprised you're still wearing the sweaty one!”

“Mmm, a little bit of perfume took the smell right out!” Andrea replied. “And besides, it's beautiful... I wouldn't give it up for anything.”

Andrea then picked up Libby's birthday present... The Turtle Riders Of Knell, the same copy that Libby had intended to give to her father. Andrea wasn't a fan of fantasy novels, not even ones about unicorns and ponies... but she was absolutely going to start reading this one the moment the party was over.

“And thank you, Libby... I can't believe your dad didn't want to read this, the cover looks so cool!”

Libby had already told Molly and Andrea how the meeting with her father had gone... and the both of them had been there to comfort her as she cried into their shoulders. The moment Libby started to look sad again, Andrea's hand found her cheek, and the blue-haired girl looked warmly into her new friend's eyes.

“It's like I told you before... it's not that he doesn't want you, it's that the only person he'll ever want is himself. His loss. I'm so glad to have you as a friend, Libby.”

“Thanks, Andrea,” Libby replied, smiling and sniffling. “If you're not into fantasy novels, you don't have to read-”

“I will read this book cover to cover,” Andrea replied, looking sincerely into Libby's eyes. “I promise.”

“Wait until you get to the part where Alaina rides Captain Snapper into the Battle of-” Molly began excitedly, before Ollie gently but firmly covered up her mouth from behind.

“Molly, no spoilers!” said Ollie, smiling and sliding his hand back down.

“Oh, right...” Molly replied with a blush. “Hey, isn't it karaoke time?”

“Totally, let's get our karaoke on!” shouted Andrea, laughing as she and the others ran over to the karaoke machine to pick out the first song. “Remember, everybody has to sing, even you, Libby!”

“It's okay, Libby, you don't have to sing if you don't want to,” Molly reassured her.

“No, it's okay, I'll sing! Um, I'll just apologize in advance for any harsh notes...” Libby said, smiling nervously.

“And no Davenport's songs,” said Darryl, scrolling through the songs to make sure none of the company jingles had infiltrated the setlist.

“Don't worry, I'm not streaming so I don't have to promote the company,” Andrea replied. “...and Molly told me you liked last year's Christmas jingle.”

“What? No way! I... MOLLY!”

I didn't tell Andrea you liked HER, silly, just her jingle, Molly thought, giving her brother a smirk.

The five friends spent much of the rest of the day doing karaoke, and all the other problems they were facing didn't seem to matter anymore. Molly and Ollie didn't worry about going carbon zero (or about how they were going to keep Ollie's family from finding out about Scratch), Libby didn't worry about the impending apocalypse or her absent dad, Darryl didn't care if Andrea noticed him blushing during her performances, and Andrea paid no mind to her father's increased fretting over the business... for one wonderful day, the five young friends just had an amazing time, and Andrea realized that she liked this small, intimate party far more than the expensive Sweet 13 her parents had thrown for her the previous week.

There was something about having BFFs that made all the other worries of life go away... and while there were still things out there to worry about, taking one's mind off of those things for even just a day meant more than anything in the world.