t.r.l

The apartment was suspiciously empty, that should have been Y/N's first clue.

Usually, by six in the evening, the Smosh office group chat was exploding with memes, Amanda was sending voice notes nobody listened to until three hours later, and someone was trying to convince everyone to go get tacos.

Today?

Nothing.

Not a single text.

Y/N sat cross-legged on her couch, scrolling through her phone with a growing sense of confusion. Her birthday had technically started twelve hours ago, and while she'd gotten plenty of messages online, nobody from the cast had asked to hang out.

Not even Spencer, which felt weird. Ever since everything with Levi, Spencer had become a constant presence. He never pushed, never forced conversations, but somehow always seemed to know when she needed company. Spencer never tried to solve any of it.

He just sat beside her, played Mario Kart, and sent dumb TikToks, which somehow helped more. So the complete radio silence today was strange. He’d insisted he had to go into work that morning for some messed up footage he needed to save, and you let him, with a kiss goodbye and a promise of getting dinner when he was done. And yet…

Her phone buzzed suddenly with a text from Spencer.

Spencer: Need you to trust me.

Y/N narrowed her eyes.

Y/N: That's never a good start.

Three dots appeared.

Spencer: Put on shoes.

Y/N: Spencer.

Spencer: Shoes.

Y/N: Are you kidnapping me?

Spencer: Legally? No.

That did not answer the question.

Ten minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. When she opened it, Spencer stood there with his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets.

He looked nervous, which immediately concerned her. Spencer Agnew was many things. Chaotic, competitive, capable of turning any conversation into a bit. But nervous wasn't one of them. And knocking was strange for him, considering he lived there too.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"What's happening?"

"Can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because then it'd ruin it."

Y/N crossed her arms. "You know I'm suspicious of surprises."

His expression softened slightly. "I know." The words carried more weight than they should have, because he did know. Levi had made surprises complicated and trust had become difficult. Spencer knew that better than anyone, which was why his next words made her chest ache.

"If at any point you want to leave, we leave. Okay?"

Y/N nodded. "Okay."

His smile appeared immediately. "There she is."

♡‧₊˚⋅♡‧₊˚⋅♡

Twenty minutes later, Spencer parked outside a small arcade on the edge of town. Y/N looked at the building, then at Spencer, then back at the building. "An arcade?"

"Yes."

"That's your big surprise?"

"Wow." He looked offended. "Way to diminish months of planning."

"Months?"

"Months."

Before she could question that, Spencer hopped out of the car and practically sprinted for the entrance. "Come on!" The second Y/N stepped inside, the lights flickered. A chorus of voices exploded around her. "SURPRISE!"

Y/N nearly jumped out of her skin. The entire cast stood scattered around the arcade.

Amanda was holding a baby with a birthday hat, Angela was waving both arms, and Shayne was somehow already losing at air hockey, based on his expression. Courtney was recording her reaction and Ian looked mildly concerned she'd suffered cardiac arrest. Near the table, Alex was clapping merrily with the cheers and surprises, grinning broadly at you.

"OH MY GOD."

Everyone immediately rushed her. Hugs, voices, laughter. The overwhelming warmth of people who cared. For a moment, Y/N could only stand there, because six months ago she'd been wondering if she was too much. Too emotional. Too difficult. Too damaged after everything with Levi.

And now? An entire room full of people had shown up just to celebrate her existence. When she finally spotted Spencer again, he was lingering near the back, watching. Not trying to take credit, not making a scene, just making sure she was smiling.

The realisation hit all at once. He'd organized this, every bit of it. The games, the people, the decorations. The ridiculous cake shaped like a giant Nintendo controller sitting on a nearby table.

Months. He'd actually meant months.

Y/N slipped away from the crowd and walked over. Spencer immediately looked guilty, which was suspicious. "What did you do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You planned all of this."

"No evidence."

"Spencer."

"Allegedly." She laughed and his shoulders visibly relaxed at the sound like he'd been waiting for it. "Thank you." For once, Spencer didn't make a joke. His gaze dropped for a moment. Then he looked back at her. "You deserved a good birthday."

The simplicity of it nearly undid her. After Levi, birthdays had become another thing she'd been dreading. They were just another reminder of getting older, of lost time, of hurt. Spencer had somehow transformed it into something safe. Something hers again.

"You didn't have to do all this."

"I know."

Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Spencer froze.

"Uh."

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Slowly, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. The hug lasted longer than either of them expected. Long enough for the noise of the arcade to fade, long enough for Y/N to realize she wasn't thinking about Levi at all, for the first time in a very long time.

When they finally pulled apart, Spencer cleared his throat. "So."

"So?"

"I spent three hundred dollars bribing people to keep this secret."

Y/N blinked. "What?"

"Ian is surprisingly expensive."

Across the room, Ian immediately shouted, "I HEARD THAT."

The entire arcade erupted into laughter, and for the rest of the night, every time Y/N looked across the room and caught Spencer watching to make sure she was still smiling, she realized something important.

Levi had taught her what it felt like to be loved conditionally, to earn affection, to worry about losing it. Spencer showed up without asking for anything. Without expecting anything, just because he cared.

As she blew out the candles later that night, surrounded by people who loved her, Spencer standing closest to her side, her boyfriend– no, her fiance, she made a wish she didn't dare say out loud.

That maybe this was the beginning of something better.

➽───────────────❥

hi guys it's my birthday! have this blurb i literally wrote in about twelve minutes to celebrate with me. i did not proofread and i will not be editing it so if it sucks, whoops.