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"𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙋𝙔 𝘽𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙃𝘿𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙊 𝙈𝙀,
𝙀𝙃?"

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"𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄!" Missy and Nas squealed in harmony as they rushed over to their brunette friend who had just passed the school gates. As they got to her, they immediately enveloped her in a group hug and squealed even more excitedly, earning a few strange looks from the students around them.

Due to the fact that Kevin was still in hospital and Jordan was in foster care, it was only Mollie and Cory at home, which meant that their birthday wasn't quite the happy occasion that it normally was. But now, stood sandwiched between her two best friends in a tight hug, she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"Thanks, girls." She grinned as they pulled away from the hug, before Missy quickly delved into her bag. Pulling out a package from her bag that was wrapped in bright pink wrapping paper and copious amounts of sellotape, the blonde was practically bursting with excitement as she thrust it towards a surprised looking Mollie.

"Open it, then!"

"It's from both of us, by the way." Nas clarified, due to the fact that the wrapping practically screamed Missy Booth.

Mollie smiled sheepishly for a moment before eagerly ripping open the wrapping paper and pulling out the present inside, which she quickly saw was a glittering red mini dress.

"It's beautiful, I love it!" She smiled, holding it up against her body for a moment before pulling the two girls back in for a hug of gratitude. "Thank you."

"That's not even the best part!" Nas smiled, nudging Missy to tell her the rest.

"Oh right, yeah! Nas and I got ourselves matching ones, so we'll be able to wear them tonight."

"That's so cute! We'll look like Ackley's newest girl band or something." Mollie laughed excitedly at the image in her head. "By the way, are you sure it's okay for us to have our party at yours, Miss?"

"Yeah, of course it's okay. If there's one thing us Booths know how to do, its how to throw a party!" Missy replied theatrically. "Aaron's got his decks out, and I'm gonna dig out all of that decor from our engagement party. Its gonna look amazing, trust me!"

"Can't wait! Thank you, Miss. Plus, Stew said he's happy to supply some booze for us free of charge as long as no one dobs him in. Guess there's some perks of having an uncle who runs an offie." Mollie smirked, though in reality it took quite a lot of persuading due to her uncle's reluctance to supply alcohol to underage kids. But Mollie assured him no one would find out, and not to mention pulled the ever-so-classic 'favourite (and only) niece card' to win him over.

The three girls continued to chatter away excitedly about the party as they walked into school, but as her two friends made their way to the hub, Mollie broke away to grab something from her locker.

As she looked in her locker, she was taken by complete surprise by a sudden hand on her waist that spun her around, before a beautiful bunch of flowers was pushed towards her face. Of course she had a sneaking suspicion as to who it was, but that was only confirmed when she looked above the flowers to see Riz with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Happy Birthday, beautiful." He said to her, leaning down to place a kiss on her forehead.

Grinning, she took the flowers with one hand and wrapped the other around his neck. "Thank you, Riz. They're beautiful." She smiled, reaching up to peck his lips sweetly.

"Glad you think so. I actually picked them ones out especially because they're the same colour as your costume from the school play." He spoke with a smile, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head sheepishly while his cheeks began to heat up. "That's when I first realised I loved you."

"You're a right soppy git, you know that?" Mollie chuckled teasingly, though she was quick to reconnect their lips in another sweet kiss. As they pulled away from each other, a nearby voice surprised them.

"Happy Birthday, Mollie." Alya smiled politely at the brunette who was cuddled up to her brother. "Just so you know, I helped him pick out those flowers."

"That's not true." Riz replied, though his defensiveness was rather unconvincing and Mollie could see right through it.

With a chuckle, she looked between them with a smile. "Well, whoever it was, they're beautiful and I love them. So thank you."

Alya reciprocated the smile before turning walk away, but was stopped in her tracks as Mollie called her name.

"Alya, I almost forgot. Cory and I are having a party tonight at Missy's, you're more than welcome to come along. I'd love to have you there."

Alya's smile faltered slightly. "I don't know...it's not really my type of thing."

"That's fine." Mollie shrugged in understanding, fully aware from the moment of asking that it was a bit of a longshot. "Just know that if you change your mind, the offer's still there."

Alya nodded in appreciation before bidding goodbye to the couple and walking away. Once she was gone, Riz pulled Mollie back so that she was facing him and gave her a bemused smile.

"Have I been transported to an alternate universe or something? I might be mistaken but it seemed like you two were actually getting along for once." He said, before playfully shuddering.

Mollie chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"No, no, not at all." Riz was quick to shake his head. "Just never thought I'd see the day, is all."

"This is Ackley Bridge, remember? Stranger things have happened."

"You're not wrong." Riz chuckled in agreement, kissing Mollie quickly. "Anyway, you looking forward to tonight?"

"'Course. Not everyday you can get drunk and be centre of attention all night." Mollie smirked with a playful flip of her hair, partly joking but partly serious.

"Well, as long as I can steal you away for at least one dance, that's all I'll ask for." Riz replied, causing Mollie to bit down on her lip in thought.

"Dunno, babe, you might have to get in line. My schedule is already full of guys and girls that are just desperate to dance with me." She sighed dramatically, before cracking a smile. "S'pose I might be able to fit you in, though."

Riz's smile was instantly restored, and he responded simply by leaning forwards to reconnect their lips in a soft kiss. But just as quickly as their lips connected, they were pulled apart by a stern, deep voice from beside them.

"No loitering in the hallways, you two. And none of that carry-on either, unless you want to end up in detention. You're Year 12 now, start acting like it." Mr Shah snapped, throwing them a look that could certainly kill.

"Come on, Sir. Let me off, would ya? Its my birthday." Mollie said, holding up the flowers as if they were some kind of evidence and sticking out her bottom lip to top it off.

"Funnily enough, I don't care." Mr Shah replied with a sarcastic smile, before turning around and beginning to make his way down the corridor. "Now get to class, the both of you."

"Well, dunno who shat in his cornflakes this morning." Mollie huffed, rolling her eyes and pulling an mocking face as the teacher disappeared down the hallway. When she turned back around to Riz, the sour face was wiped away instantly and replaced by a smile as she noticed he had his arm held out.

"M'lady, your carriage awaits." Riz grinned, trying but failing miserably to put on a more sophisticated accent.

"Damn, wish I could get this treatment every day." Mollie muttered, though she bit back a smile as she interlocked her arm with Riz's. The day just seemed to be getting better and better.

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𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐀𝐒 she slipped a hair pin into her intricate half-up-half-down hairstyle, when a sudden knock on the front door jolted her. Sighing at the interruption, she paused her getting-ready playlist that was blasting from her phone and called out into the hallway.

"Cory, can you get that? I'm still getting ready."

"Get it yourself. I'm just getting out of the shower." His response was just about audible amongst the sound of running water, causing Mollie to let out a huff as well as a few choice words to describe him under her breath.

She heaved herself up and padded down the stairs, a slight expression of irritation at the interruption. But that soon faded when she opened the door and was met with a surprise.

"Delivery for Wilson." The person said, feigning a deeper voice to try and disguise their identity. But, breaking out into a smile as he saw Mollie, Riz couldn't keep up the act.

"What's all this?" Mollie smiled, though a look of slight confusion rested on her face as she looked between Riz and the pizza box in his hands. But as it dawned on her, a sheepish smile took over her face. "Aw, it's like the first time we met. When I delivered the pizza to your house."

"You got it." Riz beamed as she realised what his gesture meant. "And I got proper flustered because I'd never seen a delivery worker as fit as you before."

"I remember." Mollie smirked as she thought back to the encounter, meanwhile Riz's cheeks flushed and he rolled his eyes in embarrassment. "S'alright babe, I thought it were dead cute. Little did I know that one day you'd be my boyfriend."

Riz grinned, before nodding to the corridor behind Mollie. "Look, this is cute an' all but can I come in now? Pizza's getting cold."

Mollie stood back, letting him in and they made their way to the kitchen. Riz placed the pizza box down on the counter, before leaning back against it.

"Dunno what you're waiting for, I'm bloody starving." Mollie chuckled before opening up to box and grabbing a slice. "You know, just when I thought I'd found the perfect man and somehow you manage to be even more perfect by bringing me pizza. I really appreciate you, you know that?"

"I know, and I appreciate you, too. I just wanted to celebrate you and show you how special you are to me." He shrugged sheepishly.

"Fuckin' hell, I love you." Mollie couldn't stop herself from leaning forward with a smile and placing her lips against his in a sweet kiss. But just as she leaned closer to deepen the kiss, the sound of footsteps could be heard and was quickly accompanied by an over-dramatic retching sound.

"Do you mind?" Cory said in disgust as he entered the kitchen, fully dressed and drying his wet hair with a towel. While he was getting alot more used to the couple by the day, he still found their displays of affection nothing short of sickening. He was her brother, and that reaction was only natural after all.

But as his eyes moved from the couple to the counter beside them, his attention was just as quickly shifted away from them. "Ooh, pizza."

"Oi! Hands off!" Mollie hissed at him, but it was too late as he'd already discarded the towel by the washing machine and emerged towards the pizza. At the sound of her voice, he looked back at her with wide, guilty eyes.

"Oops?" He shrugged amongst a mouthful of pizza, earning a glare from Mollie. "Oh, lay off. It's my birthday, too."

"I hate when you're right." Mollie muttered, earning a triumphant smile from Cory as Riz just laughed on. With a sigh, she brushed it off and started towards the door as she remembered that there were more important things to worry about. "Anyway, I'm going to quickly finish getting ready, and then we can get this party started!"

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃. Inside was a sea of familiar faces, dressed to the nines and dancing to the music. The air was thick with excitement and anticipation over where the night would end, but so too with the overpowering scents of alcopops and over-applied perfume.

Mollie entered the party with her hand firmly intertwined with Riz's, but the couple were quickly pulled apart as she was yanked across the room by Missy and Nas. As promised, the two girls were wearing their matching dresses and grinned like Cheshire cats as they spotted Mollie.

"Here she is! The birthday girl, in all her sexy glory!" Missy hailed, earning a chorus of cheers and squeals from the girls around her.

"Missy, are you drunk already?" Mollie smirked, though she had a pretty strong suspicion of the answer to that question already.

"Pfft, not at all!" Missy responded dismissively, though her giddy tone gave the opposite answer. Spotting her two best friends exchange an amused glance, Missy rolled her eyes and quickly shoved her cup towards Mollie's chest, almost spilling the contents of it in her excitement. "Here, you need to catch up with us!"

Mollie caved in and took the glass of luminous blue alcohol, figuring it was probably best to drink it rather than question the contents of it. As soon as the liquid touched her lips, she could tell that whoever had mixed it had gone heavy on the vodka, but she used the cheers of her friends around her to power her through the rest of the bevarage no matter how repulsive it tasted.

"Now let's dance!" Missy squealed, grabbing the hands of her two best friends and beginning to sway to the music. Their dresses glittered as the flashing lights bounced off them while they moved in time with the music, catching eyes from every corner of the crowded room.

After a few songs and a few more drinks, the front door swung open and even Mollie's slightly blurred vision couldn't mistake the fact that Sam and Candace Murgatroyd had just arrived.

"Did you invite the Murgatroyd's?" Chloe's face contorted in confusion as she looked up at Mollie.

The brunette simply shook her head with a shrug until her eyes landed on Nas who was looking back at her, a slightly nervous smile on her face due to the fact that she hadn't technically asked for permission to invite Sam to the party.

As the realisation dawned on her, Mollie's confusion disappeared and she sent Nas a knowing smirk. With that, Nas grinned and smoothed down her dress. "I'm just gonna nip to the toilet. I'll see you girls in a bit, okay?"

"Nas is getting some tonight!" Missy beamed, her voice slightly too loud to almost let the secret slip. Though she was hushing the blonde, Mollie still couldn't help but smile in excitement for her best friend. "Look at us three, all loved up!"

"Who would've thought? We've gone soft!" Mollie giggled giddily, not only from the buzz of the alcohol that was already kicking in but so too from the hopeless romantic within her.

"Now we can finally go on that triple date I kept banging on about." Missy clapped her hands in excitement.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm sure that Riz, Aaron and Sam would just love that." Mollie replied sceptically. Although the three girls shared many similarities, the same couldn't exactly be said for their partners and Mollie couldn't work out whether a triple date would be a great idea or a recipe for disaster.

"Well when you say it like that, maybe it would be a bit weird." Missy grimaced for a moment at the thought, before the music quickly cut to the next song. Eyes lighting up, she grabbed Mollie's hand with a squeal. "I love this song! Lets dance!"

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐁𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘, a drunken haze of energetic teenagers and loud music. While dancing with the girls, Mollie suddenly locked eyes with Riz across the room from where he was standing with the boys, and she sent him a smile.

Although she was enjoying the night, she felt like she hadn't spent much time with him and so she nodded subtly towards the door that led to the corridor, hoping to sneak away with him.

He smirked and nodded back, lifting his cup to his lips to finish off the last drop before mumbling an excuse to his friends about going to the toilet.

Mollie did the same, and slipped out of the room quickly into the empty hallway. She leaned against the wall to wait for Riz who emerged only seconds later, a smile on his face the second that he saw her. Standing in front of her, he looked directly into her eyes, his gaze intense from both the buzz of the alcohol and his feelings towards her.

Mollie returned his gaze, her hands trailing up his arms and locking behind his neck without breaking eye contact once, almost like a magnetic force was holding them together.

Placing his hands on Mollie's waist, Riz finally broke the silence between them. "Having a good night?"

"Yeah, its been great." Mollie nodded with a light smile, her fingers reaching upwards slightly to play with his hair. "Feel like I've barely seen you all night, though."

"I'm sure we can fix that, eh?" Riz smirked at her. "Plus you still owe me that dance."

"How could I forget?" Mollie smiled, before a playful smirk grew on her lips as she decided to mess with him. "We can go now, if you want? I love this song."

She stood up straight as if to head back into the living room, but she was stopped by Riz as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back gently.

"S'alright, I'm in no rush." Riz smiled cheekily, as he was happy to finally have the girl's full attention for once that night. Tired of the tension, he leaned down to connect their lips in an instant. As their lips moved against each other, it seemed there was no slowing down and neither of them had any intention of pulling away any time soon.

That was until a set of sloppy footsteps could be heard descending the stairs, which caused the couple to break apart to see who it was, and as it happened it was Naveed.

He was still dressed in his school uniform and clutched onto his paper cup tightly as he came down the stairs, almost stumbling at the bottom.

"Whoa, you alright mate?" Riz asked cautiously.

"Me?" Naveed questioned sarcastically, placing a hand on his chest dramatically. "I'm just great. In fact, I've never been better, mate."

He emphasised the last word, giving Riz a friendly punch on the shoulder and plastering a smile on his face. But it didn't take much to sense the sarcasm and figure out that Naveed wasn't in fact fine, and there was something serious going on.

Mollie exchanged a worried frown with Riz, and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could, they were joined by another person.

"Nav, man, there you are!" Cory spoke with relief, approaching the trio with a beaming smile. "Been looking all over for you."

"One moment alone with my boyfriend, is that really so much to ask for?" Mollie muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

"I got us a gig!" Cory smiled, placing a hand on Naveed's shoulder as the boy took another sip of his drink. "Me mate from primary school, his family own a pub and they're doing a proper stand-up night."

"Wow, comedy! Just what I need!" Naveed slurred sarcastically.

"It's the real thing, like. They've got scouts from Britain's Got Talent looking for acts." Cory continued, a hopeful look on his face.

"Bloody hell, when did you get so thoughtful?" Mollie frowned at her brother, surprised that he'd gone to such an effort for Naveed.

"Only act I've got is me. One big act!" Naveed joked, before downing the rest of the drink in his cup and holding it upwards triumphantly. "More booze!"

As he paraded into the living room, everyone cheered him on, whilst Mollie exchanged a concerned look with Riz and Cory. Though they were all intoxicated in themselves, they still had their wits about them, or at least enough to know that Naveed was in a bad state. But