But there was no time to let himself derail, not when Jodie was dependent on him to keep everything on the track. Arin, the Lagoon Goon, beckoned him over to check out the way that they had spread out the snacks, while also taking the opportunity to sneak in several apologies about the botched move that had caused the injury; Mitch reassured that there was no bad blood whatsoever. However, he’d barely been able to share the sentiment before someone else needed him, so he pulled Arin into a quick sidehug before rushing over to put out another fire, one that involved the balloons.

“Maaan,” Mitch grimaced as he stared up at the ceiling of the former warehouse, and where the majority of the balloons had floated up towards. There were a few people on the balcony catwalk that tried their luck at grabbing any ribbons that drifted nearby, but to no avail. “C’mon guys, be careful!” he shouted, but was mostly ignored.

“Oof, those aren’t coming down, huh?” came a now increasingly familiar voice from Mitch’s right side, but not so familiar that he could keep himself from jumping slightly due to being startled. He turned his head and stared wide-eyed at Avi, who definitely wasn’t supposed to be there yet. “Sorry man, didn’t mean to scare you!” Avi’s eyes crinkled as he offered an apologetic smile.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Uh, it’s…it’s cool,” Mitch nodded fervently, biting back the urge to blurt out that Avi was early. “So what brings you here?”

“The party for Victor,” Avi half-laughed, which, duh. “I’m kind of a ‘if I don’t get there 20 minutes early, I’m late’ guy. And-” his eyes flickered up towards the banner, which had (and welcome Avi!) scrawled in Sharpie under the word ‘Birthday’; Jodie had added that final touch the night before. He looked back at Mitch, and his mouth now formed a hard line. “I’m guessing that I’m not supposed to be here, huh?”

“No, but I think that if you come back in a few minutes and act surprised, it’ll be fine. Maybe just pull your car around back?”

“Sure,” agreed Avi, his body coiled and ready to sprint off. “Should I wait for a specific time or signal or something?”

“I can text you when they’re here,” Mitch suggested.

“Oh! That’s good. What’s your number?” Avi pulled his phone out and typed in the numbers as Mitch recited them. Seconds later, he felt a buzz in his pocket. “I sent you a text so that you have mine. Alright, I’m off!”

“See you in a bit,” Mitch waved him away, barely paying any real attention as he checked to see if it was indeed a text from him, and not another string of curses from Jodie. His lock screen lit up, and sure enough, a number that he didn’t recognize had sent him a smiley face, and along with that a ‘hey it’s avi’, followed by some flashing ellipses and then a ‘lemme know if u have any particular emojis u want me to use for ur name’. “The fuck?” Mitch muttered under his breath and quietly chuckled.