Feathered Together

By chicky-the-dragon.deviantart.com

Feathered Together</u>
Knock-knock-knock.
A young teenage girl creaked the door of her parents' semi-detached house and looked at the visitor. He was a boy from her school and he held a small box in his hands. "Josh? What's with the small box?"
Josh, a young teenager with spiky black hair, held the box gently in his hands, trying not to place his fingers over some air holes. "Hey, Diane! Happy birthday."
"What? Oh, thank you." She stared at the present curiously. "Did that just move?"
"My dad will bring in the rest of the gift in a minute from the car. Care to let me in?" He smirked at the shocked look on his friend's face.
"S-sure." She said uncertainly, allowing him into the hallway. "I suppose you could leave the gift in the living room. Would you like a lemonade or something?"
"That'd be awesome." Josh smiled, entering the cosy living room that consisted of a two-seater leather couch, a bookcase, coffee table and television. He gently set the box down on the coffee table as his friend poured a glass of lemonade for them in the kitchen. Soon, Josh's father arrived with a square-shaped bird cage. "Just set it on the coffee table, dad."
Diane, who was carrying the lemonade for herself and her friend, stopped short in the doorway upon seeing the father-son duo set up the cage. The small box rattled. "Josh, you didn't get me a--?"
"I'll be off." The boy's father said promptly but not unkindly. "Happy birthday, kiddo." He said sincerely, letting himself out of the house.
"Here, help me finish off setting up the home for this little terror." Josh said politely, looking at the box.
Diane nodded and put the drinks aside on the bookshelf. She had always known that her friend was thoughtful but she never knew he cared enough about her to buy her this.
Together they placed sandpaper at the bottom of the cage, attached wooden perches inside at different heights and filled up a couple of food and water pots for the bird's new home. Then it was time to introduce the small creature to its new habitat.
Josh placed the box on the cage floor and opened up one of the ends for the bird to exit it. He then placed the cage itself on top of the base and secured it shut. After a moment, a very tiny bird skipped out of the box and stared at its new surroundings.
It was a zebra finch.
"Aww! It's so cute!" Diane cooed as the mini bird began to flap around the cage like a maniac until it found some water to drink. "Josh, this means so much to me!"
"Heh, well, what are you going to name her?" He asked bashfully.
"Her? Hmm… I think I'll call her Dancer because she skips around the cage a lot." She grinned as Dancer made a strange throat-like noise that could only be its species' form of a chirp. "She sounds like a squeaky toy!"
Josh beamed, "I'm so happy you like it!"
Diane suddenly kissed him on the cheek. "I love it."
Her friend was stunned from the kiss for a moment and then decided to ask tentatively; "Diane… Um, would you like to go out with me sometime?"
She gasped in elation at the question. She had always had feelings for Josh, despite only seeing him in maths lessons. "Sure, I'd love to! Oh my god, this is the best birthday ever."
Josh hugged Diane tightly as they watched Dancer zoom around the cage in a hyperactive frenzy. It was cute, and it had brought two shy crushes together.