Notebook

Thirty-One

The restaurant broke out into complete uproar the moment Aiden pushed Nathan through the glass door, thirty minutes later than expected, a little blush on the younger boy's cheeks.

Everyone yelled and waved their arms in excitement, calling out happy birthday and throwing themselves in the couple's direction, forcing Nathan into a hug and then more carefully hugging Aiden too.

They hadn't seen the boy outside of school since he showed them the scar on his face.

The group hadn't discussed what they had learned about his past, so they were worried the orange-haired boy wouldn't show up. They thought he would be too shy and ashamed.

But there he was, standing by the older boy's side, grinning, the thin line on his face visible.

As predicted, everybody was pleased to see them and didn't care that they were late, except for Jago.

He burst out from the kitchen, yanking off a navy apron and throwing it down on the disused countertop, his voice high pitched and fast-moving.

"Where the hell have you been?!" He yelled, swishing his hands around and shaking his head as he spat the words. "You are late!"

He pointed at Nathan, who raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips at the verbal ear-bashing.

"Were you trying to make yourself look pretty again?" The oldest boy wagged his finger in the shorter boy's face. "You are lucky it's your birthday, you punk!"

By the time the tall boy reached his last word, the group had broken into hysterical laughter. They couldn't contain themselves whenever the eldest of the group started raging like that.

Nathan just grinned at his older friend, making the boy's footsteps falter.

One because he was not being flipped off, which was their usual friendly greeting, and two, the brown-haired boy had the biggest smile, something he never had on his birthday.

Jago lifted his hand as his face softened, clapping it down on the boy's shoulder and beaming.

"Happy birthday, bro." He said lovingly, hugging the shorter boy close.

He was shocked again when the one-handed embrace was returned; willingly.

This time last year, he was watching his friend fall into a coma-like sleep, wrapped up in a blanket on his bed. Last year, Jago nursed a fist-shaped bruise on his chest and cried on the phone to his mother, wishing he could heal his friend's broken heart.

But this was different, amazing.

Nathan was hugging his friends, initiating the contact he usually forced away. He seemed happy.

When Reid ran up to hug Aiden, his cheeks already hurt from smiling.

The first thing he noticed was the other boy's face. He didn't look monstrous or vile, as he always feared.

He glowed. Despite the broken skin and severe marring, he looked exceptional.

"You two are way too sexy for this tiny restaurant!" He teased, reaching up for the small strand of hair that had broken away from Aiden's slicked-back style and twirling it around his fingers.

The orange-haired boy blushed. Nobody ever called him that before.

As Reid looked the boy up and down, he saw him squirm with embarrassment. He wasn't used to being complimented.

"If I were single, you'd get it!"

Evan's voice was the first to ring out, yelling at his boyfriend and shoving him away. "Stop flirting with my cousin!"