flustered ~ dreamwastaken

chapter 28: happy birthday to me

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I darted up from my bed to see Karl jumping up and down next to me and eventually leaping onto my bed. With a loud 'oof', he landed right on top of me.

Giggling, Karl rolled to the side as I tried to hide under my blanket. "Hey!" he shouted, pulling the blanket off of me, "WAKE UP!"

I groaned, trying to hold my grasp on the blanket, while he was using all of his strength to pull it off my bed. Suddenly, I let go, causing him to fly backwards unexpectedly.

I burst out laughing as he rubbed his head that had hit my bedroom wall. "Not cool," he pouted, but his face was still plastered with a silly smile.

"So what do you want to do for your birthday?!" he got up from the floor, brushing off the fall quickly and going back to his eager self. 

"Lay in bed," I yawned back, burying my face in a pillow. "No!" he yelled, swiping the pillow from under my head, and hitting me with it.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I shouted back, grabbing another pillow next to me and hitting him back, square in the face.

He stumbled backwards laughing and shortly after the pillow sharply smashed against my face once again.

I adjusted my vision quickly, reaching for my pillow to retaliate, but only to see Karl running out of the room laughing.

With only revenge on my mind, I sprinted after him, running down the stairs to the kitchen. He was standing there, basically waiting for me with his hands covering his mouth trying to suppress giggles.

I ran towards him, hitting him with the pillow full force, but he only laughed harder, and ran away from me yelling, "IT WORKED! IT WORKED!"

Stopping in my tracks, I questioned him, "What worked?" He continued running around the room, giggling hysterically, "You're out of bed!"

Fuck. He outsmarted me.

"Ughhhh, you suck." I let myself collapse on the sofa, still in my pajamas which consisted of some shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

Karl sat down next to me smiling, "I have some stuff to finish up, but at least let me take you to lunch today," he suggested.

"Fine," I agreed, knowing that he would keep annoying me until I said yes. "Yes!" he clapped his hands together, "I already have a place in mind."

He left the room grinning, and typing away at his phone. What the hell was he planning?

After Karl left, I pulled out my own phone to answer the limited amount of birthday texts I had. The majority were just from a couple college friends and then there was my annual text from my mom.

iMessage- mother figure but make it ✨absent✨
happy birthday honey

Ugh, I sighed, remembering why I hated this day. Both of my parents had always been distant and absent in my life, which I guess taught me how to be independent, but I was still glad I was able to escape that by moving in with Karl.

Putting my phone away, I didn't bother responding.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"We've been driving for so long, where the hell is this restaurant?" I asked, sitting in the passenger seat of Karl's car.

"We're almost there I promise!" he replied, glancing at his phone for the directions. I looked out the window, reading the highway signs.

There were multiple exits ahead, but one stood out specifically "Charlotte Douglas International Airport". I didn't think much of it, only confused as to why we were driving this far for lunch.

We finally arrived at a cute, small café. Don't get me wrong, it was really nice, but 30 minute drive nice? I don't know.

"You like it?" Karl smiled from across the table as we got seated. "Yeah it's really cute," I replied, admiring the small succulents that decorated the wooden table.

After we ordered, Karl was checking his phone almost every second. Even while I was talking to him he couldn't hold eye contact as his eyes wandered to his phone screen constantly.

"Karl?" I said, crossing my arms. "Mhm?" he smiled innocently, looking up from his phone quickly. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking if I got any texts."

"Mhm," I gave him a suspicious glare, "What kind of texts?"

"Oh, you know," he hesitated, "Just the usual." Then a small smile crept onto his face. Except, he wasn't looking at me. His eyes had strayed past my head, looking towards the entrance of the café.

I ignored it at first, trying to interrogate him, "You're being so weird Karl!" I complained. He only laughed back, coughing under his breath, and his eyes continued darting behind me.

"No!" I exclaimed, ignoring the attempts to distract me from his suspicious behavior, "What the hell is going on!"

"Oh my god!" he laughed out loud, "You're such an idiot!" And he pointed behind me before slamming his face on the table in sarcastic frustration.

"What—" finally turning around, it all made sense.

There, waiting patiently in the hallway of the café, was a tall, blond man who, just like Karl, was trying to hold back laughter. He broke into smile as his familiar green eyes met mine.

"Clay?!"

//author's note
next chapter will be out tmr :)