The Very Best

Chapter Five

Once my dads had checked me out, Dad let me lean on him for support.
"Is the car ruined?" I asked. Dad nodded. I bit my lip. "I'm so sorry."
"Honey, we're just thankful that you're okay. I don't care about the car," he said honestly. His eyes teared up. "We were really afraid we were going to lose you."
"You won't get rid of me that easily," I joked, trying to lighten his worries.
"We would never want to," he replied, kissing the top of my head. He helped me into the back of the car. We drove quickly to the pharmacy so we could pick up my prescriptions. Daddy came back with a few bottles in hand. Then we drove home. I totally intended to flop onto the couch as soon as we got home. Instead I found a small surprise party. As to not overwhelm me, only Ian and my friend Jen were there.

He hugged me. "We had planned a larger party, but we cancelled with everyone else after the accident."
"It's awesome," I replied softly. Jen hugged me gently.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered.
"Me too," I said. I looked around at the decorations. Blue streamers were hung around our living room. White and blue balloons were strewn across the floor. "It's beautiful," I told them and they looked pleased.

Ian flicked on the TV and put in one of the classics. He sat with his arm around me like usual. The dads brought us a bowl of popcorn, this time without the joyous noise of the smoke alarm. Thirty minutes into the movie, there was another knock on the door. Ian got up to get it.

"Hello?" Ian said hesitantly to the person at the door.
"Hi," I heard Zach's voice. He lowered it. "Do you think she would care if I came in?"
I know my best friend so well that I stood up rapidly, causing my head to spin, and went to intercept the situation. I set my hand on Ian's back.
"Hey," I whispered. "I got this." He nodded and I turned my attention to the man at the door. "Hey. Come in," I said moving out of his way. He looked relieved. He coughed nervously, and held out a gift bag to me.
"This is for you."
I took it graciously and thanked him. He looked around at his surroundings. I waited patiently for him to say something. Eventually, Ian spoke up. "Can we have cake now?"
I laughed at his crassness, but went to the kitchen. I looked down upon a sky-blue cake with a 'happy birthday' message addressed to me on it. Smiling, I watched as my dad lit the candles. A rendition of "Happy Birthday" celebrated my seventeenth birthday. One by one, I blew out the candles.

I cherished the smiles around me. Dad tugged gently at a messy lock of my hair. Ian grinned. Zach stood hesitantly in the corner. I'm certain it must have been awkward for him. He didn't seem to know what to say or how to stand. It all looked very new and very confusing for him. Dad brushed a dark curl out of my eyes.
"Happy birthday, honey."
I smiled at my parents. The looks on their faces were both overjoyed and a tad bit nostalgic. Dad cut me a piece of the ice cream cake. It tasted like peanut butter and chocolate- my favorite. I enjoyed my cake on the couch with Ian, occasionally "accidentally" smearing some on his face. Every time, he would hiss at me lowly, but we both knew it took all his strength not to throw his head back and laugh.

When finally my dads decided it was socially acceptable for me to open my presents, we sat down in the living room. I opened Jen's first. It was a gray sweater I had noticed when we had to find homecoming dresses the month before. I thanked her appreciatively. Ian, being the adept gift-giver that he is, bought us tickets to go see my favorite band, Death by Procrastination. I squealed with excitement. He grinned. The dads exchanged nervous glances.
"What?" I asked concerned.
"We promise it wasn't intentional," Dad said sincerely.
"We had planned it months ago," Daddy continued.
When finally, I could take the suspense no more, they led me to the garage to reveal a small, sleak, gray car. I screamed.
"You didn't," I exclaimed.
"Oh, but we did," Dad replied. "Trust me. The irony wasn't lost on us. Don't worry- insurance is helping out to get a new car for Daddy. This one's all yours."

I inspected the piece of art. It was magnificent. Inside was classy with black leather, and of course, more presents inside. It felt like Christmas morning. I was amazed at how much effort had been put into my birthday. Inside the gift wrap, I revealed a few band t-shirts, a stack of CDs, posters, and two new pairs of jeans. I was ecstatic.

"You're all amazing!" I exclaimed. "Thank you!"
"There's still one more," Jen chirped. I looked over to Zach. He held out his gift bag which he had most likely picked up off of the coffee table where I left it. I opened it up to find a jewelry box that looked old. Inside was a small, fine necklace with a ruby pendent. I stared in awe at the heirloom.
"It's been in my family for generations," he explained. "It seemed only right that you have it." I stared a little longer before holding the small box to my chest and remembering my manners.
"Thank you," I whispered softly. He smiled nervously. Ian helped me clasp the necklace around my neck. It hung down elegantly. I admired it. "Thank you all so much."

Later, after everyone had left, except for Ian, we sat in my room. Me, of course, hanging upside down off of the side of my bed and Ian hanging beside me. Something occurred to me. "You missed your trip!"
"I would have missed the end of the world if you needed me," he said honestly and I believed him. I was so grateful for his existence. And not so much in a totally touchy-freely kind of way. I was thankful for his existence because he was Ian and somehow by a strange turn of events, we had crossed paths and I would be forever grateful that the Stars had aligned just enough to allow me to meet this human being. As we hung off of the side of my bed, contemplating saying anything at all, no silence could have been more comfortable. Ian was a perfect contradiction to everything I believed when I was being cynical. He had managed to always make me feel better when I felt like I was drowning. I recalled one instance where I felt particularly disheartened one day and somehow he had cheered me up. Somewhere along on conversation and laughing fits, I had told him completely seriously that I would die for him. I'll never forget what he said.
"I know. But what I need is for you to live for me. I needing you to continue breathing and continue being you. I need your heart to keep beating and for you to live a very long, ordinary life."

Ian was the best person in the world, I was sure. I silently sent a 'thank you' to whoever was listening for allowing him into my life.

We sat in silence for a while before I began to get dizzy and had to sit up. I laid down correctly in my bed and dozed off, feeling the bed shift as Ian laid down too. I smiled in a sleepy state and let sleep wrap me into a warm, soft embrace.

I loved writing this chapter! Click back to chapter one. I changed the character photo for Kaya. To the Side is Zach (it's Brant Daugherty). Sorry this chapter came so late! Thanks!
~SupernaturallyAwkward