Black Glitter *Completed*

Birthday Surprises

"What are you smirking about?" I asked, bumping his shoulder. He swung our hands between us and shrugged a shoulder.

"Nothin'."

"Such lies!"

"Well you're not learning anything more so just chillax."

We stopped by a few of my favorite stores, and luckily Adam was just as in to shopping as I was, so I didn't have to drag around a whiny guy with me through the racks and shelves.

He pointed out a pair of ankle boots that were spattered with paint and adorned with heavy spikes. I perked up and checked the price tag. Holy crap. $270 for shoes?

I turned away but Adam caught my arm.

"Do you like them?"

"Well, yeah. But they're ridiculously expensive!"

He looked at the tag. "Oh my god, babe. I'm gonna buy you the boots."

I opened my mouth to protest but he put his finger on my lips. "Uh uh; I'll. Buy. The. Boots."

"Fine," I snorted, grabbing a box with my size and trying them on.

Ten minutes later and we were in a high-end Sephora place, browsing through the Too-Faced and Urban Decay stuff. I snagged a couple glittery gray and black eyeliners, along with a pink gloss; Warrior.

"It'll go great with my dress," I said. Adam nodded, but his eyes were on the door, where a small crowd had gathered.

I groaned. It was only a matter of time before they saw us so it was to be expected, but still annoying and inconvenient.

We cashed out, put our sunglasses on, and Adam put a protective hand on the small of my back, politely, but firmly, shouldered his way through the paps so that he was closest to them and blocking most of the brunt for me. As long as our faces were covered enough they couldn't sell pictures of us. That didn't mean they wouldn't find their way onto the Web, because they always did, but this way we probably wouldn't be making it into Star or People! anytime soon.

After a few moments, Adam's phone buzzed and he checked the message, instantly grinning.

"Sweet. Okay, let's go!"

He tugged me across the street and we speed-walked to a corner café that was bustling, but not too overcrowded.

It was impossible to miss the shock of blond, purple streaked hair, shoulder pads, and vampire-esque clothing of Tommy Joe Ratliff. I hadn't seen him in weeks ever since he started playing for September Mourning!

And seated across from him were Lee, Scarlett, and little Riff.

I broke away from Adam to dash over to them, throwing my arms around TJ's petite frame and squeezing the life out of him.

"Jeez, Nix!" He gasped when I let him go. "Don't kill me, girl!"

I laughed, then turned to the Cherry family, giving them all warm hugs and scooping up Riff and spinning him around. He giggled hysterically, but as soon as he saw Adam, I was all but forgotten. I set him down and he raced to Adam, his fancy little shoes beating against the flagstone.

My heart burned when Adam bent to give his godson a huge hug, exclaiming over how big he'd gotten.

"So how are you, Nix?" Scarlett asked, taking a sip from her margarita.

I sat in the chair Tommy pulled out for me and brushed back my hair, fanning my neck.

"Oh god, you know. Crazy as ever!" I caught sight of the paps across the street, all shunting each other around to get the best angle. Adam took Riff by the hand and guided him back to the table, making sure he was sitting so that his back was facing the cameras.