Broken Strings [Editing + Ongoing]

Chapter 2: Perfect

I turn the knob excitedly and swing the door open with a huge smile on my face. My smile quickly fades when I see these familiar brown eyes meet mine. "Oh, it's you..." I sigh and trot back over to Will, finding comfort in his arms.

"What?" Quinton asks in confusion, still standing in the hallway.

"QUIQUI!" I hear Noah shout and watch him race over to the blonde haired, brown eyed boy standing in the doorway.

A light chuckle escapes Don's mouth and I simply snuggle deeper into Will's chest. He chuckles as I do so, making his chest bounce softly. I scrunch my nose playfully at this and look up at him, making him boop my nose. As a usual reaction, my nose wiggles sending him into a light chuckle. I bury my face into his shirt once more, hoping to hide my face and the upcoming blush.

Quinton shuts the door behind him and sits on the floor next to me. "Happy birthday Katie." The blondie chuckles, taking my hand in his. I peek out from Will's white T and smile softly as my golden orbs lock with the chocolatey ones belonging to Quinton. He passes his thumb over my knuckles and I quickly pull my hand away from his, lowering my eyes. Noah must notice this, as seconds later he speaks.

"Hey Katie! I need your help in the kitchen!" He calls, and I quickly get up, making my way over to my best friend. We walk into the kitchen, and he pulls me out of sight from the boys. Noah takes my hand, the same one Quinton had taken, and brushes his thumb over my knuckles. "Katie..." He can feel the scars, and I can tell. "Did you start doing it again?" He asks, clearly worried. I lower my eyes in hopes of avoiding the question and finding the easy way out of it all. "You did..." His eyes soften and he pulls me into his arms. "Oh Katie...why..." He whispers softly, holding me closer. Noah pulls away and takes my arm, lifting the sleeve to my leather jacket and releasing a sigh of relief, seeing my clean arm.

"I promised Noah." I point out. "I keep my promises."

"Then promise me you'll stop that too. It's nonsense Katie...it's doing you more harm than good..." The tone of Noah's voice sends shivers down my spine, but I know I can't promise this without lying.

"I refuse to make a promise I can't keep." I state, lowering my eyes once again. "It's the only way I can release my anger..." Truth is, ever since my brother 'got jumped' as the story goes, my anger issues have started acting up again. I don't really have such thing as patience, and Noah is the only person who knows how all of it has been affecting me, and he's also the only one who takes the time to listen to me. Anyways, back to the scars on my knuckles. I have a habit of punching the wall out of anger. Most of the time, it results in an emotional ball with bloody fists.

"Punch me."

I look up at Noah in surprise. "Noah?" I question.

"I said, punch me." He repeats. "Consider it another birthday gift."

"Punching my best friend isn-" I am cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing once again. My attention turns back to Noah. "Do you think it's..?" I start, hoping it is who I think it is.

"Happy Birthday." Noah kisses my forehead softly and pulls me out into the living room, where the boys all stand in a line in front of the door with goofy grins on their faces. Noah joins them and places a hand on his chest. "What you are about to see comes from all of us. It means a lot to us all that you be happy on your birthday, and that you can do things with a positive mind." He glances over at the giggling boys. "SO! With no further ado, we present you:"

"Mitch Harris!" Don exclaims, moving out of the line and revealing the tall raven-haired boy. I cover my mouth with my hands as Mitch walks over to me and wraps me inside a hug. "Happy birthday lass." He tells me with a smile before sitting down on the couch.

"Leo Thompson!" Quinton moves out of the way, revealing the brunette with piercings. Leo does the same as Mitch before sitting next to his friend on the couch.

That leaves two.

"Xander Brown!" Louis smiles brightly, moving aside and showing the blonde boy with piercing blue eyes. Xander approaches me, places a kiss on my cheek, and whispers a soft "Happy Birthday in my ear before joining his friends on the couch. At this point, my cheeks are bright red, and I can't help but look at Noah with sparkling eyes.

"And last, but definitely not least, AJ Williams!" As Noah moves, my eyes make contact with the hazel eyes of the taller boy. I stand frozen in my tracks, my heart racing and my cheeks going even redder than I knew was possible. Did I ever mention AJ is my absolute favourite member of 5 Days on Top? Before I know it I am pulled into the warmest bear hug ever, and when I look up, I realize I am in AJ's arms. WAIT. REBOOT. Me? Katie Amelia Everest? In AJ Williams' arms? Dreams really do come true huh.

As I feel the male figure pull away, I feel someone grab me by the waist and kiss my cheek softly. "Happy Birthday beautiful." I turn and wrap my arms around Noah's neck without hesitation. "Thank you..." I whisper, closing my eyes and tightening my grip. As I pull away I turn to face my (respectfully) second favourite band. It takes a moment for me to wrap my head around the sight and I find myself tightening my grip on Noah's hand which has somehow slipped into mine.

I look up at Noah awkwardly and whisper. "What do you do when in the presence of a superstar..?"

A light chuckle escaped his lips. "You tell me. You've been doing fine around Mystical-Unit" He winks at me as I roll my eyes.

"But I knew you before you were famous Noah." I point out. "And I didn't exactly just, fit in with Don, Will, and Quinton."

"That's because you got some one on one time with all of them and got the chance to know them." Noah chuckles before pointing at the four boys. "Each one of them has planned a date for you based on the very few things we told them about you." He wraps and arm around my waist and kisses my temple before whispering in my ear. "There's your chance for some one on one time."

I look up at him, amazed by all the dedication and planning which must've gone into setting all this up. "Wait..."

Noah looks up at me with furrowed brows. "Yeah?"

"When do these all start..?" I whisper. Did he forget? How could he...It's our tradition...

"Tomorrow. You didn't think I'd miss out on a movie night and sleepover with my best friend did you?" Noah replies. I smile brightly at his response. I shouldn't have doubted him for even one second. Noah is the most amazing friend a girl could as for. I am so thankful.

"Alright boys! Feel free to hang around a little longer. I have a tradition to uphold with this beautiful young lady." Noah winks at me. "Night Lads!" He speaks up, earning a collective "Night!" from the seven others.

Today has been perfect.