The week before winter break is always the worst. For one, it's exam week and that's self explanatory. The second reason being it's my birthday week. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind my birthday, but I just don't like having all that attention on me. I just like spending it with my loved ones and that's it, no gifts or cake required; it's just like every other day of the year, no reason to make a big deal about it.
That's at least how I perceive my birthday. Ollie, however, does not think the same way I do.
"Your birthday is Friday and you're just now telling us?!" He says this a little too loud for my liking, causing some of the other tables to look our way. I give them sympathetic looks that just cause them to roll their eyes.
"Yes, Ollie. My birthday is Friday. But it's not a big deal." I shrug and take another chip out of the bag Parsons has. He tries to swat my hand away but fails, giving up and just letting me eat his chips. I give him a victorious smirk and he just chuckles and shakes his head.
"Not a big deal? I big to differ. It's my best friend's birthday. Of course it's a big deal!" He throws his hands all over the place, almost hitting Cam a couple times and somehow, almost hitting me too.
The round table we sit seats eight. Cam and Ollie sit next to each, Liv sits to the right of Cam, one seat separating them. I sit to the left of Ollie, one seat separating us, with Parsons on my left, one seat between him and Liv.
"I've just never made a big deal out of my birthday. It's like every other day of the year." Ollie furrows his eyebrows, getting a little frustrated by my words.
"We have to do something, E. It's your birthday. We need to celebrate." He pouts and looks at me with those eyes I can't say no to.
I look to Cam, who's smirking. "I'm not going to win this, am I?" I ask him. He shakes his head, chuckling.
I sigh in defeat. "Fine. We can have a small celebration." Ollie's face lights up like a Christmas tree and I can't help but smile at his state of happiness.
"So what do you want for your birthday?" Parsons asks me. I look at him, being immediately met with a world of green.
"Nothing. I don't like getting gifts." I hear Ollie gasp.
Here we go again.
"Erin, I'm beginning to think something is wrong with you. Do you have a fever?" He places his hand against my forehead and I let out a laugh. "You will be getting gifts on your birthday, I promise you that." He points a finger at me and I raise my hands in surrender, knowing I could do nothing to change his mind.
He smiles in victory and begins to write down some things on a piece of paper.
He pokes my thigh, gaining my attention. "Seriously, Beanie. What do you want?"
"Like I said, nothing. Your friendship is enough; I couldn't possibly ask for more." I offer a small smile but that doesn't seem to satisfy him.
"You might not ask for more, but you deserve more." He says this in a more gentle tone, lowering his pitch so only I can hear. I can tell there's an underlying meaning to his words but he doesn't elaborate.
"Give me an unlimited supply of muffins and I'll love you forever." I joke, causing me and him to both laugh.
As he opens his mouth to say something, the bell rings. I internally groan, wanting to know what he was going to say but I leave it alone.
For the rest of the week, my birthday was not brought up. We were all focused on exams so something as unimportant as my birthday wasn't on the topics list. For a little bit, I even forgot it was my birthday week.
The minute the last bell rings on Friday, I find myself being one of the first people in the parking lot.
"Hey, Beanie!" As I am about to get into my car, I hear my name being called. I look up and see Parsons jogging towards me.
"Yes?" I ask once he's right in front of me.
"How did your exams go?" He leans against the car, crossing his arms for warmth.
"I think they went well. You?"
"Easier than I thought." I nod.
He came over here to ask me about exams? Does he even remember what today is?
"Is that all you wanted to ask or...?"
"Yeah. That was all. See you soon." He waves goodbye before going to his car.
That was weird.
Tell me about it.
He didn't even say happy birthday.
Why does it matter? You never cared before if people said it or not.
I don't know. I just figured he'd remember is all.
I get into my car and find myself smiling when Journey is the first song that plays from my playlist.
"Just a small town girl." I sing the first part as I buckle up and begin leaving the parking lot.
I sing the lyrics as I drive, jamming out to the songs that play.
I get home quickly and I immediately get confused. There are no cars in the driveway. I didn't expect my friends to do anything, but Mom always takes my birthdays off.
A feeling of sadness overcomes me for a split second. Mom has never once missed a birthday of mine. I did notice her acting strange this morning, but I didn't question it.
Flashback
"Morning, Mom." I say, walking into the kitchen with a small smile on my face. Today is my birthday and for some reason, I'm looking forward to it.
"Morning, sweetie. How'd you sleep?" She doesn't look up at me as I walk in, keeping her eyes glued to her papers. I notice she's in her work attire.
"I slept okay." I realize she didn't make pancakes for breakfast like she always does on my birthday. I shrug it off and settle for a muffin and some apple juice instead. "Why are you dressed for work?" I ask, taking a bite of goodness.
"Mr. Nelson's sister called last minute and said she needed someone to watch him today. I told her I'd be able to." I'm glad that my mom helps take care of the elderly as an at-home nurse, but she always takes my birthday off, leaving a sad feeling in my stomach.
"Oh, okay." I check the time and sigh. "Well I better get going. See you later."
And that was the last of the words we exchanged. I thought it was weird, but I figured she was just tired.
As I unlock the door to my house, I find sadness overcoming me. I walk in with my head hanging low. I set my things down and turn on the lights.
"Surprise!" I almost stumble backwards as I adjust my eyes to the sight before me. In front of me stands my friends and family.
"What is going on?" I say, confusion laced in my voice.
"A surprise party, duh." Ollie says, as if I should know entirely what's going on.
"Wait so you guys didn't forget my birthday?" At the moment, I'm trying to wrap my head around the situation.
"You thought we forgot your birthday?" Mom asks. I nod my head, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment. "No we didn't forget. We just wanted this party to be a complete surprise."
"Thanks, you guys." I smile at the group of people in front of me and I can't help but have my heart be warmed. "You didn't have to do this for me." I gesture to the banner and decorations that surround the entrance.
"We wanted to." Parsons says, flashing a genuine smile my way.
"You ready to get this party started?" Ollie asks. I chuckle at his excitement and nod. We walk into the dining room. I stand in awe at the decorations. There's balloons, party streamers, and confetti all around.
Pinkie Pie looked like she stopped by to help out.
The doorbell rings and I raise an eyebrow at my mom, who just smiles.
"Where's the birthday girl?" I recognize the voice instantly and run to Elliott. I tackle him with a hug. "I know you missed me but I would like to be able to breathe." He pats my back and I chuckle. I notice Mom making conversation with someone and I notice Ms. Saundra. I walk over to her and give her a hug.
"Hey, pumpkin." We exchange kisses on the cheek and I help her sit down. Ms. Saundra is Elliott's grandma, which makes her my grandma in a way. She's always been there for me and is the sweetest woman on Earth.
"Is this everybody?" I ask, sitting back down. As if on cue, the doorbell rings again. I hear a little girl's voice and a British accent as the door opens and I can tell who it is.
"Erin!" Char runs towards me and I pick her up in my arms.
"Hey, munchkin. What brings you buy?" I poke her stomach a couple times, causing a strain of giggles to erupt from her mouth.
The last couple times I went to Neil's house, Char has opened up to me. Now, she loves to be around me as much as she can.
"It's your birthday!"
"It is? I didn't know." I joke and she laughs, causing me to smile. I notice Parsons looking at me from the corner of my eyes and I can't help but feel flustered by his stare and the smile he holds.
"Happy birthday, love." Mrs. Shannon walks over to me and we kiss each other on the cheek.
"Cake time!" Everyone gathers around the table. Char sits in my lap. Her parents stand against the wall, Mrs. Shannon leaning on Mr. Zach. Neil sits in the seat to my left and Elliott sits in the seat to my right. Liv, Ollie, Cam, and Ms. Saundra sit in the rest of the seats.
Mom walks in with a cake and begins singing "Happy Birthday." Everybody else joins in and I smile at the scene before me. Never in my life did I think that I would have this many people surrounding me as I turned eighteen. I thought it would be me, Mom, Elliott, and Ms. Saundra, just like it has been for the past four years.
"You wanna help me blow out the candles?" I ask Char when they stop singing. She eagerly nods and I count to three before we blow them out together. She has the biggest smile on her face afterwards and I can't help but replicate that smile.
"Let's move to the living room for presents." Mom says, a ginormous smile plastered on her face.
"You guys got me presents?" I ask.
"Of course we did." Cam says. "Ollie forced us." Ollie hits his boyfriend and I can't help but chuckle.
We move to the living room. I sit in the center of the couch with Elliott and Mom on my left and Parsons, who has Char on his lap, and Liv to my right. Mrs. Shannon and her husband decide to stand again while Ms. Saundra takes the chair. Ollie and Cam sit on the floor in front of me, on the other side of the coffee table.
There's not a big pile of gifts, thankfully, but there are more than I expected. I go through all of them, reading the notes to myself and being grateful at how personal the gifts are. Liv got me a Wendy's gift card, Elliott got me beanies, Mrs. Shannon got me gift certificates for her bakery, Char got me a plastic tiara that is like the one she has, Cam got me a puzzle, Ollie got me a board game, Ms. Saundra gave me money, and Mom got me a couple puzzles and some new clothes.
I noticed Parsons didn't get me anything but I can't be too disappointed since I told him not to.
After gifts, Mom decided to show the group some of my dance videos from when I was younger. That's when I decided to excuse myself to the kitchen.
"Beanie?" I turn around from the fridge and make eye contact with Parsons. I set my Mountain Dew on the counter and give him my full attention.
"Yes?" I ask. I hop onto the counter and open the soda.
"Here's your gift." He holds his hand out and I stare at the small box.
"You got me something?" I ask, baffled. I didn't think he did.
"Of course I did. I just wanted to give it to you in private." He rubs the back of his neck and I notice a blush rising on his cheeks.
No way. Parsons is nervous. This is a sight I never thought I would get to see.
I take the box in my hand. "You're not proposing, are you?" I joke. The box was awful small, big enough to fit a ring, for sure.
"Just open the box, Beanie." He shakes his head with a smile on his lips. I open the box with caution but find myself shocked when I see the necklace. I pull it out and find myself smiling at the chain. A small jigsaw piece is attached to the chain.
He takes it from my hand and places it around my neck. I move my hair and I wait for him to move his hands before fiddling with the jewelry. My fingers cautiously move across the silver, not wanting to damage it.
"Thank you." I say, mesmerized. I didn't expect him to get me anything and if he did, nothing as amazing as this.
"Don't mention it." He smiles at me and I find myself pulling him in for a hug. He seems shocked at first but recovers quickly. My arms lay around his neck while his arms lay around my waist. We fall into breath together and for a moment, I feel at peace. My worries wash away and all I can focus on is the boy that has his arms around me.
We pull away from each other slightly. His face is only inches of mine. I look down to his lips then back into his eyes. He copies my actions and before I know it, we're both leaning in.
"Erin! You gotta come see this!" The sound of my name causes his to put some space between us. He rubs the back of his neck. A sense of awkwardness fills the air and neither of us can ignore it.
"I hope you liked the gift." He says this before heading back into the living room. I sigh and place my head in my hands.
Why'd you have to let him walk away?
This was the second almost kiss! Or was it the third?
Why are you keeping count?
"E?" I lift my head up and am met with a pair of chocolate eyes. Elliott walks towards me. He looks worried at my current state. "You okay?" He takes a cup from the cabinets and pours himself a glass of water.
"Yeah, I'm good." I offer him a reassuring smile. I can tell he's trying to see if I'm lying or not but thankfully, he doesn't say anything else about it.
"Okay. You might wanna stop your mom before she starts showing your baby pictures." He chuckles and walks back into the living room. I laugh to myself for a moment before grabbing my drink and heading back to my friends.
There's so much going through my head at the moment but at least I can say that this has been the best birthday yet.