As it turned out, Tatum was right to not believe Isaac.
"Happy birthday!"
Tatum blinked in surprise. The entire living room was covered in birthday decorations. There was a banner over their fireplace that read, "Happy 3rd Birthday!" that was coated in glitter. Everyone present had tiny party hats on their head. There were balloons all over the room in every color imaginable. She couldn't help but laugh, they probably didn't know which color she'd like best. And so, they settled for all of them.
"Hearty!" And that was when she noticed all the little hearts covering the room. She didn't bother to stop the joyous and shocked noise that left her mouth. Isaac came into view, a sheepish smile on his face. His arms were stretched out as he greeted the two girls.
"Thanks for not going over the top," Tatum quipped sarcastically, raising her arm to give him a quick hug.
Isaac grinned as he shrugged. "I'm a man of my word."
"Third birthday?" Tatum pointed out in a questioning voice, pulling back from the hug.
"Third year as our favorite PT assistant!" Isaac called out happily.
"Birthday shots!" another player shouted loudly, coming over with an absurd amount of shots in his hands. Tatum smiled as she accepted the small glass into her hands, careful not to spill it.
"Shots! Shots! Shots!" everyone chanted, holding their glasses up to the ceiling. Tatum was the first to throw hers back, wincing as the taste of cheap tequila entered her mouth. The others cheered, taking their own shots quickly.
"Let's get you a drink, hearty," Isaac suggested happily after finishing his shot, clapping her on the back before turning to Kinsley. "And one for you too, of course."
"Of course," Kinsley agreed easily with a pleased smirk as he went off to fill some empty red solo cups.
Tatum always had mixed feelings with her birthday. There was something so exciting about it when she was younger. She loved it because it was her special day with her Mom. Having a September birthday, she usually found herself sitting in a classroom for the day unless it was a weekend. But her Mom still found ways to make it special. She would add special treats in her lunchbox, put notes throughout her backpack wishing her a happy birthday, and even buy her a new outfit for the day. She would pick Tatum up from school and make the rest of the day as exciting as she could.
Her mother would always cook her favorite dish to celebrate the day— a family recipe for the Lebanese dish bazella. Her family had been making it for as long as she could remember. Her Mom would spend the whole day baking her whatever extravagant cake she wanted, which always ended up being some sort of colorful fiasco. Her Sitto would even bring over her home-made grape leaves when she came for dinner. Everything about it just felt special.
But eventually, her birthday had began to be twinged with something else. She didn't know how to describe it, really. It almost felt like nostalgia, in a way. Like nothing could touch how she felt when she was little. She would feel such an involuntary thrill that came in the weeks prior to the day. But when the day itself came, she couldn't help but be saddened by it. She wasn't sure if it was the realization that she was growing up or if it was everything going on in her life at the moment, but everything just felt different.
"Oh my god, Julian's here," Kinsley told her, smacking her arm quickly.
"You're kidding," Tatum remarked, eyes darting over quickly to get a glimpse of her ex-boyfriend.
She and Julian's relationship never felt that serious to her. Tatum hadn't dated much in high school and wanted to give herself some time to have some fun while her classes were mainly gen-eds. Neither considered it a very serious relationship. They would hang out when they could and maybe even get dinner sometimes, but they ended up hooking up more than they did anything else. He was fine, honestly. They had fun times, but she just never considered it as anything more than temporary. She decided to end things when her schedule got busier.
That was when Julian decided he really liked her. He became slightly obsessed with who she was with and when. Whenever she ran into him, she would tell him some excuse about her classes taking up too much of her time. But one time when they ran into him, Kinsley got the idea to say she was seeing someone. Tatum was worried it would backfire, but miraculously, Julian backed off a bit.
"Kinlsey, do not tell him I'm single, I'm serious," Tatum stressed firmly.
"I won't!" her friend promised with wide eyes, nodding rapidly. Tatum gave her a hard look, making her cave. "You really wouldn't hookup with him tonight? Go into your birthday with a bang?"
"Horrible word choice," Tatum scolded with a laugh, shaking her head. "But still no. Ever since you told him I was seeing someone, he's backed off. I don't think us hooking up is a good idea."
The last party they were at when they ran into Julian, he would not leave Tatum alone. It was harmless, just annoying really. Kinsley told him some lie about Tatum seeing someone to make him leave her alone. Tatum thought this would make him mad, since her excuse to break up with him was that she was too busy to date. But surprisingly, he left them alone, much to her pleasure. However, Kinsley wanted Tatum to have fun again. And she knew Kinsley would encourage her to hookup with Julian again.
"Okay," Kinsley said in the voice that clearly indicated she disagreed. Tatum gave her another warning look. "Really, I won't say a word."
"Right, I'm going to the bathroom," Tatum told her as she glanced around to see how bad the line was. "If I get back and you're talking to Julian, we will be having words."
"I won't be! Besides, Brendan is here," Kinsley told her, eyeing the boy in the corner who was laughing heartily with his friends.
Tatum raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You finally going for it?"
"Bit of liquid luck in me now, think he'll do the trick." Kinsley winked at her before sauntering in the direction of the boy.
As Tatum made her way to the bathroom, she noticed Isaac watching Kinsley with a careful eye. He held the two drinks in his hands, a far-away look on his face. Tatum titled her head in thought. Isaac was always a flirt— he was shameless with everyone, Kinsley especially. But she never considered it as anything more than just banter. He caught her staring, looking at her in question as he lifted the drinks up. She held up her index finger to signal she'd be back in a moment and he nodded in acknowledgement.
After using the bathroom, she found herself taking a moment by the sink. Tatum smoothed her hands out over her outfit as she carefully stared at herself in the mirror. She felt good about herself tonight. Tatum had always had a curvier body, her clothing sizes tending towards tens and twelves. She wore a light purple corset top that accentuated her waist. Her jeans were a lighter wash that flared slightly at the bottom. These jeans always hugged her curves perfectly, and she loved how she felt in them. And of course, she had her disgusting white sneakers dedicated to only seeing the inside of these filthy houses. Her light brown skin was flushed and her dark brown hair was a bit frizzy from the harsh temperature of the house, but still, she felt pretty.
"I love your shirt," a girl in the bathroom told her kindly.
Tatum smiled at her. "Thank you, your outfit looks amazing."
The girl beamed at her, washing her hands quickly before heading out. Tatum sucked in harshly, eyes flickering to the mirror to see everyone behind her. She studied the bathroom with a feeling of loneliness. Her eyes stung slightly as she watched groups of girls drunkenly laughing together. She saw two girls sharing lip gloss in the corner. Another group taking photos, drunkenly stumbling around as they attempted to stand in place. She felt an odd jolt of wrongness, like she should be doing that. It was strange how she could be part of something yet feel so separate from it all.
She was never the kind of person to need a big friend group. She would rather quality over quantity— one incredible friend over a group of people she wasn't as close to. But sometimes there was something inside her that made her feel like she was doing something wrong. Like she was missing out on those experiences. She twisted her lips together, sucking in a deep breath.
And then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Tatum turned around and she saw Kinsley gazing at her softly. Her friend cupped her cheek with her hand, and it was almost as if she could tell exactly what was going through her mind. "Your makeup looks far too good for you to cry."
Tatum let out a watery laugh, nodding in agreement. She pursed her lips together, tilting her head into her friend's hand. "I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too," Kinsley said gently, pulling the other girl into a hug.
Tatum cleared her throat as she pulled back, pushing her dark hair behind her ears. "You run into your brother at all yet?"
"No, thank god, I think he's stayed in his room," Kinsley said as she checked her phone.
"Happy birthday!" Kinsley cried out in a complete tone shift, throwing her arms around Tatum and pulling her into a hug. Tatum laughed and hugged her back, she hadn't even realized it was midnight.
"Thank you," she said happily, smiling at her friend's enthusiasm.
Kinsley's eyes flashed with excitement. "Let's dance."
●・○・♥︎・○・●
And that they did. Tatum was about four drinks and way too many shots in at this point. But who was she to say not to free alcohol? She may regret this in the morning, but at least she was having fun again. Isaac was having an even better time than she was, it seemed. His face was pried into an open-mouthed smile, laughing and cheering as they danced. Kinsley was jumping around, singing all the lyrics as loudly as she possibly could. Tatum always loved dancing with her friends. There was just something about screaming the lyrics and dancing with everything you had that just made her feel alive. She had missed this.
This was one of those nights where everyone was just happy. All the students at the party were dancing with them. It wasn't too packed either, something that Tatum always hated. They even played the music she wanted to hear, which wouldn't happen too often. But that might've been less out of the kindness of their hearts and more so their desire to not piss off Kinsley.
"Hey! It's her birthday, you can't say no when she asks for anything," her friend would scold them angrily, and continue to do so until the requested song would fill the air.
Isaac was pouring various drinks down their throats, which inevitably spilled all over them. Tatum and Kinsley were laughing madly as he did his best to aim the drink into their mouths, but ended up getting more onto their clothes than in their mouth. Tatum wanted to be annoyed that she was now covered in beer, but she was having too much fun to care.
Kinsley kept sneaking looks at that boy Brendan from earlier, who she had talked to for a while a couple of hours prior. They seemed to click well enough. It was obvious Isaac disagreed, though. Considering how often he would not-so-subtly pull her back to the dance floor with himself and Tatum. Whenever the two seemed to be hitting it off, Isaac somehow intervened every time. Tatum couldn't tell if he was being overly protective or if there was something else going on. But when he went off to talk to some of his friends, Tatum decided to prod a bit.
"You've really been getting along with Brendan, it seems," Tatum noted, nodding her head over to the boy who had just gone off to get another drink.
"Yeah, he's not too bad," Kinsley admitted casually, taking a sip from her drink.
"You wanna go back to his place, don't you?" Tatum asked knowingly.
Kinsley let out a groan at the statement. "So badly, but I'm not ditching you on your birthday."
"No, go have fun," Tatum told her with a smile. "Seriously, go with him and tell me all about it tomorrow."
"I love you, I love you!" Kinsley sang happily, smacking her lips against Tatum's face. She let out another laugh, shoving her friend away.
"I know!" she exclaimed, gesturing for her roommate to go back to the boy waiting in the corner for her.
Tatum smiled as she watched her friend work her magic. Kinsley had an aura to her that Tatum couldn't help but envy. People flocked to her. How could they not? She was five feet and six inches of flawless brown skin and beautifully braided hair that fell down to her waist. If her beauty wasn't enough to draw people in, her personality made them stay. She just knew how to work people. She knew exactly what to say and what not to say. She knew when to flirt and when to pull back. Kinsley just had an air of mystery to her. It was something that she was very aware of and used to her advantage.
But with mystery... came secrets. And Tatum knew her friend was hiding something. She knew it from the moment they met. Tatum never paid much attention to that, knowing it wasn't her place to pry. However, it had gotten more and more apparent over the last few months. Ever since the incident with Brady. She couldn't help but be curious and maybe even a little suspicious about what the girl knew. But again, she wasn't going to be the one to push.
"Tatum." Pausing at the voice, she nearly groaned at the realization that she wasn't successful in avoiding her ex. Tatum turned around stiffly, watching the man shuffle over to her with a disbelieving grin.
"Julian," she greeted tightly. "Surprised you're here."
"Yeah? Wasn't expecting to see me?" he asked smugly, for some reason.
"Only because I can't believe the guys let you through the door," Tatum responded, taking a sip from her drink. She glanced up at him and noticed him watching her unsurely. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"So, heard you weren't seeing anyone," Julian brought up casually. Tatum instantly snapped her head over to where Kinsley was. Her friend turned her head away guiltily as she headed for the door to leave and Tatum clenched her jaw, forcing a smile.
"Like I said when we broke up, just too busy," she told him honestly.
"Too busy to have fun?" he said like he couldn't believe it, eyebrows raised high.
Tatum gave a tight-lipped smile. "Too busy to have fun."
Julian hummed thoughtfully, nodding slowly. She gave him a quizzical look, eyes darting wide as if waiting for a point to be made. He cleared his throat, continuing with, "Maybe you should let yourself... let loose."
"Well, if I were to do that," Tatum started, leaning forward, "it wouldn't be with you. Considering we're broken up."
He shrugged. "Maybe... maybe that was a mistake."
"You say that like I wasn't the one to break up with you," she reminded him with an incredulous laugh.
"Well, I know, but—"
"I really don't want to do this with you." Tatum tried to move past him but he held his arm out. "Come on, it's my birthday. You know I don't want—"
"It's your birthday?"
Tatum gawked at him. They spent her birthday together when they were 'dating'. "You're joking."
Julian scoffed with that stupid smug look on his face. "Look—"
"There a problem?"
Tatum's eyebrows pulled together at the new voice. She turned and froze when she saw who it was. She figured it would be Isaac, honestly. He always looked after her at their parties, but it wasn't him. To her surprise, there stood Brady Parker. He towered over her, having at least seven inches on her shorter stature. His lightly-tanned skin wasn't flushed with sweat like everyone else at the party, but his hair was just as tussled. His brown, curly hair was flopped as if he just rolled out of bed, which she figured he did since that was where he had been hiding all night.
"We're good, man," Julian disregarded cockily.
"Wasn't really asking you," Brady said in a cool voice.
Tatum was taken aback. Considering their last conversation, Tatum didn't think Brady would be coming anywhere near her. Honestly, she didn't want anything to do with him. She had to because of what Doctor Evans had offered, but she didn't want to see him outside of their sessions. She wasn't even sure she would see him at their sessions at any point in time. But here he was. Helping her. She blinked once to make sure she wasn't drunk to the point of hallucinating.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she realized both boys were staring at her expectantly. "Oh, yeah, we're all good. Was just finishing up anyway."
"Were we?" Julian quipped, and for whatever reason seemed surprised.
"I mean, you can stay and chat with air. But I'm gone," Tatum told him with a quick wave, heading away aimlessly. "Probably be a more exciting conversation than whatever you could come up with actually," she muttered under her breath, which she thought was quiet enough but had made Brady snort. She glanced over at the boy next to her unsurely and nodded at Brady in thanks for intervening, which he returned subtly.
Leaving the two boys, she decided she didn't want to deal with the fallout of that conversation. She was grateful Brady intervened, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with Julian for longer than she needed to. Especially not on her birthday. And when she was this drunk. She was relieved it wasn't any kind of scene that was made. But she couldn't help but be utterly confused by whatever just happened and why Brady had come to her defense.
Tatum lit up when she spotted Isaac waving at her, but only realized she was yawning when her hand mindlessly went to cover her mouth. Isaac laughed slightly, mouthing, 'Tired?' at her with an amused grin. She headed over to him, nodding slowly as she rubbed her arms.
"I'm gonna head out," Tatum told Isaac in a slightly apologetic voice. "Getting pretty tired."
"Sounds good, hearty," Isaac said softly as he pulled her in for a hug.
Tatum found it sweet for a moment before her face scrunched up. "Oh my god, Isaac, you reek."
He gawked at her as he pulled back. "All right, not like I threw this party for you or anything."
She laughed, nodding as he spoke. "You're right— thank you. Really, this was a lot of fun. I needed this."
"No problem," Isaac said, bowing his head once. "I'll see you later, yeah? Want me to call you a ride?"
"That's okay, think I can manage," Tatum assured him as she pulled her phone from her pocket.
"Cool, see you tomorrow probably. Happy birthday," he said once more, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before heading off. He turned around and pointed at her, "Get home safe!"
"Will do," she promised, tapping her dorm address into the ride share app.
She decided to head outside to wait for the driver, opting for some fresher air than what she was currently surrounded by. Swiping to check her texts, she smiled when she saw a text from her Mom. Honestly, she didn't expect it with everything going on at the moment. But she couldn't help but be happy to see the paragraph wishing her a happy birthday. She would be seeing her mother later today, but it always made her smile to get the text at midnight. It was tradition for them.
Bidding goodbye to people as she headed out, Tatum felt touched by the amount of people wishing her a happy birthday. She glanced around at the outside of the house, noting some groups piling into cars. She lazily strolled over to the driveway to stand there, glancing around. Something caught her eye, though.
Tatum saw someone sitting on a lawn chair in the backyard, eyeing the sky with a faraway expression on his face. Tatum narrowed her eyes and leaned her head forward a bit as if it would help her see better. Finally, she made out the familiar figure of a certain star hockey player she had just interacted with. Tatum wondered what brought him outside. She didn't blame him if he needed a moment after speaking to Julian, he was sort of unbearable.
She was torn on saying anything. Part of her wanted to check to see if he was all right, while the other part of her wondered what Kinsley would think. But she didn't know what happened between her friend and Brady. She was still mad at him about how he spoke to her and the fact that he stood her up, but she couldn't help but be curious as to what brought him out here. Deciding it couldn't hurt, she cleared her throat.
"You good, Parker?" Tatum called out, tilting her head slightly.
Brady looked up from the ground, squinting to see who it was. He looked stoic for a moment, and Tatum was worried she made a mistake. But he nodded his head once, saying, "Yeah, all good here. You?"
It was only standard to ask someone if they were all right as well, but it still surprised her. "Yeah, I'm good."
He nodded, glancing off to the slide. "Good."
She began to walk off before freezing, her mind wandering back to their interaction, "Thanks, by the way. For making Julian back off."
"That dude's a prick," Brady remarked, which made her bark out a laugh.
"You're not wrong," Tatum agreed gently, quirking an eyebrow at him. She started to turn around again, but was surprised she heard him speak up one more time.
"Hey, uh, happy birthday," he added in a quieter voice than before, rubbing his hands together unsurely.
Tatum paused momentarily. She was surprised, considering their last conversation. He watched her in uncertainty, as if wishing he could take it back. Before he could, Tatum responded with, "Thank you."
With that, she turned on her heel and headed towards her car. She shook her head once, wondering what that was all about. They had never spoken outside of their one interaction that was less than pleasant. Suddenly, he was helping her get away from her ex and wishing her a happy birthday? This was something she would normally talk to Kinsley about, but she couldn't for obvious reasons.
The car ride home left her with a bit to think about. She had a busy day ahead, and she was doing her best to somehow sober up. Spending the next day hungover wasn't exactly how she pictured her birthday. She only hoped she would feel fine by morning. She had to be up in a few hours, actually. Double checking her alarm on her phone, she made sure the volume was up loud enough that she wouldn't have a repeat of this morning.
Tatum still couldn't believe that Kinsley told Julian she was single. And she only grew more fed up when she saw what was waiting for her when she got back.
On the whiteboard hanging from the door of her dorm, was one word in handwriting she had learned to recognize over the last few years: Sorry!
She shut her eyes, a laugh breaking from her lips.
Kinsley was lucky that Tatum was too tired to actually be mad at her.
●・○・♥︎・○・●
Don't be too alarmed with the pleasantries between Tatum and Brady. They're not even close to reconciling. Many more fights left between these two emotionally-constipated sillies.