"PRESENTS!" someone yelled, and everyone started running over to the sitting area.
I frowned, "Presents? They want me to open them here?"
"Uh, yeah," Mindy said, "that's kinda what you do at birthday parties."
"But there are so many of you! It would take ages to open them all!"
She grabbed my hand, "Then you'd better get started!"
I rolled my eyes but followed them over and let them sit me in a tall chair. Everyone sat around my feet like kindergarteners at story time and I couldn't help chuckling at how funny they looked.
"So, whose should I open first?" I asked, and the people in the front all thrust their gifts at me. I laughed and picked a random one to dig into.
The mountain of wrapping and tissue paper quickly grew as did my pile of presents. I couldn't believe how many there were, or how thoughtful everyone had been. Every single gift had an aspect of me in it and I loved all of them. Not only did I love the gifts themselves, but the cards were just as amazing. I laughed so hard at them and everyone else did as well when I passed them around, unless it was a personal joke that they didn't understand, but those ones were my favorite. I also got loads of money, so much that I had absolutely no idea what to buy with it all. After what felt like forever, I finally made it to the last gift.
Cam handed me a small box with a shiny ribbon tied around it and smiled, "This one's from your parents."
I raised an eyebrow, "They didn't want to see me open it?" He just shrugged so I proceeded to untie the string. I took off the lid and grinned at a set of car keys with Minecraft and YouTube key chains on the ring with them. "No way!" I pulled them out and held them up proudly for everyone to see.
"Woah, you got a car?!"
"No way! I'm so jelly man!"
"When you gonna try for your license?"
I wasn't sure what to say so I just ignored them and pulled out my phone. I sent my parents a selfie of me holding the keys next to my face and grinning. "Thank you so much! Love you!" I said in the text and then put the phone back in my purse. I went to do the same with the keys but Zach stopped me.
"Don't you wanna go check out your new wheels?"
I shook my head, "It'll still be there later."
"But I want to see it!" Mindy complained.
"We've got a party going on here!" I reasoned. "I don't want to waste a single minute of it!"
"Oh, come on! Please? Just a peek?" Megan pleaded.
"I don't know why you guys are so interested. I mean it's not like you've never seen a car before."
Cam stood up, "Yeah, but this is your car, which we have not seen before. So I for one am going to check it out." He gave me a mischievous smirk, "I hear it's quite the looker." There was a weird glint in his eye which made me suspicious, but I finally sighed.
"Oh, fine." So I got up and grabbed my coat before heading out the door. It was dark outside, but that didn't mean much since the sun goes down at like six in the winter here. It was snowing lightly and I shivered as a cold breeze blew past my bare legs.
I looked around and saw a sleek blue car with a giant red bow on the roof parked under a lamp in the parking lot. I heard the soft hum of the engine and the headlights were on but I wasn't too surprised. I knew it hadn't been there before so I figured my parents must have driven it over here a while ago.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ash asked from behind me. "Go look at it already!"
"I can see it just fine from this spot, thank you. Besides, I'd freeze to death if I even stayed out there for two seconds."
"You are such a wimp!" Cam teased and I was suddenly pushed out into the cold.
I whipped around and glared at him, but he just grinned and slammed the door in my face. I scoffed, "Wow, that's real nice Cam! Very funny!" The door stayed shut so I sighed and flicked my hood up to try and shield my face from the wind. I started walking over to the vehicle, being sure to watch for icy spots on the ground.
I couldn't help smiling at the car, it was pretty cool. I didn't even want to imagine how much money they'd spent on it. I didn't know what brand or make it was, I'm not really into that sort of thing, but what I did know was that it looked really luxurious. I was just a few feet away from it when I looked through the windshield and saw someone sitting in the driver's seat. Like I said before, I knew someone had brought it over here, but their silhouette didn't look like either of my parent's.
I stopped walking as the door opened and the person stepped out. They flashed me a grin and my heart instantly started thundering like a stampede of rhinos. Oh... my... god...
They strode up to me and bowed, "It's good to see you, your majesty." He took my hand and placed a kiss on my knuckles, sending fireworks up my arm.
"Likewise," I whispered as he straightened.
He smirked, "You seem surprised to see me." I could tell he was trying really hard to act professional, but he was just as excited as I was.
"Well, you said you wouldn't be able to make it," I said, trying to copy his facade.
"Come now, did you really think I'd miss your birthday?"
I shrugged shyly, "You sure made it seem that way."
"I'm sorry if I worried you too much." His gaze traveled over my body, but I didn't feel self-conscious about it like I would have if he were anyone else. "You look absolutely stunning, Princess," he murmured.
I dipped my head as a blush crept up my cheeks. How could he still make me do that? How did his compliments still get this reaction from me? It was amazing, really. "Thank you, Charming."
He placed a finger under my chin and lifted it so I was looking right into his gorgeous blue eyes. He'd finally dropped the act. Now he was the goofy, handsome, kind-hearted guy that I'd fallen in love with. "I missed you so much," he whispered.
A tear slipped down my cheek, "Oh, David."
He wrapped his arms around me and when our lips met, I instantly felt whole again, like he was completing the puzzle that was my life. It probably felt that way because he literally was. Without him, I always had a missing piece and never felt right until we were back together.
My whole body felt like it had been set on fire and I never wanted this sensation to end. My leg lifted almost involuntarily as our tongues tangled and I leaned against him to keep my balance. His hands ran up and down my back, sending waves of electricity through me.
A sharp wolf whistle cut through the silence and I heard Cam yell, "Get a room!"
I pulled away slightly and looked over my shoulder to see that my friends were watching us from the doorway. David took my hand and together, we ran against the wind to the open door. We stepped inside and he shook the snow out of his hair while I rubbed my legs to try and warm them up. When I could finally feel my fingers again, I looked over everyone and smiled. I could tell they'd all been in on it.
I shook my head, "You little sneaks."
They chuckled and one by one, they all came up to give David and I hugs and congratulate me and all that.
When Ash came up, he put Squid in a headlock and ruffled his hair, "My mate's gonna get some tonight!"
He laughed and shoved him away, "I don't know about that. I kinda just like the idea of having a quiet night."
He glanced at me and I smiled, "I think that sounds perfect."
Ash winked, "Sure, whatever you say." They bro-hugged and he said, "Be good to her, alright?"
"I wouldn't dare do anything else."
He pulled me into a hug next, "Happy birthday, Elsie." He held me at arm's length and pointed to David, "Make sure he doesn't get too out of hand. But if he ever does, just let me know and I'll be there in no time, you got that?"
I chuckled and nodded, "Got it. Thanks Ash."
He smiled and patted my shoulder before stepping away to let the next person take their turn. After a few more goodbyes, Cam finally stepped forward.
He went up to Squid first and shook his hand, "Good to see you, Dave."
For once, David didn't look jealous and I was proud of him for it. "You too, Cam. Great job setting this all up, it's truly amazing how you pulled it off."
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." He lowered his voice, but I could still hear him since I was standing right next to them. "Please treat her the way she deserves to be. She's my best friend and if she ever got her heart broken, I wouldn't think twice about coming after the guy who did the damage."
He nodded in understanding, "Trust me, I don't plan on ever letting her go. She means just as much to me as Megan means to you."
Cam's expression softened and he glanced at Meg who was talking to Mindy nearby. He looked back to David and smiled, "I guess I'll just have to believe you." They finally let go of each other's hands and he turned to me, his stupid smirk on full display.
"Did you really do all this?" I asked, gesturing to the room.
He shrugged, "I had the idea and called Dave to ask him to invite all of your YouTube friends. I wasn't the only one though, they all helped out."
I smiled, "Well, thank you. This is the most amazing party I've ever had. To know that you care so much... it means the world to me." I pulled him into a hug, "I'm so glad you're my best friend. Thank you for always being there for me."
"It was my pleasure." He moved his head so he could look in my eyes, "I'll always be here for you, no matter how hard you try to get rid of me."
I laughed, "I know Cam, I know."
He tightened the embrace for a few more moments before he pulled away and smirked at me. "Use protection, okay? As great as I am with kids, I'd rather not be an uncle at 17."
I raised an eyebrow, "How would you be an uncle? You're not my brother."
He shrugged, "I pretty much am, I mean I love ya like a little sister. But if you wanna be all technical, then I'd rather not be a godfather at 17. That better?"
I chuckled, "Sure Cam, whatever you say."
He stepped back and David wrapped an arm around my waist, placing a kiss on my cheek. "Ready to go?"
I smiled at him lovingly and nodded. Everyone helped us gather up my gifts and we put them in the car's trunk. We took the bow off the roof as well so it wouldn't blow away. I closed the passenger's door once I'd sat down and waved to them as we drove into the night.
✧✦☆★✧✦☆★
Heyo Squiddy! He made it! Did any of you guess that ;) I couldn't just not have him there, I mean they're practically glued at the hip. He wouldn't have missed this for the world. I just cannot believe it's at this part already Dx I know I say that all the time but this one especially is making me realize how far behind I am because the part I'm writing atm... HE'S STILL THERE! I seriously need to get my butt in gear, my head in the game, all that stuff, because this is just sad! I mean school is starting in, what, three weeks? Plus there's something I'm hoping to do after school, so I'm going to have practically zero time to write. URG! STRESS LEVEL QUICKLY RISING! I just need to like strap myself to my chair and grind out chapters, but then the writing quality is terrible (well, more terrible than usual) and I don't want you to have to suffer through that! Idek what to do anymore. Please send help!
Thanks for reading peoples ;) ☮ Peace ☮ - Elsie