Chapter 20 | Happy Birthday
"Jade!" Raysen's voice called out from behind me.
I stopped in my tracks for him to catch up to me.
"Hey," I greeted, continuing walking at a slower pace once he caught up.
"How are you?" he asked, smiling down at me.
He was tall, I never really noticed his height up until now. The boy towered over me like I was some kind of small creature in his world.
"I'm good. How are you?" I replied.
I haven't really been checking in on him, to be honest. It's not like I didn't care for him because I'm pretty sure that everyone can see that by now. It's just that I didn't want to hurt Shane even more, he was my brother after all.
"I'm alright, been doing better," he replied.
"That's good," I answered.
He stopped right in front of me, blocking me from walking forward. He pulled something out from his backpack and held in out to me.
It was a piece of paper in an envelope.
I took the paper from his hand and opened it slowly. The paper inside was an invitation to his birthday party. It was tomorrow at Crimson Lake.
"Come to my birthday party," he chuckled.
I looked back at him and smiled. "I don't really roll with your crowd though."
"Please? For me?" he begged.
I giggled at him pleading. "I'll try to make it," I replied.
"Yes!" he exclaimed loudly.
"What do I wear? Something casual? Dressy?" I asked.
Raysen chuckled at my questions. It was the truth, I didn't know hot to dress for these sorts of occasions. It wasn't like I went to parties often and when I did, I had a hard time finding the perfect outfit.
"Anything you want, but just wear a swimsuit underneath," he instructed.
"Why?" I asked.
"Just if you want to take a dip in the lake or in the hot tub," he answered.
I nodded my head at him and checked my phone. I didn't really have anywhere to be on Friday evenings after school, usually, I would just be cramped in my room doing my homework or reading a book.
Today, was different, I was going to go to the mall to buy him a present, and pick out a new bathing suit as well. I didn't go swimming that often, to be honest. I wasn't the biggest fan of bodies of water, but I didn't completely hate it either.
Plus, the bathing suits I had already owned were way too small for me now. They were not exactly teens would wear nowadays either. It was time to do some serious shopping.
"I'll text you, I have to go," I informed him, and walked quickly to my car.
I drove to the mall and went to the first bathing suit store I could find. Showing a lot of skin wasn't really my forte, and I wasn't really comfortable having everyone look at me with minimal clothing on. However, if the party was at night, then there would be not a lot of lighting, so maybe it would be alright.
My eyes landed on a brownish-gray frilly top and high waisted bottoms. I walked over to it and touched the material.
"Hi, ma'am, how can I help you today?" a worker asked.
"Hi, can I try this on?" I asked her, pointing to the swimsuit.
She nodded her head and carried it over to the fitting rooms. "You can ring this bell if you need any more sizes," she instructed, pointing to the doorbell looking button on the side of the wall.
"Thank you!" I thanked her, before trying on the two piece.
The bathing suit looked phenomenal. It was the right amount of pretty and sexy at the same time. It also had a classy vibe to it as well. The off the shoulder top fitted my body perfectly, and the high waisted bottoms completed the look perfectly.
Once I was done, the same lady that fitted me, rang me up at the counter. "$25.50," she said, after scanning the swimsuit.
I handed her an even amount of cash in total. "Thank you," I said once again, taking the bag out of her hand.
"No problem, hope to see you again!" she exclaimed.
The next challenge was finding out what to get Raysen for his birthday. I remembered him talking about how he wanted the new Madden 2017 game for his Xbox.
I went into GameStop to check if they carried the game, and to my luck they did. After I purchased the game, I went back to my house.
Once I stepped in the door, my family was on the couch watching Netflix on the TV. I walked up to my room to put all of my stuff down, and to relax for the rest of the night.
There was a knock at my door immediately after I changed into more comfortable clothes.
"Come in," I called out.
Shane walked in and closed the door behind him quietly. "Hey, Jade," he muttered.
I plopped myself down on my bed to listen to what he had to say. "Hi," I mumbled back.
He took a seat right next to me and sighed, "You're not going to his party by any chance, are you?" he asked straight up.
I fidgeted with my fingers before answering. "I am."
"I figured," he mumbled. "I'm just here to tell you to be careful."
"You're not stopping me?"
He shook his head no. "I believe you'll make the right decision. You're smart, Jade. I know that. Just be careful at the party, alright?"
"Yeah, I will. Thanks."
"Just watching out for my little sister," he chuckled.
This moment warmed my heart. The feud between us was now settled and calm. It wasn't like he fully approved of Raysen, but it was enough for him to trust me again. Somehow, that's all I needed; knowing that my brother was still by my side.
"Hey, how are you and Mia doing?" I asked out of curiosity.
Shane chuckled and hung his head low. I gasped loudly. "Is my brother, captain of the football team, blushing?"
"Shut up, no I'm not," he defended himself.
"Yeah, sure," I sarcastically answered back.
"We're doing pretty good, actually. She listens to me and gets me," he confessed.
"Aww, that's adorable!" I exclaimed.
"I was planning on asking for your help on asking her out officially."
"Of course, I'll help out! When though?" I asked.
"In a couple of days. I have to get some things ready. I want it to be grand," he stated.
"Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."
"Thank you, you're the best," he replied, before going back to his room.
---
The party started about an hour ago and I still wasn't there yet. Whenever Shane would go to a party, he'd always show up at a later time because nobody was there early.
I slipped on the bikini I bought and threw army green high waisted leggings on, with a black knit sweater over it. My hands were moving as fast as they could to wrap his present, so I could put on some makeup real quick.
I swiped on two coats of my favorite waterproof mascara and took one last look at myself in the mirror.
Trying to hurry up, I grabbed my purse and his present and headed out the door.
I showed up about a good thirty minutes later only to find myself standing in front of the door to the lake house. The music inside was blasting, making my heart thump with the beat.
"Hey! Are you coming inside?" a boy inside shouted to me.
I nodded my head and walked inside. There were tons of people everywhere I looked. I didn't recognize a single face in here. My eyes searched the crowd to see any trace of Raysen, but I was unsuccessful.
"Hey," an unfamiliar voice said behind me.
I turned around to find myself face to face with the same boy who asked me if I was going to come inside.
"Hi," I answered back.
"So how do you know Raysen?" he asked, smiling.
"I tutor him."
"Oh! You must be Jade!" he exclaimed.
How did this boy know my name? I didn't know him at all. I wasn't the exact type to be known by people anyways. I didn't usually hang out with this crowd.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" I asked, kind of creeped out.
"I'm Raysen's best friend, James," he introduced himself.
"Oh! It's nice to meet you," I greeted.
"Nice to meet you too. It's about time I put a face to the girl he always talks about," he mumbled.
"All good things, I hope?" I joked.
"Trust me," he chuckled.
"James, there you are!" Raysen's familiar voice filled my ears. "Jade, you made it!" he exclaimed, once he got closer to us.
"Happy birthday!" I shouted, going in for a hug.
Woah, that was a bold move I just pulled.
His arms engulfed around me and brought me into his chest. I pulled away from his slowly, trying to savor the moment.
"I see you met, James here," he addressed.
"Yes, I did. Why haven't you mentioned him before? He's funny," I asked.
"You haven't mentioned me before? Yet you talk about her all the time," he muttered. "I feel so hurt," he joked.
Raysen nervously chuckled. "Okay, that's enough from him," he stammered.
"I'm going to use the restroom real quick. Where is it?" I asked.
"The second door on your left," he pointed out.
"Thank you."
I made my way over to the bathroom, struggling to free myself from the crowd. Once I reached it, I looked at myself in the mirror. It was getting hot in here very quickly. The sweater and long pants weren't helping my case either. Maybe I'd take a swim in the lake.
I went back out into the loud music and large crowds of teenagers, trying to find Raysen or James again.
"Jade!" Raysen's voice called out. "Come swim with us!" he shouted. Tons of girls surrounded him in their bikinis. They were all beautiful in their own way. Did he like girls like that? Is that why they were around him?
"I'll meet you out there," I shouted back.
I didn't know if I wanted to be seen in my bathing suit now. My body didn't look anything close to those girls'. It wasn't even a slight comparison between me and them.
I followed them outside to join them. "Why are you just standing here? Go and have fun!" James questioned.
"Yeah, maybe in a little while."
He looked over to where I was looking. Raysen and the other girls having fun, jumping into the lake.
"I wouldn't worry about them if I were you," he assured.
Did he know something I didn't?
"Why are you still in this? Don't you have a bathing suit underneath?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah," I answered.
"What are you waiting for then?" he chuckled.
I went to the side to put my stuff down and change into my swim suit. Once I was done, I walked back over to where James was standing. "Wanna go in?" he asked.
I nodded my head.
"I'll race you," he suggested, pointing to the boardwalk.
"Deal."
"Ready? On your mark, get set, go!" he exclaimed.
We both ran off the boardwalk and jumped into the lake. "It's freezing!" I shouted.
"It is a lake, tutor girl," Raysen's voice chuckled.
I swam back to the boardwalk and pushed myself out of the freezing water, Raysen following behind me. My whole body was shivering, I could feel my teeth gnashing together because of the coldness.
"Want to warm off in the hot tub?" he asked.
"Yes, please."
He led me to the empty hot tub, the water bubbled and steam came floating over the top. I stepped inside, warming up, quickly.
"You look beautiful tonight," Raysen muttered, softly.
---
A/N: Hello, my awesome readers! How did you like this chapter? It's one of my longest chapters, so I hope you liked it. What did you guys think? I also wanted to say, that I entered the Wattys 2017. I'm most likely not going to win, but it's really fun to enter!
Tell me your thoughts on this chapter, I love hearing them! Also, a question for you beautiful readers. I overcame a comment that said she wants a chapter in Raysen's POV. How would you guys feel about that?