moving along - 5 seconds of summer
Scared of moving on, but you're already gone
So if you're moving on, won't you just tell me?
-
Crystal sighed as she reached her apartment door. She was exhausted from the drive to her parents house. She came to see her parents earlier this morning; she had to get up early due to the 3 hour drive. She had a good time with her parents but she decided it'd be best if she went home for the night because most of the time, if she's around her dad for an extended amount of time, they'd begin to argue. She didn't want that on this special day.
Crystal pushed her key in her door and walked in her pitch black apartment. She was in the process of throwing off her heels when—
"Happy Birthday!" Was yelled loudly and she looked up to see her place filled with 30 or so people—all of whom she loved.
Adelaide was in front of the crowd. She carried a tall cake in a shape of a chef's hat. The numbers 21 sat at the top, igniting like mini fireworks.
"Awwww! You guys!" She felt genuinely loved at that moment.
The crowd began to sing a full song of Happy Birthday and Crystal blew the candles after making a wish. She gave Adelaide a kiss on the cheek, knowing she arranged the whole thing.
Crystal's friends from culinary school, work, and high school swarmed her as soon as Adelaide excused herself to put the cake away.
She had just finished hugging her friend, Lulu, from high school when she felt an arm wrap around her waist.
For a moment, she thought it would be Shawn when she turned around. But she wasn't disappointed to see Aiden's smile when she did.
"Hey, you!"
"Happy Birthday, Crys." He smiled a dimpled smile. Crystal noticed that while one of his arms was wrapped around her, his other arm carried a huge bouquet of red long-stemmed roses.
"Oh, Aiden! These are beautiful!" She gushed. Anyone who knew her well would know that Crystal had always been obsessed with flowers.
"I had my sister pick them out. The prettiest flowers for the prettiest birthday girl." Crystal blushed and accepted the bouquet along with the kiss on the cheek that came with it.
From the corner of his eye, Aiden saw someone approaching them.
"Hey girl. Happy Birthday, gorgeous." It was Courtney who she felt like she hasn't seen in forever.
"Court! How are you?!"
"I'm great, Crys. Our break from filming has been good for me. But I miss seeing you guys."
"Yeah me too! I'm excited to film for season 2."
For a while the co-stars gushed about the upcoming season and what they have been doing while they're on break.
There were a lot of people in her apartment but she honestly didn't mind at all. Having all of her good friends in one room was enough to make her day.
Soon enough, everyone has greeted her and the party officially began. A DJ took his spot in a corner and didn't wait for another second to blast music.
The rest of the night was kind of a blur. Crystal decided to completely let loose tonight to make up for all the nights she moped around in her apartment for the last few months.
They played a game of beer pong even though a lot of them felt the game was too teeny for them. A lot of dancing and drinking.
Crystal was having the most fun she's had in a while. But she decided to take a minute to slow down, so she stepped outside, into the fire escape. She was looking over the railing and onto a wide-awake New York City at one in the morning.
Adelaide appeared by her side but Crystal was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice. Addy nudged her. "Hey. How's the birthday girl?"
"Oh! I'm good! I'm very happy, really. Though, I am buzzed." She laughed while peeking inside her cup—it was past halfway gone.
"I'm glad you're happy. Did you just come out here for air?"
"Yeah."
"Was there someone I forgot to invite, Crystal?"
Crystal looked down at her hands like she was disappointed in herself. The gigantic billboard of the one she let go was still there. She didn't even realize she was looking at his face until Addy subtly pointed it out.
"I just—. I don't know why I thought he'd text me 'happy birthday' or something when I didn't even text him on his birthday." She groaned looking at the billboard again. "Why couldn't I just have let him go in a much nicer way? Maybe I'd be okay by now."
"Oh, dear." Addy cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out into the city. "Hey, New York! Crystal Paige is a sad drunk!"
Crystal glared at her.
"Come on, Crys. You're supposed to enjoy your night. Get back in there!" Adelaide grabbed her hands and pulled her inside the apartment.
"Ah! There's the birthday girl!" Aiden was obviously drunk. His button up was untucked halfway undone from the top. There was even a small wine stain on his collar. His blonde hair was tousled like he ran a hand through it multiple times.
"Come dance with me?" He slurred. He didn't even wait for her response. He just snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to the dance floor.
They danced to the upbeat music while keeping their hands intertwined. Crystal laughed as he tried to wiggle his hips. Then, Aiden pulled away from her but tugged her back in his arms.
Though the music was still fast and upbeat, Crystal and Aiden stood in the middle of the dance floor dancing slowly. Crystal had her arms locked around his neck while she played with the curls on the back of his neck. Aiden smiled shyly at her while he had his arms around her waist.
"Hey, thank you." Crystal said to him but the music was too loud for him to hear her.
"What?!" He shouted over the music.
Crystal giggled. She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. "I said 'thank you'."
Her lips brushed the shell of his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "For what, love?"
"Just for being my friend these past few months and for making me happy tonight."
"Of course, babe." He smiled at her.
By the way he was staring at her gray eyes, Crystal felt like he had something else he wanted to say. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Nothing."
Crystal leaned up to his ear again and said, "Tell me."
It took him a moment before he spoke. He knew that Crystal was aware of the effect she had on him so he did the same and bent down to whisper in her ear. His breath was hot on Crystal's neck.
Crystal could smell the mix of wine and mint from his breath. Her heart began to pick up pace. His lips brushed her ear, sending shivers before he finally spoke. "What if I say I want to be more than friends with you, Crystal."
She didn't know what to say. Her cheeks were flushed but she wasn't sure if it was because she was drunk or the words he just said.
Aiden also couldn't think straight but the alcohol in him made him bolder. He nudged her nose with his. His mouth was ghosting over hers. When their lips brushed against each other, Crystal made no move to pull away. Finally, their lips met in a sweet kiss. And another. And another that was more aggressive.
Aiden's grip on her waist tightened. He pulled her closer if it were even possible. When they finally pulled away, they were both out of breath. They realized they were both really drunk that their surroundings began spinning.
Crystal pulled him in a hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Crystal laughed a little before detangling herself from him. "I'm a little dizzy. I think I'll head to bed soon."
"Heh. Yeah, I'm a little drunk myself. I should head home too. I'll see you tomorrow?" Aiden sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.
"Are you going to be okay getting home?"
"Yeah, I'll have Court drop me off at her place."
"Alright then. Thanks for coming, A. I'll see you around."
She turns her back to him but he continues to watch her bid everyone a goodnight and thank you. He watched as Crystal tried to walk straight with her heels in her hands.
*
The next morning, Crystal awoke with a killer hangover and her phone going off.
Vivian was calling. Crystal assumed that she was just calling to wish her a late happy birthday because she couldn't come last night. She was still in Los Angeles.
"Hello?"
"CRYSTAL BLYTHE PAIGE!"
"Dude, hello to you too. Stop yelling. I have a hangover." Crystal cringed and pulled the phone away from her ear.
"Have you checked your phone at all?!"
"No. I just woke up. Why?"
"Check it now and then call me back. Oh by the way happy belated birthday, babe. Sorry I missed last night." Vivian abruptly hang up.
"Geez, okay."
Crystal sat up in her bed and looked at her notifications.
People on Twitter were talking about her party. She already assumed that would blow up. She ignored some of the notifications until she saw that Shawn was mentioned in some of them.
With a curious face, she tapped around her phone. Everyone was tagging Shawn and Crystal again which made her sigh. She finally found the short video clip that everyone was talking about.
The video was clearly taken from her birthday party last night. One of her guests, Lulu, posted a short clip on her instagram story. It was mainly of Lulu dancing with her friends but people were more focused on the background: her and Aiden making out.
"WHAT?! NO NO NO NO NO!"
She scrolled a little more until a tweet from Shawn came up. He had tweeted a single broken heart emoji. This was clearly the reason why his name was mentioned in the controversy.
Immediately, she called Vivian back.
"VIVIAN!!!"
————
NOT MY BEST CHAPTER BUT HEY I UPLOADED BEFORE THE DECADE ENDED OOOPS.
BUT YES IM ALIVE AND I DID NOT FALL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. (THOUGH THERE WERE TIMES THIS YEAR THAT I WANTED TO, yikes!)
Dont worry Flower girl will not be discontinued. I was actually writing a ton of future chapters for this one while y'all thought i was dead.
But im back !
Comment you favorite Shawmila moment/lyrics/or stuff they said about each other.
Thank you for making me feel loved !
status: not proofread at all!! I wanted to upload soon so ..