"Cass. Cass. Cass. Cass."
I groan out and shift on my bed, grabbing a pillow and shoving it over my face, trying to block out the voice.
I think it might be in my head, and if so, I've officially gone insane.
Tell my family I love them.
"Cass," the voice whines. "Come on, get up, it's my birthday, remember?"
Fuck. Me.
It's Friday, and the doctor had deemed me well enough to go back home, and I just arrived home, back in my own bedroom for the first time in forever; I feel kind of bad because my parents are going to have to pay a fortune in hospital bills.
I just got home a little over three hours ago, and—even though it's only one in the afternoon—all I want to do is sleep.
"Cass, would you get up? Ella's been excited about this for weeks."
The new voice in my bedroom comes right before the pillow is ripped away from my face.
One of my eyes opens slightly to allow me to see Gracie staring down at me with excitement and Cole standing next to her with his arm crossed, a fond look on his face as he watches Gracie bounce on the balls of her feet.
I forgot about Gracie's birthday.
Fuck. She's been talking about this ever since her last one, so i don't know how I could've forgotten.
By the way my eyes widen, Cole seems to know that I forgot because he gently places a hand on Gracie's arm. "Baby," he says softly to catch her attention. "Autumn told me she was looking for you earlier. Why don't you go downstairs and find her?"
Gracie nods her confirmation and leans over to squeeze me tightly, releasing me to give Cole an energetic peck on his cheek before she leaves.
Cole and I watch her bound away, and once she's out of the room and the door is closed, her turns to me, a smirk on his face.
"Seems little Cassandra is in need of my assistance."
I roll my eyes as i sit up. "Shut the fuck up," i mutter, climbing out of bed and grabbing the crutches that were propped against the bed.
Cole snickers, but sobers up pretty quickly when I send him a glare. "Come on. I'll take you to the store."
My head snaps to the side to look at him and my eyes narrow. "Why?" I ask suspiciously.
He rolls his eyes. "This is important to Ella, and it's going to crush her if she finds out you forgot." He shrugs. "And I don't want that to happen."
Right. They're dating now. Gag.
"Did I mention," I say casually. "That I'll cut your dick off and shove it down your throat if you hurt her?"
His eyes widen and I smile in satisfaction as he gulps. "I'd never hurt her."
"Of course you won't. I'm just making sure of that."
I walk towards him, stopping next to him to clap him on the shoulder, and then I move away to the door, opening it with difficulty so I can walk out of my room.
I hear a muttered, "Fucking insane," come from the room, and I smile.
I will never not love messing with him.
---------
"Would you just pick something, Cass?" Cole sighs impatiently. "We've been here for at least an hour and a half."
"Two, actually," I say breezily, still continuing to slowly walk past shops, looking out for something Gracie might like.
"At this rate we're going to miss the party," he whines.
"Tough luck, Finny, because I'm not leaving without a present for Gracie."
A jewelry store catches my eye, and I walk inside.
It's not really flashy; it has white walls and glass cases everywhere, but it also has racks of earrings and necklaces in what would've been a big open space that give it a more open and friendly feel and look.
It's really pretty.
A lady in her mid-thirties walks up to us.
"Looking for an engagement ring?"
I start choking on air.
Cole pats my back, a little harder than necessary, as I try to breathe properly.
"No, she's looking for a present for my girlfriend's birthday party."
I manage to sober up just as the lady says, "Ah. My mistake." Turning to me, she asks, "What did you have in mind?"
"Something simple," I reply. "Like a necklace with a thin chain and some kind of pendant."
"Follow me."
Cole and I follow the lady to a section of racks near the back of the store.
She gestures towards one in particular, and I hobble closer to it.
All the chains are pretty, but none of them scream Gracie; I want something that she'll look at and know without a doubt that it was meant for her.
I move backwards, shaking my head, and give the lady a slight smile. "I'll look somewhere else."
The lady eyes me, and then an idea seems to form in her mind.
"Wait here."
I have to stand on my not broken leg to keep the pressure of the injured one, and it's really uncomfortable and I'm not sure how long I can hold this position for.
Luckily, the lady comes back holding, a necklace.
It has a simple gold chain, and the pendant is a heart-shaped locket, one that opens and can hold a picture inside.
"If you have a picture," she says. "We can print it out and put it in here."
I do have my phone with me...
"She'll take it," Cole says. When I turn to give him an accusing look, he shrugs. "We're going to be late, and you were going to get it anyways."
I roll my eyes.
He's almost exactly like Aaron.
Except Aaron is smarter. And funnier. And I like Aaron in a way you don't like friends.
Ew, wait, am I friends with Cole?
What has the world come to?
---------
Gracie's parents have gone all out for her birthday party.
Streamers, balloons, the cake is huge, and the stack of presents is giant.
And guess what?
Most of them are from Cole.
As much as I hate to admit it, he's really good to Gracie. It's disgusting to see, but it's cute at the same time.
There's also, upon Gracie's request, a karaoke machine hooked up in her backyard.
Everybody has been begging me to sing, but I don't sing for other people.
Unless it's Aaron.
That thought brings back the time when Aaron and i sung together, and a soft smile grows on my face.
Feedback from a microphone causes me to wince, and I take a break from my thoughts to look at the karaoke setup, where Aaron is standing with the mic in hand.
People start cheering, but Aaron stares at me with a grin on his face until I have to let out my smile.
That grin then turns into a smirk. "This one's for you, Cassie," he says with a wink.
I roll my eyes, the smile still on my face, as most of the crowd turns to look at me.
I catch the squealing of my mother. Watching out of the corner of my eye, she jumps up and down excitedly, shaking Dad by the shoulder, and my cheeks flush.
I swear she ships us.
Music starts up, and it sounds vaguely familiar, but I can't place it.
And then Aaron starts to sing.
"Did I mention,
"That I'm in love with you."
My jaw drops.
Holy shit.
He chose a Disney song.
Jesus.
And it's about...
What the fuck?
"Did I mention,
"There's nothing I can do.
"And did I happen to say,
"I dream of you everyday.
"But let me shout it out loud,
"If that's okay."
Cole and Adrian walk up to the platform where Aaron stands, microphones in their hands.
"I met this girl who rocked my world like its never been rocked,
"And now I'm living just for her and i won't ever stop,
"I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me,
"But now look at what you've done, you got me down on my knees."
The three of them are dancing, pretty badly, if I'm being honest.
Cole and Adrian are focused on the crowd, but Aaron's attention is on me; his eyes are on mine as he sings and dances, and I couldn't curb the smile on my face if I tried.
"Because my love for you is ridiculous,"
"I never knew—"
"Who knew?" Cole and Adrian chorus together.
"—that it could be like this,"
"My love for you is ridiculous,
"My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"
"R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S!"
"It's..."
"RIDICULOUS!"
"Just..."
"RIDICULOUS!"
And now the crowd is singing, too.
"And I would give my kingdom for just one kiss."
The music keeps playing as Aaron waits for the cue to jump back into song, but, while he's not singing, he does a dramatic finger point at me and then some pretty aggressive dance moves.
I break out into laughter. I'm literally laughing so hard I'm crying.
He just looks so...ridiculous.
"Wel, did I mention,
"That I'm in love with you,
"And did I mention,
"There's nothing I can do,
"And did I happen to say,
"I dream of you everyday,
"But let me shout it out loud,
"If that's okay."
"Yeah!"
"If that's okay,
"I gotta know which way to go, c'mon gimme a sign,
"You gotta show me that you're only ever gonna be mine,
"Don't want to go another minute even without you,
"And if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'd do."
I've said this only once before, but I need to say it again.
Damn, this boy can sing.
Like, dude, were you born in heaven because you sound like an angel.
Ha, I crack myself up.
The song finishes and Aaron thanks the crowd before jumping off the stage and starting to walk towards me, his chest heaving up and down as he takes deep breaths.
"Hey, Cassie," he says, sounding out of breath. Which is expected because he just sang his lungs out. "How'd you like the song?"
His eyes are shining, and he has an eager smile on his face, like he wants to tell me something.
"It was great," i tell him honestly.
He smiles cheekily at me. "You loved it."
I roll my eyes. "Right."
I'm smiling on the inside, and it's a result of the combination of his singing and the fact that I was the first one he came to find after he was done.
A chorus of cheering from across the backyard catches my attention, and, while I'm distracted, Aaron lands a flick on my nose.
"Hey," I whine. "That's abuse!"
He bursts out in laughter. "A–abuse? You're hilarious." More laughter. "Fuck, I can't."
I pout at him. "You're so fucking mean."
"Cassandra Parker!" Mom yells, and I wince. "Swear jar, fifty cents, go."
I groan. "But, Mom, he said one too."
"Is that true, Aaron, sweetie?"
"No, ma'am," he shouts back, smirking at my dropped jaw.
"That's another dollar for lying."
Another groan leaves my mouth as I hobble towards the front of Gracie's house.
"Can't believe this. She's really going to make me walk home to put money in that stupid jar," i mutter under my breath.
I'm suddenly lifted off the ground and I find myself in Aaron's arms.
He smiles down at me as he places me crutches behind the row of hedges Gracie has lining her driveway, hiding them from view.
He's really warm. And I can feel his muscles moving against my body as he walks with me in his arms.
"Cassie?" I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to continue speaking. "If we were thinking about your life as Twilight, like you were Bella, who would I be?"
I think, my eyebrows furrowing. "Jacob."
He frowns. "But she didn't end up with Jacob."
I shrug, not looking at him. "It doesn't matter what she did. What matters is what I would've done if I were her. And I'm telling you I would've chosen Jacob."
He stops walking, but I keep my gaze trained on his chest.
What am I doing?
I told myself I shouldn't do anything with Aaron while he's still dating Tiffany, and look at me. I basically confessed my feelings for him.
I don't care what Tiffany would think, or what she thinks she could do to me, but i care about how it would make her feel.
I know how being cheated on feels, and I would never put anybody in a cheating situation, no matter how much I don't like them.
And I'm going to stand by that.
At least, I hope I am.
Because Aaron is becoming harder and harder to not love every day we spend together.
---------
Alright, hello, how are you, what's up?
This chapter was supposed to be out tomorrow, but I decided to post it today because it's SarcasmQueen1583's birthday and this is a little birthday present to her, I guess.
Congratulations, you have the same birthday as Gracie! (Not the same day because this story is in December right now, but you get the idea, right?)
Happy birthday!!
I am extending the amount of chapters to under 50; I was writing this one and realized there were wayyy too many things I need to tie up. So, yeah, no more than fifty chapters. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it might end up just above forty five; that's a decent amount, isn't it?
Because this was Friday's chapter, there might not be a chapter tomorrow. I have like half of it written, but it might come out late Saturday afternoon.
Bye!
--Rose
P.S. My computer is still broken so I'm once again doing this from my phone so, again, sorry for any mistakes.
Edit: Hey angie_5490, did you see where I used your idea? Thank you again, because I don't know how I missed that as a response, and i think it set up everything that came after it in this chapter. Thanks!