4By LalathePanda
It was a cheerful night for Helena and her small group of friends as they sat outside the local bookstore at ten-o-clock at night. In two hours and one minute that bookstore will open their doors and Helena would be able to hold the book with the green cover that said in purple letters, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Also in two hours, minus the one-minute, Helena would be turning sixteen years old.
They weren't the only ones who sat outside the bookstore on this lovely summer night. There was a ton of other people, ages ranging from five to fifty; Helena even spotted some parents with their babies.
The weather was perfect for a midnight party outside a bookstore. The weather was neither hot nor cold. Just right.
Helena sat on the sidewalk with her best of best friends. There was Emily, her friend since freshman year, Elaine, a friend since sixth grade, Teresa, a senior whom Helena befriended in eighth grade, Erin, whom she met through a friend and they've been friends over the past two years, and her favorite cousin, Felicia.
"Ah! I can't wait! The suspense is killing me!" squealed Felicia. "I want to read the book now! The stupid clock is mocking me!"
The group laughed. "Only an hour and fifty minutes, my dear cousin," soothed Helena
"ONLY!" her cousin cried out. "Argh! That's like forever and a day!
"So impatient the youths are," comment Teresa.
"Hey, I'm only two years younger than you!" pointed out Felicia.
"… That doesn't mean anything," countered Emily, putting the youngest in the group in her place.
"Dude, you must be pretty happy that you're spending you're sweet sixteen birthday like this. Having the new Harry Potter book coming out on your birthday must be like one of the greatest birthday gifts ever," Elaine told Helena as she bit into a brownie.
I could think of a better gift, thought Helena as her friends chat among themselves. Her mind wandered to the boy, no, young man that shared three classes with her in her sophomore year and one class back in her freshman year. Helena shook herself out of her thoughts when Erin tapped on her the shoulder.
"Hey, everyone's thirsty, so I'm going to get everyone some drinks," Erin pointed at the ice cream place that was on the other side of the street. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Oh I'll have a cappuccino smoothie," Helena replied taking three dollars from her wallet. After Erin got everyone's order she got up and went to the ice cream store.
After a while, Helena check her watch, it read 10: 40 PM. She looked at the ice cream store. "I'm going to go and check on Erin," she announced as she stood up. The group nodded as Helena dusted her jeans and made her way to the store. When she entered the store she saw Erin picking up three of the six orders.
"Hey," Erin greeted. "Mind waiting for the other half while I'll take these back?" she asked Helena. Helena nodded, as she stood next counter, under the pink and white sign that said 'pick up here'.
"Thanks."
"No problem," replied Helena as Erin turned to leave the store. Helena tapped her foot as she waited for the other three orders.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She could her them work on the orders. She crossed her arms and looked around the place. The minute she turned her head someone appeared next to her.
"The wait is long but so worth it for the drinks."
Helena turned her head at the sound of the familiar voice. She saw whom the voice belonged to and her heart skipped a beat. "H-hey!" she sputtered out. "Long time no see!" she added with a quick smile.
"Here for a late night fix?"
"Oh, yeah. Actually I'm here for the Harry Potter midnight party at the bookstore with my friends, I'm just picking up some drinks," replied Helena. Everything seemed almost dream-like at the moment for her. She just bumped into her crush of two years! Despite knowing him and talking to him in classes for two years, this was the first time she saw him outside of school.
"Really? I'm here with my two cousins," he replied. "I got thirsty so I'm here getting my self a pineapple smoothie." In his hand was his drink with a shocking pink straw.
Helena was about to open her mouth to reply but a ding of a bell interrupted her.
"Oh! Those are my orders," she said as she took three straws and picked up two of the three drinks. She stared at the third one, wondering how to hold it.
"Need help?" he offered.
"Um, sure." He took the drink on the counter and held it with his free hand. "Sorry for making you hold that," apologized Helena as they headed for the door.
"Nah, it's okay. Besides I was the one who offered."
"Thank you."
He smiled as he pushed open the door with his hips and held it open for her.
"My, what manners," Helena joked. "Such a gentleman."
"Hey, your birthday is in less that two hours, I can't help but be nice. Aha, I wish I had a gift to give."
They were outside on the sidewalk. She looked at him. "How did you know it was my birthday?"
"A little birdie told me," he said a common phase with a playful grin. The walked down the sidewalk. "Is it just me, or is the drinks freezing cold?"
"Don't worry, you're not insane," Helena replied. They had a short laugh. "Oh crap, it's eleven twenty and we still have to cross the street!" the next crosswalk was quite a walk from were they were.
"We'll get back on time," he said soothingly. "Now, don't rush, you'll be all out of breath and look funny during your first few minutes as a sixteen year old!" Helena stuck her tongue at him. "Besides," he began, only a few feet away for the cross walk. "If you rush trying to get back to the bookstore, I'll feel like you didn't want to spend time with me!" he pouted to add a dramatic effect. The stoplight just turned red when they got to the crosswalk.
Helena tensed up as she stood next to him near the stoplight pole. She leaned against the pole as he stood only a few feet away. She thought about what he said. "I like spending time with you," she replied softly. She held the two drinks tighter.
After her reply, the two became silent. The only sound was the cars passing by them. He thought of what she said as they waited for the light to change. There was a soft breeze that caused some strands of Helena's raven hair fall on her face. With a drink in hand, she tucks the strands behind her ear. She shifted her eyes and was looking out onto the street, diverting her gaze from him, hoping that he would see that she was nervous and slightly embarrassed about their situation.
He turned his head and looked at her. "Um, Helena?"
"Yeah?" she asked, sounding rather distant. Her eyes fell onto the floor. Her cheeks were red, and it wasn't because of their fast walk to the crosswalk.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
"I like you."
"…"
"Helena?"
"…"
He looked up and saw that the light was green; it had been green for a while. "Hey, the light is green, we should-"
"I like you too."
He turned his face and looked at her. The light went back to red, but the two didn't notice.
"Hey, stop looking at the ground."
She looked up. Her face was all red. She had just confessed to her crush her feelings; she had the right to be embarrassed, even though he confessed first.
"You know, you look kinda cute like that."
"I'm red like the stoplight!"
He ignored her comment. "You know, I don't have a birthday gift for you and you're turning sweet sixteen in thirty minutes." He moved closer to her. Helena noticed he looked nervous. She looked down at the drinks but when she looked up he was only a few inches from her face. Her heart stopped to beat faster as he moved closer. "But I think your first kiss shall do."
"What? Wait! How do you know I've never been k-"
His lips gracefully landed on hers. The four drinks were the only things that were between them. Helena's mind when blank for a moment before she realized what was happening. Her heart calmed down as she closed her eyes. It was only five seconds, but it was five seconds spent well. When she felt the night's warm air on her lips instead of his she opened her eyes.
"How did you know that was my first kiss?" she breathed.
"A little birdie told me," he whispered. The light finally turned green again. "Let's go, your friends drinks are gonna get watery if we don't hurry."
"Um, yeah." She followed him across the street and when they got to the other side things went silent. It was the awkward silence the usually followed a moment like that. They walked side by side until the got to the bookstore.
Everyone was standing, watching the clock with anticipation, only twenty-two more minutes. "Hey, my group is there," he said, pointing down the line, which was far form her group. He handed her the third drink, which she awkwardly held in her arms. "Maybe we can meet up again. I talk to you online?"
He was asking her out. Helena's mind went wild.
"Do you know my screen name?"
"I'll get that little birdie to tell me," he replied with a wink. "So, it's a date?"
"It's a date," said Helena, making it official.
"Good, I like that."
"Me too."
He grinned and gave her a peck on the check before walking away.
Helena smiled. "Thank you!" she called out to him. He just turned around, walking backwards, and smiled, before turning around again. When she got back to her group they all exclaimed something, obviously worried for her since she took more than thirty minutes to get back. Only more eighteen minutes to go.
"I got… lost?" she sipped her drink.
"Maybe you should have gotten a little birdie to give you directions," said Emily as they moved forward in the line.
Helena turned and starred at Emily. "Yeah, because apparently the little birdie seems to know everything." The two statements confused everyone. Emily and Helena grinned at each other.
"Whatever, you two loonies," joked Elaine as she placed her straw into her smoothie. The minutes passed, painfully slowly for everyone else, but they flew past Helena.
When the clock ticked from 11: 59 to midnight the crowd cheered except Helena's group of friends who all yelled at an unsuspecting birthday girl, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HELENA!"
Everyone else in line was confused at Helena's friend's outburst that was followed by a roar laughter. Helena's eyes wandered to the back of the line and she saw her favorite dirty blond looking at her with a huge smile on his face. Helena gave a small wave and he waved back, both actions going unnoticed by everyone else.
He was then out of her sight as her friends smothered her with hugs. They yelled and screamed more as the doors of the bookstore opened at exactly one minute after midnight. Helena was sweet sixteen and so far loving it.
As the crowd pushed forward, she gave one more look at the way back, and as expected, he was still looking at her. She smiled and then laughed.
A happy birthday indeed…
AN: Bwhaha! This story is smothered with fluff and cheese! The idea for this just came into my mind while I was cleaning my face… weird, huh?
AH! I cant wait for the book! I'm having a midnight party with my friends at the Barnes and Nobles near by my house! The midnight party will also be like a birthday party since the sixth book actually does come out on my BIRTHDAY! Which is totally awesome! July 16! YEAH!
Okay, well, I hope you guys liked this short story, I think it seemed rushed but I wanted to get it done before the 15th… So… yes… PLEASE REVIEW! And, don't be mean!
Well, I have three stories in the works right now (one is a Sci-fi story, the second is a French Mafia/ CIA story, and the third is a high school full of rich people story… bwahhaa…ha-ha… ha); I hope those will do well when I post them up! So, until those are posted up, bye for now!
Happy Readings!
-LalathePanda