15There was really only one reason why my birthday sucked. Here I was, turning eighteen, and the most I could do is hang out with the idiot next to me. See, my parents seem to have forgotten all about my birthday, and all of my friends were busy for the day. Jane and Russ scheduled to go shopping, and Anthony and Rena were off doing God knows what. Then there was Estelle, who didn't even come up with an excuse. Great friends, huh?
The only who seems to be available is this guy, Will, the idiot. I wasn't fond of Will. TO tell you the truth, I really didn't like him. Yet, here I was, going Christmas shopping with him. My parents and his parents were close, and so I've known him since diaper days. As if my birthday couldn't get any worse, my parents dutifully announced that I was to go shopping with the cocky bastard. I couldn't do anything about it either. Will's mom, Helen, gave me her best happy smile and was practically guilt tripped into the whole thing. Once again, I'm sure you all can see how lovely my birthday is going.
What's even worse is that I'm not event eh one driving to the stupid mall. It was Will and his black shiny Lexus. We even argued over who got to drive, and he decided that since he was older, he got to drive. I told you he was a cocky bastard. I might die one day from all of it choking me, but I figured that if I died because of him, he wouldn't mind. I can't give him that satisfaction. Oh, no. I need to make sure that he dies first, not that I'm planning an accidental death or anything. I'm not that mean, you know.
The drive to the mall was silent. It was actually pretty nice. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it wasn't even awkward or anything. I was hoping that William Rover lost his tongue for once. Too bad that was all ruined when he opened his mouth and attempted to strike a conversation. It wasn't going to be that easy to talk to, buster.
I would have been easy to talk to if he didn't annoy the crap out of me all the years that we were together. He teased me constantly, saying that I was too skinny or too fat. Sometimes he told me that my eyes looked like the cold hard ground, and that my hair was a mess. He would say that I lack personality, and that I was gullible as hell. I could go on and on with this. All in all, Will was a bastard. I'm pretty sure I made that clear several times already. Did I mention that he tripped me constantly as well? No? Well, now I mentioned it.
"So, Lauren," he drawled as we neared the mall. "Where to first?" he asked.
I didn't even look at him. Instead, I fixed my gaze on two elderly people walking on the sidewalk. I want that some day. I want someone who would grow old with me, and stay with me. I want someone who'll take care of me, and just be there. I knew that it was far off though. I can barely manage to get myself a proper date.
"Hello," he said. "Earth to Lauren!" he said, poking me as he looked for a parking space.
"Stop it," I said. I pushed his ands away and turned to glare at him. He just rolled his eyes at me. That should be illegal. It's my birthday, damn it.
"Well, if you would just answer me," he muttered.
"Well, fine," I said dramatically. "I want to go to Sears over there. I want to get my parents and your parents something first so that they're out of the way."
"What?" he said. "Nothing for me?" That stupid smirk appeared on his face, and I just growled in response. This was not going well.
"You don't deserve a damn present," I told him. "You don't even deserve coal."
"Now that's harsh, Lauren," he replied with the smirk still in place. He found a rather close parking spot, and stopped the car. I got out grudgingly, and slammed the door. He didn't even say anything. As I stomped on the snow, trying to make it all disappear, I could tell that Will was looking at me with amusement.
"You might want to stop soon," he said lightly. I didn't notice that he was edging closer to me.
"Why the hell would I—," I never got to finish that sentence because my boots came in contact with a patch of ice, and I fell backwards. I shrieked, and expected to fall on my back and break my spine in half. However, I didn't hit anything, and a par of strong arms kept me up. I looked up to see Will with a weird emotion in his grey eyes. He stared right at me, and it seemed like forever until a satisfied smirk on his face.
"I told you that you might want to stop," he said a matter-of-factly. He put me upright, and kept walking towards the doors. What an infuriating idiot. If he was so infuriating, why did I have this weird butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach when he looked right into my eyes, and when his arms were wrapped around me? Maybe I was just hallucinating. Yeah.
I ran—carefully, mind you—to catch up with him. As we entered the Sears that was attached to the mall, I realized that I may have to fight over what I wanted to get my parents and Will's parents. It was freaking packed in here. And I thought that day at the toy store was a frenzy. I could only imagine what Best Buy was like at the after Thanksgiving sale (a/n: It was crazy. Seriously.) I grabbed a cart and headed for a random isle.
I then realized that I had no idea what to get anyone. I turned to see Will at my side, scanning some blenders. As much as I didn't want to, I had to ask him. "Will, what do you think your mom would like?"
He turned to me, and was quiet for a couple minutes. "She said that she needed a new blender. Hers broke." He picked up an expensive one. "We can both pay for it. It can be from both of us." He placed it in the cart. "Unless the birthday girl wants to be independent about all of this"
I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. I saw a pair of earrings that my mother would just love…and there was already a lady going for them. This was going to be a long day.
I sat down at the food court, a satisfied smile on my face. I had almost everyone accounted for. Now all I had to do was buy for my friends and I'd be done. I had all of the family done, and with about fifty dollars left to spare. I sat in front of Will, who was devouring a pizza. I picked up my chopsticks, and promptly began to eat my sweet and sour chicken. As I ate, I thought about the things that happened today. It actually wasn't all that bad.
I got through the shopping alive, Will wasn't too cocky, and I got most of my shopping done. From the looks of it, so did Will. Then after we finished, Will managed to talk me into going to the arcade. It didn't take much persuading after I caught sight of DDR. We played about five rounds. All the games ended p in a tie. I guess Will was good enough.
Then when we were passing by a jewelry store, heading towards the food court, I caught sight of a necklace displayed on the windows. It was a small silver chain with a heart as the charm. I was never one for jewelry, but this was just beautiful. I was staring at it for a good ten minutes before Will managed to pry me away. He was complaining that he was really hungry. Just before we left, I looked at the price and my heart sank. It was all for a grand total of one hundred dollars without tax. I'm not that expensive.
Snapping back into reality, I saw that Will was done already. He was getting up. Eyebrows raised, I called after him. "Where are you going?"
"Don't worry about it," he replied. "I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared into the crowd. I finished up my meal, thanking God that I didn't die of hunger. I didn't have any breakfast, and we left at nine in the morning. Someone could die from that lack of food. As I threw away my plate, I saw Will coming back. He seemed to be happier. Maybe he met up with some girl and got some quick make out session done. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. All of the girls were always all over him when he went to high school with me. Wait. I correct that. Most of the girls. I was not one in his fan club.
I didn't bother asking him where he went, afraid that I'd get a detailed explanation of the make out session. I didn't want to throw up all of that delicious Chinese food. I looked up at him, and told him that I was ready to go. He nodded, and grabbed some of the heavier bags. I grabbed the rest, and followed him out the car. Hopefully, I wouldn't slide on the ice this time.
We made it back to my house, and I unloaded all of the presents. I made sure to tie up all the bags so that no one peeked. I opened the door, and I was immediately met by a chorus of people shouting, "SURPRISE!"
I screamed, and clung to Will. That was when the chorus of people started laughing. Someone snapped a picture, and I was confused for a few minutes. I blinked, and looked around. I saw all of my friends, and my parents and Will's parents standing around. They decorated the living room with a big 'Happy Birthday' banner on the banister. I'm pretty sure that picture was for remembrance of my oh so funny face.
I looked up to see Will laughing. "Oh, god!" He said, clutching his sides and untangling me from him. "Your face! I-I-It was priceless!" he laughed, and leaned against the door for support. Without it, I bet he would have fallen over. I hit him on the shoulder before walking in.
Russ came over and gave me a hug. "Geez, Lauren. You didn't actually think that we forgot about your birthday, did you?"
"Yeah," Jane said. "We aren't that bad."
This birthday was looking up after all.
Nearing eleven, my friends started leaving. There were early classes to morrow, and no one wanted to go to school almost half dead. Will and his family began to help my mom and dad clean up. My mom gave me a sweater that Jane accidentally left and told me to give it back to her. I ran up to my room and put it near my bag. As I was about to go down, I saw something shiny being reflected. I turned my light on again and saw a silver box on my pillow. Odd.
I walked over to it and picked it up. It didn't look dangerous. There was a card under it. I picked up the card, and it simply read, "Have a happy birthday." It was in a script handwriting, like what someone would use on a formal invitation. I put the card down, and opened the box. I gasped as my eyes came in contact with something silver. The necklace I wanted sat innocently inside. What was even more shocking, my initials were set on the heart. This must have cost a fortune. Who the heck…
Will.
Will was the only one with me when I saw it. He was the only one who knew. I had to find him. I raced down the stairs, the box in my hands. I came just in time as I saw him walk out of the front door. I heard my parents and his parents still conversing. They must not be leaving yet. Why was he going out?
I tugged on my jacket and followed him. He was standing in the middle of my yard, looking up at the full moon. The snow enveloped his ankles. As I began to walk towards him, he turned around. He looked at me curiously, and then saw the box in my hands. He smiled softly. Huh. I never thought I'd see him smile like that. "Hey," he said.
"Hi…" I replied. I looked down at the parcel in my hands. "Did you get me this?" I asked him.
"Yeah." His reply was short, but there was something else hidden underneath it. Some emotion that I couldn't detect.
"Why?" I asked. "This is too much…"
He chuckled. "Nothing is ever too much for you, Lauren," he said seriously. He walked towards me, closing the distance in two easy steps. "All those times I teased you…since I was fifteen…" I knew he was trying to find the right words. "I really like you. Every time I tried to be nice, you shut me down. I had to find a way to just talk to you, be around you. All those things I said meant nothing. Your eyes aren't' like the ground, they're like chocolate. You aren't fat, you aren't skinny. You're just right. And today, when you saw the price of that necklace, it broke my heart that you couldn't get it. So, as a birthday present, I bought it."
He took the necklace from my hands, walked around me, and put it on. I was speechless. I really was. He turned me around, and looked at me once again. "And I want to keep talking to you, being around you. I just don't want to make fun of you anymore. I want us to have a normal relationship…possibly something more than friendship. I love you, Lauren."
I blinked. Seriously. That was all that I could do. But then I thought back on all the times that he did help me. In high school, even as toddlers, he stuck up for me. He went through my bitchy days. Hell, he even helped me baby sit four three year olds for ten hours. All that he did for me was finally sinking. I brought myself to smile. I looked back up at him. We were close enough to kiss.
He did just that. I felt his mouth suddenly cover mine in a gentle kiss. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips were soft and the y moved with mine. When he wrapped his arms around my waist, I fit right inside them. It felt right.
I was disappointed when he pulled back. He did put his forehead to mine. Will smiled and I smiled back at him. I suddenly knew all those weird butterfly feelings were. I suddenly knew what to do.
"I love you too, Will."
A smile broke out on his face, and kissed me briefly again.
That was when it began to snow, and when our parents were looking out the window. I bet you my mother's already planning a wedding. It doesn't matter to me though. This was the best birthday ever.
Well, it was until he proposed to me four years later.
Author's Note: Woo. Another one shot done and up! That's two in a row. ) Anyway, review please! I would totally appreciate it. I'm really sorry for all the typos though. I know that there are a bunch in here. I'll edit later. I'm supposed to be studying right now. xD