Apartment 311

Ch | 64

Brooklyn Noelle Brankovich

Chapter Sixty-four: "Unhappy Halloween"

It was finally the thirty-first - Halloween. AKA, Cassie's birthday. I was super excited not only because it's her day, but because the surprise was going to be so good!

Keeping it a secret from Cassie was so hard, we're best friends and usually together, always talking about any and everything.

"-Over here?" A man asked me about where to put the '23' balloons?

My face curled at the sight. To emphasize my point, I squinted my eyes and ranted. "What are those, dust specks? I said big balloons, not Tic Tacs."

"These are big, how big do you want them?"

"Bigger," I boomed, circling things and checking stuff off on the clipboard. I clutched it close to my chest and looked around.

Noah just laughed and told me I was being bossy.

"Am not," I huffed, finally taking a seat. "Besides, it should be perfect; it's Halloween, it's Cassie's birthday. I love her, I hope she likes it!"

"Yeah, she's like a little sister to me now, it's weird," he talked.

"Why is it weird?"

Noah shrugged, removing the glass of whatever he was drinking from his mouth. "I didn't think we were gonna like each other, but once I got to know her, she's a sweet girl. And Em brought us together, I don't think I'll ever be able to pay her back for that. But that night we were in the hot tub, when she told us everything, I felt so bad."

"Don't," I said, "she doesn't like sympathy. But, yeah, she's the best. And are you drinking already?"

He raised his glass and swallowed the rest. "Pregaming. I'm stressed."

"I'm doing everything and you're stressed?" I jokingly sucked my teeth, standing to go supervise some more.

He followed. "Hey, what did you get for Cassie? I feel bad, I didn't think we were doing gifts."

"Why do you wanna know, so you can slap your name on it?" I teased him, whipping my neck.

He laughed, "Exactly." I just shook my head at him and continued walking through the club.

"I got her a bracelet from Cartier, like mine, but hers is rose gold. See, isn't it cute?" I beamed proudly as I showed him the red box with the Love bracelet blinging inside. He agreed that it was cute but when he went to touch it, I slammed the box shut, almost nipping his fingers and his face straightened while I found it funny.

I put the gift back in my bag and then checked more things off the list as I saw they were to my satisfaction.

"That's an expensive gift, what are you gonna get me for my birthday?" he asked me, keeping up as I weaved through the decorations on the floor.

"It was only seven thousand," my eyes rolled, "and when's your birthday?"

"November twenty-eighth," he said surely.

I looked up at him. "That's next month, right? Wait-- January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November -- oh my God, it is!"

"You had to go through all of the months to figure that out?" Noah laughed at me.

"It wasn't all of them, but yes, shut up. Aww, bub, we're gonna spend your birthday together! Look at us," I bubbled, opting for a high-five. His palm hit mine and I smiled big.