ROSES (Oli Sykes Fan Fiction) COMPLETE

BIRTHDAY PLANS

Four days until my Birthday... Five days until Oli was back in San Francisco again. I didn't know which I was looking forward to more. I liked having Oli around, not in any sort of romantic way, but it was nice when he took Ivy and I could relax for a while. I also loved watching him bond with her - it just made me happy that he was in her life and she would know him because at the start, I didn't know if he would want to acknowledge her existence at all. I guess we'd become better friends again over the past few weeks from chatting online and his calls to check-in on Ivy. I was excited that he was coming back, I'd even found somewhere fun to take him that I knew he would enjoy. I definitely wanted to be a best host than I was the first time he was here... he barely saw anything of San Francisco the first time around. 

After waking up to feed Ivy, I showered and dressed and then headed to the lounge area where I discovered Cassidy had made me breakfast. She'd made pancakes and fruit salad and put it on the table with flowers in a vase with fresh juice, coffee and everything. It was like a special occasion breakfast, but it wasn't even my Birthday yet! "What is all this?" I asked as I walked over to the table and she smiled at me. 
"Well, I know you'll be busy once your parents arrive tomorrow, so I decided to give you your Birthday present today." she said with a smile.
"Aww, Cass this is so sweet." I said. I loved gifts straight from the heart like breakfast or something she'd made for me. "Oh, this is just the first part. I have something even better this afternoon." she said as she handed me an envelope. I furrowed my brows at her as I opened it and pulled out a slick card with the words 'Style Makeover' printed below the logo of one of San Francisco's most famous hairdressers. I dropped my jaw and looked at her with wide eyes.
"I wanted you to look and feel absolutely amazing for your Birthday dinner!" she said with a beaming smile. "It's the first time you're really going out, so I want you to feel like a million dollars." she added.
"Oh my God, Cass. Thank you!" I said as I threw my arms around her tightly. I hadn't given my hair any attention in almost a year, I hadn't even had it trimmed! I needed a hair makeover desperately, so it was such a perfect gift. "Soooo I'll come downtown and take care of Ivy for a couple of hours while you're being beautified, then we'll go buy you a dress for Friday. I want your big return to the social scene to be amazing for you." she said. I laughed at the way she called it my 'big return' like I was somebody... that my "return" was important.
"You are so good to me Cass. You have no idea how much I need this. Thank you so much." I said, feeling emotional. She always knew how to make me feel better than I did. "Oh honey, I know exactly how much you need it." she said as she glared at my hair that was in it's usual messy bun. That bitch, lol.

We ate breakfast and Cass finally told me the name of the bar we were going to for my Birthday dinner. It was called 'Local Edition'; an underground bar with an old speakeasy kind of theme... live music, canapes and a chilled out crowd. It sounded perfect. I was actually kind of excited for it since I hadn't been out in almost a year and in case you missed it, my parents were flying down for a few days so they were taking care of Ivy for the night - that meant I could stay out late and actually drink if I wanted to. I felt guilty about that, and part of me didn't want to leave Ivy in their care, but they'd have a couple of days to get used to her, and I would have my phone on me all night in case of emergency. Hopefully she would just sleep. 

With the excitement of my Birthday party now in my veins, I was even more excited to go and get my hair done. I didn't even know what I wanted to do with it, but I was looking forward to a change. Cass whisked me off at midday to the most gorgeous hair salon in town where I was given champagne and the hairdresser got to know me. She showed me pictures and asked me questions before telling me what she would like to do for me. It involved cutting off quite a lot of my hair, but it was so long after a year of neglect that I told her to go for it. I trusted her. Two hours later, my hair felt light, fresh and healthy and Cassidy dropped her jaw when she saw me. They'd done highlights, some layering and blow dried it so it fell in such a flattering way around my face... I felt beautiful for the first time in so long and when I saw myself in the mirror, I actually cried. It was like I could finally see the happy version of Willow again; the person I was before Mexico and heartbreak, before Jayce and all of the fear he instilled in me.
"Wills, you are literally glowing." Cassidy said happily as she played with my much shorter hair.
"I feel amazing." I told her.

Cass took Ivy and I for lunch before visiting the mall to pick out a dress for my Birthday drinks on Friday night. I settled on something plain but tight fitting and low cut. I definitely wasn't looking for any male attention while I was out, but I felt sexy in it and I wanted that for myself. I wanted to feel confident. I wanted to feel good about myself. I knew my body wasn't completely back to how it used to be before Ivy, but I was OK with that. Besides, the dress was black and black hides everything.

When we got home from shopping, I wanted to thank Cassidy for her generous, thoughtful and perfect gift, and I wanted to show off my new hair too, so I snapped the first selfie I'd taken in forever. It really was the first time I actually felt like I wanted to be seen in such a long time. It was the first time I felt happy with the way I looked. I loved the photo so I posted it to instagram and I made it into my profile picture too because I didn't want to be reminded of the dark version of myself from the night I met Jayce anymore. That version of Willow was gone and I was emerging as the girl I used to be; just a bit older, a lot stronger, much smarter and less worried about other peoples' approval or opinions.

I can't lie and tell you it didn't feel good to see so many people liking and commenting on my photo and saying how amazing I looked, obviously compliments were always lovely, but Oli commenting made me feel really good. He didn't say anything, but rather posted 3 shocked looking emojis and while I wasn't posting it for his approval or reaction, it still felt good to get it. 

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[OLI]

God, she is so fucking beautiful. How is she more gorgeous every time I see her? Seriously...

More importantly though... she seems happy.

First the instagram post about Ivy and now a makeover? I'm so fucking happy and relieved that she's feeling better. Especially after everything Cassidy told me when I was there. 

All I want is for her to be happy and confident again, like she used to be.

I really hope Ivy inherits everything about her. She's such a beautiful person - inside and out. It's so fucked up that I ever made her think she was anything less. 

This is a good step in the right direction toward her being her old self though, and here I am; literally smiling to myself, happy because she's happy... lol. I'm such a sap.