when bella woke up in the morning, she rolled over to look at her clock which read 9:37. she got out of bed and walked out of her room, making sure to be quiet so she didn't wake joe up next door. it always felt weird, waking up on her birthday and being a year older, since nothing actually felt different. she made herself a cup of coffee before walking over to the couch, having a seat. she glanced out the window of the balcony and noticed that it had snowed last night, and it was snowing at the moment as well. she resisted the urge to wake joe up and go outside like a little kid, so she decided on checking her phone. upon opening it, bella smiled at the various messages she'd received already from her friends and family for her 19th. her favorite message in particular, however, was from her boyfriend.
from: kit
> good morning happy birthday my love!! ❤️ i know i'll see you tonight at your party buuuut was wondering if i could take you out to breakfast?
from: bella
> aw thank you <3 and i would love breakfast. just gonna wait for joe to wake up so give me like a half hour maybe? and do you mind if he comes with? i usually always spend my bday with him but i absolutely wanna get breakfast with u
from: kit
> totally fine. just let me know when i can head over to pick you guys up ❤️❤️
bella can't help but grin at the messages, but is slightly startled when the door to joe's room opens up.
"happy birthday bitch," he says.
"thank you. coffee's in the pot if you want some."
"fuck yes." joe walks over to the kitchen and pours himself a cup before making his way over to sit next to bella on the couch. "so how's your first few hours of being nineteen been?"
"totally life changing," she says dryly.
"right."
"kit wants to take me to breakfast, and i told him you're coming with so be prepared."
"fuck. does that mean i have to sit with you two being disgusting for an hour?"
"that isn't going to happen. besides, we're going to a public place for food. i can't just be kissing him there in front of people."
"right. but that won't stop you guys from being gross in the car."
—
it was that evening, and bella had to practically shout to have a conversation with anyone at her party. when she finally had a chance to stop talking to some of her family members that were there, she went straight to the bathroom to make sure she still looked okay. after touching up her hair, bella walks back out and bumps right into kit.
"oh my god, there you are. i haven't even talked to you all night," he says, smiling.
"i know. i'm sorry. it's just that my family has practically been glued to me all night, so i haven't really gotten the chance to talk to anyone else."
"don't apologize. it's more than okay."
"okay good."
"mind if i give you your gift now?" he asks her.
"oh— uh, sure. go for it. but just saying, you didn't have to get me anything."
"uh, obviously i'm going to get my girlfriend a gift for her birthday." bella blushes as she follows him down the hall and to joe's room. "i put it in here since i kind of forgot to wrap it."
"how do you forget to wrap gift?" she laughs.
"shut up. it would've been hard to wrap." when they walk inside the room, bella's eyes widen. there was a guitar propped up against the bed.
"are you serious?" she says, looking back at him. "that must've costed you, like, almost—"
"don't worry about that. is the color good and everything? i can get something different if—"
"shut up. it's perfect." she stands up on her toes to kiss him, not realizing she had actually never initiated a kiss between the two of them standing up together. "jeez, why are you so tall? i can't possibly kiss you like this."
"i think you're just short," kit says.
"oh, whatever. but hey, i wanted to ask you something. do you think you would be cool with being a little less lowkey about us dating?" she asks him, sitting on the bed now with him following.
"like, with our friends and people we know or publicly as well?" he asks.
"i don't know. both, i guess. i'm not saying we should do a whole announcement because that's really stupid, but like, i would very much like to hold your hand. if you don't feel the same, i get it and—"
"i would love that more than anything," kit replies, leaning in to kiss her. "fuck, i'm so in love with you."
"what?" she says softly.
"like, really, really in love with you. is that weird?"
"no," she laughs. "just didn't expect that from you." her hand brushes against his jaw as their lips meet again. "i'm in love with you too."
"you're not just saying that?"
"no, silly. i love you. a lot."
"love you too." with that, he practically tackles her on the bed so that she's almost crushed by him. bella just laughs.
"you're so heavy, oh my god," she says. "also, i'm absolutely going to wrinkle my outfit if you don't get off me."
"right."
"come on. we can have cake." the two exit joe's bedroom and walk down the hall to the kitchen. once bella cuts them both a slice, kit walks towards the couch. when bella arrived at the couch, he pulled her down so that she was sat between his legs.
"this okay?" he asks her, and she nods. "okay, good." nobody around them notices the two at first, but it only takes a minute for will to notice them and crouch down to sit across.
"so," he starts. "you guys are obviously a thing now. i mean, you know i knew but to the public."
"uh... yeah," bella says. "it got kind of annoying having to be secretive about it and stuff."
"understandable."
kit and will start talking about something that doesn't interest bella, but she can't help but smile when kit begins to play with her hair. it felt nice, to not have to worry about other people seeing her with him like this. eventually, will disappeared, leaving bella and kit alone by the couch again. "i need to go for a smoke. come outside with me?" he asks.
"my parents are here. i can't smell like weed."
"i just have my vape. no need to worry about that."
"oh. then yeah, sure." she follows him out to the balcony, and they both take a seat on the ground.
"i think you're genuinely the prettiest person i've ever seen in my entire life," says kit as he watches bella exhale the smoke.
"that's such a lie, oh my god," she laughs, handing the vape back over to him. "also, that was gross."
"i'm serious, though."
"oh, whatever." she can't help but smile again, and bella thinks that this night is probably her favorite night in a very long time.
