Something New Yet So Familiar

Birthday Girl

A/N: lol i'm 20 now 😳😳

Work surprisingly went fairly smooth for the entire time Tara was there. No bitchy customers were there and everyone was very helpful and on time. Nobody called out, nobody was late, and everything was so well done that Tara actually wondered if this was just a dream.

But no, work was good. Everyone who worked with her today wished her a happy birthday, and Karla and Kirin got her a bottle of champagne and wine as a birthday gift. Sarah brought her donuts and this guy named Sean baked her a whole birthday cake.

Tara's manager, too, brought her balloons and a bottle of tequila (though that was supposed to be kept a secret just between the two of them), so needless to say, the short girl was showered with love and gifts the whole shift. Even customers wished her a happy birthday, and the girl couldn't have asked for anything better.

Her day was going so well and she was happy. Even if it didn't seem like much, she still was so grateful and happy for everything that happened at work. Her coworkers going as far as making sure that she had a good shift at work and providing her with gifts meant so much to her, and the amount of people at school, students and teachers, who wished her a happy birthday and gave her little gifts was really sweet and generous.

By the time Tara got off from work, her face was hurting from all the smiling she did the whole day. She got off work at 5 pm, and headed straight to her car. Sam had planned a birthday dinner for her, and they had reservations for this nice Italian restaurant at 8:30, so Tara had to be home as soon as possible.

Luckily, the drive back home only took her 15 minutes, so she had enough time to get ready. The restaurant was in San Francisco, and Sam wanted to get there on time. It was a three hour drive, after all.

Tara got out of her car, holding the gift bags, balloons and the donuts with the cake with both of her hands. She was struggling a bit, but somehow managed to make it to her door and unlock it, before getting inside. Right away, she was met with Quinn, Wes and her older sister, who met her at the entrance with more gift bags and balloons.

As nice as it was, there was still no sign of Tara's raven haired girlfriend. It began to worry Tara, seeing as Amber was never a no call no show, so all of this was really weird to Tara. Still, she tried to force herself to not jump to any conclusions just yet.

"Happy birthday Tara!" Quinn and Wes said at the same time, both of them giving her an individual hug. She hugged them back, a small smile on her face, and looked over at Sam, who was standing in the corner watching them.

"I know you're not really in need of it, but I hope this proves itself useful one way or another." Wes said as he handed over a big wrapped up box to Tara.

The short girl furrowed her brows but took the box. Her confusion increased as she felt the slight heaviness of it, and carefully began unwrapping the gift. The three watched her as she did so, and Wes felt himself getting a mix of anxiety and excitement.

Tara's eyes widened in shock as she finished unwrapping the box and opening it up. She couldn't believe what was right in front of her. It was a mini acoustic guitar, model EGL-05. That guitar was at least a good $350, and Wes got that for her as a gift? Was this kid insane?

"Holy shit Wes!" Tara said as she picked up the guitar, admiring it. "You're insane for getting this, but I can assure you that it will prove itself useful! Thank you!"

The two hugged once more and Tara set the guitar aside, before Quinn handed over her own gift. Like Liv and Anika, Quinn got her some more makeup, but along with that makeup, the redhead ended up getting Tara this beautiful black mini dress. And just like she's been doing for the majority of the day, Tara thanked her redheaded friend and gave her a hug, before getting told by her sister and two friends to go change into something formal and do her makeup.