teardrops || nathan prescott

junior year, pt. 2

saturday, april 13th, 2013

your eighteenth birthday was nothing like how you'd imagined it. you had thought you'd spend it alone, either at home with your parents or maybe out with a few people from your hometown. you never thought it'd be surrounded by the new friends you'd made at blackwell, vortex club members and not alike.

between all of your friends, they had pitched in to rent out the two whales diner for an hour. you weren't sure how the hell they'd managed to do so (you didn't know that was even allowed), but it made you smile nonetheless. even though some of them didn't get along—namely the vortex club and warren—they were at least polite enough to each other. by that, it meant they simply didn't interact.

"are you surprised?" victoria asked, sidling up to you.

"i really am," you told her. "this is incredible of you all. thank you."

"it was kind of my idea," she said, her slight air of arrogance barely noticeable.

"well, i really appreciate everything."

a few others greeted you briefly, though you didn't know them quite as well. luke and justin were among them, as well as logan and zachary. even though the latter two were in the vortex club, you didn't interact with them much.

hayden came by and handed you a small box. when you opened it, you found a little bag of weed inside. you laughed at his gift. "i'll use this wisely."

he winked. "i know you will."

"have you tried the cake yet?" warren asked, suddenly beside you. he was holding a paper plate with a frosting-covered slice of marble cake. "it's really good."

"not yet, but i was planning on getting some soon. thanks for helping put this together."

he smiled. "it was an obvious choice; you're a good friend. how's eighteen so far?"

"nothing feels different. i still feel like i'm a little kid. but i guess it's pretty cool."

"welcome to the eighteen club!" juliet said from a few feet away, coming closer with dana in tow. as they got closer, she leaned in. "it's really not much different, right?"

you and warren laughed as you'd just told him the same thing. "it really isn't."

the four of you talked for a while longer before dana nudged you. "i think someone wants your attention." she subtly motioned towards the back of the diner. nathan was standing by the jukebox, awkwardly shuffling his feet as he stared at the floor.

"i'll talk to you later," you said, giving them a wave before heading towards nathan. when you reached him, he only grunted in response. "hey. aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?" it was more a joke than anything; you didn't care if he didn't say it. you just wanted him to talk instead of stare.

"i have something for you," he said instead. "but i can't give it to you here."

"after we're done here, you can show me," you told him. "i want to stay a little longer. after all, this is for me, and you guys did more than you had to. i want to enjoy it." his lip curled downwards, almost into a pout. you couldn't help but smile. "i promise. i'm all yours after we finish here."