Ethereal - a kiani au

fifty

• Jordan's POV •

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I hugged Will's mom. She pulled away and dabbed at her eyes as well. She was like the mother I've always wanted.

"He's gonna love it," she said with a nod. "I'll call his father and we can set up everything,"

"Next week is so soon," I said. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. My whole body felt electrified.

"Happy birthday," Will's mom said with a smile. I nodded.

"Happy birthday, indeed,"

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I went home and immediately opened my laptop and sat down on my new bed. It was approaching 10 pm now but this couldn't wait.

Flights to England, I typed in the search bar. The cheapest one came to $800. I took in a sharp breath when I saw it. It was probably more expensive because of the short notice and I didn't want Will's mom to pay all of that for me. I copied the link to the page and sent it to her.

This is the cheapest one, I'm going to try my best to raise enough money for it. $800? That would be quite a few shifts at work especially now that I have to pay my own rent. I hated the fact that Will's mom offered to pay. It can be a birthday present from me as well, she had said. I still didn't want her to though.

Looks good, booking the ticket now :) she responded after a few minutes. Now? My heart started to race at the thought of it. This is real. I'm going to surprise Will for his birthday in a week. A week. My hands were shaking as I typed a reply.

I'll try my hardest to pay you back, thank you so much, I responded.

I can't think of anything Will would love more for his birthday. It's a pleasure, she typed. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes again as it all hit me.

Are you still awake? Will texted. My grin grew even wider.

Of course, I responded. And within seconds, Will was facetiming me. I dried my eyes quickly so Will wouldn't find out. This is going to be the surprise of a lifetime.

"Hi, babe," he said as he answered. A chill ran down my spine. He had never called me that before.

"Babe?" I asked with a smile. Will's cheeks turned pink.

"Shh," he said with a small laugh. God, I'm so in love with him. My heart seemed to swell out of my chest just looking at him. And the fact that I'll be seeing him in person in a week added to that.

"Isn't it like, really early?" I asked. Will nodded.

"6:30 am," he responded. "I can't sleep,"

"Jet lag?" I asked.

"And the fact that you aren't next to me," he said. I gave him a sad smile. I'll be there soon, I thought. I couldn't ruin the surprise.

"I got you a present," I blurted. Will's eyebrows knit into a frown.

"I told you not to get me anything," he said. I shrugged as my smile grew larger.

"You're going to love it," I added. Will tried not to smile but he failed. I knew he always loved gifts. I thought about hugging Will in a week and my heart was beating out of my chest. "I love you," I added. He shook his head but a laugh escaped from his lips. He is the most beautiful boy I've ever seen.