Shaun’s POV
The lady at the jewellery shop looked at me strange when I came in. I didn’t realize why until Jumpnow pointed out the lip stick on my cheek. It was Ashley’s 18th tomorrow and we were flying to Sydney tonight for the last few shows of our tour. The change in Ashley was really incredible. This was why I didn’t care about the lipstick on my cheek because hey, she was wearing lipstick and not looking like an emo… not that I cared what she looked like; she was always stunning, but I wanted her 18th to mark change. My present for her was a bracelet and something secret that I told nobody about. The bracelet I got I was going to get “never alone” engraved on which was why I was in a jewellery store with Jumpnow in broad daylight.
After a few hours of shopping, the flight was going to leave so we had to abandon the rest of our ideas and head back to the hotel. At the airport, we had to go separately. The girls disguised so they wouldn’t get mobbed.
On the plane, I was sitting next to Ashley and tracing over the scars on her wrist. My final clue that she had changed was that there was not one new mark on her, and she smiled when I mentioned it.
Ashley’s POV
“LIKE IT’S HER BIRTHDAAAAAAY” blasted around the room, it was so cliche but right now I didn’t care. Last night, we flew into sydney. Tonight, we were fucking shit up — our way. I was 18 now and I wanted to let go and forget, even if it was just for tonight. I was wearing stripper heels and a bright red cocktail dress courtesy of my best friends suitcase, my hair was loose and wavy and I had raspberry vodka in my hand. Around my wrist, I had a silver cuff braclet with ‘never alone’ engraved on the back. My arms weren’t covered showing the scars but right now, I didn’t really give a fuck. Shaun kissed me on the neck and someone snapped a photo, it was only just after 9 and I was half smashed. After me and Shaun dressed up and went out for dinner at some fancy candlelit restaurant, we came back to the hotel room which was converted into a makeshift nightclub. The lights from the concerts were set up transforming this place from a crap hotel nobody wanted to stay in to just where I wanted to be. In fact, the only reason we stayed here was it was practically empty so we could party all night. The sweet fuzziness of alcohol was coming over me, I was finally letting loose.
Jimmy came in carrying a giant ice cream cake entirely covered in flickering candles and a few sparklers sticking out in random directions. He put it down in the middle of the room and Shaun started singing happy birthday, well not singing more like yelling. Once everyone joined in, he lowered his voice to a whisper in my ear, replacing the words that everyone else was singing with his own. I blew out the candles and stuck the knife in. I don’t know why I didn’t realise before but ice-cream isn’t easy to cut… The knife came out all gooey and I wiped it in Shauns hair just to annoy him. He chased me around the room before trapping me in the corner ‘You, Missy, owe me a kiss. That knife was dirty!’ he informed me in a formal voice before kissing me hard. By the time he broke off, I was breathless and my birthday cake was bring destroyed. Well eaten… and thrown at people… I claimed a chunk and finished what I started pushing it into Shauns face. This party was more like an 8 year old’s than an 18th, well besides the drinking, but it was the best party I’d ever been to. The best party anyone had ever bothered to give me. We played stupid little immature games, which were so much harder when you were drunk and half hypo, we danced and sung along to the music. When the presents came out, I couldn’t stop laughing at the bunch of random stuff given including a blow up pool…
We didn’t stop partying until about 4am, when Shaun lead me into our room. We kissed for a bit but when he suggested we take it to the next step, I had to admit I couldn’t. The rape had scarred me for life, but I wanted Shaun more than the world. He wasn’t mad, he just wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
