Today was a special day, well special to everyone else other than the person it was supposed to be special for. Today was Patrick's birthday and normally he didn't do much in means of celebration, he just treated it like a normal day whenever he was with his family. They knew Patrick wasn't much for parties so they'd just get him a cake and keep the excitement to a minimum. But Patrick wasn't with his family back in his home town anymore, now he was with a group of old and new friends that would never let him get away with not celebrating his own birthday.
So Joe, being the wonderful person that he is, decided that Patrick deserved something special. Something he'd really enjoy. And he knew just the thing.
"Patrick?" Joe peeked his head into Patrick's bedroom, his eyes immediately finding his friend sitting on his bed and scrolling through his phone.
"Yeah?" Patrick responds without looking up.
"Hey, could you- oh happy birthday, by the way. But could you do me a favor?" Patrick then turns his attention to Joe, eyebrows raised in question. "Uh, do you mind going to the store and picking up a few things?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
"Um..." Truth is Joe didn't really need anything from the store, but he was trying to get Patrick out of the apartment for a little while so he can call their friends without him getting suspicious. He really should have thought this through a tiny bit better. "Just, uh... just some essentials. Like buttwipe aaand, y'know... food."
"Yeah, I guess I could- wait, did you just say 'buttwipe'?"
Joe nods, his hair bouncing a little. "I did."
Patrick chuckles and shakes his head, getting off of his bed and slipping on the closest pair of shoes. "Alright, I'll be back then. Don't set anything on fire."
"Since when have I ever-" Joe began but Patrick was already walking down the hall and into the living room, grabbing Joe's car keys from the end table by the front door and exiting the apartment.
Joe doesn't waste time taking his phone out and dialing the first friend in his contact list, which happened to be Brendon.
He hit the call button and listened to the phone ring a few times before Brendon picked up with an enthusiastic 'mmyello?'. Joe began to explain what he had planned for Patrick's birthday surprise.
"So I just need you to get some cake and bring it to the place."
"You want me to bring a whole fucking cake?"
"No, not an entire cake, just something small."
"Like what, a cupcake?"
"Yeah, exactly! Get a cupcake and like-"
"What flavor though?"
"How the fuck should I know?"
"I need to know these things, Joseph."
"I don't know, vanilla? I really don't think he's gonna care-"
The slight creek of the front door opening and closing catches Joe's attention, peeking out of his bedroom to spot Patrick entering with a few plastic bags in one hand and balancing a twelve pack of toilet paper in the other.
"Shit, he's back. Tell everyone else what's going on, I'll call you later." He quickly hangs up the phone and tosses it onto his bed before rushing out to help Patrick.
"Hey, dude." Patrick greets. "I got some of those pastry thingies you like and some other stuff. Oh, and toilet paper." He hands the pack over to Joe then heads to the kitchen to put the rest of the groceries away.
