You were sitting on your couch around 6:00 at night, the evening of your 16thbirthday. You sighed as you clicked through the channels on T.V. Your five best friends were all on tour and you were super depressed that they were missing your birthday. You had gotten to spend the day with your family of course, but it sucked that you weren’t able to share it with your closest friends. Especially Ross. You sighed again, thinking about Ross. You had met the Lynch family several years ago when they moved into your neighborhood, right across the street from your house. No other families in your neighborhood had kids that were your age so you had grown close to the Lynchs immediately. Particularly Ross. He was only about a year & a half older than you so the two of you bonded instantly. Over time, you had fallen for him. And you had fallen hard. You didn’t realize just how hard until he began dating his current girlfriend Sophie earlier in the summer. You gritted your teeth thinking about Sophie. She was awful, and you didn’t think so just because you were jealous of her relationship with Ross. She was a terrible person, inside & out. Rude, selfish, snobby, bratty…and she treated Ross like crap. That made you mad more than anything; Ross was one of the sweetest guys you had ever met. He deserved someone better than Sophie. But for whatever reason, he had decided he wanted to be with her. Rydel was the only one that knew you had feelings for Ross, though the others probably suspected by now. She firmly believed that one day you and Ross would be together; you weren’t so optimistic. Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at your front door. “I’ve got it!” you called, as you stood up. You walked over to the door and swung it open. Rydel and Ross were standing on your front steps. “Oh my gosh!!” you squealed, flinging yourself into Ross’s arms. “SURPRISE!” they both cried. “Happy birthday Brooke!” Rydel said, grinning from ear to ear. You disentangled yourself from Ross to give her a hug as well. “What are you guys doing here??” you asked excitedly. “You didn’t think we were going to miss your 16th birthday, did you?” Ross asked, disbelieving. “Come on.” Rydel said, taking your hand and pulling you back into your house. “Where are we going?” you questioned. She pulled you up the stairs towards your room; Ross stepped into the kitchen & whispered something to your mother. “Rydel what’s going on?” you asked again as she pushed you into your bedroom. “You’ll find out.” She said mysteriously, gesturing for you to sit down on your bed. She walked into your bathroom and emerged with your straightener and a pack of bobby pins. Several minutes later, Ross walked into your room carrying a white garment bag. He laid it across your bed and winked at you before leaving the room again. “What’s in the bag?” you asked, reaching over to unzip it. Rydel swatted your hand. “Nope! Not yet.” She instructed, going back to fixing your hair.
An hour later, Rydel finally finished styling your hair. “Ok, NOW will you tell me what’s going on?” you asked again. She shook her head. “Nope. But you can look inside the bag now.” You eagerly picked up the long white bag & unzipped it. You gasped. There was a beautiful peach colored dress inside. “Oh Rydel!! I love it!” you breathed. She grinned. “I knew you would. Now go get dressed!” She ordered, pushing you in the direction of your bathroom. “Alright, alright.” You said, laughing. You stepped inside and quickly slipped into the dress. When you walked back out a few moments later, Rydel was gone. Ross was standing in her place holding a black shoe box. “For you.” He said, holding out the box. You sat down on your bed again and slipped on the tan wedges. You stood up and walked over to your full length mirror. “What do you think?” you asked, turning around to face Ross. He smiled. “You look beautiful.” Rydel walked back into the room. “Oh Brooke you look gorgeous!” she gushed. “Now let’s go!” She took your hand again and began dragging you down the stairs. “Where are we going??” you whispered over your shoulder to Ross. “I can’t tell you.” He whispered back, grinning. Rydel led you out the front door and across the street to their house. She opened up the front door and quickly pushed you inside; the living room was pitch black. “Rydel what the-” “SURPRISE!!” The lights were flipped on suddenly. The living room was decorated with pink & white balloons and streamers. A banner reading ‘Happy Sweet 16 Brooke!’ was hanging on the wall. The rest of the Lynch family, your own family, and a lot of your friends from school were standing around. “You guys!” you cried, turning around to face Rydel & Ross. “Thank you!” You threw your arms around the both of them, pulling them into a group hug. “Hey, hey…share the birthday girl!” you heard Riker say from behind you. You whirled around and gave him a hug as well. “My turn!” Rocky said, pulling you away from Riker and wrapping you into a tight hug. After hugging your way around the room, you made your way into the kitchen where your mother and Stormie were. “You knew about this all along didn’t you?” you asked your mom, leaning against the counter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said jokingly. She kissed your forehead before walking back out into the living room. “Happy birthday sweetheart!” Stormie said, pulling you in for yet another hug. “We’ve missed you so much.” “I’ve missed you guys too!” you replied. She gave you an apologetic smile once you stepped back. “Oh and I’m really sorry but…Sophie’s here.” Your smile immediately turned to a frown. “We tried to keep the party a secret from her but she found out and she started whining about not being invited and basically guilted Ross into letting her come.” Rocky said from behind you. You jumped. You hadn’t even heard him approach. “I’ll try to keep her distracted tonight; I know you want Ross all to yourself on your birthday.” He said, winking at you. You blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” you mumbled, trying not to make eye contact with him. Stormie laughed. “It’s pretty obvious dear.” She said. You looked over at her. “Really?” you groaned. Rocky nodded, grinning. “We’ve all noticed Brooke. The way you look at him. How you’re always smiling when he’s around…” “Did you mention the way she looks at him?” Stormie cut in playfully. Rocky’s grin grew as he winked at you again and left the room. Your blush deepened. “Don’t worry Brooke. You know we’ll never tell. Besides…just between me and you…” Stormie leaned down to whisper in your ear. “I’ve caught Ross looking at you that way too.” She continued walking in the direction Rocky had left. You stood frozen for a moment. “Wait what??” you said, snapping back to reality. You followed quickly behind Stormie. You stepped into the living room; she was nowhere to be found. The room was packed with your friends and family. You mingled with the guests for an hour or two before Mark announced that it was time to cut your cake. Rocky and Riker carried the large pink & white cake out into the living room. Stormie lit the sixteen candles. “Make a wish!” Rydel squealed from behind you. You closed your eyes and wished for the one thing you knew you would probably never get; Ross. You opened your eyes and blew out the candles.
