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My eyes closed on their own accord and my lips pursed, letting out a stream of air aimed towards the yellow, dancing flame. It disappeared and turned into smoke, which soon dissipated. My eyes opened and I smiled, ignoring the silence that followed.
Even though I was alone for my sixteenth birthday, I wasn't as angry and disappointed as I had thought I'd be. My mom and step-dad took my step-brothers to their overnight football tournament without acknowledging my soon to be age-changing day. I had no friends to celebrate with, not really. But I was fine with it.
I had gotten a lot better since Atticus left. It was obvious I wasn't who I was at age fourteen, but that was my goal at this point.
Since I didn't have to keep up with friendship drama and other responsibilities such as that, I had time to watch other people. Not like a stalker, don't worry. But as I watched people at my school interact with their friends and enemies, I found myself trying to find a category for myself. Was I a nerd? Did I gossip like those girls in the lunch line? Did I sit in the back of the classroom with the "cool people"?
It worried me too because I couldn't find a place for myself at the beginning of my search. But I saw my old self in other people and realized, I was a jerk. For example, before school Att and I used to sit by the stairs of the school and watch people come in. Sometimes he'd laugh at some nerd and of course, I'd follow along with it. It wasn't until I was laughed at one day that I saw how much we had actually hurt people, and annoyed them.
That's what I meant when I said I made Atticus an angel in my mind. If I did that, I could just blame him for the sour looks we got because I knew he would never change in my head.
So it was my fault I was alone that day. Who would want a friend like me? I was the cool person turned shy nerd.
Just as I finished my cupcake, I heard a knock on my door. I threw away my wrapper in the trash and walked to the door, curious as to who it was. I swung open the door and saw... Nothing. Sighing, I started closing the door before I heard a loud cough. My head snapped up and looked around again, suddenly nervous and creeped out.
I stepped out of my house and walked down the porch, looking out onto the yard. The bushes rustled and I ran back to my front door, laughing at my jumpy self. I was mid-chuckle when I saw a Post-It note stuck to the dark wood of the door. Only two words were written on the purple paper: Happy Birthday :)
The rustling grew loud and there was a loud crash, followed by a "Oh shoot!" A figure jumped out of my bushes and sprinted across my yard. My eyes widened when I saw the familiar blonde hair of my old best friend. He tripped and rolled onto the wet, green grass, laughing hysterically. I gasped and covered my mouth in shock, closing my door and starting to walk to him.
When he saw me coming, he jumped up and continued to quickly run away, but not before turning my way and waving with a cheeky grin on his face. "Happy Birthday, Paige!" He almost screamed at me. I laughed and waved back, a warm feeling fluttering in my chest. He was adorable.
I walked back inside my house feeling loved and giddy. Although we didn't talk much anymore, I could always count on Trent to make me feel special.
Happy Birthday to me.
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A/N
I love Trent xD
Please tell me if you think all this is confusing! I'm progressing each chapter by a year, more or less, so you can see how Paige grows and learns at a faster pace.
