Jauregui.

thirty

Flashbacks are italicized
Averi's POV:

"You know babe," Mom turned to face me. We were on her bed, exhausted from last night, when we hung out with the girls until 3 in the morning. But Dinah had to go to a premiere, Camila had an interview, Normani was recording for the girls' new album, and Ally had plans with her 'special someone' so Mom and I were watching Pretty Little Liars, which was my new favorite TV show.  Mom wouldn't let me watch some parts, but I still loved it.  "You never told me what you wanted for your birthday," She told me. On my eleventh birthday in February, the girls threw a surprise party for me. To say I was shocked was an understatement.

I got out of the car. Mom had taken me shopping all day today for my birthday. I was shocked she even remembered. She felt so bad that she couldn't do more, since all of the girls were out of town, but I assured her that this was the most that was ever done for me.

"Averi, c'mon," Mom called from the lobby of our complex. I quickly ran after her and instinctively walk towards the elevator, when I was grabbed by my hood and pulled back.

"Mom?" I turned around, panic filling me. I automatically thought the worst, but relaxed when I saw that it was Lauren.

"Sorry honey. Are you okay?" She asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, I just got a little scared. Why aren't we using the elevator?" I asked, utterly confused.

"Because I wanna show you something cool in the spa," Lauren told me and I shrugged, going along with it.

We walked down the amenities isle of the complex, passing the gym, pool, and the spa.

"Mom...we just passed the spa," I told her, as we walked outside, towards the recreation center.

"I know babe," She turned to me as we approached the doors. " I love you soooo much and happy birthday mija," She said before gently pushing me into the dark center.

All the sudden, everything went bright and everyone yelled surprise. My anxiety went through the roof, but it helped holding my mom's hand and once I got past the shock, I turned to her.

"Thank you so much!!!" I said, hugging her and moving back to the crowd, who were slowly moving into their separate groups now. I saw the four girls standing close to back door and ran to them.

"Did you guys do this?" I asked in shock, and they slowly nodded, clearly worried that I would be mad. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me, thank you guys," I hugged them tightly and the reciprocated individually.

"What about me? No love?" I heard a familiar voice I missed incredibly much from behind me.

"TAY?!" I turned around to see my aunt and ran to her. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" I screamed, jumping into her arms, and her spinning me around.

"I missed you too, fetus," She said, before frowning.

"What's wrong?" I asked, instantly trying to get down, thinking my weight was hurting her. She noticed and hoisted me back up.

"You aren't heavy Averi. I promise. I was just thinking about how I can't call you fetus anymore. You are ELEVEN now," She said, exaggerating my age.
"Wait! I know. I'm gonna call you guppy from now on. It's still something tiny and small but it sounds better!" She exclaimed, clearly satisfied with herself.

"Okay," I laughed before getting down.  "I'm gonna go find Mom but I'll be back," I said and she nodded, and walked over to Kamila, Dinah's sister.

I walked around the large center, when I bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry," I said, looking up and the person. "Demi!! You came!" I exclaimed, looking at the taller brunette.

"Happy birthday Soph!" She called me by my middle name. She claimed she wanted to be 'original' so she started to refer to me as Sophia about a month ago.
"How are you?" She asked, ushering to the party.

"I almost had an anxiety attack, but I'm good now," I told her.

"Good babe. You come to me even if you feel a little on the edge. I know how parties can be," She said and I nodded.

"Thanks, Demi. It means a lot," I told her.

"No problem, Soph. I'm so proud of you." She said and hugged me before walking to the girls.

"So, what do you want?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"I've got everything I ever need," I said, hugging her. She awwed before turning to me again.

"That was hella cute Aves. But seriously," She persisted.

"I don't know Mommmmmm," I dragged out my voice. "Can we please watch this episode now?" I asked and she nodded, pulling me into her.

About 5 minutes after, Mom abruptly sat up. "I know the perfect thing for you!" She said, before kissing my temple, grabbing her phone, and running out of the room, leaving me incredibly confused.

Lauren's POV:

Watching the episode of Pretty Little Liars and how infatuated Averi was by it, I had an idea for a present she would never forget.
"Hello?" The phone picked up.
"Troian?" I asked again, rechecking to make sure it was the right number.
Phone call (T=Troian/L=Lauren)
T: Lauren? Oh my god, long time no talk!
L: Hey Troi, how are you? Sorry, it's been crazy these last couple of months.
T: I know, I heard. I'm so sorry. I know first hand how hard it is dealing with all of that, and I'm here for you, all of you guys.
L: Thank you Troian. It means a lot. Actually I do have a favor.
T: Anything, Lauren.
L: Averi is a huge Pretty Little Liars fan, and I was wondering if I could surprise her and bring her on set. Normally I wouldn't ask but it was her first birthday with me and s—
T: Laur. Say no more. We would be delighted to have her and you visit us. I'm actually on my way to work right now. We all start at 1PM today. Do you guys want to come today?
L: Thank you so much Troi. We'll be there. She's going to be excited. And so am I. I've missed you all, especially you and the times we had.
T: Me too, Lauren. We can make new memories today! See you around one?
L: Yes! Thank you. See you then. Bye T.
T: See you in a few.

I hung up the phone call, ecstatic for my daughter, and myself even. Troian and I went very far back. I met her at a national high school conference when I was 15(A/N:For the sake of this fic, let's pretend Troian is the same age as Lauren) It was a really hard time for me then, and she helped me get through and vice versa. She was struggling with self harm and anorexia around the same time. Some may say it wasn't healthy, but we helped each other pull through. She was my silent, shadowed warrior. We continued to bond even after the conference, and through out carrers, but had a huge argument around a year and a half ago. We made up, but were never as close as before, but I hope we could fix that.

I walked out of the living room and into my bedroom, where Averi was still watching the show. I grabbed the remote and turned it off.

"Hey! Mom, what's the matter?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

"No attitude missy. Now go get changed into something nice, but comfortable. And get ready for the time of your life. You are not going to want to miss out," I told her and she looked at me for a few seconds then jumped out of my bed and ran out the door to her room.

Here's to the near future, where my daughter may or may not stroke out from a fangirl attack.

-
Hey guys! It's like 2 am and I have school tomorrow but here's a chapter! I hope you like it!
Thank you for 70K.
Until next time!