Silence » a.i

1.5

"Good morning, Cooper." Michael's voice chirped.

I squinted my eyes against the light shining into my room through the window shades. I sat up groaning, and opened my eyes carefully. I focused on Calum's, Michael's, and Ashton's faces. They were all smiling brightly, Ashton's sunglasses still on his face.

"Happy birthday!" they all cheered together.

"How did you even get in here?" I wondered, clearing my throat after hearing my own voice.

"Your mom let us in." Calum smiled brightly.

"C'mon, Cooper!" Michael said, pulling the covers off of me. He seemed oddly happy today. "We've got shit to do today. You're eighteen!"

"You're lucky I had pants on." I grumbled swinging my legs off my bed.

"Yeah, yeah, just get going." he smirked before disappearing out of the room.

"Meet us downstairs in ten minutes." Calum advised before leading Ashton out of my room, closing the door behind him.

After dinner last night, I told Ashton I was getting a headache and just wanted to go to sleep, effectively avoiding the relationship talk. As much as I liked Ashton, the idea of talking relationships with him made me kind of nervous and slightly uneasy. He was a pretty private, mysterious guy. Plus, he already had enough going on with his family.

I yawned before standing and walking over to my closet. Picking out an outfit was something I didn't feel like doing so I just went with black leggings and a white and red baseball tee -- couldn't go wrong with that. I walked over to the corner of my room and slipped on my black sneakers before trudging to the bathroom. I brushed through my hair before brushing my teeth. I flipped my head over, messing it up with my fingers before flipping my hair back over. I combed it up messily with my fingers before making a quick bun. I had no idea what we'd be doing but I wanted to be prepared for anything.

I bounded down the stairs, starting to get excited about my birthday. I was wondering what the boys had planned for today. With them, it could honestly be anything. I followed my nose into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast leading the way.

"Happy birthday!" my mom, dad, and the three boys cheered. My brother stood as far away from Michael as possible, scowling with his arms crossed.

I let out a laugh, not really knowing how to react. My mom had whipped up some pancakes and had plates out for everyone. I assumed mine was the one drenched in chocolate syrup with a lit candle on top.

"Thank you." I smiled, crossing the kitchen to hug my parents.

"You're welcome, sweetie," my mom replied, kissing my cheek. "We love you."

"Can't believe my little girl's eighteen." my dad mused to himself.

"Please don't do one of those dad speeches like in the TV shows and stuff." I requested.

He scoffed at me, "You think I'd cry because of a birthday? C'mon, Bridge."

We all sat down to eat breakfast - Ashton again just told my parents Michael was eating a lot of pancakes. After finishing breakfast, I helped my mom pile the plates into the sink before she insisted I go enjoy my birthday and let Jeremy help with dishes. To that, I didn't protest. I followed Michael out of the door, Calum and Ashton following behind me.

"So what's on the agenda today?" I asked.

"Well we have to bring you by Hemmings' first," Michael reported as he brought us to a stop at the sidewalk. "He wanted to be there to say good morning but he, you know, can't."