I Dare You

You're Invited

When I walked in the door my eyes immediately landed on Ashley and Bo. They were standing where they usually stand, by the girls bathroom. I walked toward them with short steps. Ashley and Bo are twins. Don't let that fool you though, they might look the same but they are like two different people. No I'm not talking about one loves Justin Bieber and the other loves a One Direction and they are sworn enemies or whatever. Ashley is very optimistic, there is never a situation where she won't find the good in it. You'll never see her frowning. My nickname for her is "Little Miss Sunshine". Bo on the other hand is more like "emo", I don't mean to offend her or anyone and I sure don't mean it in a bad way she is just very different in a way that is hard to explain other than "emo". She did go through depression freshman year and attempted suicide last year. She overdosed on her mom's pain pills, luckily Ashley found her before it was too late. Everyone has been there for her, especially Ashley and I, she isn't sad everyday though. She's getting better. At least that's what she tells everyone. Another noticable difference is Ashley has her natural hazel hair and Bo dyed hers a reddish brown color. Ashley greeted me with a hug and Bo followed, they then proceeded to sing happy birthday in sort of a synchronized matter. When they finished I smiled and went on about how they should never sing again. We all laughed in a way that felt almost too rehearsed. I motioned to the bathroom and walked towards it, Ashley and Bo followed. Ashley and I looked in the mirror, checking our makeup, Bo just stood in the background fiddling with her phone.

"So what are we doing for your birthday party?" Ashley asked while applying pink lipstick.

"Yeah what's the plan?" Bo looked up from her phone.

"A sleepover." I said.

"Really? That's so lame!" Bo said with dissatisfaction.

"I think it'll be fun!" Ashley put her lipstick in her purse and reached for the door handle.

We walked down the hall, three in a row. We dropped Bo off at biology class and Ashley and I headed for Spanish. We got there early as usual so we can get our seats in the back of the class. I then texted Riley.

Text To Riley:

Hey are you forgetting something? A special day?

I pressed send with no hesitations, no second thoughts. I greeted the teacher by saying hola and handing in last night's homework. The bell rang and the students started to fill the classroom, all of them were bumming around since it was a Friday. I put my phone in my lap and sat my purse in the seat next to mine, there was no way I was putting my $100 purse on a floor when janitors don't even like to wash there hands much less wash the school floors. I saw Riley stroll in seconds before the second bell had rung and sat in the seat next to me, forcing me to put my purse on my desk. He smiled and leaned in for a kiss, me pulling away. He frowned and opened his mouth to speak but the teacher immediately got her pointer and pointed to the chalk board, creating a loud smack. She announced we will be conjugating ar, er, and ir verbs in Spanish. For the rest of the block it was silent between us two. Finally the excruciating 60 minute block was over and I got out of my seat strolling toward the door. Riley called after me.

"Happy Birthday gorgeous." he said in a sweet voice. "You look beautiful. I forgot to tell you my mom took my phone away for failing that algebra test." we started walking. I relaxed at the feeling of knowing he didn't forget my birthday. We walked upstairs to our next class, history with Mr.Tates.

"So can I take you out to dinner tonight?" he asked when we were at the top of the steps.

"Sorry but I'm having a sleepover at my house. You're welcome to come if you want." I said with a flirtatious tone. He bit his lip as he stared into my green eyes, I smiled and stared into his blue eyes. I ran my hands through his newly trimmed brown hair. He knew what I was thinking, and I knew what he was thinking at the same time. I leaned in for a kiss and just when he thought I would lay one on him I pulled away.

"You're such a tease." he whispered in my ear. I stood on my toes, even though I was wearing high heels I still didn't compare to his 6'2 height.

"You'll just have to wait until tonight." I said trying my best not to laugh, I sucked at trying to sound sexy. He made a grunt kinda noise that weirdly turned me on. I turned into the classroom and greeted Ryan. Ryan has been my best friend since elementary school, we used to drink Elmer's Liquid Glue together, best friends forever right? He had a rough year last year, coming out to his parents and the whole school. He said he felt like a new man and he felt free. Power to him. I was the first person he told that he was gay. I remember because Riley was jealous of our relationship and thought he would try to steal me away from him, so one day I told him he couldn't like me because I don't like him like that, he then started crying his eyes out. I thought I had hurt his feelings or something but he calmed down and told me he liked boys. That was in 8th grade. I never figured out how he figured he liked boys instead of girls, when I was in 8th grade I didn't even know what I wanted for lunch. He now got over his bullies and has been living with his boyfriend for 10 months, his parents had kicked him out after he told them. He did live with me for 7 months but eventually found Felix, the one he claims is the one. Felix is a senior, also one of my best friends. I met him through Ryan and Ryan met him through support groups in the local community. I think they're meant for each other. He immediately handed me a wrapped rectangular box and told me to open it. It was a picture frame with a picture of us together that read "Friends are friends but Best Friends are more like family." I started to tear up.

"Thank you so much Ryan." I said while taking a seat next to him.

"Hey do you mind if I bring Felix to your party tonight?" he asked. I nodded my head as I stared at the teacher getting ready to say something.

"Attention everyone. On this day in history Alexander The Great died. Also on this day is history The Beatles released there US album "Let It Be". But most importantly this day in history Marina Saunders was born. Everyone wishMarina a happy birthday. In a monotone everyone said happy birthday. I smiled and turned back to Ryan.

"So do you and Felix wanna come make cupcakes for the party after school?" I said with enthusiasm.

"Of course." he said without blinking.

This was gonna be the best birthday ever.