The next morning was a Thursday, just a day before my date with Luke at the movies. I had woken up at precisely 6:15, and proceeded to fling myself out of bed, getting dressed in a rush. That day felt nice. There was a soft breeze, birds sang from their trees; it felt like a cool, spring day, almost even a little chilly, what with it being so early in the morning. I got in my car and drove to the nearest Starbucks. The sky was grey from the un-presented sun, the street damp from fallen rain. I ordered a double-chocolate chip frappe and quickly scrawled a little note on the side of the cup in sharpie. Rushing back to my car, I made sure the iced coffee didn't spill. I pulled out of the parking lot and proceeded to drive to a close-by neighborhood.
I parked my car in front of Aubree's tan, suburban house, and got out. It was Aubree's birthday that day, and as long as we had known each other, we had always gone all out when it came to birthdays. We never failed to purchase (or make) some extravagantly personalized gift for the other, and go through extreme lengths to present it to the other originally.
I remember one year in particular, she had bought me a dozen cupcakes from this place called 'Gigi's Cupcakes' and told me she had hidden a surprise in one of them. So that evening, we had spent the afternoon lying atop my dining room table, eating an assortment of cupcake after cupcake. I have to admit, after a while, I started to feel a little sick, but I was sick off cupcakes, so it wasn't that bad. After about five for me, my teeth grazed paper. Sitting up immediately, I threw a puzzled glance at Aubree, who sat up as well, an excited expression upon her features.
"Well...?" She nodded her head, giving me the okay to tear apart the red velvet cupcake. Slowly, I pulled out two rectangular pieces of paper splattered with crumbled cupcake. Concert tickets. Aubree fucking Carter hid concert tickets inside of a cupcake. For me.
Yes, that's Aubree for you. She was a work of art, a masterpiece graced with brilliant, rich colors, as interesting as the most exciting thing out there; while I was a blank sheet of paper. I don't think I had a creative bone in my body, except when it came to writing, though I never showed my work to anyone. My plan for that day was to sneak in to her room, presenting her with her favorite 'good morning' coffee, then spending the day creating a home-made cake of her choice, then surprise her with a shirt I had bought. It was a band shirt, some group I had never heard of.
So that morning, as I walked down her sidewalk, I surveyed all the windows, deciding everyone was still asleep. Then, taking a detour, I dashed across her lawn and around to the back of the house. Slowly sliding her window up, I placed the coffee on the sill and hoisted myself up and over. She was still in her bed, sound asleep. It would be any minute before she woke up on her own. Aubree had always been an early riser, even from the times when we were little girls, still sleeping in our princess pajamas.
I remember being woken up at the crack of dawn because my best friend was hungry. Or cold. Or hot. Or she just wasn't tired. And that's exactly why I had woken up so early that morning. I needed to be there before she woke up.
Silently closing her window, I crept to the side of her bed, contemplating how to wake her. I glanced at the clock; it was now 6:45. I don't think Aubree has ever slept past eight in her entire life. She looked so peaceful when asleep; so young and carefree. I almost didn't have the heart to wake her. Almost.
"Aubree!" I screeched. "Aubree Adison Carter, guess who's birthday it is!?" She had bolted up in a heartbeat, eyes wide.
"It's someone who's very special to me; very dear to me heart." I said dramatically, placing a hand over my heart. "And she may try to make me feel bad for getting her up this early, but we both know that she's an early riser anyway." Her mouth was wide open, no words coming out.
"So don't try it." I said with a wink. She stared at me, a small smile tugging at the edges of her mouth. She shook her head, letting herself smile.
"Is that coffee?" She asked, her eyes hopeful.
"Why yes. Yes it is." I answered, gracefully handing her the steaming cup. "Your favorite."
She took a sip, letting out a happy sigh.
"Chocolate chip frappe." She moaned, then took another sip.
I laughed. "Okay, your obsession with coffee is a bit unnerving." She sent me an evil grin, then rolled her eyes. If looks could kill...
"Well..." I began, drawing her attention away from the coffee. "Happy Birthday!" A smile broke out across her face as she hopped up from her place on the bed, crawling to where I sat on the corner.
"Thank you, you wonderful person!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around me. I blushed, hugging her back.
"I am pretty wonderful." I whispered, mainly to myself. She rolled her eyes as she pulled away.
"So...what to you want to do today? I was thinking of making a homemade cake, and decorating it and everything-"
"YES." She answered, her eyes gleaming. "I'm not one to turn down free cake, you know that."
And so we spent the day lying in bed watching movies, and at lunchtime, we pulled ourselves up and began baking the cake.
"It's gotta be pink." she said. "Here. Here's the pink food coloring." We mixed the ingrediants in one big bowl and began mixing and mixing. She turned the volume up on the radio that was playing, and began dancing around like a kid. I followed her lead, throwing my hands up in the air, singing along.
"The drink you spilled all over me. Lover's spit left on repeat." She sang loudly, tossing flour up and over her head. "My mom and dad let me stay home. It drives you crazy, getting old." I laughed as she began grinding against the counter, mixing the ingrediants in the bowl as she did.
"And we can talk it so good!" She sang at the top of her lungs. "We can make it so devine! We can talk it good, how you wish it would be all time."
The chorus to Lorde's "Ribs" began blaring as we slowly lost control, dancing around Aubree's kitchen; every now and then flicking eachother a small bundle of flour. We danced and sang and talked and cooked the day away.
Time seemed to pass me by fast as we celebrated her birthday together. Thankfully, she loved the shirt I had gotten her. (I was honestly the worst gift-getter ever) But she didn't seem to think so. That night, we sat atop her kitchen counter, me with my legs dangling and crossed, and Aubree, with her legs pulled up underneath her. We sat and ate the cake we had made earlier, exchanging the latest gossip and talking about music. We were laughing about something when I caught her looking at me.
"What?" I questioned, taking yet another bite of the pink cake.
"Thanks for making this a great birthday." She said softly, setting her plate of cake down. I just nodded.
"You don't need to say thanks. It's what friends do." I said smiling. She nodded to herself, and before we knew it, we had plunged in to the exciting topic One Direction, always a good conversation filler. I went home that night nervous for the next day. Nervous for what was to come. What was to come?
I would soon find out.
YOU ARE READING
Make believe
Fanfiction"His love was like the rain; beautiful and free. He showered her with kisses just as the clouds showered the pavement, and it was true."
