No One Knows

Tyler's Birthday

    I'm helping Mum plant some flowers in the backyard when I hear Mena come running towards us.

   "You ok there?" I ask her, my eyebrows raised. She was panting, bent down to catch her breath and held up a hand.

   "It's. . .Tyler's. . . birthday." She gasps, standing back up straight and bending backwards, stretching her back.

   "Really? How old is he turning?" My Mum asks Mena, stopping what she's doing.

   "Yeah. He's turning twenty." She says, not looking our mother in the eyes.

   "Philomena!" Our mum exclaims, clearly shocked. Well, Mena is 18. That should be ok. . .right?

   "What? It's just two years. No big deal." She says, rolling her eyes.

   "Whatever you say." Mum finally gives in, going back to her work.

   "You. Me. Now." Mena says to me, gesturing to follow her.

   "What are we doing again?" I ask her for the hundredth time as we go to Target. She turns to me and gives me a death glare.
   "We. Are. Going. To. Buy. Balloons." She says slowly, giving me a serious look. I can't help but smile at her. "Come on." She says while getting out. I do the same.

   We're inside the shop when someone bumps into me, making me drop the packets of balloons that were in my arms.
   "I am so sorry." The person says. I looked up after picking up all my things and saw that it was a guy that looked about my age. He was tall and had light brown hair, and had chocolate brown eyes. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans that were ripped at his knees.

   "No, no. It's ok." I give him a kind smile and move back next to Mena.

   "So, what's your name young lady?" He asks me, looking very confident.

   "Jordan. Yours?" I reply hesitantly.

   "Hunter." He smiles at me.

   "Well, nice meeting you Hunter." I reply nicely, turning away from him.

   "Hey, before you leave, do you come here often?" He asks, looking between Mena and I.

   "No. We're just here for some balloons." Mena says quickly.

   "Oh, is it a party?" He sounds like he's digging for information.

   "Something like that." She replies.

   "Who's party?" Now he's just being nosy.

   "My boyfriend's." She says strongly, making it obvious that she's taken.

   "What about you? Are you taken?" He asks, a confident smile creeping onto his face.

   "Yes." I say shortly.

   "By who?" He presses, absolutely wanting the answers out of me. I didn't even realise that he had gotten closer to me until his hand was on my wrist. I yank it away from him, like I've been burnt.

   "Me." I hear a very familiar voice say, but it was full of venom. Hunter turns and gets all defensive.

   "Yo, man. I didn't know that she was taken." He lied.

   "I heard her say that she was. So leave. Her. Alone." Jay was staring straight into Hunters eyes and I saw them flicker into a gold colour. He came and  moved in front of me and kept staring at Hunter. He was getting very possessive.

   "Come on Jay. Let's just go." I whisper to him, pulling on his arm. He looks down at me, his eyes going back to their usual ocean blue colour and gives me a warm smile.

   "Ok." He whispers back. He takes my hand and we all walk away from Hunter.

   "What are you doing here?" Mena asks Jay, giving him a sideways glance as we're walking away.
   "I was getting Tyler a birthday gift. You?" He replies simply.

   "Balloons. And gifts." She answers back.

   By the time we've all gotten the balloons and the gifts and were at home, it was becoming late. Mena texted Tyler and told him to come around 6 pm. He said he was on his way. With the help of everyone, we blew up balloons and put them in a net with a little string attached. Once the string is pulled, all the balloons would fall to the ground.

   We hear an engine in the distance and frantically get into place. Tyler pulls up, gets out and walks over to us with a smile on his face.

   "Happy birthday!" We all yell, hugs are passed around and Tyler's face has lit up from happiness.
   "Thanks guys! I really appreciate it." He laughs.

   "We're not done yet." Mena replies. "Now!"

   At her command, balloons fall from the net that was hidden on the roof, falling gracefully like snowflakes. There were blues, greens, purples and pinks. Yellows, oranges and reds. They all came floating down around Tyler. His face lit up and he looked like he was a child looking at the presents under the Christmas tree.

   Mena then brings out a huge cake with Tyler's name on it and he flashes her a handsome smile. She gently places the cake down on an outside table and then gets swept into a full body embrace by Tyler. They exchange a few words but I'm too far away to hear them. They then separate, Mena's face bright red. We all gather around the cake while Jay lights the candles, and start singing the Happy Birthday Song.

   "Thank you everyone. I've really enjoyed this special day with you guys. Even if I've only been here for a few minutes." He chuckles under his breath. "Thanks again!"

   About 3 hours go by and it's time for everyone to go home. Tyler and Mena say goodbye, with a very persuasive kiss on the lips. She walks him to his car and watches him leave.

   Jay and I are over at the table and then he glances at his watch. "Oh shoot, I have to go." He sounds like he's going to be in trouble if he's  not home early.

   "Oh ok." I reply, sounding a bit disappointed.

   "Hey, it's ok. I'll see you tomorrow if you're free." He gives me a cute wink and gently presses his lips to mine, holding me there. The feeling of his lips on mine was warm, and safe. I don't want him to go. After we separate, I bury my head into his chest and wrap my arms around him, trying to make this moment last.

   "Please don't go." I whisper to him, holding him tighter.

   "I have to. But I'll come around early so that we can have the whole day together. How does that sound?" I can feel the smile in his voice and I look up. He turns his head to look down at me, his cute smile plastered on his face. I go on my tippy toes and kiss him on the cheek.

   After he got in his ute, he wound down the window, and reached out to me. He placed a hand on my cheek and rested his head to mine. He then kissed my forehead and got ready to drive off. I stepped back and let him go. As he got out of our driveway and onto the road, he wound down his other window and waved out of it as he drove away.

  
   A silent tear rolled down my cheek as I watched him go.

Hey guys!

I'm sorry that it's been a while since I last published another chapter for this book. I've just been so busy with schoolwork and exams.

I hope you guys like this chapter!

Stay safe!
~Savvyflame~