Trapped (egobang trans)

Chapter 56 - Party

Arin adjusted her hair for the millionth time in the mirror, hissing to herself as the bun still didn't sit quite right. Her hair wasn't long enough to all put up like that, but with tips from Suzy she'd managed to style it in some way so that the lower layers were left down, but the rest was in a small, delicate bun near the back of her head. She finally let her hands fall to her sides; that was as good as it was going to get.

"Arin! You're friends are here!" called Arin's mum from downstairs.

Arin called back and quickly left the bathroom, adjusting her shirt one last time. She wasn't wearing a dress today, but the shirt she had was long enough to flow a little as she moved, and was comfortable enough to wear that she could enjoy today.

She rushed downstairs, smiling at Suzy and Rachel stood in the front door.

"You look great! Ready to go?" complimented Suzy.

"Yep!"

"Oh, don't forget your present, Arin," piped up her mum behind her.

Arin turned around and blushed as she was handed the package, not wanting to think about how embarrassing it would be if she forgot it.

"Thanks mum. See you later."

"Have fun, dear!"

Arin grinned as she followed the other two girls out to Suzy's parent's car, climbing into the back with Rachel while Suzy took the front. The car pulled away, and Arin felt her heart pick up speed in anticipation. They'd planned everything for weeks, but now it was actually happening. Arin had only ever been to maybe one of Kevin's birthday parties when they were younger, so she was unbelievably excited for this. Speaking of, they'd actually enlisted in Kevin's help to prepare it, so maybe he'd be there too.

"So, what did you get him? That looks like a big present," commented Rachel.

"O-Oh, it's nothing, you'll see," Arin said simply.

At long last the car pulled to a stop, and they all climbed out. Arin heard Suzy squeal excitedly, and smiled as she too looked over their destination.

They'd somehow managed to book an outdoor party area for the day. Apart from any busy roads, it was generally quiet and often rented out for parties like this, sometimes small scale weddings. The site was a flat grassy area, circular and bordered by hedges, and a reasonable sized gazebo that they'd decorated themselves the day before. They'd hung up some blue ribbons and such, nothing fancy but just enough to make it special. They had arrived a little early as they planned to do some last minute tweaks. But as it turned out, they weren't the only ones there.

"Hey! I brought some balloons!" called a voice, and up on the gazebo Arin saw someone waving.

The three girls walked over, and Arin beamed when she saw who it was.

"Kevin!"

Brushing his fringe from his face, Kevin smiled proudly and held up a bunch of deflated blue balloons and a pump.

"I've got more if you want to help."

The three girls bounded forward excitedly, grabbing a pump and handful of balloons each. Kevin laughed at their enthusiasm, but soon the four of them set into a rhythm of work, and before they knew it all the balloons were blown up. They tied them up around the gazebo. When they were done, they all stepped back to admire their work and smiled at a job well done. Matched with the ribbons and the cloudless blue sky, it all looked so perfect.

"He's going to love this," mused Arin.

"I know right! It looks so pretty!" giggled Rachel as she and Suzy high fived.