Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!
You woke up to your parents singing, opening your eyes fully to a cupcake with a candle on it. As you blew out the candle, you stretched and smiled, "thanks guys."
"I can't believe our baby is 18."
You started to giggle into a yawn, "well I am mom. And I'm going to be late to school if you guys don't let me get dressed."
"Well don't forget your birthday dinner tonight. Is Jongdae taking you downtown?"
"That's the plan." You wanted to roll your eyes. It had been months since you cheated on JD with Chanyeol but you couldn't break up with him. Not long after the make out session, Chanyeol started dating some random junior, which meant you couldn't be with him. You were stuck with a guy who was fully into you but yet you were unhappy.
As you walked outside, you noticed Chanyeol in his baseball uniform walking out the front door. He ran over to your yard and gave you the biggest hug, "happy fuckin birthday!" You giggled into your hand as you both rocked back and forth, "thank you Chan. Are you and what's her face still coming tonight?"
He laughed, "Melissa is not coming. She don't even know you. But don't worry, I will be there. And on my best behavior."
"Good."
"How do you feel?"
"I feel like I want this day to be over already." You smiled at him as he shook his head, "don't worry. This will be your best birthday. Plus prom is this weekend. We're almost out!"
You let your fingers go over the sides of his uniform and looked up at him, "yup. I can't wait to get out of here."
Before you got lost in your daze, the screech of JD's tires woke you up. "See you at school Chan. Good luck on your game!"
You ran over to the car and smiled, "hey babe."
"Happy birthday my love." He handed you a small box and a card, which made you feel horrible inside. The box contained a necklace with a silver ring on it and you put it on, "thank you babe. It's beautiful. I love it!" He smiled even bigger and parked his car at the front of the school. You gave him a kiss on the lips, which lasted longer than you expected. His hands grabbed your hips as he kissed you deeper, sucking on your lips. You let your hand graze the back of his neck and played in his hair before breaking the kiss, "what was that for?"
"I miss kissing you like this. I feel like you've had a wall up for a while."
"I'm sorry. I'm just new to all of this."
"I know. But I'm really into you. It's going to be hard on us with you in LA and me going to school in San Francisco. But I know we can handle the distance."
You smiled at him and caressed his cheek, "we'll be just fine. Now let's go to class before we're late ya?"
You found yourself sitting on the bleachers, watching Chanyeol and your school's baseball team score another win. You never missed his games and it was a plus that JD was also on the team. He could never accuse you of going for Chanyeol, even though in your heart, you knew why you were there. After the game, you got dressed for your birthday dinner and met JD outside of the locker room, "you did so good today. That winning home run was amazing." He started to flex and you laughed at him, "I did that for you babe. Consider it a second present."
As you made it to the Brazilian steakhouse in downtown San Diego, Jongdae opened your door and linked arms with you to the venue. As you walked in, you saw your parents, Chanyeol's parents and Jongdae's parents waiting for you. All these families came together for you, and you couldn't feel happier. As you took your seat, you were more concerned with the absence of Chanyeol. The servers started presenting the meats and you kept checking the door to see when he would arrive. He finally came in about 20 minutes late, looking so dashing. He had changed from his uniform into a fitted blue suit. His hair pushed back so you could see his huge ears and in his hands were a bouquet of balloons. He went to the back of your chair to tie them on before sitting across from you, "sorry I'm late everyone. Party city took forever." Your smile was huge and bright as he surprised you with a gift. You ripped off the paper and started to cry as you saw the first picture you two took together in elementary school. As you took the frame out the box, it turned out to be a photo album of all of your pictures. Tears flowed down your face as you went to hug him and all the parents did a silent clap. Jongdae was visibly jealous of the whole interaction but it was the sweetest gift you got that day.
At the end of dinner, you went to grab JD's hand as you were walking out and he snatched it away. You cocked your eyebrow at him and walked towards his car, "what's wrong."
"All that reaction for a bunch of old photos but all I get is a thank you."
"JD, it was a sweet gift. Your gift means something to me too. Why does it have to be a competition?"
"Just forget it. Get in the car."
"No let's talk about this. It's obviously bothering you. Say what you have to say."
"Do you even love me? Like honestly. You're with me but do you even feel anything for me like you do for Chanyeol?"
You gulped back and stared at him, surprised he even asked that question. He looked at you like he knew the answer already and you didn't know how to respond. You let a tear drop from your eye and watched him get in his car and drive off.
You stood on the curb and felt an arm wrap around your waist, "Are you ok?"
"I think I just got dumped..."
Chanyeol furrowed his brow and started to scratch his head, "why? I thought tonight went great. I didn't even comment on his height tonight."
You shook your head as you tried not to laugh, "he didn't like how I reacted to your gift."
"Huh...well you want me to take you home?"
You looked up at him and smiled, "I kind of want some ice cream first."
You arrived to mission beach with a pint of cookie dough ice cream that you picked up from a nearby 7-11. He parked his car and grabbed a towel from the trunk, following you to the shoreline. As you both sat on the towel to watch the waves, you couldn't help how good it felt for it to be just you two in this moment. The moon was bright enough to illuminate his face, reminding you of the first time you kissed. You watched his spoon hit the bottom of the cardboard pint and took in a deep inhale, "I didn't imagine my birthday ending this way."
"How did you imagine it?"
"I don't know exactly. But I'm happy I'm here with you."
He cleared his throat and grabbed your hand, "I'm happy to be here with you too..."
You let your head lay on his shoulder as his arm wrapped around you. He kissed your forehead and spoke in a low baritone, "I'm going to always be here for you. I love you."
