Escape (Dana Vaughns) *EDITING*

Chapter 10: Birthday Babe

"Happy birthday you super gorgeous best friend of mine!" I heard someone whisper in my ear making me sit up abruptly on the bed. My eyes were as wide as saucers as I looked around the room, finally spotting Edith laughing in the corner.

"Why are you here and what time is it? I swear if it is before twelve and you've woken me up I will actually kill you." I told her, taking sniffles in between. Yeah, I'm sick on my birthday thanks to four out of five of IM5. The guys thought it would be cute to leave me and Dana asleep in the car so now I have a cold and a sore neck.

"It's one thirty and I'm here because you are my best friend and you're nineteen today! Do you know how big of a deal that is?" She asked me while hopping onto my bed. I looked at her before shaking my head and smiling. I cannot believe its December tenth already. I feel like it was just yesterday we were in the mall on Thanksgiving.

I shrugged my shoulders at her question while making my way into my bathroom. After brushing my teeth I put on some sweatpants and made my way down the stairs.

"Happy Birthday sweetie!" My mother screamed as soon as I walked into the kitchen. I stopped, not expecting to see so many people there. My parents, Dana's parents, Mack and his boyfriend James,  Shawn and of course IM5 were all crowded in my kitchen. I felt Edith come in behind me and turned to glare at her.

"You could have told me everyone was here." I said sternly to her while looking around at everyone. She laughed and made her way to the fridge as I forced a grin on my face.

"Hi everyone! Sorry I look like this but thanks for coming?" I said as a question, laughing at the end. Everyone laughed at my confusion and made their way to me. My parents hugged me first, my mom whimpering about how her baby is all grown up now. I shook my head at her and hugged back while my dad just chuckled. Then Dana's parents came up and hugged me acting just like my own parents.

When it was Mack's turn, I laughed as he put out his hand for me to try and reach. James, Mack and I used to do this when I was a short little freshman. James would always have to lift me while I high fived Mack. I felt James hands go around my waist, even though I could reach now and we all laughed together. They enveloped me in a group hug and wished me a happy birthday before walking away.

Shawn came up next and told me happy birthday before telling me how he had to go. Apparently, he was going to be on someone's YouTube channel and had to film the video but he said he would see me later.

I smiled as Will and David came and gave me a group hug type of thing. It would have been a group hug if Will didn't put his hands on my head while hugging me leaving David to give me a side hug. I laughed at the awkwardness before pulling away.

Cole and Gabe ran and crushed me in a big hug making me laugh loudly. They both laughed and told me to look at Dana who was standing behind them. My eyes averted to his, which were trained on Cole and Gabe in a glare. I felt my cheeks heat up as I discovered their plan and shook my head slightly while they let me go.

I stood in the same position as I watched Dana come up to me, gazing into my eyes the whole time. No one else existed as he lifted his hand, taking mine in his and pulled me closer. The redness of my cheeks got brighter as he pulled me into a tight hug. Something about birthdays always seemed to bring us closer. I nuzzled my head into his neck while he placed his head in my hair. We stood like that in the middle of my kitchen, nothing else being acknowledged as he softly stroked my back. I felt a shiver go up my spine as he took one finger and traced. His laugh broke me out of a trance as I leaned back to look at him.

"Happy Birthday." He told me, his face never going further than an inch from mine as I stared at his lips. I trailed my eyes down back to my feet, embarrassed to know if he caught me or not. His hand dropped mine as he made contact with my face. His hand trailed my jaw line, tilting my head up to look at me before making its way to right under my ear. His eyes seemed to  be searching as he pulled my head closer to his. My heart was beating rapidly in anticipation as I waited for our lips to finally connect. This is what I had been waiting forever for.