Adult Responsibilities

Chapter 27

Andrew walked outside the white mansion, with Shane, Ryland, Kate and Morgan following, their other friends walking behind and peering out the door to see what gift the guys had gotten for the birthday boy. Andrew gasped out loud when he got out there, laying eyes on a black Range Rover with tinted windows, the same model that Morgan had in white. Andrew's eyes grew wide, looking from Shane to Ryland in complete shock, and Shane yelled out, "Happy Birthday Andrew!!! Cheers to my best friend in the world!" Andrew cleared his throat a little as everyone in the crowd gasped, talking excitedly amongst themselves.

"Woah, woah, woah, Shane, this is really nice, but... there's no way I can accept this," Andrew said softly to Shane, and he and Ryland exchanged glances. "You have to!" Ryland shrieked, and Shane nodded. "Andrew, you drive me everywhere. I mean everywhere. I don't even know how to get my license renewed at this point. It's the least I can do, especially because there's no way I could have launched any of the makeup or merch without you," Shane argued, and Andrew blinked nervously. "It's true buddy. You schlep him around constantly, and you always have to go back and forth from your house all the way out here. And now you're driving all the way to Santa Monica too. We just thought you could ride in style," Ryland said with sincere eyes, and Andrew cleared his throat, immediately looking for Kate in the crowd. He could feel all the guests talking excitedly, and for some reason he felt so uncomfortable as everyone watched him. He locked eyes with Kate as she was standing next to Morgan, and she bit her lip, walking up to stand next to him.

"Are you OK, baby?" she asked quietly in his ear, and he shuffled his feet nervously. "This is too much, Kate, there's no way I can let him buy me a car," he whispered back, and he absently snapped the rubber band on his wrist, trying to calm his nerves and uneasiness. Kate noticed, and she immediately put his fingers on the calming bracelet, letting him feel the beads. She kissed him lightly on his cheek, and he smiled, taking a breath. She held both of his hands in hers and leaned into him, talking softly into his ear.

"Andrew, they really wanted to do something special for you. Shane loves you like a little brother, and this is the way he shows it. There's no reason for you to feel bad about it. If you wanted to buy this car yourself, you could have, but he knows you never would. Let him say thank you," she said quietly, squeezing Andrew's hands, and he looked from Kate to the car and back again. She smiled at him reassuringly, and he took a breath. "You really think it's alright?" he asked her, always uncomfortable when people bought him fancy things or made a big deal of him. Kate nodded a little, pulling him close to her.

"It will be a good car for driving out to Disneyland," she said softly, smiling at him, and Andrew immediately grinned. "It will be a good car for driving to the beach too," he said, looking at her with a winning smile. "And a good car for hauling Lila and her gaggle of friends around," he added, and Kate laughed as his chocolate brown eyes sparkled. She tilted her head, thinking of her sweet man and how kind and loving he was. "I love you so much, Andrew Siwicki," she whispered, pulling him down to her and kissing his lips softly, and Andrew blushed, taking a deep breath and turning back to Shane.

"Shane, buddy, I really... um, I really appreciate this," he said quietly, and Shane's eyes lit up. He pulled Andrew into an enormous bear hug, Ryland jumping in and hugging around them both, and Kate looked on, smiling to herself as she and Morgan stood together.

The night wore on, Ryland presenting Andrew with a huge three-tier cake Rosanna had helped him make from scratch (for a video, of course), and everyone sang. Morgan and Garrett gave Andrew a new lens for his camera that they'd put in to buy, and Andrew gasped at how sweet his friends were. Morgan started drinking with the Vlog Squad girls, and they made hilarious TikToks, tagging Andrew and talking about his birthday. The drinks continued to flow until Heath, Caleb and Garrett shoved Zane in the pool, and that pretty much brought the night to its conclusion. Ubers started to pull up, taking all the drunken guests home, and after Morgan and Garrett left, Andrew and Kate stood in the kitchen, helping Ryland clean up while Shane sat at the bar recapping the night.