𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 • 𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚎

𝙸𝙸

Lexie was really annoying at this point. She had been bugging me to talk to Finn and all, it being his senior year, but still. I didn't want to. I couldn't. I just, couldn't.

Finn came up behind Lexie. I saw him glance up at me for a moment before looking back at Lexie. I stayed hidden in my locker. I knew if I looked at him, he would want to talk to me about...everything. Lexie leaned over to me. "You're not even going to talk to him about anything?" She attempted to whisper. Lexie was a terrible whisperer. I didn't even look up.

"Did you want to go to Breadstix this weekend?"

Lexie looked back between me and Finn. "But isn't Saturday.." I nodded. "It's my birthday." She turned to him. "We can't let her celebrate her birthday by herself, Finn."

The two didn't even look at me. They kept mumbling indisctantly, pretty much ignoring me. "It's fine, really. I don't even celebrate my birthday. I haven't in a couple years." Lexie turned to me and then glanced up at Finn. "It's your sixteenth birthday, A.J, you're not gonna have a Sweet Sixteen?"

I shook my head. I didn't want one. I hadn't had a birthday party since I was ten. I get it. Girls are supposed to have Sweet Sixteens. It was just another year closer to dying. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like my birthday, I just haven't celebrated it in a while.

"You can't not have a Sweet Sixteen. That's like not having Christmas. It's the one thing that girls look forward to their whole lives." Lexie said to me, trying to convince me even more. I sighed. "Lexie, I don't want one. I just want to spend my birthday how I've spent it for the last 6 years. I order a pizza, hide in my room, and watch Back To The Future."

Lexie looked up to Finn, who just stood there. "Will you do something? You're the older sibling." He looked at her for a minute. "Lex, I can't make her do anything. She's weird. Besides, she's not even talking to me. For reasons, she is still refusing to tell me."

"They're my reasons, Finn. I'm sorry if it's upsetting you that I'm not talking to you...but I have my reasons for not talking. I need them to keep me sane this year, alright? You guys can give me the best birthday gift, ever. You guys can leave me alone about my birthday."  I wanted to leave, but I still needed stuff from out of my locker. 

"I'm so glad that we established my locker as the hangout center."

"It's not the hangout center."

"Apparently, it is. I mean, everybody decides to talk to me when I'm at my locker. Bothering me about boy troubles—when I clearly have some for myself—asking about my birthday. The one thing I always ask people not to bring up. I mean, half of my friends don't even know my birthday."

Finn looked at me. "Aren't like Blaine and Sam your only friends?" I looked up at him. "No..they aren't my only friends. Lexie's my friend, right?" She just stood there for a minute. "You hesitated. I cannot believe it. You hesitated." She sighed. "I didn't hesitate. I thought about it for a minute." I cocked my head to the side. "That is called hesitation."

I shut my locker and turned to leave before I stopped. "Is this because I don't want a birthday party?" Lexie tried to nod as slowly as possible. "Tell you what, you can throw me a birthday party, but it has to be extravagant and, I want a really good present. I know that sounds greedy, but...uh...talk to your boyfriend, he'll know what to get me. I have to get to Spanish! Bye!"

I called, running down the hallway to Spanish. God, was I making the right decision letting people throw me a birthday party?