"Happy birthday Amethyst!" Rose greeted, giving me a hug. She was energetic as usual, her hair a pop of red that everyone could see. She handed me a box wrapped in pink paper and said, "I'm sure you'll love what I got for you. Open it." I raised an eyebrow and gave her a smile, shaking the box as I heard a soft thump. I carefully tore the wrapping paper (which probably took hours to make) and then looked at what was inside. I gasped as I saw three books and the newest Fall Out Boy album, American Beauty/American Psycho inside. "Thank you so much!" I said.
I could hear the music from upstairs, and they were currently playing She Way Out by The 1975. There was a lot of people who I did not invite nor recognize, and a bunch were just greeting me a happy birthday. It was 8 PM and the party was still going on, and I felt like having a pizza.
"Shit," I muttered, looking at the last empty pizza box on the counter. "I know right," the boy beside me said. "Wait, aren't you the birthday girl?" he asked. I nodded, trying to remember his face, but something tells me that I haven't seen this boy before.
"I'm really sorry but Jasmine and Ashton dragged me in here," he explained, sitting on the counter. "Just so you know, if you're wondering why I'm here." I knew Jasmine and Ashton from school. They were best friends, until something happened and they just realized that they were in love with each other for a really long time. "Oh," I shrugged. "Are you liking the party?" I asked him. "I am now," he replied, making me giggle. "Amy, right?"
"It's actually Ame, from Amethyst," I cleared out. "How about you?" From a distance, I could feel a lot of girl's eyes on me, which made me concious so I stood up straight. "My name is Calum." he said. "I play soccer and the bass, but mostly, the bass."
"God, I chose the wrong clothes," I said, wiping off the sweat on my face. "I'm going to change, you can wait outside my room if you want," I said, hopefully it didn't come as sexual as it sounds.
He followed me upstairs. "I'm wishing you luck that no one's in your room," he said. "Yeah, that would be disgusting. I'd probably burn my bed and move out of this place if that happened." He laughed, making me feel happy because no one ever laughs at my jokes.
Once I reached my room, I checked every corner and breathed a sigh of relief that no one is here yet. "Wait for me," I told Calum, then locked the door. I changed into a loose black shirt and into denim shorts. I'm in my house and I didn't really care that much. I sighed, opening the door slightly. "Hey, Cal. You can come in here if it's okay with you," I said, inviting him in. "Is it okay with you?" He asked. I nodded.
"I brought drinks, by the way," he said, holding up the bottles of beer in both his hands. I grabbed them all and placed them in my side table. "You forgot the opener," I said, he took a drink on the table and opened it with his hands, making me gasp. "Hidden talent," he whispered, flipping the bottle cap and handing me the beer.
"So, what do you do?" I asked him as he examined the portraits on my desk and the corkboard with little items from different moments, like instant photos, tickets, flyers and other awesome stuff. "Do you know Mali-koa?" he asked, looking at me. He sat to the beanbag chair next to me. "Yes, my mom loves her," I said, exaggerating on the word love. Seriously, my mom fangirls over Mali. "Oh, I'll tell her that. I'm her brother. Calum Hood." He said.
I looked at him, my eyes wide in shock. "Are you serious?" he laughed then nodded. I said, "Yeah, I could see it. You're her brother." Mali-koa became famous when she joined The Voice, and now she's making her own music while touring the world. I'm not exactly a fan, but my mom is. She would be honored sitting next to Mali's brother─ but I'm actually thankful she wasn't here to know or she'll never stop bugging him to send her fan mail for Mali. "You said you played soccer right?" I asked.
"Yeah, I used to, but I'm still good at it. I'm currently in a band, bass and vocals. We've been doing gigs and albums lately, but the struggle to get really famous is real even though my sister's already popular." I grabbed for the pack of gummy candy I hid in my drawer two days ago. "Well, why not opening up for Mali then?" I asked. "We tried," he said, standing up. "But people didn't really love our genre,"
"Oh," I responded, not really knowing what to say next. He picked up my overused iPod nano and placed it on my iHome dock then clicked play. The familiar tune of Uptown Funk started, and Calum commented, "Pretty sick playlist you got there." I laughed and stood up, about to switch the song to something better. He's probably making fun of me for having that song in my iPod. "Don't switch! I love that song!" he said.
"You're drunk already," I said. He shrugged then awkwardly danced to the song. I cracked up, "We'll have our own party here," I said. I wasn't feeling well, or maybe it was just because I drank two bottles of beer. "What about you, Amethyst? What do you do?"
"I graduated high school when I was 17, I help my mom with our coffee shop... I have a pretty boring life." He stopped dancing then switched the song to something slower, like Blink 182's I Miss You. "Well then, what do you want to happen in your life?"
"I want to be a photographer. Nat Geo would be cool. I want to travel the world, specifically Peru or Cambodia," he was listening and I liked it. Everyone thinks I'm a very dull person and they'll ask, "Why Peru? Why Cambodia? Why a photographer?" but he was nodding and paying attention as I talked and talked, and I appreciated it. "I want people to be grateful for the world and see its beauty," I said.
He was beaming as he said, "You, Amethyst, you have a very interesting name, a pretty face, and a magnificent dream," I laughed, giving him a face of disbelief. "I'm a big dreamer of all things impossible, but I'm no pretty face, Cal." I took a swig of my beer, emptying it. That was the third one, and I felt completely dizzy.
"Believe me, you're beautiful," he repeated. I smiled and he did too. I knew what was happening─ I could see clearly. I could see Calum's dark hair, evidence of past blonde streaks showing, and the way his brown eyes crinkle whenever he smiles. I knew what was happening, but I had no control of it. Calum kissed me. It was short, and I could hear Noah Gundersen singing in the background. "Caroline my baby, Caroline my sweet..."
When we finished, we both smiled at each other, and I kissed him back. We just made out, nothing else happened, but he was a good kisser and a good listener as well. Inside of me, I wanted to see him once again. I wanted us to be friends.
We both lied in my bed, doing nothing but humming along to the songs, then talking about our favorite things. The music downstairs was getting quieter than before, and I assume it was getting late and a lot went home already. I turned over so I would be facing Calum. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
He looked at me. "What is it?" he asked. The alcohol was now wearing off, which was the worst part. I felt like passing out or throwing up. "Is there any chance I might see you again?" He played with my hair then touched my cheeks. "Well, do you want to hear my band play?" He asked. "Yeah, that would be cool." I yawned, making Calum snicker. It was embarrasing, I probably look awful yawning. Everyone does, right? "It"s kind of late Cal, aren't you going home?"
I was kind of relieved no one tried looking for me. It was my birthday. It was my party, and I had a great time with a new friend (who I kissed). He shook his head, "Not until you fall asleep," his arms were pulling me and I was snuggled up until I was dozing.
