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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

    𝐋𝐈𝐙'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 expression, her eyebrows furrowed together and her face filled with nothing but seriousness and determination. She pulled her bushy hair back into a low rise ponytail in order to get it out of her eyes in a way of not distracting her and she had rolled up the sleeves of her crew neck to her elbows, shaking out her arms to prepare for what's to come.

    Emmett stood at the opposite end of the table wearing an equally challenging look, though it was mixed with a cocky smug grin, his eyes shining with entertainment but also was very serious about what was about to commence. The tension in the air was high, and the other Cullen and the Hale twins stood off to the side, watching in anticipation and slight entertainment, laced with a little annoyance on Rosalie's part.

    Liz knew Emmett was trying to look intimidating, but she wasn't afraid of him. She was determined and focused as she rested her hands on the cool table, never once backing down. Emmett just found her attempts to look scary cute, both letting their competitive instinct to get the best of them as it came down to the last match.

    "Got to admit, speed racer, you are better than I expected."

    "Oh? Is that fear I hear laced in your voice? You wanna forfeit already?"

    Emmett rolled his eyes, but never lost his amusement since the moment this little human challenged him to a match. "Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

    Liz has always been very competitive, it was no secret. Every match she had for track she took seriously and refused to give up until she came out on top. Anyone who ever challenged her to anything, Liz was always determined to win. She was also a sore loser, so on the very rare occasions that she would lose, mostly at something she wasn't so skilled in like most, she would sulk and be pissy for the rest of the day and has been known to lash out once or twice. But right now, she wasn't nervous at all, because she knew when Emmett dismissed that she was the queen of air hockey, claiming she may be queen but he was the official king, someone needed to put this fool in his place and Liz was not afraid to be that person.

    It turned out Alice had originally planned on taking Liz shopping, but after several protests from both males and even the birthday girl herself, Alice gave in and let the birthday girl decide what she wanted to do. Liz was not against shopping, she actually loved it, but she always had to go on a budget and she'd be damned if she was put in the position with the Cullen's and Hale's trying to buy her things she couldn't afford, which she had a strong feeling they wouldn't hesitate to do, especially Alice.

    Liz thought about going mini golfing, which she hasn't been in forever but decided against it since she last went was with her father back when they were trying to have father-daughter bonding time. Ester was supposed to join them in attempts of mending their relationship but Ester canceled at the last minute, which Liz knew her father was heart broken about. Liz did her best to try to cheer him up and even let him win, which he knew but was grateful for his youngest daughter's attempts at cheering him up.

    So Juno's Arcade Stadium was the next best thing in Liz's mind. She has been coming here since she was a little girl. This was a spot where she and her friends would always come, mostly this was the place she would spend her time with her ex-best friend. It wasn't as hard for her to be here then it was with mini golf, but that's mostly because she refused for Paul to take away one of her favorite places in a town that hardly had anything fun in it to do.

    She has been playing different games with her vampire friends, and yes she knows how bizarre that sounds but decided since a bunch of vampires were treating her better on her birthday than her actual friends were, then she honestly did not care and decided to embrace the crazy. They did refuse to let her pay for anything, mostly Jasper who had to stop her from paying for her drink and food she wanted. When she went to sneak away to buy cotton candy, she realized her wallet was not in her bag and looked to see Alice had swiped it and was refusing to give it back until the end of the day before paying for her food. Liz felt bad that they were wasting their money on her, especially her need to have sugar and sweets, but they were more than willing to, well, everyone besides Rosalie.

    Bringing her back to the large male before her. The game was tied 6 and 6 and the next person to pocket the puck wins the match. There has never been a more intense game before, mostly because Liz was used to beating Mike or Eric or anyone who ever tried to out best the Chambers female. Emmett Cullen is the first true competition she's had and she was a little nervous that her perfect record might be tarnished.

    "Just grab the puck and play." Liz finally said after a moment of silence, Emmett grabbed the puck from his pocket goal and put it back on the table.

    The rules of air hockey was that you had seven seconds to hit the puck off your side before it's immediately given the other person the point. The large male did not waste time and hit the puck. Liz reacted, the puck going back and forth with so much force and heat that the other's were surprised the table wasn't on fire with how hard they were hitting it, of course Emmett held back on his strength just a little in order not to break the table. This match lasted the losted, Alice and Jasper rooting on the bushy haired blonde while Rosalie was unsurprisingly supporting her boyfriend.

    After what felt like an endless match, Liz found her opening and took it, watching the puck slide into her components goal and watched at the board above them flashed and announced her the winner. Emmett groaned in frustration as Alice cheered, clapping her hands and Jasper remained still, keeping his stiff composure and arms crossed but letting his hard features softened and grinned in amusement. Liz let out a loud cheer, lifting up the mallet and dropping it like someone would do a microphone. Vampires have fast reflexes and she has a feeling that Emmett was going easy on her but judging by the true anger on his face, he clearly just wasn't as good at the game as he thought he was.

    "I want a rematch!" Emmett declared, pointing at the small human who walked over to her cotton candy and stuffed the blue puffiness in her mouth.

    "No rematch!" Rosalie said sternly, glaring at her man. "That was forty minutes of my time I can never get back."

    Emmett went to pout to Rosalie and the two started whispering to each other, most likely about being here and with Liz as that's what the normal topic has been. The only reason Rosalie tagged along to this ridiculous outing was because she did not want to be left at school by herself while Edward is off with Bella telling another human their business and endangering her and her family further. It is not something she can overlook so easily.

    Liz stood next to Jasper, eating her puffy candy and taking small sips of her soda, all her worries about her friends and sister forgetting her birthday were pushed to the back of her mind. It still stung thinking about it, but she tried to put a smile on her face and enjoy this oddly pleasant time with people she never expected to befriend. She could see Jasper looking at her from the corner of her eye, which she started to feel a little self conscious, seeing as she was the only one stuffing her face and they hadn't eaten a thing.

    Vampires, Liz. They are vampires. The Chambers female scolded herself, trying to remember the elephant in the room.

    Pushing back her insecure feelings, she tilted her head to the side and raised her eyes at Jasper. "You're staring again."

    "Am I?"

    "Mhmm. It's starting to lose its charm."

    "So it's charming now? I thought it was insufferable?"

    "More like insufferably charming." Liz pressed her lips into a thin line as her smile spread and she took another sip of her coke. She watched as Alice and Emmett went to one of the racing games, playing each other, with Rosalie watching them intensely. Sighing, Liz couldn't believe how much fun she was actually having. "I really needed this. It's been a while since I've had this much fun."

    "Well, Alice was very insistent when I told her. She thinks very highly of you," said Jasper.

    Liz frowned slightly at his comment. "But she barely knows me."

    "Oh, she knows you. You're Elizabeth Chambers, you have a kind heart but don't let anyone walk all over you. You make an impression on everyone you meet."

    "I don't really like making an impression, especially nowadays." Liz murmured, her voice was very low and a somewhat haunted look briefly flashed over her face. "I rather people not remember I was the one of the Highway 19 survivors."

    "That's not all people remember about you."

    Realizing this conversation was taking a turn she did not want to go in, Liz immediately went to change the subject, looking for anything so that she would have to spend another day reliving the tragedy that has consumed her life. "I say it's about time I kick your ass at one of these games. Pick your poison."

    Jasper shook his head. "I'm more of an observer."

    "Oh, come on!" Liz encouraged, walking past a young kid and his mother before gesturing towards the different games. "I know behind this humble, secluded introvert persona there's a guy who likes to let loose and have fun once in a while. I'll even go easy on you." When Jasper still remained uncertain, Liz huffed. "Come on, Jasper! What about skee ball?"

    After another pause, Jasper finally let out an unneeded breath, letting his stiff composure falter only just a little. "Alright. But I'll never forgive you if you attempt to go easy on me."

    The Chambers female couldn't help but scoff at the semi taller man next to her. "I never planned on it. I was just trying to get you to agree. And you better not go easy on me either. No holding back. I want it known that two big tough vampires got their asses handed to them by a frail human girl."

    "Hey, what makes you think I didn't just let you win?" Emmett's voice drew both of their attention to the far side of the room, him and Alice were still in their very intense racing game.

    "I know you started off going easy on me but then realized how foolish that was and started to take it more seriously which is why the game went on longer than normal because you were no longer holding back." Liz analyzed as Emmett looked slightly embarrassed. "Face it, Bigfoot, you lost fair and square."

    "Whatever, speed racer. We are coming back here and having a rematch."

    "You're on," said Liz as Jasper leads her over to the skee ball slots. Another couple were there, they looked older than Liz, probably in their early twenties, but seem to be on a date. It was only mid afternoon so it wasn't too early but it was still strange to see a date happening this early. Liz isn't an expert on dates, her last boyfriend always took her out at nights and they hung out with their friends during the days. She was a freshman then and he was the first and only guy she ever dated so it makes sense she isn't familiar with the concept.

    Jasper and Liz put money into the slot and started their game. Liz has always had a hard time admitting to defeat, so it is no surprise when Jasper beat her for the third time, her frustration and anger started mimic Emmett's from earlier and she had her arms crossed over her chest as Jasper sunk another ball in the hundred slot, which turned his score from a 1,400 to 1,500. He kept hitting the two one hundred slots and the fifty whereas Liz managed to only two hundred slots and averaged the twenties and thirty slots. Her score was 760, which she only made her blood boil in pure bitterness.

    Jasper moved to stand next to the tense blonde, imitating her stubborn stance and crossed his arms over his chest with a not so subtle smirk dancing on his lips. The two stood in silence, Liz trying to control her sore loser anger that tends to take over whenever she lost at something, which was barely seen since Liz hardly ever lost anything. Her short temper has always been an issue way before the accident, but she was good at keeping it tamed, unless it came to losing.

    The memory of her cursing out a girl from a different school at a track meet and having to be held back from beating the crap out of her because Liz learned that she had stolen her running sneakers and she was forced to wear her teammates despite not being used to them. She knows that inconvenience and slight discomfort since they were a little big on her is the reason she lost and after overhearing her opponents' friends praising her for sabotaging Forks High's star running, Liz nearly broke her face.

    "Wow. You're good." Liz having to say this through gritted teeth was enough to make the corner of Jasper's lips tug upwards more.

    "You told me not to hold back," he pointed out, which Liz nods stiffly.

    "Yes and you clearly did not." Liz scratched her forehead and cleared her throat. "G-Good job."

    The golden blonde haired male pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly finding her obvious concealed anger amusing and endearing. "Do you want to go beat Emmett at another air hockey game to feel better?"

    Liz nodded instantly. "Yes, please."

    And that is exactly what they did, much to Rosalie's protests. She seemed to lighten up when Alice asked her to play the Dance Dance Revolution with her so they didn't have to watch the two competitive beasts in another intense match. Liz won, again, and she definitely felt better though still irritated that Jasper beat her earlier but her anger was voided with the amount of fun they were having. Time ticked away and school had let out about a half an hour ago. The group were about to leave soon, Emmett wanting to finish his pinball game when Liz nodded a booth and grinned, grabbing Jasper's attention by taking his hand which surprised him at the contact but he found himself relaxing at her warmth.

    "I love photobooths. Let's take some pictures." She tried to lead him in but Jasper held back, shaking his head unsurely.

    "I don't know. I don't really take pictures."

    Liz's eyes widened in realization, taking a step forward so she could whisper even though he could hear her no matter what. "You don't take pictures or you can't?"

    "We can," Jasper answered, knowing without question that she was referring to the myth of vampires not showing up in pictures. "I just don't like having my picture taken."

    "And I don't like losing, but I managed to move on without kicking the skee ball machine repeatedly until it breaks," Liz jokes, arching her brow knowingly. Jasper couldn't help but chuckle, seeing as that was something he had expected her to do if he did not suggest challenging Emmett again. "You and your siblings made my day today. I want something to remember it. Please?"

    Once again, Jasper Hale found himself unable to say no to the beautiful woman standing before him. So, he gave in and nodded, which Liz squealed and the two squeezed into the small booth and he added money where it asked. The close proximity was noted, causing the Hale male to tense up, not exactly knowing what to do. Liz noticed his discomfort and frowned, thinking maybe this wasn't a good idea but the machine was already paid and she just selected the standard before turning to Jasper.

    "Just relax yourself. You don't even have to do anything. Just sit and look pretty."

   Jasper turned his gaze to her, staring at her in admiration. "Impossible to do that sitting next to you."

    Liz was taken back by his words, their eyes meeting and the two stared longing at one another. The tension was high, Liz could feel her heart picking up in her chest, neither one breaking the intensity of their awestruck gaze when the flashing started going off, it lasting the entire six pictures and the only movement was when Jasper squeezed her hand tighter, shocking the bushy haired blonde but never once did she break away the eye contact.

    Liz does not have much experience with falling for someone. Like stated previously, she only had one boyfriend in her life when she was a freshman and it didn't last long as both of them decided they were better off as friends. She understands what it's like to feel attracted to someone. She was attracted to Mark Wahlberg after watching the movie 'Fear', which was not a movie to find him attractive because he was a total asshole but that did not change the fact that he was very attractive.

    Now despite Liz's attempts to ignore the Cullen/Hale family since their arrival, she'd be in denial if she claimed that she didn't find them as godly stunning as others claimed they were. She might as well be blind if she said otherwise, the irony in that did not slip her mind. But this was different. Jasper was different. She never took the time to admire their features, as being this close to Jasper, knowing the true nature behind his abnormal beauty only left Liz astonished. She knows without a doubt in her mind that with the marble-like complexion and sharp facial features, that Jasper has always been this gorgeous way before he was turned. She knew that even if he didn't have all the qualities that made him look like a god, Liz would still be very much attracted to him because of his gentle and caring nature alone.

    The photos were long since done and the two did not break from their trance until a pounding from the outside startled Liz back, a booming and amused voice spoke loudly from outside the curtain. "Stop hogging the birthday girl, Jazzy. Alice is insisting she takes Liz shopping and will not take no for an answer."

    Jasper, partly still frozen, took a second before leaving the booth, Liz following in suit, shaking off this overwhelming feeling in her chest. They were met with Alice and Emmett both grinning at them but Rosalie was nowhere to be seen. Liz tried to hide the blush on her cheeks as she went to grab the strip of pictures on the slot, looking at them in shock. They were just six pictures of the same thing, with the both of them staring passionately at one another without moving or blinking.

    "I know you didn't want to, but I would still really love to take you shopping. Just let me buy you one outfit, as a birthday present." Alice begged, trying to break the awkward silence though she was practically dancing on her feet at the two before her.

    "Alice, you really don't need to do that. This has been more than enough-"

    "Hush, I made up my mind. Come on, Rose is waiting in the car." Before Liz could respond, Alice twirled around and left without hearing anymore arguments. She turned to look at the two males, Emmett just shrugged, his face still slightly annoyed from being defeated yet again.

    "It's better not to argue with Alice. You tend to lose every time." He said before following in suit.

    She looked over at Jasper and he gave her a reassuring nod. "We're not leaving Forks, don't worry. There is a small boutique not too far from here."

    "You're not talking about Rhonda's, are you? Because she sells designers and there is absolutely no way I'm letting you or anyone in your family pay that kind of money for me." Liz protested, seeing as the only time she was in Rhonda's was when she was walking past the store in the pouring rain and her phone died so she asked to use their phone.

    "Emmett's right, you can't really reason with Alice. It ends in failure every time."

    Liz scoffed, taking the picture and gently putting them in her back pocket in hopes of not ruining it, a determined look in her eyes. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that."

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    𝐋𝐈𝐙 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐎 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀 there could be anyone more stubborn than herself, and then there was Alice Cullen.

    The boys were right. From the moment they got back in Emmett's Jeep and until they got to Rhonda's, Liz spent the majority of the time trying to convince Alice that she didn't want anything and most importantly that she did not want any of them spending so much money on her. Liz has grown up on hand me downs and thrift store clothes, but she always knew how to make those work. People got rid of a lot of cute shit.

     On rare occasions she would be able to explore Macy's or JC Penny's but that was when her grandmother would take her whenever she came to town or she saved the money herself from doing odd jobs in the summertime. Liz was always one to keep herself busy and hated bothering her parents for money, though they did try to get her new things whenever they could.

    But she always refused to let any of her friends buy her expensive things. If it was food or something really small, then she normally let it slide. She never allowed Jessica to buy her these new shoes she liked when walking the mall last summer, and got really upset when she saw Jessica trying to get them for her behind her back. It was the guilt and embarrassment she felt from it, that she couldn't afford these things herself. She hated being babied. And sure, birthday presents and Christmas' are different, but she always had a spending limit. She was very strict about it and it bothered her when people didn't follow it.

    Alice was one of those people and even though they argued the entire time, Alice somehow managed to talk Liz into getting one outfit with the deal of never telling her how much it was in hopes the not knowing would ease the blonde's mind. It did only slightly, but she tried to ignore her uncontrollable guilt in her chest as she admired her outfit. It was a short, red wine dress with a skinny brown belt around the waist, along with a light cream colored sweater to go over it and a matching pair of long brown leather boots. It was probably the most stunning outfit she has ever owned and despite her earlier protests, she was secretly thrilled. She just doesn't know when she will get the opportunity to wear it.

    It was getting late and Liz noticed she had two missed calls, one from Ester and the other from Danny, both leaving messages asking her where she's at and Ester demanding she come home. Still bitter about the fact that she forgot her birthday, Liz ignored her sister and sent a quick text to Danny saying she would be home soon. He may have forgotten too but they weren't as close yet to be too upset with him. Before they got back into the car, Liz felt her phone go off again. She expected it to be Ester again but was surprised when she saw Angela's name with an urgent text message that shot worry through her.

    Come over asap! I need to talk to you, it's an emergency!

    Angela may have lost points with being one of her best friends today, but that doesn't change the fact that she was still her best friend and her important message worried her deeply. "Hey, do you think you can drop me off at Angela's? I'll give you directions."

    Jasper nodded in the driver's seat. "Sure. Is everything okay?"

    "I don't know. I hope so, she just sent me a weird text." Liz tells him before giving him the directions through the back roads and towards the Weber household, completely obviously to the knowing smirk dancing on three out of four of the vampires lips.

    It didn't take long for them to arrive at Angela's place, said girl who had her dark hair down and glasses on was waiting on her porch, a slightly worried expression on her face as she sprung to her feet as Liz got out of the vehicle and jogged towards the female in alertness.

    "Ang, are you okay? What's going on?"

    Angela never once blinked out of her worried state. "Come on, I have to show you something."

    Liz didn't question further as Angela led the blonde into her house, seemingly unphased by the fact that her friend just showed up with most of the Cullen's. Liz was confused when she entered the dark house, about to ask Angela again of what was going on when the lights slicked on and out popped a small group of people screaming, "Happy birthday!"

    Liz felt like she jumped five feet, throwing her hands up as if to defend herself, but relaxed when she noticed there was no threat, more like a celebration. Her eyes darted around, only to see it consisted of her usual friend group, which consisted of Angela, Mike, Eric, Jessica, Tyler and surprisingly Bella. A large banner hanging up with balloons spread around the room and floating in the air.

    Words could not be formed, leaving the Chambers female speechless at the door. A surprise party. Her friends threw her a surprise party and it was clearly planned because there is a large chocolate cake on the table and the banner looked to be hand painted but still pretty, Angela proving that her artistic talents went beyond a camera.

    Angela grinned happily, going to shake the girl's arm. Liz slowly looked over at her dark haired friend, her heart leaping of joy right at this moment. "Well, are you surprised?"

    Liz's wide eyes basically answered that question for her. "Uh, yeah, you can say that. So you guys... you guys remembered?"

    "Oh course!" Angela answered with a laugh.

    "Did you seriously think we actually forgot your birthday, blondie?" Mike laughed. "I expect an apology for bruising my shoulder, by the way."

    Liz couldn't help but chuckle breathlessly. "But, we don't do this. This isn't our usual tradition."

    "I know," Angela said, gaining Liz's attention yet again who never left her side. "But we figured with everything you've gone through, that you could use a little fun. We know how you feel about big gatherings, so we kept it just us."

    Angela spoke the truth. Liz always felt uncomfortable in large groups, hitting her small fear of claustrophobia. It wasn't as bad as most people had it but Liz tended to leave parties if they got too crowded. She looked over when she saw Alice and Emmett walking in, only Jasper and Rosalie choosing to stay behind. Realization hit Liz like a brick.

    "Did you guys know about this?"

    "I had an inkling," Alice told her with a meaningful smirk, making the blonde understand she must have had a vision. "I also overheard Angela and Jessica talking about it in our Math class when they were concerned that they might have upsetted you too much and you didn't know how to get you here. I offered my services and told them just to text you with something serious and that I would get you over here on time."

    "Which we were all surprised to learn you guys are apparently friends now," Mike added in a not so thrilled tone. Liz rolled his eyes at his comment, knowing how he feels about the Cullen's but didn't say anything. She looked down at her hands, twiddling her thumbs.

    "Now I kind of feel like an idiot." It was true. She should have never doubted them, especially Angela. They have been friends for too long. Before her fallout with Paul, both him and Angela were who she considered her best friends. Sure she was a little closer to Paul, but that's because they knew each other the longest. But after recent events, it was proven that Angela held that title above anyone else, because at least Angela was there for her through the worst tragedy. Just like she's here now. "Thank you, guys. This is amazing."

    Liz surprised Angela with a hug, which she went to give the others and even Bella who smiled at her. "Happy birthday."

    Liz pulled the awkward girl into her arms. "I'm sorry for cutting you off this morning."

    Bella pulled back and she shook her head. "No, I ambushed you. I understand why you did it now. I understand everything." Bella looked over at the only two visible Cullen's in the doorway, the Hale's still remaining outside. Alice gave them both a wink, confirming Liz's thoughts from this morning. Bella had indeed talked to Edward and was now fully aware of everything, which Liz couldn't help but be grateful for.

    "We need to talk later," Liz told the brunette female who nodded in agreement, both slightly glad they had each other to confide in about knowing a certain secret.

    "You guys are welcome to stay." Liz heard Angela tell Alice and Emmett, who still remained by the door. "This party is really just going to be us eating endless amounts of food, playing a bunch of board games and watching a movie of Liz's choice."

    "Yes!" Liz gasped happily, looking over to a very confused Bella. "They never let me pick the movie."

    "It's because you always pick a horror film!" Eric examined.

    "But we are willing to suffer in your honor, Miss Chambers." Tyler said with a playful bow. Liz chuckled and rolled her eyes at him.

    "Glad to hear it."

    Alice then explained that unfortunately she and her siblings can't stay because they have family things they have to get to and were happy to have spent the time with Liz today, which the friends understood why Liz was not at lunch or any of her other classes today. Only Bella and Liz knew the true reason why they couldn't stay, mostly because they would feel very uncomfortable, especially Jasper. Liz walked them out, her never ending smile dancing on her lips, thanking them all, especially Alice seeing as it was mostly her idea and even allowed the pixie looking vampire to hug her. Alice then handed her the bag of clothes, the guilt coming over her again but decided not to express it.

    She then pulled Jasper to the side, wanting to talk to him privately, or as private as she can get seeing as his siblings will most definitely be listening in unintentionally. She didn't care, she just wanted to talk to him because even though ditching school and then secretly planning to get Liz here was more on Alice, she knew it wouldn't really have happened if Jasper didn't tell his siblings about her birthday, whether or not Alice had a vision like she claimed.

    "So, I know it's my birthday, but I want to give you something." She reached in the back of her pocket and pulled out the strip of pictures, bringing it into view. She then carefully ripped the strip down the middle, giving Jasper three out of six of the pictures. "You look great in pictures, by the way. You should take the other half, in case you want to remember this day." Liz's cheeks tinted red with embarrassment, not believing she just said that but knew she couldn't take it back now.

    "I don't think enough centuries can go by that would make me forget this day or any day with you." Jasper declared, taking the picture from her grasp and admired it. He then reached out, taking her hand again and she felt something strange touch her skin, but he didn't remove his hand right away and just stared into her bright blue orbs. "Happy birthday, Elizabeth Chambers."

    She didn't really get the chance to say anything before he went back to the Jeep, sparring her another genuine look before driving away, Emmett yelling a 'happy birthday, speed racer' as they drove away. Liz remained on the grass, stunned, before finally looking down to see a gold chain resting in her grasp. Lifting it up with her fingers, she realized it was a necklace with a yellow daffodil flower as the pendent. Just when she thought she couldn't fall harder, Jasper Hale does this.

    Warmness filled her chest, she admired the gift more, realizing he must have gotten it when they were at the boutique and she didn't even realize. She started making her way back to the house when she felt her phone buzzing again and looked to see Ester's name. Sighing, she finally answered it and was met with a not so pleased sister on the other end.

    "Where the hell are you? I got a call from the school at three saying you missed your last four classes and then you weren't home when I came back and you're just now answering your phone? What the hell, Liz? Do you realize how scared I was?"

    Anger boiled within the girl, realizing that even though her friends actually did remember her birthday, it was still a clear known fact that her own sister did not. "Look, I'm sorry I worried you. But I'm not sorry I ditch school. I've had the best day I've had in a really long time and I won't apologize for that."

    "Where are you?" Ester ignored all of that, her own anger for her sister's inconsiderate outweighing the spark of joy she felt from hearing those words.

    Liz didn't waste any time getting to the point. "I'm at my surprise party."

    "What surprise party?" A clueless Ester said on the other end of the phone. Liz's anger became more intense the longer her sister took to realize.

    "I don't know. Why don't you go look at the calendar and then figure it out yourself?" Liz told her sharply, clearing her throat in order to stop herself from getting too emotional. "I'm at Angela's and I will be home late. Don't wait up, I mean it this time. I rather not see you when I get home."

    Before Ester could question further, Liz hung up the phone and went back to her friends. Ester was stunned, never hearing such hostility from her baby sister and then tried to think of what she could mean by checking the calendar. Danny was in the shower and dinner was just about done, so Ester pulled herself off the couch and went to look at the calendar and saw nothing strange.

    "It was only February 18th, what could possibly be-" Ester paused as a gasp escaped her lips upon remembering exactly what she had forgotten. "Oh, my god!"

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I had fun a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially the photo booth moment. Also, Liz doesn't have terrible friend! Things are getting a little worse with her sister though.

Jasbeth? Is that a good ship name? I think someone suggested it and I liked it but I'm not sure.

The never ending support for this story is amazing! I love you all so much!