A/N :- This is the longest chapter I've written so far and I really worked hard on it so please don't skip any part! Plus please bear if there's any typos or grammatical errors.

♡ Jessica Woods ♡

I smiled at myself, staring at the whatsapp profile picture of Jace in which he was standing behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my temple while I was smiling at the camera coyly.

Although it's been a month since Jace has asked me out, I still could remember this picture was taken by Ryan after the talent show ended, while so many people were watching at us standing behind the camera.

Eventhough Jace didn't get any awards in the talent show, he was the only one who amazed the whole population of our school by his heart-stirring performance, including me.

I glanced at the phone screen and read our recent texts which broadened my smile as I recalled each and every cute intimate moments that had happened between us in the past few weeks.

Actually I was so lucky to have Jace as my boyfriend. Because he was the sweetest and the most lovable guy a girl could have. He could be able to know whenever I was sad, and listen to my problems patiently and then cheer me up or make me laugh by his weird sense of humor.

At the same time, because of the stupid group of people who keep an eye on us till we started dating as if we were celebrities, Jace wouldn't spend much time with me at school to avoid unwanted troubles as he was still our head prefect; and I was respecting that decision too.

But despite that, there were more people who were being nice to me these days eventhough most of them were quite strangers to me. And I did aware that they all were trying to be on friendly terms with me only because of the tag I was wearing right now which was 'Jace's girlfriend.'

Jace and I weren't the couples who were kissing each other round the clock. Because even though we've been dating for a month now, I was still shy around him whenever he kisses me or touches me. But when it comes to talking, I'd never shut my mouth until Jace pastes a duct tape over my mouth.

On the other hand, we had some silly arguments too but either he or I would make it up by pinky promising or sharing dark chocolates. We're the silliest couple, I know.

I came back to reality, averting my gaze to the birthday cards that were scattered all over my bed and a slow smile spreaded across my face when I acknowledged that two days later, my man would reach the age of majority.

"Knock, knock!" I heard Alex say and I rolled my eyes before asking.

"Knock who?"

"Your boyfriend's sister's boyfriend." he stated, approaching me and I chuckled, picking up the cards from the bed as they couldn't bear his huge butt.

He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed a card from my hand abruptly and scrutinized it while I was shooting daggers at him.

"Sheesh! This card is so plain.." Alex remarked and I scowled, snatching the card from him which made him huff.

"Hey, I didn't read it till the en-"

"This card has been made exactly as I expected." I stated, cutting him off. "Look, I chose this shade of blue because it resembles the colour of his eyes. And I have collected some of his rare photos and made a photo collage and pasted it here.." I said, motioning to the pictures on the card. "..and I drew a box here with glitter glue to write whatever birthday wish you want." I ranted, waving the card at his face and he sighed dramatically. "So don't be such a snob okay! It's perfect and Jace would definitely love it!" I told and he snorted.

"Oh come on Jessie.. Jace would love everything if it's related to you. You know, one day I went to his house and I picked up the garbage from the kitchen trash can and told him that you gave it to him to express your love and that dumbass just awed at it and kept it in his closet. See how whipped he is.." Alex blabbered and I tried to keep a straight face, suppressing my laughter as I knew what he said was a total lie.

"Moron." I muttered placing the card on my lap and took a pen, pressing its top button and started to write Alex's name beside the 'with love' phrase.

"Hey! I can't give this card to him.." he denied and I paused writing and looked up at him.

"And may I know the reason?"

"Because it's super weird. Can't we just go and wish him instead of writing the wish on an awkward card and giving it to him?" he asked cringing and I shook my head.

"No. 'cause everyone wishes him on his birthday, Alex. I just want to make his birthday special and.. different from his past birthdays, as he.." I fidgeted with my pen looking down. "..never celebrated his birthday after his mother's death." I mumbled and Alex nodded in agreement as he knew about Jace's past life story from a source which was none other than his girlfriend, Georgia. "Plus you must be so honored to be one of Jace's favourite eighteen persons." I stated and he rolled his eyes.

"Indeed I am." he deadpanned and I giggled silently. "Uh speaking of which, who are those eighteen people?" Alex asked and I grabbed the crumpled paper and looked through it.

"Err.. Samuel-"

"What!?" Alex gasped dramatically and I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What?"

"You wrote his name on top of the list? still he's your first priority right! Gosh! I'm very disappointed in you, Jessie, very disappointed." Alex mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and I huffed in response.

"I don't know why are you being so overdramatic today.. Even Jace is not as much possessive about me as you." I stated and he scoffed.

"Because you're not his possession. You're just his high school love."

I scowled at him, punching him on the ribs. "Get out you jealousy jackass."

Alex chortled, rubbing his stomach. "Fine, fine. I know you hate truths." he stated mockingly and I shot him a glare before kicking his thigh.

"I said get out!" I yelled and he stood up grunting like a pig and slowly lifted his shirt and tucked the card inside his pants which made me cringe.

"Don't be so happy.. I'll come again." he told firmly and walked away slamming the door shut behind him.

I sighed in relief and started to write the names on the card as I was running out of time.

A couple of minutes later, I heard a knock on my door again and I paused working, frowning at my door. Ugh, Alex is a real pain in the neck.

"What?" I shouted angrily and he knocked the door twice instead of replying me. I stood up marching towards the doorway and opened the door harshly.

"I'm going to kill-" I stopped in mid-sentence and my eyes bulged when I saw Jace standing infront of me with a huge grin on his face.

What's he doing here?

"Hey!"

I quickly shut the door, locking it and strode towards my bed and shoved all the cards underneath my pillows and spreaded a blanket over them.

Jace knocked the door continuously and I quickly approached the door and took a deep breath and forced out a smile before opening the door and met the blue eyes which was giving me a puzzled look.

"Hey handsome! Come in." I opened my door widely, moving aside and he nodded, cautiously entering in and glanced around before meeting my gaze.

"Well.. may I know why did you slam the door on my face?"

"Uh, it's.. err.." I stammered and he smirked tilting his head to one side.

"You're watching porn, aren't you?" he asked and I instantly shook my head, frowning.

"What? No!"

He chuckled deeply, sitting on my study chair as usual. "Hey, I won't say anything even if you watch those stuffs."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him and opened the door halfway as my mother would create a huge scene if I closed the door when Jace was in my room. Though my dad and her still didn't know that we were dating, as like other typical parents they were so demanding and extremely strict when it comes to boys.

I turned to look at him and noticed he was sitting cross-legged on the chair and twirling a pencil with his fingers absentmindedly. I smiled at myself, slowly approaching him and sat across him on the bed.

"So.. Jace..what brings you here today?" I asked causally and he looked at me, smiling faintly and pressed the pencil against his temple as if he was in a confused state of mind.

"Well.. I talked with Ryan yesterday and he told me to host a party for.. uh.. my birthday inviting the whole school and he said I could have the party in his house as my home, y'know, doesn't fit for a large crowd.." he leaned forward, placing his entwined hands on his lap. "Though I refused so many times.. as I, you know, hate my birthday.." he glanced at me and I nodded. "..but somehow he convinced me saying this is my eighteenth birthday and we couldn't be able to meet again after high school and blah blah blah. Yet I'm still unsure and that's why I came here to ask your opinion about it." he said, letting out a sigh and I awed at him, holding his hands.

"Look Jace, if something really makes you happy, don't ask other's approval; just go for it." I said and he pressed his lips together, nodding. "But above all, make sure if that really makes you happy."

"I don't know, miss dumb. I'm not sure. That's why I came here." he stated sarcastically and I shot him a glare.

"Fine. If you want my opinion, then no, I don't want you to host a party on your birthday." I told and he raised his eyebrows, giving me an 'oh' look. "Because.. I have other plans for your birthday.." when I finished that phrase, I saw his eyes lit up instantly.

"L-Like what?"

"Uh.. I wanna take you to a fancy restaurant and buy you foods and stuffs. Only you and me; In an elegant and huge restaurant." I waved my hands in the air dramatically while Jace was looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. But I was pretty sure that it was nowhere near to the excitement.

"You like my plan?" I asked pretending to be excited and he cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck.

"Err.. well.. a fancy restaurant-" I cut him off before he could finish it.

"You didn't like it?" I fake pouted and he shook his head, placing his hand on my the back of my palm.

"No no no. It's not like that, uh, it's actually a pretty cool idea." he managed to say. "Alright then, I'll inform Ryan that I'm gonna cancel the party."

Okay.. my plan is going as I anticipated.

He stood up, towering over me and tucked his hand inside his pant pocket and pull out his phone before typing something.

"Jace.. are you really happy with my plan?" I asked, standing up as well and he nodded his head firmly.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am. Because according to your plan, I could be able to spend more time with you right?" he told smiling and I chuckled, looking at his eyes and then at his lips which didn't go unnoticed by him.

He gave me an amused look, slipping his phone inside his pocket back and wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me closer and rest his forehead on mine and stroking my jawline with his long finger which brought a blush to my cheeks.

Then he leaned back, glancing behind me for a brief moment before averting his gaze back to me and gave me a quick peck on my lips.

I pouted as it was the fastest kiss I've ever gotten from him and he chuckled, nodding his chin at the door.

"Your mom's in the kitchen.. Lately I noticed that your mom started to like me so I didn't want to ruin that just because of our crazy hormones." he told and I groaned in response.

"Dumbass." I told and he smiled placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Look who's saying." he stated mockingly, pulling away from me and I rolled my eyes. "Well.. I should go now. Call me if you want anything." he said, moving towards the door and I nodded, giving him a sarcastic salute.

"Definitely hubby.." I stated in a fake serious manner and he looked down, fidgeting with his key as I knew that word would always make him blush deeply no matter how cringe-worthy it sounded to others.

"I love you.." 

"Gosh! You stole my words." I admitted and he chuckled heartily and slowly started to move ahead as I followed him behind till he reached the entrance of our home.

"Bye son!" I heard my mom say from the kitchen and Jace chuckled, putting his shoes on.

"Bye Mrs.Woods." he replied back and I resisted the urge of rolling my eyes as I knew that my mom didn't like Jace as much as he imagined.

Then Jace looked at me caressing my cheek. "I'm missing you already."

"Don't worry. I'm just one call away." I mumbled and he nodded, smiling in return.

Then he approached the car, putting his sunglasses on and got into it and started the engine before waving his hand at me and I waved back with a smile on my face.

I don't want him as my boyfriend. I want him as my better-half.
----

I counted the number of cards that were still remaining and it correctly matched with number of people I haven't given yet.

I grabbed all the cards, sandwiching them between my books and slammed my locker shut, glancing everywhere and checked twice that Samuel was standing alone beside his locker and staring at some kind of article without acknowledging my presence.

I took a deep breath and started to walk towards his direction and stood right in front of him. He might've realized my presence as he averted his gaze towards me and nodded at me in acknowledgement.

"Hey there. What's up?"

Without responding anything, I quickly took a card out and extended towards him. "Here. this is for-"

"A card, again?" he cut me off, frowning at the card and I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Again? What do you mean by that?"

He scoffed, leaning on the locker. "Don't you know what does that mean? Wow, did you really forget the card in which you wrote lovey-dovey stuff and gave it to me?"

I bit my lower lip when I realized what he was talking about and pretended not to be too embarrassed about it right now. "Oh yeah, it didn't hit my mind. well, this is a.. birthday card actually. For, uh, Jace." I told and he pressed his lips together, eyeing at the card warily before taking the card slowly from my hand.

"Hmhm? And what do u want me to do?" he asked, frowning a little and I cleared my throat pointing at the card. Why the hell am I always nervous around him?

"You should.. write some wish here and give the card to him tomorrow at the exact time I've written down there." I informed and he cringed.

"Ugh.. it's so lame, girl." he commented.

"No, it's not. In my opinion, it's sorta a special thing for Jace; the wishes from the persons he loves." I stated.

"Loved, actually." he corrected and I bit my inner cheek not knowing what to say.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and when I turned to my left side I noticed Josephine, Sam's girlfriend, who was coming towards our way with a random guy.

I noticed Josephine made a brief eye contact with Samuel before kissing the random guy infront of us. Surprisingly before I could avert my gaze, Samuel quickly turned his gaze back to the card and completely ignored her like she was invisible.

They broke up? She cheated on Samuel? woah! Kinda hard to believe it!

I stared open-mouthed at Samuel while he was fidgeting with the card, pretending to keep a poker face and when they both walked past us, he looked back at me and sighed exaggeratedly.

"We broke up okay?"

"Oh.. okay." 

"Actually, it's pretty boring for me to have sex with the same girl again and again.." he stated and I sighed.

"Sex is not everything in life, Samuel."

"I know it dude.. but It's like a food which you once liked but now you hate it because your mom makes the same dish for one whole month." he said and I chuckled lightly, shaking my head in fake disappointment at him and I suddenly noticed he didn't blink for a couple of seconds as he began to stare at me intently which made me a bit nervous. So I quickly decided to break the sexual tension that's been surrounding us.

I took another card, extending it to him. "Uh, Samuel.. will you give this card to Natasha? Because she doesn't talk with me-"

"You don't talk with her." he corrected and before I could protest it, he continued. "Just imagine being in her shoes; Being Jace's bosom buddy for more than five years and seeing him fall for another girl, hit pretty hard in her heart and her ego." he explained and I let out a soft sigh, nodding my head in agreement.

Eventhough I hate to admit this, he really got a point that I couldn't deny.

"Jessica?" I heard Jace's voice and we both turned towards the direction simultaneously and I met the questioning face of Jace as he strode towards me. I stepped back hesitantly, glancing at Jace and Samuel back and forth.

Jace shot Samuel a glare before looking down at me. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at library."

"Uh, I was about to go but, I want to-"

"You want to?" Jace urged me to continue and I bit my bottom lip as I couldn't be able to make a proper lie so I stole a glance at Samuel who didn't fail to notice it.

"Well.. she wants to know whether loving a one guy and having sex with another guy is acceptable. Right Jessica?" he asked, smirking evilly and my eyes bulged as I shook my head looking at Jace.

"What! No, no, no. I didn't say like that." I denied and Jace nodded giving me an 'I know' look while Samuel was snickering, walking past us.

"Fine, I gotta go now. Call me and remind me one more time okay!" he yelled over his shoulder and Jace glanced at me with a frown.

"Remind him what?"

"Uh, it's nothing. You know right, that he's an asshole." I stated and he held back his smile, nodding.

"Undoubtedly. But you should stop using the colourful language of yours in school." he remarked and I smiled cheekily.

"Oh, pardon my French. Well, wanna walk with me to the library?" I offered but he pouted sadly.

"Unfortunately, I need to meet Mr. Henderson right now."

"Oh, that's okay. Mind how you go." I said and argued with my mind whether to kiss him or not but before I could decide, he bent down and kissed my cheek before darting out.

I smiled at myself as I walked towards the opposite direction, hugging my books to my chest.
----

"This card looks different. Not bad different though." Louise commented, looking at the card while Ryan who was sitting beside her scrunching his nose at the card and muttering something like '..so this is why he refused.'

"But Ryan doesn't feel the same I guess." I told leaning forward on the table and he looked up at me, sighing.

"Yeah. I mean, I like the card but I hate this surprise stuff. Party is way more interesting than that, Jessica. Plus everyone would love it. " Ryan told quietly as everyone in the library was glancing at us now and then.

"But I thi-" Louise cut me off.

"Come on Ryan.. this is the first birthday Jace's celebrating with Jessie. So let them spend that precious time together-"

"They always spend time together, aren't they, Louise? Then why the birthday party too? And sometimes your plan may fail, who knows?" Ryan informed shrugging and I resisted the urge of rolling my eyes.

"No, it won't Jessie. I'm with you. Your plan is super interesting and it'd definitely surprise him for sure." she stated and Ryan stood up abruptly which made everyone look at our table and he grabbed his card and books and hissed at us.

"Do whatever fuck you want."

My lips slightly parted while Louise was huffing at his sudden attitude as he walked out of the library.

Eventhough it's a hit-or-miss idea, I hope it'd happen as I planned.

***

☆ Jace Parker ☆

I opened the door, removing my shoes and entered in, slamming the key on the nearby table.

Why did Jessica talk with Samuel?

Oh God, I shouldn't be too possessive of her. She could talk with whoever she wants.

I sighed, gripping the strap of my bag and made my way towards my room.

"Jace?" I heard nanny's voice and groaned underneath my breath before turning around.

"Nanny?"

Her forehead wrinkled as she slowly approached me. "Why didn't you say you're home?"

I rolled my eyes, shrugging. "Is that a big deal?"

"Of course it is, unless you take me there."

"Take you where?" I asked confused.

"To your mind. Because it seems your mind is wandering elsewhere. So if I could be able to go there, I'd figure it out by myself without asking you what happened and what's the problem." she rambled and I exhaled loudly.

"Look nanny, I'm really exhausted today. Why don't you go and ramble all you want with Mr.Davis?"

"That old man has gone to visit his beloved daughter as her sixth child is on the way." she stated sarcastically. "Well, let's get back to the main point and tell me what's going on in the tiny brain of yours?" she asked and before I could say anything she walked past me and sat on the couch.

"Come over here.." she patted the space beside her and I grunted but eventually sat on the couch across her, throwing the bag next to me.

"Fine. What do you want me to say?"

"You don't need to say anything. I already know why you're worried. But you can't be like this all the time, Jace. You know, you've grown up. When you were thirteen or fourteen, you were nothing but skin and bones. But now, you've built like a Greek God." Nanny stated and I frowned.

"And your point is?"

"My point is that you've only grown up physically; Not mentally! Okay, maybe you're one of the reasons why your mother made that decision but I could completely say that she's not upset with you anymore, that's why she sent Jessica to you. Correct me if I'm wrong. But If we look closely at Jessica, we could feel that she kinda resembles Madison." she told, smiling faintly. "That's why I'm feeling so happy than you lately." she told and I gulped as everything she said was undoubtedly true. "Look son, don't feel down, anything you lost would come round in another form."

A slow smile eased across my mouth as I moved closer to her and hugged her tightly. "I love you, nanny."

"You better." she stated, rubbing my back and I chuckled in response.
---

My phone rang loudly and I groaned, rubbing my eyes as the pleasant dream suddenly went blank. 

"Who the hell invented the alarm?" I cursed, searching my phone underneath my pillow, to press the snooze button as it kept ringing louder than before. When I found it, I leaned against the headboard and stared at the window and noticed that the sun wasn't up yet.

And when I stared back at the phone in confusion, the screen displayed 'Dumb Blondie' and suddenly I felt the drowsiness vanished away from me.

I quickly answered and placed it on my ear. "Heyy!"

"Hi." Her voice sounded a bit dull. "Jace, I'm not well today-" she paused, coughing and I frowned, sitting properly.

"Jessica you're okay?"

"Uh, No, I don't think so. I'm sorry."

"Jeez, why are you apologizing for it? That's-"

"No Jace. It's- uh.. I don't think I could come to the restaurant. I'm not going to the school either." she stated and I suddenly felt a strange pang in my heart.

"Wh-What?"

she coughed again and muttered something which I didn't hear clearly.

"Fine. Do you want me to come there?" I asked getting up from the bed and I heard a faint chuckle on the other end.

"Are you crazy? It's 1 a.m now and we both would be grounded if you come over here right now. Plus you don't need to think about me on your birthday. Oh well, see, I forgot to wish you. Happy Birthday Handsome. Don't have so much fun without me." she ordered but her voice didn't rise above a whisper.

"How could you think-"

I stopped in mid-sentence when she hung up on me. What the hell?

I frowned at the phone screen for a few seconds and pressed her contact name and called again but all I got was answerphone. I threw the phone frustratingly on bed and fell on my back staring at the ceiling as I wondered whether she was alright or should I go and check on her.

Eventhough my eighteenth birthday was going to be like the other normal birthdays of my life, this day was a bit special as Jessica wished me first instead of nanny or Georgia or.. Natasha.
----

I felt the phone ring again a couple of minutes later and I huffed, glancing at the phone screen with half-lidded eyes and I got a bit surprised when it showed 6 a.m. Woah, time flies way too fast.

I grumbled, pressing the snooze button and buried my face on the pillow but I could feel my mind was kind of disturbed as it thought about nothing but Jessica for the whole time.

I was sleeping peacefully here while she was curling into a ball and coughing all night.

I sat up on the bed picking up my phone and decided to call Jessica but her phone has been switched off as I figured already.

I sighed loudly scowling at nothing as I always be extra pissed on this day, and grabbed my towel, making my way towards the bathroom.
----

While I was brushing my hair, I heard the chirpy voice of Georgia. "Hey HP!"

I rolled my eyes at her through the mirror and noticed that she chuckled at my reaction as she approached me.

"Here." she extended something to me and I turned to look down at her and frowned at the blue-coloured card she was holding out.

"What's this?" I asked furrowing my brows.

"Come on Jace. Just take and have a look at it by yourself." Georgia whined and I rolled my eyes, grabbing it from her and examined it and realized it was kinda.. a birthday card.

The card was handmade, and to be frank, Georgia has really put a lot of effort to make this card which really made my heart warm.

Then I glanced at the neat handwriting which was written on the centre of the card.

'Dearest Brother, Thanks for playing multiple roles in my life. You're my brother, my mom, my dad, a guardian, and everything that I could ask for in a sibling.

So don't think too much about the past, because I believe you're destined to be great and deserved to be happy. Have a super-duper birthday Big B!'

I could feel that my lips curled into a wide grin and my eyes filled with hot tears as I looked at Georgia and ruffled her hair.

"Thankyou baby doll. Your wish shows me how matured you've become."

She giggled, and wrapped her arms around my waist and placed her head on my stomach, hugging me tightly. "I love you.."

"I love you too.." I stated, bending down and kissing the top of her head.

Then she pulled away and snatched the card from me abruptly and pointed at the bottom of the card where she has drawn something.

"Did you find what this is?" she asked and I squinted and acknowledged that it was a girl.

"A girl?"

"Naw.." she pouted, looking at the card and then at me. "Its a lady."

"Okay." I smiled at her childishness. "so wh-"

"This is mom." she announced and I frowned. What? "Uh, sorry I didn't tell you earlier about this. But we're playing a game-"

"We?"

"Don't interrupt me." she commanded. "We're playing a game and if you correctly find the clue, you'll get a reward."

"Gia, we need to go to school. We don't have time to pla-"

"Come on, do it. We've worked so hard.."

"We who? You and nanny?"

She groaned loudly and slammed the card on my palm, pointing at the stick figure which was mom in her point of view. "You have to go where she is so you will-"

"What? Do you want me to go to heaven to get your oh-so reward?" I scoffed and she sighed exasperatedly.

"No Jacee.. fine, I'll give you another clue.. Where would you go first on your every birthday?" she questioned.

"Cemetery." I responded without thinking and she nodded, giving me a goofy grin.

"Yess! So what are you waiting for?" she asked and I pressed my lips together wondering what the hell was she trying to do but however I grabbed the card and my bag and rushed out, shouting over my shoulder.

"Tell nanny to drop you at the school okay?"

"Okay! Bye! Have fun!" she yelled back and when I finished tying my shoelaces, I exited and got into the car.

Have fun? Gia is really a stupid.
---

I took a deep breath before entering into the cemetery. I thought this time I would come here with Jessica and introduce her to my mom. But I guess, I wasn't that lucky.

I quickly identified her grave and approached it slowly and cautiously.  When I got closer to it, I noticed the same blue coloured card lying beside the gravestone. With brows knitted together, I picked up the card and glanced at it. Eventhough the card seemed to be the same, the phrases written on the centre of it were completely different.

'Hey sweetheart! How have you been? On this day I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you whenever you need me, even when you don't. And the memories we had shared so far still engraved in my soul. Loved you to the death and will love you forever! Happy 18th birthday momma's prince!

P.S, I met Jessica and I guess, this is the best choice you've done in your life.'

My lips started to quiver, so did my hands, as the tears ran down my cheeks nonstoppably. I fell on my knees, hugging the card closer to me and cried my eyes out.

"I miss you, mom! I miss you a lot! Please come back! Look at me, I'm crying. Won't you come to brush the tears off of my face, huh?" My voice broke and I stared down, squeezing my eyes shut.

She won't come.. no matter how much I cry.
----

I drove the car one-handed and wondered who was behind this whole idea as Georgia couldn't be able to do this all alone.

I glanced at the card for umpteenth time which was given by.. my mom and frowned at the crazy clue. There was a square shaped box and a big P written on it.

I guess, it's a Parking sign.

In no time, I reached the school and my mind suddenly started to miss Jessica so badly.

Dear God, please protect her on my behalf!

I pulled my car into the parking space and grabbed all of my stuffs and stepped down. I slipped the card inside my bag and zipped it before hanging it over my shoulder.

When I was about to make my way towards the locker room, the girl I was trying to forget, appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of me, blocking my way who was none other than Natasha.

I managed to keep a poker face, unmoving.

"Hey, this, uh.." she stammered, holding out the same blue card. I groaned, punching the unknown person mentally for making an awkward situation between us by giving this card to her.

"Oh, well, thanks." I muttered, taking it from her and from the look she was giving me, I figured that she wanted me to read whatever crap she has written on it, right at the moment.

I sighed audibly, looking through it as I had no other option.

'Happy birthday Jace!! May your special day turns out the best one of your life.

Things may not be the same;
We may not be together;
And you don't love me anymore.

However, I still have a lot of respect and admiration for you. I hope you have a great future, even though I'm not going to be in it. Happiest birthday to the great man and my personal favourite hero.'

I didn't look up eventhough I finished reading as I didn't know what the hell should I want to do right now. Should I thank her? Would she hug me if I thank her as she always does? Oh My God that would be awkward-

"Jace?" I heard her faint voice and I slowly averted my gaze towards her.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday.." she mumbled, her fingers playing with the strap of her bag.

"Th-Thankyou." I replied clearing my throat. "Well, I liked it. I mean, your wish." I said and suddenly her lips began to tremble.

She gripped the straps of her bag tightly as if she's refraining herself from hugging me. She raised her eyeglasses a little, wiping her cheek and I averted my gaze to the floor, fidgeting with the card as I've never ever thought that we both would face an awkward situation like this.

"Jace.."

"Hmm?"

"Can we start our friendship again? And this time I promise not to fall in love with you.." she told looking at me with her cute puppy dog eyes. But I knew why she quoted this line from the movie which I couldn't exactly remember; because this was the first movie we both watched together at her home when we were thirteen or fourteen and at that time I found bestfriends falling into love so lame while she was arguing that bestfriends-to-lovers are the best relationship in the world which I eventually agreed back then. But as I said already I was so immature and oblivious.

"Once you fall in love, there's no way to become bestfriends again." I stated and she bit her lip, turning her head to the left as if she didn't want me to see her crying. "But to be frank.. you still own a piece of my heart that I could never take back."

Her eyes quickly met mine and her face streamed with tears and just like that she ran towards me and wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me tightly which caught me completely off-guard.

"I'm sorry, Jace. I wish my life had a rewind button..." her voice came out muffled and I shut my eyes tightly without hugging her back and took a deep breath before gripping her arms and taking them off of me.

"I should go. Bye Natasha." I stated in a casual tone and she whimpered but nodded anyways. And with that, I walked past her, quickly brushing away the tear that was threatening to fall.

Should I give her a second chance?
----

When the third period's bell rang, I stuffed all the cards I got so far, into my locker. The clues were super lame but kinda interesting at the same time. After Natasha's wish, I received the cards from Ryan, Louise, Oliver and Gabby. And the girls' wishes were a bit formal but the boys being boys just wrote about the party and cakes mostly.

I never really thought that I would get so many greeting cards on my birthday than the expressed wishes. But still like a black dot on a white paper, my heart yearned for the only one person; Jessica Woods.

She haven't answered my calls nor seen my texts which was making me worry. Even Louise didn't know what happened to Jessica. God.. If Georgia planned all of this stuff, then she should've given a card to Jessica too if this idea's main goal was to make me happy. 

Then I glanced at Gabby's card and the clue was, the locker room. But when I looked around, everyone seemed to be focused in their own works which confused me a little. So I grabbed my books and started to walk towards my next class.

When I was about to climb up the stairs, I heard a familiar voice call me out.

"Hey man!"

I looked over my shoulder and raised my eye brows in a bit surprise when I saw Sam leaning on the wall, avoiding to meet my eyes. I slowly stepped down and cleared my throat.

"Hey!"

"Well.. she told me to, err.." he stammered, flipping through his book and took the card out, extending to me. "..Give you this. Happy Womb Eviction Day!"

I rolled my eyes at his weird greeting and took the card from him and read his wish.

'HBD dude! Hope you remember me! And yeah, we bicker, we fight, we fall out, we scream and we look like enemies but deep down we both know that we're still the same best buddies.. Cheers to your new age!!' I smiled faintly at the card before looking up at him.

"Thanks man. To be frank, I was waiting for your wish actually." I stated and he snorted.

"Oh so now, you too have a crush on me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dream on. And speaking of which, I lately found why you're rejecting girls. 'Cause you suck dicks secretively, don't you?" I smirked slyly and he scrunched his nose in disgust.

"Yikes no! Jeez, your girlfriend has corrupted you.."

"Can you please not blame Jessica for everything?" I groaned and he scoffed.

"A few months before, you made fun of her along with me and now look at you.."

I shot him a glare, raising my middle finger at him and he laughed, moving closer to me and shoved my hand away before wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Watch your step, HP. There might be a camera here. Do you want to get detention on your birthday? Plus you wouldn't be able to get my gift too." he said and I arched a brow at him mockingly.

"Woah, you bought me a gift?"

"Yeah. And it's Me." he announced and I sighed shaking my head in disbelief.

"Jeez Sam, you're giving me gay vibes.."

"Well, but I don't feel any sexual tension here so stop that crap," he retorted and I just shrugged in response as he was the king of comebacks.

"By the way, if you want another card then you've to find, y'know, the clue." he told motioning at the card and I glanced at the bottom of the card and noticed it was a drawing of basketball hoop.

"Should I wanna go now?"

"Yes if you want that anonymous' wish." he stated and stepped back, giving me a two finger salute. "Well, I gotta take off and before that I wanna say you're gonna regret for denying the party idea.." he stated and I rolled my eyes, groaning underneath my breath. I think, I won't.
----

During my lunch break, while I was standing on the canteen queue I felt my heart was feeling warm as I got the wishes from my coach, my French teacher, Kiara Scott and Ben which were unique, special and completely unexpected.

I'd never forget the way Ms.Fernandez, my French teacher, giggled when she asked me whether I really had a crush on her. Plus, I couldn't believe she agreed to write me a wish and go along with the stupid plan of Georgia. But hold on, how the hell did Georgia know that I have crush on her?

And on the other hand, Kiara Scott, the hostess of our talent show, was one of Jessica's cousins and had a secret crush on me which I didn't know till I got the card. And she asked me to give her a hug as my birthday treat which I gladly did.

And Ben was the one who got the talent tamer award a.k.a our school's polygot as he was so fluent in several languages. And his solo perfomance on the talent show was mind blowing as he translated every phrases into the language the judges wanted. Actually he was a gift for our school.

And today, he wrote me a happy birthday wish in ten different languages which astonished me and pleased me at the same time.

And the last clue was a hot dog-and-burger so I guessed it'd be canteen and decided to buy my food and wait for the person till he arrives.

I grabbed my tray and turned around, walking towards my table. I startled when a figure appeared right infront me which was none other than the foul-mouthed brother of Jessica.

"Hey kiddo! What are-"

"Apologize for calling me kiddo or I won't give you my card." he threatened and I snorted.

"Look, I don't need any wish by bargain okay! If you don't want to wish me, then I don't have any problem with that. Plus I address an immature child as kiddo. So I don't need to apologize, I guess." I told walking past him and heard him hiss behind me.

"I don't know why the heck Jessica chose an egoistical ass like you."

I stopped walking and looked over my shoulder, smirking. "Because I'm the best and she knew it."

He grumbled, following me and placed the card on my tray, frowning. "You don't deserve my wish at all, Parker. But on a serious note, your clue is parking lot but that person would come when our school finishes so don't go now okay. Because I know you're a total dumbass." With that he stormed out of the place. I chuckled, shaking my head at him in fake disappointment and made my way towards my table where most of the guys were laughing at each other and waiting for my arrival as I was giving them a treat today.

But no matter how hard I tried to distract myself, my mind was full of Jessica, Jessica and.. Jessica.
----

When our school finished, I took Alex's card out and glanced at the clue and read his meanest wish once again absentmindedly.

'Hey Parker, let me give you a birthday advice. Forget the past coz you can't change it; Forget the future coz you can't predict it; Forget the present, coz I didn't buy you a one. Lmfao!

Well.. you must consider yourself lucky as I remembered your birthday and wrote you a wish keeping my busy schedule aside. Not everyone gets the same treatment. 

Happy birthday Dumbo!'

His ego is much bigger than his size, I thought as I walked towards my car, hanging my bag over my shoulder with a strange feeling on my heart. Not a bad feeling though. 

Right now I wanted to hug Georgia for making me so happy but unfortunately she dropped me a text that she had to stay school a little longer as she was having a chess tournament.

The more I got closer to my car, the more random shouts I heard. My eyes narrowed in confusion and a bit surprise when I saw Noah and Natasha arguing who didn't even know each other till now.

With the same expression on my face, I slowly approached them. "Noah? What're you doing here?"

He quickly turned around and nodded at me in acknowledgement while Natasha was frowning at us. "Hey man! I came to see you but this lady is biting my head off for no reason."

I glanced at Natasha and noticed that she was covered with mud. "This jerk pushed me down." she stated gritting her teeth.

"You're the one who rushed outta your school like a zombie is chasing you and fell down bumping on my muscular chest. I'm not responsible if you're so weak and careless." he defended himself and I shot a glare towards his way.

"Noah.."

"What? Even I held out my hand but she's the one slapped it away. Now tell me who's the gentleman and who's the bitch here?"

"Look Mr. whoever you are, acting like a dick doesn't make yours bigger." with that Natasha grabbed her bag, turning on her heel and stomped off.

Noah seemed dumfounded for a few seconds which could happen in rare occasions and muttered something to himself before turning his gaze towards me. "Whoa! thankyou man for saving me from that witch. If you weren't here she would've killed me." he told letting out a dramatic sigh and I argued with my mind whether to tell him that she was none other than Natasha Taylor or not. 

But before I could say something, he gave me a creepy smile, pulling me into a hug. "Happy birthday baby boyyyy!" and I patted his back awkwardly as all the girls who were walking past us giggled silently.

"I wish you'd organized a party." he fake-pouted pulling away and I rolled my eyes.

"I'd never invite you even if I did."

"Oh! You're so mean.. But still being the nicest guy in the whole world, I made a card for you." he told, extending the same card which was wrinkled a little.

"I know it's made by Georgia. But thanks though." I said staring at the card and started to read the wish he has written in his messy handwriting.

'Happy birthday baby bro! Here is a piece of card to show you how little I care.. Anyways, I hope you celebrate your birthday the way you came into this world, naked and screaming!

From, Noah, the mucking farvellous person!'

"But it's- whatever.. Hope you liked it.." Noah muttered with a little smirk and I nodded.

"I did."

----

I hit the horn hard and cursed loudly. Where the hell did Jessica go? She said she was sick, didn't she?

But when I went to her home buying some dark chocolates right after the school finished, her mother informed that she went to some book store. Was she trying to make me upset on my birthday or what? Did she ever think how much I planned to have fun with her on my birthday and even though I didn't like her fancy restaurant plan I knew that I'd be happy if she was next to me, I don't care even if the place was a garbage truck.

But till now she didn't answer my calls nor my texts and went to the freaking book store to buy a goddamn cliche novel.

I sped up the car and reached my home in no time. I got down, grabbing the bags and slammed the car door behind me before entering in.

I placed the bags on the table and took out my phone, dialing her number but before I could press the call button, nanny interrupted.

"Hey darling, many more happy returns of the day." she chirped outstretching her tiny arms and all of my anger suddenly disappeared when my eyes met her, and I smiled faintly hugging her back.

"And here you go." She pulled away and held out the card which had flour here and there and I chuckled before taking it and glanced at her longest wish.

'Sending my sweet wishes to my sweetest grandson! I am so grateful to have you in my life with every single passing day. Words cant express how proud I am to watch you grow into remarkable man in Lord's light. May God bless you abundantly! I love you to the moon and back.'

I smiled at the card and then at her before kissing her cheek which made her face crinkle into a grin.

"I love you too, nanny. By the way, what's this? A heart?" I asked pointing at the clue and she glanced at the spot where I was pointing at and nodded her head, giving me a sly smile.

"Yeah, and this is your heart."

"My heart?" I asked with furrowed brows and she nodded again motioning to the room. 

"You don't need to stress out your brain. Your heart is in your room. Go ahead." she told and I frowned. What? My heart must be inside my body right?

"Huh?"

"Just go, dear." she told, pushing me by my back towards the room.

With a bit curiosity, I walked towards my room while nanny was following behind me and cautiously opened the door. The moment I did, the small bits of coloured paper threw over me out of nowhere along with a loud sound.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACE!!" I heard the familiar voice shout merrily and I jumped up in utter surprise when I saw Jessica throwing her hands in the air and smiling ear to ear.

"Fuck!" I placed my hand on my chest and tried to process what was happening. Jessica was standing in front of me, wearing a blue worn-out jeans and my basketball jersey, with her prettiest smile and seemed perfectly well and extra attractive today.

"Oh my gosh, Jessica is this really you?" I exclaimed and she nodded, smiling cheekily.

I scowled, marching towards her and cupped her face and covered her lips into a lingering kiss which caught her off-guard.

Her eyes slightly widened and I heard nanny's forceful coughs but I kissed her till my body loosened up and I didn't know whether it was my imagination or something but she actually tatsted like dark chocolate. "You scared me, idiot. Are you okay?" I whispered pulling away and she just smiled in response.

"Yeah, I'm good. No need to worry about me. Actually I did all this just to surprise you."

"You've gotta be kidding me." I muttered and I heard nanny cough again to get our attention.

"Alright kids, I let you both have some time alone as she's been sweating blood just to make you happy on this day. " nanny confessed before leaving us alone. My eyes widened when the realization dawned on me and I looked at Jessica deeply shocked.

"Y-You planned all of this?"

"Yeah." she nodded nonchalantly.

"The card idea too?"

"Uh, Yeah.."

"What?" I sounded surprise and she chuckled, looking at my expression. "Why?"

"Stop asking silly questions, Jace. Come on, I wanna give you something." she told, trying let go of my grip but I tightened instead, as she was looking super hot for so many reasons which I couldn't exactly name of.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist you." I pecked her lips, pulling her closer to me and she giggled, wriggling out of my grip like a little baby.

"Jace, stop it. Nanny would come."

"Do I look like I care?" I muttered but she gripped my arms, taking them off of her body and made me sit on the bed.

I fake pouted and she chuckled, moving to the corner of my room. I took that time to glance around and noticed that my room was decorated with red and white heart-shaped balloons and there was a huge rose-gold coloured eighteen shaped balloon hanging in the air.

"Well, You didn't come to school just because of-" my words fell short when I saw Jessica holding a heart shaped chocolate drip cake.

She slowly approached me and placed the cake on the wooden teapoy infront of me and I eyed at the cake in amazement which was topped with chocolate dipped strawberries and blueberries.

"Happy birthday, hubby!" she beamed holding out the card and I averted my gaze towards her, gripping her wrist and made her sit down beside me before taking the card from her.

"Who bought this cake?" I asked and she laughed.

"No one. I made this, using your favourite brand dark chocolates." she told and I raised my eye brows, glancing at the cake and then at her back and forth.

"You're joking, aren't you?"

She frowned. "No, Why would I?"

"Last time I checked, you don't know how to cook."

"Uh, yeah, it's true. But nowadays I've learned a lot from nanny. Plus you already know that I'm good at baking department, don't you?" she stated, flicking her long ponytail hair proudly.

I looked at her for a few moments before averting my gaze to the cake as I was at a loss for words. So this is why she tasted like dark chocolate. Again I glanced around and noticed how hard she has tried just to make me happy on this day. If truth be told, if I were her, I don't think I would've planned as innovative as she's done.

"I think, I owe you a lot." I stated sincerely and she snorted.

"Don't be silly okay! This is kinda a responsibility for all the girlfriends who have extra-ordinary boyfriends." she said which made me chuckle. "Now c'mon, read my card. So we could blow the candles and eat the cake."

I nodded picking up the card and started to read her wish with a faint smile on my face.

'Happy Birthday to my Knight in Shining Armour! Actually this day is my birthday too as I was weak, broken, and lost before meeting you. But everything changed when you came around. You made me see light where once I saw darkness. You believed in me so much, that I started believing in myself. And you love me for just being me with the flaws and imperfections.

On this special day, I want you to know you are the most significant achievement in my life and I feel so blessed to call you my own. Thankyou so much for loving me, spending time with me, and being your best even when I'm at my worst. No one deserves to be happier than you are today. I love you hubby..'

Her wish left me speechless and for the first time, I felt proud of myself as I never received such hearty wishes from genuine souls like these.

With a smug grin, I turned to look at her, outstretching my hand. "Happy birthday to you."

She gave me a girlish giggle, swatting my hand away playfully. "Shut up!"

I chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her but as expected, we were both interrupted when nanny entered in holding a tray. "Tea time!"

I let out an exaggerated sigh while Jessica was giggling silently at me.

Nanny placed the tray which had two tea cups, on the teapoy beside the cake. "Well, well.. no need to be overdramatic. I'm leaving okay!" nanny stated, rolling her eyes at my reaction. "Just call me when y'all cut the cake."

"We won't until Georgia arrives." Jessica responded and nanny nodded before exiting my room. 

Then Jessica picked up a cup of tea and held out towards me. "Here you go."

I grasped it, smiling at her and took a little sip of it as the tea was a bit hot and turned to gaze at her again. "Thankyou Jessica."

She scooted closer to me, placing a hand on my thigh and stared at me with her intense gray eyes. "Well, before giving me the vote of thanks, I wanna tell you that the surprise is not over." she said teasingly and my forehead creased in confusion but I waited patiently letting her complete. "..if you haven't counted the number of cards you own, lemme tell you that you have sixteen cards by now. But as this is your eighteenth birthday, there have two more cards not been given to you."

"Two more? Woah! From whom? Caleb and Josh?" I asked a bit curiously but instead of replying me, she grabbed her phone and typed away something before showing the screen to me.

I glanced at her with furrowed brows but she gestured me to take the phone and have a look at it which I did so.

My jaw dropped to the floor the moment I looked at the screen and suddenly my hands started to tremble and seemed so weak to hold the phone. No, no! It can't be true! It fucking can't!

When I warily tapped the play button of the video with my trembling finger, the elderly figure of mine started to speak in a way that I have never thought he could be able to. He's been remarkably changed since the last time I saw him. Eventhough he was fine-looking in his mid-forties, his face was wholly colourless and dry as if he was going through a rough patch right now.

"Hey Jace!" I clenched my teeth when I heard his voice which I thought I'd never hear in my lifetime again. "Wishing you a very happy birthday! Err.. Hope y'all are doing good. Actually your girlfriend requested me to video call you on your birthday but.. as it's a workday here we couldn't be able to make it. Though I'm glad that somehow I managed to wish you on your eighteenth birthday." he cleared his throat brushing his gray hair with his fingers absentmindedly.

"And Mom said that the only good thing I've done so far was giving her a grandson like you." he forced out a laugh which made me curse underneath my breath. "Well, err.. Son," when I heard that word, my face flushed with rage but at the same time a tear rolled down from my cheek which I brushed away instantly. I could feel Jessica was rubbing my back soothingly, as she always does whenever I feel down, sitting behind me and staring at the video over my shoulder. "..we can't forget what happened today no matter how happy we are; and on this day, I wanna apologize for abandoning you and Gia. To be frank, If I had your life, I would've either dead or become a young offender by now. I don't know what you're going through but I'm really sorry for that as I'm one of the reasons behind it too." You're the only reason for my traumatic past! "To be honest, since I left you, I was feeling ashamed of myself." he admitted but it was really hard for me to believe as I knew that he was living happily with his new family. "By the way, I've sent the greeting card to mom's mobile and sooner or later you'd receive my present too." Who gives a damn about it?

"Oh well, hold on, another one wants to wish you." he slowly turned his phone camera to his left and I mentally prayed that the oh-so-wife of my dad wouldn't motify me or Gia or my mom. But much to my surprise I saw a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes playing with an iPad and sneaking glances at the camera now and then. "Come on Maddy, wish your brother." my breath hitched in my throat when I recalled the last phrase he uttered.

Maddy? Why on earth does he call her Maddy?

"Daddy, do you love me or Jace the most?" Georgia asked at my dad eagerly while we all were watching Fantastic Mr.Fox, sitting on the couch.

"Me, duh." I replied and Georgia rolled her eyes ignoring my answer and waited for him to reply while he was just smiling at.. my mom before wrapping his arm around her.

"Sorry to say this kids. But I love Maddy the most." he stated and my mom giggled, shaking her head at him in disbelief for which he just shrugged in response.

I smiled mentally as I realized I didn't even forget the name of the movie we were watching at that time as we had spent a few occasions together like that.

"Happy birthday to you.. happy birthday to you.. happy to my big braddha.. happy birthday to you.." She sang, looking at the camera and waving her hands and I smiled sadly stroking the screen. Eventhough I was so mad at him, a tiny piece of my heart was always missing him and right now I wondered whether he was still missing us too, espcaially my mom.

Then he reappeared to the camera after placing a kiss on Maddy's forehead. "Have a great day son! Oh and Helen told me to convey her wishes too. She's not in your eighteen list but still she wanted to know how y'all are doing. And last but not least, please talk to me once in awhile." with that the video stopped and I shut my eyes close and decided not to ruin this moment by crying like a lunatic eventhough the tears were seeping down my cheeks.

"Jace.." I heard Jessica call and when I turned around, her eyes softened as she quickly wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I'm sorry if it makes you sad. Actually I just want-"

I slowly took her hands off of me, looking down.

"Jace, I'm sorry.. I thought-"

I gazed up at her, cutting her off. "Pinky promise me you'd never ever leave me." I asked, lifting up my pinky finger at her and her lips parted slighlty. "No matter what happens."

She instantly nodded, trying to lock her pinky finger with mine but I drew my finger back before she could do. "Jessica, you know how strong the pinky promise is. And you know the consequences if you break it. So think twice before promising."

She stared at me for a few moments and took a deep breath, leaning forward and intertwined her little finger with mine. "Do you know why, I wished you last.." her voice was barely above a whisper. "Because I want to be your first and last in everything, and vice versa." she spoke softly, holding my hands. "Look Jace, yeah, most of the time high school love doesn't last but I trust my intuition and it says that maybe you're one year older than me, but I'd get to grow old with you and tell you 'yes we made it!' at the age of sixty. Because being by your side is the right place to be." She concluded, looking at my eyes and when she noticed my gaze was fixed on nothing but her lips, she blushed looking down.

 Without any second thought I leaned forward, gripping the side of her neck and locked my lips with hers, kissing her gently.

I found her eyes dancing in amusement while she was kissing me back, better than earlier, wrapping her arms around my neck, and now I realized that this was all I needed.

"I have never thought you'd make an important role in my life." I murmured between my kiss and she smiled tenderly.

"Me neither. You were the plot twist of my life." and with that our lips met again; So did our souls.

***The End***

                                                       
A

uthor : Thankyou so so much my dear readers for supporting me from the beginning to end. Oh and btw most of the birthday wishes were from Google. So I don't take any credit for it. And I really-

Jace : Excuse me author, this is my day and my chapter so write all your thankful message in the next author's note. Plus tell your oh-so-lovely readers to wish me on my birthday!

Alex : Last time I checked, he doesn't want anyone to wish him by force, but now look at him.. *shakes his head in fake disbelief*

Jace : Shut up, I'm just reminding okay! Plus don't be so jealous of me, kiddo!

Alex : if you call me kiddo one more time I'll kick your-

Georgia : you're looking cute when you're mad *sighs dreamily*

Jessica : You must be blind or you don't know what cute actually means.

Author : Stop fighting guys! Coz I should go and have some rest now. And I hope you, my amazing reader, voted and spammed me with your cool comments. Thankyouuuu once again!