(Edited)

You know the feeling of absolute peace and quiet when your sleeping? Yeah, neither did I because my phone wouldn't stop ringing. At this exact moment, with the massive headache and my body completely drained from energy, I regretted not switching off my phone.

With my eyes still closed, I reached over to the side table and slapped around until I felt my phone. I brought my phone closer to my face and switched it on, screeching from the bright light that blinded me, dropping it on my face, I groaned frustratedly. I looked out my window and realized that the sun wasnt even up yet. Anger raised up in me, and I grabbed my phone, ready to put whoever woke me up in their place.

James: Happy birthday, Fighter! Youre 17 today. Im so proud of the girl youve become! I love you so much, and Im so sorry that we cant spend the day together. Ill make it up to you <3

I was teared up by the end of his message. I missed James so much. Im happy that he remembered something that I had forgotten. Even though it was a beautiful message and I appreciated it immensely, I was mad. I pressed the call button, and the phone started to ring.

"I knew you were going to call!" James chuckled through the phone.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you! Its not even six am yet!" I whisper-shout. He chuckled again, and I groaned; who the heck laughs so darn early.

"Stop being so moody, its your birthday Fighter!" I could feel him smiling through the speaker.

I sighed; I wasnt going to win with him. "Thanks for the birthday wishes Jay-Jay. I love you too, and thanks for being there for me." I smiled, even though it was early.

After going back to sleep when I finished talking to James- which lasted for over an hour and a hundred death threats later for waking me up- I woke up around nine again, feeling refreshed. I took a shower and decided to dress up a bit. I wanted to spoil myself for once, because this day, today, signified something. I was a year closer to getting away from this horrid life; to start somewhere new and be happy.

I stood in front of the mirror and admired my outfit. I went with blue, ripped jeans, a plain white shirt tucked in loosely and my black leather jacket to finish off my look. I left my hair in its natural state; messy loose curls. My phone snapped me out of my daze, and I picked it up, reading the message from Michael.

Michael: Ashtons house, immediately!

It sounded urgent; my heart picked up with stress. I put on my white sneakers and grabbed my things running out of the house. All the way to Ashtons house, I kept thinking about what could be wrong. So many different scenarios were running around my head, scaring me even more.

When I got to Ashtons house, I was full of nerves; I couldnt think straight. I ran up to the door and didnt even knock, I just pushed the door open and went straight in. The house was so far empty, and I couldnt find anyone.

"Halo!" I called out. I walked into the living room and almost had a heart attack from the sight in front of me.

"Surprise!" My friends screamed when I entered. I was shocked to the core; I didnt think they knew. I looked around and made eye contact with Michael. I was angry and stormed up to him. When I reached him, I punched him so hard that he stumbled back into the couch.

With a shocked and pained expression, he asked, "Shit! Why... why?" he looked confused. Our friends looked at me like I was crazy. Not the reaction they were expecting.

I glared at him. "Thats for scaring me!" I huffed annoyed. "I thought something was horribly wrong." Michael chuckled, realizing what I was talking about.

I crossed my arms and looked around me. My surroundings only catching up to me now; I absolutely loved the sight in front of me. My friends sat around the living room, smiling happily at me; their previous confusion wiped away. On the table in the left corner of the room were presents, snacks and a cake. I couldnt help but cry, I was honestly a lucky girl. Even though I had a completely messed up life, I had them to make it better. I looked at them; Kate and Jason sat on the couch with Cassie and Ashton. Emily and Mason stood next to the sofa that Michael was laying on, everyone smiling at me.

I cried. "You guys did this for me?" I asked them through teary eyes. All their faces held concern except for Emily; she knew how much this meant to me.

Jason walked up to me and hugged me tightly. "Of course we did shorty, we are family." He smiled down at me and wished me a happy birthday.

One by one, all my friends came and hugged me and wished me a happy birthday. Michael was the last one to approach me. He kissed my forehead and held me in his arms. I was so overwhelmed; I couldnt put my emotions into words. I looked up, and there were balloons on the ceiling. I gave everyone a puzzled look, and Ashtons embarrassed blush caught my eye.

"Was that your handy work?" I asked him, wiping my tears away. He blushed scarlet, his cheeks turning super pink.

He scratched his neck, nervously. "It wasnt my fault," He said, shyly.

Cassie shot him a playful glare. "It totally was."

His shoulders slumped. "Fine, but it wasnt on purpose." He defended. "They were blowing up the balloons and giving it to me to hold, but Im only one boy. I couldnt hold them all." He exclaimed, eyes wide with a pouty lip. "So, I let a few go once in a while. I was going to get them back, but they didnt put strings on them so I couldnt rescue them." He said sadly taking it very seriously.

I couldnt help but laugh at him; I love his carefree spirit and the fact that he could have fun in everything he did.

Ashton looked up at the balloons and pretended to cry. "Farewell old friends!" He placed his face in the crook of Cassies neck, and she patted his head, playfully. I was so distracted by Ashton that I had forgotten that Michael was holding me, and it felt like home.

I smiled at my friends. "Thanks so much for this, it means the world to me." They brushed it off.

"It was nothing, you deserve more than this," Mason said talking for the first time.

I could clearly see that something was bothering him. I looked over my shoulder at Michael, asking him what was wrong with Mason, but he only held me tighter and shook his head. His arms were wrapped around my waist, holding me close to him. I placed my arms over his and leaned further into him. I didnt know what was going on between us, but my heart filled with hope; hope that he liked me more than friends.

We spend the day talking and goofing around. We ate cake, and they forced me to blow out the candles and make a wish but having them here was enough. So, I wished for this happiness to last. Ashton wanted to get rid of the balloons on the ceiling, so he made up a game for us to play; pop balloon, he called it. He took his mum's knitting needles and gave one to each of us. We had to throw them up and try to pop a balloon. There were so many things wrong with his idea, but we did it anyway.

After I won the game successfully, Kate said I had to open my presents. We sat on all the couches in the living room and opened Kates first. I hugged her and thanked her for the black heeled boots she got me. They were the same once I wanted a while back when we went shopping. Next was Cassie; she got me a gift voucher for iTunes. Ashton got me black sneakers because he wanted us to match since he had a pare. Emily got me a full art set with paint and brushes. Jason got me a brown leather jacket and Mason- bless his beautiful heart- got me the best gift of all; a gift voucher for an unlimited number of pancakes at pancake city.

He scratched his neck nervously, a habit all these boys seem to have. "I thought you might like it since you love pancakes so much. I can take it back if you dont like it?" he asked a bit disappointed.

I jumped on him and hugged him tightly. "I love it!" I said excitedly, Mason's face turned into a smile. "Would you do me the honour of going with me sometime?"

His face lit up. "Seriously?"

I smiled getting off him. "Yes." I sat back down next to Michael.

Michael leaned in to whispered in my ear. "Ill give you my gift later." I smiled up at him and laid my head on his shoulder.

We didnt do much after that, except for just being with each other. We sat messily in the living room, some on the floor others on the couch, laughing nonstop.

"We almost threw you a party," Ashton said, feeding Cassie cake.

"Thank goodness you didnt!" I exclaimed. "I hate parties."

"If it wasnt for Emily, we wouldnt have known that," Michael said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Actually, if it wasnt for her, we wouldnt have known it was your birthday." He glared slightly at me.

I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Im sorry, Im just not fond of my birthday."

"Why?" Michael asked.

I smiled at him and put my plate down on the side table. "Thats a story for another day," I told him honestly. I wanted to share everything with him, but when the time was right.

I looked at Mason, who sat on the floor next to Emily, pretending to listen to her. I couldnt shake the feeling that something was wrong with him and Jason, but Jason was handling it better. Deciding that now was a good time to tell Mason what I told Jason and Ashton, I walked up to him. I offered my hand out to him, and he looked at it confused.

"Come, let's go for a walk." He looked at me, contemplating whether he should or not. Our eyes met, and I urged him on.

I led him outside and stayed quiet all the way there. Mason was lost in his own thoughts to notice. We sat on the grass, and I crossed my legs, looking at him.

"Mase," I called him to get his attention. He looked at me, his face contoured into a painful expression. "Whats going on?"

"I" He didnt finish what he wanted to say but started sobbing instead. I got startled; I had never seen him cry before. He was always cheerful and full of energy. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer.

"Its her birthday today." He exclaimed, crying harder. My heart broke. I assumed he was talking about his sister. "Its all my fault shes gone. I should have looked after her better." He wrapped his arms around me, crying into my shoulder.

"You cant blame yourself for what happened to her. You were just a kid." I tried reasoning with him. He shook his head disagreeing with me and cried some more. I held him closer, rubbing his back. He was heavy, and my legs were getting crushed, but I didnt want to move him.

"I miss her so much." He sobbed.

I didnt have anything to say to him to make him feel better so I just held him and consoled him the best I could. We sat outside for a while. Mason laid with his head on my lap, his body curled up in a fetal position. I ran my hands through his blond mop of hair, trying to calm him down. He laid like that crying for a while, after he was all cried out, he sat up, wiping his face clean.

"Feeling better?"

His teary eyes met mine, and he tried to smile. "Thank you, I needed to get my cry on." He joked lamely. He moved forward and pulled me in for a hug. "Thanks, A-bear for being here for me."

I hugged him back tightly, wanting to take away all his pain. I asked him why he kept calling me that if it reminded him of his sister.

He smiled; a genuine smile lit up his face. "Its a way of keeping her memory alive. There arent many of those left." I smiled at him, happy that I could help with that. Mason gave me a sceptical look.

"Was me crying my heart out the only reason you called me out here?"

I shrugged. I didnt want to tell Mason my story after he just cried. "Amongst other things." He gave me a questioning look. "I wanted to tell you what I told your brother and Ashton. I wanted to give you a piece of my past." I played with the grass in front of me and smiled at him. "but it can wait you have better things to think about."

He shook his head. "Dont be ridiculous." He squeezed my hands. "Go ahead."

I told him exactly what I told his brother and Ashton; receiving the same reaction from him that the other two boys gave me. I felt relieved, just like before, an immense weight lifted from my shoulders.

He pulled me in for a hug. "You could have told me sooner. Im happy to have you in my life. I hope you know that."

I was crying by now. "Bags! Im so emotional today." I smiled. Mason chuckled and wiped my tears away.

"Why dont you like your birthday?" Mason asked.

"Well because Im not even sure if it's my real birthday. The sister just picked the date and told me this is it." I explained. They chose the date of the night they found me on the doorstep of the orphanage. "It just doesnt feel right celebrating something that might not even be real."

Mason smiled sadly. "Im sorry."

I shrugged. "Dont be, you guys made it perfect." He smiled, pulling me up into the house.

"Where have you guys been?" Ashton asked when we came back inside. Mason froze up beside me. I realized he didnt want anyone to know he had been crying.

I shrugged nonchalantly and took a seat next to Michael. "I was asking for some advice." Michael welcomed me back excitedly and pulled me back into his side.

My friends bought the lie I told them, but Jason, on the other hand, smiled at me and mouthed Thank you. He knew what his brother was going through. I winked at him and smiled. We kept hanging out for a bit longer until Mason and Jason had to go.

Jason stood up and shot Mason a look. "Well be back tonight for the sleepover," Jason said, hugging me goodbye. Mason followed suit, and they both left after greeting the rest. My heart went out to them; today was a difficult day for them. They were going to the clearing to spend some time with the memory of their sister.

Michael stood up and looked around. He cleared his throat. "Uhm, I," he stuttered nervously. I smiled at his cuteness and raised my eyebrows. "My mom wants you to come over for dinner. May-C baked you a cake, and I want to give you my gift afterwards." He said, unsure of himself for the first time. He looked flustered.

I agreed to leave with him if we were going to come back tonight for the sleepover. We bid our friends goodbye and left.

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