The sun felt a little too bright the next morning. Tyler had stayed over through dinner and then headed out to his show. I had stayed up late being a nervous wreck about how this party would go, what I would wear, and the giant knot that was in my stomach over Tyler. When it was just the two of us, Tyler was not the idiot he pretended to be to the world. He was actually smart and well read. He had a lot of ideas on how we could do this Dante's Inferno project and I couldn't help but love them all. We started to slowly drift from the subject of hell and started talking about life. I found out he and Brenna had managed to work things out for the band's sake. That she was still seeing this Nixon guy and that Tyler hated him. I could tell he felt lonely without the constant distraction of Brenna or James. He apparently had been focusing on writing new music. He was even considering doing a solo performance at Chew Chew's next week. They were having an open mic night and he had made sure the rest of the band thought it was lame so that they wouldn't show up incase he had the nerve to go at it alone. It hurt that I had a part in his being so isolated even though it was his fault. I told him that I wouldn't care if he did come to the party but he said it would just cause drama and I couldn't disagree.

Our conversation played in my head as I tried to get focused on the day ahead. Dad had already agreed that he would stay away from the party tonight if I would have a birthday breakfast with him tomorrow. I spent the day hanging out with Elle and Laura getting our nails done and going shopping for outfits. It was weird hanging out with just the two of them at first but we actually had a nice time.

Laura was helping me curl my hair when I heard a knock on my door. My dad popped his head in and said, "Sweetheart, you have a couple of visitors downstairs in the living room." His smile made me curious. He was up to something. I looked at Elle and Laura who both shrugged.

So they weren't in on it.

I headed downstairs and cautiously walked into the living room. I nearly fainted with excitement. Patrick and Elyse were standing in front of me. I flew across the room into my sister's arms. Patrick joined in for a group hug.

"Surprise!" Dad said from the doorway while I continued screaming.

"What are y'all doing here?"

"We're your birthday gift!" Elyse beamed.

I looked behind Patrick to my dad. "Thank you daddy!"

He held up his hands in a wasn't me motion, "Don't thank me I just paid for the tickets. Thank your friend Tyler. He came up with the idea back in September."

I stopped short.

He did what?

I looked at Patrick and Elyse with questioning eyes. They knew the Tyler situation. Elyse gave me a, "We'll talk later about it" look. I nodded and noticed Elle and Laura coming in the room to see what the fuss was about. Laura started jumping too when she saw Elyse. Elyse quickly walked over to hug her baby cousin. Elle had eyes on Patrick. Only Ari knew anything about Patrick and I so Elle would just know he was my ex-step brother.

Dad left us alone and headed out to run errands. Patrick sat on my bed while Laura finished my hair, Elyse started fixing her own hair. She wasn't above partying with us teenagers.

"So how was the plane ride?"

"Long. Canada is cold." Patrick mumbled from his place on my bed. He looked ready to fall asleep.

"I know, I miss Dallas winters. When your dad moves again make him come here" I joked.

Patrick's dad had lived in Seattle until he came to Texas to live closer to Patrick. He had also lived in New York, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix from stories I heard.

"I will see what I can do. They are talking about another move. You know my dad; he just has to spread Christ's word."

Elle looked confused. Elyse clarified for her, "Patrick's dad is a minister and part time missionary."

I thought about what Patrick had said and chimed in, "What do you mean they? You said they are planning a move?"

Patrick looked back at Elyse for the answer there. She rolled her eyes and looked at me, "Jordan started seeing Michael again. It's a new thing. I'm sure she was planning on telling you herself soon."

Patrick's parents were getting back together? Jordan was going back to her old life like ours never happened?

Patrick came and hugged me from behind. "You know Mom still loves you? She wishes she could have come up here too. She didn't want to deal with Tim. We all miss you Lexi."

I turned and faced him, aware of how intimate this close of contact was. "Of course I know. I miss y'all too. I can't wait to come visit."

Patrick let go and went back to the bed. Elyse smiled, "So we get to meet the mysterious Ari tonight right?"

Patrick added, "He sounds like my kind of person if he will beat the shit out of that Tyler dude for embarrassing you like that."

I ignored the fact Elle and Laura were in the room. I needed to talk this out with Patrick and Elyse. I had been waiting to really talk to them about all of it.

"Beat the shit barely covers it. I mean I thought they were going to have to tranquilize Ari."

"Tyler still has some bruising on his face." Laura added.

"So what did you think about the song?" Elyse quipped. "Why was he the one to ask Dad about getting us our here as a surprise?" I looked down at my feet and shrugged. I hadn't told anyone what I thought about that stupid song yet.

Elle looked surprised that I wasn't answering. "You liked it?" She gaped.

"Promise not to tell anyone?"

Laura rolled her eyes, "How could she not love it? It was like the most romantic thing that guy has ever come up with."

"Why would she not hate it?" Elle rebutted, "I mean that idiot sang it to her in front of a crowd of people at my house, in front of my brother, her boyfriend if we are forgetting those details."

Fuck. Elle! I hadn't mentioned to Elyse or Patrick yet about Ari asking me to be his girlfriend. I wasn't ready to share that I was getting that well adjusted here.

Elyse looked back at me, "So Ari is your boyfriend?"

I nodded. I didn't like these sections of my life talking to each other. I felt like two people that had been forced to converge unexpectedly.

"Elyse, it's new I'm sure she was going to tell you herself soon," Patrick said calmly, throwing Elyse's words back at her.

Laura glared at Elle who was glaring back. Both of these girls dated one of Tyler's brothers. They couldn't be any more opposite though and this was no different.

"Can we just all chill out and not ruin my birthday before it even happens?"

They all nodded and we steered the topic elsewhere.

The truth was though, I loved that damned song. I couldn't get it out of my head. The fact I watched him write it in front of me didn't help. Or the fact he for some reason orchestrated getting Elyse and Patrick here. Tyler kept doing these nice things for me but it felt wrong. I couldn't read Tyler's motives at all and that concerned me as much as it intrigued me. I would never admit that out loud though.

I wanted Patrick's advice on this one but didn't know how to ask it. I had told Patrick about how Tyler was getting iced out by a significant amount of the group. James had even kept his distance after Halloween. Dylan had barred him from their house and James wasn't arguing him on it.

I was finished getting ready finally. I looked in the mirror at myself and smiled. I was wearing a little black dress Elle picked out for me today while shopping and a pair of neon pink Nikes Laura had found in the sales bin. My hair fell in long curls down my back. My makeup was a little more mature than what I normally did. Laura had loaned me a bright pink lip stain that matched the shoes and Elle had helped me with a nice smokey eye look.

I turned and faced the others in the room, "So how do I look?"

Patrick's eyes were wide. He started to talk, and then fumbled, so he just nodded in acceptance there.

I smiled. "That good?" He nodded emphatically with everyone else.

It was almost seven o' clock. We needed to head toward my aunt and uncle's. I looked at Patrick. He was wearing a blue dress shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of boots. I longed for a reason to wear my boots around here. His brown hair was growing like a weed but he had brushed it back.

Elyse wore a wine red number. I prayed I looked that hot when I got to be her age. We looked like Triplets though tonight with Laura who wore a silver dress that was shorter than even Elyse's

We headed downstairs just as the doorbell rang. I opened and smiled when I saw it was Ari. We hadn't had the chance to talk alone yet since yesterday in the hall. I was happy to see he looked glad to see me. Ari looked confused though when he saw Patrick and Elyse.

"Your sister came in for your birthday?"

Elyse smiled, "We look that much alike huh?"

Ari let a small smirk come across his face, "We've actually met before. I used to play with Alex when you two visited as kids."

She looked confused and I answered, "Do you remember Ari and Jake Munro?"

Elyse thought about it for a moment and then it clicked, "Ari, short for Adrian?"

Ari nodded.

Adrian? Ari was short for Adrian? How did I not know that and Elyse did?

"How did you know his full name was Adrian?"

"Because his mom always called him that."

I hadn't seen Ari's mom since we were 7 or 8. I still couldn't remember her calling him that.

Ari smirked, "You are probably the only person who remembers that. Everyone else has called me Ari for years."

Elyse smiled, "I hadn't put two and two together that Alex was dating the younger Monroe brother either."

I had sort of failed to mention that to her. I did not want her to think I was only spending time with the families.

I looked back at Patrick and then Ari. I wasn't sure how Ari was going to take this introduction. I wasn't sure what even to call Patrick at this point.

"Ari this is Patrick. " I looked back at Patrick. "And Patrick this is my boyfriend Ari."

The two looked at one another sizing one another up. Ari was wearing a black button down shirt and a pair of jeans. I noticed he had laced his converse up with neon pink laces. I assumed that was Elle's doing.

He looked back at Patrick, "Always nice to meet a friend of Alex's."

Patrick extended his hand over my arm and shook Ari's, "Same here."

"Ready boys?" I said in between them. I wrapped an arm around each of theirs and we walked the necessary three houses down. Uncle Jim met us on the way. He was headed to my house to escape the loudness of a Sweet Sixteen birthday party. We walked in and everyone started clapping and whistling. I got to the center of the room and gave Aunt Claire a hug. She quickly moved from me to Elyse when she saw her standing there. Elyse had been my age the last time we were here.

I started making the rounds. Several of the girls asked who Patrick was and I simply said, "His mom Jordan used to be married to my dad." Ari hadn't commented any further on his presence and it wasn't showing if it bothered him. I wondered if he was playing it cool for my sake since it was my Sweet Sixteen.

All the families were here, the only two kids missing were Brenna and Tyler. I felt a little pang of guilt when I thought of Tyler. I would have to thank him for getting my dad to fly Patrick and Elyse out for this.

Ari brought me into the kitchen after we finished saying hi to everyone. We finally had a moment alone to talk.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "So that was some surprise gift my dad gave me. Flying them both out like this."

He smiled, "So that is why you didn't tell me I would be spending the night with your ex."

"Ew don't call him that."

"A little too Lannister for you?"

I shriveled my nose. "Yuck! We aren't actually related you perv."

And this was definitely not Game of Thrones.

Ari laughed, "Relax, I'm just giving you shit. I trust you."

"I noticed. You were really okay with Tyler and I working together yesterday?"

Ari's nose twitched at the mention of Tyler. I wished I hadn't brought it up. He looked down at me though and said, "I trust you."

He leaned in and kissed me. The smell of fresh soap filled my nose.

You smell so good.

The night was going on blissfully uneventful. No one was drunk, stoned, fighting, or singing love songs.