Emilia's POV

It's an uncomfortable feeling when the first thing you think of when breaking out of unconsciousness is: why are there voices in my room? The last thing I can remember was going straight to bed after the drive-in movie last night and now I'm hearing voices; familiar voices, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm being woken up in a way that would probably freak me the fuck out and scream bloody murder if I didn't know the faces behind the voices.

"Should we just flip the bed?" One voice says, probably Calum.

"We want to wake her up, not scare the living shit out of her," another voice defends. Definitely Ashton.

I'm dreaming right? This has to be a dream. There is no way that I'm hearing my five friends talking to each other around my bed. I shuffle my feet a bit, making sure that I am indeed, lying in my bed. Blindly, I search for my blanket and pull it over my head in an attempt to drown out the cheery voices.

"Oh, she's up!" A deeper voice says, informing the others of my state of consciousness.

No I'm not, I want to say, but all that comes out is a loud groan as I tug tighter on the blanket, becoming a human cocoon.

"I told you she's not a morning person," Julia states matter-of-factly.

Ashton shakes my shoulder. "Come on, Emmie. You need to get up."

"Go away," I groan, trying to swat his hand away, but I end up just waving my arm aimlessly in the air. "What are you doing here?" I groggily ask, my face planted into the pillow.

"If you'd open your eyes, you'd find out," Michael says.

I flip onto my back—struggling slightly thanks to my make-shift cocoon—and peek through one eye to view the cause of my awakening. Standing around my bed is Calum, who is holding onto a series of ribbons with a variety of balloons attached with the words 'Happy Birthday.' Luke shifts back and forth on his heels while holding onto a small blue gift bag and Michael stands with his hands in his pockets. I open my other eye and lean up to get a better look. Julia stands next to Calum, taking pictures with her phone, and at the foot of my bed, Ashton glances down at me with the cheesiest grin I've ever seen.

"Happy birthday!" They all cheer in unison.

I fall back onto my bed, still annoyed that they woke me up for this. As hard I try, I can't hide the smile that slowly creeps onto my face. "Thank you," I finally say. "What time is it?"

"About one thirty," Michael answers nonchalantly.

"What?" I almost yell, throwing my blanket off and standing upright.

"Calm down," Ashton says. "It's your birthday. You're allowed to sleep in."

"But—" I try to argue, but Ashton holds up his finger, cutting me off.

"No buts. Luke, give her the present," he instructs.

Luke takes the two short steps to the bed and hands me the small bag. It is much lighter than I had expected it to be. Like there was nothing in it. I pull out the white tissue paper, revealing a brown box. My eyebrows furrow as I grab the box because it weighs absolutely nothing. They all giggle around me.

"It's empty," I say.

"That's because it's in the dining room," Ashton hints.

I go into our small dining room where on the table sits a plate of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. But what catches my eye is the light blue mug that sits next to the plate, causing a loud squeal to fall from my lips. It's the ceramic mug that I had seen at Starbucks last month with the two elephants holding each other's trunk. I realize that the box in the gift bag fits the size of the mug and that makes my current smile grow even wider. I turn and give each one of my friends a hug while thanking them profusely.

"It was Ash's idea," Calum reveals.

Ashton scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Don't give me all the credit," he says. "Julia was the one who sent me a picture of your elephant collection, which gave me the idea for the mug. I remember you telling me about how elephants are your favorite animal and I remember that mug being on display at Starbucks the day we met. So last night after the movie, we went to three different Starbucks until we found it."

I'm speechless. It's a small gift, but it's perfect. He went above and beyond to find it, and I couldn't be more grateful. He didn't have to get me a gift, but he went through the trouble anyway. The more I smile, the more Ashton's cheeks redden. "Thank you so much. I love it," I say.

His shoulders relax, as though he's relieved, and his lips curve upwards. "You're welcome."

I move to sit at the table to eat my breakfast even though it's past noon. "Did you guys make these?" I question, stuffing a forkful of pancakes into my mouth.

"We wish," Luke scoffs. "We just ordered IHOP to-go."

"Classy."

As I finish devouring my food, Calum speaks up. "We need to get going if we're going to get everything ready in time."

"Get what ready in time?" I ask, hesitation clear in my tone.

"It's a surprise," Ashton teases, winking. "Julia is going to take you out for a few hours while we go run some errands. We'll meet up tonight around eight." And with that, the boys leave the apartment.

"You've got yourself some good friends," Julia says, sitting across from me at the table.

My forefinger traces the rim of the mug, elation bubbling within me. "Yeah, I do."

____

Ashton's POV

The guys and I sit in the living room, watching some cooking show that makes us all hungry as food flashes on the screen every few seconds, but we are too lazy to change the channel. I probably shouldn't have told Emmie that we are running errands when in actuality we only had to pick up a cake for her. We drove around for an hour looking for a bakery that Luke insisted was only twenty minutes away, but he can't read directions to save his life, so we ended up driving longer than anticipated. The only reason as to why we lied was because we wanted Emmie to spend some quality time with Julia since she has been hanging out with us more than her.

We don't have anything special planned for her birthday. She doesn't want us to do anything extravagant and we have class tomorrow, so it would be best if we didn't go all crazy. I'm thrilled that she liked her present. The other guys may have written their names on the gift tag, but it's really my gift to her. Her face lit up when she saw the mug and at that moment I knew that I had made her day. It's a good thing I secretly took a picture of her discovering the mug so that I can see that beautiful smile of hers whenever I want. Like right now.

A text notification pops up on my phone screen, blocking the photo of Emmie, and I frown at the loss of her beauty but grin when I see who the text is from.

"We just finished going shopping and I can honestly say that I never want to walk into another department store again" Emilia sends.

She has been sending me sporadic updates of all the places Julia is taking her. So far, she has been to the movies, rock climbing, and just recently finished shopping.

"Julia told me to tell you to meet us at 'the place'" Her next message reads.

I glance at the time to find that it is already almost eight. We all rush to get ready, grabbing the cake from the counter and driving out to the bar where we would be celebrating her birthday with food, drinks, and good company. Something I know she'll enjoy.

Emilia and Julia aren't here when we arrive, so we grab a booth near the back of the bar and wait. I ask the waitress who stops by our table if she can take the cake to the kitchen until after we eat dinner and she happily obliges. Moments later, the two girls walk into the bar. Calum yells out their names and beckons them over to sit with us. Julia slides into the leather booth next to Calum and Emilia sits in the only other open spot; next to me.

"So this is 'the place'?" Emilia asks as she scans the menu, but it sounds more like a statement.

"Yeah," Luke says. "We all figured you would've liked some place small and comfortable and what better place than where you can get free shots for your birthday?"

Her giggles are interrupted by the waitress, asking for our orders. We all decide on ordering some type of burger that this place is apparently known for as well as beers for me and the guys and martinis for the girls. With our orders, she informs us that they will be out shortly before heading back to the kitchen.

Emilia began telling us of her day and how the movie she saw was so boring that she fell asleep not even halfway through. She did however enjoy the indoor rock climbing. I have to make a note to remember to take her there myself one day. Emilia concludes by telling us that she hates to go shopping and doesn't want to go back to the mall for at least the next two months. She might not like that we are probably going to have to go back there this week, but I'd rather not tell her that now. We continue our small talk until our food arrives and other than the sounds of us savoring and enjoying our food, there is little conversation. Emilia finishes her plate and drink before the rest of us and is quick to order another martini. After the rest of us finish, I call the waitress over to bring out the cake, and Emilia is more than pleased when she sees it.

"What kind of cake is it?" she asks, examining the frosted round cake in front of her.

"Marble," I answer. "You told me that you could never decide which flavor you liked better: vanilla or chocolate. So I decided to get one with both."

She talks us out of singing her 'Happy Birthday' before cutting the cake herself and making sure she is served the biggest slice. This girl can eat. But I like that she doesn't care what she eats or how much. Even with everything that she consumes, she still manages to stay quite thin. She's not 'model' thin and has curves, but she's lucky. A lot of girls would kill for that kind of metabolism.

Calum attempts to order another round of drinks, but Julia, Luke, and I decline, knowing one of us would have to drive someone home. I continue to take sips of my half-empty beer, not even feeling slightly buzzed. For fun, I order Emilia a chocolate cake shot which she downed quickly, the small glass clanking on the table when she finished.

"Guys, that was so good. Can I have another?" she asks the waitress, who happily sends her order to the bartender.

Looking down at the petite girl next to me, I can already tell the alcohol is taking an effect on her. Her eyes are dilated and she has a slight slur in her speech. Her cheeks are blushed and the level of happiness radiating from her is way past her normal amount.

"Thank you guys for celebrating my birthday with me," she says. I have never seen her use so many unnecessary hand gestures as she speaks. It's amusing to say the least. "I haven't had a party like this in years!" She is so tipsy.

Another chocolate cake shot is placed in from of Emilia and she doesn't hesitate to drink it. Three shots later and she's swaying her body to the music playing and singing completely out of tune to the lyrics. At least now we know she's a happy drunk.

It's almost eleven and Luke decides it would be best if he took the boys home since they have class in the morning. It's a good thing we took separate cars here. Julia wants to stay with us, but she also has an early class. I tell her to leave Emmie with me and I will take her home in a little bit since we had also have class. I want Emmie to enjoy her little day of fun. Julia hesitantly agrees and exits the bar with the boys, leaving Emmie and I alone.

"Are you having fun?" I ask the intoxicated girl who is currently drinking a glass of water to help sober up.

"So much!" she exclaims. "I haven't had this much fun since, well, ever." She laughs to herself and I just smile as she continues to amuse me. "Thank you for being my friend, Ash." I try not to make a big deal of her calling me Ash, but internally I am overjoyed.

"It's my pleasure."

"I'm glad that you're not like my ex. He was the last guy friend that I had. He broke me, you know." I'm unsure if I should stop her from talking or let her continue with her drunken confession.

"Maybe you should tell me this later when you're sober, Emmie," I caution. "I'd rather you remember what you're telling me." I try to convince her to stop, but she shakes her head and finishes her water.

"He's the reason I'm like this. It's all his fault." Her small body turns to face me. "He always had to know where I was and who I was hanging out with. He didn't like it when I talked to other people either. It became a habit to just keep to myself and not talk to anyone so that I wouldn't get in trouble by him. I tried leaving him constantly, but-" she pauses, taking a drink from another glass of water that the waitress generously brought her. "He wouldn't let me leave. He never hit me, but he did have a strong grip." Just hearing about this guy pisses me off. My fists clench as she continues to tell me of her asshole of an ex.

"He tried to take advant-, advan-" Her words slur ever more as she struggles to speak clearly.

"Advantage?"

"Yeah! Advantage! That's a hard word, Ash." She giggles to herself again. It takes all my strength not to get up and leave to take her home, but my curiosity keeps me seated. "He tried to take advantage of me, but Julia stopped him. She's a great friend. e triedHeI'm glad that you're nothing like him. I know that you wouldn't hurt me. I trust you."

"What happened to him?" I ask.

She shrugs before letting out a long yawn. "Dunno."

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"Yes, please," she says in a child-like tone.

I help her walk out of the bar as she says goodbye to every person we passed on our way out. I lead her to my car and situate her inside, buckling the seatbelt for her. It isn't long until we're on the road to her apartment. The car ride is filled with silence once Emmie falls asleep; her head resting against the window. I'm angry at the controlling guy who tried to take advantage of her, but I am also upset that I found out about her past while she was vulnerable. I don't know if she'll remember telling me this tomorrow, but I don't want to hide the fact that I know.

I pull into the free parking space in front of her apartment complex. I try waking her up, but she's out cold. I call Julia who unlocks their door for me, so that I can bring Emmie in. Carefully taking her out of the car, I carry her bridal style and ascended the stairs to her apartment. With some difficulty, I manage to open the door and make my way inside, closing it behind me with my foot. Emilia stirs in my arms a bit before relaxing. I slowly walk to her bedroom and gently place her on her bed, covering her body with the blanket that hangs halfway off the mattress. Before leaving the room, her small voice holds me still.

"Thank you, Ash."

The darkness from her room hinders my sight, and I can only make out her silhouette. I only smile and leave her the apartment and drive back to my house where I lie in bed, staring at the dark ceiling; her words spinning around in my mind before my heavy eyelids fall shut.