Author's Note: Holy crap, this chapter is long. Like, it's not even supposed to be this long. I honestly didn't mean for it to be, but then I didn't wanna just chop it off, and end it at a random part, if you get me. So yeah, consider it a gift, a nice long chapter. This is gonna be part one, and then the next chapter will be part two. So I hope you enjoy this lengthy chapter. And lemme know if you like it in a comment, maybe? ♥ Notice the picture and song. ---------------------->

Chapter 20: Pt. 1 - You Are A Terrible Kisser 

I wake up the next morning with the same stupid goofy smile I wore to bed last night after the dance. Whether it’s because I’m finally eighteen, or because Bradley kissed me last night, I don’t know. The bright sun files in through my curtains, nearly blinding me. I raise my head up from my pillow as I feel something tickling my arm and find Poncho curled up into me asleep. Oh, little Poncho. He’s so adorable. I can’t believe he hasn’t ran out of the house back over to Bradley’s yet. Letting my head fall back down on my comfortable pillow, I pull the cover up over me as the memories of last night flood me.

It was…

Perfect.

Fantastic.

Amazing.

Wonderful.

Magnificent.

And every other single synonym in the world that means good. It’s times like these when I wish I had at least one girl best friend. I mean, because I can’t talk about kissing Bradley to any of other guys. That’d just be weird. And awkward. I could talk to Arianna about it, seeing as how she’s my sister, but then she’ll tease me about it for the rest of my life, and I’m definitely not talking to my mom about it. She’d give me the sex talk - again, which would be about four million times worse than Arianna’s teasing. But oh my God, I feel like if I don’t say something I’m gonna explode.

Seriously though, if I had a diary thing, I’d write every single detail of it down. Because I remember. Is that weird? No, that’s not weird. You’re supposed to remember important details, right? And kissing Bradley is definitely an important detail. I don’t know what’s really gonna happen between the two of us. After that first kiss, which only lasted for a couple of seconds, we did it again. And again. And again. Then we danced some more, but we didn’t really talk that much. I mean, we did, just not about that.

Then Drew rode back with us, so we couldn’t talk about it in the car, of course. He dropped Drew off at his house first, seeing as how he and I are neighbors and on the whole ride home we never said anything about it. Mostly because I was over in the passenger seat trying to figure out if I had died and went to Heaven or if it was a reality - which would mean my best friend did indeed kiss me.

The latter was evidently true, because I am definitely not dead. So once he stopped in front of my house, he kissed me again, but it was just on the cheek - and that’s not really anything special since I kiss them on their cheeks all the time - then he told me goodnight, waited until I got into my house and then drove the ten seconds it took to get to house.

My cell phone pings and I reach underneath my pillow, grabbing it. I unlock it, typing in the passcode and see that I have messages from all five of the guys, which really isn’t a surprise, because they always all text me at like midnight on my birthday. Opening the first one received at exactly 11:59, I read Walker’s message:

Okay, so it isn’t even 12 yet, I don’t think, but I’m sending this now anyway.

Happy Birthday Sydney!

You’re legal!

P.S., Sorry we couldn’t really talk at the dance or anything. Alison’s being weirdly overprotective.

Anyway, I’ll see you later today!

Next I read Tanner’s:

How was the dance?

I enjoyed being at home with babysitting my sister, in case you’re wondering.

But that’s not important, what’s important is the fact that it’s your 18th birthday!

Happy Birthday, kiddo. (:

He’s literally like five months older than me, and he calls me ‘kiddo’, which he knows I can’t stand. Then again, I call him ‘Tanny’ from time to time, and I imagine he’s not too fond of that nickname. Clicking off of his message, I go to Mikey’s, which was the next one:

Hey, dude, it’s your birthday!

So, happy birthday!

You’re officially older than me, and that’s just not even right.

But whatever, see you this afternoon. :D

Then there’s Drew’s message:

Even though I literally just saw you a few hours ago, happy birthday!

You’re gonna be really happy this evening, I can tell you that much.  (:

And lastly, there’s Bradley’s message, which was sent at exactly 12:15 a.m., which is the most accurate, I think. My mom says I was born at 1:30 in the morning on this day eighteen years ago, so in a way, he was the closest to my actual birthday. I click on his message, bringing the phone closer to my face even though I can see it just fine.

Hey Birthday Girl,

I had a really amazing time last night.

Even if it was in a gym full of sweaty teenagers

So, you get your birthday presents today, so you should be really excited.

I know you’re just gonna love them.  (;

I send out a mass ‘thank you’ message to them all and find the will to get out of my as I’m starving. I leave my phone on the bed and stand up, stretching lazily, emitting a baby dinosaur sound. My cell phone rings - I must be popular today. Then again it is my birthday. Sitting back down, I grab my phone, answering it quickly when I see Bradley’s name on the display.

“Hey-ello.” I say, then mentally slap myself.

Bradley chuckles, “What was that?”

“I said ‘hey’, but then I finished with ‘-ello’, like from ‘hello’.

“I’m not surprised; it sounds just like you.” Bradley chirps.

I walk across my room and peek out of the window blinds over to Bradley’s house. I see him sitting in his room at his desk which he never even uses for school, spinning around on the chair in slow circles. “So what’s up?” I ask.

“Just called to see what you were doing.”

“I’m doing nothing. I just woke up, and if you’d give me my present now, I’d love your forever.”

Bradley scoffs, “You’re gonna love me forever anyway.”

“True, but if I could have them now I’d love you even longer than forever.”

“You confuse me.”

“No more than you confuse me, I’m sure.” I tell him, then groan out loud.

“You’re groaning and it’s your birthday. You’re not supposed to groan on your birthday. What’s wrong?”

“I am starving. I don’t even remember the last time I ate.” I whine.

The food at the dance was so disgusting. Not that I actually ate any, but it looked disgusting. It was seafood. Seafood! Not that I have anything against seafood, but I mean, isn’t that stuff supposed to be like refrigerated or kept cold or something? It was just all elegantly set up at this huge table in the back of the gym like that was okay and normal and fine and it just wasn’t. I mean, like, you could totally get salmonella like that, and that isn’t anything I would want to have to deal with on my birthday of all days. So I passed on the food and ate about ten cookies and five cupcakes while drinking various different drinks. They were all nonalcoholic though, Bradley was being overprotective - as usual - and tasted all of my drinks before I did to make sure they were clean of alcohol.

“Birthday breakfast?” Bradley offers.

“You don’t even have to ask; I’m never gonna turn down food.” I tell him pointedly, walking to my closet.

“Of course you aren’t. You eat like a fully grown man.” He teases. “Get dressed, I’ll be there in like five.”

“I am dressed.” I assure him, taking a pair of Uggs out of my closet and slipping them on.

"In something besides your pajamas.” Bradley clarifies.

“Nope; it’s my birthday and if I wanna go get breakfast in pajamas then I shall.”

“I’m not gonna argue with you. We both know how that’ll turn out.” Bradley retorts.

“Yes, we both do.” I agree, going back over to my window and looking out. “Why don’t you get dressed?”

“Me? I am dressed.”

“No you’re not, you’re partially naked.” I tell him. He’s still sitting in his chair spinning around. And like he always does when he sleeps, he has on boxers and no shirt.

“And how would you know this?”

“We are neighbors, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I know that.” He mocks me. He stands up from his chair and walks over to his dresser, pulling it open. “Stop creeping on me, anyway, it’s weird.”

I scoff, “If you didn’t want me to creep on you, you would bother closing your curtains sometimes.” I retort.

“That’s very true.”

“Yes, yes it is.” I tell him. “So give me a few minutes, I have to look not so terrible anymore.”

“I’m sure you look as great as you always do.” He says as he pulls a grey t-shirt over his head, balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder.

“No, I actually look like I got ran over by an eighteen wheeler truck.” I say, going to the bathroom and flipping the light on.

“Okay, Sydney,” Bradley says sarcastically. “Please try not to take a million years.”

I shake my head at his dramatics and say, “Yeah, okay, I’ll try. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Then I hang up, putting my phone into the pocket of my hot pink polka dotted pajama pants.

I pick up my toothbrush and quickly brush my teeth then yank my hairbrush through my hair. Some of the curls are actually still holding, which is something I find surprising. It’s good though, because I burned myself like five times last night trying to curl it. I pull my hair into a low ponytail, and then grab my mascara, untwisting the tube. Like I said, I’m not really a make-up girl, usually just mascara. Unless it’s a dance or prom or something, like last night. That’s when I break out the big guns - foundation, eye liner; eye shadow, all of that good stuff.

Going back into my room, I pull on one of Drew’s hundreds of basketball hoodies that I stole from him a few months ago. Well, I wouldn’t say steal. He does knows I have it, after all. I grab my cell phone and then quietly walk downstairs, trying not to disturb or wake up anyone in my family. Closing the front door quietly, I walk across the lawn, the morning dew causing little wet spots on my Uggs. When I reach Bradley’s car, I jump in, pulling my seatbelt on over me.

“Hello again,” I say, looking over at him.

“Hi there.” He replies. “So about last night,”

“You mean the kiss? Well, kisses I should say.”

Bradley’s face turns a slight shade of red and he nods, “Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

“So what about it?”

“Um, how was it?” He asks, turning a bit in seat to look at me.  

“Are you asking if I think you’re a good kisser?”

“I, uh, I guess I am.”

I giggle before saying, “Yes, Bradley, you are a good kisser. But from the amount of girls you kiss, I think you already know that.”

He scoffs, “Okay, you’re the first girl I’ve kissed in like eight months and yes I do know that. I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?” He repeats, looking over at me for a second before focusing back on the road.

"Am I a good kisser?”

“Nope, you are a terrible kisser. That’s why I kissed you five times last night.” He says sarcastically.

“It was actually four.” I correct him, then wish I hadn’t. “Not that I was, you know, counting or anything.”

“Okay, Sydney, whatever you say.” Bradley replies, smiling to himself.  

“Let’s just go pick up the rest of the guys and go to breakfast.” I mutter, as I feel my face going red.

“Yes ma’am.” He says, smirking as he starts his car and drives down the main road.

-------

“This is absolutely ridiculous.” I pout, crossing my arms as Walker puts a blindfold over my eyes.

“We tried to do this the easy way, but you were being difficult.” He replies, grabbing my arm and leading me through my house.

The guys have all invaded my house, except I have no idea where Bradley, Drew or Tanner went. It’s nearly two p.m., and I think Walker is taking me to the basement so that I can’t see what’s really going on. Drew told him and Mikey to, “not let her in the backyard for any reason whatsoever”, so really, they’re pretty much babysitting me. I’m surprised Alison even let Walker come over, because this morning when Bradley and I stopped at his house so we could all go get breakfast, she threw a bitch fit, saying that she wanted to spend the day with him. I don’t know what he told her, but she obviously didn’t like it because she stomped out of his house at the moment, got in her car and sped off.

 "Why can’t I just know what you guys are doing? I know it’s a party, but--“

“It’s not a party; it’s a small soiree.” Mikey corrects me.

“Oh, whatever. Same thing.” I say, rolling my eyes underneath the blindfold.

"We’re at the stairs now, be careful.” Walker warns me as we walk down the series of stairs leading to the basement.

"It’s not the same thing.” Mikey argues. “A party is a party. Like what happened at Jake Rosenthal’s dad’s Lake House is a party. This is a small get together type thing.”

“So who’s all gonna be there then?” I wonder.

“Last step.” Walker says as we reach the bottom of the stairs.

I step off of it, ripping the blindfold off of my eyes. “That was so unnecessary.”

“It was very necessary; Bradley would kill us if you saw the backyard before he finished it.”

I plop down on the couch, and the guys sit on either side of me. “To answer your question though, there’s only gonna be a few people. Just a few friends, because your mom didn’t want to let us invite too many people. So us of course, a few friends from school, and your parents - even though they weren’t really invited, they just decided to be there. Oh, and of course your sister, Jared and Josh.”

“And what exactly are we gonna do at this, erm, soiree?”

“Stop asking questions!” Walker exclaims. “You’re not even gonna be surprised.”

"You’re so mean to me. All of you.”

“No we aren’t. I’m subtly changing the subject now.” Mikey informs us. “How was the dance?”

“Mikey it’s not subtle if you say it’s subtle first.” I say. “And the dance was like, perfect.” I gush.

"Perfect?” Mikey repeats, an eyebrow raised. “What happened?”

"What do you mean?” I wonder.

Bradley and I haven’t told any of the boys about the plethora of kisses we shared at the dance last night, and I’m thinking we’re not going to. For a while at least. Of course, there’s a chance Drew and Walker already know since they were there, but neither of them said anything about it at breakfast or anything, so I’m guessing that they didn’t. And that’s good. I kinda like having a secret between just me and Bradley. I don’t know why, and I know best friends aren’t supposed to keep things from each other, but a kiss is private, right? Especially a kiss with your best friend.

"You’re smiling like something really good happen. And you’re using adjectives like ‘perfect’. So something must have happened.” Walker reasons. “And it’s pretty much written all over your face.”

I shrug, “The dance was just really fun; that’s all.” I reason, feeling just a small fringe of guilt for lying. Well, really, I’m not lying. The dance was really fun. I mean, not so much the dancing part as the kissing part, but you know what I mean.

“Did you talk to Reese?” Mikey wonders, his head cocked to the side.

“No, I didn’t talk to Reese, and if I’m lucky I’ll never have to again.” I retort.

Walker pats my knee, “Thatta girl.”

"Okay, enough small talk. Let’s talk presents.”

“Let’s not.” Mikey says, shaking his head and turning the TV on.

“Oh come on, just one hint?”

“Nope. Our lips are sealed.” Walker informs me, shrugging.

"Neither of you spent too much though, right?” I ask hopefully.

“Oh, yeah, it was very expensive.”

“So it’s something singular?”

Walker sighs exasperated, “It is singular, yes. And that’s all the information you’re getting.” He says firmly.

“But c--“

“No buts, Barker.” Mikey interjects. “We’re gonna watch Hooking Up and you’re not gonna try to figure out what’s happening in the back yard, okay? And then by the time Hooking Up is over, it’ll be time for you to get ready.”

“Fine, but we’re not watching Hooking Up; it sounds like a porno.”

“It’s not a porno,” Walker scoffs.

“Well it sounds like it, and today’s my birthday, meaning I get to pick out the movie.”

“Okay, then what do you wanna watch?” Walker asks.

“Do you even have to ask?” I wonder, grabbing the DVD remote from the coffee table and turning it on. Like I said, this movie is my favorite movie, and that’s why it’s still in the DVD player.

“Please don’t tell me this is what I think it is.” Mikey groans as I fast forward through all the previews.

“Oh, it is.” I assure him, hitting play. “This is your lunch, okay? Now, I put a dollar in there so you can buy some milk. You can ask one of the big kids where to do that. You remember your phone number? I wrote it down for you, just in case. Put it in your pocket, I don't want you to lose it. Okay? You ready?” I say aloud as the lady who plays Lindsay Lohan’s mom on Mean Girls says them.

Mikey and Walker both groan, and Walker says, “You’re lucky it’s your birthday.”

-------

A few hours later, I find myself standing in front of my full-length mirror, smoothing out the dress I’m wearing. Walker told me that it’s the ‘soiree’, is formal - but only for girls, apparently - so I decided to wear a dress. I didn’t wanna have to choose between wearing the dress Bradley bought for me and the dress Tanner bought for me, so I simply didn’t wear either of them. I chose to wear a strapless white A-line with these sparkle things on the front. The top of it is kinda like a bodice while the body mimics a tutu. Except it doesn’t poof out as far as a tutu and it’s white, not pink.

So for the most part, my birthday has been pretty nice. My dad even called and said that he’s gonna come down because has this ‘amazing’ present for me. Arianna got me the shoes I’m wearing, a pair of very elegant silver shimmering high heels, that I was too scared to ask the price of. They just look like they were expensive. Everyone else is refusing to give me my presents until the actual party thing.

Surveying myself in the mirror for a few seconds, I pick up my tube of lip gloss, shining it over my lips. No, I don’t usually get so dressed up for parties, and if this wasn’t my birthday, I wouldn’t really care. I’d probably have just thrown on a pair of skinny jeans and a dressy type shirt, but as everyone keeps reminding me, this is my eighteenth birthday, which is, ‘incredibly special’.

In addition to the dangerously expensive high heels from Arianna and the dress, I’m wearing a simple pair of black diamond earrings which I got this day last year from my dad. They were, I think, supposed to be an I’m-sorry-about-divorcing-your-mom-six-months-before-your-seventeenth-birthday gift. I also have on a cute light bow bracelet and a long necklace with one of those tiny locks on it at the end. And as for my hair; well by the time I got around to doing it, I didn’t feel like straightening it, so I just brushed it out a bit, but I think it looks nice enough.

There’s a gentle knock on my door then it opens, revealing Tanner. “Hey,” He says, coming in.

“Hi Tanner.” I reply, smiling at him softly.

“Hey, you look nice.”

“Oh, thanks.” I say, turning away from the mirror. “What’s up?”

“I’m supposed to tell you that you can come down now, orders of Bradley.”

I laugh, rolling my eyes, “Did you guys really have to go all out for this? I wouldn’t have minded just going to…freaking Chuck E. Cheese's or something, you know.” I tell him, pushing a lock of my hair behind my ear.

“Well yeah, but we would have minded. Tell you what, if you just really wanna go to Chuck E. Cheese’s, after the party, we’ll go.”

“Really?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Sure, why not? Besides, I think you’ll be itching to go somewhere once it’s over.”

“Why do you say that?” I wonder.

“Oh no reason.” He says chirpily.     

“There’s something you’re not telling me.” I say suspiciously.

“What? Nope, that’s not true, not true at all.”

“Liar.”

“The only time I lie to you is when it’s in your best interest.” He assures me.

“Oh, thanks that makes me feel better.” I say sarcastically.

“I thought it might. Now hurry up before Bradley busts a blood vessel down there.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” I ask, walking towards the door, and turning the light off.

“I don’t think it’d be the nicest birthday gift.” Tanner agrees, nodding.

So Tanner and I walk down the stairs, and into my backyard which has been completely transformed. From the trees hang those little decorative light bulbs - kinda like the ones you put on your Christmas tree, but not. If that makes sense. The surplus of shining lights illuminates the backyard, but not fully. The pool looks different than it did yesterday when I saw it, as the water isn’t clear anymore, it’s this crystal blue color - I guess the Brett, pool guy, came back. Also around the backyard are about four long tables covered with white tablecloths that reach the grassy ground. My mom, a few people from school - definitely no more than twenty, my guy friends of course, and some family members all stand around the yard together, conversing or whatever. My mother and father are even talking, and enjoying it by the looks of it. I decide not to intervene in their conversation, choosing to talk to them later.

"You, Drew and Bradley did all of this?” I wonder, looking up at Tanner.

"Bradley kinda sat on his ass, yelling at Drew and me, but yeah, I guess so.” He says, chuckling.

“Sounds just like good ole Bradley.” I reply, my eyes averting to a large circular table a few feet away from the pool. It, like the others, is covered in a white table cloth, but it has a lot of boxes and gift bags resting upon it, which I assume to be birthday presents.  

"Ah, there’s the birthday girl; finally.” Walker says, walking over to us with Alison practically attached to his side.

“Here I am.” I say, chirpily. Ew, I wish he would have left Alison in her cage. I mean, her house.

“Happy birthday, Sydney,” She says in a sweet tone that almost makes me sick to my stomach.

“Aw, thanks Alison.” I reply, mimicking her tone.

“Sorry I didn’t get you a present.”

“Oh that’s fine, I didn’t even know you’d be here, so I wasn’t expecting one.”

“Well, I am here, and I’m not going anywhere, right Walker?” Alison says, kissing Walker on his cheek.

Walker smiles brightly, kissing Alison’s head, “Right.”

Tanner clears his throat, “Okay, let’s go over there.” He says, sensing the tension.

“I hate her so much.” I mumble as Tanner leads me away from the two of them.

“Sydney!” Josh calls from across the yard, running towards me. “I got you a present.”

“Aww, Josh, you didn’t have to get me anything. I love your little suit, by the way.”

“Thanks, Drew took me to this place called a tailor and got it for me.”

“Did he really?” I ask, giggling. “That’s adorable.”

“Can I give you your present now? I made it at school.”

“Sure you can,” I tell him, kneeling down so that I’m his height roughly.

Josh reaches into his pocket and pulls something out in his small fist. “My art teacher helped me with it.”

“Well, then I know I’ll love it. Lemme see it.” I tell him. Josh unrolls his fist, revealing a cute little woven bracelet. I take it from him, slipping it on my wrist and pulling him in for a short hug. “Do you like it?”

“No, I don’t like it.” I reply. “I love it, silly. Thank you, Josh, it’s amazing.”

“You’re welcome. I’m gonna go in the house now, because I wanna wake Poncho up.” He says, taking off towards the house on his feet.

I stand back up to my full height - which still isn’t very tall - and smile. “He’s so cute.”

“I gotta admit; he is pretty cute. Back to Alison; it’s your birthday, don’t let her get to you.” Tanner reasons.

“You are so right, it is my birthday and it’s been going fabulous so far.”

“And it’s only gonna get fabulous-er from here.” He tells me, gesturing his head to the shadows.

“What?”

“Go over there.” He urges.

“By myself?”

“It’s your backyard, Sydney, not a jungle. It’s fine, I promise.” Tanner says, laughing.

“Okay then.” I say suspiciously.

“I’ll be over there with Drew and Mikey.” He informs me, then walks off, leaving me alone.

Walking into the area between the trees, away from the rest of the people in the backyard - it’s a rather large backyard, after all - I raise an eyebrow at a figure with its back to me. I can tell it’s Bradley though, because he’s looking down at his cell phone, as if checking the time, and the light from it is illuminating his face. Besides, it’s not like, pitch black dark here, just not as lit as it is in the main part of the backyard.

“Hey,” I say, letting him know I’m there.

Bradley turns around, stuffing his phone into the pocket of his blue jeans and smiling, “Hey. You, um, you look amazing.”

Blushing, I say, “I think you only compliment me so much because you like making me go all red.” I mutter.

"Well,” He says, stepping closer to me. “That’s definitely a perk, but I say it only because I mean it.”

“Is this the part where you give me my present?” I wonder, looking up at him.

“Gee, for a girl who told me I didn’t have to get her anything, you sure are eager.” He says.

“What can I say? I like presents.” I retort. “And why are we way back here?”

“It’s more private, and I don’t really wanna kiss you in front of all of them because this will turn into an interrogation. Then a murder investigation because your dad would drown me in your pool.” He explains.

“So you’re about to kiss me?” I ask dumbly.

“If that’s okay.” It’s more than okay, trust me. “But I wanna give you this first.” He says, reaching into his pocket.

“Is that the mysterious seven pack thing?” I wonder.

Bradley shakes his head, laughing. “No, that’s later. This is my one of my actual presents I got you.” He tells me.

"Well what is it?” I wonder, curious.

He walks around behind me. Bradley’s cool fingers move my hair over my shoulder and that’s when I realize that it’s a necklace. I mean, what else would it be? His fingers wisp across the base of my neck and then I hear the small click of the necklace clasp. Bradley reaches over my shoulder, pulling my hair back into place, then walks back in front of me. I look down, grabbing the new necklace on my neck. It’s has two adorable small fishes on it, the Pisces symbol, and they’ve got these little flicks of shimmering glittery stuff on them which I’m sure will shine in the sunlight. I turn it around in my fingers, inspecting the back of it, which has my name in a pretty calligraphy inscribed in it.

“Look,” Bradley says once I don’t say anything. “I know it’s cliché and all, bu--“

“No, I love it.” I tell him truthfully.

“Really? I mean, because if you don’t, I can probably take it back and buy you something else.”

“Bradley, seriously,” I say firmly. “It’s beautiful, I love it. It looks expensive though.”

He shrugs, “It was, but you’re worth it.” He assures me, stepping closer to me and resting his hands on my hips.

I sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck - since I’m wearing heels, I’m actually a bit closer to his height - which is nice - and say, “I really wish you’d stop spending so much money on me.”

“It’s your birthday though, it’s a special occasion.” He argues.

“Well yeah, bu--“

"You talk too much." He says teasingly. Bradley leans down, pushing his warm lips against mine, kissing me for the fifth time in twenty four hours.

Again, not that I’m counting or anything.