(14): Happy Birthday

hi.

xoxo ;)

***

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Betty. Happy birthday to you!" And then the happy girl, filled with people that don't even like her, excitedly blows her '19' candle. And then we all cheer as the music is turned back on full blast.

She booked out the entire club for tonight. I'm not surprised thought because her parents are very rich and would do anything to make their little princess happy.

"Hey, Bets, come blow on my dick like that" Some drunk frat guy hollers and the crowd laughs.

Gross.

"What a fake bitch. I hope she has a very sad birthday" Kathrine mutters from next to me as she sips on her Margarita cocktail and I just giggle.

"It's wrong to speak ill of the birthday girl" I scold jokingly.

She rolls her eyes "Technically, her real birthday is only tomorrow. So I can say whatever I want"

Kat made sure to fill me in all about her date earlier today. She was so happy it made me happy too. She told me how delicious the food was at the restaurant they went to and how Nathan was such a gentleman the whole time. Then he took her on to the go kart place and asked her to be his girlfriend over the speakers and the people that were there were so happy for them.

It sounded so cute and romantic.

Speaking of... Noah is here too tonight and I've actually lost count of how many times we've made that awkward eye contact. I keep expecting him to at least come say hi to me but he clearly has better things to do.

"Stop thinking about him" Kat scolds. How the girl can see right through me, I'll never know "We came here to have fun, not to frown the whole night. Okay?"

I nod "You're right"

"Nothing new" She grins and I just roll my eyes at her "Do you want a cocktail?"

I shake my head "No, it's that time of the month. I've told you that alcohol messes with my cycle, right?"

It's true. The minute I drink alcohol during my cycle, it gets all messed up. Most of the time it'll go on for more than a week and I'd just rather not go through that. Sometimes my flow is heavy I'm having to change my you-know-what 5 times or more.

"Oh yeah, you have" She says remembering "So you're gonna stay sober the whole night? Damn girl"

It's not like I mind really.

"Ladies" Dee and Winnie cheerfully announce when they've finally come back, with wine glasses in their hands "Are you guys having a good time"

"Indeed" Kat answers for the both of us. Although, I really doubt I am.

The music is super loud so we're having to shout the whole time.

They guys are here too; Nick, Kyle and Nathan but I don't really know where they are at the moment because this place is pretty big. Nick made me promise to keep an eye on him but it's very hard to do that if he just disappears.

Kyle clearly didn't want to be here but I'm guessing his friends forced him to come. He looked so uncomfortable with the many bodies bumping into him and stuff; it was hilarious really.

I wonder how he manages to get with so many girls if he doesn't even like going out. I guess he's just that hot and irresistible apparently.

Girl, you know he is. That "apparently" was very unnecessary.

Shut it, conscience!

"Do you think we should go find the guys?" Dee asks and we all nod before doing just that. Having to push and squeeze past everyone is one of my least favorite things about a party.

I think I'm claustrophobic.

Finally we locate them. I'm quite proud because none of them seem to be mingling with any girls (not that Nathan can anyways), they're just having some light conversation. They're standing right at the end, a bit away from the rest of the crowd.

Kyle has a huge smile on his face and I can't help but admire. As much as he's rude to them, at moments like these, I can see that he actually loves his boys. Only a few people get to see this side of him.

"Ladies. Nice of you guys to join us" Nick grins when he sees us. He looks at me and shows me a small thumbs up as if to say 'no worries, I've been behaving'

I send him a small wink amused.

Before much conversation can be made, Kat and Nathan disappear somewhere without a trace and we all just roll our eyes after the realization.

"Yeah I was counting down the seconds before that would happen" Winnie mutters amused.

"The dude is whipped beyond control" Nick chuckles "Who knew he'd ever be that way towards a girl?"

"We're waiting for the day for that to happen to you" Winnie teases.

Awkward, cause it actually has.

Nick clears his throat after sharing a 'what do I say' look with Kyle and I "Ha-ha. Guess we'll have to wait and see"

Not long after, they're lost in their own little conversation and I can't help but feel sorry for Dee. I try to speak to her a few times but I can see that she's distracted and annoyed. She excuses herself to go to the bathroom. Winnie doesn't even notice.

"Was that awkward or what?" I ask Kyle as I take a seat next to him on the couch.

He shrugs "Kind of"

Luckily the music is not too loud at this side of the club so we're not having to yell.

"So are you having a good time"

"Honestly, I'd rather be in the gym or behind the wheel" He replies "But it's not as bad as I expected"

"Easy for you. I keep making eye contact with my freaking ex" I blurt, I don't really know why I'm telling him this "I'd rather be in my bed"

He doesn't say anything for a while "Why don't you go speak to him?"

"I don't think he'd appreciate that" I shrug acting indifferent "He made it pretty clear when he kept looking away and acting like he didn't see me"

"Err, you'll be fine" He says awkwardly and I just laugh at him. At least he didn't say anything rude. "Wait. Is that him? There's some guy shooting daggers this way"

I look to see and yep, that's definitely Noah with an angry look that I can't quite decipher "Yeah. It is. Why is he looking at me like that?"

"Dude's probably jealous. He thinks we're up to something" Kyle says.

"But we're not" I mutter maintaining the intense eye contact with Noah "I think I'm gonna go speak to him"

Kyle doesn't say anything and I stand up, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for what I'm about to do.

Noah notices me making my way to him and looks away before gulping the entire content of whatever drink he was holding.

I guess we're both thinking the same thing: here goes nothing.

"Can I speak to you" I say against his ear when I get to him.

"Speak" He yells over the loud music.

"We can't speak here, Noah. It's loud. I can barely hear you"

He shrugs "I'm not moving from here, Chelsea. My friends are gonna worry"

Why is he being so difficult?

"Why were you looking at me like that?" I decide to ask, seeing as he really won't move "Did I do something?"

"No. I just wasn't aware that the phrase 'miserable without you' meant you laughing and flirting with Kyle Chambers"

"Flirting?" I ask appalled "You don't even know what we were talking about. Are you joking?"

"I don't need to" He says as his friend hands him another drink and he quickly gulps it down too "Are we done here?"

Why is he acting like such a dick?

I sigh frustrated "I really don't think you should be drinking so much, Noah"

"Guess what? You're not my girlfriend anymore" He laughs bitterly "I don't care what you think"

Ouch.

"Fine. I'm going. We'll speak again when you're sober and not speaking to me like I'm a piece of shit"

"Yeah sure" He mutters before I start to walk away from him. I'm about to go back to my seat but I opt to go out for some fresh air outside. It's suddenly way too hot in here.

"Where are you going?" I turn around to see Kyle following me.

"Out"

"Not that I care or anything but it's really not safe for a girl to go out by herself at this time of night" He tells me "There are a lot of sick jerks out there"

"Okay so then come with me"

He sighs but he probably knows I really need the fresh air because he follows me out. Now I hope no one is witnessing this because I can already guess what they're going to be thinking. They'll probably think that we're going to have sex in the alleyway or something.

Idiots.

"You were right" I say when we're out, there's some people smoking out here. He raises a brow "He really thought we were up to something. He think I'm flirting with you"

He snorts "Do you even know how to flirt?"

"That's not the point" I roll my eyes, a little laugh threatening to escape. Is that really all he picked up?

He's about to answer... maybe he does but I don't hear him because the sight in front of me is one I wish I could unsee.

He seems to follow my gaze because he asks "Is that... is that Delilah?"

I nod regretfully. I can recognize her black hair from anywhere.

She is occupied in a seemingly heated make out session with some girl who is definitely not Winnie.

"Oh my god" I shakingly gasp as I look at an also quite shocked Kyle "What do we do?"

"Fuck" He breathes running a hand through his hair, as he walks closer to the scene. I absentmindedly follow him to see what his next move is.

"Delilah" He announces. The make out session stops immediately as Delilah pushes the girl away from her looking like she's just seen a ghost.

The girl scoffs before leaving us in a tense stare down. The whole time Dee is biting her lip guiltily, and I'm guessing Kyle and I mirror the same angry and shocked expression.

"What are you doing, Dee?" I ask.

She breaks down almost immediately "Please don't tell Winnie. Oh my god, I don't know what I was thinking"

"What do you mean 'don't tell Winnie'?" Kyle booms impatiently "She's like a sister to me. You can't expect me to lie to her like that"

"You won't be lying, you just won't mention it" She sobs "Please. Do you want to be responsible for hurting her?"

"No. That'll all be you, Dee" I defend exasperated "Why would you do that?"

"It's just- seeing her with Nicolas. She completely ignored me back there. She always does that"

"So what, Delilah? That doesn't mean you should've done that" Kyle says and she just sobs "I won't tell her"

"Thank yo-"

"I'm not doing it for you" He immediately interrupts her gratitude "You will tell her yourself. If you take too long, I'll do the honors"

He really loves and cares about Winnie, huh?

She gulps nervously "Okay..."

Speak of the devil...

"There you guys are. We've been looking for you" The cheery red-haired girl says. Clearly not noticing the tension "What are you guys doing out here?"

I clear my throat before looking at her "Uhm, Dee wasn't feeling well so we just came to check up on her"

Only then does she see her distraught and teary-eyed girlfriend.

"Babe? What's wrong" She asks worriedly, stepping closer to her.

"Nothing" Dee sniffs moving away. I'm guessing all the guilt is gnawing at her "I have to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Winnie looks confused and frowns "Dee. You're worrying me"

She kisses her cheek "I'm okay"

And then she walk away leaving just Kyle, Winnie and I.

"Is someone gonna tell me what's going on?" Winnie demands impatiently "Why is my girlfriend acting weird?"

"Go ask her" Kyle says.

"She's gone, as you can see" She narrows her eyes at him angrily "Did you make her cry? I know you've never liked her"

Looks like he was right not to.

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle scoffs.

"I'm asking" She then looks at me "Chelsea. Are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"She's just not feeling well" I lie.

"I know the both of you are lying and I'm going to find out why and what it is" She hisses before storming back inside the club.

I breath a sigh of relief "I think we should also go in"

"Yeah..."

Jeez, can this be over now.

"Man, thank goodness you're here" Nick breathes when he sees us "Nathan is in some fight and he won't listen to me"

Could tonight get any worse?

"What? With who?" Kyle asks.

"Mick Jensen. He's a semester below us" Nick answers and I roll my eyes. I'm very sure it's something about Kathrine.

Typical Nathaniel Isaacs to act like a cave man when it comes to her.

Nick then directs us to the fight taking place. We have to squeeze past the circle that has formed around them. I can see Kat from the other side of it screaming her head off for Nathan to stop his assault. He's easily dominating the fight.

Nick and Kyle disappear to try and stop him and I stay rooted in my spot because I seriously don't want to be involved in any other drama.

"What happened?" I ask the girl next to me.

"Betty let slip that Kathrine lost her virginity to Mick and that he dumped her right after. Mick then started getting all arrogant causing Nathan to pounce on him and not stop. Poor guy"

I'm not surprised. Both at Betty and Nathan.

I thank the girl for catching me up as I quickly make my way to the other side of the circle to where Kat is.

"Chels" She cries shaking when she sees me "He won't stop! Oh my gosh, what have I done?"

"Shh. This is not your fault" I hug her.

"Betty. She told everyone! I've never felt so cheap and stupid in my whole life" She cries angrily this time "I knew she was up to something. I knew it"

"What was happening"

"It was some sick game. She was standing on the stage with a mic. She'd roll a wheel and if your name came up, she'd tell everyone a confession about you"

That stupid girl! She would go that far.

"And no one tried to stop her?" I ask appalled.

"No. They all want dirt on each other" She wipes her face "And now they know my dirt. So does Nathan"

"It could've been worse, Kat. She could've known about Mr Price and told everyone else" I try to make her feel better.

It seems to work because the tears stop running down her face "You're right"

I look around to see people walking away from the scene "I think the fight stopped"

My suspicions are confirmed when a lightly injured Nathan makes his way to us. He doesn't look as bad as what Mick did when I caught a glance of him. Nathan just has a few scratches.

"Are you okay?" He asks his girlfriend, holding her face is his hand.

She smacks him away "Are you crazy? You can't just beat up people like that, Nathan! No, I'm not okay!"

"Did you hear what he said about you after Betty told everyone?" He hisses angrily "I couldn't let him get away with it. No one speaks like that about my girl"

She sighs defeated, but a small smile plays on her lips "You're crazy"

"Okay, that's enough drama for one day" I murmur dazedly "Can we go?"

"Please" Kyle sighs.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted" Nick agrees, his arm slung around Winnie "Can I crash at yours? I don't think I'm in a mood for a cab"

Winnie nods "Sure. No problem"

Jeez.

I wonder if I should tell him about Dee. Although, I don't want to give him false hope or anything. Plus what if he takes it upon himself to tell Winnie so that Dee can be out of the equation. There's just too many worst case scenario.

It's safer between just Kyle and I.

"Okay, Kat and I will drive back to ours, will you guys be okay" Nathan asks.

I nod "Yeah"

"We're all riding with Kyle, right?" Winnie asks. She still doesn't look fully okay with the both of us though.

Kyle nods "Let's go"

"Leaving so soon, my dear friends?" We are interrupted by a smug looking Betty just before we leave the club as she blocks the exit.

"Move" I deadpan.

She's caused too much drama already. First by inviting us here.

She smirks "Oh come on. Don't you guys want to wait till after 12 when it's actually my birthday?"

"No, we don't" Winnie replies harshly.

"Winona" She tuts "Aren't you just lucky your name didn't get rolled on the wheel?"

Oh good lord.

Winnie moves closer to her challengingly so that they're chest to chest "Don't think for one minute that I won't hesitate in slapping your stupid face, Bethany"

"Such an animal" Betty tseks smugly, acting unaffected by Winnie's threat but I can see right through her coward self.

Winnie moves away from her.

"Chelsea, I heard you and Noah are over"

Does she ever stop?

"Listen, can you fucking move?" Kyle snaps impatiently causing her to flinch at his sharp

tone.

Thank you, Kyle.

She gulps shocked and hurt "You didn't even wish me a happy birthday, Kyle"

"So?"

"Will you move now?" Nick asks when she doesn't reply.

She sighs before doing just that, looking deflated and defeated at Kyle's apparent betrayal. Doesn't she know that she literally means nothing to him. She was just a girl he slept with.

I would feel for her if she were anyone else.

"She's so fucking annoying" Winnie mutters.

We exit the clustered club before making our way to Kyle's Audi. We all get in before driving away in silence.

I'm so glad tonight is over.

First Noah, then Dee and then Nathan then Betty. That was a lot.

Goodbye simple life indeed.

***

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