"What are all these?" I ask, looking at the stack of presents by the fireplace.
"What, did you think I was going to plan you a party and not get you presents?" Harry asks, approaching from behind.
"Are they all from you?" My eyes widen at the idea of Harry buying everything in the stack of presents before me.
"Not all of them." He shakes his head. "Jess got you a couple too."
From what I could see, with even a couple being from Jess, there were still at least four other boxes...and one of them was huge.
"Why did you get so many though?" I ask, turning to him.
"Well, because I enjoy spoiling you." He smiles, his dimples on display. "Is that a problem?"
"Well n-no, but I just..." I stop myself from rambling, sighing. Harry chuckles at me, pulling me into a side hug.
"There is a meaning behind each of them," he explains. "Both those are up to you to determine."
* * *
Harry and Jess did an amazing job planning the party. Just as I requested, they only invited Jackson, and he was the only one who came. I was pretty content with the given environment, chowing down on a vegetable table Jess bought. That is until I heard a knock on the door.
In front of me, Jess furrows her eyebrows, just as confused as I was.
"I'll get it," she says, walking around the island to see who was at the door. She was gone for only a few seconds before I heard the opening and closing of the front door.
"I ordered a clown," Harry jokes, cracking a smile. "His name is BoBo and he was pretty cheap to book surprisingly."
I laugh at Harry's joke, catching onto what he was referring to. I hear the clicking of heels behind me. Slightly confused, but a smile still on my face, I turn around to see where the noise was coming from since I didn't remember Jess wearing heels. But the smile dropped from my face instantly as soon as my eyes spotted a redhead of hair. My heart sinks to the floor.
The day was going so well up until now.
"Lili!" Jordan chimes, opening her arms wide, gesturing for a hug. I wasn't going to hug her. As she came closer, I look over at Jess, who followed her into the room. I shoot her a dirty look and she looks flushed.
What the hell was Jordan doing here?
"Happy birthday!" She says to me once she puts her arms down, realizing I would not be returning her hug. The smile remains on her face though. That horrendously fake smile that could hide the evilest words known to man. "It feels like it's been forever since we've spent your birthday together!" Her devilish eyes flick from me over to Harry. Jordan giving Harry even the smallest glance made my blood boil, especially on this day. "Hey, Harry." She bites on her lip subtly as she looks him up and down.
I clear my throat, causing her head to snap in my direction. "Jordan," I say through gritted teeth, a fake smile also on my lips, "what are you doing here?"
"Well, Jess posted on her story that she was doing something special for your birthday today... and I figured now that we're friends again, it would only be fitting for me to come to your party. Plus I know Jess throws the best parties." She looks around but must've been blind because she couldn't seem to read the room. "So where is everyone else?"
"There isn't anyone else," Harry speaks up for me since my jaw was still dropped to the floor.
"Oh are these all your friends?" Jordan asks me, acting sympathetic. Her little tactics didn't work on me, because I knew from past experiences how passive-aggressive she is.
"The only friends I wanted to be here." I clench my jaw, furiously biting my tongue to make sure I didn't say anything rude.
"Well good thing I got here." She forcefully giggles. If I wanted hyenas here, we would be watching The Lion King.
"Jess," I try to remain calm, "can I talk to you for a second?"
The shame and guilt on her face could be seen from a mile away as I grab her arm, pulling her away from the kitchen and toward the hallway leading to the front door. I let go of her at the bottom of the stairs, turning around to give her a death stare.
"Look before you saying anything..." She begins to say, but I didn't want to hear it.
"What the actual hell?!" I whisper-shout at her, not wanting everyone under the sun to hear me. "You know what she did the last time we were together on my birthday! And then you do this?! What the fuck Jess?!"
"I'm sorry," she apologizes frantically but keeps her voice down at a low level. "But in my defense, I didn't invite her!"
"Then who the hell did?" I ask, my patience very minimal at the moment.
"Okay so maybe, in a way, I did," she says in a high pitched voice and I roll my eyes.
"I can't believe this." I scoff and begin to walk away. But she grabs my arm, holding me back.
"Please let me explain," she pleads, her face pale. I told my arms, waiting for her explanation...not that I'd even believe what she had to say. But I at least wanted to hear how she was going to defend herself.
"Go ahead." I shrug, insanely annoyed.
"Okay." She lets out a sigh of relief as if she thought I wasn't going to let her explain. She takes a deep breath. "So I posted on my story that today was your birthday. You know this, I always do." I nod, gesturing for her to continue with her story. "Well after I made sure you saw it, I hid my story from you so I could document Harry and I setting up the party...and I think Jordan might have seen that and took it as an invite. But I promise if I knew she would come, I never would've said anything about it."
I scoff and roll my eyes. Once again, Jess's Snapchat story ruins the day. First it was Harry and I's kiss on New Years, now this.
"Well, we need to make her leave!" I insist, trying my absolute hardest to keep my anger inside.
"And how are we supposed to do that?"
"Hmm, I don't know...maybe tell her to leave!" I say sarcastically.
"But we both know Jordan." That was a fair point to be completely honest. There was no way we could just tell Jordan to leave and have her do what we say. She needed a reason to leave, or she would stay to torment us forever.
I groan and tilt my head back, unsure of what to do. My head snaps back into place immediately the moment I realized I left her alone with Harry. I quickly push past Jess, making my way toward the kitchen. Just as I'd expected, her elbow was rested on the countertop as she talked to Harry, looking up at him with a glisten in her eyes. He, on the other hand, looked insanely uncomfortable.
I speed up, eager to hear their conversation.
"Falling is my favorite though," I hear her say as I approach them. "It's just so...raw." She smirks, knowing exactly what she was saying. "Tell me, who would ever hurt you so much to where you would write a song like that?" She asks, her hand reaching out to stroke his forearm.
I clear my throat to make my presence known, and she immediately snatches her hand away.
"What did I miss?" I ask with a fake smile. Harry's arm snakes around my waist, pulling me closer to him and further away from Jordan.
"Oh, I was just telling Harry how I loved the new album," Jordan says. "You've heard it, right?"
I had to bite my tongue once again because I was ready to bite her. I cannot stand her...and she knows this.
"Yes, I have." I nod. "That's where Harry and I met actually. At an album release in London."
"London?" She raises her eyebrows like she was surprised. "Never pictured you as a traveler."
I would correct her, but I didn't care to. She didn't need to know the reason why I went to London.
"Should we open presents?" Jess joins the conversation, saving us all. Harry and I both mumble a quick "yes" and stand up, walking over to the living room.
Harry takes a seat on the couch and I sit next to him. As anyone could guess, Jordan takes a seat next to him. His arm wraps around my shoulders as he scoots in closer to me, showing her he wasn't interested.
"Okay," Jess chimes in a sing-song voice. "Which one do you want to open first?"
"I don't care. Just hand them to me and I'll open them," I shrug.
"Okay," she shrugs as well. She leans over to the fireplace, grabbing the present closest to her.