Chapter 39: Is This Bird Box?

"You shout it out, But I can't hear a word you say," I sing as I vacuum my room. I didn't bother cleaning it while Mum was vacuuming, so now I have to do it myself. I'm almost finished. My music is on high volume while the whooshing sound of the vacuum cleaner is drowned out by Sia.

I scream when hands wrap around me from behind. I pull out my head phones and turn around. "You idiot, Alex!" I shove him playfully then turn back around to turn off the vacuum.

"Hello to you, too," he says, flicking up his sunglasses. I walk over to my bed and sit down on it, cross legged. I check the time. Six o'clock on a Friday night. I should not be vacuuming. Adele and Bubbles have gone out without me. I feel very rejected.

He lies down horizontally opposite me, taking out his phone. I grab a book. "I know you love being the Gabriela to my Troy. We're so OTP."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever floats your boat, babe," I say and return to my book.

"M'kay, baby," he says. I look at him from under my eyebrows, not moving my head, the book still clasped in my lap. He grins as he says it playfully. I shake my head and return to my book, smiling.

After a while my back begins to hurt and I shuffle over beside Alex. He wraps an arm around my shoulder, not taking his eyes off his Candy Crush game and I lay my head on his chest.

This week we've been rehearsing for the musical, which happens in the last few weeks of school. Amanda decided she'd actually do the part (after a heap of yelling at Ms Carter in her office about how she should be Gabriela, she calmed down and gave me the evil eye, watching Alex and I together), but, to be honest, I feel much worse for Vanessa the Cheerleader. Rehearsals are fun. Someone called Rachel Augastines will be singing as Sharpay, since she has stage fright and Bubbles (sadly) cannot sing.

Alex is good at acting. Not as good as Zac Efron, but still. He's fun.

***

I open my eyes when the door bangs open and my two best friends run into my room. I quickly pull myself off Alex and sit up, yawning. They gape at the two of us.

"You were sleeping together! This is totally amazing!" Bubbles shrieks.

"We - we.. we weren't actually sleeping together.." I say, awkwardly looking back at Alex. He smirks.

"Blah blah blah. Sleeping in the same bed, doing it-that-shall-not-be-named... same thing!" Bubbles says. I pretend to dry retch.

"I was reading and it got late!" I say.

Adele rolls her eyes. "Alex, d'you wanna be a part of our sleepover?"

Alex grins but shakes his head, slipping off the bed and putting his phone in his pocket. "See you, Greg," he says, walking past me quickly and ruffling my hair. I try and twist my lips from the smile that's coming into a frown. He laughs and flicks me before jumping off the railing and pulling his curtains, ignoring the wet weather.

Bubbles and Adele drop their bags. Adele pulls over my desk chair and Bubbles collapses dreamily on my bed. I look at the time. Nine o'clock, I was sleeping for an hour and a half.

"You two are goals," Bubbles says happily, looking at me with a beam with her hands on either side of her face, her feet kicked up.

The rain starts to fall down on the roof heavier. I shake my head at Bubbles and Adele speaks. "Yeah, you two are OTP," Adele says. I roll my eyes.

"D'you know what OTP is, Adele?" I ask her, remembering what the abbreviated version of the words is for the second time tonight. "And, no, we aren't OTP."

"It wasn't a question," Adele scolds me. "And you didn't have to answer the it-wasn't-a-question wrong."

I lie back on the bed and shove a pillow into my face. "ANYWAY!" Bubbles says, clapping. "Enough about ship Natalex, Nat. Adele met Callum, Leo and Kate."

I sit up, taking the pillow off. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Adele smiles. "They're great. Callum's hot."

"Don't your dare!" Bubbles yells playfully, then whispers, "he's mine."

We laugh and my phone buzzes. Its a text on Instagram. I open it and read it.

Hey girl. Heard your little Paris friend is in town. She a pig like you? I don't doubt it. Anyway, have fun on your suckish birthday tomorrow. Don't expect my boyfriend to give you a phone or anything, LOL. See you later, b****

I switch my phone off and put it in a draw. My friends stop laughing, since I must look depressed.

"You good?" Adele asks. I sit up straighter and smile, nodding.

"For sure."

Adele talks with Bubbles about her getting Sharpay and Adele not being able to see the show. I play with my heart necklace that feels as though its not there, I've grown so used to feeling it on my neck. My phone buzzes. My friends look from the drawer to me like, 'you gonna look at that?'

Not wanting to make anyone suspicious, I pull it out of the drawer and turn it on, preparing for the worst. I smile when I read the contact.

"Alex," Bubbles and Adele chorus. I roll my eyes at them and unlock my phone.

Hey Greg.

Denis wants us to model again soon, if you're up to it. And if you want more free burritos.

I reply:

Course I want more free burritos!

Thanks, dude.

Nope.

What?

I never said I'd do it, I said I wanted some burritos.

You're annoying.

But so are you, Bum Boy.

I'm bum boy now? :( I liked babe.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Yes, laugh out loud, bruh

LOL

That's it.

You weirdo.

Me?

Yeah, you.

Cool.

Cool?

Yup.

K then.

Why don't you model with Amanda. Maybe you guys can get some 'this couple is soooo sweet comments!'

No way!

Rude!

Rude?

You insulted her again.

Who?

You dimbo, your girlfriend! Get with the program, Alex.

Ok, Ok. I'm still not modeling with her.

Why? Because she doesn't eat burritos the way I do?

No.

I wait for another message to come through, the three little dots appearing on the screen. But then they disappear and I frown.

"What's wrong?" Adele asks, trying to see over my shoulder. I hold the phone to my chest. I turn it off and put it back in the drawer.

"What were you guys saying?" I ask.

"I'm showing Adele the picture of you two kissing," Bubbles says, her eyes glued to her phone.

"No! Don't!" I say and lunge for her phone, but she pulls it away and I fall off the bed. They laugh and I pout. Bubbles shows Adele the photo and she raises her eyebrows. I climb back onto my bed.

I forgot we actually kissed. That was probably about three or four months ago? When we first met. But it was definitely different back then. I can remember thinking 'ew' 'ew' 'ew.' And that's it. Did I actually think about kissing him? There was definitely a voice at the back of my head saying something, I just don't know what...

But what if he tried kissing me now? Would I be thinking 'God, this is disgusting' again? Or would I do it for the sake of just... doing it. I bite my lip, because I know it would be the second option. I think back to the fair. The Ferris wheel. Would I have kissed him if it didn't stop? Would I have gotten mad afterwards? I have no idea. Instead of thinking about how disgusting Amanda and Alex's kissed were back then, now I'm thinking about how I would give anything to either be in Amanda's position or slap her across the face (but, of course, I've always wanted to do that. No surprises there.)

I look at the photo. My hand is on his jaw and my fingers look extremely long and thin, its weird. My watch is glinting. His hair is on my forehead and our mouths are stuck together. If I could turn back time I'd probably be thinking about why the hell I wasn't present in the moment. If I was being honest, I would kiss him harder and for longer. The thought would definitely be disgusting to that me.

"Nat? You still with us?" Adele asks, waving a hand in front of my eyes. I blink and look up. I smile at them and they do they same before continuing their conversation on who knows what. I'm too preoccupied with my thoughts and necklace to pay any attention.

***

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep!

I groggily fumble for my alarm clock, switching it off when I find the button. I'm about to sit up when I suddenly realize: Firstly, its my birthday. And secondly, its Saturday. Why the hell is my alarm clock set?

I yawn, seeing that I'm already up at eight o'clock. I'm about to step off the bed when I touch a sleeping Bubbles with my foot, who insisted last night that she wanted to sleep on the floor, on the most uncomfortable mattress we had.

I step over her and see that Adele is already dressed and ready, sitting on her bed, scrolling through her Instagram feed. She looks up. "Hey."

"Hey," I reply. I wait for the 'Happy Birthday!' like the rude person I am, but it doesn't come, so I mentally shrug and walk into the closet to find some clothes before taking a warm shower to wake me up.

When I walk back out Adele and Bubbles are both up now and talking. They stop immediately  when I come out. I raise my eyebrows. Bubbles doesn't wish me happy birthday either. I sit down on Adele's mattress and scroll through my phone for the happy birthday messages I get from friends and family each year. Matilda from France wished me a happy birthday. So did one of my aunts and two of my cousins. My other friends from France have probably just forgotten about me. My new friends probably don't even know my birthday most likely.

I shut off my phone and slip it into my pocket and start tying my hair into braids. But I have to stop to shake out my hands and decide to only do small french braids to the center of my head. My hair is curly after I brush it out and I leave to brush my teeth. I'm wearing some leggings and a grey singlet with a Nike jacket.

"Sooooo," Adele says, shutting off her phone. "What are we doing today?"

"I dunno," I shrug, slipping my phone into my jacket pocket and sitting back on her bed.

"Maybe we should..." Bubbles drones off. "Actually, I need to get dressed first!"

We chuckle and she pulls out her clothes and leaves for the bathroom. Adele leans towards me. I copy her and smile. She whispers, "I have something to say to you!"

"Really?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. She grins.

"I think you're in love with Alex," she says fiercly.

I lean back. "WHAT?" this was not what I was expecting. How does she know?

"R-Really?" I stutter.

"Yes. I saw you two on Tuesday. You were soaking wet and freezing. But you were with him and you were happy. You didn't take your eyes off each other, even though I was standing there for half the time. You fell asleep next to him last night, that means you've obviously done it before. You don't push him away when he puts an arm around your waist like you did to Tommy whenever he tried to hit on you in tenth grade. Yup. Those are the signs," she nods. I shake my head.

"I-I'm not in love with Alex!" I say. There is no way I'm telling her.

"DENIAL! Come on, babe, just admit it. I already believe it. You obviously do too. You're blushing like mad," she says. I feel my pink cheeks and look down.

"We're just friends," I say and she laughs. A gigantic laugh that echoes around the room.

"Sure you are. I'm going for breakfast. You coming or staying?" she asks, getting up. I sigh and get up.

"Coming."

***

Breakfast wasn't the usual pancakes or bacon and eggs or waffles. Instead it was a boring bunch of milk and cereal. Not once in my eighteen years had I ever had cereal on my birthday (rich people problems). But, yeah, it was different. This must be adulthood, people.

"Did you sleep well?" Mum asks when Bubbles joins us. We nod and eat our breakfast quickly before returning upstairs and starting a Disney princess puzzle because I AM STILL A CHILD - even on my eighteenth birthday.

Paul and Lucas run into the room just as we finish laying the pieces out right side up.

"Hi," we all say.

"Hap-" they start. Dad runs around the corner and yells:

"Boys! The new lego is set up in your room!"

I raise an eyebrows and they nod and run off. Dad taps the doorway and smiles slightly at us before walking off. We continue.

No one in my family has wished me a happy birthday. I am very depressed now. My mother had me eighteen years ago! How can she not remember that! Oh, well. They'll wish it to me tomorrow. But still, I'm getting weird vibes here.

We're halfway through our puzzle and its 11:30. Alex walks through my French doors with a smile.

"Hi, Greg. What you doin'?" he asks, sitting down next to me. I shrug.

"A puzzle," I gesture to the pieces in front of us. He nods. We continue working, Alex is just watching silently until he checks his watch and stands up.

"Well... You guys are boring. I'm gonna go. See you!" he says, bending down to move the hair out of my face and kissing my cheek. He walks off and locks his door. I frown after him. Alex definitely new when my birthday was. He was talking about him going to Virginia with Amanda after my birthday, meaning he knows when it is. I sigh and we continue with the puzzle for the next hour.

***

"But... She's gotta stay!" I say to Bubbles as Adele walks down the driveway, onto the footpath and gets into an Uber. "Where is she going? Its not the airport, is it?"

"No, stupid, she's going to help Kate with something," Bubbles says, closing the door behind us and walking me upstairs.

"But.. Bubbles, she can't leave, she came for my bir-" I start.

"Adele's just gone to help Kate and Leo bake for her parents, she's good at that right?" she says, jumping onto my bed when we reach my room.

"No. She sucks," I say. Bubbles shuts up.

"Let's watch a movie!" she says a minute later. I shrug and bring my laptop over. We sit down and start playing 'Grease.'

Halfway through I pause it and stretch out on my bed. "That's boring!" I yawn. Bubbles nods in agreement. I look at the time. 2:00. This definitely isn't how I thought my birthday would go.

"Yo, Bubbles, can we go somewhere?" I ask. Bubbles subtly looks at the time.

"Let's just finish the movie," she says. I internally sigh.

***

My family has gone off to some soccer thing. Mum left a note on the fridge. Its funny, she usually puts this stuff on the calendar, so I didn't know I'd be home alone. I should just through a gigantic party!

But, no, Bubbles and I are going to visit Meghan at cafe extra. We walk out into the garage after closing the house up. We walk out the door, shutting it behind us and to Bubbles's car. We're almost there and Bubbles is unlocking her car door when she quickly shouts: "OMG, Nat! Duck! There's a bird!"

I drop to the ground and look above me. There is no bird. I get up warily as Bubbles closes the door to the back seat. Maybe she put her bag in there. She laughs at me. "Ha, gotcha!"

I roll my eyes and hop in. I try to turn to look for Bubbles' bag in the back but Bubbles puts a hand on my shoulder and says, "What song? You can choose a station."

"Thanks," I say and flip through channels. While we're listening to Ariana Grande's '7 rings'

A/N: WOT A BOP

I look around suddenly. "Hey, Bubbles this isn't the way to-" I start. Immediately, a blindfold is shoves over my eyes, along with earmuffs over my ears. I turn my head frantically.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?" I yell. I can't hear anything. "I can't hear anything! Where'd Ariana go?"

I continue yelling frantically. Finally I settle down and remember Bubbles had both hands on the wheel when I was telling her we were going the wrong way. I wrinkle my brow in confusion. Then everything comes together. Adele leaving. Alex and Bubbles checking the time. Bubbles telling me there was a bird and opening the back door.

"OH MY GOD! DO I GET A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY?" I yell. I don't hear a reply. Suddenly the car jolts to a stop and I get momentarily winded from having the seat belt press against my chest rapidly when I go flying forward. I wait a while and feel the door way.

My headphones are taken off and I don't hear anything. "Is this bird box?" I whisper. Someone snorts far away. The person.. They have small hands, so maybe Lucas or Paul? No, they're at soccer. Oh, wait... no! They're at my surprise party! I get stopped a couple of meters away and someone unties my blind fold.

We're at a park, there's a big banner that says 'HAPPY 18TH, NAT!" it looks like Lucas and Paul painted it. There's a gazebo with cool drinks and sugary treats under it with some chairs. Then, in front of that stand: Mum, Dad, Lucas, Paul, Meghan, Kate, Chloe, Bubbles, Callum, Leo, Michelle, Jackson, Liam, Adele and Alex. I smile and they all smile back. They all have presents in their arms.

I look behind me. It was Felecia who must've hopped in the back of the car when Bubbles opened the door.

"Oh," Mum says, looking at everyone. They all make 'oh, yeah' expressions and yell out: "SURPRISE!"

I laugh and walk over to them. It was probably Adele who organised it, so I hug her first. "Thank you."

"What?" she says, pulling away from our hug. "Nah, it was actually Alex."

"Really?" I turn to him and he smiles. I walk over and hug him, my hands around his neck. "Thanks."

"Anything for you, dude," he says into my hair. I smile.

Most of the time everyone just hangs around, talking and eating. I'm sipping a Coke when my friends come over with a joint birthday present. I smile and sit my Coke down.

"Happy Birthday!" Meghan says, handing me a card. I read the nice happy birthday messages and Bubbles hands me the present. I unwrap it. Its a record player. I smile.

"Thank you, guys!" I say and hug them each separably.

Adele comes up next with my parents, who have bought me an iphone X. I thank them heaps and put the phone with my record player beside me. Yessssss.

Adele comes up to me. She hands me a bag and take out a nice black Gucci backpack. I thank her and we talk for a while about this guy called Fred in Paris that she's into.

Paul, Felecia and Lucas are playing tiggy in the play ground and Callum and Bubbles are talking. Michelle and Jackson (with Liam in his arms) walk over to me and hand me something. I smile and open it.

"Thank you!" I say as I look at the Nike sweatshirt. I hug all of them. They talk to me about about uni for a couple of minutes before Alex comes up. They leave to go see my parents.

Alex wraps an arm around my waist and hands me a bunch of stuff, unwrapped, with his other hand.

"Alex," I say. "You didn't have to get me anything!"

"Stop being stupid, Greg, of course I did," he says, walking me over to a tree. I take the first present. Its a box of favourites chocolates.

"Thanks," I say, smiling at him and placing it on a table beside the tree. He hands me a box. I turn it over. They are rose gold beats. I put them down and hug him.

"There's more," he says. I raise my eyebrows.

"I'm sure that's enough," I say.

"Well you're wrong. I already paid for everything," he hand me an envelope. I tip out the small card in it. Its a McDonalds voucher. I turn it over. $200.

"Alex," I groan. "That's way too much."

"Its obviously not," he says. And that's the last thing I see before the blindfold is thrown over my eyes again. I groan.

"Is that Felecia?" I ask as someone ties it. There is muffled whispers when its finally tied. I wait for what seems like an eternity. "Alex? What's going on?"

I hear a small bark, as though it came out of a puppies' mouth. I pull the blind fold off and gape at Alex.

"You got me a dog?" I ask. He smiles. I wrap my arms around him. "Thank you!"

"Calm down, Nat," he chuckles. "You haven't even seen it."

I kiss his cheek and pull my arms off him. Adele is holding the cutest puppy I've ever seen. its about a foot large. Its a chestnut color. "Its a Cavoodle," Alex informs me. I take the puppy out of Adele's arms. "Callum and Leo helped. So did Mum and Dad."

I turn to him, beaming, the puppy yapping happily in my arms. "Thank you!" I say. He grins and pats the puppy, who licks his cheek. He wipes the spit on my jacket. "Gross, Patricia!"

He shrugs. "C'mon, Nat, lets go to Maccas."

***

So now we're sitting in McDonalds. The boys and Felecia are playing with Wombat (my new dog's name) at home. Alex asked mum and dad before he bought it, and they said yes. There is a big feast in front of my friends and I, courteous of Alex's voucher. Adele is talking to Chloe, and she looks like she likes her.

Alex's arm is around me and we're watching the NFL on the TV. My head is on his shoulder and he whispers to me, "You're a good Gabriela."

I whisper back. "You're a good Troy."

And I relax in his arms, right where I belong.

___________________________________

heyyyyy

GO READ TEENAGE SECRET BY BELLE9893. SHE MENTIONS THIS BOOK. HER CHARACTERS GO ON A DATE WHILE ALEX AND NAT ARE PERFOMRING, SINCE THEY GO TO CAFE EXTRA.

BYE.

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