Seventeen Candles
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- This is the entry for Day 16 of my January Writing Challenge: birthday party. This is pure fluff and focuses on my High School Story MC, Cassie Martin. It’s set during the summer between Sophomore and Junior year.
Paring- Michael/MC
Rating- PG
Summary- Cassie turns 17.
Words- 867
I knocked on Payton’s door. It was summer vacation and everyone had bene busy lately and I hadn’t seen as much of my friends as I liked, which was why I’d been receptive when Payton had invited me over for some girl bonding.
The door swung open and there was Payton standing there with a beaming smile. “Cassie, come in!”
I guess I wasn’t the only one excited about some girl time. I stepped inside and followed Payton into the main area of the house and then froze.
“Surprise!!!”
The room was decorated in shades of turquoise and pink and filled with our friends, all of whom were dressed up and were looking at me expectantly.
“Happy birthday!” Payton said excitedly. “After everything you’ve done for the school this year, I decided you needed the best birthday ever!”
“Payton, this… This is amazing,” I said quietly, a little overcome by the gesture. I’d planned on a small, intimate party for my upcoming 17th birthday and this… This took my breath away. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist.
“Happy birthday, beautiful,” Michael whispered in my ear.
I turned in his embrace. “Were you in on this?”
He shrugged. “Kinda. I mean, I knew, but this was all Payton.” He lowered his voice. “I have my own plans for your birthday, but they don’t involve a crowd.” His words sent a shiver up my spine. “I can’t wait.”
“That’s enough, lovebirds,” Maria said with an eye-roll, “the rest of us want to celebrate with Cassie.”
Michael sighed and let me go so that everyone else could greet me. I was hugged and congratulated and then Payton reappeared. “There’s one more surprise!” She told me excitedly.
“You’ve outdone yourself,” I told her as I followed her up the stairs.
Payton led me up to her bedroom and then handed me a box, “happy birthday!” I took the box and pulled out an adorable pink sundress.
“I was feeling a little under-dressed,” I admitted since I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and everyone else was dressed for a party. “But I should have known you’d have it under control.”
“I never leave anything to chance,” Payton laughed.
“I’m really going to miss you next year,” I told her as I ducked into her attached bathroom to change.
“I’ll miss you too,” she told me, “but I’ll visit and we’ll email. I want to hear all about the cheerleading squad.”
“And I want to hear all about your college adventures,” I told her, emerging from the bathroom.
Payton squealed. “Oh, Cassie you look adorable!!!”
“You have good taste,” I told her, giving her a hug.
We went back downstairs and I immediately started socializing. All my friends were there and everything was perfect. I’d thought back to arriving at Berry High not-quite a year earlier and how nervous and out-of-place I’d felt and now a year later, it felt like home and these were my people. I’d made the best friends I could have ever imagined.
My eyes found Michael in the crowd, talking to Caleb and Julian, and he shot me that sweet smile he reserved just for me. Falling for him had been one of the best parts of the year, that was for sure, but all of it had been wonderful.
“Having fun?” Emma asked me, approaching me with two drinks. “I am,” I assured her, “I’m just remembering my first day and how lost I felt until I met you.”
Emma had been my first friend at Berry and she was still my best friend.
Emma smiled, “I feel the same way, my first year at Berry had been so underwhelming and I felt like such an outsider and then I met you, Cassie, and everything changed.” She gestured around the room. “You changed all of us, Berry became this wonderful place where everyone was part of the same team and it was all because of you.”
“You guys really give me too much credit,” I told her with a laugh, “but thank you.”
Just then Sydney bounced over to us. “Come on, Cassie, we’re about to play a game and it wouldn’t be the same without the birthday girl!”
I laughed and let her drag me away. The afternoon passed in a happy blur, surrounded by the people I loved best.
“Happy?” Michael asked me that evening as the sun started to set and the party started to wind down.
I leaned against him. “Very. I have the best friends in the whole world.”
“You get what you give,” he told me sincerely, “and you are the sweetest, most giving person in the world so it makes sense that your friends would give the same back to you.”
“And my boyfriend?” I teased, squeezing his hand.
“Your boyfriend knows he is the luckiest guy in the whole world and wants to make sure you know how special you are.” He told me in a low voice, tilting my head towards his and kissing me gently. “Happy birthday, Cassie.”
I kissed him back happily, thinking that this really was the best birthday ever and that I had everything I could ever want.
- The End
