How You Get The Girl | An Aruden AU

Seventeen | The Moment I Knew

"And they're all standing around me singing, 'Happy birthday to you'  but there was one thing missing..."

The next day, it was Aru's nineteenth birthday. Brynne and Hira decided (read: forced Aru to agree) they would host in their apartment, since it was a lot bigger than her college dorm.

They were also forcing her to stand just outside the door, because they were decorating and wanted it to be a surprise for her. She couldn't see what was going on, but she could get a feeling based on what she was hearing through the wall. She felt a rush of guilt for the neighbors, and hoped they wouldn't complain about the noise.

"NO! IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO OVER THERE!" That was Rudy.

"IT WAS THERE BEFORE YOU MADE ME MOVE IT TO THE OTHER WALL!" Hira. She sounded fainter, probably on the far side of the apartment.

"BRYNNE! LEGOLAS IS MELTING!" That voice was Mini's. Aru didn't even want to know what that meant.

She heard footsteps—presumably Brynne's—run away and fade, probably to save the melting Legolas.

One of the voices she didn't hear was Aiden's. After last night, he said he would see her tomorrow, but he hadn't shown up yet. And Aru would one if he came in now, since she was basically guarding the door. It was fine. He was probably going to turn up later.

Poppy hadn't shown up yet either, and she told her weeks ago she was coming. Brynne and Hira still didn't like her, but they were willing to handle her being in their apartment for a few hours.

Twenty (very loud) minutes, one (very annoyed) neighbor poking their head out from their door, a million (very frantic) shouts, and zero (very late) Aidens later, Hira opened the door.

"You can come in now." She told Aru.

When Aru walked into the room, she was met with an explosion of golden confetti to the face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everybody cheered. In front of her, Rudy held an empty party popper, grinning from ear to ear.

A huge banner that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARU" hung from the far wall, along with streamers across the entire apartment. A huge cake was in the kitchen, and Aru could see the top of Legolas from Lord of the Ring's head (she could recognize that forehead anywhere). Balloons were thrown along the floor and they had a small table with gifts in the back of the room.

The only people who weren't here were Poppy and Aiden.

Aru quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. They were just a little late. That made sense.

"Woah," she said instead, taking in the decorations. "You did all of this for my birthday?"

"Of course we did!" Brynne threw an arm around Aru's shoulder, which knocked the wind out of her.

The party started, and it turned out Mini had spent hours coming up with party games. Rudy DJ'ed with all of her favorite songs and Brynne occasionally rushed to the kitchen to check on the cake.

After a while, her phone rang. When she saw who it was, she quickly excused herself to another room.

"Hey Mom!" She answered the FaceTime call.

"Happy birthday, beta!" Krithika Shah answered, eyes crinkling as she smiled. "How's your party?"

"It's great so far. Some people are late, but I'm sure they're gonna show up eventually."

Her mother's smile slightly fell. "They're late? Who?"

"Oh, uh, my friend Poppy, and Aiden, who's my...other friend."

She couldn't lie to her mother. She couldn't say that he was her boyfriend. It felt wrong. Still, there must've been something in her voice, because Krithika raised her eyebrows and said "Aiden?" Even through the screen, she could hear the motherly tone in her voice: skeptical, yet curious.

"I met him right after Winter Break. We have a lot of mutual friends. He's really nice."

"Hm. What's his last name? And mother's name?"

"Mom, please don't stalk his family on Facebook."

A white light that was reflecting onto Krithika's face shut off. "I wasn't going to look them up."

"Sure." Still, a warm feeling went through her when she talked about Aiden. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like a comfortable subject.

They talked for a few more minutes, about broader things: Aru's classes, the museum her mother ran, and Krithika gushed about how big her daughter was getting.

Eventually, Aru said, "I have to go now, Mom. I'll call you again when I can."

"Alright. I love you, beta. Happy birthday."

"I love you too. Jai Shri Krishna."

"Jai Shri Krishna."

She hung up the call.

When she walked back into the room, Hira was opening the door. When she saw who it was, her breath caught. Her pulse quickened. She didn't even know why.

After all, it was only Aiden.

"And that was the moment I knew..."