ruin | guy germaine

33 | birthday surprise

LANEY ROSE MCKINLEY

   It had gotten late, and it had gotten cold. I excused myself from all of my friends surrounding the large fire that felt nice against my cold skin. I headed back inside to get a sweatshirt.

   Connie, Linda, Julie and Adam has disappeared into the house again. Adam was probably taking a nap in my room because he had been tired all day, and I told him if he wanted to, he could. The girls were probably in the bathroom again, or they might've left to get their sweatshirts that were also in my room.

   I headed to the closet in the downstairs hall near the kitchen. When I turned the hall, I froze in my tracks.

   I saw two people kissing. My eyes widened and I gasped. The two people heard me and quickly stopped. They looked at me like a deer caught in headlights.

   "Adam?" I asked in shock, "Foster?"

   Foster was a friend of mine in my photography class. She was super sweet like Adam, and innocent like Adam, or so I thought. She was also Ashton's little sister. She was a freshman.

   "It's not what it looks like, I swear!" Adam defended.

   I furrowed my eyebrows, "to me, it looks like the two of you were making out," I teased them, starting to grin.

   The boy sighed, "well then, it is what it looks like..," he trailed off, "I'm sorry."

   I placed my hand in the doorknob or the closet door and threw it open.

   "Don't be sorry," I smiled, "I get it. Ashton's out there and you two just wanted some privacy," I told them, "so, are y'all like.. dating?" I asked.

   I tore my sweatshirt from the hanger and threw the door shut as I gawked at the two.

   Adam looked back at Foster nervously, "about that..," he said to her softly, "do you... want to, you know, date?"

   Foster returned the nervous look. She started to smile. She stood in the tips of her toes and placed a small kiss on the boy's cheek. I smiled wide. I took that as a yes.

   "We should probably tell Ashton, ya know?" She questioned. Adam shrugged his shoulders while smirking.

   "I don't know, I kind of like sneaking around like this."

   I laughed at the two, "well, my little brothers Freddie and Matt made s'mores for everyone. My sister Veronica is handing them out to everyone if you want any."

   Both of them nodded their heads. Adam grabbed ahold of the girls hand before dragging her back out of the house. I let out a small laugh. So Adam wasn't as innocent as he seemed?

   I slid my sweatshirt over my head in the dark hall. I struggled to get it on, but I eventually did.

   Moments later, I heard the song Ruin blasting and the back room that lead directly to the pond. I furrowed my eyebrows.

   I didn't think anyone else was in here, was there? I bit my lips nervously. What if it was some kind of creep? Some kind of stalker?

   I slowly started to walk to the room. It was pitch black. Was there a ghost? Did the ghost turn the stereo on?

   "Uh.., hello?" I nervously questioned, "is anyone here?" I heard a sudden bang. I jumped. I turned on my heels and broke into a sprint back to the closet. I grabbed an extra hockey stick sitting in there before sprinting back to the room. I held the stick tightly in my hands, "I have a hockey stick and I'm not afraid to use it!" I called out.

   I heard someone laugh. I became even more nervous. As I entered to room, I slowly reached for the light switch. I struggled to find it on the wall but soon did. I switched the light on.

   I saw Guy standing there, Connie, Julie and Linda standing in the back as well. Guy held a small gift bag and flowers. I felt my eyes widened.

   The stick fell out of my hands and landed on the floor with a crash. I covered my hands with my mouth. I didn't think he was going to come! I wanted to cry out of happiness, but I held back tears.

   I ran to the boy with joy, almost leaping on him. I wrapped him into a tight hug.

   "You're here," I whispered, snuggling my head into his neck. I smelled his familiar scent which calmed me down. I placed a small kiss on his neck before looking back up at him, my arms around his neck and shoulders, our faces centimeters apart.

   He nodded his head and smiled, "I'm here," he whispered back, "I'd never miss you birthday."

   He placed his lips against mine and gave me a small kiss. I kissed him back, hearing the girls squeal. We shortly pulled away from each other. I missed the feeling

   "Guy, you're amazing," I softly said. He smiled wide. I backed away from him the slightest bit.

   "I have something for you," he said, looking down at the bag in his hands. He handed it to me. I gently took it from his grasp and dug inside. I pulled out a small box. I knew it was a necklace. I looked up at the blonde in shock.

   "You didn't," I gasped. He continued to smile and nod.

   "Just open it, please?" He begged. I let out a small sigh. I opened the box. It was a beautiful sunflower necklace that split in half and opened. There was a charm inside that read, 'you are my sunshine.'

   "Guy!" I gawked, "it's so beautiful, thank you! It wasn't too much, was it?" I wrapped him into another tight hug. I knew he rolled his eyes.

  "Stop worrying about it," he laughed, "it's my money, I work hard to get it. I wanted to get you something that's important, you know? Here, I'll put it on for you," he calmingly said. He took the box gently from my hands and handed me the flowers. I held them tightly. I turned around, Guy placing the necklace around my neck.

   My eyes traveled to the girls in the doorway.

   "Did you guys plan this?" I questioned. They all nodded their heads, "thank you guys so much. I couldn't ask for better friends."

"Since the song is already playing, may I have this dance?" I turned back to Guy as he spoke. I had the biggest smile on my face. I nodded my head.

"Of course."

Minutes later, Guy and I decided to go outside. I had ahold of his hand tightly while I skipped out of the door with excitement. I stopped at the door where everyone looked.

"He's here, he's here, he's here!" I squealed. I looked over at Guy who suddenly turned shy with everyone here. I squeezed his hand to comfort him. He smiled down at me.

"Happy Birthday."