Nobody acknowledged the fact that Rory and Tom arrived at the exact same time (by mere coincidence of course) except for Elizabeth and Scarlett, who immediately sent questioning glances in Aurora's direction. She tried to act like she didn't notice though and headed over to greet the birthday boy.
As soon as she reaches Sebastian, her feet leaves the ground and her tiny frame is engulfed in a big hug. She instinctively throws her arms around his neck to reciprocate the action.
"Thank you so much for planning this Rors, it means so much to me." Seb says, still hugging her. "You're the best, I love you."
His words make Aurora almost tear up.
"I love you too Sebby. If you're happy I'm happy. I just want you to have the best birthday, you deserve it." she answers truthfully with a huge smile.
When she's on the ground again, her eyes quickly run over the room.
"Looking for someone?" Sebastian asks.
"Nah, just checking who's here already." she deflects "Come on, it's your party. Let's go mingle."
After an eventful attempt at cooking over an open flame and almost having to resuscitate Evans several times after witnessing him nearly die of laughter accompanied by his famous left boob grabs, Aurora somehow found herself dancing crazily in the living room with the girls as a result of what she assumes to be one too many glasses of wine.
"I can't remember the last time I saw you like this" Scar observes aloud, trying to compete with the superiority of the music blasting from the speakers.
"Like what?"
"Like you, happy." she smiles cheek to cheek while she playfully twirls Aurora around, causing her to giggle and Lizzie to snap a picture of her friends.
"To be honest I can't remember when I was really happy for the last time either." Rory confesses while nervously biting on her lower lip, struggling to find courage to lift her head up. She was afraid one of them might catch the visible look of affection radiating from her expression upon thinking about who actually is the cause of this newfound happiness.
"Well, what or whoever may have caused it, I'm glad you're doing better" Elizabeths butts in.
"I'm glad too" she smiles softly
"So Tom's treating you well?" Scar almost laughs by the end of her question when she sees the pure shock washing over Rory's face as each word sinks into her brain.
"What the fuck" she wonders aloud with her jaw basically dropped to the floor.
"Come on Rors, we know you better than you know yourself." Liz giggles.
"Not to mention the way too obvious glances and smiles between you two" Scar adds.
"I've been busted. Again! God fucking damn it" she laughs at herself.
"Again?" Lizzie questions.
"Z literally called me out on this as a joke and I spilled the beans.." Aurora answers and once again she fiddles with her fingers nervously "I'll ask you two to do the same as I asked her. You three are legit the only ones who know about this so please don't tell anyone else. We want to enjoy the privacy as long as we can"
"Of course girlie, our lips are sealed. Although probably pretty much everyone is suspecting something's going on between you and Tom." Scarlett says.
"Oh jesus. I'm deadass going to have a breakdown, I need another drink" Rory sighs and drags her friends back outside. Everyone else is sitting around the fire, eating the remnants of Seb's birthday cake as they converse loudly, probably due to the alcohol in their systems. Or maybe they are just obnoxious human beings in general, who knows.
"Finally the heart of the party decided to grace us with her presence again" Robert jokingly calls his daughter out.
"Give me a break" she rolls her eyes in response "I'm hardly the heart of anything, let alone a party where all of you are present"
"You don't give yourself enough credit Rors, all this party needs is a good song around the bonfire."
"And who's better to sing that than you?" Hemsy joins in on the conversation, while everyone else nods in agreement.
"Y'all will be the death of me." she shakes her head "Chris, do you still have that keyboard you literally never use?"
"Hell yeah. I'll get it, just one sec" he says excitedly and almost trips over when he gets up from his seat too fast.
While the group waits for Evans to return with the instrument, Rory pours shots for everyone for a toast. When she finally sits down and Chris places the keyboard in her lap she speaks up.
"I hate you all for making me do this and be the most cliché bitch out there, but I also love you way too much to say no. Happy birthday to you again Sebby, I hope you have a good time. Cheers guys" she finishes her speech with raising her glass.
It's followed by a round of cheers' before they all down their shots and after pulling a face by the fiery taste, Aurora clears her throat and adjusts the instrument in her lap.
"Uhm.. This is an unreleased one I wrote not too long ago" she looks down anxiously, unable to meet the eyes of the people watching her.
She takes a deep, shaky breath and runs her fingers over the keys softly before she finally musters up the courage to glance up, catching the oh so familiar pair of blue eyes instantly. Tom smiles at her softly, mouthing a 'go on love' in her direction.
Aurora tries to ignore the way her heart pounds in her chest and finally presses down the first keys.
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Anticipation can be felt in the air as everyone waits for her beautiful voice to join the soft melody.
"The sun is setting
And you're right here by my side
And the movie is playing
But we won't be watching tonight
Every look, every touch
Her vocals resonate in the silence of the night, only accompanied by the simple sound of the keyboard and the crackling fire.
Aurora opens her eyes and looks at Tom while singing the next part.
"'Cause I never knew, I never knew
You could hold moonlight in your hands
'Til the night I held you
You are my moonlight
Moonlight"
As she sings the rest of the song, her gaze stays captivated by him. Almost as if it's only the two of them there while she serenades him.
A few seconds pass in silence before there's any reaction. Everyone seems to hold back the question on the tip of their tongues, but loud clapping and cheers surround her as she discards the keyboard to the side and stands up to get another drink.
Tom just stays sitting down, feeling as though his heart just about melted by her words. If he wasn't sure he loved her before, now there's absolutely no doubt in his mind. Standing up suddenly, he fights an internal battle for a split second about whether to do what he wanted to do for the whole time of being here.
"Fuck it" he says to no-one in particular.
He strides over to where she's standing and Aurora watches him with a confused expression as he does so. That is until he reaches her.
"Aurora" his voice if gentle, but firm at the same time.
"Yes?" she asks softly.
"I think I want to kiss you right now"
"You think or you know?" she challenges, and now he's smirking. The look on his face tells Rory he's determined.
"I know..." he mumbles and he doesn't stop himself anymore. He moves his hands up, getting ahold of her jaw, his thumbs on her cheeks as he finally presses his lips to hers.
Aurora's heart melts along with every part of her. There's a type of control he's got in this situation. In every situation actually, but either way he has control over her. She feels like she finally belongs somewhere.
Kissing Tom is just as indulgent this time as always, just as freeing. She feels so free right now, but she's chained just as she is free because she never felt this way from only a kiss. Nobody she ever kissed made her feel like this.
Suddenly he breaks off then dips back in and pecks her lips one last time, almost as if he needs one more taste, one more feeling. Aurora stands with her eyes closed and her palms pressed against his strong chest, staying in this moment for as long as she can.
Which is not for long because even though they may feel like they are alone, in fact every set of eyes are set on them. The group watches the two obviously in love individuals with their jaws dropped.
Tom and Rory are broken out of their bubble by a loud voice cutting through the eerie silence.
"What the actual fuck"
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