I awkwardly stand on Aurora's doorstep, holding a pink-striped gift bag in my hand. It took me minutes to get out the door, as I had to explain to my mom once again who Aurora was, that yes, we were friends enough that I was invited to her birthday, and that no, I wouldn't be out too late. Due to my tardiness, it seems all of Aurora's friends have already arrived, leaving me to be the last one greeted.

I ring the doorbell, and wait impatiently until a familiar face opens the door. She shuts the door slightly before engulfing me in a hug.

"I didn't think you were coming," Aurora murmurs against me.

"Sorry I'm late," I say. I grasp onto her arm, then let go, as she opens the door back up. I'm surprised to find that inside, she only has four other friends with her, most of whom I already recognize.

"Callie's here," Aurora announces excitedly. Her friends are scattered around the living room, chatting and petting Aurora's cats. I awkwardly take a seat, finding Oscar has already begun crawling to me for some scratches.

"Wow, he really likes you. I'm jealous," her friend, Brooke, announces.

"Have you met him before?" her other friend, Cassidy, wonders.

I look to Aurora nervously, and she smiles before she tells her friends, "Callie has come over once or twice to study Calculus."

"I'm in that class with you, and you haven't called me over," Brooke complains, which causes the other girls to laugh.

"Callie lives close by, that's all!"

"I'm only kidding," Brooke assures her.

"Where do you live, then?" Sonia asks.

"Just a few blocks down, on Evergreen," I answer.

"Oh, that is close!" Sonia exclaims.

"You're a junior, right?" Brooke asks. She seems to be the most talkative out of the bunch and the one that's closest to Aurora. Yet, she also seems to be the most active listener and kindest one, not that Aurora's other friends aren't kind. Brooke just seems easier to talk to than the rest of them. I guess that's what happens when you befriend a bunch of smart introverts.

I nod in response to Brooke's question.

"How come you got to know Aurora, then?" Cassidy wonders.

"Studying and such," Aurora answers for me.

"We live close by, so we walk home together from school sometimes," I add on.

"Only you would make friends by studying, Aurora," Sonia teases.

Aurora's parents come home with a few boxes of pizza. As Aurora's friends disperse and head to the table, Aurora quickly grabs onto my elbow, leans in, and quietly asks, "How are you doing? Not too awkward?"

"Fine. I thought you'd have more people over," I admit.

"How many people do you think I know?"

"Everyone," I state, giggling some.

Aurora lets go of my elbow. "I only invite people I really care about. Let's get some pizza."

I am afraid Aurora will leave my side, considering these are all her close friends, people she's known much longer than me, but I can tell she's trying to make sure I stay comfortable, so she lets me linger near her as we eat pizza and chat together. Luckily, her friends are easy to talk to, and since I've known them already after eating lunch with them a few times, I realize that this evening doesn't have to be as awkward as I initially made it out to be.

When it's time for cake, her parents bring out a white-frosted strawberry cake, complete with 18 candles. That's right. Aurora is an adult now, I realize. Another reminder that she is so far ahead of me. I try not to let those facts sway my attitude, and I sing along off-pitch with her other friends in wishing her a happy birthday.

She looks joyful staring at all of us in the glow of the candlelight. I smile at her as she pulls her hair back and blows all eighteen of those candles out. She is truly beautiful in that moment, the way the dim-lit room and bright candles illuminate the red in her hair, the way one strand is tucked behind her ear, where her diamond studs sparkle against the candlelight. I hope I can continue to see her blow out candles like that for years to come.

Cake is passed around until we're once again all sitting at the table and sharing each other's company.

"Do you not like the cake?" Aurora asks. "You're just kind of picking at it."

"I like chocolate more, to be honest," I admit. "You seem like someone who would get a strawberry cake for your birthday."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she exclaims as her friends laugh.

Next, it's present time. I am aware of a smaller, square-shaped present in my flannel pocket, but instead, I hand her the gift bag I brought, which she opens eagerly. In it is a simple card, which I made sure to keep very subtle, as I did not want her friends to peak over and see something they shouldn't have. I watch Aurora pull up a beige notepad, which I intended for her to write in if she so desired. She seems to get the idea, and she smiles at me and thanks me. Her friends get her other assortments of gifts, ones which she eagerly enjoys, and I start to worry that maybe her friends do know her better than me. Aurora doesn't seem to act favorable toward any one gift though.

After presents, we gather on the couch to watch a movie. Her parents are heading upstairs for the night, and I realize that I should probably leave as soon as the movie is over, considering my parents (or my mother, for that matter) are probably staying up until I come home.

"Blanket?" Aurora asks.

"Sure," I say, not expecting her to drape it over the both of us. I stiffen and move apart from her some. If I'm not too careful, I'll want to cuddle with her, and I'm supposed to give her friends the impression that we're merely friends, acquaintances almost, not two people in a romantic relationship.

Thankfully, her friends don't seem to notice or care. We mostly chat through the movie, eating handfuls of popcorn here and there. Thankfully, Aurora chooses an hour and a half cheesy romcom for us to sit through, and when it ends, her friends are eager to leave, all explaining they have a full day of homework the next day. Funny. They sound like me.

Though each one lingers a little longer than the next, I find myself lingering the longest.

"Want to walk with me to your car, Callie?" Brooke asks as she heads out.

"It's okay. I'll head out in a few," I assure her.

Brooke nods and heads out, and Aurora shuts the door. Finally, some alone time at last, I think. That is, until Aurora starts cleaning up. I assist her, telling her how her friends are very much like her, and that they're pleasant people to hang out with.

"Thank you," she says. "I take pride in my friends."

I want to say the same, but thinking of Allison's recent comments, I can't, especially considering the fact that I haven't brought it up again and will probably continue to let her future comments slide at the risk of tearing my friend group apart.

We don't clean for long, thankfully, and Aurora goes back to the seat on the couch and turns the T.V. off. I sit down next to her, wrapping a blanket around me. I should be leaving, considering it's getting close to eleven by this point, and my parents will probably expect me home by midnight at the latest.

"Um, so, the gift I got you was a gag gift," I admit.

"But I liked it!" Aurora exclaims.

I laugh. "You can keep it, but, I mean, I wanted to keep things lowkey, so..." I reach into my flannel pocket and pull out a small jewelry box, with a small note attached. She seems surprised, flustered some, as I hand it to her.

I watch Aurora quickly scan the note. It's short, but I definitely tried to make it more romantic than the other generic card I wrote her.

"Uh, I'm not a writer or anything, so it's kind of cheesy," I tell her.

Aurora opens the box, finding the silver bracelet I picked out for her earlier this week with a small dragonfly charm attached. To be honest, I wasn't sure if she'd like it. I don't buy jewelry much myself, but I wanted to get her something of value, and it seemed to fit her aesthetic.

"Do you like it?" I ask, leaning forward on my knees to watch her examine it.

She nods, slipping it onto her wrist. Though we're only quiet a few seconds, it feels like an eternity. Then, I watch her hand come near and cup itself gently behind my neck. She leans forward, giving me perhaps one of the slowest and softest kisses I have experienced yet.

"Happy birthday," I tell her when we break apart, before I lean forward to kiss her again. This kiss lasts a little longer and grows a bit more intense with time, enough so that I have one hand resting on the square of her back, and the other hand gripped tightly onto her shirt as I edge her closer to me.

I don't realize until it's too late that I'm losing my balance and falling on my back, bringing her with me. I make a sound of surprise, but Aurora laughs as she lays on top of me.

"Did you have a nice time?" she asks, running her fingers through my hair. Strange. I never thought she cared for my hair much, but she's eyeing it with intensity and stroking it gently.

"Yeah," I say.

She smiles before leaning down to kiss me again. I hold one hand to her back, keeping it there as she lowers herself down and buries her head in the crook of my neck. For a moment, we lay there like that, my arms wrapped around her as I feel her breathe against my body. Her curls are in my face. They still smell like coconut.

"Did you have a good birthday?" I ask.

"Yes," she murmurs against me.

It's getting late.

"I wish I could stay tonight," I murmur.

"We can't," Aurora says, finally moving off of me. "If my parents found you in my room in the morning..."

"I know, I know. I need to head home. My mom is probably wondering where I am," I admit.

"Maybe sometime soon," Aurora suggests.

"I'd like that," I say, even though right now I just want to fall asleep here, on this couch, holding Aurora in my arms like I was doing only a few moments ago. Sighing, I stand up, grabbing my things and putting my shoes on. As I stand by the door, Aurora leans in to kiss me again.

"Thanks for coming. I really do appreciate it," she tells me.

"Of course," I tell her.

"See you next week," she says, grasping my hand.

"See you then," I promise before she lets go.

I drive away, feeling content. Thankfully, when I arrive home, it seems my mother has already gone to bed, so she isn't up to scold me that I've gotten home later than curfew. I crawl up to my bed and collapse on it, hugging my pillow tightly to my body, imagining it's Aurora once more.