When I wake up on Friday morning it is only after already waking up once; a false alarm. I didn't have to wake up till seven in the morning but my mind had somehow woken me up at six for some reason. I'm not sure why it did that; it does that sometimes when I'm worried about not waking up on time or anticipating something.

At first I worried about not being able to fall back asleep, because I tend not to be able to once I've woken up close enough to my intended time, but somehow I was able to within less than ten minutes.

It is only when Jess comes barging into my room, balloons and a birthday tiara in tow, that I even remember what day it is. It's Friday, meaning it is also my birthday.

Charlie seems to have just as much energy as Jess, jumping all around the bed, but I'm not too sure if it's because he thinks we are under attack or is genuinely excited.

"Happy happy Ella day!" she shouts as she dumps all that she is holding onto the bed and tackles me in a hug, "Happy birthday bestie!"

"Thank you," I barely reply as I struggle under the weight of Jess, and now Charlie as he jumps all over us.

When she finally moves off of me she grabs the items which she had scattered all over the bed and begins passing them to me. First there is there balloons, then the tiara she places on my head and the badge she pins to my top. Then comes the card, which both cracks me up and brings me too tears with its meaningful words, and the present which consists of clothing she had discovered on my online wish lists very sneakily.

We spend a little more time just talking, with Jess joining me under the warmth of my bed sheets, before I have to get up to start getting ready for work. Unfortunately, birthday or not, work goes on. I guess I could've taken the day off but it didn't seem worth it to me. Jess has a short shift today at the hospital to cover for someone else and I wanted to save my days off for a holiday or something. Plus, I had only just come back to work so I didn't want to seem too lazy.

I dress myself in a fitted maroon dress with stockings underneath and a coat on top since it's not meant to be as cold today and I feel like dressing up. I even invest the time to do my makeup better and curl my hair before I give Jess one last hug and make my way off to work.

When I get to work Chloe is waiting there with flowers and gifts too, making me feel so spoiled only hours into my birthday. I don't really want to draw any attention to it being my birthday in the office but gratefully accept the gorgeous arrangement of purple and white flowers. I grab a spare vase from the storeroom and put the flowers in them so they don't die by the time I can take them home, hoping that no one thinks anything of them.

Chloe and I catch up for a few minutes before Monique shows up and we go our seperate ways, promising to continue our conversation tonight when Chloe comes over for what I hope is still my intimate birthday gathering.

Throughout the day, between meetings and errands, I get messages from my close friends and family wishing me a happy birthday. First there is Jess, then my dad, then Damon, amongst some others.

I don't want to sound like a bitch but I'm actually grateful that I don't have a Facebook account anymore so I won't get any messages from random people I haven't spoken to in years wishing me a happy birthday. I know that they're only being nice but with the effort in responding to them and the fact that they wouldn't have known it was my birthday if it wasn't for Facebook, I just can't be bothered dealing with it.

Baba has perfect timing, calling me exactly when I have my lunch break like I told her to so I can have a solid conversation with her without worrying about work.

Monique eventually catches on to the fact that it is my birthday, the flowers and gifts and people approaching me eventually giving it away. Not only does she actually wish me a happy birthday but she also gives me an early mark to go celebrate, but also because I've actually completed all my tasks for the day. My early mark is 5pm, which is a late time for a lot of people, but I'm grateful for it nevertheless.

I gather all my belongings and say goodbye to Chloe for now, since she'll be coming over later night, and make my way home. When I arrive home Jess has only just come back from work too so we catch up for a bit before we decide to refresh ourselves. Seeing as its my birthday I get to go for a shower first, needing to just to have a quick rinse to feel a bit less icky after a long day.

Once I'm done, Jess immediately goes for a shower too while I get changed and fix my hair and makeup. I figure I should treat myself to a little more investment into my hair and makeup than usual for tonight, even more than I had already invested this morning. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a v-neck white sweater, I decide to keep my hair down and in tousled waves again. It of course requires some light blow drying first to give it a lot less frizziness or volume but eventually it gets to a point where I'm actually proud of what my curling wand and I have achieved.

Now, as I remain in my bedroom finishing up my makeup, with the last coat of powder and mascara going on, I hear a knock at the front door. I hear Jess call out to me from the bathroom asking me if I can go open it so I drop what I'm doing and make my way over with Charlie eagerly by my side.

I open it to find Lexi standing there, as well as a certain someone I hadn't expected to be seeing.

"Lexi? Mason?" I ask in shock.

I didn't expect for my sister's ex-boyfriend (as far as I know) and father of her unborn child to be standing outside my door with her. Nevertheless, it is a welcome surprise. It comforts me knowing that she has another person by her side, regardless of what decision she will make about the baby. I also know that breaking up with Mason was one of the hardest things that Lexi has done in her life and that they were both broken hearted after their break up so this reunion is sure to make them both happy.

"Hey sis! Happy birthday," Lexi says, pulling me in for a hug as I finish processing their presence, "I hope you don't mind me bringing along Mason."

"Of course not." I assure her, "It's so good to see you." I tell Mason, as he moves forward to hug me too.

"It's good to see you too Elle. Happy birthday." he says.

"Thank you."

I move aside to clear the doorway and move my arm to show the way as I tell them "Well, come on in you guys. Jess is in the shower and the food just needs to be ordered but it shouldn't take long."

"No problem." they both say as they take a seat on the couch.

Once I join them they hand over a gift for me which I very gratefully open to find perfume. I thank them both and we catch up for a bit, especially with Mason since it's been some time since we last each other.

Soon Jess joins us, as well as a few other friends like Chloe. Between greetings, presents and chit chat I get a chance to ask Lexi how everything is and she happily cheers "it's getting better" so I'm relieved for now. She promises she'll fill me in on everything another time, wanting me to continue celebrating my birthday without worrying. I continue talking with my friends while I eat the warm pizza which has arrived before I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I turn around and Damon is standing with a grin on his face. I immediately put my half-eaten slice of pizza down on a plate and lift myself up to greet him properly. Once I am up, he envelopes me in a hug and tells me "happy birthday". I say thank you for what feels like the millionth time tonight, although I truly am grateful to everyone for joining me tonight to help me celebrate my birthday, even if I didn't want to do anything tonight in the first place.

"This is for you." he says, bringing forward something he seems to have grabbed from his inner coat pocket.

"Oh you shouldn't have." I tell him as I recognise the item to be a small box.

I feel extra bad because I had missed his birthday last month. Of course, I knew that we hadn't really known each other that well by that point but I still feel bad, especially as he hands me what appeared to be a rectangular jewellery box upon closer inspection.

"I couldn't very well show up empty handed. Everyone deserves to be spoiled on their birthday," he tells me as I undo the ribbon wrapped around the box and lift its lid to reveal quite a sparkly thick silver bracelet, "So, what do you think?"

If I was being honest I would say that it isn't my typical taste. It just looked very... expensive. Very opulent or something. I don't even know how to describe it. It's not ugly but it's just not my typical taste, myself typically going for something a little more classic or dainty. But I can tell it wouldn't have been cheap and couldn't possibly say any of these things to Damon's face.

"It's lovely. Thank you so much." I instead tell him, pulling him in for a quick hug.

"Oh, my pleasure Ella. When I saw it I immediately thought of you." he reveals, making me feel even worse and honestly cringe a little at how horrible I feel while my head still rests over his shoulder.

Jess spots the look from where she is standing in the kitchen, bringing out more pizza, snacks and plates, and raises an eyebrow at me with curiosity. I wave my spare hand at her, which isn't on Damon's back as I hug him, and mouth 'I'll tell you later' to her before I pull back from the embrace.

He gives a few quick looks between my face and the bracelet before he finally stops his gaze on my face. I wonder if he was hoping I'd put the bracelet on straight away, but try not to think about that too much.

"I might just head to your restroom if you don't mind to freshen up." he tells me, saying something finally.

"Oh yeah, go ahead. It's just through that door over there." I say, pointing out the bathroom door for him.

He nods and quickly thanks me before he walks off. The door to the bathroom has barely closed behind him before I spot Jess waving me over from where she still stands in the kitchen.

I make my way over and she cuts straight to the point.

"What was that about?" she asks, waving around her hands at where Damon and I had just been standing together.

"Damon got me a gift." I tell her.

"Okay?"

"He got me a bracelet." I explain, lifting up the jewellery box which is still in my hand to take off the lid and show her it.

"Oh, that's .... interesting. Very unique." she says, biting down on her lip.

I check over my shoulder that Damon isn't around before I turn back to her and say "yes, very interesting indeed."

"Not something I'd typically pick for you." she comments.

"Yeah, me either." I agree, "But it was very thoughtful of him."

"Yeah. But it kind of just makes me realise why chicks literally just circle pictures of rings in magazines for their partners to find." she says, making me chuckle guiltily along with her. I swat at her arm as if to stop her but can't help but continue.

"Okay shh. He's back." I tell her as I notice Damon walking out of our bathroom.

She stifles a few last giggles, while I try and pretend like we weren't up to something as he looks around the room. I fiddle around with some paper plates and such, acting like I'm organising them or something and Damon thankfully looks away, not noticing anything.

I finish up with my random plate fiddling and help Jess finish up organising our food and drinks before I call everyone to eat and join in on the chatting.

I'm three pizza slices and two glasses of wine in when I barely hear a knock at the door over the sound of our talking. The sounds of footsteps follow and I hear the door open and some greetings be exchanged.

"It's great to finally put a face to the voice. I'm so glad you could make it. Come on in." I hear Jess say, making me flash my head in her direction with alert.

In my head I can only think of one person who was invited that has never properly met Jess and yet when my eyes arrive at the doorway I'm still surprised.

They begin walking further into the apartment and towards my direction and I start panicking. I start looking anywhere but at them and pretend to still be part of the conversation going on so it doesn't seem like I was staring or eavesdropping.

When Jess says my name I try and act nonchalant, feigning surprise when I see Theo's face before me. I lift myself up from the armchair I'm sitting on to properly greet him.

"Theo, you made it." I say, trying to maintain a casual tone," How are you?" I ask politely as he moves forward to give me a brief hug in greeting which is a totally normal thing to do when someone comes to your birthday party. As my head briefly rests over his shoulder, I spot Damon observing us from the other side of the room, a glare clear across his face.

"I'm good thanks. Sorry I'm late. The meeting ran late," he explains, "Happy birthday."

"Thank you. And it's no problem. Thanks for coming." I tell him.

"My pleasure." he replies with a soft smile, hands in his pocket as he looks around the room.

He seems to have stopped by his apartment first, I assume, because he's not in his typical suit but rather a plain long-sleeve black fitted top paired with black jeans and a grey coat resting over his arm. His hair also isn't as styled as usual, but this may be due to it coming undone from a long day.

We look at one another uncertainly. If this was any other friend we would be deep into catching up. But this wasn't. This is the guy that I nearly kissed two weeks ago, something I had thought about often as much as I tried not to. He's also the guy who dated my sister, who is standing only meters away with the father of her unborn child who she cheated on him with.

"Uh... so there's pizza and drinks over there if you want." I tell him to break the silence, pointing to the dining table where the food and drinks have been laid out.

"Right. I might take you up on that offer since I haven't had a chance to eat any dinner yet." he says, scratching the back of his bed.

"Well I wouldn't want to keep you waiting."

He nods, making his way over to the food. I turn to join back into the conversation I'd been having with Chloe and some other friends when, from the corner of my eye, I spy Theo moving around the table to get some food only to bump into Lexi who is back to satisfy her cravings once again with Mason by her side.

"Oh, hi Theo." I hear her say, while I still don't turn around completely to look in case I am caught.

"Hi Lexi." Theo replies.

"It's good to see you." she tells him, with Mason hovering behind her.

"Yeah you too. I hope you've been well."

"Yeah, I have thanks." she says, grabbing Mason's hand and pulling him forward, "Theo, this is my boyfriend Mason."

Now I shift my head to the side so I can see them a bit more and observe Theo's response.

Ever the well-mannered gentleman, Theo outstretches his hand for Mason to shake, which he does. "Nice to meet you Mason." he greets him.

"You too." Mason responds.

I let out a small sigh of relief as they seem to receive one another cordially, keeping an eye on them until I see them part ways. I let myself return to the discussion I was in, drinking and talking the night away.

An hour or so later, everyone is deep in socialising with the music playing and games being pulled out when Jess announces that it is cake time. Grabbing my hand to lift me off of the couch, she drags me along to the dining table where she has placed my scrumptious looking and classic chocolate mud cake— I'm a simple girl.

Everyone begins to gather around and once they are all together they begin to sing happy birthday to me. Queue the awkward moment where you have to figure out what to do while everyone is staring at you and singing. Not knowing what else to do, I just take it as an opportunity to look around the room at all the faces which mean so much to me and that were so kind enough to come celebrate with me tonight.

I spot Lexi in Mason's arms, leaning back on him while his hands meet on her stomach. Jess stands right at the front with her phone, waiting to take photos. Chloe stands with a wine glass in her hand, of course, tipsily singing along, while Damon stands timidly to the side with Theo of all people standing by his side smiling at me. I smile back- at him, at everyone who is watching on as they shout 'hip hip hooray!'.

And with the last 'hooray' and the sound of Jess shouting out 'make a wish', I break my gaze from those around me to the candles which await me on my cake. With a strong blow, the candles are extinguished and my ultra secretive and sacred wish is made.

I ponder over how much has changed since my last birthday and it makes me think of how much could change before my next one.

God, I don't know whether to be excited or terrified.

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just watched the After We Collided trailer and was inspired to put the finishing touches on this chapter and share it. It's a long one and was actually split in two so get ready for a new and exciting chapter to be out very soon... Can't wait to share it 

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The Fiction Dreamer 

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