“Well, all I have left is Mark and then we are done,” I tell Jade. “I noticed Heath, Joshua, and Josh just ran out when I was done. Like they couldn’t wait to get away from me. And Matt and Ben only had an HOUR,” I comment, slightly sulky. “And now that I think about it, I can’t find Paul!”
“It’s nothing. They’re superstars, hun. They’ve got lives too,” Jade wraps an arm around me. “But I have the BEST news to cheer ya up!” she adds.
“Yeah?” I raise an eyebrow and start to change my camera film.
“Justin has invited you and me along to their video shoot for Girlfriend tonight!” she says happily. “He even said we can be extras and stuff! Plus, Nelly is gonna be there.”
“He is? Your Atlanta homeboy!” I laugh and she rolls her eyes.
“So, whaddya say?!”
“I say… OK!” I laugh. “This’ll teach Nick not to let me be in The Call video,” I giggle.
“Totally,” Jade giggles. “Ok, it doesn’t start ‘til 11pm at the drag track.”
“Cool. We have PLENTY of time then,” I say. “We can fit two movies in easily.”
“Well, that’s a wrap!” I say as Mark climbs down. “Finally I can go home!” I joke playfully. He smiles and I start to walk out the door. Before I can get a foot out I hear my cell ringing. “I thought I trashed that thing!” I yell.
“Bye Ali!” Mark laughs, then goes to give Jade a hug goodbye as I stalk off into the studio.
“What?!” I yell, expecting it to be Nick.
“Geez! Just calling my little cousin to wish her a happy birthday!” AJ answers, offended.
“Well, you really don’t have to.”
“I wanted to. Nick’s sorry, ya know?”
I talk to AJ for about ten more minutes until Jade comes into the room. “AJ, I’m going home now, I’ll call you later.”
“Later.”
“Who was that?” I ask as Ali puts her phone away.
“AJ wishing me a happy birthday,” she replies, rolling her eyes. “As if.”
“Well, it might be good this year,” I sit on the edge of the table facing Ali.
“Jade, you KNOW it’s never good. My birthday is ALWAYS fucked up. After Kelli…” her voices trails off and her eyes fill up.
“Hey Ali,” I jump off the table and wrap my arms around her. “You can’t keep beating yourself up over that. You should use your birthday as a reason to remember all the good stuff.”
“Yeah, well you try walking into your best friend’s room on your 15th birthday and finding her dead on the bed,” Ali says bitterly, pushing herself away from me.
I look at her feeling helpless. She’s right, I don’t know anything about how she must be feeling. What can I say? I shrug slightly and she sighs.
“Sorry Jady, it’s not your fault. I’m just better being left alone on my birthdays.” She wipes her eyes and sniffs before smiling at me. “All I want to do is go home, crash out and make you watch Skulls, She’s All That, Saving Private Ryan… EVERYTHING we own which features cute male actors. And then go and dance for the cameras.”
“Sounds good to me,” I laugh and then remember the surprise waiting for her at home. I feel incredibly guilty. Why had I let it go this far? I should’ve said no when Mark suggested a surprise party. I should ring them and tell them to leave already, but that wouldn’t be fair. They had been so excited and put so much effort into it. Paul was baking a cherry pie for God’s sake! No, I’m just gonna take Ali home and do my best to enjoy the night. I’m gonna get yelled out for it by Ali afterwards, but I can deal with that. I check my watch, it’s just after 6, and head towards the car with Ali.
“Oh…my…god,” I say, simply shocked out of my mind.
“Surprise!” yell five very excited looking superstars.
“Yes, it IS a surprise,” I say, throwing a sharp glare at Jade. “What’s going on here?” I ask, surveying the room. Mark, Paul, the Joshes, and Heath are all standing around a large table. On the table lies a cake, a pie, and a large bowl of punch.
“It’s a party!” replies Heath, grabbing my hand and leading me over to everyone, Jade following.
“A birthday party, just for you,” pipes up Joshua.
“Were you surprised?” Jade asks hesitantly.
“Oh yeah, I was definitely surprised,” I put on my best smile and look at the table. “What exactly do you call that?” I ask, pointing to a giant vanilla mass of goo.
“Cake!” they all shout, causing me to giggle.
“Damn, I’m extremely thirsty. That studio is so fucking hot, I need a drink.”
“Here,” Mark offers, handing me his cup. I gulp it down as the others laugh.
“Holy shit!” I yell, not prepared for the burning in my throat. Then I let out a smile. “Hey! Who spiked my punch?!” I laugh, and Joshua looks at me proudly.
“That would be me!”