Chapter 23: Not so happy birthday as I thought.
Stephen walked into the house, gently closing the door behind her. Each step was taken lightly as she instinctively reached to push her hair backward, then scoffed, realizing her hair was now short, not long.
Squeak! A soft noise made Stephen startle. She walked slowly, her eyes scanning the dimly lit hall. "Hannah?" Stephen called out gently, but there was no response. She carefully moved into the living room, gently flicking on the light switch.
"Surprise!"
"Oh my God!" Stephen gasped, looking at the crowd of people who yelled. Half the school seemed to be packed into her living room, decorated with balloons and ribbons. Everyone was holding drinks.
Still trying to process what was happening, NK walked towards her, a wine glass in his left hand. He smiled gently as he approached. "Happy birthday." Sage, Clowe, and Nick followed him closely.
Stephen sighed in relief, a laugh bubbling up. "You scared me!"
NK smiled. "You alright? You gonna shank us?" he teased, opening his arms for a hug. Stephen hugged him back, a genuine smile now on her face. "Oh no, I wouldn't."
Stephen looked around her living room, decorated with balloons and ribbons, everyone laughing and drinking. "This is my birthday party?" she asked, a surge of excitement filling her.
Sage smiled, passing her a drink, then hugged Stephen. "Happy birthday."
Stephen smiled at Sage and the others. "I can't believe you did this!"
Sage gently held her hand, a sweet smile on her face. "Of course. You're our friend."
In a shocking twist of events, it turned out that everything I thought I hated was exactly what I always wanted, Stephen thought as she gazed at the beaming faces around her.
Clowe and Sofia smiled at Stephen as they happily handed over a huge gift box. Stephen quickly unboxed it to reveal a jacket. She looked at it, amazed.
Sure. This started as me infuriating NK's group to help Hannah. But, at this moment, it felt like I was surrounded by my friends, Stephen thought, admiring the jacket.
Stephen happily put it on. Nick smiled as he placed a small, sparkling tiara on her head. Stephen laughed in amusement, gently adjusting her hair to fit it.
Surprisingly, all it took to get them to like me was actually trying to ruin their lives, Stephen thought, a cynical but undeniable truth settling in her mind.
The crowd cheered happily. NK looked at her. "Show me what you got!" he said, pointing his phone camera at her.
Stephen smiled as she quickly posed in front of the camera, displaying the beautiful sky-blue sweater. The texture was so soft; without anyone telling her, Stephen already knew it was made from high-quality cotton and was very expensive.
NK smiled as he took Stephen's pictures.
Meanwhile, Hannah lay on top of her bed, anxious, looking at her phone. It was open to messages, all of them sent by Hannah and read by Stephen, but not replied to. Hannah scrolled through the messages angrily. "Stephen is getting me pissed off. We made this plan. I helped her get what she wanted, and now, when it's my turn, she ghosted me?"
"What's going on in that head of yours?" Andrew asked softly from beside her. Hannah gently turned to Andrew, who was by her side.
"Hmm?" Hannah mumbled, placing her phone on the nightstand by her left. She smiled as she gently kissed Andrew, who placed his hands on her waist.
"I need a little distraction from all the stress," Hannah whispered into Andrew's ear.
Andrew nodded slightly. "Okay, I can do that," he said before gently beginning to kiss her neck, moving lower.
"Ah," Hannah sarcastically moaned every once in a while as she picked up her phone, scrolling through Sage's Instagram. Before long, she saw the live streaming video of Nick with Stephen and the rest of the clique, laughing and dancing.
She placed her phone back on the nightstand, then gently tapped Andrew. "Let's go to a party."
Everyone at Stephen's house was having fun, dancing and drinking. Sage, Stephen, and Nick were engaged in a lively conversation.
Suddenly, someone walked in, and everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, turning to look at the person who had arrived. Stephen, Sage, and NK stood up, their eyes fixed on the newcomer. "Happy birthday, Stephen!" the person yelled.
"Hannah?" Stephen's voice was barely a whisper as she looked at Hannah with shock.
Sage looked at Stephen, surprised. "I didn't know you knew Hannah."
Stephen tried to smile, then looked at Sage. "We have a couple of classes together."
NK walked up to Hannah. "What are you doing here?"
Hannah looked at him, surprised by the question. "What do you mean?" she countered smoothly. "I saw the party on Sage's story. She still has me on close friends," Hannah said, giving a small, knowing wave in Sage's direction.
Andrew walked in and stood by Hannah's back. NK looked at him for less than a second before turning back to Hannah. "Well, I'm sure that's by mistake."
Hannah smiled gently. "So hostile! I'm waving the white flag, NK." She looked at him with an obvious tone. "Look, can't we just put all this ugliness aside? I mean, you said you didn't leak the video, and I believe you, so why are we fighting, right?"
Stephen just looked at Hannah, surprised. Clowe and Sofia exchanged disbelieving glances, while Sage just stood there, speechless.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," NK said, smiling at her lightly. "I'm glad you're here, Han. Have a good time." Then he turned to Andrew, his expression calm, his face hinting at no emotion.
"Andrew," NK finally said, extending his hand for a handshake.
"NK," Andrew replied, gently placing his hand on Hannah's waist rather than shaking NK's hand.
NK looked at Andrew, his expression momentarily stiff. "Hmm. Okay."
Hannah glanced between Andrew and NK as she smiled gently. "Ohh. What a fun vibe."
Stephen just stood behind NK, trying to avoid contact with Hannah.
Hannah looked up at NK. "Can I just steal the birthday girl for a sec?"
NK gently made way for Hannah, who happily dragged Stephen along. "Oh, your house is so cute! Come on, show me around. I feel like I don't even know you."
Sofia and Clowe just looked at each other as they watched Hannah and Stephen leave the room. Clowe whispered, "Weird." While Sofia chuckled.
Sage sat down, taking a drink while NK came to sit beside her. Nick confidently tapped NK's shoulder, amused. "Well, I think you handled that well."
Sage placed her drink on the ground, looking at NK. "How does she even have this address?"
NK looked at Sage, confused. "Good question."
Meanwhile, Hannah and Stephen walked into the corridor. It was quite huge with a lovely view of the ocean.
Stephen looked at Hannah, annoyed. "Good entrance."
"Good jacket," Hannah replied, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Stephen sighed, even more annoyed, as the air grew thicker between them. Stephen looked at Hannah with an obvious look. "It was a gift."
One of Hannah's eyebrows rose as she looked at Stephen. "Yeah. Nice jacket. I can't believe you. What do you think you're doing?"
"You don't answer my texts," Hannah said, still shocked by it.
Stephen glanced at her in disbelief. "What do you think you're doing? You come to my house. Are you okay?"
"Are you?" Hannah countered, pushing her black hair backward, still trying not to let her anger boil over. She looked at Stephen gently. "It's you I'm worried about, Stephen. Those people do not care about you. They're not your friends."
Stephen looked at her, amazed. "Oh. Is this what this is all about? You're jealous I'm with your old friends?" Stephen looked at her, disappointed, her voice lowering gently. "Did you even remember that it's my birthday?"
Hannah kept quiet for a while. "No. Okay. But whatever, why would I know that?"
Tears rolled gently down Stephen's face as she looked at Hannah. "Because I told you yesterday! Because we spent the entire year together!"
Hannah looked at her angrily. "Oh my God, you're pathetic! Can't you see what he's doing?" Hannah's voice increased. "None of this is real. This party? He's controlling you, dude. Every person in there will drop you the minute you don't serve them anymore!"
Stephen looked at her, her voice trembling. "Are you any different?" She continued, "At least with NK, I get a birthday party out of it."
Hannah couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Wait, wait, wait. Please don't tell me you like NK? Because he leaked that video, Stephen! He leaked that video!"
Ria, who had happily gone to meet Stephen, stopped immediately when she heard what Hannah said.
"Are you sure? Because there's never been any evidence," Stephen said, her voice firmer. Ria just stood there in disbelief, then angrily walked off, her presence unnoticed by Hannah.
Hannah looked at Stephen with shock. "Take that back!"
Stephen looked at her seriously. "No."
Hannah looked at Stephen, her expression hardening. "I mean this from the bottom of my heart, f*** you, Stephen."
Stephen looked at her, tears streaming down her face. "Go home, Hannah."
Hannah turned around angrily, then walked off, not bothering to look back.
Hannah walked inside the house to see Ria. She turned to look back at the entrance, then back at Ria. "Did you overhear that?"
Ria looked at her quietly. Stephen walked forward to where Ria stood. "I'm sorry, Hann..."
"Yeah. I know, Hannah," Ria cut her short, her voice cold. She looked down for a moment. "And… I love my brother." Ria then looked at Stephen, her eyes filled with disappointment. "But you know he leaked that video. You said some really messed up stuff out there."
Stephen's voice lowered. "It's complicated."
Ria looked at her, a bitter smile on her face. "Hey, at least we solved the mystery of Stephen, right? This isn't your armor anymore. It's just you." She scoffed. "It's just you. Happy birthday, though."
Stephen wanted to say something, but Ria just looked at her. "I'll see you around." Then she left. Stephen just looked at Ria as she walked off, alone once more.