I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and if you don't celebrate Christmas then I hope you are having a blessed and happy holiday!
<3
Another picture of Zaph on the side!
***

I was released from the hospital, hallelujah, and Jacen and I left together and headed back to his house. I still felt pretty awkward especially after noticing some scratch marks covering the visible parts of his body.

I bit my lip as I looked out at the blurred shapes of trees as we drove out of the parking lot. I glanced down for a moment at our connected hands, knowing that we both needed each other right now.

We pulled up to the gate, and Tony, the nice gatekeeper, let us in with a smile and a wave. Jacen got out nonchalantly, but I was still amazed by the size of his house. I snapped out of my wonder when my car door was opened and Jacen gestured for me to get out. I smiled as my stomach burst into butterflies, and stepped out, my arms snaking around his neck.

I brought him down for a light peck, before he shut the door and led me into the house. What I wasn't expecting was to be gently but firmly pushed against the door, and for my lips to be captured again.

Jacen's hands slid from my cheeks to my waist, his featherlike touch causing my skin to erupt in goose bumps. I slid my fingers into his hair and pulled his closer to me, and his hands travelled lower, over my butt and right under it before I was swept off my feet.

I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist, as he began moving. His lips were everywhere as he carried me up the stairs, and I was struggling to keep up. When his lips travelled over my jaw and landed on my neck, sucking gently, I couldn't suppress the throaty moan that erupted from me.

I kept my eyes closed as I felt him kick a door shut, but opened them for a split second to recognize that we were in his room. My hair flew around me as he gently laid me down on his bed, and I brushed it away as I stared up at his hovering form.

His eyes glowed in the dim light as he looked down at me, before he opened his mouth. "I'm so sorry for everything Zaph, and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness but-" I stopped him with a gentle finger to his lips.

I should be the one begging for forgiveness, not him. "Shhh, if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. You've done nothing but support me." I whispered seriously, earning a small smile in return. He grasped my wrist near his mouth, and brought my palm to his lips, the sweet caress bringing tears to my eyes.

At that moment, I felt something. I knew I felt something towards this man in front of me. A blossoming feeling travelled down to my toes as I guided his lips back to mine.

I pulled away after a intimate moment and looked at him, my nerves running high for what I was about to confess-something that I didn't even realized until that moment, and I wasn't sure if I was so late on the memo because I was denying it all this time, or if I was just dumb. Either way, this made me feel even guiltier for what happened with Axle, and I knew I had to tell him about that myself, even though I was certain he already knew.

"Jacen I-"

The door burst open and light flooded the room in a nanosecond, and the population in Jacen's room awkwardly went from two to six in an instant.

I think they aspired to be cockblockers.

Jacen and I both shot up, and I saw the boys smirking and Joney smiling hard. "Get up lovebirds, we are going out!" Luke announced in a very Finn-like manner. He was in a good mood.

I slouched against Jacen, and pouted. "Why?"

Finn stepped forward and pointed at me with, grin lighting up his face. "I think the real question is, why not?"

Spencer decided to step in with some rare commentary. "I think we all know why not."

"Ok, we will all go out, now get out of my room," Jacen said hastily. They all held secretive smiles as they exited the room quietly.

I tried to suppress a smile when the hallway immediately erupted in noise. Jacen sighed and flopped back down, pulling me with him. I laughed as I squirmed against his side, but my laugh died down when I remember what we had been doing, and what I had been about to tell him.

I sat up again, and I couldn't help but feeling like I was getting a little ab workout in. I shook my head, all serious thoughts taking over. I looked down at the perfection staring back up at me. I sighed, "Jacen, I need to tell you something."

"Shoot," he told me, his intense eyes never wavering from mine.

I took a deep breath before speaking again, but in the time, Jacen's hands wrapped around my waist and hoisted me on top of him. Flustered, I rubbed my sweaty palms against my shirt as discreetly as possible, and opened my mouth.

"I-" Jacen started rubbing his hands in small, light circles on my thighs that straddled him, and I couldn't function.

What was I talking about?

I swatted his hands away, before just letting it out. "I kissed Axle." I had shut my eyes and they remained closed, because even though I knew he knew, I was afraid of his reaction. However, I was surprised with his hands made their way back to my thighs and started rubbing light circles again.

My eyes popped open and I looked down at him, to see him looking at me with hooded eyes. "I know, but I don't care anymore."

His hands left my thighs and travelled to my wrists, pulling me down on top of him. My breath caught at the sudden close proximity between us. "You don't?" I whispered.

He shook his head, his lips brushing mine with every turn of his head. "Well, you're here with me, aren't you?" He murmured sweetly. I laughed quietly and nodded.

"So I don't care." I gazed at him for a moment, and wondered what I did to get such a sweet guy, even though half the time he was moody. Actually more that half this time, because this is only like the third time I have seen him with an expression other than one of stone.

I gently gripped his face, and brought his lips to mine once again. A knock resonated through Jacen's cavernous room. "I don't hear much talking! We are leaving in five minutes, so be there or be square!"

I laughed as I broke my kiss with Jacen to respond to the boy standing on the opposite side of Jacen's door. "Where is 'there' Finn?"

"Oh yeah, there is downstairs in the kitchen, and the other there is a surprise that may or may not be told to you once you come to the first there; which is the there in the kitchen, not the there which is the surprise."

I sat for a moment. "So, the kitchen?"

There was a pause on the other side of the door. "Yeah, the kitchen." I heard his retreating footsteps, as I crawled off of Jacen. I grabbed my shoes near the bed, and fluffed my hair a bit.

He mumbled something that I didn't catch and I turned to look at him. "What?"

"Oh nothing."
***

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZAPH!" The people in front of me shouted, turning heads all around us.

Not surprisingly, Finn didn't tell me where the next "there" was, so I sat in curious silence the whole car ride here until we pulled up to my all time favorite restaurant. Axle had joined us after about five minutes, and he and Jacen were surprisingly hospitable.

I looked at the six people in front of me in shock. Damn, today was my birthday wasn't it? I glanced down at my phone, and sure enough it said Friday, November 21, 2014.

"Thank you," I breathed out. Joney looked at me in mock annoyance.

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday for the third year in a row!" She exclaimed.

I cringed, and my hands flew up to my scarf as I started messing with the frills on the bottom of it. "Its not my fault!" I retorted, getting defensive. "I don't exactly have time to occupy myself with the thoughts of my birthday."

Her eyes softened. "Okay, I know that these past couple of months have been rough for you, but tonight we aren't going to worry about that. It's your birthday for Christ sakes!"

I smiled as I took my seat at the round table. I glance around the massive restaurant, and then back at my strange friend group.

Joney was laughing at something Finn had said while he looked at her with so much admiration and it made me smile. A blind man could tell how much Finn liked Jo, and vice versa. Luke was shooting daggers at Axle who was firing spitballs at him, and Spencer was laughing at something on his phone, right before showing Jacen, who smiled.

His smile brightened as our eyes met across the table, and then he cleared his throat and looked away. "Thank you guys for this," I said after a moment. My throat was clogged with emotion as I looked at each of them.

"Thank you for doing this for me," I finished, trying to keep the tears at bay.

They all smiled back in their own special ways, and we proceeded to eat our wings in happy circle.

"Open my present first Z," Finn said next to me, bouncing like a pogo stick on crack. He shoved a poorly wrapped gift into my hand.

I glanced at him curiously during the process of opening it and shoved it down into my purse the second I saw it. "Finn," I hissed, looking at him incredulously.

Spence looked at him, and them back at me. "What'd he get?"

"I'm not-"

"I got her matching red underwear for her bra that she wore outside of her shirt that day," he said, shrugging.

Jacen choked on one of his wings, where Luke just rolled his eyes. Joney slapped Finn on the arm and the two started bickering.

I sighed and sat back, until another gift was thrust upon me. "Open mine. It's not as exciting as Finn's though," Axle promised.

I smiled and unwrapped his present, laughing lightly at the Ugly Doll that stared back at me.
"Thanks Axle," I told him genuinely.

He grunted, swirling his straw around. "Why are you thanking me? I practically called you ugly."

"I am beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can't bring me down," I sang in a poor attempt at some Christina Aguilera.

Axle just stared at me, dumbfounded, before shaking his head and looking away.

"Okay okay my turn!" Joney shouted, clapping her hands excitedly after slapping Finn one last time.

"Thanks Jo," I said reaching across Finn to get to her present.

I opened it up and scowled. "You are Finn really are meant for each other." Inside was so red lingerie.

The reason they were fighting suddenly made since. They weren't fighting because honey thought it was inappropriate and embarrassing for him to get me panties, they were fighting because she had gotten me something almost identical to his present.

I shoved that deep into my purse too.

She groaned. "Oh c'mon Zaph! We all know you are going to pull that out when you and Jace-"

I plugged my ears. "Lalalalala!" She pouted and sat back in her chair.

"Here's my present, it's from both me and Luke," Spencer said, handing me a small present.

I opened it up, and a smile took over my face. I held up the small locket necklace and opened it up to see a picture. It was the picture that I had forced the guys to take with me a couple of weeks ago. We had been training for like two hours, and we looked disgusting, but it warmed my heart that they thought to give it to me.

They looked nervous when I looked up. "Thank you guys. I love it so much," I said genuinely.

"Here, let me put it on for you," Luke said. He took it from me, and came up behind my chair, pushing my hair to the side. The necklace was cool against my skin, and I vowed to never take it off.

"All that leaves is Jace," Finn said with a knowing smirk. Jacen suddenly looked flustered as he suddenly found the paper tablecloth interesting.

"I'll give you mine later," he said steely.

Spencer whistled. "We all know what that means."

"It's not like that," Jacen said through clenched teeth. I kept my grin to myself as I looked him.

Joney laughed. "Sure it's not."

***
I think I'm to selfish to ever forget my own birthday tbh lol. I tell people two months in advance that my birthday is coming up so that they don't forget!

Exams about killed my brain, and I don't think I can handle another semester of chemistry and algebra. My semester average for Algebra was about as borderline as you can get: 79.95% HAHAHAHA I still laugh about it.

Anyways I think my favorite and most meaningful chapter will be the next one! Be on the lookout!

Xoxo,
Jean Margaret