"Your mind's got a hold,

Your mind's got you holding the blade

'Cause when it feels like falling,

Then you're probably falling

When it feels like everybody's wrong then everybody's wrong,

Stop blaming yourself."

❁❁❁

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Em-i-ly, happy birthday to you!" We sang and clapped in sync loudly. Yuko clasped a video camera in one hand, filming everyone as we sang our heart out for our dear Emily.

Was this what it feels like to belong? Never in a million years would I think that I would find so much happiness in this group of people that just a couple of months ago, I resented. Now, we strangely felt familiar, as if we've been friends all our lives. Even Asher, who wasn't here for whatever reason, was slowly starting to warm up to me. Not that I'd ever admit it, though.

We watched as Emily made her wish with her hands clasped tight and eyes shut, before blowing out all eighteen candles.

"Woo!" Logan cheered as Emily cut the cake, and when Emily least expected it, Logan swiped some cream frosting on his finger and smeared it on her tiny button nose. Emily squealed in shock before everyone burst out laughing.

I took charge of slicing the cake that I had taken such a long time to make. After we made sure everyone had a slice, we dug in.

"Ermagaghd," Logan moaned incoherently, mouth full of cake. "Ghish ish sho good!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, their mouths full of cake. Laughing, I thanked them.

"Okay," Reiko said, standing up. "Toast!"

Everyone simmered down and stared at Reiko as she cleared her throat and set her plate of half-eaten cake on the table. Reiko giggled lightheartedly when everyone turned their attention to her.

"You're finally legal!" she cheered. "That means it's not illegal if you and Asher— ahem, Logan, hands off my cake! Now where was I...Oh yeah! Also, thank you for being such a great friend to me! Stay amazing and beautiful and smart and kind and cool and—"

"Reiko," Yuko sighed loudly, giving his sister a pointed look. She shot us a sheepish look and apologised before sitting down, "Oops. I babbled."

"Any words from the birthday girl?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow. Yuko turned his video recorder to Emily, who shied away from the camera.

"Thank you guys," she said softly, raising her eyes to meet the recorder. Managing a smile, she formed a heart with her two hands for the camera. "For everything."

We all clapped and aww-ed at her short but undeniably sweet message, causing her to blush brightly.

"Shall we open the presents now?" Logan suggested excitedly.

"Um, sure!" Emily said, and immediately everyone scrambled out of their seats to grab their presents, me included.

I grabbed the small teal box from my bag and rushed over to the table, where Logan and Reiko were already standing.

Shyly, I placed my gift on the table next to Logan's and Reiko's. Not before long, everyone returned and placed their gifts on the table for Emily.

One by one, Emily carefully peeled off the wrapping and opened her presents. The first one was Reiko's, a dainty necklace from Tiffany's.

"I hope you like it," Reiko said.

"I do! It's so pretty," Emily gushed, eyeing the small locket in awe. The sterling silver necklace was adorned with pink diamonds that glittered under the lights.

The next one was Logan's gift (because he grabbed his gift and shoved it under Emily's nose and insisted she opened his next), which was surprise, surprise, the pink Chanel bag he was talking about a few days earlier.

"I wrote you a little something too," Logan said. "It's in the bag."

Emily's eyebrows shot up at this and she smiled warmly. "You wrote something...for me?"

With wonder-filled eyes, she gingerly opened the bag and took out a pink envelope. Taking the parchment out of it, she read the poem silently before breaking out into a grin.

"This is so pretty. I love it!" Emily squealed, and Logan let out a sigh of relief and shot her a grin.

My present was the third one she opened. She opened the teal box, revealing a small sketchbook. She gasped as she flipped open the book, eyes shining with excitement as she admired the sketches inside. It wasn't much, but the book contained sketches of Emily and our friends, highlighting our happiest memories. I drew the day Emily and I first met, when I ate instant noodles in her dorm. There was the day that we went shopping with the Royals, and the day of the Winter Ball.

"It's beautiful," she whispered in awe, flipping through the pages.

"It's not much but I hope you like it," I said shyly. It was after all, the first time I gave my art away as a gift.

Emily nodded and smiled widely at me, "I already do!"

Lastly, she opened Yuko's and Robin's gift, which was the keys to her brand new grey Beemer.

"You guys got me a car?" Emily gasped in shock, staring wide-eyed at the sparkling new car keys that sat daintily on plush satin in the small box it came in. Robin and Yuko shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You're going to get your license soon, aren't you?" Robin said. "We figured we could gift you something to encourage you to study hard for your test."

"We didn't know what you'd like," Yuko admitted. "But we are pretty knowledgeable about cars, so we figured it'd be a safe gift to get."

"Thank you so much, but this is too much," she mumbled, her lips turning into a pout.

It took a little more convincing because Emily kept refusing the expensive gift, but finally, they managed to get her to keep the gift.

❁❁❁

SHORTLY AFTER EMILY opened all of her gifts, Logan brought out a couple bottles of wine out of his fridge for us. We spent the next hour or two drinking and talking while munching on some cheese and crackers Logan prepared. I had to admit, hanging out with the Royals and Emily really helped me to unwind.

Perhaps Robin was onto something when he told me that dinners were the best way to celebrate special occasions, if they had to. Wild parties just didn't appeal as much to me anymore after this.

Finally, we finished the last drop of wine and ate the last cracker on the plate.

"Now, as much as I love hanging out with you guys, it's late," Logan said, stretching his arms over his head and letting out a yawn. "Plus, all the food and wine is making me really tired."

"That's our cue to leave," Yuko announced, standing up from his seat. Reiko, who sat next to her brother, purses her lips.

"Can't we stay a little longer?" she almost pleaded. She cast a longing look at Logan, who could barely keep his eyes open.

"We have to get to the airport, Rei. Your flight's in three hours," Yuko said sternly, causing Reiko to pout.

"Fine," she mumbled in defeat, standing up from her seat. The rest of us followed shortly after, walking to the front door together. We all thanked Logan for letting us host Emily's surprise birthday dinner at his apartment and complimented Robin and Yuko on the delicious food again.

"Do you want a lift back, Emily?" Robin asked when we were on the way down to the lobby. Emily pondered his offer for a few seconds before nodding.

"Okay, if it's not too much of a hassle for the both of you," Emily said. "I had a couple of glasses of wine, so I don't think it's a good idea to drive."

Robin nodded, offering to carry some of Emily's gifts. Once we reached the lobby, we bid farewell to Reiko and Yuko once again, then headed to Robin's car. I was slightly disappointed that Robin didn't drive his Bugatti today. Instead, he took his black Porsche out for a spin instead. It was still a gorgeous car, but it didn't compare to the Veyron.

Robin opened the trunk so Emily could fit all of her gifts, and then we all slid into his car. Emily and I were slightly tipsy from the wine, so we broke out into giggles when our favourite song came on the radio. Robin glanced at the two of us, shaking his head. Yuko and Robin were the only ones who didn't drink.

"Robin...," Emily spoke up meekly from the back of the car after a short silence, when the last chords of our song faded and the radio DJ began chattering away. "Do you know where Asher is?"

"He's in his dorm, Emily," Robin replied after a pause.

"Why didn't he come?" she asked softly. I couldn't see her expression from where I was seated, but I could imagine the hurt on her face. My heart ached for her.

"He said he wasn't feeling well," Robin explained, sounding almost curt. When Emily remained silent, he let out a sigh.

"You know...Asher was the one who suggested we throw a party for you," Robin said quietly, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. "He's disappointed that he couldn't make it."

"He didn't even wish me happy birthday," Emily whispered, and I heard her sniffle softly. I swallowed, hands clenching into fists. A sudden surge of anger burst through me, and I really wanted to punch a certain white-haired asshole in the face. How could he hurt Emily like this? With no explanation, whatsoever! It wasn't as if they were strangers, hell, they were engaged! Maybe not for the right reasons, but she was still his fiancée, and she was nothing but nice to him. The least he could've done was wish her well.

Robin's hands tightened around the steering wheel, but if he had any choice words for his friend, he swallowed them down. Instead, he reached over to my side of the car to open the glove compartment. He was so close his hair tickled my nose. As quickly as his warmth enveloped me, he was gone.

"My extra handkerchief is in there," Robin muttered. "Pass it to her."

Silently, I rummaged through the compartment until I came across a soft red plaid handkerchief. Grabbing it, I twisted my body around awkwardly and handed it to Emily in the backseat. Taking the cloth from me, Emily gently dabbed at her teary eyes.

"Sorry," she sniffed. "I didn't mean to put a damper on your night."

"It's not your fault, Em," I said softly, wishing I wasn't stuck in the passenger seat so I could hug her or hold her.

"Don't be sorry."

❁❁❁

Song of the Chapter: Trust // Chasing Grace