Set Me Free

Drew and I have been together for a little over a week and my birthday is tomorrow. I know Drew’s freaking out about it because he still doesn’t know what to get me, but he doesn’t have to get me anything; I’ve told him that; he just chooses those moments to completely block me out.

I’m still supposed to be stationed at the hospital so they can check everything out, but I know I’m fine; Ash just doesn’t want me to go to rehab. Me neither, but I don’t want to have to show up to the hospital once a day so people can see me.

I’m currently staying at the Connellys’. Mr. and Mrs. Connelly allowed me to sleep in the guest room (knowing that I wouldn’t). Kris is leaving tomorrow, his boss refuses to give him another day off, so right after my birthday, he’s leaving. Jorge is...hesitant. He doesn’t want to leave me, but he doesn’t want to force me to leave either. He leaves just three days after my birthday, so he better make up his mind by then. What do I want? I miss Jorge and I love him, he’s my brother, but I’m not so sure anymore about moving five hours away. Mrs. Connelly had pretty much adopted me already and I know she’ll threaten Jorge if he says he’s taking me away, but what can I do?

I’m currently sitting on Drew’s bed while he paced around, worried about what to buy me for my birthday.

“How about a goldfish? Do you like goldfish?” He asked, stopping for a moment to see my expression.

“I don’t like goldfish; I had one once and it died. It scared me so much; I couldn’t go into the kitchen the entire day. I almost died of hunger.” I laughed.

Drew just went back to his pacing, a small smile set on his face. He always seemed to love it when I told him things about my past. He said he’s told me pretty much everything about himself and he barely knows anything about me.

“How about a guitar? Do you like music? Do you want me to teach you?”

“I don’t want a guitar; I’d just rather you just play for me.”

This went on for another twenty minutes until I grabbed Drew by the arm and dragged him down onto the bed. Calm down you perverts, not like that.

“Andrew; calm the fuck down!” I took his face in my hands and squeezed until he looked like a fish. At the sight of that, I just had to burst out into hysterical giggles.

He did sigh and calm down though. And then smiled.

“Remember when we first went back to school?” He chuckled
Ah yes, how could I forget?

Jenny had been spreading rumors that Drew and I had been dating, and although it was true, I didn’t know if I was ready for everyone to know yet. Drew was right by my side the entire time, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Drew and I didn’t get as much shit as Gabe did because Keegan got expelled and transferred for what he had done to me, but there was still talking. Some people stared, others glared and once, someone had the nerve to punch me. Drew found that guy and beat the crap out of him, so he’s currently suspended (Drew, that is).

Jenny turned into an even bigger bitch when I told her that she was the reason I turned gay and went around telling everyone about it. Now guys are afraid to date her. There’s a new ‘cutest couple’ out there. Guess who it is? Echo and...Gabe.

I know, I couldn’t believe it either.

”You’re dating Echo? I thought you were gay!” I said, cornering Gabe one lunch after he’d gone around holding Echo’s hand. Drew was busy tackling Echo to the ground right around the corner. She’s strong for such a small person.

“I am gay.” He whispered, covering his face with his long yellow sweater.

“If you’re gay then why are you dating Echo? Are you just using her? You too?” I knew about what Drew did and no person deserves to get used twice by two different guys who claim they’re your friends.

“No, I’m not using her. I don’t know; I just like her, okay?”

“So you’re bi? Can you please explain? I’m so confused.”

He never did explain; all I knew was that they were dating. They’re pretty cute together. Drew makes fun of them every time we hang out and Gabe just can’t stop blushing. That just makes it even worse for me because every time Echo sees me, she doesn’t hesitate in taunting me.

I could feel Drew’s lips pressing to the side of my head. We haven’t kissed yet, like, on the mouth, but we have gone out on dates pretty much every other day for the past week. I’m not so sure how I feel about it yet, but I’m guessing Drew just wants to be all ‘romantic’ and such.

On our first date, I thought that’s how he always is with someone he likes, but it turned out that he had no idea what he had been doing. He got his mother to tell him where to go and what to do and whatnot. It was cute that he was trying so hard, just for me.
Yesterday we just went to the pizzeria, but he bought me a flower, so he said he counted it as yet another date...not that I’m complaining or anything.

“You’re spacing out again. You don’t have to keep thinking about me when I’m right here.” He mumbled against my hair and chuckled.

My cheeks flamed red, so I said the only thing I could to get his mind off of the future taunting.

“And you completely forgot about my birthday tomorrow.”

Drew automatically tensed and rose from the bed. I missed his body warmth, but couldn’t help but smirk.

Instead of pacing like he normally does, he bolted straight out of the door and not five minutes later, I heard his car rev out of the driveway.

Mrs. Connelly walked in right afterwards, yelling profanities down to Sam while apologizing to Felicity at the same time.

“Where’s Drew gone? You two didn’t get into a fight, did you?” Concern etched her motherly features as she wiped her hands on a dish cloth.

“No, he’s just freaking out about my birthday tomorrow.”

“Ah yes!” She beamed. “What cake flavor do you like the most?”

“Nothing because I’m not getting anything for my birthday because I don’t want anything.”

“It’s your 18th birthday! Who doesn’t want anything for their 18th birthday? Now hush up and tell me what flavor cake you want?”

I shook my head, crossing my arms to make my small frame look a little more intimidating.

“HONEY, I’M HOME!”

Ever since Mrs. Connelly met Jorge, she practically adopted him right then and there. She babies him so much, Kris takes every advantage he gets and finally being the man in the relationship. Of course Jorge loves her too. We’ve never had a mother and Mrs. Connelly is just willingly putting herself into our mother’s supposed shoes and we love it.

Mrs. Connelly smirked, then darted down the stairs before I even knew what was going on. It took a few seconds but I finally understood her sudden rush.

“Jorge, darling, what’s Dane’s favorite flavor of cake?”

“Oh, double chocolate with chocolate center. That boy loves his chocolate, but he’s not the funnest to be around with a sugar high. But his favorite flavor of ice cream just happens to be extra chunky cookie dough, so if you really want to make his day, you might want to get him a double chocolate cookie dough ice cream cake; he’ll just die.”

Jorge ranted, not paying attention (or not caring) to the fact that I was right behind Mrs. Connelly, glaring at him.

“Thank you very much darling.” She smirked down in my direction before happily skipping off to the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Drew came home that night, a triumphant smile on his face and a certain bounce in his step. He’s found the perfect birthday present and I’ll most likely make him take it back, along with its ridiculous price.

“What did you get me?” I asked that night, after everyone went to bed.

“I can’t tell you that, otherwise it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?” He smirked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

“No, but I’m most likely going to make you take it back if I think it costs too much. You might as well save yourself the trouble right now and just tell me.”
He smiled down at me.

“I don’t think you can take my gift back. It doesn’t really have a receipt.”
At that, I glared.
“What did you do?”

Drew just laughed and stretched out, refusing to talk for the rest of the night; tomorrow will
be a very long day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I can’t believe they’re doing this to me. Why did she have to invite the entire school? They don’t even like me. At least Mrs. Connelly had the decency to not invite Jenny and her posy. This morning was when it all went wrong.

Mr. Connelly took the day off of work while Mrs. Connelly ran around making plans like a chicken with her head cut off. Kris and Jorge had stayed the night and refused to tell me what the hell was going on. From then, I was very frightened. Then, Mrs. Connelly told
Drew to take me out for the entire day and come home sometime around 7 or 8. We left at noon.

Drew kept me occupied with his perverted self for hours and when he saw that I was just about ready to go back home...he got himself arrested. It was only mall jail, but still. I was going to die from stress before this whole party even took place. It took two hours to get him out of there, promising that neither of us would come be back for a month (I don’t even know what he did). Then finally, to keep my head from exploding, Drew suggested we take a peaceful walk across the beach. It was nice and calming and before I was ready, he said we had to be heading back. He should’ve taken me to the beach to begin with.

I was wondering why Drew decided to park a block away instead of going straight to the house, but as soon as I crossed the street, I could see why. There was no parking at the house. What the hell!?

Why where there so many people? As soon as we opened the door, hundreds of “Happy Birthday’s rang out and nearly deafened me. I was just about ready to kill Mrs. Connelly when millions of confetti soared out from the ceiling. How old did she think I was turning? Ten?
Anyway, the party’s been going on for quite a while and I’ve gotten a lot of stuff. I still want to kill my family (yes, I consider the Connellys my family), but no one’s ever really done something like this for me, so I’m pretty happy that someone cares enough. The only person who hasn’t given me their gift yet is Drew and I can tell he’s nervous about it. When I asked him where his gift was, he started wringing his hands and told me that he’d give it to me later. I wanted to know more than anything and it was eating me up, but I wasn’t about to pressure him. Last night he seemed so confident about it, but after seeing me open my other presents from other people, he didn’t look so sure anymore. He could’ve gotten me a straw he picked up from the ground and I’d absolutely love it, just because it was from him. I’d tell him this, but was afraid of sounding cheesy and embarrassing myself.

We were in the backyard, along with pretty much every other couple, slow dancing while everyone inside was grinding. I was surprised these rowdy teenagers didn’t already try spiking the drinks. The night sky was an absolutely beautiful shade of dark ocean blue and indigo. The only problem was the lack of stars. Living in a place like this is that there’s way too much light to do any star gazing.

“When are you going to give me my birthday presents?” I asked, resting my head on Drew’s chest as we slowly swayed to the music.

“Um...soon.”

“I know when you’re lying Andrew. Just give it, it’s almost midnight. My birthday’s almost over.”

I could feel his uneven breath and the tense nature of his body. He was in no way ready, but seriously, it would soon be midnight in a little less than an hour.

Breathing out a shaky sigh, Drew slowly nodded and pulled away from me, just a little.

“Fine, but if you hate it, can you not say it in front of me?”

“I’d never hate it, Drew. You got it for me and that’s all I really care about.” I mumbled, down-casting my eyes to not have to see his oh-so obvious smirk.

Sighing once more, Drew grabbed my hand and began making his way through the crowd, all the way out of the back gate and near the side of the house. Pulling out a set of keys I didn’t notice, he clicked a button and led me to what I now realized as his parents’ car.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m giving you your present so hush.”

I didn’t know where they we were going, but it was no longer in Beverly Hills. I trusted Drew too much to doubt my safety with him.

The farther away from the city we went, the darker the night sky seemed to get. Stars were finally shining in the sky and not too long after getting lost in the marvelous sight, Drew finally stopped the car and pulled into an empty clearing. Oak trees surrounded the entire area, but the sky was still visible from a small pathway without any trees.

“Are we star gazing?” I asked, allowing Drew to lead the way while I stared at the sky. This truly was extremely beautiful.

“Something like that...”

Drew and I laid on our backs and watched the sky for what felt like the longest time. Not in a bad way; I loved just being able to lie here and not think about anything. I don’t have to worry about people staring or disapproving looks, or wondering when mom was finally going to show up home.

From the corner of my eye, I would see Drew occasionally glance down at his watch and frown. Did he not want to be here? Is this boring him? It probably is, not a lot of people (teenage boys in general) really like doing this. We should probably leave.

“Alright, it’s five to twelve.” He finally said, rising up from the ground. Does this mean he wants to leave? Oh well, at least he spent time with me.

“Alright,” Deep breath “Happy birthday.” He mumbled, searching through his pocket and pulled out a box wrapped in rainbow paper. I liked it already.

“If it’s expensive, you know you’re returning it right?”

A small smile snuck its way onto his face while he rolled his eyes and nodded nonetheless.

I took my time to individually rip the tape and stick them to the ground, then I carefully lifted the corners and gently lifted the box from the paper before folding it and placing it next to me for later. If only I treated my room with this much care. Drew was growing impatient.

“Does it take you this long to open your presents at Christmas? The fun is in the ripping!”

“Shut up and let me enjoy the moment.

Laughing lightly to himself, Drew scooted over until he could rest his head on my shoulder.

Pulling the lid off of the small box, an unexpected gasp rose from my throat and unwanted tears pooled from my eyes.

“You hate it don’t you?” Drew’s voice was muffled by my sweater.

How could I possibly hate something like this? I don’t care that it most likely costs a fortune...I don’t know what to say. Sitting nice and snug in the box underneath cushy foam was a simple gold, circle necklace with a single closed letter pendant nestled on in the middle of said open circle. There also happened to be a small bow on top on the pendant, held to the necklace by a diamond. I knew for a fact that the necklace had to be extremely expensive, but I didn’t care. Engraved on the circle just happened to be a message. Nothing long or fancy, just four words that had tears streaming down my cheeks: ‘Something to live for’. Why does he have to be so cheesy and make me cry like this? Now I really am the girl.

“I’m sorry if it sucks.”

How does this suck? It’s the best gift anyone’s ever given to me. He’s most likely not going to believe me if I were to tell him though (because let’s face it, he’s Drew), so I’ll take initiative for once in my life...and show him.

Sucking in what little self esteem I managed to keep, I shuffled away from Drew, ignoring the hurt on his face and took his face in my hands. Not bothering to wait for maybe a little signal or doubt, I lightly pressed my lips to his in what was my thank you.

I was generally surprised when I felt equal pressure pressing against my own. This isn’t a mistake.

Fuck butterflies and fireworks; the Disney castle just exploded in my gut, setting the dragons loose. It was bliss!

This is easily the thing I see myself doing most in the future.

Drew’s lips fit perfectly on mine, moving perfectly in sync. No tongue was involved, it wasn’t needed. I was flying, carefree, perfect; we could’ve been in an active volcano and I know I wouldn’t care. This is my heaven.

Pulling apart, Drew kept his hands on my cheeks, resting his forehead to mine and fluttering his eyes open.

“I love it.” I mumbled, too lost in the moment to care if that was really what I said.
Pressing one last kiss to my lips, Drew pulled away, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Here comes the perverseness.

“That wasn’t even you entire gift. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do to me for the next one.” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Why must you always ruin a moment like this?”

“Because you just walk into them and I can’t say no to my mind.”

“I’m kind of afraid of this second gift of mine.”

Drew smiled and pulled me onto his lap, staring up at the sky.

“You’re not getting it yet.”

I smiled, content. I just kissed Andrew Connelly. Can someone’s life get any better than this?

“You want to name me those constellations again?”

On our first date when Drew and I went to the beach after dinner, I pointed to him when the constellations were supposed to be. We couldn’t see them, but he seemed genuinely interested.

“You can’t see some of them from here, but they’re all there. There’s Taurus and Gemini and the little dipper and...” I continued naming all of the constellations I knew, pointing in their general direction and stopped when I got the big dipper. It was by far my favorite constellation. Don’t ask why because I really don’t know, but it’s just great. It’s not the prettiest or anything, but it’s my special one and there was this one star inside of it. It was one of the brightest ones to me. Right near the center, it always shined; it was the only one I ever wished upon.

“Why’d you leave you the big dipper? I thought that your favorite one.” Drew pressed his face into my hair and swayed from side to side.

“It is, I was just thinking about it.”

“Okay. Why do you like it so much?” I shrugged because I really had no answer. “Just because? Want to know what my favorite is?”

“You don’t know anything about constellations, Drew; you told me so yourself.” I chuckled. Anything higher than two feet over his head, Drew was clueless about.

“Yeah, well I did my research and found one. It’s the most beautiful one.”

“Cassiopeia? A lot of people think it’s the most beautiful one; I personally don’t see it, but...whatever floats your boat.”

He chuckled and pulled me closer, if possible.

“No, that one, right there.” I followed his finger to my star, the one in the big dipper.

“Copycat! That was my favorite star before you.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “Plus, that’s only a star, not a constellation stupid.” I giggled.

“I still think it’s the most beautiful; it has the most beautiful name.”

Since when did that star have a name? Last time I checked it was just a star.

“It doesn’t have a name, it’s just a star.”

“You must not know so much about your constellations as you thought you did. It just so happens to have a name, a wonderful one. The one I love the most.” He mumbled.

“You’re lying, it doesn’t have a name. It’s just a star in the big dipper. That’s my favorite, I think I would know.”

“Really?” He asked in fake surprise. “Because according to this,” Drew sat up a little and pulled out a neatly folded letter from his jean pocket and unfolded it in front of me. “...It says that someone, somewhere on this planet seems to have taken it and named it after…is that your name?.” Oh my god...

“You bought me a star?”
The tears that welled in my eyes spilled as I read the deed that just so happened to have my name on it. He bought me a star.

“I’d buy you the sky.”

What can I possibly say? What can I possibly do? Wh- He bought me a star. He bought me my star...

Turning on his lap, I buried my face in Drew’s chest and held him as tight as my little self could.

“I take it you’re pleased.” He chuckled.
This is the best birthday ever. I don’t give a damn if you tell me that your birthday was better than this because you’re lying. This is the best birthday anyone could ever hope to ever have. I don’t care that it’s already passed midnight and therefore the end of my birthday, this is just...I’ve never felt so much emotion bubble up in me before in my entire life.

“I love you.” I whispered, tears slowing to a stop.

I waited patiently, either I’d get an answer or I wouldn’t. He could either say or not say what would change my entire future. He could–

“I love you too Dane...more than I could ever say.”