The Best Birthday

Kari looked around the coffee shop as she waited on some of her friends to show up. Today was her birthday, she was twenty. She wasn't looking forward to spending it alone. She had her friends, but this would be the first year since she had turned sixteen that she wouldn't have a boyfriend, or some sort of male companion to spend it with. She and her boyfriend of two years had just broken up, leaving her devastated. She didn't even want to celebrate her birthday, however her friends forced her into it.

She giggled when she saw her friend Whitney coming through the door, followed by Kayla and Jena. The three of them were all dating members of the band Avenged Sevenfold, which made Kari feelas if she was left out most of the time. Whitney had Zacky, Jena had Brian, and Kayla had Johnny. The couples were all adorable, and Kari was happy for her friends, but sometimes she wished she could have that same happiness.

"Hey birthday girl!" Whitney said, greeting her friend with a hug.

Kari smiled and chatted with her girlfriends for awhile. She frowned when she realized the three of them were up to something, especially when they asked her to come by Whitney and Zacky's place later tonight. They knew she didn't like huge parties, so she knew that wasn't a possibility. She wasn't big on social gatherings with a lot of people she didn't know. She had never really liked them, and her friends knew this.

"No party, right?" Kari sighed.

"Just a small get together," Kayla said, "Just us girls and the guys."

Kari groaned slightly, knowing that tonight she would feel left out. No one intended on her to feel that way but it was hard not to when you were surrounded by couples. She smiled and thanked her friends for doing this for her, even if she wasn't as excited as she was putting forward.

"So, I'll see you girls tonight then?" Kari asked.

"Tonight," The girls all said at once.

XXX

Kari groaned as she parked her car beside Zacky's and then climbed out, adjusting her black mini skirt. She had decided she was going to try to have a good time tonight, despite already feeling as if she was out of the loop. She had decided she was going to dress up and feel good about herself. She wasn't going to dwell on being alone this birthday. She was going to focus on the good things that had happened this past year, like finishing another semester of school, and moving forward from an asshole who cheated on her.

She walked inside the house and everyone jumped out, yelling surprise as colorful balloons were bounced around. She giggled, shaking her head at everyone. The only people present were the guys and her three girlfriends. She was actually surprised to see Matt Sanders there. He was usually too busy with his girlfriend to bother coming to the gatherings. She walked inside and hugged each of her friends, thanking them for having her a small gathering.

"So, how is the birthday girl doing?" Brian asked from beside Jena.

"Good," Kari laughed, "I just came from dinner with my folks."

Bottles of beer were passed around as everyone sat and bullshitted for a bit. Kari was surprised that she didn't feel left out this time around. Though, she wouldn't since Matt and Jimmy were both there and didn't bring dates along. She giggled as Jimmy came over and wrapped his arm around her, wishing her a happy birthday as he drunkenly placed his lips against her cheek.

Kari laughed as watched Zacky and Johnny wrestle around the floor. Whitney was yelling at them about being careful around the new glass table she and Zacky had just purchased. Shaking her head, Kari looked around and noticed Matt was missing. Frowning, she stood up and went to look for him, figuring he had already went home, but wanting to make sure.

She looked out on the balcony and frowned once more upon seeing him leaning against the banister. She walked out the sliding glass door, shutting it behind her. He turned around and gave her a half smile as he went back to leaning on the banister, looking up at the dark sky, counting the stars.

"Are you okay, Matt?" She asked.

Kari and Matt had been good friends since they had been introduced, though she knew Val wasn't her biggest fan for some reason. She didn't know why the blond didn't like her, but she just didn't. She didn't understand what she had done to make Val hate her so much. The woman had even came up to her one day and told her to stay the fuck away from her boyfriend, which confused Kari even more.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He muttered.

"You don't look fine," Kari frowned.

He chuckled softly, looking over at her, "I just have a headache from all the fighting."

"The fighting?" She asked, hoping she wasn't snooping too much.

"Val and I broke up earlier this week, and she seems to think that I didn't mean it."

Kari was a bit surprised when he told her they had broken up. The two of them had been together for quite some time, so to hear about a separation was quite a shock to her. She licked over her lips, wondering what had went wrong within the relationship. Val always seemed to happy with Matt, however he did seem upset a lot of the time. She would often catch them arguing about something.

"So, you and Val are over?" Kari found herself asking, her voice soft.

"Yep," he nodded, "I thought today would feel better, but she woke me up at five in the morning yelling, and tossing a key at my head."

Kari giggle, "You poor thing," She murmured.

Matt smiled, as he turned to look at her, "I got you a present, but it's at my house," he murmured.

"You got me a present?" She asked, confused. "You didn't need to get me anything, Matt."

"I wanted to," He smiled. "You wanna go open it?"

"Now?" She asked softly.

He nodded, "Now."

"Okay," She said, knowing that the others wouldn't miss her too much.

XXX

Kari walked into Matt's house behind him, her eyes going wide when she saw that then entire living room lit up in small candles. She turned around and saw a smile on Matt's face. She didn't know what was going on. Matt smiled as he walked forward. He had been wanting to kiss Kari for a long time, and the time had finally presented itself. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and slowly leaned down to press his against hers.

Kari was a bit shocked when his lips landed against hers, however it felt amazing. Her hands wrapped around his neck as he slowly backed her up. She found herself laying down on the couch as their lips and tongues continued to move with one anothers. She had pictured this moment for the longest time, but never dreamed of it actually happening. She had always thought Matt was out of her league, so to see him make a move on her, really made everything all that much better.

"Fuck," He breathed, pulling away from her, pressing his forehead against hers, "Sorry, Kar, I just, no never mind, I'm not sorry," He chuckled, "I've been wanting to do that forever."

She giggled, "Then why didn't you sooner?" She asked, running her hand over his head.

"Because I thought you were too good for me," He muttered.

She shook her head, "You're so silly," She said, leaning up to kiss him softly on the corner of his mouth.

"Be my girlfriend?" He asked softly.

She was a little bit cautious about what he was asking her. She knew Val would try to win him back, but she also knew that Matt was a man who stayed true to his woman. She had wanted him for a long time, so she decided to go for it. Life was about taking risk, and she was going to take one with Matt. She was going to make this the best birthday ever.

"Okay," She breathed, smiling as he leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled away, she grinned, "Best birthday ever," She giggled.