You Still Have All My Heart

Cassandra had the best time camping with the guys for the past two days. They did so many things that could never be done in the city. She had a blast and she decided from then on she would take more nature pictures because she couldn’t get over how beautiful nature was when it was untouched by man. Today was different though, Cass and Jenn were going to spend the day getting ready for her birthday party the next day. They were going to hit the grocery store to buy tons of snacks and to the liquor store to buy various types of alcohol for the party later. Jordan wasn’t going to help them prepare for the party since she had already left to go meet up with Austin. They were going to meet halfway in between Costa Mesa and Tempe and then Jordan was going to stay with Austin for the night and then bring him and Alan to Cass’s party the next day.Cassandra thought it was cute what Austin and Jordan had going on. She felt that Austin would be better for Jordan than Alex was. She was happy that Jordan had found someone like Austin. Cass didn’t think they were official yet but she had high hopes for them.

“Cass, are you ready to go?” Jenn asked her friend who was sitting on the couch staring at the wall.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Cass said breaking herself from her thoughts.

The two girls walked to Jenn’s car and got in and made their way to the nearest grocery store. They started walking around the store trying to find some of the things they needed.

“So, what exactly are we looking for?” Cass asked the brunette girl.

“Well, I was thinking of a couple bags of chips and pretzels for the party and then tomorrow before the party we could have cupcakes for you!” Jenn told her friend.

“That actually sounds really nice. I didn’t want anything too big so that sounds perfect,” Cass said with a smile.

The girls picked out some of Cass’s favorite snack foods and put them in the cart. They also picked out a few different types of sodas and juices to mix with the alcohol. Once they were done picking out the stuff they needed they were in a checkout lane when Cass heard a familiar voice.

“Uhh, sorry, but I don’t need this anymore,” the person said. Cass saw the person in front of her handing a bag of chips back to the cashier. The dirty blonde hair of the man looked very familiar.

“Jason?” she asked the man in front of her.

He turned around when he heard his name being called and was surprised to see Cass standing behind him.

“Cass? Is that really you? What are you doing down here?” Jason asked her in surprise.

“Jordan and I took a vacation and we came down here. What are you doing?” Cass asked.

“I have family down here. I come for a couple weeks every summer to visit them,” he explained.

“Well, this is weird,” Cass said. She couldn’t believe that Jason was down here as well. The last time she had seen him was the dreadful night when she cheated on Zack.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you again. I’m sorry to cut this short but I need to get back, I’ll see you tomorrow at your party,” Jason told her.

“Really? How did you know about it?” Cass asked him.

“John and I go way back,” Jason said with a smile. He started pushing his cart out the door and waved one last time. Cass waved back at him with a smile on her face.

“So, how do you know Jason?” Jenn asked the blonde girl after he left she had also started to load some of their items onto the conveyer belt to be bought and bagged.

“We went to high school together and became friends. He’s also from Baltimore,” Cass explained helping her friend unload the cart.

“Ohhh, I see,” Jenn said understanding the situation. “Is that all you are? Just friends with him?” Jenn asked sensing more was between the two.

“Well, I’ve never dated him if that’s what you’re asking,” Cass told her friend.

“Have you slept with him?” Jenn asked.

Cassandra didn’t say anything for a minute; all she did was unload the rest of the cart which answered Jenn’s question.

“So you have…does Zack know?” Jenn asked her friend.

“Well, he knows since I only slept with him when we were broken up,” Cass said quietly getting her wallet out of her purse to pay for the food.

“Well then that’s good,” Jenn said with a smile getting out her store membership card to give to her friend.

“But you know how I said it was all my fault when we broke up?” Cass asked her friend.

“Yeah,” Jenn said wondering where she was going with the question.

“Do you have a store card?” the cashier asked them after all of the items had been scanned. Jenn handed the lady the card connected to her keys and the cashier took it and quickly scanned it and handed it back to Jenn. “It will be $49.32,” the lady told the two girls. Cass handed her a fifty dollar bill and the cashier put the money in the register.

“Keep the change,” Cass told her when she saw her taking out some of the coins. The two girls put the bags into their cart and walked out of the store. “Well, do you wanna know what I did to make him break up with me?” Cass asked her when they were loading up the car.

“Well, of course I do, that is only if you’re willing to tell me,” Jenn said to her friend taking bag and putting it in the trunk.

“I, uh, cheated on him,” Cass whispered putting the last bag in the trunk.

“What?” Jenn asked her friend thinking that she had hadn’t heard correctly.

“I cheated on him,” she repeated.

“You cheated on him?” Jenn asked in disbelief.

Cassandra just nodded in response.

“Don’t tell me you did it with…” Jenn trailed off.

Cassandra nodded again.

“Wow, when did this happen?” Jenn aside her friend, her eyes still on the road in front of her.

“At a party,” Cass answered quietly, ashamed that she even did such a thing.

“That’s what I thought. Well, I think you should tell Zack when you guys talk. You should get everything out in the open and be honest with him. It’s better for him, you, your relationship,” Jenn advised her.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. I just hope that he doesn’t change his mind when I tell him,” Cass mumbled.

“I’m sure he won’t darling. You just have to be honest with him,” Jenn said to her friend with a smile. Cassandra smiled back and the ride back was silent.

When they got back to Jenn and Garrett’s house they put away groceries that they bought at the supermarket and went back out to get some decorations for the party. When the girls got back they saw all of the guys on the couch watching a movie and there was an unusual addition to the number of guys in the living room as well. Cass noticed that Jason was sitting in the room with all of the guys which she felt was kinda weird. She and Jenn decided to join the guys in the room. Jenn cuddled with Garrett and buried her head in his chest when the scary parts happened. They were such an adorable couple. Cassandra just sat on the floor next to Pat and enjoyed the movie.

After a couple hours the movie finally ended and the guys decided to watch another movie. They seemed to be in the middle of a movie marathon. Cass was starting to get quite tired and it seemed like Jenn was to, with the way she was leaning on Garrett with her eyes closed. Cass smiled at their cuteness and retired to her bedroom. She changed into her pajamas and crawled into the bed and was quickly greeted with sleep.

The next morning Cass woke up to the sound of a breaking dish. She quickly got out of bed to make sure everything was alright. She ran into the kitchen, prepared to see dishes smashed on the floor and someone bleeding immensely but instead she saw Jenn and all of the guys in the kitchen cooking. There was a broken plate on the ground but that was quickly cleaned and they went back to work. Cass couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had never seen the guys cook anything in her life so this was a first. They didn’t seem to notice her walk into the room and sit down at the table.

“Cass is going to love this,” Pat said with a smile while stirring a bowl of an unidentified mix.

“Yeah, she’s going to be so surprised,” Kennedy said with a smile.

“Who knew we could actually pull this off?” John added while putting something in the oven.

“Hopefully she doesn’t wake up soon. We’re nowhere near done,” Jenn told the guys with a frown in her face.

“Don’t worry baby, we’ll pull this off. Cass will love you even more when she finds out what you’re doing for her,” Garrett comforted his girlfriend.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Jenn replied and went back to preparing breakfast. Cass just sat silently at the table admiring all of the hard work they were putting into making her morning special.

“Uhh, I hate to burst your bubble Jenn but it seems as if the birthday girl has already made her entrance,” Jared informed Jenn when he realized Cass was in the room.

“Seriously?” Jenn asked. She turned around and was greeted with Cassandra’s presence. “Awww, this sucks. Cass! You aren’t supposed to be awake yet!” Jenn told her friend, flustered.

“I’m sorry to ruin your plans Jenn but I was woken up by a smashing sound so I came down to see what was wrong,” Cass told her friend sheepishly.

“See Ken, I told you she would wake up since you dropped the plate,” Pat scolded the guitarist.

“Hey, I’m sorry! The plate was slippery with butter, I couldn’t help it,” Kennedy defended.

“It’s fine guys really. You didn’t have to do all of this for me,” Cass said.

“No Cassandra, we did. It’s your birthday and you’re turning twenty four. This is reason for celebration and we wanted to make it the best birthday yet,” Jenn said to her friend.

“Jenn seriously, you didn’t have to do all of this,” Cass repeated.

“We wanted to though Cass,” Jared said to her with a big smile on his face.

“Yeah, now go back up the room and get dressed. Put on some makeup and take as long as you need. Nobody’s going to be rushing you today and I guarantee that by the time you come back down there will be a large and lavish brunch waiting for you,” Pat told his friend.

“Are you sure?” Cass asked unsure if she should do what they say.

“YES! Now go!” Kennedy told her pushing her towards the door.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Cass replied while chuckling. She walked back up to the bedroom that had her things and picked out a cute outfit. She then went into the bathroom, took a shower and put on some make up. She took longer than usual getting ready since she didn’t want to ruin their surprise again. She checked her phone to find a voicemail from Jordan. She must have called while she was showering. She listened to it and smiled when she heard her friend’s familiar voice.

“CASS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL! I’m sorry I’m not with you right now but I’m getting you the best birthday present as we speak, well I speak. I know that I left without a real explanation but I just needed to get of there. You understand right? Anyway I’m so glad that we met each other in high school. I literally can’t imagine my life without you. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for and I’ll definitely be back in time or your party. I love you so much. I’m going to hand this over to the guys since they’re trying to grab the phone from my ear,” said Jordan. Cass couldn’t stop smiling. She loved her best friend so much and she was so grateful to have her.

“Hey Cass! It’s Austin and I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You’re finally twenty-four! Well, I hope you have an awesome day and we’ll see you later today. Love you!” Austin said into the phone.

“Cass? Hi, it’s Alan. I just wanted to say happy birthday and that I can’t wait for tonight. I’ll see you at the party. I know we said that there wouldn’t really be anything serious between us since you’re going back to Maryland in a couple days and that you were trying to get over Zack but I really need to talk to you. I’ll talk to you at the party? I miss you. Bye,” Alan said softly.

Cass couldn’t believe the wonderful people she had met on this vacation. She saved the voicemail and headed downstairs since she felt she spent more than enough time upstairs.

“Am I allowed to come in?” Cass asked when she was close to the kitchen.

“Yeah, come in!” Kennedy replied from the other room. Cass slowly walked into the room and was immediately greeted with a wonderful aroma. She looked around the room and saw everyone in party hats and smiling at her.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASS!” they all yelled in unison.

Cassandra just looked at them all with their hats on and had the biggest smile on her face. She walked over to them and hugged every one of them, thanking them for being there for her and for putting the time in to prepare this for her. It meant so much to her. After all of the hugs and kisses they all sat down to enjoy Cassandra’s birthday brunch. They joked and laughed with each other and celebrated. When they finished eating Jenn and the guys cleared the table and cleaned the dishes in record time.

“Wow, I’m impressed you got them to do all of this stuff,” Cass told Jenn when after witnessing the boys in action.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure they were actually going to do it myself but they pulled through,” Jenn said with a smile. “Now, you stay here and we’ll be right back,” Jenn told the birthday girl. Everyone left the room and left Cassandra there, sitting in the chair she was assigned since it had balloons tied to it. They were all back in a couple of minutes and they were carrying presents.

“Now it’s time for Cass to open her presents!” Pat cheered when they were all in the room. They put all of the presents down on the table in front of her.

“Guys, really, you didn’t have to,” Cass told them when she saw all of the presents.

“No, Cass, we did. Really,” Jenn told her. “Now, let’s start opening them up!” she cheered.

Cass grabbed the closest present towards her and saw that it was from Kennedy. She opened it and was surprised to see a new lens for her camera along with a fancy new strap for her to hook onto it.

“Kennedy thank you so much. Really,” she said when she saw the presents. She got out of her seat and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back and smiled.

“It’s nothing really. I didn’t really know what to get you so I decided on something practical,” he told her with a shrug of the shoulders.

“Well, I find practical things the best,” Cass told him with a smile. She opened the rest of the presents and thanked her friends for all of their thoughtful gifts and for the time they spent on her.

“Well, it’s not over,” Jenn told her friend when Cass finished opening her presents.

“There’s more? Really? Wait, the party? When is it going to start?” Cass asked.

“Yes there’s more and it’s not the party, which starts at nine by the way,” Jenn said answering her friend’s question.

“Then what is it?” Cass asked wondering what more could be done.

“It’s cupcake time!” Jenn said with a huge smile and she pulled out a tin of frosted cupcakes from the oven. They were beautiful. They were yellow cake with chocolate frosting and they had little sprinkles on top.

“They’re beautiful!” Cass exclaimed when she saw them. Jenn smiled and made room on the table for them. “Before we eat we have to sing,” she reminded everyone.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CASSANDRA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!” they all sang to her. When they were done Cassandra was smiling from ear to ear. She was having a great birthday so far and she was sure that it would only get better.

“Let’s eat!” Garrett exclaimed when they were done singing. They all grabbed a cupcake and started eating them. The guys ate theirs in a bit or two and the girls took their time. They were delicious.

“Jenn, have you ever thought of being a baker?” Cass asked her friend after she finished her cupcake.

“It would be fun but then I wouldn’t be able to enjoy their tours. I’d be stuck at the shop baking when really I’d want to be with the guys and helping them live their dream. So, yes, I’ve thought of it but right now that’s not what I want to do. Maybe I’ll think about it when the band slows down and the guys start to settle down,” Jenn answered.

“I understand. It must be nice to be with Garrett when they’re on tour,” Cass said.

“Yeah, it is. I can make sure he doesn’t do anything he shouldn’t do,” Jenn teased her boyfriend.
Cassandra giggled a little and took another cupcake from the tin to enjoy. Once all of the cupcakes were gone, Kennedy and Jared had to leave since they promised their girlfriends that they would spend time with them that afternoon but they promised that they would be at the party later that day.

“So Cass, what do you want to do?” Pat asked the birthday girl.

“I don’t know, what are you guys in the mood for?” she asked her friends.

“Well, if you don’t mind I’m going to call Jordan and see what time she’ll be coming back. I’ll see you guys later,” John excused himself.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Tell Jordan I said hi and thank you for the voicemail,” Cass told the lanky man.

“Yeah, no problem,” John said and she took out his phone and left the room.

“Awww, shit. I forget to get streamers and stuff for the party later. Sorry Cass but I need to get them. I’ll be right back, Garrett do you want to come?” Jenn asked her boyfriend.

“Sure, we’ll be right back. Happy birthday Cass,” Garrett told her and they left the room.

“And then there were two,” Pat said when they were left in the kitchen.

“Yup, so what do you feel like doing?” Cass asked her friend.

“I don’t know, you’re the birthday girl, what do you want to do?” Pat asked her with a smile.

“Do you want to just take a walk?” Cass suggested.

“That sounds nice,” Pat answered.

The two of them walked out of the house and began their walk, talking about whatever came to mind. Cass was so happy she didn’t care what they were doing, she just wanted to spend this day with the people she cared about.