If You Only Knew

Kaley's POV

"Wakey, wakey, Leah!" I called out as I pushed open her door. In my hands, I carried a tray with bacon, eggs, and hash browns on it.

"Mmmm," Leah smiled, inhaling deeply as she rolled over and sat up. She rubbed her sleep-filled eyes as I sat the tray down on her lap.

"Happy Birthday, Leah!" I said as I sat down beside her.

"Breakfast?" she asked, her voice still heavy with sleep.

"Well, since you didn't really let me do anything yesterday... no, toast doesn't count," I cut her off before she could say anything. "Well, I thought I'd make you breakfast in bed, since it is your birthday and all."

"Aww, well that was nice of you," she smiled, picking up a piece of bacon and biting into it. As if on cue, my stomach growled to remind me that there was still another plate sitting in the kitchen for me.

"I'll be right back," I said, getting up and heading back to the kitchen.

When I entered the kitchen, the first thing that I noticed was my phone on the counter. The light signaling that I had a text was lit up. I smiled as I picked it up and flipped it open. It was from Chris.

Chris: Everything is all set for operation payback :p

Me: Good :) Thank you so much for doing this. You're such a good sport.

Chris: I don't mind :) Leah is so much fun to be around. I don't mind in the slightest doing this ;p

Me: Haha she's going to freak! I gotta get back to her before she starts to suspect something. See you in a little! :-p

Chris: Haha alright sounds good :)

I closed my phone and slid it into my pocket and, picking up my plate of food, I returned to Leah's room.

"Took you long enough!" she teased as she scooped a spoonful of eggs into her mouth.

"Sorry, Princess," I rolled my eyes at her. "I didn't realize that I was on such a strict schedule. I happen to like taking my time."

"Yeah, I know," she rolled her eyes at me this time.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Well, you sure are taking your sweet time with Darren..." she replied teasingly.

"I'm going to spit in your food next time," I threatened as I stuffed a piece of bacon into my mouth. "Nothing is happening between me and Darren!"

"Sure it isn't," she just laughed.

"It isn't!" I grumbled, ditching my plate on her vanity as I stormed out of her room and headed back to my own room. With a heavy sigh, I flopped face down onto my bed. As much as Leah insisted and I wished that it was true, I couldn't help but deny that there was anything going on between us except friendship.

I felt like I was on a constant emotional roller coaster with my feelings. One moment, it felt like maybe I could have a chance with Darren, and the next, I'd be in denial of anything being able to happen between us.

Sometimes it just hurts too much to hope, I sighed, burying my face in my pillow.

My phone suddenly vibrated beneath me and my heart skipped a beat at the thought that it might be Darren. I quickly pulled out my phone, but found that it was not from him.

Leah: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just teasing. Forgive me? :/

Me: *sigh* Yes, I forgive you. I love you too much to stay mad at you <3

Leah: That's my girl :) We'd better getting moving. It's heading to 11 and Chris wants me to meet him at 11.

Me: Chris finally texted you? And see? I told you he wasn't mad! You worried for nothing. (ps last minute much?)

Leah: I don't know :s He said we need to talk. He sounded... Serious :s (and hey I just woke up and got his text now!)

Me: I'm sure it's nothing serious :) It's Chris. He can't be mad at you (and alright, get moving then! I'm already showered)

Leah: I hope so... (and ok, give me five and I'll be ready)

Me: Ok. Oh and Leah?

Leah: Ya??

Me: Stop texting back and get moving! :-p

Leah: XP

Me: You know you love me.

I waited a minute and after receiving no reply, I knew that she was off getting ready. With a smile I sent one more text.

Me: Get ready, Chris. We're leaving in 5 :-p

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darren's POV

"Please, Darren, let's work this out," her voice was quivering, which was something that used to make me give in and do what ever she wanted. But not anymore.

"No, Vanessa," I huffed into my phone. "I told you, we're done. That's it. No more getting back together just so that I can turn around and have you cheat on me behind my back again!"

"But it was a mistake, Dare Bear," she whined. The sound irritated my ears.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped. Now that we were through, I was not afraid to speak my mind to her.

"Don't ever call me that ever again!" I continued, my anger building. "I'm not a freaking Care Bear! You want to know what? I always hated when you called me that. It always made me feel like you were belittling me, which I guess you kind of were. You made me feel like crap just so that you could feel better about yourself. Well, not anymore. When I said that we were through, I meant it. And unlike you, I actually keep my word. Goodbye, Vanessa."

I didn't wait for her to respond. I just hung up on her. I knew that she must be boiling mad by now, but I honestly didn't even care anymore. We weren't together anymore, so her happiness was no longer of my concern.

"You okay?" her voice asked softly from behind me. I smiled as I turned towards her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Kaley," I smiled. "What's up?"

"Wanna watch something fun?" she asked, smiling mischieviously.

"Ok..." I cocked my head to the side, slightly suspicious.

"Come with me," her smile grew wider as she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway. She stopped outside of the black box and put a finger to her lips, signaling that I should be quiet. I nodded, extremely curious now.

She stepped inside the door slightly, pointing at something. Her eyes lit up as she stared into the room. I quickly stepped up beside her and looked into the room, eager to see what had excited Kaley so much. What I saw made my jaw drop to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaley's POV

It could not have gone more perfectly. After parting from Leah once we had entered the theatre, I had quickly run to grab Darren to join him in on the fun. We reached the black box just in time to see Chris jump out of a giant cardboard cake in front of Leah. She squealed, half from surprise and half from excitement.

"Happy Birthday, Leah!" Chris nearly yelled as he tackled her into a hug.

"Oh my gosh, you are such a jerk!" she laughed. "I thought that you hated me!"

"Never!" he laughed, a smile spreading across his face. Leah suddenly caught sight of me and turned towards me, pointing at me accusingly.

"You were behind all of this, weren't you!" She was stating the question rather than asking it, since she already knew what the answer was.

"Behind all of what?" I asked innocently. She just glared at me before Chris turned her attention back on him.

"So when I asked what you would want for your birthday, I was told that there was only one thing that I could possibly give you to make this the greatest birthday that you've ever had," Chris told her.

"Oh?" Leah replied, glancing back at me to give me a questioning look. I just shrugged at her, though I already knew what it was. "And what would that be?"

"This," he smiled, suddenly placing his hands on either side of her face and planting a kiss right on her lips. When he pulled away from her, I nearly burst out laughing at her expression.

Her eyes were anime huge, wide with shock and disbelief, and her mouth dropped open as soon as Chris pulled away. Her lips suddenly started to move, as if she was trying to say something, but nothing came out.

"Happy Birthday, Leah!" Chris just smiled. Leah's cheeks suddenly started to turn red and she quickly ducked her head to hide her face, a reaction that I would normally have.

"What'd I do?" Chris asked, looking at me, puzzled, as we stepped farther into the room. "That's what you said she wanted, right?"

"Wait, you told Chris that Leah wanted him to kiss her?" Darren spoke up suddenly from beside me. I turned to look at him and found that he had had a very similar reaction to Leah's. His mouth was still hanging open slightly, his eyes still wide.

"Yeah... Chris, I, uh, kinda forgot to mention that she's never been kissed before," I said sheepishly, ducking my head slightly, waiting for his reaction.

"She hasn't?!" both boys gasped. I quickly glanced over at Leah and it looked like she just wanted to disappear.

Good job, Kaley, I inwardly scolded myself. Way to embarrass her on her birthday.

"Yeah, well, I thought that her first kiss should be special," I tried to cover my tracks, partly ignoring the guys' comment. "And who better to be kissed by than the man that we have both idolized for years."

"Me?" Chris asked, pointing to himself.

"Of course," I smiled. "Who else? Chris, I don't think that you've realized just how much of an impact you've had on so many people's lives, ours included. You're kind of our hero."

"Aww, that's sweet," he smiled, walking over and hugging me. "You guys are too sweet."

"You are too sweet for doing that for me," I smiled back. "For her." I looked back over at Leah who was still hiding her face behind her hands.

Great, I thought. I've mortified her!

"Leah?" Chris tentatively walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that without asking."

"Are you kidding?" her muffled voice came from inside Chris' embrace. He pulled away and we could all see a now beaming Leah. "I think that was the best first kiss that I could possibly ever have!" She turned towards me suddenly. "Though I'm still going to kill you for this."

I quickly ducked behind Darren and whispered, "Save me!" in his ear.

He just laughed and said, "Of course", putting his arm back around me protectively, slightly pressing me closer to him. I felt my heart skip a beat as my body gently pressed against his back.

"What's going on in here?" a familiar voice asked sharply from behind me. We all turned around to face a very suspicious Ryan.

"It's Leah's birthday," Chris found his voice first, being the most comfortable around Ryan.

"Another birthday?" he said inquiringly, glancing back and forth between Leah and me.

"Born two days apart," I managed to sputter, not fully sure if it even made sense. After a minute, Ryan slowly nodded.

"Alright, but you should all get back to work now," he said, turning away.

"Yes, Sir," Leah and I unintentionally spoke in unison, trying hard not to break out laughing afterwards as we realized what we had done.

"Well, I guess that we should go get ready," Chris sighed, turning and heading for the door. "We'll see you guys later!"

"See you later, Kales!" Darren smiled at me. "And Happy Birthday, Leah!" And with that, he turned and followed Chris out the door.

My stomach was doing crazy flip flops.

"Kaley?" Leah called my attention back to her. I slowly turned back towards her.

"He called me Kales," I said softly.

"What?" she asked, not quite catching what I said.

"He called me Kales," I repeated. "You're the only one who ever calls me that."

And my heart suddenly did that annoyingly painful thing where it got hopeful again.

Dang it.