Even the Sun Sets in Paradise

That Friday was the day before my birthday. Ellis had told me he would be picking Mel and I up from school two hours early which confused me, but also made me super excited. The suspense was killing me. I spent the whole day begging Mel to tell me what the surprise was but she refused. The only thing that still bothered me was the thought of Layton not being there. I felt stupid for letting it bother me way more than it should, but I couldn’t help it. He meant the absolute world to me and since this was the first good birthday I’d had in years, I wanted it to be perfect.

When one thirty finally arrived, I couldn’t wait to get out of school. I pretty much dragged Mel along the corridors, although she was just as excited as I was to be honest, which only made me want to know more.
“Okay, so you guys can tell me what the surprise is now,” I sighed as we got into the car.
“Not yet,” Ellis smirked and I was certain they were doing it purposely to wind me up now.
“Come on guys,” I pleaded.
“Soon,” they promised, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could wait.
Thankfully, the drive home wasn’t long and when I got in, I found Rowan, Cyrus and to my surprise, Layton, sitting in the kitchen stuffing their faces as usual.
“Why are you guys here?” I asked, unable to stop smiling because of the fact Layton was here. I wasn’t even sure why I was so happy to see him; I just knew I had missed him a lot. Before I had the chance to escape, all three of them ran towards me and engulfed me in a huge group hug.
“Yeah I’m happy to see you guys too but tell me what the fucking surprise is!” I squealed.
“Okay,” Layton sighed, “Basically, this weekend...we’re all going…to Paris!”
My lips curled into a smile, and I felt my stomach bubble with excitement. Paris was one of my favourite places in the entire world. I'd wanted to go since I was a kid.
“Oh my God, what? All of us?” I cried.
“Yep.”
“Even you?” I asked Layton.
“Of course, you retard,” he smirked, “You didn’t think I’d miss my best friend’s birthday, did you?” I laughed as he pulled me into another hug, once again leaving butterflies in my stomach. I kept my arms tightly around his neck, probably for longer than I should have.
“Jenz, you’re gonna have to let go,” he laughed, “We’re leaving in half an hour so you need to pack.”
“Are you guys serious?” I cried.
“Would we lie to you?” Rowan asked. I squealed with excitement, hugging and thanking everyone before rushing upstairs to pack.

“Did we do good then?” Cyrus asked as he pushed open the door to my room.
“Yes, thank you so much,” I grinned, giving him another hug.
“Jeez, what’s with the hugging?” he laughed.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologise,” he frowned, rolling his eyes and laughing as he ruffled my hair.
“Okay, I’m all packed I think.”
“Good,” he smiled, picking up one of my bags and taking it downstairs. I was so excited I could barely think straight. It was weird to think how much my life had changed in the past few months. I remembered my first impressions of everyone; how I thought Layton was rude and obnoxious and that Cyrus was a total dickhead. If someone would have told me these guys would soon be my world, I would never have believed them.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here,” I squealed as we arrived at the hotel. The hotel was amazing. It was modern and we had a room near the top floor, meaning we could see all across the city from the window, including the Eiffel Tower. Mel and I were sharing a room, but since all the guys were being picky, they each had their own room. It was about six o clock by the time we’d settled in to our rooms, so we went for a walk to find somewhere to eat.
“So what are we all doing tonight?” Mel asked as we took our seats in a traditional French restaurant we had found. We spent the next half an hour arguing over what to do after dinner, but eventually decided Mel and I would go to the Louvre whilst the guys went out to the local nightclubs. I didn’t mind the guys going out to have some fun, as long as I didn’t have to see them completely off their faces, and Ellis promised me he wouldn’t let them get too drunk anyway. Besides, the Louvre wasn’t really their kind of thing after all.

“Happy birthday!” everyone cheered as I opened my eyes the next morning.
“Thanks,” I sighed, groaning as I sat up in bed.
“Presents!” Mel squealed.
“Presents? I thought Paris was my present.”
“Well yeah, but we have a few others aswell,” she grinned, throwing a large wrapped present towards me.
“What’s this?” I asked her.
“Well maybe open it and you’ll find out, you retard,” Layton interrupted.
“I didn’t ask you!” I snapped jokingly, smiling as he rolled his eyes. Carefully, I unwrapped the paper to reveal a huge hamper full of things for the baby.
“It’s from all of us,” Mel smiled.
“Thank you guys,” I said, giving each of them a hug.
“Look there’s some clothes and a photo album and a bottle,” she explained.
“Aww, it’s adorable,” I grinned, placing the hamper gently next to the bed. Things like that actually made me super excited for the baby to arrive.

“What are we doing for dinner?” I asked as we arrived back at the hotel that afternoon.
“Well I was thinking since I still owe you dinner, just me and you could go out somewhere,” Layton suggested, looking nervously down at the ground. I laughed; it wasn’t like him to be nervous.
“You know you don’t really have to buy me dinner?” I smirked, feeling bad since he had already spent far too much money on me for my liking.
“I want to,” he told me. I felt butterflies in my stomach once again and I wondered why that was starting to become a common occurrence.