Wishes on Birthday Cake Candles

The coffee shop wasn't too far away from school. Anyone from my school could easily walk over to it after school. It was little, yet cozy. Bob locked the car and put his arm around my shoulder, walking into the coffee shop with me.

It was easy to spot out Mikey. He was sitting at a table beside a big window, his eyes shielded with some large sunglasses. We hurried over to him and took a seat. Bob put on a pair of his sunglasses also. I gave Mikey a tiny wave and stared out of the window.

"How was school?" Mikey asked me.

I shrugged. "Fine."

"Did that Brendon kid bug you at all?" Bob asked.

"No," I answered, sighing.

"Just asking," he muttered.

A short boy with gauged ears walked over to us, smiling. "Can I get you guys anything?"

"Yeah, three medium coffees, but one decaf," Bob said.

The boy nodded as he scribbled it down and cast us one last smile before hurrying off. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see more missed calls. There were four of them, all of them from Nate. I frowned and dialed his number quickly. He picked up right after the second ring.

"Ohmygod, Josie!" Nate screeched.

Mikey and Bob stared wide eyed at the phone. I excused myself and walked outside of the shop. Nate was talking wildly into the phone; I barely caught any words in it. Finally, I told him to stop and slow down.

"Why haven't you been calling us?" Nate asked calmly.

"I've been busy with school and stuff, sorry," I answered.

"I understand," Nate started. "But you might wanna call Lacy. She's been kinda, well, evil lately."

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully.

"She's just been getting into a lot of trouble at home and school. I think she's mad that you left," Nate replied.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'll give her a call."

"Okay. Well, I miss you a lot, Jose," Nate said.

"I miss you too, Natey Nate," I answered.

Nate chuckled and said goodbye. I hung up and right away dialed in Lacy's number. It took around four or five rings until someone finally answered. Surprisingly, it was her big brother.

"Yo," he answered.

"Mark, can I talk to Lacy?" I asked.

"Yeah, hold on."

I "held on" for a good five or ten minutes until I finally gave up. I cleared my throat.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you getting Lacy?" I asked bitterly.

"She isn't home."

I snapped my phone shut, groaning in anger. Mark was one of laziest people I had ever met in my entire life. I shoved my small silver phone into my pocket and walked back into the shop. My coffee was there waiting for me. I took a sip and gave Dad and Mikey a tiny smile.

"You alright?" Mikey asked.

I nodded. "Just had to call some of my friends back home."

Bob nodded. "Is everything okay with them?"

"Sorta," I mumbled, taking another drink of my hot coffee. It burned my throat, but it refrained me from talking too much.

Dad took the hint and dropped the subject. I knew he would ask me about it later, though. If not, Gerard would somehow find out and try to figure out what was going on. Still, I would rather just wait to tell anyone. Dad didn't need to deal with my drama with my best friend. It was my problem to deal with, not his.

The bell to the door rang. I turned around out of curosity and gasped. It was Lexi. She obviously heard the gasp and smiled at me. She hurried over, her blond hair bouncing on her shoulders.

"Hey, Josie!" she greeted.

"Hey Lexi," I replied, stumbling over my words.

"Hey, I'm Josie's dad," Bob said, waving at her.

"Hi," she answered, smiling brightly at him.

Lexi looked to the left and the smile was wiped off of her face. She asked if she could talk to me, so I nodded and followed her away from the table. I knew what she was going to ask, though. She obviously knew my family secret, now.

"I'm just making a guess," Lexi started. "But was that Bob Bryar?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That's really cool." she answered, smiling.

I frowned at her. Once again, she had surprised me. Not to be mean or anything, but I had guessed she would scream or act really fangirly. I was glad with this response, though.

"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" I told.

Lexi nodded. "Of course."

I smiled and waved goodbye to her. She returned the wave and went to go order. Bob smiled at me, his eyebrows raised.

"I'm guessing she knows?" he asked.

I nodded. "But I told her not to tell anyone."

Bob nodded. Mikey smiled at me and tossed his empty cup of coffee away. We stayed and talked for a while until Mikey said he had to go home. He leaned down and gave me a hug before leaving the small shop. I looked around to notice that Lexi wasn't there anymore. For some reason, I was relieved.

"Ready to go?" Dad asked me.

I nodded and got up. Bob put his arm around my shoulder once more and walked outside with me into the rather chilly Los Angeles air.

I just hoped that Lexi would really keep her promise.