***AUTHORESS NOTES***

I have been waiting for forever to write this part!!!!!

This is a pinnacle in the story, definetely a turning point.

Mwahahaha.

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Chapter 35: Happy Birthday to Me

 
I woke up at eleven that morning, simply
because no one was there to awaken me. Nathan, Vicky, Zach and Sam were
all gone. On the morning of my birthday. Jerk, jerk, jerk and jerk. Evil
little buggers. 

Already in a bad mood, I got dressed and
decided to search Mossdeep. It seemed like a pretty little town. Very
sunny, and on the coast. It seemed like a place where I could live. 

But I was in thought as I walked along the
beach of Mossdeep. The gentle waves were lapping the shore and my
thoughts were of a certain boy who was my next-door neighbor. 

Ever since he had rescued me from my raft
on the way to Johto, my thoughts were a little more than friendly. Okay,
a lot more than friendly. It was deeper than anything I had previously
felt for him, or anyone else. 

Sickened and bored by my thoughts, I
headed down to the one place in Mossdeep I had not yet been: the space
center. 

When I got there, it was pure dark but I
realized the door was open. "Hello?" I called. "Is anybody here?"
Suddenly, the lights flipped on and I squinted. But as my eyes got used
the sudden burst, I was shocked at what I saw. 

The room was absolutely and completely
full. And towards the front of the crowd were my friends: Nathan, Sam,
Zach and Vicky. 

I felt tears blur in my eyes. "Happy
birthday, Jenn!" they all yelled and I knew the tears had spilt over. 

     "Oh my God, I'm so touched!" I cried and through my tears, I
blinked. A few people were becoming clearer in the crowder. And I could
not believe my eyes. 

     "Cole? Alexis? Sierra? Brittani? Amanda?" I asked disbelievingly.
And they all walked towards us. My friends from Johto. How... shocking. 

     And as it turned out, more than just my group from school was
there. Every last one of my ex-boyfriends that I ended on good terms
with (roughly, about fourteen out of fifteen, discluding Andrew
Holtzer). And my seventh grade class. 

      And the most unexpected one of all. Taylor Flora. 

      I almost didn't see him at first, but he was there, standing in
the corner with a wrapped package. I was so touched that he came that I
started to cry again. "Happy birthday," he told me quietly. 

     "Thank you. And thanks for coming." 

     "You really had no idea they were planning this?" Taylor looked
amused at the idea. 

     "No clue." He handed me the package then and began to walk off.
"Wait! Where are you going?" 

    "I'm in a room of people from our old school who know everything
about what happened between us. I don't belong here. But I wanted to
give you that. And tell you happy birthday. I'm glad you're safe." 

     "Thank you. And you know what? You're maybe not such a jerk after
all." 

     He grinned at me. "And you're not such a wimp. I realized recently
that you're a lot stronger than I thought." And he left me there. 

     I sat on a chair on the side of the room to think about the
conversation that I had just had. It was odd... Were me and Taylor going
to end up friends? Go figure. 

     Nathan sat down next to me. "What are you doing sitting over here?
You're supposed to be socializing!" he scolded gently. 

      "Thinking. I had an odd conversation with Taylor." 

      Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, you guys looked like you were getting
along. That is odd." 

      "Yeah, tell me about it, buddy." 

     "Hey, Jenn?" 

     "What, Nathan?" 

     "Do you think it's possible for us to be..." 

     "Be what? Pandas?" 

     "I'm being serious here! Do you think we would ever be... more than
friends?" 

     "As in going out?" 

     "Yes." 

     "Do you WANT to?" I asked him. My birthday is a good day for
unexpected talking, apparently. 

     "Well... yeah..." he said, blushing and I nearly dropped the Sprite
I was holding. 

     "Are you asking me out?" I cried. 

      "Kind of... Well, yeah." 

     "Yes! I say yes and I'm ecstatic about it!" 

     "Seriously?!" he asked, dropping his own can of soda. 

     "Yes!" 

      "Does this mean we're going out?" 

      "Yes! I hope so..." 

     "It does!" he said happily. "Hey everybody!" he yelled. "Jenn and I
are going out!" 

     A few boys glared at him but a lot of people cheered. 

My birthday is my favorite holiday.

      I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to everything else, but I
opened my presents, ate my cake and talked.

     But nothing else mattered as much either. I was now officially
going out with Nathan Pickens.