Sara closed her eyes and made her wish. She blew out the candles.

Amid the clapping of her friends, she heard her cell phone ring.

She stepped away from the table and, grabbing her phone, checked the caller ID.

It was Kurt.

"Little Bunny! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" he said.

She ignored Charles's curious expression. He was helping Mr. Smith cut the cake.

"Kurt, hey," Sara said.

"So...you were never planning to tell me it was your birthday?" he asked. He sounded hurt.

Sara frowned. "Look, it's not something I really wanted to broadcast. And besides, the roses and bear you gave me yesterday are the best gifts any girl could ask for!"

Kurt was silent for awhile. Finally he spoke. "Fine. Okay. But from now on, can you tell me these things in the future? Your birthday is important to me. You're important to me."

Guilt washed over her. He was right, of course. She never should have kept this from him. But he didn't realize that she really wasn't used to so many people needing to know all of these personal details about her life.

"Aren't you curious how I found out?" Kurt asked. His voice now had a bit of humor in it, to her relief.

"Okay, how?" Sara asked. She felt herself smile.

"Ella texted me," Kurt said.

For some reason, that made her feel more guilty than ever.

"I guess I expected you'd be back at Columbia already," she said.

She heard him clear his throat. He was likely in the process of combing his fingers through his hair at that exact moment.

"Nah, I'll head back tomorrow morning. My first class got cancelled anyway," he said.

Sara's parents had finished distributing cake to everyone and were now headed back into the house.

Charles walked over to Sara and pressed his ear up against her phone.

"Charles, quit it!" she laughed, pushing him away.

"There's a party going on, Buttercup. Who are you talking to?" Charles asked.

Before she could stop him, Charles snatched her cellphone from her hand.

"Sara's phone," Charles said. He held Sara easily back with one hand as she frantically tried to grab her phone from him.

"Uh, this is Kurt Mayor. Who's this?" Kurt asked.

Charles spun around to face Sara. His eyes practically bulged out of his head. He pressed the mute button on the phone. "Are you SERIOUS? You're seeing Kurt Mayor?" Charles asked, exasperated.

"That's none of your business," Sara snapped. She made another grab for her phone, but Charles kept his arm outstretched, making it impossible for her to get close to him.

He unmuted the call. "Well, well," Charles said into the phone. "Didn't know you were seeing my sister. It seems she has a tendency to leave out important details of her life events."

Sara craned her neck, trying to hear what Kurt was saying. Alas, she couldn't make out the words.

Charles's face grew angry as he listened to Kurt. "I think you need to keep away from my sister, dirt bag. Don't think I can't find you. I know your local haunts."

Sara gave a small shriek. "Charles! Don't!" she said.

He ended the call and handed the phone back to her. "I can't believe you wouldn't tell me you were seeing Kurt Mayor, " Charles said.

Sara felt herself bristle. "I don't have to tell you everything about my life, Charles. Besides, Kurt's been really kind to me."

Charles scoffed. "Look, that guy's a tool. He has an agenda. If I were you, I'd get off it PRONTO."

Sara closed her eyes and opened them slowly. She had to remain composed. "You don't even know him!" she hissed.

Suddenly, Bentley appeared beside her. "Everything okay?" he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

Sara sighed. "Yeah. Charles was just getting on my case about...well...it doesn't matter."

Bentley's face grew solemn. He looked at Charles. "It was about Kurt, right?" he asked.

Charles, still irritated, nodded. He crossed his arms over his chest, not meeting Sara's gaze.

Bentley's mouth twisted to the side, thinking. "Look, man. I get it. I told Sara the same thing. But believe me, Kurt's been pretty good to her recently. You should've seen the flowers he gave her last night. You'd have been proud."

Sara felt as if her jaw was on the ground. She gaped at Bentley. Was he actually defending Kurt? And to her brother of all people?

Charles stuck out his lip. He was really stubborn. But he seemed to come around. He gave Bentley's shoulder a light punch. "All right. If you say so, I'll cut Buttercup, here, some slack. Especially since it's her birthday. I'm just being the over-protective older brother I am."

Bentley touched Sara's arm. "You doing okay? Think your friends want you to open their presents now." He pointed to a pile of gifts that were scattered across the table.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," Sara said. She heard her phone beep. Glancing at the screen, she saw Kurt had texted her.

-Your bro is quite the bulldog. Yale sure knows how to pick their mascots. NE way. HB. ~Kurt