I open my eyes, happy to see Masons face next to me, fast asleep. He looks so peaceful.

I smile, grabbing my phone and heading downstairs slowly, not wanting to wake anyone.

I make a quick cup of coffee, getting some bread, bacon, eggs and sausage from the kitchen. I might as well make everyone breakfast.

As I place the bacon in the oven to crisp up, I hear footsteps. "Leah? What are you doing up? I was going to make you breakfast" Tara gasps seeing me heating up the sausage in a frying pan. "Surprise?" I question, laughing.

"Happy birthday sweetie" Tara laughs, pulling me into a hug. I smile, kindly accepting her embrace.

"Dammit Tara, she beat us to it" Jim whines seeing me cooking. "You guys do everything for me. Now shush up and stop complaining. Breakfast will be done soon" I smile. "Happy birthday Leah" Jim laughs, hugging me.

"Leah's making breakfast? That was your job mom" Ellie huffs walking into the kitchen with Brooks causing me to laugh. "Happy birthday Le" Brooks gives me a friendly hug, followed by Ellie tackling me. "Congratulations bįtch, you're 18. YOU ARE LEGALLL" Ellie screams immediately regretting her words.

Jim stares at her, "Elizabeth White" He says sternly causing her to apologize for her choice of words. I chuckle a little, finishing the bacon and eggs.

Ellie sets the table and I bring all the food over to it along with coffee and cups.

"I'm going to clean up real quick" I say as everyone begins eating, except Mason. He's still sleeping.

I grab the dirty dishes, scrubbing the food and grime off the pans. Cold hands come in contact with my bare hips causing chills to run across my body. "Happy birthday baby" Mason whispers in my ear. His voice still sleepy but much more attractive. He takes the time to pull my tank top down to cover my hips.

"Thank you" I answer, trying to finish cleaning. "I-um. I made breakfast, you should go eat. I'll be right there" I say, trying to ignore him leaving small kisses on my neck.

"Mm, in a little" He mumbles causing chills to shoot across my skin again and a small chuckle from Masons lips.

I turn around, in attempt to stop him. He shakes his head, placing his lips against mine, gently.

"Go eat" I say when he pulls away. He groans, kissing me on the cheek and walking to the table. I take a sip of my coffee, finishing up in the kitchen.

When I walk into the dining room there are balloons, a stack of gifts and Bella running around, a piece of bacon hanging out of her mouth. "Bella, give that to me" I say running after her. "Let her have it. Its a special occasion" He smiles, wrapping his arm around me.

"Leah, we're going out today. I'm stealing you from Mason. Let's go get dressed" Ellie says grabbing my hand causing a frown to fall on Masons face. "Can we all do something together?" I say looking at them both.

"Your choice Elle. Either we do something the four of us or you don't get Leah" Mason shrugs, crossing his arms. "Fine" She groans, leading me to her bedroom. Mason chuckles, winking at me.

What is that boy up to?

I shake my head, following Ellie into her room. "Can I pick out the outfit?" I question. She hesitantly agrees causing me to smile and tear through her closet.

I find the perfect sun dress. The winter is almost over and its Spring already so the weather is beautiful. I hold it up causing a smile to break on Ellie's face.

"Wear-" She starts causing me to stop her. "Shush, I have an idea" I say taking the dress into the bathroom and changing.

The dress is navy blue with white, red and pink flowers on it. I pair it with a cute denim jacket and some navy open toed high heeled booties.

Ellie smiles at my outfit, clapping her hands. "You look so cute" Ellie smiles, sitting me down to do my makeup. After she does my makeup, simple but very pretty, I curl my hair into loose waves.

After looking at myself in the mirror I smile. Not only at how I look beautiful, but because of the person I have become. I am no longer living in fear, I feel safe and thats the best feeling. I am renting a place with one of my best friends. My life completely turned around and I wouldn't have wanted anything different to happen.

Ellie smiles, getting changed herself. I smile down at the date on my phone. "I miss you" I whisper, smiling.

"Ready?" Ellie asks as she finishes her hair. She looks absolutely stunning. I smile, nodding.

"We are downstairs" Brooks calls, our heels clicking on the ground.

We walk into the living room, a huge smile spreading on Tara's face. "You look beautiful Leah" She smiles hugging me, rocking back and forth.

Mason stares at me, wide eyed for a while before hugging me tightly. "M-Mason, what are you doi-" I whisper until I realize what he is doing. "You dirty boy" I whisper into his ear, mortified. He chuckles, excusing us.

He grabs my hand, leading me upstairs. Oh, no.

"You look stunning Leah" He smiles, placing his lips on mine. "Why thank you" I giggle, kissing him on his cheek. "Now, not that I don't think you look amazing, but are you going to wear those batman pants out?" I laugh causing him to roll his eyes, pulling his shirt over his head.

I ogle him for a little. He grabs a shirt from his dresser. "Now that, that I would be okay with" I whisper to myself causing Mason to smile to himself. He definitely heard me.

He throws a dress shirt on and a pair of jeans, fixing his hair in the mirror. How badly I want to run my fingers through it. I shake my head, attempting to clear my head, taking a seat on the bed.

Mason sits next to me, taking my denim jacket off. "What are you-" I say before I get cut off with his lips on mine. "What is your deal today?" I laugh, taken aback by his actions.

He has never been this pushy and affectionate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.

"I don't know" He huffs, messing up his hair.

"Are you okay?" I ask, holding his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Theres nothing wrong but" He says looking away. "What? You can tell me Mas" I say, fixing his hair. "I know, I just don't know what is going on" He shrugs.

I really want to know what is going through his head.

I kiss him, catching him by surprise. If this is what he wants, I don't mind giving it to him. "I-" He says, leaning his forehead on mine. I look at him with curious eyes.

His eyes hold many emotions.

Love

Lust

Happiness

Trust

Excitement

Nervousness

I get even more confused. "Mason, whats wrong?" I ask, my stomach uneasy.

"I don't really know how to say this even though its not the first time-" Mason rambles, scratching his neck.

"Just say it" I say, cupping his cheeks. "Okay, Okay. Um. I-I love you Leah" He says causing my eyes to widen.

We've said it once before but that was different. He was trying to tell me that he cared about me and that I wasn't just a charity case. That was the only thing he could have said in such a meaningful way that would cause me to believe it. I had reciprocated my feelings then but that was the last time.

"Shįt" Mason curses, standing up. He pulls at his hair, pacing around his room.

"No, no Mason. I love you too. I do. It was just unexpected. I'm sorry. I love you" I stand up, rushing towards him.

Relief washes over his face at my words. "Thank God" He mumbles causing me to chuckle.

I laugh, kissing him, trying to prove my feelings to him. He gladly accepts the kiss, placing his hand behind my ear, deepening it.

"Okay, we are leave-Shįt" Aiden walks in, causing me to pull away, a frown forming on Masons flawless face.

"S-Sorry about that" I blush. "Nope, my fault" Aiden picks his arms up in defense. "I'm just happy thats what I saw and nothing else" He chuckles, causing me to blush even deeper.

Both Aiden and Mason laugh at my reaction, the sound of Masons laugh always turns my heart to goo.

"Happy birthday Le" Aiden smiles, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back, smiling.

The short time I've know Aiden, he has become a brother figure to me. He's helped me through so much and I'm happy to have met him.

"Alright, back away from my girl" Mason claps causing us to laugh.

Just because he's like my brother doesn't mean Mason gets any less jealous.

"Let's go, everyones waiting" Aiden points downstairs.

"Everyone?" I ask, turning to Mason.

"You'll see" He laughs, grabbing my denim jacket for me.

"Ohh, well I guess things got heated in there" Daniella smirks as I put my jacket on.

"No" I whine causing Mason to smirk again. "Mason cut it out" I screech, hitting his chest. "You're a violent one, huh?" He laughs causing me to frown. "You're a hörny one, huh?" I mimic him causing a wave of laugher.

"Have fun kids" Tara laughs as they walk out of the room.

"I see the way you've been looking at Leah" Ellie laughs, patting her brother on the shoulder.

"Eye räping?" Daniella questions, earning a laugh from Tim. "Practically" Brooks nods, causing both Mason and I's faces to redden. I look at him, causing a smile to break onto his face. He holds his arms out, knowing what I want to do. I burry my head in his chest, careful not to ruin his shirt or my makeup.

"Alright, lets go" Aiden claps his hands, ushering us into a bunch of cars. "I still have no idea where we are going" I whine as we drive. Its me, Mason, Ellie, Brooks and Christine. Tim, Aiden and Daniella are in the other car.

"Don't worry about it" Mason looks over at me, placing his hand on my thigh as he looks back at the road. "Fine" I mutter, turning the radio on.

"Oh my gosh" I shriek at the intro to one of my favorite songs. "What?" Christine questions. "It's one of her favorite songs" Mason laughs, putting his blinker on.

"You could be here but you're there" Ellie and I scream, causing a smile to spread across Mason and Brooks face.

Soon enough we stop. "Where are we?" I ask as Mason opens the door for me. "I don't trust you" I laugh causing him to grab my hand, laughing. "You're cute" He smiles.

"Mason, seriously where-" I say, getting interrupted with his lips again. "You gotta stop doing that. I know I'm annoying but at least let me finish" I laugh causing him to frown.

"You aren't annoying, lets go" He smiles, leading me into the building. An arcade.

I giggle at the irony of the whole thing. I'm officially legal and spending that day at an arcade. "On our way back home can I stop somewhere?" I look up at Mason through my eyelashes. "Yeah, wherever you need" He kisses the top of my head, snaking his arm around my waist.

"This isn't the final destination either babe" He smiles at me.

"I'm stealing her" Christine runs past us, grabbing my arm. "Slow down" I laugh, following her to all the other girls while Mason walks over to the boys.

Its me, Christine, Ellie and Dani. For boys, Mason, Brooks, Tim and Aiden. "Chris, is Richie coming?" I wink at her, causing her cheeks to heat up. "Shut up or you wont get your gift" She teases causing me to laugh.

"You guys better not have gotten me anything. I'm just happy to be free" I say, meaning it in more ways than one. Ellie smiles at me, giving me a side hug. "Thats cute, but we got you stuff" Dani laughs causing me to roll my eyes.

Ellie looks at something then nods, "Okay, lets go. We are taking Masons car" She says, dragging me outside.

"Whats going on?" I say, my phone vibrating in my pocket. The name flashes across my screen, making me smile. "Happy birthday Le. I wish I could be with you but I have tests all this week" Graces voice rings causing me to smile. "Thank you, no worries. I miss you G" I smile at the phone. "Listen, I gotta study but I'll face time you later. Bye, love you" She says hanging up.

That was weird. Why'd she hang up so suddenly?

We pull up to another building, the boys parking right next to us. I look at Mason, confused. He only smiles.

"Lego" Tim laughs, grabbing Daniella's hand and we walk into the random building. "Mason, can you please tell me whats going on?" I ask. He shakes his head and pretends to zip his lips.

"Fine, just remember this later" I say, walking away from him. I swing my hips dramatically, knowing he's staring at my retreating figure.

We walk in and I immediately see Richie and Ben. I guess they live here. "Hey guys. Happy birthday Leah" Ben smiles. Richie says happy birthday quickly and then continues talking to Christine.

"Alright, come on Le. Lets go get coffee while they do whatever" Mason smiles, dragging me to his car.

"Mason, whats going on? Why are we running all over the place?" I sigh, sitting in his car. "I wanted to get you coffee and a muffin from Dunkin while they talk until we go back home for a little bit. Open presents" He smiles causing me to nod. "We are going to go back home after though, they will meet us" He pulls out of the parking lot, slowly driving to Dunkin.

"So, how is your birthday?" He smiles, turning to look at me quickly. "The best I've had in years" I say, trying to block out the memories.

Mason must notice because he places his hand on my thigh, leaving a burning sensation.

We go through the drive through, getting coffee and a muffin. Sitting in the car with our drinks while talking is the best. One of my favorite things to do.

When we get back to the house there is a huge package on the front porch. Mason picks it up, opening the door for me.

His house is decorated beautifully, people all over the house. I see all my friends and Cody chatting, Andrew is with him too. The biggest surprise is my aunt, uncle and Grace talking to Tara and Jim.

"Leah" They smile as I run over to them. "I missed you guys" I sigh, hugging them. "We missed you too. You look beautiful" Uncle Blake smiles at me. "Thank you" I smile, smoothing out my dress.

Mason walks up to us, his arm around my waist, his other arm extended to greet my family. "Uncle Blake, Aunt Cara, this is my boyfriend, Mason" I smile, Grace winks.

"Grace, I missed you" I hug her, a smile on her face.

"I missed you too girl. Now come, really quick" She smiles, taking my hand and bringing me to Ellie's room.

"What?" I question, a huge smile on her face.

Soon my phone starts going off. Its a face time call.

I look at the name, tears welling up in my eyes.

It cant be

"Luke?" I croak out, tears threatening to spill.

Its a little short but I've had this chapter written for a while. It's funny how it worked out to fit in on my actual birthday! Leave me some nice comments as a present? Thank you for reading! Don't forget to vote, comment and share!

12 votes and 25 comments

Word count: 2726

~Leah