The next week went by peacefully. Nate came back to his usual self. Tiana was getting better and David was nowhere to be found. The student body knew what David did to Tiana, and she was pregnant with his baby, but no one dared to utter a word knowing she got the protection of the Clichés.

On Friday, I went to Louis to ask him about his plans for Chloe's birthday.

"Chloe's birthday is on Monday?!" He shrieked. "She didn't tell me!"

"I think because she wants you to surprise her."

"How will I do that if I didn't even know?" His shoulders slumped.

"Now you do." I chuckled.

"She's just like Maddie." He grumbled.

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

"Maddie's birthday was yesterday."

"What?!" My jaw dropped. "You guys planned nothing for her?"

"It wasn't our choice." He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Maddie doesn't enjoy celebrating her birthday, that's why we never did it."

"Why?"

"Don't know." He shrugged.

Maybe I already know the answer to it.

"How about we plan a surprise post-birthday for Maddie and pre-birthday for Chloe?" I suggested.

"That is an awesome idea!" He exclaimed, then pouted. "But I don't know if Maddie will be up for it."

"We'll be celebrating two birthdays. I'm sure Maddie won't mind it." Louis bobbed his head and agreed with me. "We can keep it simple. Just us guys, no one from outside."

"I like the sound of it." He gave me a toothy grin.

We told everyone about our plan, including Madeleine, but we kept her birthday a surprise. Brittany told them to do it at their house since their father won't be home and Chloe won't suspect.

The next day, we went to the Forbes house and prepared the living room with birthday decorations. We kept the customized birthday banner hidden from Madeleine since her name was also written on it.

Around six in the evening, Louis went to pick Chloe up from her house and we got ready. I wore a maroon V-neck loose tee with white pants and shoes. Brittany was trying to fit Tiana in a white frock while she cursed and after a few minutes of torture, they gave up and Tiana wore a brown, loose, three-layered frock. To match her, Brittany also wore the same but in black color.

"If you guys are done, can we leave?" Madeleine grumbled, dangling her feet as she sat on the bed.

She wore a tee on which two skeletons were printed with a black legging.

I couldn't believe Madeleine and Chloe were born in the same month with the same star. Appearance-wise, they both are different, but from the inside maybe they are the same. Madeleine hides her feelings while Chloe is an open book.

Tiana and Brittany took their sweet time on makeup, which was the plan. In the meantime, the boys were setting Madeleine's part of the decoration.

When we heard a horn outside, we walked downstairs. Tiana grabbed Madeleine's arm and acted like she wasn't feeling well and couldn't descend the stair. Madeleine helped her while Brittany and I walked past them into the living room.

The decoration we did with Madeleine was different with the colour full theme and now a dark part was added to it. Half of the room was rainbow, while the other was black and a banner in the middle with both Chloe and Madeleine's names on it.

Ben switched the lights off and we stood as we waited for Louis to bring Chloe and Tiana to bring Madeleine.

"Wait!" Madeleine shrieked when she saw Chloe entering the living room. "You're early-"

"SURPRISE!"

We screamed when Ben turns the lights on. Chloe and Madeleine both jaws dropped as they gawked at us and the room.

"What the..." Madeleine went speechless while Chloe bounced on her steps.

"OMG! This is so cool!" She clasped her hands and turn to Madeleine. "I didn't know it was your birthday too!"

"Neither did I." Madeleine shook her head and observed us standing with grins over our faces. "Y-you guys did this for me, too?"

"Of course we did." Jordan grinned, taking a step towards her. "I know you hate to celebrate your birthday, but Lilly came up with this idea."

She darted her eyes to me and I saw tears building in them. "Oh, f**k." She sniffed, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. "I'm crying now!"

We laughed and took them both towards the table where we sat the cake. Just like the room, half of it was black with red blood dripping from its corner while the other half was white with a rainbow on it.

"This is so cute!" Chloe gushed, looking at the cake.

"Who did this?" Madeleine asked, pointing at the cake, and Nate gave her a sheepish smile. "You made this?!"

"I had a little help." He shrugged, glancing at Brittany, Jordan, and Toby.

"Make a wish!" Louis exclaimed, and both Chloe and Madeleine closed their eyes.

After a second, they opened it and blow out their respective candles. Chloe turned eighteen while Madeleine turned nineteen.

"Get in the frame, everyone." Andrew set the camera on a tripod.

Madeleine and Chloe stood in the middle. On Madeleine's right were Brittany and Tiana and on Chloe's left was me. The boys sat in the front and Andrew pressed the timer and jogged toward us.

I thought he would sit with the boys, but to my surprise; he stood to my left. I took a sharp inhale when his right arm wrapped around my waist and he ducked his head, pressing his cheek with mine.

"Smile!" My lips stretched into a huge grin.

The shutter went off a few times and everyone stood straight, getting back to the party, but Andrew didn't move. He buried himself in the crook of my neck and took a deep breath.

"You smell so good." He whispered, and my whole body heated. I knew I turned red as a tomato, and that's when I heard the camera again.

I glanced up and saw Toby grinning with the camera in his hands. "You two are cute."

"Let her go before she chokes to death, Drew," Nate smirked as his friend let go of me and glared at him.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, bro."

"Oh, I have nothing to be jealous about." Nate rolled her gleaming eyes and walked with the others.

"You look beautiful," Andrew whispered, turning me towards him.

"Thank you..." I blushed and tucked the hair lock behind my ear. "So do you."

He wore a white shirt with a smirking emoji with grey ripped pants and white shoes.

"I think I'll get used to you calling me beautiful." He teased and before I could burst out of embarrassment, Brittany saved me.

"If you two want a piece, you better come here right now."

We turned and saw everyone stuffing their faces with the cake. I chuckled, and we walked toward them.

"This is good!" Madeleine mumbled, with Chloe moaning beside her.

"I know it's-" Chloe let out a surprised gasp when Louis rubbed the cream over her face.

"Happy Birthday Chloe!" He gave her a toothy grin.

Madeleine burst out laughing but cursed when Jordan did the same to her.

"Happy Birthday to you too Maddie."

That was the beginning of world war three.

"I'm full!" Louis rubbed his stomach, and we nodded our heads in agreement.

After the third world war ended, we got tired and eat dinner sitting on the floor of the living room.

"You ruined the entire room." Brittany scowled at the sight of cake and cream everywhere in the room and all over us, too.

"Who cares about that?" Ben grinned as he lay on Toby's lap, who was sitting on the couch.

"I never imagined celebrating my birthday with the Clichés," Chloe mumbled, keeping her head on Louis's shoulder.

"Heck, I never imagined I'll ever celebrate my birthday!" Madeleine snorted. "I hate it, but still did."

"Why do you hate it so much?" Tiana asked, leaning her back on the couch.

"Because..." Madeleine shrugged and Andrew raised his brows at her.

"That's not an answer."

"It is for me." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Idiot." He muttered under his breath, but I heard him since I was sitting right next to him with his arm around my waist.

"Guys..." Jordan cleared his throat and stood in the middle of the room. "Um... There is something I want to say."

"About what?" Madeleine frowned at him.

"Prom-"

"You have a date?!" Louis interpreted.

"No-"

"Someone asked you out?" Tiana piped.

I shook my head as I watched them ask him stupid questions, but I knew what he was doing. When we were preparing for the party, Jordan looked deep into his thoughts. I asked him about it. He told me he was planning to ask Madeleine to prom, and I was ecstatic.

It was a great idea, and I knew it will help Madeleine know that there is someone out there who loves her.

"Don't tell me it's the budget you want to discuss." Nate scowled.

"No, and let me finish!" Jordan fumed and everyone went silent.

"Go on." Andrew gestured.

"F**k." He rubbed his hands over his face. "I know this is going to be hard for you guys, but can you all stay quiet?"

Everyone glanced at each other in confusion, then nodded.

"Maddie..." He turned towards her and she zipped her lips.

"I won't speak-"

"No, I'm referring to you."

"Oh..." She went silent and stood up. She looked so tiny standing next to his six feet something.

"Maddie Lee. Will you go to the prom with me?" He blinked his hopeful eyes at her.

I observed as everyone gawked at them while Madeleine smirked.

"Of course, you didn't have to ask Jo-"

"You don't get it." He groaned. "I'm not asking you as a friend. I'm asking you to be my date."

"Am I dreaming or is this real?" Louis rubbed his eyes.

"W-what?" Madeleine took a step back and gaped at Jordan.

"I know it's going to be a shock for you, but Maddie, I like you. From the day I saw you playing soccer alone in the backyard, I like you. You were different, and something attracted me to you." He ran fingers through his shoulder-length hair. "I didn't know what it was at first because we were kids, but now I know what it is... Maddie, I L-"

"Don't!" Madeleine growled, taking a step back. "Don't you f**king dare say it, Jordan!"

"But-"

"Why did you have to ruin it?!" she screamed, clenching her hair and we all stood up abruptly. "Everything was going perfect!"

"I'm trying to be honest with my feelings-"

"Feeling?!" She laughed like a maniac. "Bullsh*t Jordan, I have no feelings for you, nor I ever will. I was happy with you being my friend, but no, you had to wreck it." She snapped and bolted out of the house.

"Maddie!" I ran after her out of the house. "Wait!"

"Leave me alone!" She screamed as she marched outside.

"Maddie!" I reached for her and put my hand over her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"What?!" She turned around, and I held my breath when I saw her crying.

"Let's get inside and talk-"

"Talk about what?!" she snarled. "That, my best friend, has fallen in love with me!"

"It's not a joke-"

"It is for me." She clenched her fists. "Why did he do it-"

"What are you frightened of?" I cut her off.

"I'm afraid of nothing." She gritted through her teeth.

"You are. That's why you're running." I took a step towards her. "You didn't seem surprised when he confessed to you." Her eyes widened at that.

"You're being ridiculous-"

"You knew he loved you. You knew that and you were alright with it, but now he has said it out loud, you're afraid-"

"I'm not-"

"-Because now it seems real and you love him too."

"Are you listening to yourself?" She scoffed.

"You love him, but we both know what's stopping you from going any further." I extended me to touch her arm but she swat it away.

"F**k off." She growled and stormed away, and this time I didn't follow her.

I felt a drop on the tip of my nose and when I glanced to see the sky covered with grey clouds, another came on my glasses this time and it began to rain.

I went into the house as it down poured outside and wondered how Madeleine was going to walk to her house, not that it was far from Ben's. When I stepped inside the living room, everyone was still standing at the same spot, giving each other awkward glances.

"Jo..." Louis stepped toward Jordan, who had his head hung. "It's not that bad-"

"I'm going home." He growled and without waiting for anyone, he walked past me outside.

"Brilliant." Brittany popped on the couch. "Just f**king brilliant."

"Jordan likes Maddie," Tiana whispered, sitting beside her. "I should have seen this coming. Still, I'm surprised."

"They are like bros." Nate made a disgusting face.

"They aren't real bros, idiot." Ben crossed her arms.

"They'll look perfect together," Chloe whispered, hugging Louis, who looked miserable.

"Things are getting f**king weird every day," Andrew ran his fingers through his hair, looking frustrated.

"How could we even miss this?" Louis mumbled, and that made Brittany snap.

"Exactly." She got up on her feet. "I mean, we have been friends for over four years and some of us are even closer than that." She eyed all of them. "Still, every one of you kept things away from each other and you were all busy trying to hide your bullsh*t. No one paid attention to the other."

"It's not like I didn't want to tell you." Nate narrowed his eyes at Brittany. "I was waiting for graduation."

"I thought you all will change your behavior towards me just because I'm sick. That's why I told no one," Louis mumbled, and Chloe tightened her grip around him.

"I didn't want you all to judge me." Ben glanced at Toby.

"I said nothing because I wasn't going to keep it," Tiana mumbled, rubbing her belly. "But someone put sense in me." She glimpsed up at me.

I gulped and looked around, but no one noticed her gaze except Andrew. He frowned and darted his eyes between me and Tiana. I watched as all of them went silent.

"Maybe we should clean this," Brittany murmured, looking at the mess. "Because I'm seriously not in the state to face my father."

We nodded and began cleaning the living room. Louis began stomping on the balloon and looked mad while the other boys take off the cake pieces from the wall. I mopped the floor with Brittany and gathered them in a trash bag.

Picking up the bag when it was full, I walked to the backyard through the kitchen, where Nate was cleaning the counters. When I opened the sliding door, I saw it was still raining and placed the trash bag on the ground.

"Lilly." I turned and saw Nate looking at me intensely.

"Yeah?" I closed the door to block the pattering noise of rain.

"I need to tell you something." He suddenly looked nervous.

"What is it?" I asked, standing beside him.

"I called Grace again and this time she picked it." He scratched the back of his neck. "I thought maybe we'll makeup, but she began cursing me for ruining her career and said she never got caught before-"

"She said that?!" I shrieked.

"It kind of slipped." He swallowed. "F**k, I feel like an idea, thinking she was in love with me, but guess everyone is right."

"You'll find someone Nate." I placed my hand over my shoulder.

"I know." He gave me a sad smile. "I just want to thank you."

"For what?" I frowned.

"She said if she still had the letter I wrote her, she would have shown it to everyone and... Well, that would have been the end of me."

"Letter?" My hand fell back to my side.

"The letter you saw at the fundraiser taking out of Grace's car..."

"Oh, that one."

"I took it from you that day and kept it to myself and I'm glad I did that because I don't know what she would have done with it."

"It's over Nate. It's going to be fine-" I cut myself off when my eyes darted behind him and I saw Andrew standing there. "Andrew..."

Nate stepped aside, and I got a full view of him. His jaw was clenched as he flung the cleaning rag onto the floor.

"You f**king knew about him too! Since the fundraiser!"

This is not good.

"Andrew..."

"I'm done with this bullsh*t for tonight." He growled and walked out of the kitchen.

"Andrew wait!" I sprinted after him as he walked out of the house.

The others gave us curious glances, but I ignored them as I ran after him. He didn't stop when I called his name again and he stormed in the rain towards his car.

"Andrew!..." My feet splattered in the water and I shivered when the cold water hit my skin, drenching me, but I didn't care. I took my glasses off because of the water on them. Everything went blurry after that, but it was still better than before. "Stop please!"

He finally halted in his steps but kept his back to me. I noticed as his back rose and fell in deep breaths.

"What?!"

"Let me explain." I took a step forwards but freeze when he turned around glaring at me.

"Oh, now you want to explain?" He scoffed, raising his arms. "When there is nothing left."

"I knew about them, Andrew," I said what he wanted to hear.

"F**k Lillian, why?!" He screamed in frustration. "You didn't you tell me! You knew about Ben, David, and Nate from the beginning, and you also knew about Tiana. What else did you know?"

"I knew about Louis and Jordan too," I told him the truth, making him halt.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He growled, and my eyes darted to his clenched fists.

"What was I supposed to say, Andrew? That I know your friend's secrets that they have been hiding from each other. I never asked to know them. I was just there-"

"At least not lied to me!" My eyes widened at his accusation. "All this time you have done nothing but lied to me!"

"I-I never lied to you-"

"Why don't you think over it?" He took a dangerous step toward me and he gritted his teeth. "The day I caught you coming out of the bathroom at the fundraiser, you lied to me. When I saw you with those test strips, you lied to me, and don't forget when I found you at the gay bar-"

"I didn't lie!" I screamed in frustration. "I may have not told you the truth, but I never lied to you-"

"What's the difference?" He whispered, and my shoulders slumped. "I get that you never told me that before. But you could have told me when we got together? How were you even able to walk around with all those and lie to me is beyond my imagination?"

"What did you expect me to do? Those secrets weren't mine."

"Trusted me." He whispered, taking a step. "You should have trusted me."