I hug her tightly and she pulls back excitedly. "Oh, I almost forgot." She opens the door to her backseat and yanks out the leather jacket. "For you." At the sight of the jacket, I straighten my back. Confident Lacey is the mood for today. I cried for my parents, but I need to pull it together. I tug on the jacket and grab my bag from Dylan's car. Him and Casey both look at me expectantly and I nod. "Let's go." Upon entering the main building, I instantly spot the guys. Anthony, Reece, and Carlos are standing near the end of the hallway and we walk towards them. Once we're close enough, Reece does a double take when his eyes land on me. "Damn," he says, looking me up and down. "Happy birthday to you." "Thank you," I smile at him. I usually don't feel comfortable when people examine me, but Confident Lacey is loving it. "Edgy. I like it," Anthony nods in approval. "Do you like Lacey's outfit, Dylan?" Dylan shoves his hands in his pockets and clearly ignores Anthony. Carlos casually, or not so casually, puts his arm around Casey. "Why do I have the feeling you had something to do with this outfit?" he asks her. She grins and shrugs. "Well, this is definitely a look I'll have to steal." My first two classes go by quickly. When I'm walking to the cafeteria, I notice Jacob walking in the same direction. His eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees me. He strides ahead and open the door to the cafeteria for me. I look past him and stalk towards the table with my friends. While walking up, they seem to be whispering about something, but they quickly go quiet when I sit down between Dylan and Anthony. "Uh oh, am I interrupting plans for my surprise party?" I tease them. Reece lets out a laugh. "What? No? No." He's a terrible liar. "There are two parts," Casey says, trying to cover for Reece. "One tonight, and one this weekend." It's like a birthday week. "Okay, so what's happening this weekend?" "Well, we'll at least keep that part a surprise," Anthony says. "Tonight, however, we're going to Raven's to watch Derrick and Jared perform," Casey explains. That sounds perfect. I haven't seen them in a while. I feel a little guilty that they're planning things for me. "You guys know you don't have to do anything for me, right?" I ask them. Anthony scoffs. "What fun would that be?" I feel like I'm in a haze for the rest of the day. In journalism, Mrs. Thomas makes a big fuss over my birthday and I can tell by the look on Jacob's face that he's annoyed. Will gives me a hug. "Happy birthday to my favorite senior," he says. Vicky flashes me a quick smile and quietly tells me happy birthday. Sophie gives me a charm bracelet and Seth gifts me with prints of my favorite pictures that he's taken. After class, I rush out to meet Dylan at his car. I manage to avoid Jacob and make it to the parking lot without any problems. When I'm close enough to Dylan's car, I notice a familiar red car parked next to his and there he is, talking to Kay. I slow my stride and watch them. Kay is giving him her best lip bite and he has his arms crossed as he's talking to her. She smirks at something he says and she loops her fingers around his belt loops and pulls him closer to her. It looks as if they're going to kiss, but he pulls back and shakes his head. But he does reach out and brushes some hair out of her face. An intimate gesture that leaves me wondering how he really feels about her. I can't watch anymore so I start walking normally and approach them carefully. Dylan sees me and he swiftly looks back at Kay. He says something to her before turning to me. "Ready to go?" he asks, walking up to me and blocking my view of Kay. "Don't let me interrupt," I say, trying to see around him. "You're not interrupting anything," he shakes his head. Kay appears next to him and wraps her hand around his arm. "Hey, Lacey," her sweet voice seems to drip with venom. "Heard it's your birthday," she looks me up and down. "Nice boots." "Thanks," I flash her a smile. Her presence throws me off. Confident Lacey is receding. "I'll catch you guys later," she smiles at Dylan before she gets in her car and drives off in a blur. "So, Kay is back," I say more as a statement, rather than a question. Dylan doesn't say anything as he walks to the driver's side and unlocks the car. I step inside and wait for him to respond. "She wanted to talk about Xavier," he says, not looking at me. I have the feeling he's lying. I also have the sneaking suspicion that Kay is trying to slither her way back into Dylan's life, and her timing is impeccable. Here I am trying to figure out my feelings for him and she suddenly appears. I wonder if he asked her to come back. "Derrick and Jared won't go on until eight, but we can head to Raven's now and hang out if you want," Dylan says. I nod. The day feels like it has gone by quickly, yet so slowly. Hopefully tonight will turn out all right.