I sat alone in the library, staring out the wall made of glass. Outside, the setting sun was turning the sky orange, pink and yellow. I watched the people shuffle through the snow-covered pavements, their cheeks red from the ice wind, and their hands stuffed deeply into their pockets.

My empty hands lay in front of me, palms up, with my fingers curled. My books sat a few inches away, the spines facing in the opposite direction.

It was 15 minutes 'till closing.

And it was my birthday.

I thought about my parents, my mother especially. They would always get me a birthday cake, but it would stale before it was completely eaten. I had a picky appetite for a child, the stomach of a bird. So all three of us would eat a slice, and the cake would always go to waste in the end. But that never mattered. Bathory Bakery didn't make good cakes anyway.

We would sit in the dining room where I would unwrap my gifts, one by one. The wrapping paper would always be plain, sometimes yellow with little birthday hats or sometimes nothing more than just solid colours. Over the years, I received dozens of toys, books and clothing items from my parents. But those never really caught my full attention. Sure, I would spend time playing with the toys (the books were what I appreciated the most), but it was always the candles in the cake I favoured; those were my favourite things about birthdays. I could remember seeing the reflection of the flame in my mother's eyes as she and dad sung me happy birthday. I could still remember the smile she got whenever I blew out the candles, filling the room with a smoky smell. It was wonderful.

Sometimes, I wondered if any of that actually happened. If those were my memories of past birthdays or if they were things my brain had stolen from the thousands of books I'd devoured over the years. Someone else's mother, pasted onto the memories of my own.

My thoughts were interrupted when my mobile started vibrating in my pocket. I pulled it out and read the text message Meredith had just sent me,

Come 2 my house 5. Don't b late!

I sighed and glanced quickly at the time, 4:45. I shrugged to myself; the library would be closing soon anyway. Shoving my phone into my pocket with one hand and gathering my books in the other, I stood and made my way out of the library.

15 minutes later

I missed my mother. This wasn't something I could explain to anybody, because they wouldn't have understood. I didn't even know why I was thinking about her as I walked up the steps to Merideth's porch.

I brushed my black bangs out of my eyes and rang the door bell. Through the iced glass, I could see Merideth's form approaching the front door. When she opened it, she wore a grin,

"Hey, hon."

I smiled back at her, "Hey… what's going on?"

She shrugged, "It's a surprise. But come on in!"

When I stepped into the hall, I noticed that the lights were off and that the house was quiet, "Where are your parents?" I raised a brow at her.

She smiled mischievously, "They're out to dinner tonight. And I know that you're wondering about the lights too… that's part of the surprise."

I chuckled, "Whatever you say, love."

She winked at me and ran into the kitchen, "Come on now."

I sighed, grinning, and followed her slowly. When I stepped inside, she was bent over something on the counter, her back to me, "Close your eyes," she instructed.

And I did what she told me to.

All of a sudden, a wave of smoke hit my senses, filling my nostrils with the scent. I automatically stiffened.

I felt Meredith put her hand lightly on my elbow, guiding me across the kitchen. I felt her breath on my neck, hot and sweet smelling, "You can open your eyes now, Vlad."

Slits at first, my eyes opened up to the scene in front of me. Sitting there on the counter was a vanilla cupcake. It would have been an ordinary thing, with plain white frosting and yellow cake, but to my surprise there was a single candle sticking out of the icing.

Without it, the cupcake wouldn't have been much of anything. But with the candle on top, it was transformed into something bright and beautiful and special.

Tears welled in my eyes, threatening to fall, "How did you know?"

She laughed out loud, "Henry told me. Something that you should have mentioned." She poked me accusingly in the shoulder, "But now I know. And I won't be forgetting anytime soon, mister."

I couldn't say anything productive; my voice was caught in my throat. After about a minute, I had enough strength to whisper "Thank you."

She chuckled and touched my face lightly, "Make a wish."

I closed my eyes and silently prayed for this to be the best birthday ever. While I was at it, I thanked the Big Guy Upstairs for giving me a girlfriend like Merideth, whether I deserved her or not.

I sucked in my breath and swiftly let it out, blowing the flame away.

Merideth hugged me, "Happy Birthday, Vlad."

I leaned into her, burying my face in her soldier. I smelled her hair and squeezed her shoulders, "Thank you."

We could have been standing there, just hugging, for hours. But it was probably only a few minutes.

When we let go of each other, Merideth walked over to turn the kitchen lights back on, and returned with a paper subway bag. I laughed out loud at the sight of it, "What did you get me?"

"Birthday sandwich. Duh."

I laughed, "Is there meat in it?"

"Pshh no. I know you don't like that. It's all vegetarian and stuff."

"Thanks. But when do I get to eat my cupcake?"

She shook her head, "After subway."

"All right."

So we sat and ate on the couches in the living area, watching American Idol try-out reruns. Sitting with my girlfriend, eating subway, and watching people sing badly; my kind of present. After Subway, Merideth let me eat my birthday cupcake, "It really is quite delicious, you know."

She smiled widely, "Thanks,"

Halfway into a bite, she shoved the cake into my face, coating my nose and mouth in icing. We laughed when I shoved the remainder of the cupcake into her face. I wiped it off with my thumb, kissing her frosting covered lips. She kissed back, full of abandon, and we pulled each other into our arms. We stood there hugging again, but for longer. We held onto each other as if we were the last people on earth, as if we needed each other to survive. And in a way, we did. After getting the cake and icing off of our faces with napkins and cleaning up the Subway bags, she pulled me onto the couch. We laid down, her favourite TV show playing quietly in the background. I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head on her neck. We feel asleep like that, arm in arm. I thought about how special of a birthday this was, and how lucky I must have been to have Merideth in my life, someone I would never give up, for anything. Someone I would fight for, and be with forever.

First off, this is my first one shot (yayy!)

So at least attempt at not being too harsh in the reviews. (PPPLLEEAASSEEE review) (Please)

This is based on Vlad's 15th birthday, the day before his actual birthday party. In the beginning, it was set in the public library and in the end, in Merideth's kitchen/living room. I hoped you like it. ^.^