"Ughhh, are we there yet?" Cammie whined. But that was because she was blindfolded and Zach was leading her somewhere unknown for her birthday. She was complaining for three reasons: 1, She didn't like surprises. 2, She was in an uncomfortable outfit Bex, Macey and Liz forced her into, which consisted of a strapless coral high-low dress, a jacket overtop and white kitten heels. She had french tips, and natural makeup. And 3, It was January, meaning chilly weather, and a dress wasn't exactly the warmest.
Zach chuckled. "Not yet babe, but soon," he replied cryptically. Cammie huffed in annoyance. And although she couldn't see it, she could sense the smirk plastered on his face. The cold wind bit her skin, and goosebumps appeared. She licked her chapped lips as Zach put an arm around her.
"Quit smirking," Cammie said. Zach just laughed at her. "Can't we just stay at your appartment and eat ice crea-?" Cammie started to complain
"We're here," Zach interrupted her and he took of her blindfold. She gasped, all thoughts of ice cream forgotten. Zach took her to one of the most expensive restaurants in New York, Per Se. She whipped around to look at Zach.
"Y-You didn't have to, you know?" she told him when he led her towards the door. She was excited, shocked and joyful all at the same time.
Until she saw the sign on the door. 'CLOSED' it said, and her heart deflated a bit.
"Zach, it's closed," Cammie told him quietly while pointing at the sign. Zach looked up and cursed. He peered inside.
"Look, there's a light, I'm going to change our reservation," he said and dragged her inside. They walked through the darkness. It turned out, the dim light was only a candle. Cammie gently took his hand.
"It's okay, Zach, we can go eat ice-crea-" She was cut off yet again.
"SURPRISE!" A bunch of lights turned on, illuminating the whole restaurant. Cammie shrieked in surprise. Though she didn't notice it, Zach was chuckling behind her.
There, in front of her, was the whole gang scattered across the restaurant. A shiny gold banner with the words 'Happy 20th Birthday Cammie!' was hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant itself was very modern and formal. A chandelier hung in the center of the room.
Cammie looked at everything and everyone with wide eyes and a dropped mouth. Then, she whipped around and hugged Zach fiercely, before rushing over to her friends and having a group hug. Cammie had tears in her eyes. She was about to speak when Macey interrupted her.
"Don't you dare cry, Morgan, it'll ruin your makeup!" Macey scolded. Everyone laughed.
"Thank you guys so much! No one has ever done anything like this for me before!" Cammie exclaimed.
"It was all Zach's idea," Liz piped in. Cammie went over to Zach and brought him into a loving kiss. It was sweet and gentle and as usual, she felt sparks ignite her, warming her cold body.
"Now, are you guys done yet? I'm hungry," Grant whined. Bex whacked him upside in the head and he groaned.
"Bexy-Babe, did you have-" he was punched in the arm harshly. Bex looked at him with a murderous glint in her eye.
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me." She said deathly quiet. All was silent. Grant had a terrified look in his face and started apologizing.
"Bex, I-I'm sor-" he started. Bex started laughing.
"S'okay, Grant," Bex said while stifling her laughter. Everyone started laughing as well. Everyone except Grant.
"But really, I'm hungry too," I said while holding in a chuckle. Grant's eyes brightened.
"YAY! FOOD!" He squealed like a little girl. Bex had to hold in a whack, for if she did hit him, he was very likely to lose another, oh, hundred brain cells.
"Grant, dearest, do I have to remind you that your birthday is in March, and today we are celebrating Cammie's birthday?" Nick said mockingly in a high pitched voice. Grant grumbled something incoherent.
They all got seated at a big table, with the guys on one end and the girls on the other. A waiter walked up to them immediately.
"Here are some appetizers to get you started." He placed down some breadsticks and Caesar salad. Everyone orered foods with names Cammie wouldn't dare try to pronounce.
The view of Central Park was spectacular. Out the window, you could see how well the nature blended in with the man-made structures. Tall sky scrapers covered by enormous trees, sidewalks with luscious emerald grass.
The food had the looks, the aromas, and the flavour. This stuff could be like a food model, walking down the runaway, Cammie mused in her head. Have you gone insane, Cammie? This is food your talking about. She continued to debate about it in her head.
Suddenly, a huge cake was whisked onto their table. It was decorated with chocolate swirls over a layer of blue frosting. Cammie gasped inaudibly.
"Happy Birthday to you," the gang began to sing. Cammie was beyond overjoyed. Back in Virginia, she was a loner. Just a jobless girl with an abusive boyfriend.
They quickly finished the cake. Then Macey squealed.
"Present time!" and shoved a purple bag with a navy bow into her hands.
When she opened the bag, there lay a bottle of expensive perfume in a foreign language, as well as a palette of eyeshadows, and other makeup. Cammie laughed, typical Macey. But when she dug deeper, she felt...Lace? She pulled it out, and saw a black lacey push up bra. She blushed furiously and shoved it back inside as everyone laughed. Including Zach.
"I would love to see you in that," he whispered huskily in her ear. Shivers ran through her body and she tinged pink again.
Bex gave her a WTF: Where's The Food shirt, which she adored, and Liz got her a new set of headphones.
Then came the guys. Nick gave her a book 'How to deal with annoying guys' and she laughed and gave him a hug. Grant gave her a new pair of runners, and Jonas gave her a phone holder for when your charging your phone.
She completely forgot about Zach's present and thanked them all as they parted ways. He turned to face her.
"Cameron Morgan, I know we're already kind of dating, but will you be my girlfriend, officially?" he asked. Cammie squealed and nodded her head quickly. Zach smiled (not smirked!) and slid a crystal-encrusted gold bracelet onto her hand. She looked at it in awe, and gave Zach a peck on the cheek.
"Ann," she said suddenly. Zach looked at her in confusion. "Ann is my middle name," she said. Zach chuckled and kissed her forehead.
Everything is perfect, she thought. Until she remembered Josh and the news headlines.