Chapter 07 - Sweet Sixteen
"It's my birthday," Zoey loudly proclaims, running down the stairs into the kitchen. Jonathan and Martha exchange an amused look. They both knew how much this day meant to Zoey. They were also very aware of the Carmichael family traditions regarding birthdays.
Jonathan pulls her into a tight hug. He presses a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," he tells her. Zoey shoots him a smile before hugging Martha.
Zoey looks between her godparents with an excited look. "So, when do I get my car?"
Jonathan sighs. "You're not getting a car, Zoey."
Zoey frowns. "Uncle Max said I get a car on my birthday. It's a family tradition."
Martha shoots her an apologetic look. "Sweetheart, we can't afford to get you a car."
Zoey clearly didn't believe them. "Am I getting it at my party tonight?"
A loud honking from outside causes them to exchange a look, then make their way out onto the porch. Parked in the driveway was a brand new red Porsche 911. On the top was a big red bow. Max waves the keys in the air and Zoey runs back into the house to grab a pair of shoes. "I thought we told him no car," Jonathan questions his wife.
Martha nods. "We did."
Zoey runs out of the house, downstairs, and right over to Max, who she tightly embraces. The door opens once more and they turn to see Clark. "Whose car," he asks, looking between his parents.
"Zoey's," Jonathan answers, shaking his head. He disappears back into the house.
A dark grey SUV pulls up behind the Porsche. Clark shoots his mother a confused look. "Zoey gets two cars for her birthday," he asks.
Martha frowns. "She wasn't even supposed to get one in the first place. We told Max no on the car." They watch as Austin climbs out of the SUV and embraces Zoey. "Hopefully, it just belongs to Mr. Wells."
Zoey and Max climb into the Porsche. It takes off out of the driveway. Austin walks up to the porch. "Good morning, Mrs. Kent, Clark," he greets.
"Good morning, Mr. Wells," Martha replies, motioning for him to follow them into the house. "We didn't expect you this morning."
"I'm assuming Max didn't tell you about anything then," Austin replies.
"Mr. Wells," Jonathan greets, walking into the kitchen. "We told Max no on the car."
Austin chuckles. "Yeah. Carmichaels ignore the word 'no' when it comes to birthdays. Believe me, I told him that he should respect your decision. But I can't get him to listen when it comes to birthday traditions. Just know that they only get worse. Zoey's first board meeting has been scheduled for her eighteenth birthday since she was born."
Martha frowns. "Isn't that a little young to be making decisions affecting a company?"
"She'll mostly sit in and listen. Max will still make all the final decisions." Austin clears his throat. "Speaking of Max, he wanted Zoey to do all the present stuff this morning. She won't get a chance to do anything like that at her party tonight."
"How big is the party tonight," Jonathan questions. "We told Max not to do anything too big."
"I think it's around one hundred people," Austins answers. He sees the Kents exchange a look. "For Max that is small. The board from CRC and their guests will be there. The partners from my law firm. Some executives from Queen Industries and Wayne Enterprises will be there. Oliver Queen will be there. I think Lex RSVP'ed too."
"Doesn't exactly sound like a birthday party for a teenager," Martha points out.
"That's the other thing with Carmichael milestone birthday parties. Its social event where people conduct business deals."
Zoey eyes the pile of presents sitting on the coffee table. "I'm going to have write a lot of thank you notes," she says, grabbing a small box sitting on top. She pulls off the black wrapping paper and silver box to reveal a jewelry box.
"You're going to also remember to thank everyone in person tonight," Max reminds. "Who's that from?"
Zoey smiles as she recognizes the familiar handwriting on the card. "Bruce." She opens the jewelry box and stares at the diamond and pearl necklace.
"Holy shit," Max exclaims, taking the box from her. Martha, who was in the kitchen making birthday cupcakes, sets down the bowl of batter and walks over to them. "Zoey, you will marry this kid."
Zoey rolls her eyes, taking the box back from him. "Last summer, when we were in Zurich, I saw this in the window of a jewelry store. Or at least something similar. Bruce wouldn't have brought it and held onto it for that long."
"Doesn't matter when he brought it. You're going to fucking marry him. I'll fucking marry him if you don't. I'll even do it tonight."
"Bruce told me he wouldn't be able to make it to my party."
Austin shakes his head. "I don't think Bruce is all that interested in you that way, Max."
"That's a very extravagant gift," Martha points out. "Who would send that?"
Zoey bites her lip. She hadn't told Martha and Jonathan about her relationship with the heir to Wayne Enterprises. "It's from Bruce Wayne," Max answers. "Zoey and Bruce have been dating…are you guys still together? Or are you two still just friends with benefits? That necklace screams that you're still together."
"We haven't talked about it," Zoey softly says, avoiding Martha's gaze.
Martha frowns. "Zoey, if you've been seeing this boy, then I think we need to have a talk."
Max waves a hand. "Martha, that horse left the barn over a year ago. I made her start taking birth control after I found out. I also make sure that condoms are available."
Zoey wishes she could sink into the couch. This was not how she expected her birthday to go. Austin, seeing the tension was slowly building in the room, grabs a gift bag and hands it to Zoey. "Open this one," he tells her. Martha shakes her head and walks back into the kitchen. "Who is it from?"
"Ollie," Zoey says, pulling the teddy bear out of the gift bag. It was a white bear dressed in a Robin Hood outfit. She laughs. Then she notices the gold chain with a single emerald on the teddy bear. "Oh."
"That's cute," Max says, setting the jewelry box from Bruce on the coffee table.
Clark looks through the crowd, trying to spot anyone besides his parents that he may have known at Zoey's birthday party. He had been expecting more of their classmates, not business people. He doubted that Zoey actually knew any of the guests at her party. The party was being held in the restaurant that sat at the top of the Rosewood Metropolis. "Clark." He turns to see Lex walking over to him.
Clark smiles. "It's nice to see someone that I actually recognize."
Lex chuckles. "These parties are all about CEOs and board members."
"Doesn't make for a fun birthday party."
Lex shrugs. He had grown up going to exactly these types of parties. He knew what they were all about. "You end up finding ways to have fun. Speaking of the birthday girl, you haven't seen her have you?"
Clark shakes his head. "I haven't seen Zoey for quite a while." He frowns. "Actually, I think the last time I saw her was when they cut the cake."
Oliver finds Zoey on the floor below the restaurant. She standing next to the window, looking out of the window. "Hey, everyone is missing the birthday girl," he says, walking up to her. She shrugs, not looking at him. He frowns. "Zo, hey, what's wrong?"
Zoey shakes her head. She wipes away a tear. "It's nothing. I'm fine," she softly says.
Oliver shakes his head. He pulls her against his chest. Her arms slide under his suit jacket. "Tell me what's wrong, Zo."
"I hate my party," Zoey whispers.
He feels her tears on his neck. "Everyone saying that your parents would be very proud if they were here," he asks and she nods. He doesn't say anything she softly cries.
"I'm sorry," Zoey says, pulling back. He reaches up and wipes away more of her tears. She runs a hand down his chest. "I ruined your shirt."
Oliver shrugs. "It's just a shirt, Zo."
Zoey shakes her head. "No. I-I-I-I ruined your shirt. I'm so sorry, Ollie. And you got me such a nice present too."
"Zo, I promise it's fine."
"No. No. No. It's not fine."
He gently grasps her face and forces her to look him in the eye. "Zoey, it's okay."
She stares at him. She doesn't know what possesses her to do it. She leans up and softly kisses him. He doesn't move. Zoey pulls back. She shakes her head as more tears start to fall. "Ollie, I'm so so sor—"
He cuts her off by pressing his lips against hers. He doesn't know why he does it. Her arms wrap around, pulling him close. He buries a hand in her hair. His other hand runs down her body. His lips trail across her jaw and neck. Her chest is heaving. She pulls his mouth back to hers, sliding her tongue in. Then he notices the whiskey taste.
Oliver pulls back. "Zo, you're drunk." Zoey's hands go to the button on his pants. He grabs her wrists. "You're drunk."
"So," Zoey argues.
Oliver shakes his head. He scoops her up. "Do you have the key to the suite," he asks. Knowing that there was no use fighting with him, Zoey rests her head on his shoulder. She nods, wrapping her arms around his neck. A silence falls over them as he takes her down to the Carmichael family suite.
"Ollie, I don't feel so good," Zoey mutters as he steps off the elevator.
"How much did you drink?"
"I had…I had a lot of Jim and Cokes. I gave the bartender ten thousand dollars to give it to me."
Oliver stops in front of the suite door. He could see that Zoey was starting to fall asleep. "Zo, where's the key?" She reaches down and pulls the key from her cleavage. He sets her down and takes the key from her. After getting the door open, he gently guides her into the room. "C'mon, let's get you into bed."
"Are you getting into bed with me," Zoey asks, walking into the bedroom with Oliver.
He chuckles as he pulls back the covers. "I think this is something that you need to do on your own, Zo." She shoots him a sad look as she sits on the bed. Oliver kneels down on the floor and pulls off her heels. A light snore causes him to look up and he smiles, seeing Zoey had fallen asleep. He rolls her onto her side and places a trashcan next to the bed.
"Oliver," Max loudly calls when he makes his way back to the party. "Have you seen Zoey?"
"She wasn't feeling well, so I took her downstairs," Oliver explains.
"Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine, Max."
Zoey groans and slowly opens her eyes. The blinding light causes her to quickly shut them. She slowly sits up and immediately reaches for the trash can that was next to the bed. There's a soft hand on her back and her hair is pulled back. "Just let all come out," Oliver says, rubbing her back.
"Ugh, I feel like complete shit," Zoey mutters.
Oliver laughs. "You should. You somehow got drunk off your ass without anyone noticing."
Zoey looks down and finds that she's still wearing her dress from the night before. "At least I still have my clothes on."
"Not for your lack of trying." Zoey shoots him an alarmed look. "You were the one who kissed me, Zo."
"I did?"
"And tried to take my pants off."
"I'm sorry."
Oliver pulls her off the bed and pushes her towards the bathroom. "It's fine, Zo. Right now, you need to get in the shower and then your gonna brush your teeth."
After taking a hot shower and brushing her teeth, Zoey pulls on the fluffy bathrobe and walks out into the living room. "Where's Uncle Max," she asks, sitting down at the table covered in food that Oliver had ordered from room service.
"I think he's upstairs, making sure everything is cleaned up," Oliver tells her.
"Ollie, I'm so sorry," Zoey softly says. She buries her face in her hands. "I can't believe I did that."
"What exactly do you remember?"
"I remember sobbing all over you, then making out with you. Then it gets hazier after that."
Oliver grabs her hand. "Zo, it's okay."
Zoey nods, letting silence fall over them. More than anything she wanted to climb onto his lap and kiss him. She wanted to feel his hands on her skin. She pulls her hand away from his and grabs a piece of bacon. No, she couldn't let anyone know that she had somehow developed feelings for him.
Someone's built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen.
Someone's built a candy house
To house her in.
Someone's built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen.
Someone's built a candy brain
And filled it in.
Well, I'll do anything
For my sweet sixteen
Oh I'll do anything
For little runaway girl.