Song: My Wish (Rascal Flatts)
"Tommy, did you find the cherries?" Phil shouted as he scanned the store shelves for baking ingredients.
"Yes, they're right here!" Tommy answered excitedly, walking to the shelves that are currently being scanned by Phil.
"Good, good," Phil replied. "Also, we're going to bake it at your house since our oven got broken last week. Thanks to my great sis who broke its glass with a soccer ball!" he added, shaking his head while skimming through different brands of milk.
"It wouldn't be hitting the oven if you're not a lousy catcher!" Lil rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Maybe if you're not playing soccer in the kitchen, we wouldn't have that problem!" Phil chided.
"Hey! Stop fighting," Tommy intervened, pushing them away from each other. "We only have a few hours left to prepare this cake, so we better get going," Tommy added, not having time to deal with their silly catfights.
The two stopped their fight, but Phil couldn't help sticking out his tongue to his sister and laughed. Lil responded by making a mocking face as they all resumed putting different baking products into the cart.
As soon as they got everything they need, they quickly headed to the cashier to check it all out. Thankfully, the line wasn't too long, making it faster for their products to get paid and packed. All of them carried the bags of products they bought as they walked to the parking lot.
When Phil saw that everyone is comfortably seated in his car, he started the engine to finally head to Tommy's house.
Kimi's party is a few hours away, and they only have limited time to finish the cake. All of them felt the need to perfect this cake to make the day extra special.
The teens got to Tommy's house just in time to start baking the cake. Phil parked his car just outside of the garage and quickly entered inside. As they stepped into the house, Dil can be seen watching the television on the couch, looking uninterested in whatever was on. Tommy turned to his brother and spoke.
"Dil, where's mom?" Tommy asked his brother who was currently bored from switching the channels.
"She went to the cafe to help with the decorations," Dil answered, standing up from the couch to offer help.
"Okay, just stay here. If Kimi unexpectedly comes, tell her immediately we're not here. Got it?" Tommy instructed.
"Sure, okay," Dil replied and resumed watching television.
Tommy guided the twins to their kitchen, immediately laying down all the bags of products from their arms. Lil organized all the ingredients, Tommy brought out all the needed utensils, and Phil inspected the oven to finally start preparing the cake.
Phil brought out a cooking book from his bag, opening the page about making a Black Forest cake. "Okay, you guys will crush the dark chocolates and some cherries as I mix the flour," he instructed. Baking is one of the skills he's in the process of mastering nowadays, and he can't wait to see the result. He heavily focused on his book as they all started moving.
"Do you think this dress looks good on me?" Angelica asked as she looked at herself in front of a mirror, wearing an outfit from the mall's boutique.
"They're okay, I guess? Why did you even bring me here? I don't have any plans on shopping today. I should be home right now," Kimi complained, crossing her arms.
Chuckie called Angelica yesterday to bring his sister to the mall to distract her from coming home early. She initially refused and excused that she had something better to do than carry a stubborn woman with her while shopping for clothes. She then realized that bringing Kimi with her will help her carry a bunch of items while strolling in the mall, getting her to agree eventually.
As expected, Kimi was being impatient at their malling. She felt that she only got tagged along here so Angelica can have someone to carry her shopping bags, which isn't entirely wrong. She stood outside the fitting room with her arms crossed, carrying three shopping bags in her arms. She just wanted to wait for a few minutes and she's out of there. Angelica came out from the fitting room, wearing another outfit from her selection of clothes.
Angelica examined her appearance in the mirror and was hit with an idea, "Please choose any clothes you want from the rack. I will pay for it as my gift," she offered, posing in the mirror to see how the clothes looked on her from different angles.
Kimi sighed and gently laid down the shopping bags, then went to the rack of clothes to search for something she will like. Angelica carried her final selection of clothes and followed her. It got silent for a minute until Kimi remembered the guy she saw with her in the café last time.
"So, who was the guy with you at the café last Monday?" she curiously asked while looking through the dresses.
"Just a guy I met online, he's cool. We're dating now actually," Angelica smiled, remembering her beautiful boyfriend.
Kimi gasped, momentarily looking away from the rack. "Wait, you're dating a guy you just met from the net?"
"What could go wrong? He's a well-accomplished guy and I know he loves me," Angelica responded confidently.
"Everything could go wrong. I mean you didn't even know this guy personally and you already expect him to be genuine?" Kimi argued.
"I don't listen to romantic advice from a person who hasn't been in a relationship since birth!" Angelica answered mockingly, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I just want you to be careful," Kimi apologized as she watched Angelica's body movement. "If you really feel happy with this guy, go ahead, but don't forget that I warned you," she advised, finally seeing a dress she likes.
Angelica is honestly getting irritated by how pessimistic all her friends are about Matthew. It's like these people are not believing her ability to get her soulmate. She is going to prove to them that their relationship is genuine.
"Why aren't you dating by the way? Are you asexual?" Angelica asked, getting genuinely curious about her lack of romance.
Kimi suddenly became nervous. "Uh-um, I'm just not interested, that's all," she defended, trying to keep her answer as short as possible.
It's not that she wasn't interested in being involved in a relationship, she was always ready for it. There's just a certain someone she's looking out for, and she wasn't sure whether he likes her the same way she does.
"I heard you liked Tommy once?" Angelica brought up, not really caring about the weight of her question. Oh shit.
"Where did you hear that from?" Kimi tried her best to look calm, avoiding Angelica's eyes.
"I remember hearing that during middle school. It's just a random memory that suddenly struck me," Angelica answered honestly.
Kimi tried to think of a formulated answer to respond, not wanting to confirm her question. She then sighed, realizing that there was no way to hide without her getting suspicious. She composed herself and looked at her in defeat.
"Yes," she mumbled.
"I knew it!" Angelica smiled victoriously. "I wouldn't blame you though, Tommy has always been a very good-looking guy," she added.
Angelica always found her cousin to be good-looking, but she never directly told him as she doesn't want to inflate his ego. She's personally not attracted to him, but she definitely understood all the girls in school throwing themselves at him. On the other hand, she was surprised to get this confirmation from Kimi herself, knowing she's not usually the type to reveal herself immediately, especially to her.
"So, when did you start to like him?" Angelica interrogated, getting interested in this knowledge.
"I-I don't know it was a long time ago. I-it doesn't really matter anymore!" Kimi stuttered, hiding her face to conceal how red it was getting.
"Does it really?" Angelica raised an eyebrow, not believing every word she just said.
"Yes," Kimi replied straightforwardly, trying to end that topic. "Now let's check this all out so we can go. I want to go home," she said exhaustedly, holding a dress of her liking.
Angelica allowed the topic to end, not wanting to burden her on her birthday. She can definitely feel a spark between those two, but she knows she wouldn't be hearing any kind of confession from her as they were not really close.
Angelica watched Kimi as she arranged the tops and jeans they selected into the baskets. She decided to grab some of those baskets and helped Kimi carry them to the cashier. Angelica paid for all the clothes before they headed to her car to finally get home.
Silence engulfed them in the car as Angelica drove to the café where the surprise party will be held. She glanced at Kimi who was exhaustedly looking outside the window. Kimi also looked at her, preparing to say something.
"Thank you for the dress. I really appreciate it," Kimi said, smiling at Angelica. She genuinely appreciated her gift, even though she got tired from strolling at the mall. She's not very close to her which is why gestures like this are kind of a huge deal for her.
Angelica glanced at her before looking back to the road, "It's nothing!" she responded nonchalantly. She admits that she's the type of person who gets easily irritated with this kind of favor, but she doesn't mind it a whole lot when it comes to her childhood friends. If it were other people, she would've made them pay for wasting her partying time.
Angelica pulled the car in front of the café, surprising Kimi. Kimi looked around, wondering why the car stopped at the café when they were supposed to be heading home.
"Um, why did we stop here? I thought we were going home?" Kimi asked cluelessly.
"I want to get some drinks before we head home. So, get up there as I'm going to buy yours too," Angelica commanded, trying to act good to avoid getting her suspicious. Kimi didn't mind and followed her inside the café.
Kimi was surprised at the sight she saw upon entering the café. Everything was dark as the lights are off, and she was unable to see anything. It made her suspicious as the café never closed at a very early time like this before.
The darkness of the room is starting to terrify her. She decided to look for Angelica and got even more terrified when she suddenly got lost out of her sight. She took a deep breath and tried to be brave, walking across the dark room to find the switch to hopefully turn the lights on.
Kimi was on the way to the switch when the lights suddenly went on. The first thing she saw was all the vibrant decorations and all the delicious-looking food on a long table.
"Surprise!" Everyone in the room cheered while holding balloons and blowing party horns. All the vibrant party decorations can be seen all over the café, especially the ones hanging on the walls. She cannot believe that her family and friends went all out to do all this.
Kimi saw a lot of people she knew in that room, her family, her closest friends, their families, and several people from school whom she suspected were invited by the gang. Her eyes eventually landed on her brother, Chuckie, who no matter how many times she got embarrassed for, will always melt her heart when he does something like this. Chuckie smiled at her while holding a Black Forest cake with lit candles on it.
Chuckie put the cake down on a nearby table and stepped forward to get closer to her, "Happy Birthday, Kimi!"
Kimi smiled back, almost on the verge of crying tears of joy. "You don't have to do all this."
She knew this gesture would get her emotionally, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.
Chuckie pressed the bridge of his glasses to position it properly. "Just the best for the best sister in the world," he responded, genuinely meaning what he said.
She tried her best to suppress her tears as she doesn't want other people to see her cry. She was doing great but then it sank in her that everyone she cared about gave some of their time to plan something like this.
Kimi hugged her brother in the middle of the room as tears finally came out of her eyes. Chuckie hugged and patted her back as some of his tears finally came down as well. Their parents saw the scene and beamed at the sight of their children showing affection to each other.
Chuckie quickly wiped his tears and parted from the hug to look at his sister. "Now, there's no time to be emotional, you have a wish to make," he snuffled, lifting the cake from the table and presenting it to her.
The candle is still intact and presentable enough for her to blow. She closed her eyes and started stating her wish mentally.
"I wish to remain close forever with all the people that I love."
She slowly opened her eyes and released a breath before finally blowing out her candle. Everyone cheered and shouted 'Happy Birthday' as they all clapped to initiate the celebration.
The guests soon started to scatter around the café with most of them going to Kimi to express their greetings and wishes. Kimi responded nicely and thanked every one of them for coming to her special day.
After interacting with the last few guests that came to her, Kimi turned around and saw some of her close friends, Tommy, Phil, Lil, and Susie standing behind her.
Susie approached first. "Happy Birthday girl!" she greeted excitedly, initiating a hug which Kimi willingly accepted.
Phil spoke next. "Happy Birthday!" he casually said, patting Kimi's shoulders. He is not an emotional person, but he often genuinely means well with gestures like this, especially when it comes to the gang.
Kimi's eyes then landed on Lil who surprised her with a tight hug.
"Happy Birthday, Kimi!" Lil exclaimed, tightening her hug on her best friend. Kimi laughed and struggled to breathe a little bit but tried to say thanks regardless.
Lastly, she turned to Tommy, whom she doesn't know has been staring at her the whole time.
"Happy Birthday," he calmly said, smiling at her. Kimi stared at him for a few seconds before she responded.
"Thank you!" she replied, grabbing his shoulders to hug him. He smiled at the gesture and didn't hesitate to hug her back. The hug felt so comfortable they didn't want it to end.
Susie and Lil gushed at them hugging each other. They have been secretly shipping those two for years, so moments like this further validate that.
They slowly parted from the hug and stared at each other before looking at their other friends.
"Are you guys having fun? This party looks very well planned," Kimi said, looking around at the birthday-themed decorations. "How long have you guys been planning this?" she asked, turning her attention to the punch table nearby.
"We planned it for a month, Chuckie initiated all of this. I assume he had been planning this for a long time before he told us," Susie responded, scooping some punch into her glass.
"Wow! that's a long preparation. I didn't even notice it," Kimi revealed, incredibly amazed by how well they hid this preparation from her for a month.
"You are yet to see half of the things we had prepared," Phil pointed out, "Well actually, Tommy prepared."
Tommy turned to him, raising an eyebrow. Kimi is not supposed to know that until the very last moment.
The rest of the gang looked at Phil in irritation. "Phil! You're not supposed to say that yet!" Lil scolded, trying to stop his brother from spouting more information.
Phil pressed his lips together. "Sorry? She's about to see it anyways. It's no big deal," he defended, crossing his arms.
Lil rolled her eyes at her brother before turning to Kimi. "It's going to be beautiful. You will really like it!" she beamed. She hasn't watched the video yet, but she already knows it's going to be good because Tommy made it.
"I'm sure looking forward to that," she excitedly replied. "Anyways, I have to check on the rest of the guests out there. I will be checking if they're having a good time, see you guys later?"
Susie nodded, "Sure Kimi, have a great time!" she encouraged. Kimi waved goodbye to the rest of the gang before going off to interact with other guests.
She was casually walking through the middle of the café when she suddenly bumped into someone she didn't expect to see at her party. She stared at that person in utter surprise, unable to say anything.
"Oh hey!" Rachel greeted, smiling at her.
Kimi smiled back, "Hi! Nice to see you here."
"Thanks, and Happy birthday! It was so kind of your friends to invite me and consider me as one of your friends," Rachel said, looking around the place. "We didn't meet properly during Savannah's party, so I thought this would be the perfect time for us to catch up a little?" she added, holding out her hand for a handshake.
Kimi is genuinely surprised by her presence here. She never got close to her, even at the time she and Tommy were in a relationship. She just stared at her in awe, thinking it was very kind of her to attend her birthday party even if they didn't bond enough in the past.
Kimi smiled and shook her hand. "Thank you. I hope you're having a good time!" she said, genuinely hoping she does.
"The party is very nice. Chuckie still hasn't changed, has he?" Rachel commented. "It must be really heartwarming to have someone prepare a surprise party for you. He's such a nice guy."
"He is," Kimi applauded.
"I hope I can find a guy like that for myself," Rachel said, staring at someone from afar.
Kimi followed the direction of her stare and saw it was directed at Tommy. He's at the back of the seated crowd, working on the projector while casually talking to some of their school peers. He's very occupied there, not noticing that they are staring at him.
"I wish you find that person soon," Kimi responded, forcing a smile.
"Yeah, I think I'll find him very soon," Rachel replied, still staring at Tommy.
Kimi is starting to feel uncomfortable about the conversation and decided now is the time for her to leave.
"Um, I gotta go talk to my parents now," she smiled uneasily. "Have a good time!"
Rachel nodded, ending their conversation as Kimi politely parted from her in deep thought.
Kimi cannot figure out why conversations with her have been so uncomfortable ever since she came back to this town. They didn't fight in the past and she didn't do anything wrong to her in the present. She's starting to feel bad that she's thinking this way about her when she has been showing nothing but kindness to her.
She mindlessly walked around and stopped at the counter, still in deep thought. Her mind was too lost on that thought she didn't notice her father was standing in front of her.
"Kimi, are you alright?" Chas asked in concern, holding her shoulder.
She broke out from her thought and looked at his father. "I'm alright, Dad. Thank you!" she responded, surprising him with a tight hug.
Chas hugged her back and kissed her head. There are not many people around them as they're inside the counter, isolated from the rest of the party. They soon parted from the hug as he spoke.
"Happy Birthday sweetheart. We got this present for you," Chas said, pulling out a box from his back. The box was wrapped with birthday-themed paper and tied with a ribbon. Kimi happily accepted it, wondering what might be inside the gorgeous packaging.
"Open it! I'm sure you'll really love it," Chas instructed. "Your mother and I have been saving for that for this exact day," her father smiled, anticipating for her to see the gift.
Kimi glanced at his father before pulling the ribbon and gently ripping off the wrapper of the gift. She pulled the box out of its remaining wrapper and widened her eyes at the sight. It was the flip phone she's been wanting to have since the beginning of the year.
"Is this?-" Kimi smiled, slowly looking up at her father.
Chas watched her reaction excitedly, feeling incredibly happy that her daughter likes the gift. It is the latest Razr model, a flip phone she mentioned to them last Christmas. She already has a phone, but she's been using it for nearly four years now and it definitely needed a replacement.
"I never thought you guys would give me this," Kimi said, carefully lifting the phone stored inside the box. "I didn't know you had extra money to get this."
"We know you would love it. Your mother and I thought that you've been using that phone for years and needed a new one," Chas explained, seeing how aged her phone looked now. "Don't worry about the money, Kira and I always have some extras."
"Thanks, Dad!" she beamed, hugging her father again after receiving such a nice gift.
"No problem. You know Kira and I always want the best for you and your brother," Chas vowed, patting her shoulders. "Now, why don't you go out there and show that to your friends? Make sure you cherish this day, okay?"
Kimi glanced at her father one last time before going to the crowd gathered at the dim side of the café. She saw almost every guest seated in that crowd, waiting for the projector screen to play something. She had no idea about the purpose of it and just decided to go there to check on everyone.
She was just about to sit on one of the vacant chairs at the back of the crowd when she heard someone tapping the microphone, probably doing a sound check.
"Now that all of the guests are seated, may we call on our celebrant, Kimi Finster, as we are about to watch something special.," Betty announced on the microphone, getting everyone's attention. The spotlights were then aimed toward Kimi who was cluelessly standing at the back.
Everyone clapped and cheered as Kimi walked to the front, sitting on a chair reserved for her. The seat location allowed her to see family members, close friends, and some peers from school sitting in the audience. She then saw Tommy at the back, operating the projector as usual. He caught her eyes and smiled at her. She smiled back at him before looking away.
All the remaining lights were suddenly turned off and the projector began displaying an image, an introduction to the video that was about to play.
The video began with different clips of her in France, the week she and her mother met her father, Chuckie, and all their friends.
The video started with different pictures of Kimi's newborn phase in Nagoya, the place where she was born. It was followed by short clips and another set of pictures of the time she lived in Paris with her mom. The images in Paris are taken mostly at the Reptarland amusement park with the rest being taken at various landmarks across Paris.
The background music soon changed from a melodic to a cheerful sound. The video is now displaying images of Kimi at the time when she and her mother moved with the Finsters to start a new life as a family. This is also the part when images of the younger gang began to appear in the video.
The video progressed from her toddler to recent years, showing how much she grew over the years. The whole video made her reminisce about all the beautiful memories she built in this city. She is very thankful that this is the life and people she got to grow up with.
As the video approached the end, her family appeared with their heartfelt greeting video, making Kimi a bit emotional. She looked at her family behind her, trying her best not to cry again. She turned to the screen again, now displaying the gang expressing their birthday wishes, one by one.
"Happy Birthday! We may not be that close but hoping to have you on more shopping escapades in the future," Angelica said in the video, blowing a kiss. Kimi smiled as she remembered their time at the mall earlier.
It was followed by Susie's greeting, "Happy Birthday Kimi, hoping the best to you. Wishing for you to reach all the dreams you have been telling me, hope you don't change. I love you girl!"
"Happy Birthday K-woman, wishing all the best, and don't worry, I'll try my best to get your name in the next rover to Mars as my gift," Dil greeted in the video, not directly looking at the camera as he was working on a project at that time.
"Kimi!" Lil squeaked. "Happy Birthday!" The twins greeted in unison.
"Thank you for being a good friend," Phil said, smiling casually.
"You have always been there for me in every phase of my life, and I considered you as my sister all these years. I hope you have a great day and I love you so much," Lil followed, smiling heartwarmingly as their part came to an end.
Kimi smiled, feeling overwhelmed by all the messages she's been getting so far. There was a brief pause in the video before the next person came next.
"I know you hate getting called with weird names, so I'll stay formal here," Tommy started. "So Kimi, Happy Birthday! You're one of the people I relate to the most. I can honestly list all the things we shared interest with, but I'm afraid this part of the video would eat some screen time," he explained, laughing.
Tommy continued, "I wish you the best in life and I'm looking forward to more of our adventures," he smiled as his part ended.
Kimi turned to him and smiled, mouthing a thank you. Tommy smiled back and gave her a finger salute.
Everyone in the room clapped after the video ended. Betty immediately went to Kimi's seat and invited her to stand at the front and speak. Kimi immediately complied, standing up and grabbing the microphone being handed to her. She took a deep breath and looked at the audience before she spoke.
"First of all, thank you everyone for coming here. The biggest credit of course should go to my brother for planning this whole party," Kimi said, starting her speech. She then looked at her parents in the audience, "I also want to thank mom and dad for raising me the way they did. I don't think I would've come to this point of my life without them," she smiled, getting Kira and Chas to smile back at her.
Kimi now turned her attention to the gang, "To all my friends who helped my brother set this party up, thank you so much. You guys have no idea how happy you made me today," she spoke, finishing her speech. Everyone clapped at her speech and the room was soon filled with cheers of celebration.
The party continued until eleven in the evening when most of the guests started to go home and leave in groups. There are still a few guests left, but most of them are also preparing to leave. Angelica is one of those who already went home, while the rest of the gang stayed to help clean the place.
Kimi collected the trash bags and tied them firmly, preparing to bring them outside. She gently kicked the side door of the café, carrying two of those bags to put in the trash. The darkness outside didn't terrify her as she casually lifted the lid of the dumpster and put the bags in there. She was about to return inside to get all the remaining bags when she suddenly heard her name being called by someone nearby.
"Kimi," called softly by a person she can't recognize.
The person walked closer to her, making her recognize who it was. "Tommy? what are you doing here?" Kimi blurted, surprised by his sudden appearance.
"I wanted to talk to you," Tommy responded. "I spotted you here, so I went here," he explained, trying to calm her down.
"I thought it was someone else," Kimi sighed in relief. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"I just wanted to give something to you. I couldn't do it earlier since you're busy with the party and your guests," Tommy responded, pulling out a velvet box from his pocket. He grabbed one of her hands and placed the box in her palm.
"What's this?" Kimi wondered, looking at the box.
She lifted the top of the box and saw a beautiful blue topaz necklace lying inside. It is a stunning piece of jewelry. She stared at it in awe and carefully lifted it to appreciate its beauty.
"A family member gave that to me. I just thought it will fit you perfectly," he smiled, watching her reaction to his gift. "Do you like it?"
"Definitely. It's so beautiful!" Kimi nodded, staring astonishingly at the necklace.
She got too occupied looking at the details of the necklace she didn't notice that he was now standing behind her. He gently grabbed the jewelry from her hand and carefully placed it around her neck, locking it in place. She allowed him to do that while touching the pendant of the necklace.
He stared at the necklace on her neck, speechless at how perfect it looked on her porcelain skin.
Suddenly, they heard the door swinging nearby. They immediately turned their head to see the cause of the sound and saw none. They both shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing.
"Thank you!" she whispered, looking at his eyes on the side of her face. They both smiled at each other and stayed like that for a minute.
Tommy smiled. "Hey, that's the least I can do for your help in writing some of my film scripts, and for bringing me to some of the most dangerous escapades when we were younger," he jokingly said.
She laughed, playfully punching his stomach.
"We should get inside. Everyone is probably looking for us," Kimi suggested, stepping inside the café. He nodded in response and followed her silently.
In case you missed it, I mentioned in one of the previous chapters that Phil's age (15) is not yet legal to drive, but let's just assume he's good at not getting caught. I mean, it's not like he's a pure law-abiding person in the canon (ᗒ ᗨᗕ). Thank you for reading the story, please don't hesitate to let me know what you think.