"It's fucking freezing," I murmured through clenched teeth just as I felt Blaire's arms wrap around my waist. "Where are those assholes?"

"I know, it's getting colder. Spring sucks. Not as bad as winter, though," Blaire muttered back, doing her best not to chatter her teeth together.

We had been standing outside of Blaire's house for almost half an hour after my family had left, and Andy and Leroy still hadn't shown up yet.

"I love how you're focusing on the weather and not the fact that I'm going to be late for my own birthday."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Blaire said with a small laugh. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Shaking my head, and silently cursing my friends who were supposed to have arrived almost an hour ago, I let Blaire snuggle in closer to me. I guess that's what happens when you agree to meet people who have been friends since they could walk. They always got caught up hanging out with each other.

Andy and Leroy, from what I had been told, had known each other since they were babies. Their parents were family friends, and they'd been hanging out with each other since they could identify shapes. I had only been brought into the fold at the start of our primary school years when I'd met Andy. Blaire had been welcomed into the group with open arms at the beginning of our high school days. Even though we all considered each other best friends, Andy and Leroy were at the centre of that.

"They'd better be here soon," I muttered, and I heard Blaire quietly hum beside me.

I didn't want to be standing out in the cold for too much longer, and considering my birthday party was waiting for me back home, standing there was not where I should be.

Thankfully, not five seconds after I had said something, I saw Leroy round the corner at the other end of the street. Andy closely followed Leroy, tapping him on the shoulder before suddenly breaking into a sprint down the road toward Blaire and me.

"Sorry, we're late!" He called over the sound of his feet slapping against the pavements, as he quickly looked behind him to see Leroy gaining on him. "Hide-and-seek tag got out of hand. Safe zone!" He added just as he reached us, and Leroy grabbed his shoulder.

"What? You can't do that!" Leroy complained, looking at Blaire and me for backup, but we both raised our hands to distance ourselves from the game they were playing.

"I just did, Roy. We have to be civil now."

Andy laughed and gave Leroy a little nudge, causing him to roll his eyes and, yet again, I saw the hint of a smile on his lips, and I mentally slapped myself to stop from smiling like an idiot at the sight.

"I knew I should have sprinted," he muttered, and Andy widened his eyes slightly.

"You can run faster than that?"

"Yeah. That's why I trailed for the football team," Leroy stated with a chuckle.

"His only problem was that he couldn't play football," I chimed in and received a playful glare from Leroy. I felt a slight discomfort in my stomach but chose to ignore it. "Are we ready?" I asked and received nods from everyone.

"Let's get moving. I'm gonna get frostbite if I stay out here any longer." Blaire pulled away from my side and opened the back door to my car, slipping inside.

"I have so many questions," Andy mumbled, looking over at Leroy who had his eyebrows raised.

"What?" I questioned, looking from Andy to Leroy.

"First, why not wait in the car? It's freezing. Two, why didn't Blaire try to get shotgun—"

"Shotgun!" Leroy yelled, cutting Andy off.

"I'm going to kill you," Andy threatened, before focusing back on me. "But, what's more important right now is you and Blaire getting all cosy."

"What? We're friends, and we were cold. I'd do the same with either of you," I defended. However, just the thought of me and Leroy snuggling up in the cold warmed me up enough.

"That brings up the car question again. Why not wait in there?" Andy pressed. "Maybe it was all part of your plan."

"Andy, there is no plan," I retorted, my voice turning into a harsh whisper. "Now, get in the car."

"You'd tell us if anything was going on between you two, wouldn't you?" Andy asked, starting to move toward the car, his voice as low as mine.

"Of course, I would."

I wasn't lying, which was the main thing. If I were in a relationship, with anyone, not just Blaire, I would tell Andy. I would tell all of my friends. The thing was, I wasn't planning on getting into a relationship any time soon. Mainly because there was one massive obstacle I needed to get over before I did that. Two, if we included the Leroy obstacle. Which I very much did.

"All right. I just want you to know that you can confide in me."

At those words, I felt a slight stab in my heart, which I tried to ignore, but it was proving difficult. There was nothing more I wanted to do than to confide in my friends and tell them everything. But something was holding me back. There was something always holding me back, and I wasn't sure how to get around that. I wasn't sure how to break free.

I did my best to recompose myself, and I smiled at Andy, doing what I could to show him that nothing was going on with me.

"I know. Trust me. You'd be the first to know." I added a small wink for good measure, and it seemed to pay off as he gave me a slap on the back and a big smile before walking to the other side of the car and getting in.

"We should really get to your party, Pete," Leroy said, moving to the passenger side door.

"It's about fucking time."

Taking in a deep breath of the cold night air, I slipped inside my car and brought it to life, pulling away from the curb. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Leroy shooting me a few glances, and I tried to ignore him. Every time I felt his eyes on me, however, it felt as though my stomach was dropping through the bottom of my car.

"Are we almost there?" Andy asked, which somehow managed to pull my stomach back to where it was supposed to be.

"We literally just started driving," Blaire muttered, and looking in the rear-view mirror, I saw her looking at Andy, shaking her head.

"Ugh, I'm just pumped to get started! I finally get to legally drink with Pete!"

"It's not going to be any different to the other times." Leroy laughed, throwing his head back.

"I'll know the difference, and that's all that matters."

"You're a weird kid," Blaire said with a small sigh.

"Gotta maintain my image." Andy snickered. "You should see me at home—"

"If you bring up something about masturbation, I'm going to jump out of this car," Blaire warned, and Andy went quiet for a moment.

"I'll wait until we both have a few drinks in us."

"I'm going to need a lot more than a few."

"Huh, they really did start without me," I muttered, interrupting the riveting conversation in the back seat as we pulled up to my house.

People were walking all over the front lawn and stumbling into the house. Groups had already formed, and it seemed drinks were already flowing.

"Is your family not concerned about stolen things?" Leroy asked, looking at me as I killed my car's engine.

"I'm one hundred percent sure they've hired someone to watch over the party," I answered, feeling my heartbeat begin to speed up.

Usually, I wasn't too freaked out about parties, but there was something different about one that was being held at my own house. Truth be told, the main thing that was freaking me out was how many people were now in the house where a video of me confessing who I was resided.

I had no idea why I was freaking out. My computer had a password, and it was protected. No one could get into it.