"We have to hurry," El stamped her foot.
"We have time. You said we need to be there at eight, and it's 5:45 PM now," I reassured her.
"And we've only done our hair," she panicked. "We still have makeup and getting dressed, so focus and hurry up," she urged me and Beth.
As always with El, getting ready was the most tedious part, but eventually, we finished on time.
"Can we go now?" I asked.
"Yes," El replied, and she and Beth pulled me out of the dorm.
Outside, they blindfolded me and finally led me to a car. Then, they put me inside.
"Who's driving us?" I checked.
"One of the guys," El giggled.
"Hello, Niall," I greeted, waving, not sure if it was in the right direction.
"How did you know it was him?" Beth was confused.
"He's the only one who has a car and doesn't let anyone else drive it, duh," I replied.
"Alright, alright," Niall laughed. "Enough."
"Do you want to tell me where you're taking me?" I pleaded.
"No," all three answered simultaneously.
"Why?"
"Because it's a secret," Beth whispered into my ear, giving me goosebumps.
"No, please, don't ever do that again in my life, especially when I'm blindfolded," I shivered, and she just laughed.
We soon stopped, and I had to get out. I was slowly led somewhere. Entering some kind of room where it was warm, I felt better. It was very quiet in here.
"Ready?" Niall asked.
"As if I wasn't always ready," I snorted.
"Whatever you say," he said, and untied the blindfold.
There was an enormous crowd of people shouting, "Happy Birthday!" which delighted me.
"Luanna Perez," Jake said into a microphone. Where did he get a mic? "You've changed, entertained, and improved so much in this college that, after consulting with everyone here, we decided that your best birthday present will be… January 1st is Luanna Perez Day. We will celebrate this holiday every year here. Right here, in this college," he said, hugging me, and I couldn't move.
"What?!" I screamed, and everyone laughed at my expression. "You must be joking!"
"He's not joking," Josh said, approaching me. "You're the first girl to almost break my nose."
"To become the football team captain, or even make the team," Louis added.
"To annoy every single lecturer here," Liam chimed in.
"And to cause all sorts of shit that no one else has done or even tried," Niall finished.
"So, Luanna, this day and this party are for you," Harry said, and someone started the music.
I looked around and saw a huge table piled high with presents. There were tons of them. I saw another table that cheered me up even more: drinks and snacks. Mostly alcohol. I ran over, downed a few red glasses, and ran to dance.
I realized one thing. This is the best year, the best birthday, and the best friends… of my life.
Niall's POV:
This was probably the saddest breakfast of my life. You could see how everyone was trying to hide their sadness and sympathy. I tried to force the most convincing smile, but I couldn't manage it. It was such an early morning, and we were all here. Probably for the last time.
"It's time," Louis stated, and we all nodded and walked sadly toward the car.
We sat down just like on Luanna's birthday, but no one complained because there were much more important things happening. We got out at the airport. We looked like zombies, but no one cared because there weren't many people here anyway.
El and Beth were already crying, and at least I held back my tears. We stopped in a line.
"Do you really have to leave?" El wept into Luanna's shoulder.
"I have to. I need to go back. My mom is probably dying. I can't just leave her alone," she smiled sadly.
"You're the most amazing person. I don't know what I'll do without you," Beth mumbled, sobbing.
Luanna hugged her tightly, just as she did with all the others. Each of the guys also said something, gave a hug and their best wishes, and she did the same for them. Luanna tried to maintain a smile as much as she could, even through her tears. I won't lie. At this moment, I wanted to die. The unbearable pain in my chest was stabbing me from the inside. Like I was slowly collapsing.
I was the last one left. While hugging me, she slipped a piece of paper into my hand, and her last words to me were
"Don't forget, I forgave you," she said, managing a tiny smile through falling tears, and turned to leave. She grabbed her suitcases and walked toward the doors. Before stepping through them, she turned back to us. "Never forget me, I'm too cool for that," she yelled and entered the airport.
I looked down at my hand. There was a piece of paper folded into four sections. Unfolding it once, I found the words: "Does this remind you of something?" As I unfolded it for the last time, I could no longer control my tears. I saw a picture of a little girl. The same one. The same one from sixth grade.
I collapsed to my knees while tears streamed down my face. I looked through the glass at Luanna, who was checking in her luggage, and whispered:
"Don't fly away, I love you."