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“Surprise!”

            I flinched back, not expecting the force the voices would bring when I opened the door. For a split second I thought about escaping, but Chace slapped my back, causing me to stumble forward and into his house. Knowing what he wanted, I put on a false expression of surprise. “Wow!” I cried, cringing at how fake I sounded.

            From the front of the sizable group in front of me, Katie snorted. “You sound excited.”

            I held back a grin.

            “Happy almost-birthday, Rose!” Naomi greeted me, rushing forward and throwing her arms around me. “The big one-eight!”

            “Yeah, you’re almost legal now! Go bang some hot teachers!” Julia chipped in with a sly grin.

            I shot her a mocking look. “Because that’s exactly what I want to do. You need to stop reading those illicit stories, Jules.”

            Laughing, she shrugged. “Hey, it’s only fantasy.”

            “Let’s keep it that way.”

            “Maybe.”

            “Julia.”

            Grinning, she waved me off. “Anyway, how ‘bout it? A surprise party?” Gripping my arm, she tugged me away from Chace and toward the crowd of people. “Chace really tried hard to get everyone to come. Even though he didn’t know half of them.”

            I glanced back at Chace, who was still standing by the door, chatting with Kate about something. “Is that so? How many people are here?” Judging by my welcoming party, the number had to be over fifteen.

            “Twenty-five.”

            Impressed, I took another look around. “I didn’t even realize I had twenty-five friends.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Come on, we’ve had to wait for the last half hour for you to show up. Now let’s go order the pizza.”

            “Why didn’t you order it before I arrived?”

            “We needed to know what kind you liked,” she explained as we entered the kitchen. “You’re the birthday girl after all.”

            I furrowed my eyebrows. “That’s stupid.”

            “Chace’s idea.”

            “Of course.” Smiling, I shook my head. It was just like him. “Let’s order some pizza for these hungry people.”

            Forty-five minutes, and four party-sized pizzas later, I was sitting on the couch, surrounded by ten of my friends, all yapping at me at once. Normally I was averse to having all the attention on me. This time it was no different.

            “So,” Katherine, who sat diagonally from me, began, an excited expression on her face. “Coach said to wait until the season began, but I figured right now would be a great time to announce this…”

            “Announce what?” Cody, my old lab partner sitting next to her, questioned.

            I frowned. Coach? What would my coach want to announce— with a start, I realized exactly what she was going to bring up. In front of Chace, who now knew about my impending blindness. My eyes widened. Katherine wouldn’t…

            “This year, Rose gets to be captain of the volleyball team!”

            Chace, who was perched beside me, stiffened. “She what?” he said, a thousand different emotions brewing in his tone.

            “She made captain!” Katherine repeated excitedly. “So, Rosie, congratulations!”

            “Yeah, congratulations!” Julia chirped, leaning across the coffee table that divided us to pat my knee. “You definitely deserve it!”

            I faked a smile, doing my best to avoid looking in Chace’s direction. When Kate had first mentioned this to me before, I hadn’t said anything to him. In fact, I’d almost forgotten about it. And knowing him, since I’d repeated multiple times how much I liked volleyball, this wouldn’t make him feel any better. “I know it’s… great,” I mumbled.

            Katherine frowned. “You don’t sound too happy.”

            My heart thumped in my chest. “Actually…” I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly going dry. Now was the time to say it. I’ve said it to Kate, and Chace. Why not my other friends? It wasn’t fair if I didn’t tell them. They had a right to know. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. I would tell them. “I’m… I’m… transferring at the end of December.”

            Or not.

            “What?” a few people cried immediately.

            “You’re switching schools?” Julia asked, her jaw nearly touching the ground. “Since when? Why? You don’t want to be captain?”

            I shook my head reverently. “I do! I really, really, really do want to be captain,” I promised her. “I just, I don’t know… want a change?”

            “But, Rose,” Julia protested, “you’re our best member. You can’t just leave!”

            “Yeah, and it’s your senior year! You want to transfer halfway?” Katherine pitched in.

            “Believe me, I don’t,” I muttered.

            Julia gesticulated wildly with her hands. “Then— then stay!”

            Sighing, I shook my head, my hands clenching the hem of my shirt. I really didn’t want to talk about this. About how I was leaving my friends, my life behind after my vision left me. And I had no say in it at all. “I can’t…”

            “Where are you transferring?” Cody demanded. “Near? Or far?”

            His question threw me off guard. Not once had I looked at the name of the school my parents had enrolled me in. How was I supposed to answer this one? My mind raced for an answer. Even if I did know, it wasn’t like I could tell them the truth. I could lie… but if I lied now, they would find out eventually.

            “Ah, she’s just taking college courses up at my school,” Chace interjected smoothly, causing me to start. “Surprisingly, she’s a smart girl.”

            Understanding flickered in Katherine’s eyes. “Ah, so you’re ditching us for the boyfriend?”

            My eyes snapped to her. “It’s not—”

            “No, no,” she cut me off, holding up her hand. “I get it. If my boyfriend was in college and I had the chance to go too, I would go.”

            I dropped my gaze, focusing on the floor, debating on whether or not I should go with the lie. But did I want Chace lying for me? It made me feel bad. I didn’t want to turn him into a liar… even though he’d done his fair share of fibbing. Besides, it made things a lot simpler… but one day my friends were still going to find out I wasn’t going to his school. Just like one day they would find out I was blind. So what did it matter if I lied here or not? Nodding, I lifted my head back up and grinned. “Yeah. How can I say no?”

            She smiled back at me. “Who’d want to say no? He’s cute.”

            “Yeah,” I agreed, now turning to look at Chace.

            His eyes met mine and a frown flitted onto his face. I felt my own smile slipping immediately.  If there was one look I didn’t like, it was the one on his face. It was almost pitying.

            “Well, it seems we’re going to have to throw another party in the near future,” Naomi decided, glancing up from her cell phone. “A going away party. Even though you’re not going far.”

            “I still can’t believe you’re leaving,” Julia grumbled. “Especially because you beat me out for captain…”

            I kicked her gently. “Oh, stop complaining. Doesn’t this mean you’re captain now?”

            “I don’t feel like I’ve earned it.”

            “You’ve earned it,” I promised, just wanting the subject to drop. “So, should we play a game or something? It seems like everyone is spread out…”

            Cody’s eyes lit up. “I know exactly what game we can play.”

            “What’s that?” Katherine spoke up.

            “Man Hunt,” he declared, grinning widely. “Sounds good?”

            I pursed my lips. “But it’s cold out…”

            “Man up, Rosie. We can partner up since there’s so many of us.”

            “Yeah, you can cozy up with Chace,” Naomi hinted, elbowing me in the side with her pointy elbow.

            Grimacing, I nodded. Maybe it would be a little better if Chace were with me. “Alright, then let’s rally the forces…”

            The moment I stepped outside, shivers wracked my body. While it wasn’t terribly freezing out, it was still more than chilly for me. Maybe I had low blood pressure or something. Luckily, my team was the team that would be hiding first. With Chace on my side, and this being his house, I had a good feeling about the game.

            “This way, Rosie,” Chace urged, gripping my hand and pulling me toward the front of the house. “I’ve got the perfect spot.”

            My hand tightened around his as we went around the corner, stepping into the moonlit basked front yard. Quietly, we made our way to the porch, shushing each other as the steps groaned under our combined weight. Chace stopped at the edge of his porch and patted the railing. “Climb onto here.”

            “Climb?” I echoed.

            “Yeah,” he urged, tapping the wood again. “Don’t worry, if you fall I’ll…” Trailing off, a concerned expression crossed the section of his face that wasn’t masked by darkness.

            I paused, frowning at him. “I won’t fall.”

            “I know,” he said quickly. “I just meant—”

            “No, I know what you meant,” I cut him off, shaking my head. “You’re just worried, thanks. But I think I can handle climbing onto the porch railing.” To prove my point, I easily lifted myself onto the wood, carefully climbing from my knees to my feet. “See? Now do you want help?” I questioned, unable to keep a smirk off my face.

            Chace looked up at me uneasily, his hands hovering in midair, as if he was considering holding onto me. The smirk slipped off my face and I slid myself over to give him room to get up. After another moment of hesitation, he placed his hand on the railing and easily heaved himself over it, landing on his feet. He straightened himself out, immediately grabbing onto my hand. “This way, Rosie, be careful.”

            “Right,” I murmured, doing my best not to be annoyed. His normal worry was one thing, and I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but it felt a lot more stronger than usual. Which I guess wasn’t too much of a surprise. I’d known he wouldn’t take knowing about my imminent blindness with a nonchalant attitude.   

            Together we shuffled to the end of the railing, where the lower part of his roof met with the ceiling of his porch. Once there, he cautiously maneuvered himself around me so he could climb up first. Even amidst the blackness, he managed to heave himself up with ease. I stared after him, a bit amazed. “Give me your hand,” he ordered in a whisper. “And don’t say you can do it by yourself. Even if you can, I’m helping you with this, Rosie.”

            Letting out an indigent huff, I allowed him to take my hand and pull me closer to the side of the house. After that he slipped his hands under my armpits and hoisted me off the railing, pulling me up and back onto the flat porch roof. Surprised by his strength, I let out a startled cry, to which he responded to with a quiet chuckle. “Yeah, I’m a lot stronger than I look.”

              “I’ll say,” I commented, appraising his arms with my eyes. “They look pretty twiggy to me.”

            Shrugging, he flexed them. “Guess I’m just slender and muscular. Which I think is a good thing.”

            “Me too,” I agreed. “No offense, but too much muscle is so not attractive.”

            He gave me one of his heart-stopping grins. “No offense taken. Now come on, and stay low and quiet.”

            Once again he captured my hand in a vice-like grip, practically dragging me across the roof, keeping me at a close proximity to him. From down below us, I could hear footsteps, so I held my breath, yanking Chace to a stop. He quickly turned me, a worried expression on his face, his hand shooting to my shoulder, as if to steady me. I gave him a questioning look, glancing at the hand clamped to my shoulder. After shooting me a sheepish expression, he faced away from me. We started moving again and I narrowed my eyes at his back. No, it wasn’t just me. His concern was a lot more overbearing than normal.

            “There’s a ladder here,” he told me a few moments later, pausing hear the wall of the main building of the house. “Can you climb it?”

            “Of course I can,” I snapped at him before I could stop myself. “Chace, I can see perfectly right now. Just so you know.”

            He frowned at me. “I…”

            “Just go,” I demanded, regretting my harsh tone immediately. He was just worried. I knew that. I should be flattered with it, but for some reason I was finding it incredibly annoying. Smiling dryly, I shook my head. Some girlfriend I was.

            “Um, I think you should go first…”

            Holding my tongue, I followed his suggestion, placing my feet on the first rung and my hands on the highest one I can reach. Chace stepped forward, his chest pressing against my back as I began to climb. He’s just worried, I chanted to myself as I climbed the ladder to the second story roof. Be flattered. Be flattered.

             Unlike the roof of the porch, the roof of the house was gable styled, sloping downwards on either side. The roofing was the only source of traction and almost instantly my foot slipped from under me. I sucked in a surprised gulp of air as I nearly face planted onto the cold tile. Somehow I managed to get my grip back and slowly began to slide over so Chace could climb onto the roof along with me.

            “This is a stupid idea,” I told him flatly.

            He gave a short laugh. “Don’t be so quick to judge, Rosie. Scoot up more so it’s a little more level. Come on, go.”

            Sighing lightly, I moved myself closer to the top of the roof. Chace followed right behind me, somehow proceeding effortlessly, like he wasn’t afraid of sliding off the roof. For someone who was worried about me so much just climbing up here, he seemed rather relaxed about me basically crabwalking on the slippery tile.

            When I was directly at the top where the two sides met, I stopped, placing my butt on the almost flat meeting joint. Chace gestured for me to slide a little lower so I could lie down. Doing as indicated, I scooted my butt a little lower, resting my head just below the part I’d just been sitting on. “I don’t think this is really fair, Chace,” I mentioned as I settled down next to him.

            “What?” he responded, sidling up next to me, his arm going around my shoulder securely.

            “No one will find us up here.”

            “That’s the point,” he said with a soft laugh.

            I shifted so it’d be easier to look at him, and his arm tightened around my considerably. Pressing my lips into a line, I figured I’d better snip the problem at the bud. “Chace, stop doing that.”

            “Doing what?”

            “Worrying so needlessly. I’m not going to fall off my roof. And I don’t have blind attacks all the time. You don’t need to be so anxious.”

            Turning on his side, he propped himself up with his elbow, the moon highlighting the frown on his face. “I’m not—”

            “You are,” I stated firmly. “I want you to stop.”

            “I can’t,” he told me. “How can I? After your accident—”

            “Accident being the key word,” I pointed out. “I’m not driving a car, Chace.”

            He shook his head. “No, but you’re on a roof, where you can fall and break your neck.”

            “So can you!”

            “Yeah, but I don’t have random moments where I can’t see and lose my balance,” he retorted impatiently. “Remember the duck pond, Rosie?”

            “If you didn’t know about my disease, you wouldn’t be this concerned, Chace.”

            “You’re right,” he agreed. “But I do now. And after that accident, I really know and realize what can happen. So of course I’m going to be more worried, Rosie!”

            “Well, stop!”

            “I can’t!”

            “You can!”

            He let out a quiet scoff. “No, Rosie. Now that I know what I do, I’m not going to act as carelessly as I did before.”

            I glowered at him. “This is exactly the reason why I didn’t want to tell anyone.”

            “So you can put yourself in danger?”

            “I wasn’t in danger before!”

            He laughed without humor. “No? So then I just imagined you lying in the hospital basically in a coma?”

            “That was different,” I protested. “I’m not helpless—”

            “Yeah, well, sorry for being so selfish,” he said snippily, “but I’d rather keep an eye on you than have something else happen to you and have it be my fault again.”

            My expression softened. “The accident wasn’t your fault, Chace…”

            “Yeah, it was.”

            “It was no one’s fault!” I told him sternly. “It was just an unlucky day for me.”

            Hanging his head, he shook it. “If I’d known—”

            “No ifs, Chace,” I interrupted, reaching my hand out to lift his head back up.

            “I’m only being so over concerned because I don’t want something like that to happen to you again,” he explained to me, shutting his eyes and grimacing. “But I understand where you’re coming from. I’m still new to this, Rosie. Now that I know what could happen, I want to be able to prevent it. I mean, it’s not every day you run into someone who’s slowly going blind. I’m sorry if I’m overreacting.”

            My heart slowly sunk in my chest. “No, don’t apologize. I wasn’t thinking of your point of view.” Biting my lip, I glanced down at my hands. Now I looked like a bitch. “I should apologize. I completely understand. I guess if I was in your position I would do the same. I should be more appreciative.”

            A smile flittered on to his face and he opened one of his eyes. “You think?”

            “Oh, shut up,” I responded, lightly slapping him on the shoulder, glad the tension was broken. “I mean it though. Thank you… And I’ll try not to get so irritated with you.”

            Grinning, he nodded. “Okay, and I’ll try not to be so mother hen-ish with you.”

            I laughed. “Okay, that sounds good. But I just have one question.”

            “What’s that?”

            “If you’re so worried about me, why did you bring me to the roof of your second story house of all places?”

            He wagged his finger at me. “Wait and you’ll find out.”

            “I don’t want to wait—”

            “Well you’re going to have to,” he cut me off in a sing-song voice. “Of course, I can think of some good ways to pass the time.”

            I raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

            “Come closer and I’ll tell you.”

            Come closer? We were nearly pressed together as it was. Still, I schooched closer to him, molding my body to his. Smiling widely, he wrapped his arms around me securely before pressing his lips to mine. He pulled away after a moment and shot me a suggestive look. Grinning, I rolled my eyes. “Should have seen that coming.”

            “Probably,” he responded cheekily before going in for another kiss.

            Closing my eyes, I lost myself to the kiss, inhaling Chace’s warm scent. Although we were still out in the chilly air, I suddenly felt cozy. From down below us, I could hear people calling our names. I broke away from Chace to call back to them, but he quickly covered my mouth with his hand, shaking his head.

            “What?” I whispered to him.

            He glanced at this sky, his eyes widening a bit as he did so. Excitedly, he slapped my shoulder, pointing upwards. I followed his finger, furrowing my eyes when all I saw was the dark sky. Then seconds later, something bright went streaking by. My jaw nearly hit the ground. A few more streaks of white ran across the sky, sending my heart racing. I turned back to Chace, completely stunned. “A meteor shower?”

            “Perfect night, right?” he responded with a wink.

            “How…” I trailed off, my gaze wandering back to the sky where a few more bolts of dazzling lights streaked across the darkness.

            “Luck’s just on our side, I suppose,” Chace said simply, resting his head against the roof. “Let’s not question it and enjoy it, okay?”

            “Okay,” I agreed easily, lying my head down on his chest. Inside me, my heart was tightening. This would probably be my last chance to see a meteor shower. My hand searched for Chace’s and I squeezed it. He gave a quick squeeze back.

           Two more months. In just two more months, I would never get to behold this sight again.

             The smile slowly slipped off my face. 

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             Guys, I can't apologize enough for not updating in so long ): I just haven't been in the mood for writing. And I seriously thought about quitting... but I don't know, today I sat down and forced myself to write. And I liked it again. I don't know what's wrong with me haha. Maybe I just needed a break. Who knows. But I feel really bad about it, and I'm going to try to update on time! Promise!

        On another note.... to the right there's a Supernatural video I made... inspired by Jimmy Kimmel. You should check it out :D

        And there's a link to my fanpage in the external look!