Hey there, Strangers. Guess what today is...? Yep, it's Warren's birthday! To celebrate, here's some GrahamField. :D

Enjoy!

Seventeen Candles

by

xLazyxWriterx

The yawn building up in his throat made his eyes water as he fought it back. It eventually died down in the back of his throat. He blinked rapidly, stretching his arms out over the steering wheel as he peered up at the bright red light that shined through the darkness of the evening. It seemed like he had been sitting there for too long with his foot holding down the brakes. His seat belt was beginning to itch the side of his neck. He loosened it, only to have it snack back into to place. With a low sigh, he rested his head back against the seat.

Warren knew that he shouldn't feel this worn out. He barely did anything that would drain any real fatigue. Unless that one hundred question test in Chemistry counted. It had been a chore, but he was pretty sure that he aced it. Hopefully. Probably. Maybe.

Just as he started to rub at his left eye, the red flashed to green. The car in front of him didn't move. For the first time since he got his license, Warren actually felt the urge to honk the horn at another driver. He wouldn't do it, though. Instead, he waited patiently for the driver to come to some sense and slam on the gas. Finally.

Driving down the road at thirty miles per hour and gazing straight ahead, only half-aware of a world outside the comfort of the car, Warren was able to let his mind wander while his hands and feet took care of where he needed to go.

The day had been a bust.

He woke up this morning exhausted after hardcore studying the night before, not going to sleep until about two o'clock in the morning. He also woke up alone, which was unusual until he remembered that he had been alone studying. Damn Chemistry.

Classes were fairly normal; he sat and took notes while those around him whispered or slept, the occasional wad of paper collided with the back of his head, he took his Chemistry test, and class was over.

Well... okay, it was only somewhat normal.

Warren hadn't talked to Max all day. In fact, he didn't even see her at all.

...Or the day before.

Warren was beginning to get worried. He thought back on everything he said to her the past week trying to figure out if he offended her in some manner, or if she was upset about anything else. From what he could recall, everything was fine. Max was her usual self. They did what they did; they walked to class together, hung out during lunch, she snuck into his dorm to watch movies and spend the night and the next morning she woke him up early so she could sneak out before any of the guys caught her. She didn't seem distant or like something was wrong.

He knew she was around; Alyssa said that she saw her this morning on campus. But, Max wasn't in class. She wasn't the type to skip school unless something was wrong. It couldn't just be him; Max wouldn't ditch class just to avoid him... Right?

Warren sighed, flicking his right turn signal before slowing to make the turn. Yeah, he was worried about what was up with her, but he was almost more disappointed that she would up and disappear today of all days.

Warren hadn't made a big deal about his birthday, mostly keeping it to himself. Birthday's stopped being fun after he turned twelve and his father insisted that children parties weren't necessary. Every birthday after that was basically cake and a present or two; no parties, no balloons, no clowns -that one Warren was thankful for- no more playing. This year was the first time he wouldn't be with his parents for his birthday. He was hoping to spend it with friends but...

Only two people acknowledged his birthday: Kate and Brooke.

Kate went out of her way to find him to say, "Happy birthday!" She also suggested that they should plan something for the weekend when everyone was free. Warren was flattered that she remembered, but Kate was Kate. He had hugged her as a thank you.

Brooke, on the other hand, got him a gift. He was pleasantly surprised when she held up a neatly wrapped rectangle without even looking at him, mumbling, "Happy birthday, Warren." She got him a copy the Rise of the Planet of the Apes movie, saying something about the great CGI and James Franco man-candy. He would have hugged her, but she held her hand up and said his girlfriend wouldn't approve.

Well, said girlfriend was no where to be found. Warren ended up hanging out with Brooke at lunch and talking to her. He enjoyed Brooke's company, but, as rude as it sounded, she wasn't the one he wanted to be with.

When the warmth of the sun began to fade, Warren headed out to the Two Whales diner in hopes that Max was hiding out there for what ever reason. He even came up with a ridiculous scenario of him walking into Two Whales with all the lights shut off, only to have them flipped on and all his friends jumping out, screaming, "Surprise!" Cue the confetti and balloons. Then, with a goofy grin on his face, he'd laugh out, "Aw shucks, guys!" just like in those old movies. Then, Max would come up to him, wrap her thin arms around his neck and pull him into a tight embrace. She'd kiss him and pull him over to a tall, stacked cake -pumpkin chocolate chip with cream cheese frosting- surrounded by small plates and refreshments. Everyone would sing happy birthday to him as he blew out his candles, making a wish.

But, back in reality, when he showed up at Two Whales, Max was no where in sight. No cake, no friends, no Max. Only greasy truck drivers and equally as greasy food. He did treat himself to a burger, though, so that was nice. Kind of.

Warren spotted Blackwell Academy. He pulled into the parking lot, finding a free spot and slipping in easy. The car became completely still, silent. Pulling the keys from the ignition, Warren unbuckled the seat belt and pushed his seat back. He relaxed, staring up at the ceiling of the car. He didn't feel like going inside yet. He grabbed his chapstick from the glove box, sliding the slick across his dry lips. He picked up his phone that lay in the passengers seat.

No new messages.

He didn't know how many texts he sent Max. Probably way more that he should have. She never answered, so Warren stopped sending them. He had even tried texting Chloe, but apparently she had no idea where Max was. Seeing that it was a text, Warren had no way of knowing if Chloe was lying to him.

Max would let him know if she was upset. She wasn't the type of girlfriend that would make him have to figure out what he did wrong and then have him drop to his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. At least, that's what he always thought.

No, she wasn't like that. Something else was up, but he didn't understand. Why in the world would she do this to him? No texts, not even a call? On his birthday?

Securing his keys in the front pocket of his jeans, Warren pushed the car door open. The November breeze was chilly. It tousled Warren's hair, sinking into his skin and pinkening his cheeks. The warmth that had been in the wind weeks ago had vanished behind the clouds along with the sun. Warren couldn't complain; now was the perfect time break out his beloved sweatshirts and sweaters.

The car door slammed shut. Warren made sure everything was locked up before dragging his feet to the dorms of Blackwell Academy.

No one else seemed to be out and about like he was. Perhaps they all left already and he was just coming back early. Warren enjoyed the quiet. Shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets, he approached the door leading to the dorm. As quietly as he could, Warren pulled the door open to slip in, making sure it shut quietly. He headed up the stairs to his floor. There wasn't another person in sight. Not like it mattered; everyone sneaks around in this place and it wasn't even that far past curfew.

He kept his eyes glued to the screen of his phone as he walked. Still no message from Max. His heart sank with pure disappointment, a feeling that he hadn't felt for a while. Shutting the device off, he approached his room.

The whiteboard slate beside his door made him chuckle lightly. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" was written in big letters, signatures surrounding the words. Well, at least no one thought to ruin that. He snapped a quick picture with his phone so that he'd have it as a memory, or proof that people actually bothered to stop and write something for him.

After he unlocked his door with a heavy sigh, he flipped on the lights.

There was a moment where Warren's face washed blank with confusion, like his brain cogs couldn't turn fast enough to take in the sight before his wide eyes. His heart was fully awake, pumping quickly while his stomach tried to do a somersault. St... streamers? A balloon? And...

Max saw the shock register on his face before he could hide it. She sat with her legs crossed on his clean floor dressed in loose great sweater with a salmon-colored scarf. Placed in front of her was a small, frosted cake and a gift bag. A beaming smile played on her lips before she brought the party horn in her hand to her mouth, blowing. The party horn became straight, creating a high pitched sound that he recognized from the parties he had as a little kid.

Warren's mouth gaped open. He narrowed his eyes, his lips curving into a wide smile.

Resting the party horn in her lap, Max tried to hide her giggle behind her hand. "Hey there, stranger."

"Hey yourself," Warren breathed out. "Is this where you've been hiding out this entire time? In my room?"

Max shook her head. "Nope," she smirked. "I've been in the shadows for the most part. I just got here."

"Is that right?" Warren pulled his jacket off, tossing it onto the bed. She motioned for him to sit on the other side of the cake.

As Warren went to sit down, Max said, "I hope you're not too upset at me disappearing. I wanted to surprise you and have it just be the two of us... Hope that's okay."

"No, it's great! But, you were starting to really worry me!" Warren got comfortable, careful to not bump the cake. "I thought you were pissed at me or something."

"Sorry," Max apologized, reaching out to grab his hand. She was warm against his cool skin, her heat spreading through him and down to his gut. "I just didn't want to blow the surprise. I'm not good at hiding stuff like that. Forgive me?"

"Always," Warren said simply, bringing her hand to his lips to place light kisses along her fingers. She bit her lip to stifle another giggle.

"Good. Now," Max slipped her hand from his grasp to grab the lighter beside her. The cake wasn't huge by any means, but big enough for two people to share. The white frosting was kind of messy, but Warren didn't mind. One candle was placed in the middle. Max lit it before carefully grabbing the plate it sat on, holding it up to Warren.

"Make a wish."

Warren closed his eyes, thinking. "Hmmmm..." When he opened his eyes, Warren caught her eye, giving her a genuine smile. He blew out the candle.

Max sat the cake back down to clap her hands playfully, excited. "What did you wish for?" she asked, handing him a plastic fork. Warren noticed that she didn't have any plates, but he was fine with just sharing it like this. They both dug into the cake, which was pumpkin chocolate chip with cream cheese icing- Yes!

"I'm not telling you," Warren swallowed his first delicious bite of cake.

"What? Why?"

"Then it won't come true."

Max rolled her eyes, licking frosting from her thumb. "That's the oldest excuse ever."

"It's true."

"Just tell me."

"No."

"Ugh," Max pouted. "Fine."

Warren couldn't help but chuckle. A moment of silence passed before Warren realized that he never even thanked her for doing this for him. Licking his fork clean, he said, "Hey, thanks for this, Max. It really does mean a lot."

"Of course, Warren. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't even see you on your birthday?" Max averted her gaze back to the cake. "Besides, it killed me to not talk to you all day, too."

"You skipped class."

"That's not that big of a deal. I did all my make up work. I had to go over to Chloe's so that she could help me make your cake. Cake's more important that school."

"Well, duh." Warren laughed.

Max set her fork aside as well as the cake. Once the cake was safely away, she scooted over to his side with the gift bag dangling off her fingers. "I know I'm super lame for not spending the day with you and making you hang out with Brooke-"

"How'd you know I hung out with Brooke."

"She made sure to scold me the second she spotted me," Max said sheepishly.

"Yeah, she does that," Warren chuckled.

"Anyway!" Max situated herself beside him comfortable, their shoulders touching, "I'm sorry," she handed him the blue gift bag, "but, perhaps this'll make it up to you."

Warren scratched behind his ear, accepting the gift with a wide grin. "Just having you here now makes up for it. You didn't have to actually get me anything."

"Too bad. Open it," she urged him. She snatched her Polaroid camera that was laying on his bed, readying herself to take his picture. Warren pulled the thin gift paper from the bag, laughing at what he saw.

"Oh God, how'd you know?" Warren pulled out a thick sweater. But, not just any old sweater. Oh no, this one was ugly. Incredibly ugly. Fluffy and red with three Christmas gnomes placed in the center with the words "Chillin' with my GNOMES" on it. The material was soft against Warren's hand. He couldn't wipe the stupid grin from his face as he stared at the overly cheery gnomes. Now, he had another addition to his Ugly Christmas Sweater collection.

He rested it against his chest. A flash nearly blinded him. Max laughed with him as she showed him the picture that her camera spit out. Warren pulled the sweater away to pull Max into a hug. She had to lift herself to her knees to hug him back properly. "Thank you so much, Max! I love it!"

"I'm glad," Max squeezed him tighter. "I saw it at the mall and instantly thought of you."

Warren pulled back, hands moving to rest on her heated cheeks. Their lips molded together in a tight lip lock. Warren hesitated in pulling back as he felt Max run her fingers along his back. When they parted, he rested his forehead against hers.

"I'm so glad you're here," he breathed out. "I missed you."

Max leaned up to kiss the tip of his nose. "I missed you, too, birthday boy."

Warren pulled back to put the sweater back into the bag, but he noticed that it still seemed heavy even without the sweater. When he peered inside, he noticed a small, wrapped box. Raising his brows in surprise, he reached in to grab the box. "Max, you didn't have to get me anything else." Warren smiled at her, holding up the box.

Max appeared confused.

"I didn't put that in there..." she cocked her head to the side, eyes wandering over the box.

Warren flipped it over to see a note pasted on the back.

Happy B-day Grahamcracker!
Have fun! ;)
-Chloe

"Oh, it's from Chloe."

"Chloe?"

Without warning, Warren tore the wrapping paper from the box.

The box was a bright yellow with bananas scattered all over it. At first, Warren thought it was some sort of candy.

Then, he read the label.

He felt Max go rigid beside him. The box was snatched from his fingers so quickly that he wasn't even sure if he was holding anything in the first place.

"Chloe, you didn't," Max whispered to herself. When Warren looked at her, Max's cheeks were a lovely shade of bright red, the color spreading across her entire face. The box was being crushed under her tight grip as she stared in horror at the box.

Warren burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. Max tore her gaze to stare at him with wide, almost doe-like eyes. He could almost see the steam coming off her red face.

"Oh man," Warren chuckled, elbowing her. "My wish came true."

"...Your what?"

"Remember? My birthday wish?"

Max stared at him, mouth fallen open. "...You... you wished for banana condoms!?" she exclaimed.

Warren stifled his laugh. "No, Max," Warren pointed at the label on the box, "banana flavored condoms!"

"...Uh?"

"The way you said it made it seem like they were condoms for bananas."

Max's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would bananas need a condom?"

"I dunno," Warren shrugged, his laughter bubbling in his belly, "they like to get freaky, too?"

"Oh my GOD," Max threw the box at him before covering her face with her hands, muttering, "I am so un-bestfriending you, Chloe... "

Warren reached to wrap his arm around her shoulder, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "Max, I'm just messing with you."

Max's hands slid from over her eyes, giving him an annoyed look.

"I didn't wish for banana flavored condoms. Why would she give me those, anyway?"

"...Don't ask."

Warren raised a hand. "Say no more." Warren picked up the box and tossed to the other side of the room. "I don't think I want to know, anyway. Hey," he nudged her, "don't be embarrassed. I thought it was pretty funny."

Max rolled her eyes, a smile sneaking onto her face. "Of course you did."

"You want to know what I wished for?"

"You can't tell me. It won't come true, remember?"

"That's okay."

Max bit her lip, thinking. "...What did you wish for?"

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"Pinkie promise?" Warren held out his pinkie to her. She hooked her pinkie with his. "Okay," Warren took a deep breath, "I wished for a kitten."

"A kitten?"

"Yep," Warren frowned, "My dad's allergic to cats. Actually, he doesn't like house pets in general, so I never grew up with any animal companions or anything. I dunno, I just thought it would be cool to raise a kitten and be his bro or whatever. Like, if you weren't around then I wouldn't be alone, y'know."

"That's actually really sweet, Warren."

"I guess."

"It is," Max ran her fingers through his messy hair, brushing it back, "Christmas is coming up. Maybe you could ask Santa for a kitten?"

Warren scoffed. "He never gets me what I wanted."

Max giggled. "Maybe you were just a naughty child."

"Or maybe Santa didn't want the cat to pee all over the new rug or scratch at the furniture."

"Santa's kind of a jerk."

"Totally."

Warren shifted so that he was facing her. He grasped her hand with his own, his hand rubbing against her knuckles. The feel of her skin was proof enough that she was real and in front of her.

"Thank you, Max, for everything," he mumbled. "I'm really happy that you did this for me. I don't even really know what to say."

They sat in silence for a moment before Max whispered, "Then don't say anything."

Her gaze slid to the side and her freckled cheeks became warm once more. He pulled her against his chest, embracing her tightly and burying his face into her neck. His nose tickled her ear. He began nuzzling her neck with delicate kisses. So faint, they were whispers against her skin. His fingers gently ran up and down her spine, coaxing slight tremors out of her. Slowly, he pressed his lips to Max's. It's gentle and chaste and maybe there was no actual fireworks or sparks, but it was better than that – it was a wave of warmth that filled him up, spilling out from his heart. The warmth of Max's lips had his heated blood rushing to every corner of his body; the cracks in between his toes, the crooks of his elbows, the tips of his ears.

Warren tilted Max's head to the side to deepen the kiss. Their lips parted and moved in sync easily. He felt her hands on the back of his neck play with the ends of his hair. A smile grew on his face as it started to tickle. Those hands moved slowly down his neck, over his chest. He was sure that she could feel his pounding heart against her palm.

When they parted with heavy breaths mixing, there was so much he wanted to say. Warren wanted to tell her about how scared he was when he thought she was upset with him. How alone he was sitting in Two Whales, imaging her there with him and creating an elaborate fantasy of a birthday party. How much he needed to see her on this day that was supposed to make him feel special, but over the years had only made him feel unimportant and alone. He wanted to tell Max just how much she did for him over the time they spent together.

Just as he opened his mouth to say all these things, the spark in her eyes told him everything.

She knew.

Max's kiss stole the words he didn't need to say.

The banana flavored condoms strike again.

Thanks for reading!

xLazyxWriterx