Side note - It starts off as an observation but it becomes (you) who will take part as the character.

3:02AM- December 2, Her Birthday

Pale hands grip the steering wheel; a tear escapes her eye every now and then. The December air is quite a bit overwhelming at first, but then she decides she likes the feeling of the wind blowing through your luscious brown hair. The highway is completely empty as she starts her voyage up north.

Curious as to why she's crying, correct?

Well, there are 2 reasons

Rewind - 4 hours before

You thought your night would be perfect because it'd be spent celebrating with the small group of people who you can really call your friends...and that one special person who you were (secretly) falling for, right?

Wrong

It ended up being you, sitting at a booth alone watching your drunk friends make a fool of themselves on the dance floor.

Your crush comes up and sits down next to you (A little too closely for that matter) and wraps her arms around your neck. You notice that your heartbeat becomes a little faster and your palms get a little sweatier. As she leans in; her lips press firmly against your ear (almost like kissing, wait was it a kiss?) and she pulls away ever so slightly and whispers "Come dance with me, Birthday Princess." You try not to look into the way she's staring at you; a sly smile comes to play at her lips and you swear you see a glint of lust and desire in her light crystal blue eyes. In that moment it takes every ounce of you to refrain from saying those very words that have been engraved in your brain.

She giggles as she notices how flustered you've become and takes pity on you, but before she leaves she gives you 2 kisses, one on your cheek and another on the corner of your mouth, getting up to leave she winks and her ever so red hair has disappeared yet again into the swarm of grinding bodies.

In a daze you walk to the bathroom and stare at yourself in the mirror. You hate yourself for feeling this way, but you can't help it. You splash cold water on your face and just continue to stare. 12 minutes have passed and you're still deep in thought. You convince yourself that maybe she does like you, so you finally get the courage to tell her you...may actually be in love with her.

You count every step you take and so far you've gotten to 17 before your feet get stuck in place. It takes a few moments for your brain to catch up with your eyes but when it does, you wish you never agreed to go out for your birthday.

As you see your lover make out furiously in the middle of the dance floor with someone who'd probably be nothing but an overnight fling, you can literally feel your heart shriveling to the size of a raisin. She promised you two would go stargaze immediately after the club, but there she is...not with you.

Your face portrays a palate of emotions; first confusion, anger, pain then finally ending with defeat as your shoulders slump.

Your blonde uptight "friend" saw it all and grabbed your hand and guided you outside. You both sat down, breathing in the crisp, chilly December air.

You try to stop the tears, but it's a lost cause. You can compare it similar to a broken dam ( It starts as a little trickle, but eventually it bursts ceasing to ever stop.) Surprisingly, your "friend"...(Or more like someone you always argue about the set list with) pulls you in for a hug and you end up resting your head on her shoulder. 15 minutes pass and you two are still hugging, exchanging no words. Your ringtone disrupts the silence and you disengage from the hug. You pull out the phone and the time displays 12:01AM and it's a message from your mother telling her to call you.

Staring at the message, you dial her number and she picks up immediately. You were honestly expecting to hear a "Happy Birthday" but instead you hear a raspy hello, something you only hear when she's been crying. Whenever your mother cries, it's always something bad, so you decide to stay quiet because you don't trust your voice at this moment.

A moment passes as her sobs start up again, it's hard to comprehend, but when you do , there is nothing left of where your heart is supposed to be

Your grandmother has passed away

The very first person you've told about her and how you may be falling in love, the one who supported you through everything has now passed away. It hurts, it really does.

You close your watery eyes and take a shaky breath. Your voice is small, and your throat feels tight but you ignore the discomfort and speak anyway "I'm coming to the funeral." More silence passes and you speak again "Mom...Please be strong, I love you so much." Your mom takes a deep breath "Please be safe, I can't imagine losing y-you too, I love you honey." You look at your "friend" and she gives a sy0mpathetic nod that it's okay to go. But before you leave, you look at her with pleading eyes.

"Aubrey...Promise me...just please, just don't tell any of the girls any of this, I don't know when I'll be back, but keep them from worrying or trying to find me...especially Chloe."

The look she gives is one of pain, but she knows you need to go so she nods.."Happy Birthday, Beca..Please be safe" she says before getting up and going back in