Chapter 2 Bad news

Serena heard the door bell ding. She just finished bringing out the pie from the oven. There were two boxes of pizza on the table and the fridge was filled with drinks. She quickly checked her reflection in the living room mirror and fixed her hair. Then she ran to the door and threw it open.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Anderson and Tabitha screamed in excitement. They were her two best friends. Behind them was Olivia, Jericho, Jordan, Samantha, Natasha and Jayden. Serena screamed in happiness and hugged them all.

"Awwwwnnn, thanks so much guys",Serena told them as they all trooped in. "You guys are the best",she added as she hugged Anderson and Tabitha again. She felt so emotional.

"Happy birthday, girl",Tabitha said to her, wiping the joyous tears from her eyes.

"Now is not the time to cry, you know",Anderson said as he hooked his hand over Serena's shoulder.

"I know, I'm just so excited",Serena said while laughing.

"We brought you gifts", Jordan said. He had jet-black hair and dark blue eyes, just like his twin Jericho.

"I got you the best gift",Jericho said as he elbowed Jordan out of the way.

"That's so not true", Jordan told his twin and a playful argument ensued.

"Ok shut up everyone" Samantha said and the bickering reduced. "Today is specially for our queen bee as she takes a step into adulthood" she continued and everyone laughed.

Serena was the youngest in their clique. Jericho and Jordan were nineteen, Anderson would be nineteen in two months. Tabitha was the same age as Serena, but she completed eighteen a few months ago. Olivia, Natasha, Samantha and Jayden were also nineteen, but they completed nineteen some months ago.

"Let's get this party started",Jayden yelled and turned on the music, while everyone else cheered and started partying.

...

The party ended around five in the evening. Serena collapsed into one of the couches after the cleaning. Her friends had told her to relax and let them help but she declined. She couldn't just let them do everything. Now the house looked spotless.

"Hey, birthday girl", Jayden said as he joined Serena on the couch. Serena looked at him and smiled shyly. She has a massive crush on Jayden but didn't know how to tell him. She wasn't the type of girl to come out clean with a boy. So she tried to suppress her feelings.

"Hey",she whispered.

"You look exhausted" Jayden said softly staring into her eyes.

"Not really",Serena said. "I had a wonderful time, thanks to you guys",she added.

Jayden smiled, causing Serena's heart to flip. "I'm glad you did",he said. They were both silent for a while, staring at each other.

"I have something to tell you..."

"I think you should know..."

They began at the same time and laughed. "You first", Serena said. She could feel her face becoming warm from the blush.

Jayden took her hand in his and took a deep breath. "I've always wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how to go about it",he began and paused.

"Tell me what?"Serena prompted him, her heart beating fast.

"I like you Serena", Jayden blurted. "I really like you, and I would like to go out with you",he paused again.

Serena's eyes widened. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had dreamed of this day since she started crushing on Jayden. "What took you so long to tell me?" she asked.

"I had to wait for the perfect time",Jayden said with a smile. "And your birthday seemed perfect to me",he added. He looked her straight in the eyes now,"Well, will you go out with me Serena? As my girlfriend?" He sounded really nervous.

Serena smiled sweetly at him."Yes Jayden, I will",she whispered. Jayden smiled and drew her into a hug. Soon they were both laughing. Suddenly they heard loud cheers coming from the hall way and Anderson came out with the rest of the squad.

"I can't believe it took Jayden three years to tell Serena he liked her",Olivia said while they all laughed.

"Wait, you all knew?" Serena asked bewildered.

Tabitha sat down and smiled at Serena, "Of course we knew. We didn't wanna ruin it for Jayden"

"And we all know you were crazy about Jayden but didn't know how to tell him",this came from Anderson.

Serena turned red instantly, "Shut up dork",she laughed and covered her face in embarrassment. Now everyone knew she had been crushing on Jayden.

"We're so happy for both of you",Natasha said as she hugged Serena. "That leaves Olivia",Samantha said. Olivia was the only one not in a relationship. Samantha was dating Jordan, Natasha was dating Jericho while Anderson and Tabitha were dating.

"I told you guys, I'm not ready" Olivia said while laughing. "When I find one, I'll let you all know about it",she added.

"You better",Serena said, her heart filled with happiness. A phone beeped. It was Jordan."We have to head home now, there's a curfew",he said. They all groaned helplessly. No one wanted to leave. "Let's go to the beach tomorrow", Anderson suggested.

They all agreed and promised to text each other. Serena walked them to the door.

"Bye guys, see you tomorrow",she said.

"Bye Serena",they all chorused.

Jayden stopped and turned to her. He had a way of staring deep into her eyes, causing Serena to feel butterflies in her tummy. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow",he said.

"Yeah",Serena whispered back. "I'll text you tonight, before you go to bed",Jayden whispered too and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Come on already, lovebirds",Olivia grumbled playfully as they were all waiting for Jayden. Serena laughed as her phone started ringing.

"Could you wait a bit?"she asked shyly.

"Of course babe",Jayden said and turned to tell the rest to calm down.

As Serena answered the call, she could hear her friends teasing Jayden and calling him funny names. She smiled and shook her head.

"Hello?"she spoke into the receiver. A voice squawked at the other end. "Yes this is her". She listened for a while, then she screamed,"Oh no!where are they?"

Her friends felt something was off and they rushed out of the car to meet her.

Serena was already crying. "I'm on my way, thank you". She hung up still sobbing.

"Serena, what's wrong?" Jayden asked.

"Yeah, talk to us",Anderson added worriedly.

"I have to get to the hospital. My parents were in a car crash", Serena cried out.

Jayden suddenly looked serious. "Let's go with you",he said holding her close.

They all piled into Anderson's car and headed straight to the General Hospital.

Serena cried all the way. Jayden tried to cheer her up, holding her close and telling her everything would be fine. They got to the hospital in fifteen minutes and Serena rushed inside, with her friends behind her. She met a doctor on her way.

"Doctor?..."she began.

"Miss Serena Williams?", he asked.

Serena nodded.

"I'm very sorry, but we couldn't save them",the doctor said. "They died on the spot",he added.

Serena felt herself go numb. She slid to the ground in despair. She could see her friends, their mouths moving but she couldn't hear a single word. She heard someone screaming and she realized she was the one. The hospital ward started to fade off and she passed out.