Changed Forever

Chapter 42- Surprise

I sat up sleepily and let out a yawn, looking out of Jason's window. I shrieked in excitement seeing snow fall from the sky, forming a fuzzy white blanket that covered the ground beneath.

"It's snowing!" I cheered, running downstairs and taking two steps at a time. Jason wasn't in his room so I concluded that he must be downstairs probably with the others but when I ran into the living room it was dark and I grew worried. The lights were off and the curtains were pulled shut.

"Guys?" I called out into the darkness. "Jason? Blake? Natalie?" No answer. I continued to move, careful not to trip over anything as I looked for the light switch.

"C'mon guys, it's snowing and-" I was caught off the moment the lights suddenly turned on.

"Surprise!"

I almost peed myself, I'm not even kidding. My hand was on top of my chest as I a attempted to catch my breath.

"Sorry we scared you", Donald chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Happy birthday Cass". I was beaming, my birthday had been the last thing on my mind with everything that had being going on lately and it made me feel so special that they had actually remembered it.

"Happy birthday baby sis". I chuckled as I pulled Blake into a hug. He always saw me as a baby despite only being a year older than me.

"Thank you", I said in excitement. I was finally seventeen. I was no longer a minor which means I could do adult things.

Like... making snow angels and finally being able to use the oven to bake cookies and all those other adult stuff.

Everyone came over to me wishing me a happy birthday and I was beyond surprise when my gaze landed on Duke.

"You came?" I asked in surprise seeing Duke standing beside Drake with a smile on his face. I wasn't sure what surprised me more, the fact that he was here or the fact that Jason, Preston and Natalie even let him come in the first place.

After he had been treated he had gone back to his kingdom to attend to whatever princely duties and I hadn't seen him since.

"Yeah, couldn't miss it. Happy birthday Cassandra", he congratulated. "Thank you".

Jason brought out the cake and dropped it on the table. "Happy birthday Angel", he whispered to me before placing a kiss on my forehead making me blush.

Caroline, Natalie and Preston looked at each other and smirked. Donald, Blake and Drake grinned and gave each other fist bumps. Zane rose a brow at us but said nothing. Duke just looked out of place and I had no idea what was going on.

"Alright people, let's eat cake!" Caroline cheered.

The cake was absolutely delicious- one of the best I've ever tasted. And it warmed my heart to discover that Jason had gotten up at 5:00am to bake it for me.

He can be such a sweetheart.

***
"When was the last time you painted?" Jason asked me as we intertwined our fingers while walking through the woods.

His touch sent sparks through me that caused a blush to rise on my cheeks. I tried to hide it but I was pretty much unsuccessful judging by the smirk that played on his lips.

"Honestly I can't remember". Painting and art in general was something I really loved. It gave me peace of mind and a chance to escape reality. It was my passion and I had once told Jason about it.

"Would you like to do it again?" He asked and I nodded eagerly. "I would love to... but I have no supplies".

"About that..." a smile rose on Jason's face as we walked past the forest into a clearing. My mouth dropped open on seeing an easel already set up. There was a small table at the side that had all different types of paint ranging from water colors to acrylics. They were also many different grades of pencils lined up. And a small fire was also burning to give warmth.