The chuckles and giggles around the house sprouted me out from the bed. I had left school a few days ago and planned to have my birthday at home with Dad and Nana, along with a few friends of mine.Today was it, today was my birthday, and I felt oddly strange about it. I didn't know what to expect, and I didn't want to expect anything. Ariana and Claire pushed the idea of sending invitations to a few of our friends, left to me, I just wanted to hide myself in my house and blow off the candlelight off a little cupcake while making one simple wish; that mom be present.18th birthday always seemed something to be pumped about, turning into an adult, making your own decisions, and the rest of them. But my 18th birthday, although it made me feel excited before, was currently making me feel nervous. There were going to be a lot of people coming to my house for the first time, a lot of whom I was never friends with, but would be exchanging birthday greetings as soon as they walked in like we
Dad selected the music, he said he didn't want anything that would attract squirrels, and by that, he meant rough college boys. Even though I wanted to celebrate with my family, I saw this coming, I knew merging both sides of my world would somewhat be difficult, but I wanted it to work, it could be the best combo to go down in the history of birthday parties….or the worst."You better straighten your face or you will chase your guest away," Nanny spoke from behind me.She was right, I was nervous, sick, dizzy, confused and tensed. I didn't know how this was going to end. I was the celebrant, and I was supposed to come out for several people to feast their eyes on me while I gave an appreciation speech to half of the crowd I never spoke to."If there would be guests in the first place," I said, slightly worried at the low turn-up of people present. I was beginning to doubt if Ariana and Claire were really friends with the people they invited.. Or they didn't just like me."Don't sound
"You know, you can stare at me all day or... you can talk...it's your choice," Nico smirked.Nico had never been more gorgeous with his amber eyes staring at me like that. I looked up at him as his huge body towered mine.He was here, Nico was really here. Ariana did say she gave him an invite but I didn't think he would come. It gave me a lot of chills to see him in my house. The music blanked out and suddenly I zoomed away with it.His lips moved, but I didn't hear a thing."Ella, hey Ella," Claire snapped me out of my night dream. "I would be in the kitchen...setting the cakes," she teased with her eyebrows.I knew what she was doing, and gratefully, I wanted to be alone with Nico, but at the same time, I didn't want to, because there was this new weird feeling always lurking around whenever he was near."Al..alright," I stuttered.Nico moved in to close the gap between us. He scanned me from my head down, causing me to swallow hard. "You...you look stunning Ella," he smiled softly
There was nothing more I wanted than to avoid these two people from having to stay in the same room. Michael may seem calm now, but no one knows how he may react to Nico being around. Not like who came to my party concerned him...I just wanted peace."So that is why I thought it necessary to apologise," Michael concluded.I gave a nervous laugh and nodded my head. "Are you alright?" Michael asked."Yeah.. yeah I am," I looked away from Nico."So... is my apology accepted?" There was that cheesy smile again.The air crackled with awkwardness as Nico approached us. Their mutual dislike cast a thick shadow, palpable even before a word was spoken. I was quick to pick up on the underlying tension and felt a knot form in my stomach. It was like walking a tightrope, trying to keep the peace between two storm clouds ready to unleash.Nico's arrival sent shivers down my spine. His usually easy demeanour when he was around me was shrouded by a forced smile, a thin veil barely masking his discom
I still felt the room’s silence creep under my skin. They waited for an answer and I needed to give them one now!A nervous chuckle left my lips as I thought of a reply worthy enough to take me out of this mess. “Nico is a very social person as we all know...I mean, who doesn’t like him?” I forced a smile.“I know I don’t,” An unfamiliar voice came from the circle. The room burst into laughter at the honest joke that aimed to ease the rising tension.“But still...” The room went quiet again. “That doesn’t answer the question Ella,” Michael shot me a calm look I knew was far from what he projected it to be. He aimed to ruin me and he was backing down either.“Well, I don’t care if she likes me or not...I like her...I like Ella and that is what matters.” Nico raised his eyes to meet mine and for a split second, the wind stopped and the room felt empty.Was this Nico trying to come out about his feelings to me in public, or he was just doing it to save my face?The crowed “Ooed” and sque
The truth or dare game had been a desperate attempt to inject life into the sterile party, a last-ditch effort to feel something, anything, besides the gnawing emptiness. And when Nico, confessed what seemed to be his feelings in that hushed, unexpected moment, the dam holding back my emotions broke.Nico froze, the shock reverberating through him, a tremor that ran deeper than mere surprise. "Let's go outside," Nico blurted, his voice rough with nerves. "Just for a minute. It's getting hot in here."I stared at him long and hard, trying to read his expression. Of course I wanted to be civil, I needed to be civil, I wasn’t going to blurt my desperation. I hesitated "It's my birthday, Nico. Celebrants don't abandon the ship." But the sincerity in his voice, the desperation to escape the suffocating heat of the crowd, tugged at my heart. "I should stay," I murmured a protest that sounded more like surrender."It won't take long," Nico promised, his voice a threadbare lifeline. "Just...
Christmas came early, and everyone prepared to go back to their different destinations. The deal about Nico and Iofficially dating was no longer news in Tulane. Everyone stared while we stood together, sat together, and even walked together. Nico on the other hand always gave them a lot to talk about, he was either nibbling my ears, holding my waist or grabbing my ass. The ass grabbing I quite liked, but I was always conscious of who was watching, especially after Michael went MIA after my birthday party.I hadn’t said anything about Nico yet to Dad or even Nanny. I was scared Dad might reject him, it was either that or I was too conscious of him being a werewolf around my family. My thoughts were so heavy on me that I sighed loudly forgetting I was still in the middle of a conversation with Ariana and Claire. “Is anything the matter Ella?” Ariana was more worried about me not listening to her story than the reason why I drifted.“No... it's just going to be a long Christmas without
“Would you stop laughing?” I was getting sick of Arianamaking gestures about my situation. We decided to spend some time out during the holidays. Claire couldn’t make it due to a certain engagement at work, so I was stuck with just Ariana who at the moment was finding complete joy in my plight.“I would continue when you are done laughing,” I glared at her.“Sorry Ella, it's just a bit funny,” she continued laughing. “Your dad saw you smooching a man, and he kept quiet all this while, only for you to come back and he dangles it at your face. Forgive me for laughing but it is hilarious.”“You don’t even know how embarrassing that was, I couldn’t even look him in the eye Ari. Aaargh!!” I buried my head on the restaurant table.“Come now, it couldn’t have been that bad...or was it?” Ariana asked when I suddenly went silent.“I don’t think I have ever felt so cringe in my entire life. The fact that he knew about it all this while, makes it more embarrassing. I admit I am not the best at t