Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy)

Happy Birthday, Wheeler!

"Happy birthday Wheeler!" The words rang out as Wheeler entered back into the chamber along with an explosion of pink sparkles from Priscilla's wand.

The room, which had previously been quite empty, was now filled with a number of students. Surprisingly, even Violet and Robin were amongst the crowd.

Wheeler grinned, the sparkles still raining down around him. "Thanks guys!"

Mister Pumpernickel (who now wore a small, toad sized, birthday hat) began to try and croak out a horribly off-key rendition of happy birthday, earning him a glare from pretty much everyone in the room.

"Look what I figured out how to do!" Priscilla chippered excitedly, cutting the toad off. She flicked her wand, whispering a spell under her breath. A second later, a massive picture of Wheeler's face sprung into the air in pink, sparkling fireworks.

The boy's eyes grew round as saucers. "Woah..." he breathed.

"Well I'm glad you had the time to learn that instead of, I don't know, actually studying for your exams," Mulock grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You!" Violet suddenly gasped.

Violet and Mulock's gazes locked and the demon immediately shrunk back.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath.

"You're the mysterious forest boy!" Violet exclaimed.

"And you're the annoying schoolgirl I have no intention of conversing with," Mulock replied, starting to back away.

"I kept hoping I'd see you again," Violet exclaimed, sounding almost giddy with excitement. "Look what a good person I've become!" She frantically gestured around her. "I'm even going to an unpopular kid's birthday party!"

"Well then, they might as well kick all the angels out of heaven. They have no use anymore, you've set the bar too high," Mulock replied flatly.

Violet flushed. "Do you want me to get you a drink or something?"

"No."

Instead of being upset by this, the girl practically swooned, her cheeks growing even pinker.

Wheeler's eyes narrowed in confusion, leaning over to whisper to Priscilla. "Does she....like that he's mean to her?"

Priscilla nodded. "Yeah."

"But...why?"

"I don't know." Priscilla shrugged. "Some girls are surprisingly into that."

"Hey," Robin called, standing near the back of the table. "Who made this cake? It's actually really good." As he said this, Robin took another large bite.

Priscilla's face paled. "Oh no," she whispered. "I forgot to warn everyone not to eat the cake."

"Why?" Wheeler asked nervously. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Err...not exactly," Priscilla mumbled. "But let's just say the decorator had some...fairly unorthodox methods." She shook her head. "But enough about that! Why don't you open my present!" She shoved a large pink parcel into Wheeler's hands. It had been tied with only two sets of ribbons but somehow contained over eight different bows.

"You really shouldn't have," Wheeler breathed, gaping at the gift in awe.

"Wheeler, I'm rich, remember? It's no big deal." Priscilla laughed, giving him a nudge. "Now open it!"

The boy shot her a grin before moving to do just that. This took way more time than anticipated due to how many layers of wrapping paper Priscilla had managed to use.

As he continued to unwrap the parcel, Mulock approached, looking utterly miserable.

"Help," he hissed. "She just...won't stop following me..."

As he said this, Violet appeared beside him. "You know," she said, sounding like she was continuing a conversation Mulock had been attempting to escape from. "Now that I've become a good person, we can finally get to really know each other. I'd love for you to tell me more about your past, or about your Elizabeth..."

"For the last time," Mulock snapped. "No. Now leave me alone."

Violet sighed wistfully. "Oh, so mysterious...so tortured...so broody! But don't worry, someday I'll learn your story."

"No, you won't."

Wheeler finally managed to rip through the final layer of wrapping paper to reveal the gift beneath. Neatly folded were about seventeen pairs of trousers, all in various styles and colors.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Wheeler exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear.

"You're finally entering true manhood," Priscilla replied with a grin. "Which means no more shorts."

"Priscilla, if you ever use the words 'true manhood' again I'm going to strangle you to death with one of your massive, pink, oversized bows," the demon muttered. "But on the flip side, thank you for providing him with actual pants."

Their gazes both drifted down to the pair of puffy shorts Wheeler currently wore.

"How did he even manage to grow so fast?" Priscilla gaped.

"It's called late puberty," Mulock replied flatly.

"Okay, ew." Priscilla grimaced. "I really didn't need to ever think about Wheeler and...well, that, like...ever." She glanced back to Wheeler, her eyes suddenly narrowing. "Hey Mulock, I think he might be taller than you."

"No way," the demon countered sharply.

"Um...yes way. Stand back to back."

Reluctantly, Mulock shuffled to stand behind Wheeler, muttering something about 'this being a stupid waste of time' under his breath.

As he moved into place however, Priscilla's eyes widened, clasping her hands to her face. "Oh my God! He is taller!"

"What?!" Mulock snapped. "No. No he's not."

"He is," Robin yelled from across the room. He snickered, pointing a finger. "Ha, how does it feel to be shorter than that twerp?"

"Oh piss off," someone called, "aren't you the kid that got bit on the ass by a cat?"

"This is a nightmare," Mulock muttered under his breath.

"See, how's that for a birthday treat?" Priscilla said, flinging an arm around Wheeler's shoulder. "You get to be taller than Mulock." She grinned. "Now, let's get this party actually started!" As she said this, she swung her wand in a large circle. Music suddenly began to sound all around them as glittering sparkles cascaded down from the ceiling.

Priscilla and the other students quickly moved to the room's center to dance. As they did, Mulock came to stand beside Wheeler.

"Hey," the demon said slowly, "before you join the others, I just wanted to give you your present." Mulock buried a hand in his pocket, removing something which he kept clutched tightly in one hand. "It's not much," he mumbled. "I don't have any money. Obviously. I'm a freaking demon cat. But when I was alive, I went through this dumb phase where I developed an utterly useless hobby. I figured I might as well finally do something with it. Honestly it's kind of shit, but uh...here..."

Slowly the demon unfurled his fingers, revealing a small wooden carving of a toad.

Wheeler gasped, his cheeks flushing pink as he gently took the carving from him. The closer he looked, the more detail he noticed, small intricate patterns perfectly engraved into the wood.

"Mully," Wheeler breathed, "this is incredible."

The demon shrugged, his gaze flickering to the floor. "Wouldn't exactly call it that, but thanks."

"This must have taken you forever," Wheeler said in awe, unable to rip his gaze from it.

Mulock fidgeted uncomfortably. "Yeah...well...happy birthday, Wheeler."

Wheeler smiled. "Thank you, Mully...for everything."

He clutched the small toad tightly, trying his best to ignore the warm, fluttery feeling building up in his chest.