𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 | "So after the crowd's gone, I'll be the last one."
In which Tanner Wiseman's younger cousin embarks on a journey full of haunts.
𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐒𝟏-𝐒𝟒
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞
𝐃𝐚𝐤𝐨�...
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"Happy birthday to you!"
As my friends and family finish singing, I smile. Leaning forward, I pause.
I wish for my life to be full of adventure.
I blow out the candles squished into the brownies piled on the serving dish.
Everyone claps and cheers. Tim tries to start a chant of, "Are you one, are you two!" but is quickly shut down by almost everyone else. I laugh as Mom takes the plate and starts to pick the candles out of the brownies, setting them on an empty plate.
"So, how's it feel to be eighteen?" Xavier asks as I adjust the strap of my tank top.
It's three days after my eighteenth birthday, but it's a Saturday, and so the best day for my party. Honestly, eighteen doesn't feel much different than seventeen, but I guess it's all relative to where you are in life. Eighteen in high school probably feels different than eighteen in college.
"You're legal!" Tess exclaims, drumming her hands on the table.
I laugh, rolling my eyes. "I mean, it's just a birthday," I say with a shrug. "Nothing—"
Someone knocks on the front door, jarring me out of my conversation. Melissa knits her brow. "Who's that?" she asks.
"Maybe it's Meghan, wondering where her invitation is," Danny teases.
I shoot him a glare. "Don't even joke about that."
Mom moves toward the door with some sort of ease that wouldn't be normal if she didn't have an idea about who was behind the door. She opens the door and my eyes widen, a smile lighting up my face at who steps in through the storm door.
"Tanner!" I shout, scrambling out of my chair to run over to him.
"Hey," he greets with a smile, catching me as I throw myself into his arms.
He's easily a foot taller than I am, so his hug lifts me completely off the ground. "What are you doing here?!" I ask as he puts me down.
"What kind of cousin would I be if I missed your eighteenth birthday?" he asks in return.
I turn to Mom. "Did you know about this?"
She shrugs, a secret smile on her face.
Shaking my head, I turn to my very confused friends. Then, I gesture to Tanner beside me. "Guys, this is my cousin Tanner," I introduce. "Tanner, these are my friends. You've met Melissa, but there's Danny, Xavier, Tim, and Tess."
Everyone says hello and despite Tanner being nine years older than us, he falls into conversations easily. I do notice, however, how he mostly stays near Mom, Dad, Malcolm (my mom's boyfriend), Tatum, and Mark in the kitchen for the most part. I'm just elated that he's come out to see me for my birthday.
