Eight Mortal Secrets [Hetalia Drabbles] (Completed, to be Edited)

XXXIV: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

"Shelby, what's going on today?" Her mother questioned, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her hip slightly jutted out.

Shelby rolled her eyes. "Stop making such a big deal out of this, mom. Alfred is turning... 20 today. I need to be there for him." She explained shyly, turning away and spraying on her perfume, turning to hide the fact that her cheeks flushed slightly.

"20? He's kind of old for you, don't ya think?" Her mother questioned, raising a thick brow.

"I'm tuning 18 in 6 months, mom. Plus, 20 isn't that old. Joey's turning 20 next month." Shelby pointed out. She decided not to mention that Alfred was actually turning roughly 240 years old (not including the years that America was only considered a British colony). That would either freak her out, or make her think Shelby was just trying to be a mock Bella Swan. Neither of those scenarios was something the teen wanted to deal with.

Her mom almost snorted when she laughed at the thought of Joey being 20. "Okay, I guess that's true. But I want you home at 7 so you can at least make the fireworks. I can't believe you're missing the family barbecue. We were having jalapeño popper burgers."

"Mom, please stop trying to guilt me into staying. It's my friend's birthday party, and I'm not missing it." Shelby stated firmly, giving her mother a warning look as to not to mention it again.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you behave yourself at this party. No drugs, no alcohol, no sex."

"MOM!" Shelby snapped, her face turning bright red. "Have a little faith in me, k? I've made it this far without any of that stuff. I think I can last another party." She stated, pretending that she hadn't gotten drunk with France's Chardonnay a few weeks prior.

"Alright, just be safe. Alfred's a nice guy and all, but he's a little hyperactive... Makes me nervous." Her mother admitted with a smile.

"Well, Hope will be there, and Sammi, and Dreamz, so I'll be fine, seriously." Shelby attempted to reassure her mom, giving a small half smile as she grabbed the box that contained Alfred's presents.

"Oh, yeah, your internet friends. That makes me feel better." She muttered sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm gonna go, because I can't talk to you anymore. Have fun with grandma Ferrell, I'll see you at 7. Bye-bye." Shelby rambled, brushing past her mother angrily. She made her way out to the front yard, where she took a deep breath, steadying her nerves as she opened her phone to find the directions to Alfred's party.

~~ About 20 minutes later ~~

"Oh God." She muttered as she stared at Alfred's party. "Only he would do this."

America's party wasn't just some little backyard barbecue with a few balloons and streamers- no, the country had set up an entire carnival festival, complete with two old-fashioned rollercoasters, a large Ferris wheel that glowed red, white, and blue, and several other carnival rides such as a tilt-a-whirl, a bald eagle carousel, a bumper car attraction where the cars were designed after pure American make-and-models (meaning they were mainly designed after cars from the Big Three), and a couple scramblers. It also had your classic attractions such as dunk tanks, ring tossing, dart tossing, and fishing for rubber ducks. All around, American flags, big and small, waved in the air, the smell of corn dogs, elephant ears, and lemonade were pungent in the summer air, which was hot and humid as the sun beat down from a sky that was freckled with thin, white, wispy clouds.

If that wasn't overwhelming, then the amount of people were. There were a lot of countries there that Shelby had only recognized from pictures: South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, India, Israel, Greece, Turkey, Scotland, Wales, and Belgium. There will also many countries there that she already knew: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Britain, France, Italy, Spain, and even Russia. She searched desperately for any of her human friends, but she wasn't sure how many of them were here. Dreamz surely would be hiding from the crowd if she were, and Thaovy and Sammie were much smaller than the majority of the countries, so they would be difficult to find.