Inescapable

Chapter 6: Back in the Game

"You know, I am not a defenseless child. I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me." I said in the dark, trying to remind him that I was more than capable of protecting myself. He responded with a small laugh. I think he was half-asleep.

"Shut up, Babybird." He said just a couple of minutes before passing out completely. I smiled a little and joined him.

"Happy Birthday, Tim!" Kory shouted deafeningly. I wanted to hurt Jason. He knows I hated parties, especially when they are mine. I also hated being treated like a child. I didn't want to be rude, but I hated that the three of them went through so much trouble to get me a cake and presents.

"Oh, you guys didn't have to do all this. I-" I said, before being interrupted by non-other than Jason sneaking up on me from behind.

"Ah, c'mon, kid. Loosen up. It's your birthday. We can't just ignore it." Jason said innocently, while wrapping his arms around me from behind. I could have hit him right then and there. Instead, I let out a great sigh.

"Whatever." I replied, lifelessly. Hopefully, wouldn't be that bad. I mean, how bad could it be?

"Alright, then. You'll need one of these." Jason snickered as he put a pointy, red and white striped party hat on my head and secured it with an elastic string under my chin. That did it.

"No way, asshole!" I growled, punching Jason in the arm. Roy and Jason laughed out loud.

"But, you look so cute!" Jason teased. Needless to say, the hat didn't stay. I was about to curse Jason some more, but then Kory interrupted my thought process.

"On my home world we would celebrate the day of one's birth by slaying a giant gorkuchu (Gor-Kah-Chu) and then having a bountiful feast. We would drink from the fountain of Prazdnik until our ancestors were made proud!" Kory said while stirring a bowl of something. Tamaranean cooking was not exactly what I was hoping for. She nearly killed us the last time she cooked. However, her people's culture was interesting to me.

"I'll drink to that. I'll just have to pretend that this beer is from the fountain of what's its name." Roy said, taking a gulp from a red party cup. Oh, Lord. Jason only drank a little the entire night. I was proud of him. He knows I am not a big fan of drinking. We ordered pizza and Jason brought out a cake he made. Even though it was uneven and pretty rough looking I still thought he was sweet for making it. It actually tasted great. The presents were great as well. Jason got me my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a video game. The only video games I ever really cared for was Mario, so he got me MarioKart. Roy got me an Ipod with head phones and all his music already on it. Roy had good taste in music. Kory made me some of her 'glorax pudding.'

This is a ceremonial dish they made for one coming of age on her planet. I smiled and acted grateful, but it tasted horrible. I predicted as much. I still thought it was a nice gesture. Roy and Jason laughed at me having to eat some. The majority of the rest of the night was spent playing MarioKart. The hotel suite we stayed in came with a Wii console and two remotes. If there was one quality that Jason and I had in common it was how competitive we both were.

"Yes!" I said after passing Jason on the Rainbow Road. I was playing as Yoshi and Jason was Mario. It had been a long while since I had played this game, but I was still fairly good at it. Every now and again Jason would elbow me, causing me to drop the controller as he scored a victory.

"Hey, that's playing dirty." I said, trying to regain the lead position.

"Sorry Babybird, but I play to win." Jason smirked, after which he stole a kiss. I smirked back and then proceeded to stand in front of his view. We wound up wrestling over it. When it was all over I won the game, but not the wrestling.