And Then There Was Vince

Chapter 12: The Best After-Birthday

I felt like a walking husk that Monday. It was the last day of September, and for all I cared, could have been the last day of my life. My mom had tried to incessantly nag me for details through text message, and before I left she acted sickeningly sweet. It all did nothing but further annoy me, and I wondered how I'd make it through the last of my high school years.

No one acknowledged me in any way that morning, and if I'm being honest, I was okay with that. After being mistreated for so long, it didn't bother me. Instead, I sort of welcomed it. It was almost relaxing not having to put on airs so early in the day.

I walked into creative writing like a zombie, shuffling to my now usual seat in the back half-dead. Vincent was waiting in the desk beside mine with a red-lidded Tupperware container.

"Hey Vanessa," He said as I plopped into my chair. "Happy birthday, a day late."

It took a minute for my mind to process that he was extending the container towards me. I felt my cheeks flush mildly at the thought of receiving a gift, especially from a person I hadn't expected one from.

"Uh...Thanks," I said breathlessly, hoping I didn't sound unenthusiastic or rude. To be honest, he appeared to be almost as embarrassed as I was.

"No problem," He said. "It's not like it's something big or anything. I just wanted to give you something."

I took a peek inside the container and saw a large vanilla cupcake, covered in white, whipped-cream frosting, topped off with all different colors of sprinkles. It looked pretty and delicious, as if it had come straight off of a bakery shelf.

"Thanks so much," I said, beaming, truly appreciating the gift. I was touched that he had thought of me when no one else had.

"You're welcome," He said, distractedly messing with his hair. "I had all the stuff and got bored last night, so I figured I'd make cupcakes."

It was homemade? He was actually the type who would bake cupcakes on a Sunday night before school?

"I was just really in the mood for cupcakes," He continued before hastily looking away.

He wouldn't make eye contact with me for a minute after and stared ahead at the board. I was mildly thankful for his distraction, as I didn't want him to see me grinning so much over a cupcake. A homemade cupcake. A cupcake he made himself at home. A homemade birthday cupcake that it sounded like he was making excuses for.

I left the air dead for a moment, chewing over the thought.

"Did you hear the single Envious Records released last night?" I asked, hoping it would bring his attention back to me and spark some recognition. "It was from a new female-fronted band called Wreckers. Pretty heavy for stuff with a woman as the lead."

"I didn't even know they were releasing anything," He admitted, finally looking me in the eye.

"I guess it was sort of under the radar," I said, disappointed. He was usually the person I could get excited with over new releases. "People only tend to know about the releases being put out by their bigger bands."

"Don't you sound pretentious," He teased, sticking his tongue out at me. "I'm better than they are because I listen to NEW bands, not the most popular ones."

"Shut up," I said, rolling my eyes and turning away from him. "You know that wasn't what I meant."

"I know," He replied, almost sounding remorseful. "I didn't mean anything by it. I'll look it up later."

I stared at my desk, confused for a second, afraid to look back over his way. This whole thing had been one strange interaction. I hadn't been hurt or mad by his teasing. It was a normal exchange at that point for me and him. He had made it odd by sounding sorry he had done it. What on earth did that mean?