A/N: I wanted to make a Thanksgiving chapter but I don't celebrate Thanksgiving so I'm just going to skip that part. However, this is a little after Thanksgiving.
Alexandra's POV
It's almost the end of the year— there's roughly a little over a month left before the start of a new year. It's almost Christmas. It's almost New Years— but it's also almost that one time of the year that I hate.
I've never celebrated Thanksgiving. Or Christmas. Hell not even New Years. I've never celebrated anything so there's no point in being excited for it.
However, although I don't feel anything for those days, I feel deep and utter hatred for this day.
The day that I was born into this world.
My birthday.
It's almost my birthday.
My whole life I wished to do something for my birthday but never did I ever get the chance to because I was stuck in a world of black and blue where there were no such thing as joy and bliss and whatever word you would use to describe happiness.
I always wished to be able to cut a cake for my birthday or receive presents like everyone does— I don't care if it was something small like socks or sweets, at least I received something, at least someone cared enough to remember my birthday.
It makes me so upset to hate my birthday when everyone else around me gets so excited for the day that's dedicated to them that only comes once a year.
Everyone else got to celebrate it with their friends and family while I celebrated it by myself with only a little cupcake that I would buy myself with the little amount of money I would have.
I think hate is a strong word though— I don't hate my birthday, I just don't like it. There's nothing to look forward to.
But this year is different. I'm in a completely different place with completely different people and I don't know what to expect.
The only person that cared enough to remember the day I was born was Lola. My only friend I had when I needed someone the most.
She would spend the day with me and would always bake me extra cookies as a gift. I miss her so much but I know she's in a better place now and isn't suffering anymore.
I wish to have her here with me. Everyone would've loved her.
I would've never thought that I would live to see past fourteen, but in two days, I would be turning seventeen and deep inside my heart, I'm glad that I lived long enough to meet my family that I never even thought I would have the chance to.
Two days and it would be the first time I won't be alone on my birthday.
It's scary.
Here I am on a Tuesday night, lying in bed and thinking about my birthday that's two days away. I'm so scared of how I might feel and how a birthday with everyone would be like.
Will I be overwhelmed? Will I enjoy it?
I know for a fact they'll remember it because it's all they've been talking about— especially Ares.
I love how he's so excited about our birthday while I don't even know what to feel.
Every morning, he comes into the kitchen screaming the days we have left till we turn seventeen, he's that excited.
He holds enough excitement for the both of us that I don't even feel guilty for not feeling anything towards our seventeenth birthday.
A sigh left my lips as I turned my head to look at the bedside table that read 11:27 pm.
It's almost midnight on a school night and sleep is not coming to me. I've been in bed since I finished dinner and yet, I don't feel an ounce of sleep in my body.
Just as I was about to give up and turn on my TV to watch some Netflix, my phone vibrated with a call that startled me.
When my eyes landed on the caller ID, my body immediately sat up straight as I stared at my phone with furrowed eyebrows and a heart that beats so hard for that one person.
'Everett wants to FaceTime...'
I watched it ring with a blank mind until my body jerked in realisation and I grabbed my phone, sliding the accept button where Everett's face came into view.
A smile immediately made its way on my face at the sight of his disheveled hair and his gorgeous face.
"Hi." I whispered.
"You're awake." he stated.
It felt as if Everett was right here and staring at me with the look in his eyes while he talked to me in that same deep voice that I seem to always want to hear.
But in reply, I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Why would you call me if you thought I wasn't?"
"Worth a try. Didn't think you would answer."
"Do you need anything?" I instead asked.
"No." came his short reply again.
"Then why'd you call?"
"Just wanted to hear your voice."
Just like that, I felt my heart rate quickened and I felt a fluttery sensation in my chest, as if tiny butterflies had taken the flight.
I was at a loss for words as my mind was momentarily consumed by the impact of what he had just said.
I'm sure the pink on my cheeks were visible because I saw that very same smirk on Everett's face.
"You could've voice called me, silly."
"Then I wouldn't be able to see your face."
I swear a tomato and I looked like identical twins right now.
Does he have any idea what his words are doing to me?
"Shut up." I mumbled.
And those two words elicited a deep chuckle from him as I watched a smile grow on his face— a smile that made his eyes crinkle and two little dimples appear on his cheeks.
It was such an amazing sight, I wish I could've captured it.
But then, I remembered how I could just screenshot it.
"Did you just take a fucking screenshot?" Everett scowled.
Light giggles left my lips at his sudden mood change, "You looked pretty." I admitted and saw how his facial expressions relaxed at my words.
"Only you, Alexandra. Only you can say shit like that." he muttered.
My head tilted to the side and my eyebrows knitted together in confusion. But Everett only shook his head and dismissed it as he asked, "Did you eat today?"
There goes my heart again.
Butterflies— hell they were crawling from my stomach to my heart and eating it all up at this very moment as I just stared at Everett's face on my phone screen and thought of what he had just asked.
He cares enough to notice my eating habits.
I feel like I was going to cry with how much he just... cares.
A family's care is nice— it's so nice but something about Everett's care is different.
I don't know how or why but it's so different, the good kind of different.
The kind of different that makes your heart jump out of your chest type of different.
My breath came out a little shallow as I mustered up a reply, "I did. I had dinner."
"What did you eat for dinner?" he asked, placing his arm behind his head where I had a clear view of his bulging muscle— his toned and veiny arms were so pleasing to look at. I found myself staring at it, unable to tear my gaze away.
But alas, I had to when I remembered how he had asked me a question, "My favourite—"
Everett didn't even let me finish before he cut me off with a word that would make me hungry all over again, "Pasta."
"How did you know?" I grew slightly shocked with the fact that he knew my all time favourite food.
But then again, I always found myself eating Pasta.
"Because I know you, sweetheart."
"That makes me sad because I don't know anything about you."
Everett's face softened but he didn't say a word as we just stared at each other through the phone screen, waiting for someone to break the silence until he spoke up.
"Ask."
A smile grew on my face while a million questioned popped into my head that I've always wanted to ask Everett but never had the chance to.
"What's your favourite food?"
He looked as if he was thinking, his lips pursing before he replied, "I don't have one."
"You have to have one! What's one thing you would eat everyday and never get tired of?"
One corner of his lips tilted up into a smirk as I just looked back at him and waited for an answer, "I don't think we're thinking of the same thing, sweetheart." he looked at me with so much intensity and so many emotions in his eyes whereas I looked back at him with a tilt to my head.
The heated look in his eyes told me that it was something different.
"What do you mean?"
His deep chuckle reached my ears but I never received a reply as he just lightly shook his head, "I'd never get tired of Lasagne."
"Lasagne is basically Pasta, except they're layered." I blurted.
"You're right."
This— this moment was the perfect opportunity for me to throw questions after questions at him and the best thing was, I didn't mind being awake anymore.
"What's your favourite colour?" I asked my next question.
And just like before, he stared at the screen thoughtfully, before he replied, "Yellow."
"Why?" I asked, genuinely curious because Everett doesn't look like the person to like such a bright colour.
He looks as if his favourite colour would be black or gray— something dark.
"Reminds me of you."
My heart fluttered like the wings of a bird— the type where a bird would flutter their wings so hard inside a cage when they're desperately trying to escape. That's how hard and fast and violent my heart was fluttering.
My eyes just stared at Everett's face on the screen as he let out a short chuckle, "What's yours?"
Without even thinking, I said, "Green."
I should've expected him to ask the same thing I had earlier, so when he asked me why I liked green, a slight flush appeared on my cheeks.
But I didn't tell him the real reason, "You'll know one day." I said instead.
Green.
Emerald green to be specific.
"Oh! I have another question!" I excitedly exclaimed, shifting in my position so I was now laying on my stomach instead of my back.
"You have so many tattoos, but what was your first one?"
I didn't fail to notice the shift in his demeanour as his jaw slightly clenched and he had a faraway look in his eyes— as if he was thinking about something deep.
But with a sigh, he pointed his phone to his elbow bend, where a date in roman numerals were.
XVIII • XII
Is that his birthday?
"What date is that?" I asked.
I barely see roman numerals in my life so being able to read them isn't my specialty, you can't blame me though.
"18th of December." he mumbled.
"Is that the day you were born?"
"No. You'll know what it is soon." he fired back the same thing I said to him earlier, and I only just realised how frustrating that one sentence seems to be.
It felt as if something shifted in the atmosphere and suddenly, he was too tired to speak as I began rambling while he gave short answers.
I didn't mind it though, I did enough talking for the both of us.
Soon, I found myself falling asleep to the sound of Everett wishing me goodnight.
❦ ❦ ❦
As soon as I left the car, I bid a goodbye to Ares and made my way to first period which was Geography with Sebastian and Nolan.
The dirty blonde headed boy was sat in his usual seat with his eyes on his phone and I plastered a smile on my face before plopping down next to him, "Good morning, sunshine!" I chirped.
His head snapped up so fast, I was surprised how he hadn't fractured it, "Good morning, my cupcake!" he exclaimed and wrapped his arms around me before rubbing his cheek on my shoulder— which earned a giggle from me.
Just then, Nolan made his presence known by plopping down on the seat next to me and leaning his head on my other shoulder, "I hate school." he mumbled.
I chuckled, "Why so glum?"
"Woke up late, had to skip breakfast and I'm wearing two different socks!"
I moved my eyes to look at his socks that was a little exposed due to the ends of his school pants riding up a little and true to his words, he was indeed wearing two different pair of socks.
And the funny thing is, one was a plain grey colour while the other one was white with mushrooms on it.
It was so cute.
"That mushroom sock is adorable!" I laughed while ruffling Nolan's hair, he sent a scowl my way and playfully slapped my hand away, "I was rushing, I didn't have time to find a different pair of socks."
"Just admit you like wearing funny socks." Sebastian snickered at my comment from my left as Nolan groaned and leaned his head back.
With a smile, I took out a granola bar that I kept in my bag incase I got hungry and gave it to him, "Here. Eat it." I offered.
Nolan's eyes immediately lit up, sparkling and illuminating the room where Mr Miller had yet to make an appearance.
"You're the best, pumpkin!"
"I know." I giggled, watching as he opened up the wrapper of the granola bar and happily munched it like a little kid.
Just then, Mr Miller came in, looking as if he had woken up on the wrong side of bed as he started teaching.
❦ ❦ ❦
"Hello, my fellow demons!" Sebastian exclaimed as the both of us sat down on the lunch table after the period before lunch— which was Economics and I swear the pop quiz sucked the life out of me.
I plopped down next to Everett and leaned my head against his shoulder while shutting my eyes, "Hi." I whispered.
In return, Everett started playing with the ends of my hair as he asked, "Tired?"
I hummed out a reply before opening my eyes and staring at the tray of food before me. I was aware how I was doing so well with eating these past few weeks, but this— this lunch did not look appetising at all.
It consisted of some type of soup that was a little too thick and garlic bread— I love garlic bread but this looked like someone just rubbed garlic on a piece of toast and named it 'garlic bread'.
As if Ares and I had twin telepathy, a bag of take out was placed in front of me as Ares took a seat next to me and ruffled my hair, "I ordered some food." he said.
Immediately, my eyes lit up as I looked inside the bag and saw a slice of pizza along with better looking garlic bread.
"Thank you! You're the best!" I exclaimed.
"I know." he smirked, before moving his eyes to the person next to me where his face fell and he nodded towards him with an expression I couldn't seem to read.
"Everett." he said.
Everett pursed his lips in reply, "Ares."
"Okay..." I awkwardly trailed off, sensing the tension between the two as I looked at Nolan and Sebastian questionably who just shrugged in reply and began eating their own lunch.
"Enjoy your food." Ares mumbled, and stood up, leaving our table.
"What's up with you and Ares?" I asked Everett with furrowed eyebrows as soon as I saw Ares disappearing in the cafeteria crowd.
Everett shrugged.
With a sigh, I ignored it and took my first bite out of the garlic bread, groaning at how good it tasted.
I swear I could eat this for the rest of my life.
❦ ❦ ❦
Just a little filler chapter, I didn't really know what to include in this chapter so you may find it boring, I'm sorry :(
I have a hug university entrance exam next week until the end of April so I probably won't upload until I finish my exam, but I'll try my best to have at least one chapter up in the next two weeks.
Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts on this chapter!
I notice how a lot of you guys read my book but never vote or comment :( please do, you may not know it, but it motivates me so much.
Also please comment if you see any mistakes, I'll try my best to fix it :)