I walk onto the stage over to the microphone tapping it to grab everyone's attention, not beginning until it had gone quiet. "Thank you all for coming to this marvellous event tonight, we are here tonight to celebrate Vamp's 176th birthday. Vamp, even though you have been hell to my behind growing up you're still an amazing brother to me. The number of times you boss me around even when it is not needed is something I have lost count over." I say to the enormous crowd of people.
"Of course, any birthday isn't complete without embarrassing the birthday boy, so let me see what mischief I can come up with tonight, hey? There was this one time when I was 18 where my brother and I were walking down some street, I can't remember where exactly but I was ahead of him by a long shot and I saw there was a gapping on the footpath so I avoided that easily but when Vamp came along with his invincible, macho man walking his nose up in the air and then plop! He falls right in the gap, falling right on his face. Instead of helping the man, I'm laughing my head off at him," I chuckle as I speak. "And now some photos and videos for your entertainment and to get back at my brother must I add. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER, LOVE YAH!"
I walk off the stage standing as far away from my brother as possible knowing he will probably smack me for my speech up there and the embarrassment I caused him. The projector played. The first photo that popped up was a baby photo of Vamp, followed by a series of other photos from when he was a child, videos as well.
"Oh Marky!" an angelic voice came as arms wrapped around my waist, the scent of rose perfume strong as if she had sprayed the entire bottle. Oh, please no! For the love of God, go away, Brit!
"Britany what a surprise!" I say, trying to sound as surprised as possible. "Weren't you over near my brother?" I ask.
"Yeah, but he told me I should speak to you because you are awesome and you were the one who planned all of this for him. He is very grateful for you" she says. Sneaky slimeball!
"Did he now? Well, I'm sure birthday boy would love to hang out with his favourite cousin in the world" I say trying to push her away from me lightly.
"Vamp?" she asks bluntly.
"Yeah," I say, forcing a smile.
"He's rude to me but I love being with you since you aren't so rude," she states, jumping up and down as she grabs onto my arm.
"So, let me get this right. You like me better than my brother?" I ask in shock.
"Yes, I do Marky!" she squeals again making me jump at her sudden reaction.
"Why don't you calm down a little?" I ask, forcing a smile at her now.
"I am calm, Marky. I love what you did to the place and how you organised this party Marky. It's amazing!" she exclaims, jumping up and down in her childish ways.
"You're sweet Britany, say where's that boyfriend of yours?" I ask.
"Oh, he um... Well, he is no longer my boyfriend. He broke up with me 4 months ago to go out with that tramp of a woman because she could give him a better time than I can. In shorter terms he loves her more," she explains sadness clear in her tone. I hug her tightly before she cries. Please don't cry...
"Oh... Well, he didn't deserve you" I say smiling down at her.
"Oh Marky!" she says squealing once again. I get so distracted by her I don't have time to pay attention to the slide show about my brother. Damn it!
I run onto the stage yelling into the microphone, "let's get this party started!" with the music blasting from the DJ table. Half of the guests partnering up and began dancing the night away, some of the adults absolutely atrocious at dancing. Between all those people dancing I spot Vamp with his girlfriend dancing on the dancefloor.
"Say, how many girlfriends does she make it to?" Falcon asks.
"1910" I reply, staring right at my brother, my blood boiling under my skin.
"If my calculations are correct, you are saying he has at least 12 girlfriends every year, one every month since he turned 18?" Falcon asks in shock, his eye's wide mouth nearly hitting the floor.
"If I were you, I'd pick my mouth off the ground. I wouldn't be surprised, my brother can't commit or even make it to marriage stage," I state rolling my eyes.
"MARKY?!" a voice yells from across the room. Oh, no...
"Hide me, boys," I say in sheer terror.
"Nope, she's your problem," Josh says, his arms crossed.
"MARKY!?" the high-pitched voice yells out, getting closer until the blonde-haired girl is in front of me now. "Dance with me?" she asks, giving puppy eyes at me.
"I can't dance," I say not even able to continue my sentence before I'm yanked out onto the dance floor, Pitbulls "boyfriend" blasting in the background as Britany dancing in front of me forcing my hands on her waist. Oh, hell no.
After dancing with Britany for 4 songs straight, I made an excuse of being tired running back over to my mates making the get-me-out-of-here expression.
"So, did you have fun?" Josh asks in amusement, his eyebrows raised, lips curved upwards at the ends.
"Please! Did you see how she danced with me? Yea, I had to stop her from dancing for such ways. What the hell is she playing at? I'm her cousin!" I growl, my fists clenched, veins throbbing.
"Marky?!" Britany asks as she comes over to me, her soft melodic voice singing out my name as I keep my back turned to her. "Look at me, please?"
"No," I say coldly, frowning.
She places her hand on my shoulder, her eyes burning into my back as she tries to tug me in attempts to turn me around, which I don't. "Please Marky."
"I said no Britany, cousins don't dance that way and you know how I feel about that sort of dancing, especially after I told you I couldn't dance. My heart belongs to a girl and for you to do that ain't right" I say, hurt in my tone, looking at the ground as my nails dig into the palms of my hands.
"Marky, look at me please" she pleads again.
"What did I bloody tell you, Britany!? Get out of my face before you regret it and do it now!" I demand as I turn around in anger, clasping her arm, looking her dead in the eyes. Her tears falling down her cheeks as she runs away in the opposite direction.
"Mark?" Josh asks, his eyes wide as he backs away from me.
"What?!" I growl.
"Are you ok?" he asks.
"I'm fine," I say as I walk away, walking out of the house sitting on the stone bench in the backyard staring straight ahead. The backyard had rows of roses along the pebbled footpath, the tall hedges along the outer fence neatly trimmed but still tall enough to give privacy from the outside stone table and chairs on the concrete as you go out of the back of the house.
"Sweetheart, are you ok?" mum asks concerned as she takes a seat next to me.
"Great!" I state as I stare straight ahead, not looking her way at all.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine, ok?"
"No, you are not. So you can either tell me or I will find out one way or another, like always"
"Ok, you wanna know? Well, Britany is the problem here. You saw how she was dancing around me sexually. I don't like that, nor agreed to it. What was she thinking?. I don't understand why she is obsessed like this."
"Because she likes you..."
"I don't want her to like me. I want her to like me as a cousin."
"I've noticed this sweetheart and so does her parents. She's hurting from her last relationship, so her doing this could be getting back at her ex or taking her frustrations out without meaning to deter you away."
"Oh yeah, because using her words hasn't been invented yet?"
"She likes you more than the others in the family. Just come inside when you're ready."
I stay silent, shaking my head, not wanting a bar of it. I watch as mum stands up and walk back inside. I was left to my own devices, lost in my own thoughts, leaving more questions than answers. Why is she like this? Why me and not anyone else in my family?
"Marky before you say anything, I want to apologise. I didn't mean to dance like that with you, it was never my intention. I let my anger at my ex cloud my mind. I like you a lot Marky, you're an amazing cousin to me, you really are" Britany says as she walks out of from behind the silhouette of the house sitting on the stone seat next to me, her eyes red from crying.
"I just don't understand," I say, looking at the roses along the pathway.
"I'm sorry," she says sincerely, looking at me in sadness. She gets up plucking a rose from the ground before walking back over and pops it into my jacket pocket, smiling. "I'll meet you inside," she says cheerfully before she disappeared in the blink of an eye.
I sit here for another thirty minutes before I get up and walk inside. Upon my arrival everyone was still dancing, laughing and chattering about, the music still blasting. Seem's I missed nothing.
"There you are" Falcon exclaims yanking me like a rag doll.
"Where the hell are you taking me?" I ask, trying to yank my arm back from his grasp.
"To the boys," he replies, dragging me back to the group with me struggling to break free. The boys were chowing down on their beers. The music stops as my dad's voice comes from the speakers, "attention, attention, everyone." my dads navy suit shining against the lighting that was against him as he stood on the stage. "It is time for that time of night, time for the birthday boy to cut his cake. So let's raise a glass to Vamp and his 176th, couldn't have asked for a better eldest child. Watching you grow up, you've made your mother and I proud, you've grown up to be a fine gentleman. When you were young, you gave your mother and I a run-in, you were always so full of energy, never giving us a break to sit back and relax. A jack of all trades, but most of all, you're my son and I am proud of you."
Two of the caterers wheeled out a giant nine tier cake in a blood-red gaze. My brother's reaction was priceless, the look of pure shock on his face as he checked the cake out on every angle, observing each and every detail. He picks the knife up cutting a neat slice out of the bottom tier of the cake sliding it onto a plate. Everyone chanting happy birthday as he cuts the cake.
As the first slice is made the caterers wheel the cake back into the kitchen to slide it up into the pieces for everyone. As the slices were cut and they gave everyone a piece of the cake, we sit down eating as the music played again softly.
----
It has been an hour since the cake was served and everyone was going pretty strong, music blasting, with the adults dancing and drinking. Vamp dancing with his girlfriend, locking lips a few times. Yeck!
"Mark?" Alfred asks, his golden eyes glowing as he nudges my leg playfully. "You're brother seems to really love that woman"
"He does this every single time. Seems to love the woman, introduce her to the family, kissing her all lovey-dovey, pa-lease" I say rolling my eyes. "Don't be fooled."
"Hey, Marky!" Britany says, bouncing over to my mates and I. Someones happy. I agree to dance with her for one song. Only one.
'Didn't I' by one republic was playing as we danced and sung along on the top of our lungs. God love her but she has so much energy, even I can't keep up with her. I'm so tired it's ridiculous.
After the song finish, I let my friend Colin dance with Britany as I slip away to my mates. "Hey, where's Josh and Falcon?" I ask, looking around frowning.
"They walked off together" Connor states, smiling as he watches everyone dance, bobbing on his knees to the beat.
"Did they mention where they were going?" I ask tapping my foot impatiently.
"Nope, Falcon said he had to speak with Josh alone, they left and well we didn't see where they went or why Falcon wanted to speak with Josh"
"Well, they can't just up and leave whenever they please," I growl. I decide to scan the ballroom area, walking around the dance floor area not finding any of them there. Where the hell are they?!
I continue to search the place, they were nowhere to be seen downstairs. I ask a few people in my family if they had seen Josh or Falcon but none of them did so I continued my search for them. There was an upper floor to the mansion so I climb up the stairs searching nearly every single room with no luck. At the end of the hallway, there was another one leading down another way with some more room, a light shone from one of the rooms.
I walk down the hallway about ready to burst into the room to blast them off to the next planet but I don't. Instead, walking over to the room, the door was open a crack but you can hear word for word what was being said.
Falcon's voice came through saying "I love you too." As I peak from the crack of the door I see Falcon and Josh kissing, Falcons hands on Josh's face with Josh's around Falcons, them both looking very loved up and cozy in each other's arms.
Josh then says "come to my place after the party" and then footsteps coming closer to the door! Crap they're coming! I run and stand with the boys as if I've always been standing there. I walk over to Vamp who was sitting on one of the seats.
"Enjoying your birthday bro?" I ask grinning.
"Yeah, thanks for this lil bro" he replies, smiling at me through his tired eyes. As I'm talking to my brother I see Falcon walk onto the veranda with Josh standing with the rest of the boys. Wonder what's up.
I walk over to the veranda standing next to Falcon leaning over the railing, smiling at him. "Hey," I greet.
"Hey Mark," Falcon says dejectedly, staring straight ahead in the distance, his eyes watery as if he were afraid.
"What's up?" I ask, looking at him.
"I'm fine, just admiring the view of this beautiful place," he says not bearing to look at me but has the somethings wrong and I'm about to explode expression on his face as a tear falls.
"LIES!" I growl, grabbing his shoulder, spinning him around to face me, his eyes wide as he looks at me. "Tell me the truth! No bullshit! I've been your best friend for how long? and you still lie to my face!"
"Mark, calm the fuck down!"
"Easy to say to calm down when you're obviously lying to my face," I say shaking my head.
"How do I even say this?" he questions, stumbling for his words, looking at the ground as tears well in his eyes.
"What's going on?" I ask looking him in the eyes.
"I'm in love," he replies looking away, his cheeks red.
"Yeah? And who's the lucky girl?" I ask smiling widely. Of course, I know who it is, but I gotta pretend like I don't know a thing.
"It isn't a she, it's a he" Falcon looks away, his face as red as a tomato.
"Well whoever this guy is, he's a lucky man and I hope he feels the same about you, otherwise I'm going to have to break him apart" I state winking at him.
"You aren't mad?!"
"Why would I be? Of course, I'm hurt you didn't tell me you were you know..."
"Um, Mark? I'm bisexual, and well I didn't know right off the bat about it, I wasn't certain until recently. I do admit I was and am confused about it all but it's hard to explain to people Mark, it really is. You don't expect how people will react when you do tell them. But yeah, I'm more into guys than girls so..."
"Do any of the other boys know?" I ask calmly.
"Nah, I mean, I wanted to tell you all a long ass time ago but people like me in the werewolf community is VERY rare, you saw what happened to the last one that came out"
"Well, I am glad you told me this Falcon, I'm proud of you for coming out and telling me about this, it's a big thing to come out and tell me about," I say smiling as I pull Falcon into a bear hug.