Chapter Twenty-Eight

The cafeteria had been transformed from a gray, slightly drab room full of tables and benches into a magical fairytale wonderland. The lights were off, and the only light in the room came from floating glass orbs the size of softballs that hung free from any form of wire or string, and I realized it was probably through the use of Tanya’s magic. Their soft pink glow sent shadows skittering across the walls.

Vases full of flowers covered every available surface, while beautiful paper streamers stretched across the ceiling. Quiet music played from some unseen machine, and I was glad to see that there were only a few people in the room. Ezra and Finn both looked stunning in dark jeans and black long-sleeved button down shirts. Holly wore a tight dress of gold, and Tanya herself wore a bright purple flowing dress that made her look like a princess.

I felt incredibly insecure and underdressed, until I saw the look on Finn’s face.

His pale blue eyes glowed in the darkness of the room, and for once, he didn’t have a serious or angry scowl on his face. He almost looked happy, or at least as happy as Finn could look, and when Tanya and I stopped in the middle of the cafeteria, he offered me a small smile. All thoughts of Brittney left my mind, and I felt myself being drawn to him.

“You like nice,” he said softly. His unnervingly pale blue eyes looked me up and down twice, before settling on the amethyst pendant that hung between my breasts. Warmth flooded my cheeks, and I resisted the urge to cross my arms over my chest.

“Happy birthday,” Holly said, eyeing Finn with slightly narrowed eyes that reminded me of one of the cats sitting around the room. They watched everything with their sharp gazes and amber-colored eyes, and I easily picked Two Socks out of the group of ten or so. He licked himself clean while Holly gave me a one-armed hug. “You look beautiful. Of course, Tanya can make anyone look beautiful. No offense.”

I smiled. Lately I’d begun to see that Holly didn’t like others thinking she was actually a nice person, kind of like Finn, and she usually said something mean after a compliment. So I didn’t take offense to it. “Thanks,” I said with a quiet laugh. “Tanya does do wonders, especially with hair. And cafeteria’s apparently. This place is really beautiful,” I said, looking at her.

Tanya shrugged like it was no big deal, but her beautiful wings fluttered happily behind her. Then she clapped her hands together. “Well, what should we do first? Presents, dancing, or cake? I had the cook here make one for you; I’m not sure how good it’ll taste though. Well, birthday girl gets to decide,” she said, looking at me. “What do we do first?”

“You guys didn’t have to get me anything,” I said, feeling self-conscious. Celebrating my birth didn’t seem like a good idea at the moment, and even though I was with my new friends, I felt odd about them getting me something. I hadn’t had a real, happy birthday since I was in the third grade before my mom died, and everything felt odd, almost alien to me.

Tanya shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course we did. You’re our friend, Ronnie. Don’t worry; it’s nothing too expensive. Trust me. You’ll like these gifts. Come on. We’ll start with those.”

“Tanya–”

She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a small table where a couple of beautifully wrapped presents sat. Tanya picked up a box shaped present with pink wrapping and a purple bow and handed it to me with a smile. “This one’s from me and Ezra. It took both of us to find all of–”

“Shhh!” Ezra said, smiling. “Don’t ruin it for her.”

“You guys didn’t have to–”

He sighed. “We’re not taking any of this back, so just sit down and enjoy it, Ronnie. You’re our friend, and we didn’t go through any trouble to get this stuff.” He brushed aside his dark red hair and smiled. “Come on. I wanna see the look on your face when you open it.”

Nothing I say would get through to them, and part of me was glad it wouldn’t. I liked the feeling of having real friends for the first time in years. Back home, I would have been seen as just a crazy girl that belonged in a mental hospital; here I was an equal, someone to be treated with respect. Nobody thought I was crazy or belonged in a mental institution, and this group of people didn’t blame me for the circumstances of my birth.

I sat down at the table with everyone, and began ripping off the wrapping paper. Inside of a plain cardboard box was a stack of small paperback books, all with the same author name printed on the front: Jules Verne. I flipped them over to look at the spines, and whistled in appreciation. “You found them all.” I flipped through a worn copy of The Lighthouse at the End of the World, before looking up at Tanya and Ezra. “You remembered.”

Tanya smiled. “Of course I did. You do realize that the only author you ever talk about is Jules Verne, right? And since you said you didn’t have any of his books, which were some of your favorites, Ezra and I thought we could find them for you. It took forever. Not one of those books came from the same store.”

I believed her. Each of the books was dusty and worn, and the pages had that musty smell that I simply adored. These books weren’t recent reprints, and had probably cost quite a bit more. I couldn’t imagine how long it must have taken Tanya and Ezra to track down all of these books.

“Thank you, you guys. This is really amazing.” I set the books to the side, careful to make sure nothing got spilled on them, and took the next present from Holly. I was surprised at the sight of it, since I hadn’t expected anything from her.

The present was medium-sized, and when I opened it, I found a folded black cashmere cardigan. I lifted the fabric from the box and it unfolded, looking both beautiful and expensive in the process. I touched the fabric with gentle fingers, and looked up at Holly, who was staring at me with her usual look of boredom. “Thank you, Holly, it’s really beautiful. It must have cost a fortune.”

She snorted, managing to still look beautiful in the process. “Money is of no consequence to a being that will live forever.” She smiled slightly. “Nevertheless, you’re still welcome.”

There was one more box, and Tanya handed it to me with a smile. “The books were Ezra’s idea, so I thought I’d get you something else, too. I picked them out myself. Here.”

Inside the box was a pair of black stiletto boots with straps and silver buckles. They were made of sturdy leather, and I couldn’t wait to try them on. I wasn’t an outrageously girly person, but I did tend to have a passion for shoes, especially boots, and Tanya had remembered that. “Thank you,” I said, embarrassed that I was close to crying. I hadn’t gotten anything this nice from someone in years, and right now I had three awesome presents from friends, and it just made me feel so liked and appreciated.

“Alright, Ezra can start cutting the cake, while I go turn on some better music. Then it’s time to dance!” Tanya said, jumping up and moving away from the table.

“But, I can’t dance,” I sputtered. “Especially in front of other people.”

Ezra laughed as he cut the cake into sections. “Try telling Tanya that. I guarantee she won’t listen. That girl has her priorities sorted out, and right now, partying it up with friends is at the top of that list. Nothing short of a nuclear explosion is going to save you right now.”

I had to laugh with the others, because he was right. Tanya was determined to dance, and dance we would. When she turned on something faster and more upbeat, I began to groove in my seat, trying not to care that I probably looked like an idiot. Right now, I was just happy to be having a semi-normal moment with my new friends, and that was all that mattered. I couldn’t care less that Andrew probably hadn’t given up on his plans for me, and I couldn’t care less that Diego now wanted me dead as well. Tonight was going to be about happiness.

My happiness.

Ezra dished out slices of cake, and as I bit into the chocolaty goodness of it, I moaned softly. “Oh, this is so amazing. Probably the best cake I’ve ever had.”

“I wish I could take credit for it,” Tanya said. Her wings fluttered happily behind her, and I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly beautiful they looked. The light from the floating glass balls caught the silver streaks and sparkles in her wingtips, and it looked like they were shimmering.

The group made small talk while we finished the cake, but I couldn’t help but notice that Finn didn’t say a word the entire time. He remained focused solely on the plate in his hands, and the only time he looked up, our eyes met briefly, and warmth flooded my cheeks again. Finn looked away even quicker than I did, and I didn’t look up a second time.

He hadn’t said a word to me since telling me that I looked nice, and I got the distinct impression that he was embarrassed he’d said it. Or maybe he was embarrassed because of the five of us, he was the one that most clearly didn’t want to be here. He hadn’t gotten me anything–not that I’d expected him too–and he clearly wasn’t enjoying himself.

Tanya got up to changed the music to something softer and slower. When she came back to our small table, Ezra immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her close. She looked startled for a moment, and her cheeks burned crimson in color. “Ezra–”

“Shhh. Just dance.”

“But Ezra, you know we can’t–”

“Who’s gonna find out? You think Holly, Ronnie, and Finn don’t want us to be happy? Just for one night, stop worrying what your family would think, and just let go. Trust me.”

She looked down bashfully, and I had to clench my jaw tightly to keep it from flopping open. Tanya was not ever the shy kind of girl, but I remembered what she’d told me about demons and fairies. I couldn’t understand how two people couldn’t be together just because their races fought in the past. Ezra wasn’t that kind of guy, and I didn’t think he would ever hurt Tanya.