Chapter 21 | The Pink Ones

I press the volume up button on my speaker as Money by The Drums plays. I let the sound fill my room as the music takes over and I start to dance. This week is my 'birthday week' which is both amazing and... not. 

I look at the calendar which has the dates Friday, October 8th - Sunday, October 10th circled. My birthday this year falls a day from now on a Friday and so it's perfect timing for the annual weekend-long sleepover I usually have. My parents came up with it to make my birthdays something to look forward to when I was younger. 

The girls and I are going shopping today for snacks and pajamas so that we're fully prepared for tomorrow. I look around the basement checking that everything else is set up. Although I don't come down here too often by myself it's one of my favorite parts of the house. There's a tv set up with games, instruments like a guitar, drums, and a keyboard, there's also games like a foosball table, pinball machine, and ping-pong table, as well as a couple of couches and bean bag chairs. My music pauses as a call comes in on my phone from Abigail.

Hey gorgeous, we're outside come on out.

I make my way up the stairs, out the door, and into Isabella's car with the girls.

"Where we off to first. Food or pjs?", Bella asks.

"Food." Abby and I say simultaneously. 

It's oddly still warm for this time of year, usually, it would be much colder but it's only been cold in the early mornings and late nights. I take in the beautiful fall air as thoughts run through my mind. The girls are discussing who should have control over the aux but all I can think about is the impending anniversary date coming up this weekend.

"Finally we're here! That took forever.", said Abby.

"We were literally driving for ten minutes," Bella argued back as she turned off the car. Everyone exited and then we made our way inside.

"Okay so, I have no idea what the boys like to eat but I bet they'll eat anything so it's fine."

"Everyone loves pizza so we should get that first," says Bella. "I can't believe that for the first time in like ever, there are going to be more people there than just us. Kinda exciting."

"Maybe we can actually have some real fun!" Abby says excitedly.

I fake gasp at her comment as Bella plays along and scoffs. "Not like that guys! You know I love you both but it's more of a party if you know what I mean." She wiggles her eyebrows.

"We get it, we get it. You and your big fat crush on Vinnie will have the time of your life don't worry." Bella teases.

"I think we can definitely manage to do something about that."

Abby gives us both kisses on the cheek, "Thank you, ladies. Now let's go grab some chips."

-:-

"Now we can have some real fun." Abby plops back into her seat in the car and opens up her bag showing bottles of various alcohols and a pack of white claws as well as some edibles which she had just picked up.

"Oh my god, why so many. At this rate, we'll wake up with non-functioning kidneys and no recollection of the night before." I say looking at the many options in her bag.

"Pssh, oh loosen up. Between the six of us and two nights, this will be nothing. "

I shrug my shoulders agreeing with her, "I have not gotten fucked up in a while, I'm definitely excited."

Abby smiles in victory, "That's the spirit! How about you Bella, you excited?" 

"Oh, one hundred percent I'm excited. A weekend to not remember yet never forget.". The two girls give each other a high five as we make our way to run our next errand. 

My Nonna insisted that we keep the tradition of everyone having matching pajamas during the sleepover, and nobody says no to Nonna, so we're meeting the boys at the mall. It took a bit of convincing but eventually, they realized there was no point in arguing.

As we pull into the mall parking lot we see the two boys standing outside of the car, they seem to be having some sort of discussion. Vinnie is standing with his arms crossed, his muscles defined. He's wearing light washed ripped jeans and a white tee. Elijah is laying against the door of his car. Sunglasses are covering his eyes but the tension is still visible in his face. He's wearing black joggers and a black t-shirt, it's so simple yet he makes it look so good. I study his physique. He has an ottermode build and even though it doesn't seem like it, you can tell how strong he is. He seems troubled by what Vinnie is telling him yet unbothered. His arms lay at his side as he looks down and plays with his bracelet.

Elijah notices us pull up next to them and immediately they wrap up their discussion. He shifts his weight to his feet and his signature smile comes across his face. "Hello, ladies."

"Hey boys," Abby says back as she walks towards them and stands next to Vinnie. He smiles at her and admires her as her attention went towards Bella exiting the car. Vinnie and I make eye-contact, noticing I saw him looking at her. I smile at him and look back towards Elijah.

"You guys ready?" I ask.

"Mhh not really, but I guess as ready as ever," Vinnie says. Abby turns and leads the way as the rest of us follow. The rest of the group walks up front and as they all chat, Elijah and I have our own separate conversation shortly behind them.

"How come you do a whole weekend of sleepover every year?" 

"I don't know really. It started when I was younger with just my family and then with friends. My parents think it's important to celebrate both my birthday and adoption day."

"Your adoption day? It's close to your birthday then."

I look towards the floor, it's still a sensitive topic even though it's been so long. "Yea, on the 10th."

He stops and grabs my hand, "Should I not have asked? I'm sorry, I didn't know.".

I shake my head, "No no it's fine. It's been a while, I just never got used to talking about it." He nodded his head and we continue to walk, our hands still intertwined. "My birth parents got into an accident and for months couldn't take care of me. It became prominent that it was just a matter of time until they passed so I went into the care of my parents now. They wanted to wait until they passed to officially sign the papers. It just so happened that they passed two days after my birthday."

My eyes never left the ground as I told him the story. I felt his hand tighten around mine, "I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. No one deserves to lose their parents."

"I love my parents. I'm so grateful for everything they've done for me. I don't remember my birth parents much so it's mostly knowing that I'm still here yet they aren't. I got lucky, in all meanings of the word." I look up at Elijah, our eyes meet as we enjoy a moment of silence.

"Alora! Come look!" Bella says, her voice booming as she looks around for me. I give Elijah a smile as I let go of his hand and quickly walk over towards the rest of the group.

"Oh my god, these are perfect. I love them."

"We have to get them." Says Bella. Abby has a huge smile in her face as she nods in agreement.

"The pink ones?" Asks Vinnie,

"The pink ones," I say, my smile matching Bella and Abbys.

-:-

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! It's been a while since the last update so my writing is a little rusty but I'm so excited to see what you all think. This next chapter is going to be a long, fun, and intense one... a lot is going to happen.

I hope everyone is doing okay and making the most of their time during everything happening with COVID-19. Stay safe, I hope everyone is as happy and healthy as can be! 

<3 anonopi