Thinking back, I'm pretty sure he knew we avoided him when possible; but now I'm not completely sure why we did. I feel horrible now for taking him for granted.

One Plus One

It was a simple equation, really.

I felt bad, really I did. That's probably the only reason I was standing here in the yellow dorms. I honestly don't know why it bothered me so much, it was easy. Knock. Greet. Invite. Leave. That's all I had to do, but every step of the way I feared my feet would betray me.

I shouldn't have dreaded the task. Bastion was my friend too, right? I had to invite him; it would be horribly rude not to.

My stomach was churning as my thoughts began to fight one another.

Well, yes, Bastion was sort of my friend. He was nice. Boring and somewhat obnoxious… but still polite. He was one of the first people I met here; the first person, in fact, to open up and speak to me. However, the fact remained that I didn't really enjoy his company that much.

Bastion is… well he's weird. Even the "nerds" call him a nerd! And while he's probably the smartest person on campus, it's still insanely creepy how much he enjoys academics! It's like he gets off on math or something…Ewww. He's just one of those people you can't picture having a life or interesting hobbies. I never could help imagining some obnoxious shade of baby-barf-green to be his favorite color.

Bastion was probably busy anyhow. He always seemed to have something better to do than "hang out" with us. Perhaps I should just leave him be? Ooh, you have no idea how tempting that thought was while staring at his door, fist raised to knock. I've been here five minutes already in this exact position and my resolve was quickly fading with each passing moment.

I longed to turn and walk back to my friends, my real friends, to just enjoy myself and not bother with Bastion.

And then, the door swung open on its own, revealing a rather tired looking teen. Huh, maybe the world's great questions do keep him up at night…

He looked rather surprised to see me standing there, hand raised, with that deer-in-the-headlights look I must have been sporting.

Bastion blinked a few times before sliding on a casual smile. "Well, happy birthday." He greeted me.

I laughed nervously. Why was I here again? Oh… "Uh, yea, thanks man." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Hey, me and a couple of the guys are getting together later, you wanna come?"

I waited nervously for his answer. His eyes flicked to the floor, calculating. I shivered at the awkward silence that followed. When his eyes finally rose to brush my gaze, I noticed a touch of disappointment.

"Oh. Sorry Jaden, I'd love to attend but I have a report due first thing in the morning and it's been giving me a bugger of a time…" He blinked suddenly before smiling once again. "Got something for you though." He finished before hastily retreating into his room.

I shifted nervously as I awaited his return. The room looked rather clean. Not the way it was in the middle of a paper, with books and notes strewn everywhere and every flat surface written upon. Figures. He'd lied, but I didn't really mind it. Not today.

He returned with a small box wrapped in reflective mint-green wrapping paper, probably left over from Christmas. My name was scrawled across the top, but it was otherwise unmarked. He handed it over gently.

Bastion gave me a friendly pat on the head before returning to his domain.

"Have a good one Jaden." He wished me with a slight smile before returning the door to its original closed position.

I stood for at least another good minute staring at his door, trying to process what had just happened. The small package in my hand was the only proof of the previous encounter. With a heavy sigh I turned and walked back in the direction from which I had come. The red dorms.

Everyone had arrived before my return; and the decorations had been placed where Alexis designated. It wasn't extravagant, but it was for my sake. I smiled at the waving, impatient group in front of me.

As soon as I joined them all eyes were drawn to the package in my hands.

"Who's that from Jaden?" Alexis asked leaning forward with a puzzled look adorning her features.

I laughed it off. "Oh, no one…"

Syrus interrupted with a soft coo. "Ooh, does Jay have a secret lover?" He teased, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Scandalous!" Sarge piped in before he and Sy dissolved into a fit of giggles.

I rolled my eyes at their antics before laughing as well. "Seriously you guys… just some guy from class who was being nice 'cause he found out it was my birthday."

The two clowns mock gasped and pointed at me accusingly. "It's a GUY?" Syrus squeaked.

I felt my eye twitch slightly. "You guys! I DON'T have a 'secret lover'!" Everyone seemed startled by my outburst, but at least they dropped the subject.

Alexis smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well then, let's give Jaden our presents." She suggested, attempting to lighten the mood.

I started to relax as the party went on, I opened my presents, ate cake (courtesy of Alexis), and participated in a giant water fight that resulted in Crowler chewing us out. All in all it was a pretty kick-ass party.

After everyone said their goodbyes, we returned to our respective dorms. In the red dorm, Syrus and Hassleberry immediately collapsed and resigned to sleep. They must have been wiped out from attempting to murder one another with water… But I didn't mind that much.

The peace of the moment gave me time to reflect on the day. Great friends, great cake, great presents… what more could a guy ask for on his birthday? I glanced over at the pile of gifts beside my bed. I got 5 new packs of cards from Alexis, a GPS unit from Syrus (no more getting lost in the forest!), a pocket knife from Hassleberry, $50 from Chazz, and something … strawberry flavored … from Atticus. The latter had earned the older brunet a good slap from his sister.

And then there was that last package, the one from Bastion that I had yet to open.

I gazed at it for several minutes before my natural curiosity took over and I snatched it from the pile. It was about the size of my palm, was rather light, and didn't rattle much when shaken. My eyes swept over it, looking for clues, but the only thing the caught my eye was my name, written in neat, bold script. I almost sighed in frustration before finally ripping off the minty-coating of paper. The box underneath was also plain. No clues there. I frowned and popped it open, turned it upside-down and shook the object into my hand.

It was… a familiar shape. A deck case. Black leather, and decorated with a hand painted figure on the front. Neos. It was… stunning.

There was a note inside, a "card" of sorts, with only two words written upon it.

"Happy Birthday."

I was stumped. I turned the object over and over in my hands before setting it gently on the table beside my bed.

With a soft sigh I lay down and rolled over to face the wall as the day's events replayed in my head.

So maybe I was wrong. Maybe – and I'm not completely sure how I came about this thought – but, maybe Bastion's lies weren't for his own convenience, not because liked numbers more than his supposed friends. But maybe…

Maybe he always knew we didn't much care for his company. That I didn't.

And for that, I REALLY felt bad...