A/N: In response to Sadie's birthday challenge.
1- It doesn't have to be about Claire's bday, but at least 1 TBC member must have a birthday.
2- The birthday person must have a really ridiculous birthday wish.
3- Someone must forget about the birthday and find out at the last minute at the risk of getting in trouble.
4- There must be at least one extremely random birthday present given that not everyone gets on their bday.
5- If you make it a drama, you must have one fight break out. If you make it a comedy, you must have one bizarre relative/neighbor make a cameo.
6- Romance should be avoided...it can appear in a greeting of two characters, but it should not be the center of the story.
Allison could not remember a time when she had enjoyed her birthday. Perhaps it was her lack of friends growing up, or perhaps the fact that her parents seemed to forget each year what date the day actually fell on - and then attempted to make up for it with something that she hated, like a shopping spree from her mother - or perhaps it was simply the fact that no birthday ever really seemed to bring her any closer to escaping. This year was, of course, going to be different. This year she was going to have friends, so it wouldn't matter what her parents did or didn't do, and escaping wasn't so much on her mind when she had friends - and an almost-boyfriend - to spend time with as she finished another (far too long) year of her life.
"Are we going to have a party?" Claire asked her on Tuesday (her birthday was Saturday.) Allison shot her a sceptical look. Claire let out a small, somewhat awkward laugh and revised her question. "Is the Breakfast Club going to get together to celebrate?"
Allison nodded, slowly, as if it were the first time she'd really thought about it; as if it hadn't been on her mind for about a month now. "Probably," she said, finally, and Claire broke out in a grin. "Maybe," she amended, but Claire kept grinning at her, like she'd just done something infinitely pleasing. "What?" she snapped, a little rudely, and Claire gave her one last happy look before disappearing down the corridor.
Brian talked to her next, just as happy as Claire had been. "Uh, hey, Allison, your birthday's coming up right, like….Saturday? Or was it Friday…?" He glanced at her, half thinking and half waiting for an answer, but Allison just let him work it out. "Saturday," he said, nodding to himself before turning his gaze back on her. "What are we doing? Or, well, are we doing anything? Or maybe you are, with, you know, not me, and just Claire? Or…just Andy? But if we, me included, I mean, we are doing something could you tell me?" Allison smiled at him and nodded, thinking that talking to - or being talked at, rather- by Brian was always vaguely amusing. "And what do you want? As a gift, I mean, because it seems like it's going to be kind of hard to, you know, find something you'd like…"
"It doesn't matter," she told him, because really, any present was something novel to her, and he smiled at her, nervously, and darted away.
John walked up to her at lunch on Thursday. "Hey, klepto." He hoisted himself up onto the picnic table she was sitting at, sketchbook open in front of her. "Brian was telling me that we were having a bit of a get-together this weekend, in honour of you birth. Would that be correct?" Allison inclined her head at him in acknowledgement, and he smirked. "It's going to be hardcore, isn't it?" Allison gave him a look, pursed lips included, and then looked back to her sketch as he laughed. "I'll bring the music and the booze," he added, then leapt off the table. Allison couldn't think of a witty enough retort, so she just turned back to her sketchpad.
Saturday came and, as Allison had expected, the Breakfast Club began making their appearance. Brian arrived around noon, carrying a small bag. He babbled fairly consistently for twenty minutes about physics - most of which Allison didn't understand - before Claire finally arrived. "Hey!" the redhead greeted her, plunking a large wrapped box with a pink bow in her hands. "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks," Allison said, and ushered her into the house. John walked up the walk a few seconds later, pulled off his sunglasses and wriggled his eyebrows at her.
"It's your birthday; do I get to give you a kiss?"
"Claire's here," Allison said, to which John shrugged and gave her a quick peck on the way in. Allison resisted her automatic reaction to wipe her lips and closed the door. "Where's the booze?" She asked, following after the taller boy.
He shrugged again. "Oh, you know…" he made a flippant gesture with his hand before flopping down on her couch. "Didn't think we'd need it, we're such a rowdy crowd."
Claire rolled her eyes as Brian fiddled with a small paper weight on the table. "Where's Andy?" Claire asked, looking expectantly at Allison.
Allison gave a half shrug in response, to which Claire eyed her carefully. "Did he talk to you this week?"
Allison shook her head and put the presents down on the coffee table. There were two short raps on the door.
"Hey," Andy said when she opened the door, hands in his pockets. "I was wondering…" He trailed off as he noticed the other three members of the group sitting comfortably in her living room. "Oh," he said, rather pathetically.
"Oh?" Allison asked, sounding a little more than annoyed.
"You're fucked now, Sporto," John crowed behind her, a big grin gracing his face.
"I…" Andy tried again, but he flushed bright red and couldn't get another word out.
"Do you need to come back later?" Prompted Claire. "Maybe run a little errand before you join the party?"
"Yeah, that's it exactly," Andy said, before bolting to his car. Allison shook her head.
"Boys can be so clueless sometimes," Claire commented.
"Well, it's just that, you know, the female half of the species can be rather flighty, and complicated, so we sometimes get things wrong…" Brian spoke up.
"He speaks from vast experience," John commented sagely.
"He speaks like we're another species," Claire added, sounding a little exasperated.
"Presents?" Allison cut in.
Brian was eager to hand her his gift, though whether it was because he was proud of it or because he wanted to be out of Claire's gaze she didn't know. She reached into the bag - it had a puppy on it, which Brian explained as "the only real gift bag left, unless, you know, I used a Christmas one, but this isn't Christmas, so I know the puppy isn't really like you at all, but I just wanted it to not be Christmas, because, you know, it's not" - and pulled out a set of art pencils and pens, all with fancy names that had probably cost more than they were worth, but she appreciated the gesture.
"Thanks," she said, looking at him a shooting him a rare smile. "They'll be helpful."
"That was the idea," Brian said, for once not commenting any more than that.
"Mine next!" Claire all but squealed, pushing the box towards her. Allison ripped open the paper - as Brian winced - and found a rather extensive makeup set.
There was a moment of silence. "Well?" Claire asked.
"I like the black eyeliner," Allison offered, and Claire took what she could get.
"Good. I picked the one with the least pink," Claire replied, looking pleased with herself. The three of them turned expectantly to John.
"Here," he said, reaching into his trench coat pocket and pulling out a Coke can. "Catch this Coke." He lofted it in the air, and she reached up and caught it quickly.
"That's all you're getting her?" Claire said with indignation.
Brian didn't dare open his mouth.
John gave a lazy shrug. "I felt it showed our special connection," he said, grinning at her, then at Allison. She grinned back before opening the can half way and giving it a large slurp. Claire let out a large sigh and hung her head in her hands.
"I will never understand you two," she replied, and Allison and John shared a look.
"Human relationships, and, uh, connections, well, they're possibly the most complicated thing in the unvierse," Brian offered his opinion. "Because, uh, there's really no pattern, to how people, you know, interact, and, uh, feel and-"
"See?" John broke in, looking at the girls. "It's a seriously deep bond. You need to have a bit more respect, Claire." Claire only sighed again.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Allison answered, expecting Andy, but found her Aunt Millicent at the door.
"Why, hello darling!" The woman cooed, barging past a very stunned Allison.
"You're not supposed to be here," Allison stated bluntly, watching as her Aunt surveyed the other teenagers.
"Now, who are these delightful young people?" Her Aunt replied, smiling widely and ignoring Allison completely.
When Allison only glowered, Claire took it upon herself to do the introductions.
"Yes, well, hmmm…." She gave them one last look-over before turning to her niece. "I have a present for you!" She sing-songed, reaching into her rather large bag and pulling out a rectangular-shaped package.
Allison sighed and opened the package. "It's 'Macbeth'," Allison said, sounding less than thrilled.
"Yes!" Her aunt exclaimed, making the other four jump. "It's Shakespeare's greatest work; a tragedy, a study of confliction, of human emotions, of a woman unwound - Macbeth. Oh, ho! The Scottish play, with the weird sisters, and - oh, out damned spot, out!" She paused for a moment, eyes gleaming. "Is this a dagger I see before me?" She laughed - well, more of a cackle, really, in Brian's opinion, before turning to Allison. "Have fun with that, my cherub. Shakespeare's greatest work is not to be taken lightly," she said, gave Allison a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the shoulder, and then left the room.
There was a stunned silence.
"My god," John finally commented, as Brian nodded furtively in agreement.
"Well," Claire began meekly. "It's not a bad play."
"She gives it to me every year," Allison replied, and then there was another moment of silence before everyone burst into laughter.
There were two hurried raps on the door.
Allison answered it to find Andy staring at her, a suitcase in one hand and a white box in the other.
"What did he bring?" Claire asked, calling from the living room.
"A suitcase and cake," Allison replied.
"Can I come in?" Andy asked sheepishly.
Allison nodded and stepped out of the way.
"The suitcase is for when you need to get away, so you don't always have to use that one bag," Andy said, smiling hesitantly at her. Allison glanced at the black suitcase. It was big enough to hold all her 'crap', as they so affectionately referred to it, but not so big that she couldn't carry it around with her. "And the cake is, well, pretty self-explanatory."
They sat down in the dining room for cake, with so many candles that Allison was sure there was more wax than icing covering the cake.
"Make a wish!" Claire said, excited enough that one might have assumed it was her birthday.
Allison closed her eyes, made her wish, and blew out all the candles. When they were sitting around afterwards, all happily munching on cake, Brian asked what her wish had been.
"She can't tell you, silly," Claire responded, "That'd ruin it,"
"No," Allison said, "I'll tell you."
They all held their breath. "I want you to try one of my sandwiches."
There was a collective groan.
"Klepto, I'm sorry," John began, "But I would not try one of those things if you paid me."
"They're not that bad," Allison replied stubbornly, which earned her an eye roll from John.
"Well, it is her birthday…" Andy said hesitantly.
"Yeah," Claire agreed, looking squeamish and glancing down at her half-eaten cake.
"It is, you know, your wish, and your birthday, so I guess we should just try it…A little bit of, um, sandwich never hurt anyone," Brian added.
They all looked to Bender. "Not on your life," he scoffed, to which Allison shot him such a death glare that he complied.
One squeamish princess, one pleasantly surprised brain, one gargling criminal, one green athlete and one satisfied basketcase later, and Allison had had her first good birthday, ever.