Chapter 2: Welcome… Flippy?!

It was the day of Flaky's birthday party, which she had decided to hold on her actual date of birth. Most people hold theirs a week or two after the actual day, but Flaky wanted to do it right away. It seemed a bit odd for some of the other Tree Friends that she was throwing it herself, but they didn't object. Besides, there were weirder things that went down in Happy Tree Town.

Flaky wasn't a girl who liked decorating parties with streamers and a giant banner that said "Happy Birthday", unless of course that's what a person liked at their party. But it wasn't her style, so, she just kept it simple but festive. She put out her nice tablecloths, party plates, two or three sets of balloons which came in threes, and of course, a cake. Flaky was an excellent cook who often did it for a hobby. So, instead of going to the bakery to get a cake, she made one herself. Just like she did for Flippy on his birthday.

Then, just from the mere thought of the army bear, Flaky choked and felt a lump in her throat. And it wasn't a tiny one, either. It was a big lump, and it hurt a lot! She knew this meant she was gonna cry. Though what about, she wasn't sure.

Is it because I feel bad about not talking to him? Is it because I miss him? Is it because I'm afraid of him and what'll happen the next time we cross paths?

Well, whatever the reason, Flaky's big, black eyes filled up with tears and started dripping like giant drops of water. Then she choked and started to sob quietly while hanging her head and baring her teeth. The tears dripped onto her floor as she slowly fell to her knees.

"What's wrong with me?" the red porcupine girl asked herself in a wary voice.

Images of Flippy flashed through her head, causing her heart to ache and hurt so much.

Then the doorbell rang, surprising Flaky. It rang two more times and that made her panic and wipe her tears away. She stood up and went over to the door and she opened it. There, in the doorway, stood Giggles, Petunia, and Lammy. The latter was a blue skunk with a flower and deodorizer as accessory, while the third one was a lavender coloured lamb with a white wooly sweater and a purple bow.

"Hey, Flaky," Giggles greeted.

"Happy Birthday," Petunia added with a chuckle.

"Thanks for inviting us," Lammy finished.

Flaky blushed a little, even though it was kind of hard to tell since she was already red, and gestured for her friends to come in. Lammy stayed behind, a pickle in her arms.

"I hope you don't mind, I brought Mr. Pickles with me." she explained.

Flaky was a bit shaky at the sight of said pickle. One time, she went over to Lammy's house to play poker and she ended up eating Mr. Pickles and defecating him out. Then, while she was trying to unclog the toilet, he ended up killing her and flushing her corpse down the toilet. And Lammy knew that very well… So, why would she bring him with?

Flaky was about to ask just that, but Lammy answered before she even said anything.

"Don't worry, I've given him a talking to and he promised he wouldn't kill you or anyone else."

This made Flaky calm down a little. Even though she had her doubts about Lammy in the past, she knew that if anyone could control Mr. Pickles, it was her.

Flaky offered for her guests to sit in the living room and watch T.V. while they waited for everyone else.

"Okay, so, you can watch whatever you want, if you have any questions, just ask me. Now, I'm gonna go put out a snack tray for when the others arrive." she explained.

The girls nodded and turned on iCarly. Flaky smiled happily at how well things were going so far.

Soon, the rest of the guests arrived.

Handy, Cro-Marmot, Cuddles, Nutty, Sniffles, Mime, Russell, Mole, Toothy, and Lumpy all came. Even though Flaky was a bit afraid of Lumpy's stupidity getting everyone killed, she recalled when he helped her get healed when she puffed up due to her peanut allergy and wanted to return the favor.

Then, the doorbell rang again and Flaky answered it. When she saw who it was, she gasped and smiled as wide as possible.

"Mom, Dad, Damien, Sky!" she exclaimed upon seeing her family.

They all embraced and greeted each other happily.

Flaky's mom was a sky blue porcupine with blue Pac-Man eyes instead of black, blonde quills which were pulled into a ponytail and she also wore a hair pin that looked like a daisy on the side of her head. Her dad was an orange porcupine with red quills that faced upwards and they had dandruff flakes in them. Her twin brother was the spitting image of their father, except his quills were orange too and they didn't have dandruff flakes in them. Plus, he also had his mother's blue eyes. And her sister was the spitting image of their mom, except for the fact that she had black eyes and dandruff flakes like her dad and sister.

"I'm glad you guys came! I know how hard it must've been to get away from work, so, I'm extremely thankful for you coming." Flaky said to her family.

"Of course," Damien, her twin brother, said, draping his arm around her, "I wouldn't miss my little sister's birthday party for the world!"

Flaky blushed and slightly pushed her brother away. Her brother was kind of cheesy with his words and usually ended up embarrassing her with them. Of course, that was kind of the thing she loved most about him.

Flaky shifted her eyes down to Sky, her little sister. She was 10 years old and a little ball of energy.

"It's nice to see you again, Sky." she said, picking the younger porcupine up and cuddling her.

"So, how old are you, big sister?" the latter asked.

"19," her sister answered.

"And do you have a boyfriend?"

That word made Flaky blush so she looked even more red.

"Uhm… no, n-not yet. Ah-ha-ha-ha…" the porcupine girl laughed nervously.

Truth be told, Flaky never really had a crush on anybody or ever had anyone confess to her before. Giggles had tried setting her up on a blind date once, but that didn't work out so well. From then on, Flaky promised that she would find herself a partner, if there ever was gonna be a boy who would like her in that way…

Nevertheless, she directed her train of thought away from that topic and lead her family further into her house.

"Okay, so, everyone's here, we're all having a good time so far?" Flaky questioned to her houseguests.

Everyone nodded and cheered in response, making Flaky feel happy.

"Okay, so, first on our age-"

But the red girl was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell yet again. This puzzled Flaky, because she was sure all the guests she invited were already there. So, who else could be at the door.

"Hold that thought, please." she told her friends, leaving to get the door.

On the way to the door, Flaky began pondering things. Like the fact that she had another guest arriving; one that she didn't invite. Or, maybe someone was just dropping something off at her house? A package perhaps?

'But I don't remember ordering anything…' the beautiful porcupine thought.

It was a puzzler… a real puzzler indeed...

When she got to the door, she took a deep breath and turned the knob. When she pulled the door open, she gasped in shock and her blood ran cold when she saw who was at the door.

"Hey, Flaky, nice to see you again."

"F-F-F-F-FLIPPY?!"

DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN!~

Flippy: I just showed up at her house, uninvited…

Yep, you most definitely did!

R&R!