It was the morning after my tenth birthday that the notes started, they were never threatening or strange, they seemed almost familiar - like they'd always been there, but they were always anonymous.
I woke up and made my way downstairs to the smell of bacon frying in the pan. "Morning Dad." I sluggishly called, sitting at the table as he piled the rashers onto a plate for the table.
"Morning Porkchop, sleep well?" he grinned, kissing the top of my thick dark hair as I rolled my eyes at him.
"Shouldn't you be working on your car or something Dad?" I noted as he put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me.
"Your mother is still asleep so I thought I'd make breakfast." he smiled, sitting at the table and picking his newspaper from the chair, pushing his familiar thick rimmed spectacles back up his nose. "Oh by the way sweetie, this was here for you this morning." he added, passing me a white card across the table. "Late birthday card by my guess."
I plucked the card from his grasp, flipping it over to see the message on the back.
'Dear Kenzi, I'm sorry your present came a day late. I hope every day until we meet again is as perfect as yesterday.
Always know how loved you are, because it's the greatest gift I could ever give you.'
I read the message aloud, screwing my nose as I tried to figure out what it meant. "There's no name Dad?" I added.
"Cheapskates - probably your mother's side of the family." he lowered his voice before breaking into a laugh. "Love is the greatest gift of all as they say." he chuckled.
"Whatever Dad." I rolled my eyes, shovelling a fork full of eggs into my mouth.
. . . . . . .
My eleventh birthday was like any other, we had a barbecue in the yard and Scooby barked away at everybody begging for a stray burger from the grill.
"Tony, don't you dare give that dog a hotdog - he needs to lose weight." my mom hollered from the table where she sat with Tina and Debbie. It's strange how little they'd all changed really, each birthday came around and they were always the same - always at the table talking about new hairstyles and gossiping about the neighbours.
"Don't worry old guy, I got you covered." I heard my dad whisper down to Scooby as he sneaked him a broken piece of hotdog, which Scooby gratefully gulped in one bite, licking his lips as he trotted back to the patch of shade he'd made home, his old legs giving way underneath him as he let out a gruff sigh and lazed around.
"Hey Kenz" Billy called from across the yard from the pool where my friends were having a water fight, pushing his wet blonde hair back - he was so cute. "Wanna come and be on my team?" he grinned, offering me a super soaker as I felt my cheeks burn bright red.
"S-sure." I laughed, chasing after him, nervous around the older boy.
"Kids don't get too carried away, it's time for cake!" Mom shouted to us as she brought out the homemade vanilla sponge she'd baked for me, my favourite.
"Make a wish!" she grinned as everyone crowded round to sing happy birthday.
I thought for a moment, about what I wanted to wish for before it occurred to me. 'I wish I had a best friend.' I thought, frowning at the reminder I didn't really have a super close friend to watch Edward Scissorhands with or talk about cute boys like other girls.
Just as I blew my candles out a knock came to the door. "Kenzi you go answer the door, it'll be one of your friends." Mom urged me as Debbie and Tina helped her put all of my presents on the table ready for me to open.
"Okay." I replied, happily jumping up to see who else had came.
Except when I opened the door, it wasn't a friend, it was someone new. Someone I hadn't met before.
"Hi." the girl in front of me said, smiling through her sniffles. "I'm Hannah." she waved slightly, before awkwardly putting her arms to her side and staring at me as if she was waiting for me to invite her in.
"Hi, I'm Kenzi." I replied, "what are you doing here?" I added, taking in her appearance - her hair in plaits, and her summer dress was flowing to the ground. She looked so pretty, except for the crying - I didn't really know why it was she was crying. 'Maybe if I looked like her, Billy would like me.' I thought. "Have we met before?" I asked.
"No, but I'm your new best friend." she announced, handing me a little white card.
'Dear Kenzi, meet Hannah - she's a Squonk and she's super nice, she needs a best friend to talk about cute, weird boys with too. Have a great birthday.'
"What's a Squonk?" I asked as I read the little card again.
"I-I don't really know, but I'd really love to be your best friend?" she suggested, wiping her tears as a smile shone through. "Could we be best friends?" she added.
"Sure, you can be my best friend." I grinned, pulling her in for a hug before leading her inside my house by the hand. "It's my birthday today so all of my friends are here, you can meet them all. Do you want to stay over tonight and watch Edward Scissorhands?" I asked hopefully, biting my lip praying that she'd say yes.
"I love Edward Scissorhands!" she practically screamed. "Mr Whitman wouldn't watch it with me, he said my crying made him feel uncomfortable." she grew into a whisper, her lips trembling as fresh tears stained her cheek.
"Why do you cry so much?" I asked with perplexion, offering her a tissue. "Are you sad?" I added.
"No, I'm super happy. I have a best friend now!" she laughed.
. . . . . . . . .
"Bo, let's get one thing straight - I don't like you and working together on this case doesn't make us friends." I growled, straightening my leather jacket.
"I hardly love you either princess." she fired back as we trudged our way further into Brazenwood.
"Trick said the Squonk was being held captive by the chemist - if we can free her before sunrise I can take her to Kenzi before her party is over." I added, looking at my watch as I noted the time - 4.20am 'The shit I do for this kid's birthday.' I thought to myself, rolling my eyes as Bo huffed her way behind me.
"How do you even know Kenzi wants a Squonk for her birthday? What if the Squonk doesn't want a Kenzi?" Bo scowled as the Dark lawless Fae around us looked on with intent as we delved deeper and deeper into the centre of Brazenwood, my hand tightening around the blade inside my jacket as I prepared myself to the possibility of having to use it quicker than I anticipated.
"Kenzi needs a new best friend, and this Squonk has no family, she has been used and manipulated since she was little, she needs a best friend too - I'm trying to do a good thing here." I sighed, throwing her a look of earnesty.
"I know the feeling." she shot back.
"What do you mean?"
"No friends, no family, being used and manipulated - the Squonk has more in common with us than you think." she pondered aloud.
"Dude, compare me to a frickin' Squonk again and I'll leave you here." I growled, walking a little faster - each second around the succubus making me a little more uncomfortable.
"Where exactly do you plan on keeping your pet Squonk when she's finished hanging out with Kenzi? She can't live with her?" Bo added, hurrying her speed to keep up at the side of me.
"What? You and the happy sunshine gang don't have a place amongst your ranks for a defenseless, young, abused Fae girl?" I asked with faux-concern "How tragic." I frowned.
"No way Tamsin - you can't just dump a teenage girl on me, I'm doing you a favour here, remember." she growled.
"Look, if you want me to take care of the Squonk I totally will - but you know I'll keep her on a leash in the kitchen and only take her for walks like twice a week." I sighed. "I'll probably feed her chocolate by accident and she'll die." I forced my face into an exaggerated frown as I stuck my bottom lip out.
"That's puppies, not Squonks." Bo interjected.
"See? Exactly. I'm not equipped to be responsible for a child."
"Fine! You know what? She can stay with Trick - I'm sure he could use her tears for a few homemade potions or whatever." Bo rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in defeat as I fist pumped the air.
. . . . . .
It had taken us the best part of half an hour to fight our way through the Dark Fae who tried to stand in between us and our Squonk.
"Why the Hell did I let you bring me here." Bo panted as we recovered from the blood bath, kicking the door to the pharmacy off of its hinges.
"Like I said, I don't like you - but you're powerful, there isn't anyone else I would trust to have my back in a place like Brazenwood." I sneered, unable to deliver the compliment with sincerity whilst I wiped the blood away from my blades, putting them back in their holsters on my chest.
"Little naive to trust me don't you think?" she laughed, before something at the back of the room caught her eye. "Bingo." she whispered, pointing towards the Squonk who sat crying in the corner.
"Firstly, I use the term trust loosely - secondly, you go and deal with the Squonk, I didn't just bring you here because I miss your charm and wit" I said with sarcasm "I need you to succublast her with your magic love powers." I announced, pushing her towards the crying figure in the corner of the room.
"Hi, my name is Isabeau - what's your name?" Bo announced her presence as she stepped closer towards the girl.
"Ha-Hannah." she wept, backing away from Bo's looming figure a little closer into the corner. "Are you going to hurt me?" she sobbed.
"No, no of course not Hannah. We're here to rescue you." Bo smiled, sitting down slowly on the wooden floor facing the Squonk - careful not to move too suddenly.
"You're lying, nobody would rescue me. I make people feel uncomfortable." she deduced, "like her." she added. Pointing towards me as I refused to make eye contact.
"What? I don't like crying." I screwed my face. "Sue me?" I continued to pace around as Bo glared at me.
"There's a girl who wants to be your best friend, and she won't feel uncomfortable. She'll love you just the way you are." Bo reassured her, touching her arm as I watched blue chi transfer between their skin, relaxing the younger girl and forcing her to mellow.
"You're tricking me, that's what they all do - trick me so I'll give them what they want." the girl frowned, pulling her arm away as Bo looked to me for idea suggestions.
"Her name is Kenzi." I piped up, stepping towards them as I pulled my wallet out - a picture of Kenzi from her last birthday sat proudly in the photo slot. "That's her there." I softened, handing the Squonk my wallet as she stared carefully at the photo, Kenzi's light blue eyes staring back at her between long strands of thick dark hair.
"She looks super nice." Hannah smiled.
"She's a total dork." I laughed, "She is super weird and funny, she's kind - and she really, really needs a best friend too." I explained, kneeling down to eye level as I gently took my wallet back.
"Do you think she'll want to talk about cute boys?" Hannah grinned, wiping her tears as her gaze moved up towards me.
"Yep, super cute weird boys." I promised, holding out my hand as the Squonk hesitantly took it - pulling herself up from the floor.
. . . . . . .
"What if Kenzi doesn't want to be my friend?" Hannah whimpered again as I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time today. "Why are you hiding in a bush Tamsin?" she continued her barrage of questions as I camouflaged myself in the hedges in their garden.
"Because Kenzi can't know about me right now - I traded her love to the Norne so that her Dad could come back to life and now she won't remember me until her eighteenth birthday so you can't tell her about me, okay?" I ranted away, explaining the finer details of mine and Kenzi's current relationship.
"That's so romantic, it's like a Disney movie." Hannah sobbed.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." I rolled my eyes, digging in my pockets. "Make sure you give this to her, It's really important you give her this card okay?" I urged her, handing her the little piece of white card.
"Okay." she nodded, wiping her tears as I pushed her towards the path to the door. "Thank you for helping me Tamsin." she turned to smile at me, before walking towards the front door.
"Don't sweat it, weirdo." I whispered out of earshot through a smile, softening slightly as I watched from my safe hiding spot as her knuckles rasped across the wood of the front door.
"Hi, I'm Hannah." I heard the Squonk announce as the door swung open.