"Bury The Castle" – part 25
Summary and additional notes in prologue chapter.
Author's Note: New chapter! And it's very long. There's a flashback in italics! Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming :D It's time to party y'all!
Raidon, I can't PM you so I'll respond here - Thanks for reviewing! I totally agree with all of them, and your response to chapter 11 made me laugh! ;-)
Author's Note #2: FYI, this story not related to my other Fadam series. (It's not part of the timeline stories. View my Author's Profile for details.)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Degrassi!
-oOo-
Adam smiled as he adjusted his tie in the mirror. It wasn't all too long ago that he didn't know how. Fiona taught him the correct way to do it. He wasn't much of a suit guy before meeting her, but now he favored the look when he wanted to impress. He was wearing a new tan colored suit for his party tonight.
"You look handsome," he heard from behind him.
Adam turned around to see his mother standing in the doorway. She had a warm smile and her words sounded sincere. It amazed him how much had changed since their talk last night.
"Thanks mom," he told her.
She nodded. "Are you ready to go?" she asked him.
Mrs. Torres was driving him to Above The Dot. All of his friends were 'allegedly' there. Adam thought it was slightly silly that they were still trying to keep up the pretense even though he overheard their plans a few days ago.
"Yeah, just a sec," he responded. He tighten the loop a little further and then smoothed down his hair again with his hands. "Okay, let's go."
As they travelled in the car Adam was bursting with nervous energy. He couldn't wait to get to the party! He was looking forward to seeing all his friends and dancing along to great music – Sav was the DJ. Most of all, he was excited to see Fiona. He longed to hold her, kiss her, and gaze into her eyes.
When Fiona texted him to cancel lunch, he had gotten seriously worried. In subsequent messages she assured him that she was okay and her mother had no idea they continued to date all along. He was relieved to hear that, but with her mother in town the chances of her attending his birthday party seemed highly unlikely. Eli and Clare did their best to cheer him up, but when he got home he was still sulking. He went straight up to his room but Drew wasn't having any of it.
"Nope, let's go downstairs," Drew ordered his little brother. He was standing over Adam's bed with his arms crossed.
"Andrew," he sighed. He wasn't in the mood for this. "I'd rather read comics, okay?"
Drew frowned. "But you weren't reading them!" he pointed out. "You had that vague, zoned out look on your face. What happened now?"
Adam gave him a look. "Why do you always assume the worst?" he said annoyed.
"Because I can read you and I know when something is wrong. Out with it!" Drew demanded.
Adam sat up. "Fine. Fiona's probably not coming tonight. Are you happy? It's what you wanted all along," he said bitterly.
Drew was quiet for a moment. "Well, it's probably for the best."
Adam snorted. His brother was unbelievable. "For you!" he retorted.
"For you, too. You just can't see it now," Drew responded calmly.
Adam glared at him. "Andrew, why do you have to be such a dick? What did she do that was so terrible and deserving of so much venom? It can't be all about me. Are you still mad she turned you down or something?"
Drew clinched his jaw. "SHE HURT YOU!" he exploded. "You were a mess. A complete mess, Adam! I don't want to see you go through that again and I don't trust her. Believe it or not, it is about you. It's always been about you!"
Adam looked at him stunned.
Drew continued in a calmer tone, "You're my little brother. I don't give a damn that she turned me down once. If anything, I'm mad at myself for thinking her interest in you would be a good thing."
"Bianca hurt me too, yet you're dating her! Don't cast yourself as some benevolent, self-sacrificing figure because you're not!" Adam argued. "If I can forgive Bianca and Fiona for past slights, why can't you? People mess up sometimes. Eventually they grow and learn. Fiona has made mistakes, but she's taken pains to correct them. If you care about me so much, why can't you give her a chance? I love her."
Drew scoffed. "That's not fair Adam!"
"You've bashed Fiona for the last ten minutes and you think I'm being unfair?" Adam questioned. He looked off to the side and took a deep breath to control his anger. "If you really want me to enjoy my birthday, let's end this conversation right now. I'm serious."
Drew studied him for a moment. "Fine." He fidgeted in the ensuing short silence. "It's your birthday. I don't want you to be unhappy," he stated quietly.
"Then let me read my comics," Adam insisted annoyed.
Drew slowly walked towards the door. When he reached the threshold, he turned around. "We're brothers. I hate that she's coming between us," he said sadly.
Adam looked up. "You're the one making it an issue."
Drew sighed. "How do we make things better?" He hated this. Things were so strained between them and he was at a loss of how to fix it. Whenever he had an issue with someone he usually came to Adam for advice. This time he was on his own.
Adam was quiet for a long moment before he finally spoke. "We party and eat cake." He gave his brother a small smile.
"Adam, we're here," his mother told him.
"Cool," he said and unbuckled his seatbelt. He groaned inwardly when he saw her getting out the car too. "You don't have to walk with me upstairs, you know?" It was majorly uncool to arrive at a party with your mom.
Mrs. Torres laughed. "How do we explain how you got here then? You randomly decided to walk in on your own?"
He nodded. "Works for me!"
She grinned as she shook her head and continued up the steps. "I'm sticking to the script. Don't worry, I won't hang around afterwards. I know having your mother there wouldn't be ideal."
Adam gave her a look. If she knew that, then why did she insist on coming anyway?
His mother stopped and turned around. "Come on, let's get up these stairs!"
He sighed and followed her to the club. When they reached the top he could see that the lights inside had been turned off. He was amused they were still trying to pull off the surprise anyway. His mother turned the handle and he followed her inside.
"SURPRISE!" a ton of voices yelled at once.
When the lights flicked on Adam was amazed at how many people were there. As the school year progressed Adam had gained more acquaintances, but his core group of friends was still pretty small. Eli and Clare were his best friends. They were standing in the middle next to Drew and Bianca. In the crowd he spotted Alli and their fellow science club members Connor and Wesley. By the DJ booth stood Sav and Holly J. Close by were the rest of the band. Everyone else who was here he could trace back to friends of friends, with the bulk of them belonging to Drew. While his brother wasn't as popular as he was at the start of the year, over time Drew managed to salvage his image somewhat.
Drew walked over to him. "Happy 16th little brother!" he grinned and threw an arm around his shoulder. "How does it feel?"
Adam idly wondered if he pre-gamed. With their mother standing beside them he wisely withheld comment. "Great. This place looks awesome, man."
Mrs. Torres smiled at her sons. "Good. Now continue to play nice," she said in jest.
Drew and Adam nodded. "We will!" Drew promised her.
Bianca came up to them. "Hi Mrs. Torres," she said sweetly.
"Hello Bianca. It's good to see you, dear," Mrs. Torres responded. "I hope you all have a fun time tonight," she addressed the three teens. She looked at her sons, "I expect you both to be back by weekend curfew."
"Absolutely," Adam affirmed. They waved goodbye and watched her go.
Drew grinned and snaked an arm around Bianca's waist. "Good! Now we can party!"
Adam shook his head in amusement.
"We've got drinks in the back room. What would you like?" Bianca asked him.
"Um," Adam paused. His experience with alcohol was limited to champagne and one can a beer Drew shared with him last summer.
"He's not drinking," Drew interjected. Bianca raised an eyebrow. "He's too young."
Adam frowned at him. "Dude, seriously?"
"What?" Clare asked curiously as she and Eli joined them.
Bianca smirked and turned to Drew. "Let's not corrupt the kiddies."
Eli narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" He tolerated Bianca because of Drew, but she wasn't one of his favorite people.
Drew chuckled. "It was just a joke, chill."
Eli and Clare shared a look. She silently urged him not to make a big deal out of it.
Adam glanced around the room, searching for Fiona. He wanted to ask Holly J if she knew what time she coming. Not long after he got home and had that argument with Drew, he received a text from an unknown number. It read, 'It's Declan. Fi and mom r still having a heart to heart. She'll b at ur party, so don't worry.'
He was grateful beyond measure for that message. He wanted to ask Fiona if she would still be able to attend, but he knew dealing with her mom was stressful enough. He didn't want to add more pressure. Declan's text eased his mind so he didn't have to fret about it.
"Earth to Adam," Eli teased, interrupting his thoughts.
Adam looked up and found Clare, Eli, Drew, and Bianca staring at him.
"She's not here yet," Clare told him with a knowing smile. "Holly J doesn't know what time she's coming, but Declan texted her that they might be a little late."
"Oh," Adam said a little embarrassed. Had he been that obvious? Apparently so, because Eli and Drew wore matching smirks.
"Anyway, I asked if you wanted to grab some snacks. We have an awesome assortment of party grub," Eli continued.
"Uh, right. Let's do it," Adam responded positively. Eli and Clare smiled at him and the trio made their way over to the food.
.
tbc
A/N: Yay! We've finally reached Adam's party. Woo hoo!
Lots of movement in this chapter. Torres brothers drama. Mrs. Torres being nice! (see, she's not always in bitch mode) The misfits hanging out at the end! And, it looks like Fiona will be attending after all, right?…
To anyone not familiar with pre-gaming, it's when you drink before heading out to a party or club. (Usually to save money by buying less alcohol when you're out)
Come on by and Review! (they brighten my day ;-)
Other Notes:
So... I have a few new Fadam fics in the queue. There's a one-shot that takes place after the fic "Wanted" (it's very lemony). Am leaning towards posting it either today or later on in the week.
And, I just wanted to reiterate (haha, at my pun!), I'm promo free this week so please no spoilers/references to it in the reviews. Thanks! :D