"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

The loud sound of shouting people startles Newt. He doesn't have any idea how to react, so he just stands there, in the doorway, with the doorknob in his hand.

Everyone in the room is looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

For some unexplainable reason, his mind wanders back to a certain birthday, exactly five years ago.

He remembers walking down the stairs, still half asleep, and the walls covered in colourful wreaths. Sitting down on the breakfast table, with his father, and his mother, and Lily, his older sister, to eat cake.

There was a certain knock on the door, one simple knock, and it would change his entire life, but he didn't know it yet, because he was a little boy from eight years old. If nobody had knocked on that door, he would be celebrating his birthday with his family, right now.

Tears pop up in his eyes. Biting his lip, he slowly lets go of the doorknob and turns around. Without saying anything, he sprints back to the dorm as fast as he can.

He slams the door shut and crouches against the closed door, his knees against his chest, just like he did when he first came here.

He hides the first crying fit by burying his face in his forearms, the tears making wet spots on his sleeves. This is how it goes every single year; Newt simply can't let go of the memory of his family. It is always there, as a ghost wandering in the back of his mind, but it always is the strongest on his birthday.

Probably because it was his birthday when he saw them for the last time.

A second crying fit hits him, making his body tremble and his spine abrade against the hard material of the door. He had hoped so much that they would forget his birthday this year, so that he wouldn't have to collapse in front of everyone. Again.

That is the reason why he didn't tell Lauren about it, but apparently someone else told her that it is his birthday today.

They probably all think that I am a loser. And I am.

A surprisingly bitter thought follows.

It doesn't even matter.

We're all going to forget about this, anyway.

We're all going to forget about everything.

He is so lost in his thoughts that he only hears that someone is coming when that person knocks on the door.

"No!" Newt yells back, his voice choked by tears. "Stay away from me!"

"Newt, it's me," Lauren's soft voice replies. "Please, can I come in?"

Newt bites his lower lip to stifle a sob. He actually doesn't want her to see him like this, but after a moment of silence, he whispers: "Okay."

He shoves to a spot next to the wall to prevent the door from hitting his back.

Lauren slowly steps into the dorm. Without saying anything, she quietly closes the door and sits down on the floor, her back against the wall, next to Newt. She looks at him sideways.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asks, the gentle tone never disappearing from her voice.

Newt wipes a tear from his cheek with the back of his hand.

"I... It's just..."

He doesn't really know how to say what he feels.

"It was on my birthday when I saw my family for the last time, Lauren."

Her eyebrows bow up in sympathy and she wraps one arm around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry about that," she says quietly. "And I understand it. I think we all do."

Newt looks up at her, surprised at her words.

"What?"

"Well, aren't we all taken away by our family?" Lauren asks him, still softly. "Don't we all have someone to miss?"

Then her facial expression changes, as if she has said something that has insulted him, though he wouldn't know what that is.

"I... I'm not saying you're the same as the others, Newt," she says, nearly tripping over her own words. "You're different, you know. You're special, and I totally understand why you are sad. I really do."

Newt lets those words penetrate for a moment. He notices that he is already feeling better; the memory of his family is already fading a bit.

"Thank you, Lauren," he says quietly, not really knowing what else to say.

The two of them sit there for a while, silently, Lauren's arm around Newt's shoulders. After a couple of minutes, Newt grips hold of Lauren's hand and stands up.

He isn't feeling sad at all anymore; now he is nearly happy. He doesn't exactly know what happened inside his head, but it must be something good.

"Come on," he says to Lauren, grinning. "I think I'm supposed to be celebrating a birthday right now."

Lauren smiles, that wonderful smile that lights up her eyes and makes a wave of happiness flow through Newt's heart.

"All right," she says. "Let's go, then."

Without spilling any more words, they start to run.

Have a really nice day, please leave a review if you want to let me know what you think of this story!

Bye! :)