It was a calm yet hectic evening for Kayla and her family. She was busy helping her mom preparing the food. The kitchen was a literal warzone, her mom not wanting to disappoint the guests wanted to make an extravagant meal for them. Kayla being the caring daughter volunteered to help her. Man did she not realize what she was getting into.
"Mom..?? Where do I put the salad at?" Kayla shouts from the backyard. Kayla was also busy setting up the dishes and tables in their backyard.
"Umm, just put it on one of the tables sweetie, we'll sort it out later!" Her mom responded. She was extremely busy multi-tasking all the way. Truly, it was a busy day for her but she wanted what's best for her daughter. After a few hours of struggle, they managed to push through with the preparation of the party. Kayla was literally sweating buckets due to the sheer amount of fatigue from helping. She sat down a chair and was panting wildly when her mother joined her and sat next to her.
"Tired huh?!" Her mom asks while smiling sheepishly.
"It's nothing. Actually, it's quite a good workout!" Kayla responded, still breathing heavily due to being tired.
"Yeah..." Her mom suddenly trails off while staring blankly in front of her.
Kayla notices her mom's idle stare and she knew what was going on inside her head. She decided to voice it out.
"Mom??" She called softly while putting her hand on her mother's shoulder. Her mother flinched and looked at her.
"Yeah sweetie?" Her mom looked at her surprised.
"You're thinking about him aren't you... Damian?" Kayla slowly spoke.
"What? No!... Maybe?" Her mom tries to deny it but Kayla can see through her. She just sighs when she figured her daughter knew what she was thinking about. She was thinking about Damian but not in the way her daughter feared on.
"Kayla, I'm not worried about Damian. From what you told me, he seems like a nice person, even though he's in fact... a demon!" Her mother reassures her.
Kayla indeed had told them the day before about Damian. As she expected, her parents freaked out. Her mom was worried while her dad was infuriated. She tried to calm them down by telling them that he was a nice person despite what they believe. Her dad didn't buy it but her mom did... a bit. She continued to tell the story of what happened between her and Damian a few days back. Her mom took it quite nicely when she hears what Damian was like but her dad didn't budge. In the end, after her mother convinced him, he decided to lay off... a little.
"Kayla... I'm just worried about your father!" She said to Kayla.
"I know.. but dad needs to know that I'm not a little girl anymore. I can tell what's right and what's wrong! I just wished he just have a little more faith in me!" She complains.
Her mother sighs and looked at her in the eye.
"Kayla, you must know that your father's worried about you. Since the day that you... he never stopped worrying. When you told him about Damian, even I'm not surprised at the way he reacted but in the end, you're his daughter. He just wants to protect you, that's all!" Her mother explains to her. She knew how her daughter felt but in the end, her father was only worried because her cared for her.
"I know... I know... I just...Damian is my friend. I wished dad could tone it down a little, ya know mom!" She said while her ears droop. Her mom just giggled at the sight of her daughter's sad face, in a way it was adorable.
"Hehehe, come now, don't be sad. Your dad won't do anything to him tonight. I promise!" Her mom assuring her while holding her hands.
Kayla's face lit up at the promise.
"Yeah.. There's nothing to worry about!" She smiles gleefully, her mother enjoys seeing the sight of her usual self. Her mother stood up at wiped of her apron.
"Okay, now I need to take a shower! I suggest you also clean yourself up for the party!" Her mom walked in the house. Suddenly, she stopped and looked back at her daughter.
"Kayla.. happy birthday!" Her mom said. Kayla just smiled and also went inside to shower.
When it was time for the party, Kayla's friends started to show up one by one. Jack, Spam, Vanexxa, even Zill and Ashley came to the party. After a while, the number of guests that came started to dwindle. Kayla was beginning to become nervous. She waited and waited at the door, welcoming all the guest but he still haven't arrived yet. She was worried that Damian might not even show up, not that she mind it. She knew Damian is hesitant to show up because of what he is. Her mom noticed her daughter's uneasiness and went up to her.
"Kayla?" Her mom asks, touching her shoulder.
"Is everything alright?" Her mom was worried.
"Yeah, it's just that..." Her eyes still wanders at the street trying to see if Damian would actually come.
"Don't worry dear, he will come if he promised" Her mom reassures her.
"Better yet if he doesn't!" Her dad voices out from inside the house.
"Richard! That's not very nice!" Her mom scolds him.
"Come on, he's a demon. What if he causes trouble, what then!?" Her dad said walking to them.
"Honey! We talked about this!" Her mom stares at her dad with fiery eyes. She wasn't happy with this.
"Alright! Alright!" Her dad gave up. The last thing he would want was to anger his wife.
"Don't worry dad, he won't. Have faith!" Kayla added to her mother's remarks.
"Faith!" Her dad just chuckles at the statement.
"Anyway, the guest are waiting at the back, wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we?" Her dad said walking to their backyard. Kayla continued to state at the street blankly before responding.
"Yeah... you're probably right..." Kayla ears drooped. She took it as a sign that he would probably not show up. She closed the door and turned away with her parents beside her. Just as she started walking, the door bell rang. Her ears perked and she immediately turned back towards the door. She gripped the knob and turned it, opening the door. The grin that formed on her face, when she saw him.
"I promised!" Damian said to her. She rushed and hugged him tightly. A little too tight to be exact. He struggled to breath but just let it be.
"Uhmm,uhmmm" Her dad clears his throat at them. They immediately realised and let go of each other.
"Umm, good evening Mr and Mrs C" Damian greeted bowing at them.
"Damian, wonderful of you to show up tonight. Kayla's been waiting for you!" Her mom said smiling.
"Thanks, Ms C, it's my pleasure!" Damian said nervously.
"Yeah... wonderful!" Her dad said sarcastically and rolled his eye earning a punch to his shoulder from his wife.
"What?" He asks back nonchalantly rubbing his shoulder due to the pain.
"Anyway.. let's go to the back, we still have a party to start!" Her mom advices, dragging her husband with her.
"Wow, your mom's kinda strong and scary..." Damian said.
"Yeah... you'll get used to it." Kayla advices him.
"Come on, let's go!" Kayla said holding his arm to bring him along with her. When she started to move, she stopped. She didn't budge as Damian froze in his place. Kayla looked intently at him seeing his nervous and hesitant mood.
"Damian, are you okay?" She asked him.
"Yeah.. are you sure I could... be here? Your parents... are they okay with me?" He asked her.
"Damian... you don't have to worry, my mom's totally fine with you!" She says trying to ease his worries.
"What about your dad?" Damian asked her again.
Kayla paused. She didn't knew what to say. She tried to beat around the bush and try to soothe him.
"He-he's just still getting used to you. That's all!" Kayla said with minimal confidence.
"So, he hates me, huh!" Damian said, chuckling nervously.
"Y-yeah, he didn't take it well like my mom did!" She laid out the truth to him. She just couldn't lie to him.
"It's just not fair..." Her ears drooped.
Damian who saw this immediately replied.
"Hey, hey, there's nothing to worry about. Come on. I'm not sad about it so neither should you okay. Its fine, trust me!" Damian said holding her shoulders. After a few seconds,Damian realised what he done and so did Kayla. Damian released his hand from her and was blushing as madly as her. Her ears immediately perked back up. His touch was warm and it made her want to... "No, bad girl!" She snapped back.
"Thanks Damian, I'm fine anyway. Come on, let's go to the back. The others are waiting!" She dragged him with her to the back. This time he didn't resist, he just couldn't. When they were in the back, Jack and the gang greeted them and they continued to chat.
The party went on normally, well except for Jack's constant spill and slip every 10 minutes. Damian decided to keep his distance from everyone else except Kayla and Jack. He didn't want anyone to find out he was a demon, afraid that he would cause as scene.
Suddenly,
"Kayla, dear!" A voice called out to her. It was a kangaroo with a rather dark skin tone, in a black dress with a few jewelry on her body.
Kayla who heard that immediately turned her gaze. Her face immediately froze up. It was her aunt Mary. She never liked her due to many reasons. She never was close to her aunt due to her judgy, self-righteous personality.
"I'm sorry guys! I'll be away for a while, we'll talk back later!" But, since she didn't want to be rude, she just went to her aunt. Damian saw it but didn't follow her. Instead, he keep his ears perked and decided to eavesdrop.
"Kayla, my dear, are you doing well?" She asked her.
"I'm doing just fine... aunt Mary!" She responded half-heartedly.
"Well good for you.. the weather's hot in these parts this time of year!" She complained.
"Yeah... Is that all aunt Mary!" She was ready to leave when her aunt stopped her.
"Nonono... Kayla, how's school?" She asked her.
"School? Fine I guess. I'm doing well in my grades!" She answered back.
"Hmmm..." She just hummed in agreement.
"Kayla dear... are you still in the music club?" She asked this time, she sounded... judgy.
"Y-yeah... I'm the president!" She tries to answer back confidently.
Her aunt scoffs in disgust.
"Kayla, Kayla, Kayla... Music is not a very good field to learn, my darling! I adviced you to quit last time and you still disobeyed me! Shame!"
Damian's ear perked at this. Rage was boiling inside of him when he heard this but he decided to lay off and just keep listening.
"Shameful? Aunt Mary, music is my life! There's nothing I wouldn't have done for it!" Kayla voiced out her opinion.
"Kayla, you're still a child after all this time. Wake up, dear! Music's not going to get you anywhere! You think your parents would be proud of you? Please! It's not going to put food on your table! It's a waste of time if you ask me!" She lashed back at her.
"I wasn't asking! Not from you!" Kayla rebuttals earning a look of disgust from her aunt. Everyone suddenly was drawn in at her outburst.
"You were always trying to belittle me since I was a child. I decide what I am going to do with my life, not you! Music is a part of me and nothing will change that!" Kayla again lashed back out at her. Mary was beginning to fill up with rage. She scoffs again in anger.
"Foolish child! You're always stubborn from when you were little, always a rebel, thinking you're special! That's why that boy left you in the first place! Thinking on how ignorant you are!" Some of the guest gasped at this. Zill and Ashley was getting uneasy at this statement while Damian is in full on rage mode.
Deep inside, Kayla's heart broke. The memories of the break-up resurfaced and clouded her mind. The fear and trauma she felt begin to haunt her. Tears began to well up in her eyes. The sorrow taking over her. On the last course of action, she covered her face, trying to stop the tears and ran inside to her room. Her parents saw this and chased her.
Damian couldn't take it anymore and went up to her aunt. Jack went up to him and warned him.
"Dame, this might not be a good idea! Don't cause a scene!" Jack tries to advice him.
"Too late! Stay out of my way!" He tries to push him away. This time, Jack let's himself aside not wanting to stop him.
"Hey, Ms Douchebag!" He called out to her. Everyone was caught by surprise and turned their heads towards the both of them.
Mary who hear this turned her head in disgust.
"Are you talking to me!!?" She asked in anger.
"Who else! You're a terrible person you know that! She's your nephew, how dumb are you to say that to her!" Rage was piling up.
"I was merely speaking the truth, insolent child! What kind of abomination are you anyway!?" She asked him back disgusted with his appearance.
"I'm a demon!" He said, clenching his fists together. His eyes fired up.
"What did you say?" She wonders if she heard him correctly.
"I'm a demon, b*tch!"