"Um, mom?" he was on the tip of his toes, hoping that his added height could catch his mother's attention.
She didn't spare him a glance and waved him off.
She just kept on talking into the phone, no doubt ordering more supplies for the lab, and left him standing there. His stomach slightly ached at the way she ignored him.
But he really wanted her to see what he had made for her. It was something he was sure that Jazz haven't given to her already, and he wanted to be the first.
"Mom?" She waved him off again, but this time, she did look at him.
Before he could even be relieved that she noticed him, before he could even show her the drawing that he had made for her, she turned around again, whispering," Later."
He smiled and nodded his head and bounded off to his room.
Later never came.
His stomach was hurting again.
He could feel tears forming behind his eyeballs, but he stopped them before they could well up in his bottom eyelid.
He kept on eating, eager to make it seem like it was normal for his small dinner to be disregarded like this. He wanted to hurry up and go to his room.
"You should have seen it, Alicia," Maddie's voice was loud, and overcame the small conversation he, Jazz, Sam, and Tucker were trying to have," My baby girl, in the nations first percentile!" He couldn't get a single dinner to himself?" Who knows just how far she will go!?"
Shivers ran up and down his limbs, as he restrained his emotions, his stomach was still hurting.
All he wanted was a small dinner.
Just a small dinner to celebrate his high school graduation. He didn't want a party like they had given Jazz, it was huge, and he wasn't all for that.
He just wanted something private, a small dinner with some cake at the end, a dinner with his friends and family.
He should have known that it was never going to happen.
When Sam tried to start a conversation, anything to make the atmosphere less awkward, Maddie snapped her fingers and motioned for them to be quiet.
His mother was the only one who couldn't tell that her actions were upsetting him. Jazz even tried to suggest that she continue the conversation another time since it was currently family time. Most of the time, it was Jack who refocused the conversation back to its proper topic, but he was off doing some sort of errands for his mother. Despite Jazz's attempts, it did not work, and his sister was rewarded with a glare.
He could tell that his sister was burning with a mix of fury and shame. Furious that their mother had taken the significance right out of the small dinner, and ashamed that it was her that her mom was talking about. Instead of her newly graduated son that was sitting a few feet away from her.
He was aware that his number of public achievements was nowhere near the number that Jazz had.
But at the same time, he was her child too. All he wanted was just a little bit of acknowledgment that was not short-lived. He thought it was damn impressive that he had managed to graduate high school in the top twenty, all while defending their city. So what if he wasn't in the top ten, top twenty was just as admirable, considering his circumstances.
He just wants to be seen for once.
He quickly finished the food, his sister and friends finishing their meals just as fast.
Thanking his mother for the food, he left the kitchen and retreated to his bedroom, the tears forming as he left.
He should have known that this was going to happen.
He sat down on his bed, sniffling quietly as a few tears ran down his cheek.
While he was upset that he had been disregarded (again) in such a way, he was already used to it and didn't let himself dwell on it for much longer,
He was wiping away the tears when his friends and Jazz entered the room.
They didn't acknowledge his tears, they already knew why he was upset, and instead, shoved a box into his hands, and took up positions around the room as they opened their own boxes.
Jazz groaned as she said, "Man wasn't that a bitch?" Sam snorted as she opened her box, revealing a slice of chocolate cake.
"That's an understatement. This reminds me of the time…" Sam kept on talking as he opened up his box. A grin spreading across his cheeks as he realized that it was a small, green, cake. He could already tell that it was a cake made from his favorite fruit from the ghost zone.
He felt his heart swell, he already knew that it had to be difficult to get this cake for him.
He smiled as he took a bite out of the cake happily, and felt the ache in his stomach go away.
Thank god for friends and an awesome sister.
He couldn't stop the ache in his stomach as he realized that everyone had somehow managed to forget that he exists, but yet, he kept the pleasant smile on his face.
It was okay.
It's not like it hadn't happened before.
He was used to it.
He wasn't saying that he should be the main focus of everyone's life, it was conceited of him to think like that. But at the very least, could they have remembered that he was in the scrapyard with them?
Maybe it's because he wasn't in the best of mental states, but for some reason.
It made his stomach ache when he saw everyone having fun without him, having a nice movie night that they had forgotten to invite him to, despite the fact that he was right around the corner.
It was times like these when he realized that he was just one of those floater friends.
Those friends that it didn't really matter if you were there or not, the others would be having fun either way. It would be nice if you were there, but it was also ok if you were not. While you cared for your friends, your presence was not required for the others to have fun.
"Here you are!" he nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice behind him," Come on! We just started the movie." Bee grabbed him and started to drag him to the others," Russell swore that you probably haven't seen this movie. Here's hoping that its good. He said that its older than you. " His words made him realize that he got a little bit too tangled up in his thoughts and emotions. It made the ache in his stomach go away.
At the grin that Bee was giving him, Danny couldn't help but return it.
At least he had Bee.
Thank god for best friends.