To quote the honorable Kelly Clarkson: "How did you go from being a mama's boy to a ladies' man? I'm not goin' home with you tonight, but you can hold my hand. And we can take it slow, and I can show you how to slow dance; We can take it slow and I can show you how to slow dance."

Thank you for reading!

"Today's Ephemer's birthday?"

Skuld gave Anora a little snort in response. "Would I be making a cake just for him otherwise?" she teasingly mused. "This is the only time when I'm able to bake and he's not around to steal a taste."

Anora cast Skuld a wary side glance but did nothing to rebut. Skuld was using the small kitchenette in Ava and Invi's cabin to bake Ephemer a small cake. The cake itself wasn't going to be that impressive; big enough for only three or four slices with the bare minimum of icing you could give.

It did leave the question on where they were going to give it to him. Anora could only assume it was in the cabin the boys were using. Maybe they would give it to him while they were all out on the beach? They probably would not have done it in the Ava and Invi's cabin. After Anora's kiss with Strelitzia, someone had decided that it would have been too uncomfortable for the two girls to be in the same cabin. Anora ended up bunked with the female headmasters as a result. It wasn't bad, they had only a few days left of vacation anyway, and it gave Anora an excuse to not leave the cabin as often. It felt too mortifying to actually face Ephemer or Strelitzia after that one confusing afternoon.

"He could still visit." the girl pointed out- in doing so, she pointed out to herself that nothing was stopping Ephemer from visiting her. It's not like the cabins were really locked or anything.

"Could, but he's not." Skuld informed her in a matter-of-fact tone. Under her breath, Skuld then grumbled, "That coward."

Anora slightly shifted in place. She was only faintly aware of what Skuld knew about the kiss between her and Strelitzia. Not that Anora told Skuld much about it, but she was almost certain that Ephemer would have. Of course, the girl was also sure that pretty much all of them knew about the kiss by now. The only one she could see that wouldn't reasonably know would be Ventus.

"What about presents?" Anora inquired before nervously nibbling on her lower lip. Skuld immediately shook her head.

"We're heading back tomorrow, and everything's pretty much packed up, so any presents we did have for him are still at school. A small cake is the least we could do; something we can all enjoy, clean up, and forget about until we get back. Ava usually takes Ephemer out to the movies or something anyway."

"Just them?"

Skuld laughed. "She's kinda Ephemer's mom so, yes. They've always done it. Ephemer used to take Ava out for her birthday too, but I think he realized real quick that he was still a kid; didn't know how to drive, didn't have a job to buy something big, and so on and so forth. He and Ava kinda agree what they're doing ahead of time."

Anora gave a small nod of understanding. That would explain the conversation Ava had with Invi this morning- something about going to the zoo and how far away the closest one was. And also something about bringing a pet turtle along?

"Can you hand me the cake pan?" Skuld told Anora, almost surprising the younger out of her thoughts. "Time to stick this baby in the oven and hope for the best."

A firm nod from Anora, and the girl went to get the cake pan Skuld had brought along for just such an occasion. All the while, her mind was reeling in other thoughts.

She knew she had to get him something. But what exactly was a bit of a mystery; buying him a gift now would have felt cheap, and getting him a card also seemed like an even lazier cop out. Ephemer had been incredibly nice to her since she started attending Daybreak. He was also being ridiculously nice now, even when seeing his reaction to the kiss had made her wonder if he was holding something back. He promised that he wouldn't forget her birthday, so at the very least she shouldn't forget his.

If she had known beforehand, she probably would have composed a short skating routine for him. Nothing too complicated, just something to show she cared. But that required at least three things she didn't have; time, space, and her roller skates. What else could she give him?

. . .

Anora lingered around Skuld for most of the day. It looked rather pathetic is all respects; Skuld was a shield from having to look anyone directly in the eye. If Skuld knew this, she didn't let it easily show. Or maybe she was humoring Anora. It's not like everyone wanted their first kiss to be known to the entire world. Either way, she was grateful that Skuld didn't tell her to buzz off after the first hour of awkwardly lingering behind her. Small miracles.

"I just got a text from Ava." Skuld informed Anora after some time. "She's got Ephemer hostage at the plaza. There's no one around so it'll be the perfect time to have a small party for him. Could you grab the plastic forks and paper plates? I'll get the cake."

Anora gave her friend a quick nod before scurrying to do what she was told. When the girls made sure they had everything, they went on their way to the plaza. Ava and Ephemer were there, of course, along with Ira and Gula. Ava had been the one to lead them all into song. Everyone got a rather small slice of cake and very quickly thanked Skuld for being a pure magician in the kitchen. For the next few hours, there was a lot of reminiscing on Ephemer's past; how he had met Ava and Skuld, that one year he apparently led an angry pack of First Year students into a pie war, and even a mention of some scar he got when someone had egged him into bungee jumping off the gym building.

He didn't like to talk about that last one much- too embarrassing, he said.

When everyone started to leave for their cabins for the night, Anora took Ephemer by the hand and pulled him aside. With it being the first time they've truly come in contact since Strelitzia's kiss, there was a small spike of shock that coursed through them.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked. "Is this about…?"

Anora quickly shook her head. "Meet me at the beach in an hour." she told him before quickly letting go of his hand and leaving for the cabins. Ephemer stood there for a moment- a part of him felt wary, but the other part of him was excited. What was Anora planning?

. . .

For the second time this summer, Ephemer approached Anora on the beach. His dream from weeks before came back with a stunning clarity that he shivered. He put on a smile once he was close enough to her; this was in no way a good time to admitting he had romantic dreams about someone who only saw him as a friend.

"So," he mused, "Is this the part where you murder me in a bloody wrath?"

Anora gave him a funny look before vehemently shaking her head.

"I wanted to give you my present. Alone."

This… was not something he expected. It must have been reflected on his face, because it definitely shown through in his voice. "Alone?" he repeated. "Why?"

Now bashful, Anora took a step back so she could offer her hand out to him. "Can I have this dance?"

Ephemer physically recoiled at her- almost stumbling backward in surprise. For a split second he actually considered telling her no. But, maybe, in a way, he could see what she was trying to do. And honestly? He was impressed. Flattered, even.

A wide grin appeared on his face before telling her, "How could I say no to a face like that?"

Anora immediately let out a sigh of relief, and was then taken by surprise when Ephemer took her in his arms. A nervous laugh escaped both of their lips as they started to slow dance. It started off the same as it had at the formal, but in time they got a little closer and with it came much smaller movements.

Anora rested her head on Ephemer's shoulder when the two had drifted so close that they were chest to chest. She didn't close her eyes, but she did seem to be in a daze of sorts as her hand tightened around Ephemer's. A small sigh escaped Ephemer's lips as he moved his head a bit to catch a whiff of her hair. The roots were gritty from the sand that wouldn't wash out of her hair, along with the faint presence of a vanilla scented shampoo. Ephemer could not hold back the smile he had as he held her a bit closer.

"This was a nice present." he said to her- his voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you Anora."

He didn't get a direct response. Instead, Anora snuggled a bit closer to his body and buried her face in his chest. He couldn't tell how hard she was blushing- although he was pretty certain she was. He was blushing too, after all.

After what seemed to be years, Anora finally picked her head back up and smiled at Ephemer. He looked back at her to return the gesture. And, like the last time they locked gazes, the two started to unconsciously drift closer to each other. They were just a breath away before Ephemer took a step backward to avoid the very thing they both wanted.

"We should head back." he told her. "We've got to leave pretty early tomorrow, after all."

Anora looked up at him- her eyes giving away her disappointment at the moment that didn't occur. But she nodded her head in agreement otherwise, stepping away from him to end their dance then and there.

"I mean it, you know." the boy then tried to say. "That was a nice present. Always been more of a 'gifts from the heart' kinda guy, and, huh… thank you. Do you want me to walk you back to the cabins or…?"

Anora shook her head. "Happy birthday Ephemer." she said to him in a small voice.

Before he could even stop himself, Ephemer gave her a gentle smile before saying, "It's always a happy day when you're around. Never leave Anora, I love you."