Ello, mates! Here's another chapter for you all. Dedicated to my brother and one of my best friends. It was their birthdays!

Oh, Connor, what are you doing? I'm so worried about him. He's too sweet and naïve. What's your view on tonight's episode? I can't wait for Wednesday!

Enjoy!

Mornings were not on Clare's list of favorites, unless she was anticipating something. And today, she was.

For today, Clare Edwards was turning sixteen years old. Clare loved birthdays. Usually, her family got together and celebrated. Not only was this a milestone that Clare was passing, but it would mean her parents wouldn't argue. Even if it only lasted one night, it still made her happy.

Clare slid out of bed and into the washroom, where she took a quick shower. After dressing, she skipped downstairs to find her home empty. In the common room, she found a note from her father that stated he would be working late tonight and that he loved her.

Wandering into the kitchen, she found a note. It was from her mother, explaining that she was busy and would see Clare later.

"Not even a happy birthday…" She mumbled, dejected. After snacking on a mere piece of toast, she exited her house.

After arriving to school—at least an hour early—she was surprised to see Eli standing by the entrance. As soon as he saw her, he smirked and met her halfway.

"Happy birthday." He greeted. She smiled brightly, her sour mood instantly boosting.

"Thank you. I'm surprised you remembered. More so, that you are congratulating me, rather than saying something like 'it's another year closer to death.'" He feigned shock.

"So critical, Ms. Edwards, I am offended." She rolled her eyes, but her smile did not falter. "Besides, I remember important things like this." Clare blushed, her cheeks resembling a strawberry. She was happy to hear that her birthday was special to him.

"What are you doing here so early?" She asked, walking up the stairs. He shrugged and followed her.

"I could ask you the same thing." He countered. They walked to her locker while she prepared for her first two classes.

"It was…lonely in my house." She admitted, rearranging her books into a neat order. If she was here early, she might as well clean her locker up a bit.

"Parents aren't home?" He asked. She nodded and turned to him, raising her eyebrow.

"And you?" She asked. He smiled then.

"No real reason." He was lying and she could tell. He seemed too excited for a Wednesday morning. When his phone vibrated, he looked down at the screen and smirked. Clare was suspicious.

"What are you hiding from me?" She asked, closing her locker door. He quickly tucked away his phone in his pocket. A full blown smile adorned his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blindfold.

"Blindfolding? Oh, I'm curious now." She laughed as he came up behind her and tied it around her eyes.

"Can you see?" He asked, rounding to stand in front of her. He waved his hand in front of her covered face.

"Nope." She responded, smiling. Grabbing both of her hands, Eli led her to the gym, smiling mischievously. Once arriving at the door, he pushed through it and led her to the center of the gymnasium.

"Okay, you can take it off now." She obliged and slowly pulled off the offending cloth.

"Surprise!" Clare jumped in astonishment. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit gym. Her face lit up in delight as she saw numerous familiar faces.

The gym was decorated with Christmas lights and balloons were scattered on the floor.

"All this is for me?" She questioned, disbelieving. Alli, who had been sitting in Drew's lap on one of the bleachers, skipped over to her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Of course, you silly girl. It's your sixteenth birthday!" She called. Clare let out a laugh of delight and returned the hug. "Now come on, it's cake time!" She pulled away from Clare and scurried to the other side of the room. She pulled out a couple of cupcakes, all lit by single candles.

"Wow." Clare laughed, staring at the sixteen cupcakes. Eli leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Make a wish." His breath tickled her and a blush crept up to her cheeks. It intensified as Adam let out a small wolf whistle.

Taking a deep breath and conjuring up a wish, she blew out all sixteen candles. Applause filled the room.

"Present time!" Alli announced, running out of the gym with Drew in tow.

"Aren't we going to get in trouble?" Clare asked, turning to Adam. Connor smiled shyly.

"Mr. Simpson gave me permission." He explained. Clare smiled and hugged him. She turned around and gaped when Drew and Alli walked in with colorfully wrapped boxes.

With a hand on the small of her back, Eli led her to the bleachers. She sat down and smiled nervously.

"You guys didn't have to do this." Clare chided. Adam sat beside her and bumped her shoulder playfully.

"Of Course we did. You only turn sixteen once." Alli placed the boxes of presents in front of her and sat on her right. Clare faced a large variety of boxes.

"Open the blue one first. It's from Drew and me." Alli commanded. Clare reached and picked up the miniature sized blue box at the top of the stack. Alli grabbed the tiny pink bow on top and placed it on her head. Clare giggled and pulled at the wrapping paper.

She pulled open the box and smiled softly.

"Thank you, Alli. Thank you, Drew. These are very cute." She reached over and hugged her friend.

"Well, when I saw these hoop earrings, I thought of you." Alli replied with a grin. Drew smiled and, reaching over, ruffled her curly locks. Clare pulled off her earrings and replaced them with Alli's. She safely tucked away her old earrings in her pocket.

"Aww, they look so cute!" Clare laughed at Alli's enthusiasm and reached down to grab a large red box.

"That's from Wesley, Dave and me." Connor announced from his seat on the floor. Clare smiled and pulled at the gift wrap. Opening the box, she discovered a small telescope pack.

"This is really cool! Thank you." Setting aside her new gift, she walked over and hugged each of them. Dave shrugged.

"It was Connor's idea. He said you had mentioned something about liking the sky or something like that." Clare smiled and returned to her seat. Next, she picked up a medium green box.

"That's from me!" Adam called excitedly, rocking on his heels. Clare smiled as she tore open the wrapping paper and picked up the three-quarter black sweater.

"Gracie might not have had a great sense of style, but my mom always has." He explained. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly, wishing her a happy birthday. Alli sauntered over to where the cupcakes sat and handed one to Clare. They all grabbed a cupcake and began to eat.

"Shoot! Class is about to start!" Alli feigned surprise and looked down at her wrist.

"Babe, you aren't wearing a watch." Drew mumbled. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist, towing him out of the gym. She gave Eli a small wink before walking out completely.

"Catch you later, birthday girl!" She called as the doors shut behind her. Clare smiled and started to throw away the trash.

"Yeah, we should go, too. Right, guys?" Adam emphasized with a subtle tilt of the head. Wesley and Dave caught on and left.

"Class doesn't start for another fifteen minutes." Connor mumbled to himself, utterly confused.

"I'll give you a cupcake to keep your mouth shut and walk out of the room." Adam mumbled to Connor and waved a cupcake in front of his face.

"Agreed." Connor snatched the cupcake from his hand and left without as much as a glance behind. Clare was oblivious to those around her.

"I'll see you soon, Clare." Adam called, also exiting.

Eli smirked and walked over to Clare.

"Everyone was too nice. This is great." Clare said as she put on her new sweater. Eli pulled out a small box and handed it to her. She looked down at it and smiled shyly.

"I wanted to give it to you, you know, alone." He replied calmly. She snickered quietly at the black wrapping paper and tore it off. Her heart beats increased as she opened the jewelry box.

She gasped at what lay inside. A necklace. She pulled it out with deliberate slowness. The chain was thin. The jewel was a topaz, her birthstone.

"It's…beautiful." She mumbled. He smiled and fidgeted slightly.

"Yeah, well, my mom helped me pick it out. Do you want me to put it on?" He asked. She nodded and turned her back to him. She picked up her choppy hair and let him clasp on her gift.

"There." He mumbled. She turned back around and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you, Eli." She whispered. Standing on her tip-toes, she reached up and kissed his cheek. She backed away, blushing at her own boldness.

"Come on." He said, grabbing her bag. "Time for class." He took her hand with his free one.

The day seemed to pass by in a blur. Clare was surprised at how many people actually knew her birthday. It—surprisingly—pleased her.

When the day ended, Eli gave her a ride home. 'A special treat' is what he had said. Clare was surprise, and hurt, that the house was still empty. She called both of her parents' cell phones, but received no answer.

When the door bell suddenly rang, she was shocked that it was a package addressed to her. She signed for it and quickly brought it into the living room.

She grinned as she read the note. It was a birthday present from Darcy. A small bracelet was beautifully crafted by Darcy and some of the children she had been working with.

Clare's cheerfulness intensified when she received another package from her aunt. No note, just a small notebook. In her aunt's beautiful calligraphy, was her name, followed by the word' diary.'

Clare decided to wait for her parents to come. She waited. And waited. And waited.

She suddenly bolted awake when she heard yelling. She looked at the time. Eleven o' clock on the dot. She had fallen asleep on the couch and her neck bothered her. She slowly made her way into the hallway, where her parents were arguing.

She stood there, in plain sight, for a good ten minutes before her parents noticed her. Before they could speak, she did.

"I was waiting. I've been waiting. Where were you two?" She hissed. Her mother sighed.

"We were at work."

"Until eleven at night?" Clare asked, incredulous. Her mother was a bad liar. Her father sighed deeply.

"It's late. Go to sleep." He commanded.

"Do you know what to day is?" This shocked Mr. And Mrs. Edwards. Their daughter looked so angry. They struggled to remember the date.

"Shit." Her father cursed under his breath. Suddenly, they remembered.

"Oh, Clare. I'm so sorry! We didn't-" Her mother began.

"Save it." Clare interrupted angrily. Turning, she stomped her way up the stairs. Before she even reached her room, they were arguing again. Clare was so angry. Why couldn't they just get along? They had been arguing so much, they didn't even remember their daughter's own birthday!

When her phone vibrated in her pocket, she was surprised it was Eli. Her anger instantly vanished, replaced with nervousness.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Just calling to say happy birthday, again." Clare found solace in his voice. Crawling into bed, she began her late night conversation with him, expressing all her resentment and hurt.

"That sucks, Clare. I really does." Clare smiled softly.

"Thanks." She whispered. She winced when suddenly she heard a crash. Another broken dish. She sighed deeply, a headache beginning to form.

"I wish I could just escape, if only for a while." It had escaped her lips before she had time to stop it.

"Want me to come and get you?" He asked. She found herself saying 'yes' before she could stop herself. Half an hour later, they were sitting a block away from her house, in Morty, just talking.

She sighed when she looked at the time. It was already past one in the morning.

"I should go." She mumbled. He nodded, started up the car, and made a u-turn and parked outside her door. Just before she exited, he stopped her.

She turned to him and was surprised when his lips collided with hers. It was short and sweet, but held so much emotion, it startled Clare.

"Happy birthday." He whispered. She nodded in thanks and, numbly, made her way through the back door and into her room. All was silent in the Edwards household as she crawled into bed.

Sleep soon took her.

Oh, yes. This was the best birthday ever.

This is for all the birthdays in August! Review!

~S.S.