A/N - I got a new editor/beta-reader! Thank you so much to .apleasuretohaveinclass on ao3!
Today was my birthday, and of course, my family was going all out. Even more so than previous years. I wasn't exactly sure why. It could be due to my "improvement," but most likely it was because I was in school now and had other kids my age to invite to a party. My family wanted me to socialize and have friends.
It was going to be intense, to say the least. Every single kid in my kindergarten class was invited to my birthday party today, along with some family friends that I didn't know too well. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but it was only a few hours. It would be fine.
I sat on my bed in my room, listening to the voices downstairs, waiting until I could hear the first guest arrive. I wanted to stay in my quiet and calm room as long as I could, so until the party officially began with the first guest, I would stay right where I was.
Today, I chose to wear the purple long-sleeved dress that Aunt Alice gifted me, along with some thick white leggings to keep me warm if I went outside. It was something that was elegant, but not too extravagant that I couldn't move around and play.
I took a deep breath as I heard a car pull up in the driveway. A few hours of noise, chaos, and socialization, and then it'd be back to normal again. Just a few hours.
I walked downstairs, where there were dozens of balloons scattered strategically around the walls, and streamers creating curtains on doorways. Everything was colorful and bright, perfect for a sixth birthday party. The guests would enjoy it a lot.
It was just Jacob and a few of the other guys he was always with—whenever he wasn't with Nessie at least—at the door, so I just sat on the couch to wait for more people to arrive. There wasn't much point to going upstairs if people were starting to arrive.
"Happy birthday, Sybil," Jacob said, walking up to me. He handed me a small present wrapped in blue wrapping paper and a little silver ribbon tied in a bow.
I took it from him, and after reminding myself to try talking whenever I had the opportunity, I added "thank you." I tried not to pay attention to whatever reaction this got from everyone.
Since I first started talking, I've tried saying at least one thing every day. More if possible. This was still new to everyone, especially to me, but it wasn't surprising anymore. That made it easier for me to keep up with. The less pressure, the better.
"We'll put this on the gift table, to open up later," Mom said, taking the present from me.
There was a table in the corner of the room with a colorful plastic table cloth on top, which she put the first present of the party on top of. By the end of the party, it would likely be full with how many people were coming.
Not too long later, children were running around, making a lot of noise, and all the adults were either mingling with each other or trying to make sure their kids behaved. I was supposed to play with the kids, but I mostly just followed them around, feigning interest in whatever they were doing.
After an hour, I just wanted to escape to my room, but I couldn't do that. This was a party for me, I couldn't just leave it. I decided to just stick with one of the quieter kids, Eloise, who I typically sat with at school when given the choice.
She was a cute kid, with blonde hair that sat just above her shoulders, and was usually tied back in some way to keep her face clear. She was a bit younger than me, but was taller anyway. On the rare occasions I would actually try to participate in school or play with other kids, she was who I would gravitate towards. It was just easier to be with the calm, quiet kids, especially the ones who didn't shy away from me and my silence.
She wasn't as interested in running around playing the active games that everyone else was doing, so we both sat with some toys along a wall. We played with a baby doll, dressing it up and pretending it was a real baby. She talked a bit about random kid things, but for the most part it was silent between us.
"Time for some cake!" Mom announced to everyone. Many kids yelled in excitement, having seen the multiple tier cake my parents got for me. They didn't know how much cake would be needed to feed everyone, so they got more than they could possibly use.
The table wasn't nearly big enough for everyone to sit at, so mostly people just crowded around, ready to sing happy birthday. I sat at the head of the table, just in front of the cake. Dad set up and lit six candles on top. I decided it'd be easier to blow them out if I stood on the chair, seeing as they were too high up for me sitting. When the awkward singing was done, I blew them out without making a wish, and the slices were handed out to everyone who wanted one.
I was already ready for this party and noise and chaos to be over with, but we still had so much more left to do. Next year, I'd insist on a smaller party. This was way too much to handle. For now, I would just have to deal with it.
I tried to find Eloise again, so we could just sit together in silence like we were before, but I couldn't find her in the horde of children and parents, so I had to find someone else to stick with.
Most people here I didn't even know, just recognized from class. I didn't even know most of the family friends outside of Jacob. I'd seen them around, but didn't even know their names. I think one started with an E, but I wasn't sure.
I could sit at the table until whatever other party festivities began, but that would be even more boring than pretending to care about whatever games the other kids played.
I could just walk around aimlessly, which I often did at recess in school, but with how many kids were running around, I'd need to dodge them to not get run into. I did not want to deal with that.
My best bet would be finding a few people to stick with, and hope they didn't mind being shadowed. They shouldn't mind, seeing as it was my party, at my house, and my birthday. They were only here for me, so they could deal with me following them around.
I looked around, trying to decide who to stick with.
There was Ray, running around with a few other boys, playing tag or something. I couldn't actually tell what he was doing.
Bailey, who was talking to Kit and Wren about something I couldn't hear.
Jacob was talking to Nessie, holding a paper plate with a big slice of cake on top. He was barely paying attention to the rest of the party, his whole focus on Nessie and the cake.
The rest of the kids I barely knew the names of. I didn't want to stick with them. I couldn't find Eloise still, maybe she left early, or was in the bathroom or something. For whatever the reason, I couldn't see her, and I wasn't sure what to do.
Maybe I would just stick with my family for now. They were mingling with others, but wouldn't stop me from just standing with them.
I walked over to Grandpa, who seemed the least busy or stressed out of my family in this room, and I stood next to him. He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me before continuing to talk to some of the parents that were probably not that interested in what he had to say, but rather in his appearance. They knew he was happily married, right? I bet many of them were also in some kind of relationship, but still gravitated towards him anyway.
Standing here with him, there still wasn't much to do. I would just have to deal with that for a bit, though. There wasn't much else I could do.
Across the room I saw more adults just standing around talking, a few of whom I recognized as our family friends, who mostly just came here whenever Jacob was here. I'd never really tried interacting with them, and they weren't over often enough for it to really matter, but for some reason I felt like going to them now. I stayed put despite this weird feeling, but continued watching them. Something was off about them, and I wasn't sure what.
Before now, I'd never bothered to really look at them. I assumed they were just regular people, but now I could see them compared to the other regular adults in the room, and they didn't fully match up. They were unnaturally tall–taller than the tallest regular adult here–and their expressions, while different from each other, all held some kind of resemblance I couldn't explain.
They must have sensed my staring, because one of them–I believed the one that's name started with an E, or maybe some other vowel–turned to look at me. I prepared to look away, but as our eyes met, something stopped me. A shift in the air, a change in the atmosphere, something supernatural.
He froze, not turning his eyes from me, either. I felt locked in his stare, the rest of the room drowning out of my vision. I couldn't tell if what I felt was good, bad, or somewhere in between, let alone name what it was. All I could really tell was that something about him in particular was different from the others. He was important, somehow. Special. How had I never paid attention to him before now?
I blinked, and everything returned to normal. All except the man I took no notice of before now staring at me with varying emotions crossing his face.
"I think it's about time we did more party games," Grandpa said, looking down at me. He sounded like he was trying to change the subject, but we hadn't been talking to each other. Was he talking to me before this and I hadn't even noticed? I wasn't sure what was happening at all right now. I was so confused. Who was that man? What was his name? Maybe I'd just call him E, until I figured it out.
I followed along with the rest of the party games–a piñata full of candy, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, and a bunch of other random ones I didn't focus on. I kept looking back to that man, E, and he was more often than not, looking at me, too. With anyone else, this would be creepy, but I didn't get that vibe from him. His stares held no ill will.
When he wasn't looking at me, he was talking with my family. First it was Grandpa, then Uncle Edward, and Aunt Alice. They kept looking at me, and to Mom and Dad, who hadn't noticed anything off yet. Something had just happened, and they didn't want others to know. Would they at least tell me? I wanted to know what was going on, what had happened.
The end of the party was nearing, and the house quieted down a bit. Some people had already left, and the ones left were mostly outside, running off their endless energy. I stayed inside, with Eloise who I ended up finding after a bit of time. She and I were looking over books I pretended to not know how to read. She liked the pictures, and made up stories to go along with them.
Mom was talking with parents, getting phone numbers and setting up future playdates. She was happy with how the party was working out, and hopeful that I'd be able to socialize with people more often from now on.
I watched all the adults in the room more carefully than I'd done before, trying to figure out what was going on. Whatever it was, Grandpa, Uncle Edward, and Aunt Alice were trying to keep it from everyone else. Especially Mom. They were keeping her distracted, making sure she didn't pay attention to E, who seemed to be annoyed with them for some reason.
But of course, they couldn't hide what was happening for too long. I watched Mom look from Grandpa, to Edward, to Alice, to E, to me and back around again, before something clicked in her mind.
Her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed at E. Her body was tense, and she seemed to be fighting the urge to attack him. She took a shaky deep breath, excused herself from the conversation she was having before this moment, and walked over to him. She was trying to keep calm, for the guests' sakes, and probably also for mine.
I couldn't hear what she said, but I could tell she was furious. She dragged him upstairs by the arm in the way I imagined a parent would drag a child up to their room as a punishment, though she was much more rough than that would warrant.
I'd never seen her so angry before, and honestly, it made me scared, too. I stayed on the other side of the room, watching from a distance. I definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath right now, especially because it was brought on by nothing obvious, and there was no way for me to know if it would turn to me next.
Dad noticed that something was going on, and followed them upstairs quickly. I hoped he would be able to calm her down, I didn't want E to be hurt and I could tell Mom had no problems bringing him pain for whatever it was that had happened.
The rest of the family went ahead and ended the party a bit early, though it was nearing the end anyway. Guests were thanked for coming, given goody bags, and sent on their way. Even they could tell something was wrong. I wished I could leave with them.
I'd never seen Mom angry before, let alone to that extreme. I didn't know what to expect. And that, to me, was scarier than knowing I lived with vampires. She was dangerous, they all were. They may not want to hurt me, but they could still be unpredictable in anger. Accidents could still happen. I could never let myself forget the danger I was in. I still had to be careful.
A/N - fun fact, Eloise in this chapter is based off of a little girl I nannied over the summer. In real life she's actually two years old, and doesn't talk much because she's only just learning to talk, but she is tall for her age and the description I gave still fits her haha. She's absolutely adorable and I love her so much.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm hoping to get chapters up relatively close together from now on. And by that I mean every few weeks.