the next holders//mlb fanfiction

32//El's birthday

About one and a half week later, it's El's birthday. She has invited Autumn, Rune and some other classmates, like Roux, Catherine and Louis, to come to her house after school, although she isn't sure whether they will show up or not. It's the first time she'll have a party with her own family and friends outside the orphanage. She liked the parties at the orphanage, of course, but this is different and she's really excited. She went to buy groceries with her mom earlier this week and her mom promised to have all of it prepared when she comes home from school.

Yet, that doesn't go as planned either. On her way to school, an akuma alert goes off so she and Ladybug join up and fight it. It isn't a hard fight in particular, but it takes a lot of time so she's too late for school.
She arrives way too late for classes, but, lucky for her, the teacher doesn't mind since it's her birthday.

During her first break, Autumn joins her and Rune at the table. She greets Rune then gives El a paper bag with some birthday presents, saying "I know your party is later today, but since it's your birthday right now, I decided to give it already.". El looks into the bag and takes the first present out, it's a framed picture of them playing the guitar at the orphanage years ago "Oh no, where did you even find this. It was so embarrassing." El says, but smiles softly.
Then she opens the next present, it's a notebook which El recognises very well. She opens it, it still looks the same. "You kept this?" She asks. They used to have this 'diary' in which they wrote made-up stories about adventures in which they played the main characters. El tries reading one of the stories, but the grammer is really bad so it's almost impossible to decipher. "Yea, I guess I did." Autumn answers smiling, she's glad El remembers it.
El opens the third present, which is a new sketchbook. Somehow, Autumn knew that her sketchbook was almost full. "Thank you!"
Then El opens the fourth and last present, which is a lot bigger than the picture frame, the notebook and the sketchbook. She can't believe her eyes when she opens it. "You bought me an ukelele?" She hasn't played an instrument a lot in the last few years, but started playing the guitar again some months ago. Autumn remembered that El always wanted to learn how to play the ukelele. "Yea." Autumn blushes. El smiles and pulls Autumn into a hug, pressing a small and almost unnoticeable kiss on her cheek. "You're the best."

After school, Autumn and Rune follow El to her house. El introduces Lila to Rune, provides everyone with a drink and cake and sits down at the table next to them. Louis wasn't at school today, something about his situation worsening again, so he couldn't come. Roux and Catherine said they would show up today, but El is pretty sure that's because Autumn asked them to. She had invited Miles and some others too, but they came up with excuses as to why they couldn't come, El didn't expect anything else though.
"How was school today?" Lila asks El, she sits down at the table, too.
"It was fine, classes were boring, but Autumn gave me some amazing presents and the teachers didn't care when I didn't pay attention in classes for once." El explains, taking a bite from her strawberry-and-chocolate cake. Autumn knows her parents wouldn't appreciate a comment like that, but Lila doesn't mind.
"As long as you know what you're doing, I'm okay with it." She says.

Some time later, Roux and Catherine show up. After providing them with a drink and a piece of cake, too, they both give El a small present. Catherine gives her coloured pencils, knowing El always doodles in classes. Roux gives her a badge with the text 'This badge was my birthday present', which El can appreciate. Their friendship — if that is what you could call it — is still strange. They've created some sort of love-hate 'friendship' with each other.
Rune says he's got her a present, too, even though they don't know her very well. It's a simple birthday card with the handwritten text 'Happy 16th Birthday El! -Rune' and €7,50 cash.
She places all her presents on the piano counter in their living room, including the present she got from her mom: 2 tickets to Jagged Stone's concert. She said El was allowed to take a friend with her if she'd like.

Later on, after they've talked, played a board game and listened to music, it's time for dinner. Lila prepared a BBQ and they all stuffed themselves with loads of food. Catherine and Roux decided to go home after that. Autumn and Rune stay a little longer. They go up to El's room while Lila does the dishes. They both love how El's room looks, Autumn especially loves the painting of Ladybug and Lady Noire, "There's so much detail in it."
"Thanks, I tried my best." El responses, blushing slightly.
"You painted that yourself? I knew you love to draw, but this is really good, you could say on professional niveau." Rune compliments, which makes El's day even better.

Then, Rune and Autumn both decide to go home, too. Lila offered to bring them home by car, given the fact that the attacks are still going on, so El is home alone for a bit. She gets some camembert cheese for Plagg then sits down at her desk and starts sketching in her new sketchbook. "I'll never understand birthdays. You just celebrate the fact that you're a year closer to dying, isn't that weird?" He says, eating the camembert in one go.
El laughs. "That's sounds kind of depressing. We don't celebrate that we're closer to dying, but that we've lived another year."
"Makes sense." Plagg says, searching El's bag for more camembert.
"You've eaten it all during school, remember? That piece I gave you just now was the last one, I'll buy you new cheese tomorrow." El says while continuing to sketch. She didn't have a good idea of what to sketch at first, but ended up drawing a detailed portrait.
"Who's that?" Plagg asks, now breathing through a stinky sock.
"Nobody, it's just a drawing." El answers.
"Could you draw me?" Plagg then asks out of nowhere, El looks at him. "Is that allowed?"
"I don't see why not." He says, posing like a model, sort of.
El laughs and starts sketching, then drawing, then colouring. After at least two hours, although she hasn't watched the time, she has completed the drawing. Right that moment, she realises how tired she actually feels, so she changes into her pyjamas, brushes her teeth, tells her mom goodnight and goes to sleep.
Only to wake up the next day without a ring and therefore without Plagg or a way to transform into her alter ego.