Always, Huh?

Six - Can I Have A Jammin' Sesh?

32 people have written on your timeline.

Lily got exactly the same birthday message from all of her Facebook friends. Jazz Raven, Eleanor Peakey, Richard Craig, Elizabeth Darkston, John Darkston, Sarah Gibson, Mark Spencer and so on.

She liked and thanked all of them, using the same generic message, occasionally adding an in-joke but not really caring. All she wanted was for her parents to be able to get through this one day without shouting at each other about the divorce.

For once she was actually disappointed that her birthday hadn't fallen on a school day. Every time it had, she had dreaded it, just in case REJ decided it was time to set her up for a surprise party in home room.

For once, Lily didn't want to have her birthday at home, in the 'calm and quiet' atmosphere that it was.

She was still in bed and feigning sleep under the covers, procrastinating about getting up and facing her family.

Soon though, her stomach felt like it was being eaten from the inside. Lily pulled herself up and out of bed, knowing that her family already knew that she was awake. She yawned, her face deforming as her mouth stretched as hard and as wide as it could.

Lily made her way slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her parents were waiting with chocolate chip pancakes.

She devoured her favourite breakfast in less than a minute, she sat there, childhood memories washed over her.

"Nathan Darkston! Get out of bed and down the stairs! It's your sister's birthday!"

"One second!" Nate shouted down the stairs blearily, the fact that he'd only just got up evident in his voice.

As he stumbled down the stairs, only half dressed, Lily shrieked in excitement as she saw the pile of presents in the lounge area.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Don't scream that loud, my ears are very sensitive, also the neighbours will think someone's being murdered somewhere." Nate grumbled as he grabbed a shirt off of the top of the laundry basket.

"Is this it? Is it?" Lily squealed and pointed to a large triangular shaped box.

"No, Lily, it's clearly the massive triangle we got you for your birthday!" Lily punched Nate in the arm, hard. "Ow! Mom! She hit me!"

"It's her birthday, Nate. She can punch you as much as she wants." Her mother said, her smirk clear through her tone.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"For the guitar or for the punching?" Lily's dad asked jokingly.

"Both."

Instead of running towards her new guitar Lily sat calmly on the sofa and waited for her parents. Her brother was being especially slow and Lily managed to get so frustrated she pulled him out of the kitchen while he still had half a pancake in his mouth. He protested but nobody in the house could understand a word.

---/|\---

At around ten o'clock in the morning, after Lily had already played her new guitar for two hours straight, there was a loud knocking on the door. Lily left it for one of her parents to get, but they were fussing over something in the kitchen.

"Lily? That's for you, I'm sure. Go and get it." Her mother yelled from the kitchen.

"Hey! Lily-Willy! Let us in!" Lily groaned as Jazz's two year old nickname suddenly made its way into her family.

"Lily-Willy... I'm totally calling you that." Nate chuckled as he walked down the stairs to let the group in. If Jazz was here, the rest would have followed. Lily set her guitar down in anticipation of the flood of hugs that her friends would want. She stood.