Blue | Rafe Cameron

xxviii

"JJ, I swear if you pop out in front of me, I'm going to punch you in the throat," I promised, half-amused, half-annoyed as I made my way into the Chateau, weary at the silence and lack of movement.

The text I received had told me to come to JB's for 12, and here I was at 12:05 pm and there wasn't a single other person in sight, not a sound coming from the usual ruckus and loud home. I spotted the Twinkie parked in its normal spot, the door was left wide open, but again, no one was inside.

I could only hear the sound of my shoes against the laminate flooring, the faint rustle of wind shaking the loose windows and carrying stray leaves into the outhouse. I tried not to let the worry gnawing at my chest overwhelm me, but I couldn't help the way my fingers tightened around my phone, my legs shaking as I moved to enter the house.

There was a faint thudding sound behind the door- and I paused with my hand on the door handle.

My throat dried out as I thought back to that day with the intruders, how they had hunted us down, armed, and willing to use it, forcing us to hide in the hen shack until they'd left. But JJ had told us they were dead and had seen the grotesque pictures when Peterkins had interrogated him.

I let that knowledge calm me and swallowed down the anxiety clawing up my throat. Instead of overthinking it, I yanked open the heavy wooden door with a deep exhale and stepped into the main room.

"Surprise!" There was loud cheering, a symphony of excited voices, and then a huge pop that made me jump, before a flurry of vibrant coloured confetti ribbons littered down from above, sticking to my hair and clothes.

And stood before me, grinning from ear to ear, were all my idiot friends.

"Happy Birthday, Rory!" They all said, not quite in sync, but the way their eyes twinkled, and the way they smiled so brightly made me laugh, gushing at the effort all the same.

"You guys, I can't believe you did this!" I gasped, my hands coming to my mouth as I stepped through the confetti mess on the floor, walking over to where they all stood, Sarah included, under a wonky banner that read 'Happy 17th Birthday'.

"I can't believe you're seventeen," Kiara snorted, coming up and giving me a tight hug, one that I eagerly returned "Took you long enough, kid." I rolled my eyes at her, nudging my shoulder against hers as I took in the rest of my friends, and I couldn't stop smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, don't come complaining to me when your hips start locking up," I tease, and their mumbles of agreement make me chuckle, "Seriously, guys this- thank you for doing this..."

"You're not going to start crying, are you?" JJ cringed, his face turning alarmed and then all three boys were eying me, concerned in a way only boys get when they see a girl crying and emotional and have no idea what to do.

"I'll cry if I damn well please, Maybank," I raise a challenging brow at him, my lip quirking as he playfully surrenders, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as he stares at me.

"Alright, well before that happens," John B muttered, reaching into his back pocket, and plucking out a small box "This is for you, something from us all."

My hand shakes slightly as I take the box from him, and there's abated silence around me, all my friends watching intently as I pull open the lid and they only seem to relax when a smile overtakes my face.

"Holy crap, when did we take this?" I scoff, laughing as I pick up the keychain, emotion and amusement filling me as I look at the picture inside the clear square frame. "Is this from last night?"

"Yeah, Sarah snapped a picture, and had it made this morning," Kiara smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at the blonde before her, who grinned, her cheeks tinting pink at my appreciative smile.