𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘- a labyrinth sequel

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄

"𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐊-𝐈-𝐒-𝐒-𝐈-𝐍-"

"Shut up, Xander," Lia groaned, throwing a pillow at his head. For what felt like the hundredth time today, Aurelia smoothed down her jeans and straightened her necklace. Her mother was downstairs frantically trying to make sure everything was perfect for her daughter, and her dad was no doubt trying to calm her down a bit. Xander's father was most definitely in the kitchen yelling because she could hear her mother screaming for him to stop being such an animal.

"I don't get it," he admitted. "Why don't you like him? If he was into dudes, hell, I'd date him, too."

"I'm sure your girlfriend would love to hear that," Lia drawled, putting on a pair of earrings. Frowning, she'd adjusted her necklace again, adjusting the pendant so it sat perfectly in the center between her collarbones. It was a necklace with her birthstone, and her mom had a nearly identical one that Aurelia's father had bought her for her birthday before they'd started dating. She rarely ever took it off. "Can you try not to be so weird when he gets here?"

"Me?" Xander questioned, appalled. "It's not me you have to worry about. He's going to be in a house full of FBI agents. They're going to destroy the poor bastard."

Shit. Xander was right. Penelope would look him up in one second, and Derek would settle for brooding and threatening looks all night. Rossi would probably just talk about pasta all night, or whatever it was that old, Italian men liked to talk about.

When the doorbell rang, Lia perked up and listened intently. She was expecting a full house today, and while she was excited when she heard her Uncle Seb downstairs, she also wasn't afraid to admit that she'd been slightly disappointed that it wasn't who she thought it was. Aurelia combed her fingers through her hair one final time, and burst out of her bedroom door and hurriedly made her way down the stairs, with Xander hot on her trail. Once in the kitchen, she raised an eyebrow when she saw her Uncle Sebastian with a few balloons, and what looked to be a dozen gift bags.

"Are those all for me?" Lia gaped as he set down all the birthday presents. Some of them were huge, and she had no doubt that they costed a lot of money, but Sebastian Clairmont was never one to be stingy. Christmas had always been a fun day when he was around, that was for sure. When her and Xander were kids, Sebastian bought them both matching toy convertibles, which made them feel like the coolest kids ever.

"I couldn't decide what to buy you," he'd shrugged, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Happy birthday, Lia." When Riley Carter came in with another handful of gift bags, Celia Clairmont chided her brother softly, but he'd been insistent that it was no big deal. "Did you buy the whole store?" Her mother hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're too much sometimes, Seb."

"I can't buy my niece a birthday present?" He questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Present, Seb. Not plural. Jesus, you'd think it was Christmas in here."

"You know, my birthday happens to be in two months, just in case you were wondering-" Sebastian Clairmont turned with a frown. "No one was wondering, Nathanial," he replied cooly.

"Oh, I see what's going on here," Nathan replied with a grin, flashing his dimples at his older cousin. "You're pretending to be all nonchalant so I'll be even more surprised when it happens. Okay, I can play along, I guess-"

"Please stop talking," Sebastian pleaded. As if someone heard his pleads, the doorbell rang again, and this time, it was a flood of people that came running inside. If you thought Sebastian Clairmont went crazy on the gifts, then nothing could have prepared you for the mound of presents that came in with Penelope Garcia. All wrapped in this adorably obnoxious pink wrapping paper, Penelope enlisted Derek to help her carry them all inside before she set them down beside Sebastian's. She beamed brightly when she laid eyes on the girl, and immediately ran over and pulled her into a hug.