The Five: The Beginning

Chapter 2 - Unexpected Guest

Chapter 2 - Unexpected Guest

As Cyrus, Amber, and I are huddled up in my entertainment room all I can think about is the last question I said. Who am I? That's the million dollar question. I look over to see Cyrus, he's got this puzzled look on his face like he's thinking too hard about something. Amber just looks terrified and uneasy. Finally Cyrus breaks the silent.

"So... About tonight" says Cyrus slowly.

"What about tonight" replies Amber.

"I know we just found out some crazy news about Ayden, but we still have his party tonight" says Cyrus.

"I completely forgot about that" I say.

"You still wanna go through with that Cyrus" shouts Amber.

"Would you for any reason want to cancel your 21st birthday" says Cyrus.

"Well no.. But..." says Amber.

"No buts. We go on with the party as planned and pretend everything is normal." says Cyrus

"I can try. It's not gonna be easy" I say nervously.

Amber gently rubs her fingers along my arm and tells me everything will be okay. I've never noticed how beautiful she really his. The way she looks into my eyes like I'm the only one in the room. Then I slip up and overhear a thought of hers say "I love you." It takes everything in my power not to reveal her secret aloud. I bite my on my cheek and and resist the temptation to speak. I slowly take her and hold her in my arms and shut down my new ability.

The next couple of hours seem to go by sluggishly. I turned the television on try to distract myself, but that ended up not working that well. I overhear Cyrus and Amber talking on their phones. What I get out of all the commotion is that the party starts at 9:00pm and it's at my place. Seems like there inviting the whole town the way they keep talking. After an hour of talking on the phone Cyrus and Amber finally make their way back to the entertainment room. When they sit down joy overrides there faces.

"How many people are coming?" I ask flatly.

"I got about 10 yeses and 5 maybes" says Cyrus.

"And I got 7 yeses and 3 maybes" says Amber.

"How many do I know Cyrus?" I say.

"Only the maybes" says Cyrus with a grin.

"And Amber?" I say.

"You know everyone I invited. There people we work with." Amber says.

"Good. Well it's 4:30pm we gotta get this place ready for a party" says Cyrus.

This actually turns out to be a good distraction. We blast the music and get the place party ready. Amber went out to get the cake and some balloons. I asked if she wanted a partner in crime but she declined my offer. I know she feels weirded out by my mind reading ability, I even think she knows I read her mind after telling her I wouldn't. I could just read her mind and get my answer quick and easy. I decide not to invade her privacy like I promised. Same goes for Cyrus. I can never know what the two of them are thinking. If they want to tell me something they'll do it on their own time. Cyrus is getting the audio and video ready. He's putting together a karaoke machine, fog machine, strobe lights, and a projection screen with surround sound. He looks at me for approval and I gladly return it back with a genuine nod.

Amber gets back around 7:00pm with everything on the list plus more. She drops a huge bag of snacks, plates, cups, napkins, etc. She then reaches down and grabs the cake and places on the table. I look over her shoulder and read the cake: HAPPY BIRTHDAY 21st AYDEN it says. It has a picture of a beach and 21 candles surrounding it graciously. I give Amber a quick hug and thank her for all her help today. She embraces me back and says "I'll always have your back." Cyrus glances over and tells us to get a room so we turn quickly and walk away from each other, embarrassed.

The three of us finally get everything together and test out all the equipment. Everything works fine and we get the snacks are all spread out and looking edible. My palms start getting sweaty and my brain is all over the place. It's about 8:30pm when the first wave a people arrive. Suddenly there's a loud knock on the door.

"Can you grab the door?" I shout to Amber.

"No problem" Amber yells back.

When she opens the door six people make there way in. All greeting and wishing me a happy birthday. I welcome them all in a tell them to make themselves comfortable. As the rest of the party arrives my mind reading power is at an all time high. It's hard to control it with everyone thinking at once. I hear he's got such a nice place and he can't afford this place himself. Not to sure who's thinking about this though. Then another knock at the door. Cyrus jumps toward the door and opens it without looking. Our old friend Casey Drummer is standing there and a weird feeling creeps over me. I quickly read his mind and realize he's feeling the same way. As he comes in the door he looks in my direction and gives me a big smile and wave. When he stands in front of he we reach out to shake each others hand and when we touch my eyes slams shut I start to see his memories.

The rush is incredible. I can literally see his whole past. Every birthday he's had, every painful and happy experiences. When I open my eyes Casey is staring at me with a absent look on his face. I can hear his thoughts. He's thinking that he knows something strange is happening but not sure what it is exactly. Then I hear maybe he knows what happen to me last week. Cyrus suddenly emerges from the other room drinks in hand.

"Here I got you this" says Cyrus.

"What's in it" says Casey.

"Vodka" says Cyrus flatly.

"That's all I need to know" says Casey laughing.

Around 12:30pm during the party I can't help but notice that something is different about Casey. I've known the guy basically my entire life. Almost as long as I've know Cyrus. We grew up and went to school with each other. We never actually hung out outside school though. But still, we've attended to same parties over the years. His 21st birthday is tomorrow. At the end of the night when the other guest start leaving I make my way towards Casey deciding I was just gonna read his mind and get the answers I needed without him knowing. Before I can get a word out I accidentally trip over the loose wires by the karaoke machine and my drinking is about to spill all over Casey until something happens. The whole party freezes. Time completely stops. I regain my composure and stand up erect. My glass with its drink halfway spilled out floats in mid air. Amber, Cyrus, and the remaining guest are frozen, unable to move. Expressions glued on their faces. Suddenly Casey looks at me with a confused and baffled look that signifies that he's just a clueless as me. He jumps and bolts toward the door looking back at me one last time before the door slams shut.

Within a blink of an eye the music starts up again and my glass shatters on the shiny hardwood floor, spreading my drink all over the place. Amber jumps up after hearing the glass break.

"What the hell just happened" says Amber.

"Get everyone out now" I whisper to Cyrus.

"Why, what's going on?" Cyrus says.

"I'll explain in a minute, just get everyone out" I say.

Quickly everyone starts dispersing and I get a lot of goodbyes and see you laters. As the last person walks out I slam the door shut and gather Cyrus and Amber to the nearest couch. I tell them about what happened and why everyone had to leave. For the next hour or so we try to think of what's happening to us, and why it's happening to Casey and I. Then I let them know that Casey doesn't even know what's happening to him. Amber finally decides she's had enough for the day and ends up going home. Cyrus stayed awhile longer keeping me from going insane from today's events. We came to the conclusion that we'd swing by Casey's place tomorrow to talk to him. Until then we'll relax and get some sleep. Before Cyrus leaves he stops me and says "maybe we can get some answers tomorrow."

"He's just as clueless as I am" I say.