Her Dark Shadow

•Chapter Four: Camden•

January 11:
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOOGER!" 
I look at my clock. 5:30 freaking a.m.
"Mooooom!" I complain. "It's 5:30!"
"Well, I need to work, and it's your birthday, so I wanted to say hi. And I love you." Mom's words are genuine and thoughtful, and my annoyance fades in a second.
"I love you too, and thanks," I smile. "Can I go back to bed now?" My tone sounds slightly whiny.
"Well, no; I made you breakfast, turd face." I groan. "Come on! I made you an egg sandwich: two eggs, one slice of cheese, and a hunk o' meat. Huh? Come on, lazy bones." She starts to head out of my room. "Before it gets cold!" She calls before exiting. But wait. She backtracks, and turns on the light!
"MOM! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" I ask her. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BLIND ON MY BIRTHDAY!"
"WOULD YOU HAVE GOTTEN UP OTHERWISE?" She calls back.
"WELL...NO."
"TOUCHÉ."
"Arg!"
•~•
I head to the kitchen, falling down the stairs in the process.
"Ouch! That hurt." I grumble.
"You okay, booger?"
"Fine, Mom." I sit down at my place at the table. "Thanks for breakfast." I tell her. She looks at me expectantly. "And...for...waking me up?"
"Whatever." I hate it when she does that! Am I suppose to be able to read her mind? Do we have some sort of telepathy link? "Anywho," she continues, taking a bite of her egg sandwich. "Were you wanting to go to school today?"
"No, why?"
"I was thinking you could stay home. You know, it could be part of your birthday present."
I think about the wish I made on my candles: Since I have no friends, not because I'm weird but because I'm socially awkward, I want one in particular: Ezrynn Lea.
"Uh, I think I'll go." I tell her.
There's a quote by me, my ten year old self: A wish doesn't get you anywhere, it only tells you what you want. And to get it, you need to find out how.
Which means I'll need to give it a try.

•~•

I choke on my lunch, "ribs"--seriously? This is not the texture nor taste of meat. It's like Craft calling that plastic junk cheese--Ezrynn's literally coming this way, all the other tables are full. There's a seat next to me. It's a miracle! It's a freaking miracle!
I can just imagine:
Ezrynn's walking this way, about to sit next to me, but suddenly some other dude decides to steal the moment. 
"Oh, are you sitting here?" Ezrynn asks. 
"Yeah, sorry babe," the dude says, "I saved ya, babe. This chump's a loser."

But that didn't happen, because today is special; today is my birthday.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Ezrynn looks at me in worry--I must have been lost in thought. She puts her hand on my arm when I don't answer again.
"Uh-yeah, sorry, did you want to sit here?"
"Please?" She says, occupying the empty seat next to me. "So...do you want to talk or do you prefer to eat in silence?"
"Uh, I don't mind really," Lie, "up to you?" I hope I don't sound too desperate.
"Uh, sure...what are your hobbies?" she starts.
"Uh, I draw..." Demons. "What about you?" I ask quickly, hoping she won't ask the question.
"I don't know...I guess I like to write." Ezrynn wrinkles her nose a bit. I wonder what that's about.
"Oh, cool! We could make a book together!" I kid, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess we could." She says, laughing.
"What do you write about?" I wonder.
"Uh...anything, really. Things that I care about..." she trails.
"What do you care about?" I blurt.
"Uh...." She's quiet. Stupid, stupid, stupid!  I scold myself.
"You don't need to answer...sorry." I say.
"Nah, it's fine. What do you draw?" she asks, eager to move on to another subject.
"Ohhh..." I say, scratching the back of my head and laughing. "Well, my Dad passed away about a year ago...I have these...these images that come to mind, these...evil creatures. They...I guess they're part of me now? I don't mean to sound nuts."
"I'm sorry..." She says. I study her features. They don't show signs of awkwardness, signs that show she didn't know what to say. She's truly sorry.
"Yeah, well..." I think for a bit. "Today's especially hard."
"Is there reasoning to that? Or do you just...miss him?" she pries.
"It's kinda my birthday," my expression is sheepish--I didn't want to bring this up.
"Awe! Thirteen?" Ezrynn's face stretches into a dazzling cheek-to-cheek smile, which is, in fact, contagious. 
"Yeah." I smile at her.
"Well, I'm sorry." She says. "And happy birthday." She gives me a smile and hugs me lightly. Still holding on, she tells me something special. "I know it's hard. But I promise it'll get better." I can't count how many people have said that to me, all adults of course, but I believe the words when she says them, unlike from everyone else.
She let's go, picking up her tray.
"I enjoyed talking to you. Meet tomorrow? Or do you have plans with someone else?"
"No! No, I don't. I'd love to talk tomorrow." My stomach gives birth to butterflies.
"Okay! Happy birthday." She smiles at me. "I'm Ezrynn, by the way."
"I'm Camden." She sets down her tray to shake my hand, and I gladly do so.
Ezrynn leaves, and I scarf down my uneaten meal before lunch is up, the bell ringing a few minutes later.
•~•
I get off the bus quickly, planing to skip the usual shuffle with Finnegan today.
"'Ey, chump! Where ya goin'?"
I speed walk home, pretending I can't hear him.
"I said, where ya goin'?!"
I hear him run toward me, his fat feet carrying his fat body closer and closer, and I let him catch up, because if there's one thing I know, fighting back or delaying will infuriate him more.
"Ey, Chump! How're things?" He gets me in a headlock and gives me a noogie. "What'd I tell you 'bout ignorin' me, Chump? What'd I say, Chump?"
I don't answer, because that's what he wants. If I talk, he'll say 'What'd I tell ya 'bout talking, Chump?' That's another thing I learned. Everything's a rhetorical question.
"Well, Chump, I said don't 'nor me, Chump. Now Chumpster's gettin' double today. All because Chumpster wanted to skip it. Let this be a lesson, Chump, let this be a lesson for ya." He punches me square in the jaw.
•~•
Walking home with Finnegan sucked. He held his arm around my shoulders, making sure I didn't make a run for it.
"Oh, sweetie." Mom walks into my room and comes to sit next to me on my bed. "What a lovely gentlemen that was, bringing you home after you fell onto the road. Hun, I don't know how you didn't catch yourself. "
"Yeah, well." I answer.
Mom sighs. "Do you still want to have cake? Your special ice-cream cake?"
"Yes, thank you, Mom. And can I get some more Ibuprofen, please?"
"Of course."
•~•
After stuffing ourselves with pizza and ice cream cake, Mom brings out the presents. The first one is a huge art kit, with a design for an art studio. She got me a freaking art studio!
And the next, she says, is special. Yeah, right. I think the studio is pretty freaking special. But she's right.
"Camden, I don't want you to get mad, okay? I just...I understood what you were going through and I understood the...the demons. So just in case something were to happen with your drawings during the party, which, as you know, something did, I copied them. I made extra, too, so you really don't need to worry too much about them," and she hands me the package.
"Oh...thank you, Mom." I sniffle and hug her tight. "Thanks so much. I love you."
"I love you too, bud."
•~•
That night I can't think of anything but Ezrynn. She even shows up in my dream.

Ezrynn knocks on the front door.
"Hello, Mrs. Conner? Is Camden home?"
"Yes! Yes he is; would you like to see him?"
"Yes, please."
Ezrynn enters my room.

Then we're under a tree; she's in a beautiful white tux, I'm in a black one, and there's a dude to the side of us. We kiss.

A baby--wait, two babies--look up at me. A boy and a girl. The girl looks just like Ezrynn, the boy like me.

Ezrynn and I are playing catch with them, our babies now about ten, the girl is Carmen and the boy Cameron. Carmen catches every pass, Cameron only about three.

We're in our house, both the kids about six or seventeen, with dates on their elbows. They're ready for prom.

Ezrynn walks Cameron down the isle, his fiance's father walking her down the isle. Cameron kisses her.

Carmen takes the family on her boat--she's a marine biologist.

Soon Cameron has six kids--two boys and four girls.

Carmen finds someone, but they never marry. They end up having two kids; two boys.

Carmen, Cameron, and their families are at a funeral--Ezrynn's funeral.

I'm on my death bed, my children and grandchildren's tears dripping onto my face.

I wake up with tears in my eyes; it was a beautiful dream. A happy and sad dream. A wonderful dream. The kind of dream that would flash before your eyes right before you died.