𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑. paul lahote ✓

𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

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DANCING QUEEN

FOR THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, AUGUSTINE WOULD READILY RETURN TO THAT PART OF THE FOREST.

With a Cullen member in towe, of course, considering she still hadn't fully trusted herself to be out and about alone.

Even though her eyes had turned back to that comforting shade of amber, her gums would still ache at the thought of drinking from a human. It was bearable, but it made her miserable.

The black wolf that roamed, that watched her and whichever vampire she brought with her as she examined the other side of the creek, was a regular guest. Eventually, a second wolf had come into the rotation, though not nearly as growly as the bigger one. So sure, they let her go as close to the edge of the creek as possible, but each family member made sure the visit was kept as brief as possible. Like when she'd take Rosalie with her, the blonde always made sure they were just passing by, never letting them linger for more than a minute.

If Augustine couldn't wrangle any answers out of Carlisle about the supposed witches of the world, she was sure as hell going to let her curiosity roam when it came to the wolves.

Which is why on that morning in January, on what was her birthday and subsequently the anniversary that her human life ended, she bounded down the stairs knowing one thing was for certain; she would be going to the creek alone. But, she had to follow the smell of a chocolate cake that she couldn't eat, first. 

Light on her feet, she descended two flights of stairs before she saw the decorative sight before her. The kitchen had a birthday banner strung from the ceilings, green and silver balloons were meticulously littered about, and a small cake was sat on the island. Each of the Cullens were there, minus Edward, given his abrupt departure from Forks just the day prior to 'go hunting'.

Esme was the first to wrap her gentle arms around the girl. "Happy birthday, honey," she said, rocking the two of them back and forth.

The smile on Augustine's face was absolutely blinding, especially as Carlisle approached next and smoothed out the hair on top of her head. "Carmen mentioned how much your birthday means to you," he said, but there was no trace of sympathy in his tone, only comfort. "We couldn't help it."

"Shit, guys," the younger girl mumbled, being attacked with hugs from all directions. The sentiment was true, Augustine valued her birthday— but that wasn't to say that she couldn't remember the last time she celebrated her birthday with people who loved her. Still, she loved the premise of growing up and growing old, only now it all seemed like a dream.

Augustine knew how pointless it all was, such a trivial thing to plan because she would have a thousand more birthdays, but the fact they'd taken time out of their day to make it happen spoke volumes.

"You can't eat it, but you can still blow out your candles." Rosalie's hand on her back led her over to the kitchen island, an array of lit candles illuminating the space. It had given Esme the chance to use the kitchen, even if the cake would soon be left uneaten.

As the black-haired teen blew out her candles, practically simmering with childlike glee, she was steered towards the mountain of presents in the corner of the room.