Riptide

96

After spending some time with my grandparents, Mo and the rest of our friends dragged me through the house to the snack table, where they had laid out all my favorite snacks.

I grabbed a rock candy before we went and sat out around the pool, where a lot of the people here for my party already were.

My little twin cousins Max and Mallory were splashing around in the shallow end of the pool with Betty, since they're all about the same age.

(The evil thought of naming them Max and Maxine just crossed my mind💀)

Walker, Keith, and Connor laid one of the lounge chairs flat so the three of them could sit on it, Mo, Danny, and Dior doing the same.

McKenna, Leah, and Abby copied their actions while Payton and Javon sat on the same chair as me.

That left Brady and Aryan to split the last lounge chair on this side of the pool as Whiskey ran over and started going around all of us for pets.

🏐🏐🏐

A few hours later and the pizza my parents ordered was here, including a few salads for me and the other couple of people who prefer salad over pizza, Tom, Andrew, and Toby.

We're on a diet, pizza's a no go right now.

Since there isn't enough seats in the dining room, everyone crowded into the living room, the couches and few recliners all taken, most of the kids eating at the coffee table.

The majority of us ate slowly, having conversations between bites.

Once we were all done eating, we threw out our plates before I was brought to the kitchen counter, my dad lighting a candle on one of the cupcakes on the tower.

He set it in front of me as everyone began singing, most of my family members and friends recording it, Walker smiling beside me.

They finished their song and I knew what my wish was.

I don't know if these things work, I don't know if anyone does. But if these birthday candle wishes do come true? Then I'll wish for the same thing every time.

Let me keep these people

My people. My family, my friends.

I blow out my candles and they all clap before grabbing a cupcake, my dad kissing the top of my head before we all begin eating our cupcakes.

🏐🏐🏐

Eventually, we move into the dining room, where there are a bazillion birthday bags littering the table. Of course, an Ironman bag is right in front of the chair pulled out for me, RDJ standing proudly beside the chair.

I sit down in the chair and start opening my gifts, starting with RDJ's.

Most of it is jewelry, volleyball stuff, volleyballs, clothes from a few people. The usual stuff I get.

Once I get down to the last couple, they get a little more personal since the rest are mostly from my close friends.

Kenna and Abby made me a scrapbook of all of us, pictures on the front and back of every page with dates and captions under them, the pages holding writing and stickers and a bunch of decorations.

Brady of course got us matching shirts to wear for volleyball practice.

The front said 'When are we the best duo on the court?' And the back had our names and '2-4/7' since our numbers were 2 and 4.

"You're an idiot." I reminded him as I looked at the shirt, then putting it back in the bag.

"Oh come on, that's funny." Brady argued, making me shake my head at him while laughing.

"Hey, it's pretty funny." My dad and RDJ both said.

"HA!" Brady shouts triumphantly, making us all laugh.

I open Mona's next, pulling out two different large pieces of fabric, looking at her for elaboration.

"Okay so I didn't want to do it by myself." Mo shrugged. "So now we can make blankets together."

"That's so cute." I grin at her, looking at the different sets of fabrics.

One set has an Athena Cabin logo and writing on gray cloth, while the other is custom made because it says 'Momona's Cabin' with a rose where the symbol would go.

The other 2 are also custom, one of them having goofy pictures of us and the other having normal pictures of us.

"Nobody's gonna talk about how she said she didn't want to do it herself." Connor mumbles, making us glare at him.

"Why are you so grumpy?" Sebastian (Stan) asked him, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh that's just how Connor is." Javon tells him, his arm around Payton in a very non-Javon sweet way.

Sebastian nods and I go back to opening my presents, wanting to be done but still wanting to know everyone knows I'm grateful.

I grab my dad's gift and pull out a Halloween costume of Valerie- my Marvel character- and look at him in confusion. "I'm not wearing this."

"Yes you are." Aaron piped up.

"Yes you are." My dad agreed, wearing a shit eating grin.

"Why do I need to wear this? I have one of the real ones upstairs in my closet." I reminded him.

"Hm, not the same." My dad sighed obnoxiously.

"Oh come on Del." Walker laughed. "It'll be funny."

"I don't really care if it'll be funny." I laughed. "This is an insult to how awesome my costume actually is."

"Someone say something about a costume?" A voice asks, Jace Norman walking into the dining room.

"WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU COME FROM?" I shouted in confusion, laughing because actually where did he come from. "How do you know where I live?"

"Oh please, your mom invited me since you didn't." Jace glared at me. "Anyways, so costume?"

"She won't wear it." Keith told him with a playful eye roll.

"Be quiet Keith." I laughed. "I wanna know how you managed to be 2 hours late." I asked Jace.

"I don't know, leave me alone." Jace sticks his tongue out at me.

"Moving on." Walker spoke, making us all look at him.

"What're you in a rush for?" Anthony (Mackie) asked from his spot beside Sebastian.

"I wanna go give her my present. It's still in her room though." Walker told him.

"Well that's her last one, so calm down." Elizabeth (Olsen) told him with a short laugh, standing beside Aaron.

"Who's it from?" Scarlett (Johansson) asked me, making me look at the card.

"It's from my volleyball team." I told her, looking up to find my entire volleyball team and coaches standing together with knowing grins. "Why are you guys standing together like a gang?"

"Because." James shrugs innocently.

"We can." Lily adds, grinning at me.

"Okay then." I nod suspiciously.

"Just open it already." Brady ordered me.