Part-Time Pegacorn

Seventeen

[The awesome art above was created by GreenieStories ]

Explaining how I met Diesel is a long story. To cut the story short it would go somewhat like this.
About one month ago, I came face to face with a pegacorn in the middle of town. We joined together to defeat some crazy people who were wreaking my town. Though we had our arguments, we soon became a great pair. Lots of stuff has happened between the time we met and since then.
That was about three weeks ago. Right now, it's currently the middle of June. The sun is hot. Mellark is back to its normal quiet demeanor. Lake Jah is full of easygoing vacationers.
Today also happens to be Diesel's seventeenth birth-
"What if he's lactose intolerant?" Felicity adds in.
I glance at her and say, "He isn't."
"How do you know though? What if he can't have anything with gluten in it? He could have peanut allergies if you aren't careful." My sister goes on.
I put the cake in the oven nonetheless and close the door. Heat waves spew from the door as it shuts.
"Felicity, for the millionth time he isn't allergic to anything." I toss my apron up on the countertop.
She smiles and walks out without a word. I think she purposely pesters me for no reason sometimes. Ever since she became a shapeshifter like me I've been having to keep a close eye on her.
Felicity often comes and hangs out with Diesel and I at nighttime, but only for an hour or two since she unfortunately doesn't share my ability to sleep three hours. Most of the time, I'll let her fly a few hundred yards away from us, but always within my sight. I don't need her to wander off at night. She only just turned ten last week.
Yeah, Diesel and Felicity have their birthdays really close together.
The cake I just put in the oven will probably take a while to bake. My cooking skills are low so I'm hoping it will at least taste decent.
I grab my phone from off the dining table and walk into the living room as I read a text. Without a thought I fall back onto the couch. I begin to reply the text but the sound of someone clearing their voice interrupts me.
My head swings to my left and I nearly scream when I see Ash nonchalantly sitting beside me. He's smiling like everything is absolutely normal.
"How did you get in here?!"
Ash shrugs, "Through the front door."
Ash is Diesel's most trusted friend. The two have known each other for many years. He knows that Diesel and I are both shapeshifters. Ash has helped us out in shifter situations before. He can be a little crazy at times though. Right now is a great example of that.
"You're an hour and a half early, Ash." I tell him.
He leans back into the couch unfazed, "Yeah, I thought you could use some help."
"Thanks, Ash, but I've got things covered." I stand up from the couch.
Felicity walks in at this moment, "I forgot to mention that Ash was here."
"Thanks." I grumble over my shoulder.
Felicity turns to Ash to ask, "Is Diesel allergic to peanuts?"
I leave the room before I can hear the rest of that conversation. If it wasn't the middle of the day, I would shift into a griffin and fly away.
I had invited Diesel to come over today since it was his birthday. I wanted to invite some of his friends, but Ash is the only one of his friends that I know. I also asked Garret to come over, but he said that he may be a little late. My 'party' just consists of Diesel, Ash, Felicity, Garret, and I.
I guess you could say that the five of us are already close. We're all shapeshifters, except for Ash who constantly complains about how unfair it is that he isn't a shapeshifter. He's lucky to be a normal human.
All five of us get along well. Ever since Felicity became a pumagriff and we found out that Garret was a hippocamp, Diesel and I have felt less like freaks. The four of us shifters hold a secret that we share together. Ash gladly enjoys being part of our group even though he doesn't have our ability.
Most of the time if we're all together at the same time, the topic of how we may be the only shifters often pops up. I once thought I was the only one. Then I met Diesel. We thought were the only shifters. Then it changed again when Felicity morphed and Garret revealed himself. It may just be a coincidence since Felicity is my sibling and Garret and Diesel are brothers. We could be the only ones, but we may not be.
Anyway, the five of us aren't always all together at the same time. Felicity has friends in the neighbor she plays with. Diesel and I hang out together most of the time during the summer now. Ash has chores he has to do on his dad's farm. Garret has a summer job since he is off for college.
We stay busy.
________________
It's now 3:30. Diesel should be here now. He's never ever late. I start to pace back and forth across the living room. Ash and Felicity don't really care. They keep saying that he probably got caught up in some traffic. As a response I ask them what kind of heavy traffic ever occurs around here in Melark.
They're in their own little world as I step outside and sit on the front step. I rest my elbows on my knees as I search for Diesel's red Chevrolet Camaro.
I'm afraid of what's become of my boyfriend. Ever since we defeated Takolize, a man who previously haunted my town, I've been fearful that one of his cronies would return to find the mythical creatures he saw on Lake Jah's dam.
Ages pass before I hear the familiar sound of the engine. I spring from my sitting position and run across my yard to the driveway. A few seconds later I see his car round the corner. After a few more seconds, the red vehicles pulls into my driveway. I sprint around to driver's door and open it before he can turn off the engine.
"Are you okay?"
It's the first thing that spills from my mouth. I'm not the least bit mad that he's late.
Diesel smiles brightly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
I see through his grin, "What's wrong?"
He gets out of the car and wraps an arm around my shoulder, "Nothing important. I'll tell you later."
"It's pretty important if it makes you half an hour late. Just go ahead tell me." I tell him.
He sighs and begins, "Right before I left the house Garret decided to drop a bomb on me."
"And what was it?"
Diesel looks straight into my eyes, "Apparently, Garret just now figured that today would be the perfect day to tell me that he has met many other shapeshifters before."