Unstoppable, Immovable

"Julia doesn't count, she's too fluffy and nice,"

Valkyrie
    Later that night, after I'd picked up my Jeep, Harry brought me dinner and went back to the hospital. I'd offered to go as well, but he said I'd spent enough time there and I needed to rest. It was more likely that the nurse I'd yelled at was in her shift and she'd complained about me. Fucking Carol. I was playing music as I heated up my food. Sometimes I forgot who my biological parent was. Harry knew me well, he'd gotten me mac n' cheese from the diner that I liked. It was my comfort food, or as my mother referred to it, the reason I would never go pro in any sport. I loved the stuff too much. When my delicious meal was ready, I put it into a bowl and sat on the kitchen floor to eat. I liked the floor. It was comfortable to sit and lay on. When little, Eurus and I would take naps on the living room floor during the summer. Mom always said we looked like sleeping tigers, just waiting to pounce on someone but too lazy to actually chase them down.
    I ate quietly, letting my speaker fill the quiet house with good music. Eurus and I argued constantly about what music to play, so having the house to myself meant Nirvana was blasting wherever I decided to go. After washing my dishes, I made myself busy. Usually, we'd split the chores, but I was sure that nothing would be getting done until Friday and I was not going to stress my mother out further by having to come to a mess of a home.

Giles
    We got to Val's house around ten. It didn't look like she was lonely and stressed. The lights were on, and there seemed to be music playing. But then, considering who Val was, it would've been more shocking to see her being a mess. Paige got her keys out of her jacket and opened the door for us. Of course she has a key. We followed her inside and closed the door softly behind us. Frida led us to the kitchen and we set down the drinks and the pizzas. We just needed to find matches for the mini cake Julia had made before we could bring Val to the kitchen. "You guys really suck at this," I turned around and saw Val leaning on the wall. I tried to compose myself not due to surprise, but because Valkyrie was wearing grey sweatpants that were hanging from her hips dangerously low and crop top that showed off impressive abs. She looked good.
"We made it into the house," Frida objected.
Val rolled her eyes, "Four potentially dangerous individuals—"
"Five," Paige corrected.
"Julia doesn't count, she's too fluffy and nice,"
"Fair point, proceed,"
"Four potentially dangerous individuals enter my home and you think I won't notice?" Val smirked.
"What was your plan?" Paige looked like she was questioning Val's abilities to kill someone.
"You're all looking down, Eurus' old baseball bat would do it," Val shrugged.
"What if one of them is armed?" Paige continued. Val just smirked. That little grin made me fear her, but it also made me want to get her alone in a room. I hated that Sammy had more guts than I did. At least they're not official.
    "What are you guys doing here? It's way past Julia and Giles' bedtime," she pushed off the wall and took a few steps to where we were. It hit me then that Adam and I were standing in front of all the food. She couldn't see it.
"For someone with your skill set, I would've expected a better guess from you," Frida smiled. Our friend just raised an eyebrow.
"We're here to celebrate an early birthday with you, stupid," Paige rolled her eyes, but the adoration for Val was obvious.
"Oh," Val's eyes widened a little, "You didn't have to. You guys, it really— wow," She just smiled at us with a childish grin.
"We wanted to be here with you," Frida went over and hugged her.
"Thanks guys," she beamed. We opened the pizzas and the drinks and we laughed and ate on the kitchen counters. It was still half an hour before midnight, and Frida just had to be cliché.
"Valkyrie Queen," she grinned, "You know that when I met you I was terrified of you? I thought you would hate me immediately because I couldn't be strong like you were when the slimy boys tried to hit on me," Frida smiled at her friend, "And then one day, out of nowhere, you sat with me in lunch and told me that no more nasty boys would bother me," Valkyrie laughed at the story. It was weird to see them so intimate and quiet. They'd always been the badass trio. Frida was classy and upscale. Paige was a diva with an attitude. Val was a fighter through and through. The soft voices and gentle smiles weren't something that most people saw.
Paige laughed, "Was this when I questioned Val if she'd been the one that assaulted the freshman boys?"
"Yep," Val nodded. Adam looked lost, so Val explained, "I threatened the guys that were hitting on Frida, and they pushed their luck. A broken nose and one dislocated shoulder later, they agreed to back off. Rumors spread, and Paige heard about it,"
"All I remember," Paige added, "is seeing a tall girl with white hair sitting next to Frida as if she hadn't just attacked two guys older than her,"
"She slammed her tray down and demanded to know if I'd broken Danny Turner's nose," Val chuckled.
"Fun times," Frida smiled to herself.
"Do you always meet people by sticking up for them?" I asked Val.
"Oh yeah," she grinned, "I punched Abel when I first met you,"
"I'm pretty sure you also fractured his ribs, but that may be rumors," Adam commented. And so the story was told, for the sake of passing time, of how I'd been getting shoved around, how Val took it as an excuse to punch a guy she didn't like, and how it had led us where we were. We kept telling stories until Julia cut us short because it was almost midnight. She got the cake and lit the candles. At midnight, Val blew them out and we cut the cake.
    We passed around the plastic plates so that everyone that wanted cake could have some. In the midst of it,  I sat next to Val. "Happy birthday Val," I smiled.
"Thanks Giles," she grinned.
I decided to push my luck, "What do you want as a present?"
"You don't have to get me anything,"
"I'm going to anyway," I shrugged.
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was massive, "You're awful," So it hadn't gone like I'd hoped, but I still wanted to get her something, and something I'd bought a million years ago would be perfect.

Valkyrie
    Paige and Frida spent the night because they didn't want me to be alone for too long. I didn't deserve such great friends, but I was thankful to have them. Adam and Giles left early, both promising that their gifts would be gifted at school. Julia had to get a ride with one of them, so she left her present with me and told me to open it whenever I felt like it. Getting so many presents was weird. It was almost twice as many as I usually got. Admittedly, it was really nice, but it was also a little overwhelming. After I'd opened gifts, we set up mattresses in my bedroom and went to bed.
    The next morning, Frida woke me up earlier than needed to get me dressed. While I showered and brushed my teeth, she set out clothes for me to wear that day. She insisted I wear the leather jacket Julia had gotten for me, and I wasn't entirely opposed, it was amazing and I probably wasn't going to take it off. She'd be a good stylist. They made breakfast and we ate together. I drove us to the hospital to see my birthday shareholder. My mom hugged us both and I promised my brother his present was waiting for him at home. The birthday thing was really getting to me, I was happy. When we got to school, I opened my phone to find a text from Harry.

Dad: Happy Birthday kiddo! It's been a crazy seven years, but I'm glad you and your brother let me into your lives. Sorry I couldn't see you this morning (ugh, work) but I'll get you mac n' cheese to make up for it

We hung out by Paige's locker for a while. Julia tackled me in a hug and wished me all the best. It was a bit of a haze. I wasn't used to so many people showing me love at school. At home, sure. I was loved and spoiled at home, but school had always been different for me. I'd always been less involved with people at school. In a few weeks, that had changed drastically. It wasn't bad, but it was still an odd feeling.
    Adam walked over and smiled proudly, "Your present," he handed me a simply wrapped package.
"Thank you," I opened it curiously and couldn't help the laughter once I'd seen it properly, "You didn't!"
"I did," he smiled triumphantly.
"What is it?" Julia asked. I couldn't even talk, I just showed them. He had managed to find a decent picture of my kiss with Sammy on the night of his fight and had it framed for me.
"That's cute as fuck," Paige admitted.
I hugged Adam, "Thanks man,"
"My pleasure," he smiled, "I thought of printing one for Eurus too, but I figured it would be best not to,"
"Am I on time for the gift giving?" Giles asked from behind us.
"Right on time," Frida smiled, "Though some of the gifts are going to be hard to top,"
"Yours, for example?" he joked.
Frida shrugged, "A customized set of band shirts is pretty cool, but Adam's is also solid competition,"
Giles rolled his eyes, "I was kidding," He walked over to me and hugged me briefly, "Happy birthday again,"
"Thanks Giles," I smiled warmly. He handed me a simple, wooden box.
"I didn't have time to wrap it, but it's a jewelry box," he opened it for me, "I saw it at an antique shop. It used to be for ballet shoes, and since you couldn't be a Russian ballerina slash assassin..."
My smile only widened, "Thank you, it's amazing,"
Frida nodded her approval, "Adam, consider yourself outdone,"
"Considered, and ignored," he shrugged, "my gift was cool and it was a pun,"
"It really wasn't," Paige frowned.
"A really bad pun," Frida added.
"I'm not sure if it should even count as a pun," Julia sighed.
Frida clasped her hands together, "It would be shameful to all the good puns out there,"
"I'm sorry Adam," Paige shrugged, "We simply cannot allow your gift be considered a pun," Adam tried to argue his case, but it proved pointless. I watched my friends bicker endlessly and went to my locker to put away my gifts. For a second, it hurt to know that I'd missed out on people like them for so long. They made me laugh and smile and roll my eyes and enjoy every minute with them. I should've let myself open up sooner.