Duckie

Chapter 4: Magic Juice

Maddox sighed loudly in defeat, heading to the fridge to grab the cake that they refused to let me see until we ate. Oliver and I gripped each other's hands, his enveloping mine, and we did a little victory jig, giggling as we bounced around the kitchen. Oliver had always been my biggest supporter within my brothers' friend groups, always taking my side and listening to what I had to say.

Over his shoulder, Maddox announced, "Teddie said he's only a few minutes away and he's got a present for you." I squealed as I jumped in place, clapping my hands together eagerly. As soon as the information was given, the garage door slammed again, announcing the arrival of none other than Teddie.

Sure enough, he walked into the room, his soft cloud gray eyes shining as they met mine. Without a greeting, he held out a small gift bag along with his other arm, hinting at a welcome hug. Without hesitation, I bounded over to him, wrapping my arms around his torso. "Teddie! I missed you!" I whined. He had gone back home to London over the summer, since he was a student studying over here in Utah on an international scholarship.

His silvery chuckle resonated into my head, a good feeling. He wrapped his arms gingerly around my shoulders and then pulled me off of him, his eyes scrunching in the corners as his smile bunched his cheeks up. "Hi, Duckie. I missed you as well," he greeted, the silvery tone from his laugh still audible in the refined lilt of his English accent. He pulled one hand from behind me and held the present out to me, shaking it in front of me giddily.

My childish grin widened as I snatched the baggy from his hand. I tossed the packing paper to the floor and reached in, pulling out a rubber duck with the flag of the UK painted across its body. I hummed happily before turning my attention back to the bag, pulling out yet another rubber duck, this one designed as a royal guard, tall fur hat and all. My head fell back as I laughed, elated at the silly and cute gifts. Wiping a tear from my eye, I turned back to Teddie, "Thank you, Teddie. These are so cute," I chirped happily, my eyes falling back to the ducks to take in all of the little details.

Teddie cleared his throat, bringing my gaze back to him, "One more," he said, pointing at the bag.

My eyes widened and I reached my hand back into the small bag. I grasped onto the cold metal of the gift and revealed it to myself and everyone else. In my hand was a simple silver bangle bracelet with a small ducky charm on it. My heart squeezed in affection and I walked back over to Teddie, wrapping him in another grateful hug that he quickly returned. When I stepped away, I turned to nine pairs of eyes staring at me expectantly. Maddox waved at the cake, which was already aglow with eighteen little candles. I gasped when I saw the rubber duck cake, my hands cupping over my mouth in awe.

A proud smirk found its way onto Maddox's lips as he tilted his head toward the cake, "Hurry up, Duckie, we still got things to do."

I skipped over to the counter, sucking in a breath that filled my lungs and cheeks, then blew out, moving my head back and forth to make sure the wind blew over every candle.

I flinched when a flash went off, followed by multiple others from different angles. I blinked disorientedly at Papa, who had a sweet smile on his lips as the camera was lowered. I returned the smile. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the boys slip their phones back into their pockets. "Happy birthday, Duckie," he said, coming around the counter to give me a bear hug that forced out the rest of the air from my lungs and left me releasing a rough laugh mixed with a grunt. A huff of laughter blew the hair around my neck as Papa set me back on the ground. He turned his body to face the sea of boys, who all already had their attention on him. "Alright," he began, his voice powerful and commanding, "tonight is a night to celebrate Duckie's eighteenth birthday, so I'm willing to bend a couple rules, but please, please, do not go overboard. You have my trust, don't lose it right after you've earned it." The warning was clear in his voice, and all of the boys nodded fervently in acknowledgement. When he was satisfied, he nodded his head once, then waved his hand dismissively through the air as he turned to go back to his office, "Alright, be gone with ya. Have a good time." He turned back to flash another warning glare, "But not too good of a time, you hear? School starts tomorrow."