Page 40 of Hectic Elements (Fairview Academy #1)

Happy Birthday

Sinta

“What….. is this…..”

“Happy Birthday!” Imelda squeals, yanking me into a hug.

“How the hell did you know?” I gape, hugging her back and eyeing everyone over her shoulder.

The guys, Yelana, Natalie, Kenya, even Festos. They’re all here.

And holding presents.

“Mr O. He’s a sneaky one, but he looks after his students.” Yelana chuckles as Imelda releases me and thrusts a present into my hands. “He called Imelda, and of course her royal bossiness pulled this all together.”

“You are in big trouble, Mon Magnifique. How could you not tell us about your birthday?” Fade scolds as everyone surrounds me in a half circle.

“I don’t usually celebrate it. I’ve never had someone to celebrate it with.” I admit, my cheeks burning.

Rapid growls, shaking his head. “Not anymore. We take birthdays seriously around here. Open your present.”

Smiling at Imelda, I rip into the fancy green and black wrapping paper of the large box.

Dropping said paper to the ground to open the plain black box inside, I flip the lid up and almost drop it.

“Oh my Gods, Imelda, you didn’t.” I gasp.

She grins. “Oh yes I did.”

Carefully reaching into the box, I pull out one of the high-heeled black leather thigh-high Chanel boots.

A pair of boots made famous by a certain ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ movie.

“Oh my fucking god, they’re gorgeous.” I breathe. “I’m afraid to even touch them, how am I going to wear them?”

“What else are you going to do with shoes?” Elijah chuckles.

“These are Chanel leather boots, and they cost thousands.” I emphasize the price and blink at Imelda again. “How did you even get them here on time?”

She shrugs. “A Princess has her ways, of course.”

Smiling, shaking my head, I pull out the other boot and dangle them beside each leg, realising they were so tall they reached to mid-thigh on my long stems.

“Oh my Gods, I love them.” I gush.

“So do I.” Rapid croons, smiling his signature naughty smile.

“Hush, you.” I laugh, carefully setting them back into the box. “Thank you so much. I’ll treasure them forever and baby them so they’ll never die.”

Accepting my tight hug, Imelda laughs. “Are you kidding? They were cheaper than any weapon I’ve bought Yelana. I’ll just buy you another pair if these ones fail.”

I choke and push her back. “The hell you will.”

“Mine next!” Kenya squeals, rushing to hand it to me. “Natalie and I picked it out together.”

Hugging Kenya and giving the more reserved Natalie a nod, which she returns, I open the light green wrapping paper surrounding something soft and squishy.

“I see leather. If this is another pair of shoes I’m going to faint.” I warn them.

They all smile.

Tugging off the paper, the object unfolds to reveal a fluffy black oodie with brushes and rainbow paint splotches all over it, and a black leather pouch/pocket.

Squealing a laugh, I hug it to my chest and do a little happy dance. “You got me an oodie!”

“I saw you looking at mine, but I needed help picking one that suited you. Natalie has the same dark gothic metal thing going, so I got her to help.” Kenya laughs.

Natalie nods and smirks.

Since it was pretty chilly – and usually by now I’d be training with Yelana, sweaty and overheating – I was actually cold and now had the perfect thing to warm me up.

Tugging it on with a grin, I stuff my hands in the huge pocket and do a little twirl.

“It’s perfect.” I beam.

Kenya grins and bounces back to her spot beside Natalie, Elijah coming forward next.

“This one is a little dangerous. It was the most poisonous mushroom I could find.” He murmurs quietly, passing me a clear container with a bow on top. “Imelda mentioned that the more poisonous the plant or fungi, the more it benefitted you. This is called the Dethsol – it is from Faerie and will stop a Fae heart within two minutes. A human will die instantly after consuming it.”

My dragon practically preens, rumbling within me.

My smile soft, so touched he didn’t just think of me but her too, I press a kiss to Elijah’s cheek and appreciate his efforts to keep the present private.

After all, I hadn’t gotten around to telling Kenya and Natalie about me.

“Thank you. She loves it.” I whisper, clutching the pot.

He smiles, a proud kind of grin. “You’re welcome, beautiful.”

“My turn?” Fade prods.

Elijah presses a kiss to my cheek, then steps back with a nod at his friend.

Holding a short cylindric tube, Fade steps up close and waits for me to set down my fungi before holding it out to me.

Grasping the brown leather, I carefully undo the metal stud buttons holding it closed and shimmy what I’m hoping is the lid off.

Inside are twelve paintbrushes ranging in size and shape, neatly settled into little compartments sewn into the container, with fine black bristles and—

“You remembered.” I breathe, carefully removing one of the brushes and examining the details of the carefully carved ivory handle.

They’d carved curving fluffy clouds into them, like you’d see in ancient Chinese artworks, and the bristles were most certainly fine horsehair.

The best brushes money could buy.

His smile is small but packed with soft emotion, his eyes shining. “Oui. So you can make a masterpiece.”

“But now I don’t have a reason to go to Paris.” I laugh, the sound thick with emotion.

“Sure you do. They have huge stores full of artist tools.” He chuckles. “And there are the bakeries, the museums, the fashion houses. This is just the start of your collection.”

Slamming myself into his chest and wrapping him in a hug, I enjoy the feeling of his arms around me and bury my face in his crisp black button-up shirt until I no longer feel like bawling my eyes out.

“Hey now, I didn’t give you mine yet.” Rapid croons, slipping up beside us.

Chuckling, Fade pulls back and lifts my chin, giving me a gentle kiss. “Joyeux anniversaire, ma magnifique.”

:Happy Birthday, my gorgeous.:

I pull back and gently place the brush back into the case, then close it and lean down to nestle it inside the box with the boots so I knew they were safe.

Standing back up, I take in Rapid’s signature naughty grin and the decent-sized black box in his hands.

“This one is definitely for both of us.” He purrs and shifts his hands to the bottom of the box so I can lift the lid.

Doing so slowly, seeing Yelana trying to peak from the corner of my eye, I lift it just enough for me to look inside and then slam it closed with a riotous laugh.

A gorgeous black velvet corset with silky ribbon lacing the front, there was also leather booty shorts and a pair of lacy cheeky panties.

“Definitely for both of us.” I giggle, feeling my face burn.

“Ooohhh, I bet I can guess what that was.” Yelana heckles.

“Shush.” I hush her, pressing my cool hands to my overheating cheeks.

Everyone laughs at my expense, and I shake my head.

Taking the box, I set it down with the others and then yank Rapid down into a kiss, biting his lip.

“Ow.” He chuckles.

“That’s for making me blush.” I impishly state.

“Okay, okay, make way!” Yelana shouts, shoving her way between us. “Saving the best for last, get out of my way!”

“Hey!” Rapid growls.

“Oh shut up, you’ll probably have her all to yourself tonight.” She snaps.

He shrugs and moves to join the guys.

“I got you the best gift. You are welcome, here open it.” She insists, practically shoving it into my arms.

“Jeez, if this is how you are on birthdays I’d hate to see you at Christmas.” I laugh.

“Oh, we call Christmas; Yule, or Yulemas. Christmas is the human term.” Imelda quips. “But she is an absolute impatient terror when it comes to presents.”

Chuckling, fully believing that, I feel out the present and frown at the odd shape.

It's round, but flexible and has several looping hoops.

Ripping open the plain brown paper, a loose spool of smooth braided leather falls into my hands.

Examining it with sheer surprise, I glance up at Yelana’s grinning face.

“You bought me a whip?”

“Yep. I thought what with you being a—” Coughing when Imelda whacks her in the stomach, Yelana glares at her until the Princess gestures at Kenya and Natalie. “Right. I thought since you have experience with whips, that maybe we could work on making it your signature weapon. If you get good enough, we could even upgrade to a bladed whip.”

I glance at the whip, taking in its fine craftsmanship and the careful braiding all the way down to the tip.

Even the handle was exquisite and had some sort of runes branded into the leather.

“Get good at it? I loved learning how to handle a whip, Yelana. I’m already good at it.” I laugh, practically giddy. “Can I really use one in a fight?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve even been doing some research on it. Not only are you going to be lethal, you’ll be sexy as fuck too.” She cackles.

“You can’t actually use a whip in a fight.” Tomashi speaks up, and I jump.

I’d honestly forgotten he was there. I thought he’d left.

“Have you ever read a batman comic or watched the old DC movies? Cat Woman fights with a whip, and she’s badass. Wonder Woman fights with a lasso—that’s kind of the same.” I point out, getting more excited the longer I think about it. “Shit, could I really?”

“Yes.” Yelana beams. “But I want a demonstration first.”

“Fuck yeah, I want to see that.” Rapid hoots, bouncing in place.

Unfurling the whip, I test out its weight and swish it along the ground to get a feel for its movement.

It's surprisingly light, and the handle’s a good grip.

“Hold your breath.” I cackle.

Then I crack it over head once, twice, three times.

And yes, I may have made sure it cracked somewhere in the vicinity of Festos’ face before it recoiled with a final resounding crack.

Absorbing the recoil and guiding it down behind me, I lead the whip’s tail to rest on the ground and grin.

“Fucking hell, that was wicked!” Yelana squeals, jumping around. “We can definitely work with that.”

“After you finish teaching her swords and knives.” Imelda intones.

She groans in exasperation. “Yes, after that.”

“Damn, Devil Eyes, you just get hotter and hotter.” Rapid hoots.

I chuckle and wind up the whip.

“Thank you, guys. This is officially the best birthday ever.” I tell them.

“Stop it, you keep making us all murderous.” Yelana growls.

“From now on, your birthdays will be spectacular.” Fade promises.

I let the warm fuzzy feeling in my chest spread its way across my body.

“Okay, all of you get. We have a lesson to get on with, you can hog her later. Go, go.” Yelana begins to make shooing motions. “Rapid, you are in charge of guarding the presents and getting them back to Rising House.”

“Aye, Captain.” He salutes and comes over to smack a kiss on my lips before taking the whip and gathering the rest. “Happy birthday, Devil Eyes.”

“Thank you.”

Hugging everyone – except for Festos and Tomashi – and exchanging another round of thank yous, I hold onto Elijah when he comes to me last and drag him away for some privacy.

Tugging him to face me, I get straight to the point. “I know what happened with you and Festos.”

His hand tenses in my grip and I wrap it in both of mine, hugging it against my middle.

“I’m not her, Elijah. I would never do that – to any of you.” I say, my voice firm. “If you have doubts about something, if you feel unsure, or if you are just confused, talk to me. Ask me. Don’t shut down, don’t just assume, don’t pretend nothing is wrong. Just talk to me, please, because I don’t want to hurt you.”

He blows out a breath, entwining his fingers with mine and tugging me into him, resting his forehead against my own. “I know you aren’t her. I just– I don’t want to mess this up. I really like you, Sinta.”

“I don’t want to mess up either.” I murmur. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here.”

He snorts. “You have no idea how wrapped around your finger we already are.”

“That’s not what I meant, but it makes me want to kiss you stupid.”

We share a smile.

“I meant I’ve never had a boyfriend. You all are my first relationship, and there is three of you. I’m bound to fuck up, or get something wrong, or overstep somewhere. I need you to tell me if I do, because I will have absolutely no idea.”

Pulling back, staring into my eyes with his hazel green orbs, I take in the curving smile and the way he stares at me with complete and utter surprise.

“But you’ve had sex…..”

“Yeah, that doesn’t equal a relationship.”

“You are just full of surprises.” He laughs softly and wraps his arms around my waist. “I promise, I’ll use my words. You and Fade seem to like the whole communication thing – he kept repeating that ‘communication is key’ when we all agreed to pursue you together.”

“Communication prevents misunderstandings.” I laugh and step up on my tippy toes.

He meets me halfway, leading a slow, thorough, blazing kiss.

“Happy birthday, beautiful.” He purrs.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, enough of that. Go away.” Yelana snipes, shooing us apart. “Sinta, give him the oodie. You won’t be needing that. Come on, hurry up.”

“Drill sergeant.” Elijah mutters as I shrug out of it.

“You should see her when she’s coming at you with a weapon.” I snicker, handing him the oodie. “I’ll see you when I get back to the House.”

“You will.”

“Get! Don’t make me stab you.” She yells, rushing at us with a knife.

“Fuck.” He curses and runs, catching up to the others.

“You are a Gods damned lunatic.” I laugh.

“I just like watching him run, look at that ass.” She snickers.

“Mine.” I warn and head for the centre of the ruins, where our swords are waiting.

“Lucky bitch.” She teases, heading for her own.

Yeah. I was beginning to think I was lucky.

“You guys really didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” I giggle, grabbing a piece of finger-sliced pizza.

They’d ordered so many platters of food the counter was covered in them – everything from pizza, Chinese, and desserts to ethnic food and a wing selection.

There was even a chicken tenders platter with different sauces.

I loved those. I may have also been the one to eat the majority of them.

“If you say that one more time I will throw you in the pool.” Yelana snarls, biting into a piece of seasoned stake.

Imelda makes a sound of agreement. “Stop worrying and just enjoy, Sinta. Friends celebrate birthdays. We will all expect the same for our own.”

“Oh yeah. You should have seen Bastien’s last year. Now that was a blowout.” Rapid chuckles.

Elijah smacks Rapid around the head, encouraged by Fade on his other side.

“I don’t even want to know. I wasn’t there, we weren’t introduced, it’s not my business.” I snort.

I could only imagine what five single guys would get up to on a night out – I’d seen what they could get up to firsthand when I’d been working at Angel’s Fare.

So I’d rather not know – it was better for my sanity.

“Smart choice.” Yelana mutters.

Rapid gives her the stink eye, to which she salutes him with both her middle fingers.

Smiling, listening to them bicker, I take my phone out of my pocket and bring up my sister’s contact.

It’d been more than a month since we’d last talked.

The longest I’d ever gone without talking to her.

And tomorrow was her birthday.

Gripping the phone, I debated sending her an early happy birthday message, even though I hadn’t yet received one from her.

“Okay, it’s time!” Imelda announces, bouncing up from her seat. “Boys, places.”

“What? What else did you do?” I demand, setting my phone down as she comes to my side.

“You’ll see.” She giggles and moves behind me, her hands coming down over my eyes.

“Uh, I’m still eating?!” I protest, waving the chicken tender in my hand.

Someone snatches it from my fingers.

“That better be on my plate when I can see again.” I threaten.

No one messes with my food. No one.

“Hush.”

“Rapid, you’re supposed to be over there.”

“I’m going, hold your – ow!” Rapid yelps.

“Fuck, idiot.” Tomashi snarls.

“Enough, boys, come on.” Imelda snarls, the sound carrying a draconic rumble and a little dollop of Dominance.

“Okay, okay.” Rapid huffs.

“Everyone ready?” Kenya checks.

“Oui. Hit the lights, tiny one.” Fade orders.

“Lights? Why are you turning the lights off?” I mutter.

“Shush.” Imelda growls.

I roll my lips tight, my head tilting slightly as I listen to everyone move around.

“Okay. One, two, three!”

Music notes drift into the kitchen. Notes specific to the best instrument on the planet.

An electric guitar.

Dropping her hands, Imelda dashes away to join everyone on the opposite side of the counter, standing before me.

Elijah was front and centre, Fade to his left, and Rapid to his right.

With everyone piled on either side of them. Even Tomashi.

Fade was smiling softly, Rapid wearing his signature wicked grin, and Elijah watched me with soft eyes.

Elijah and Fade held a large cake covered in thick dark chocolate before them, the words ‘Happy Birthday, Sinta’ scrawled on it with gold icing.

And Rapid was holding his dark blue Fender Stratocaster – his favourite guitar.

Emotion clogged my throat. I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop the sob, tears gathering in my eyes.

Fingers moving skilfully, Rapid plays a few opening notes, and Yelana leans forward.

Blowing gently, she produces a small stream of fire and carefully lights the four gold candles on the cake.

“Happy birthday to you,” Rapid begins, his voice deep and husky. “Happy birthday to you.”

Smiling, everyone joins him, and I stop breathing so I won’t cry.

“Happy birthday, dear Sinta. Happy birthday to you.”

I was so happy I felt like I was going to burst.

“Hip-hip, hurray! Hip-hip, hurray! Hip-hip…….” I lean forward, suck in a breath, and blow out the candles. “Hurray!”

Laughing as they clapped, discreetly wiping away my tears, I accept the hug Imelda and Kenya squish me into.

“Did you make a wish?” Kenya demands with a grin.

“I don’t need to. I think I’m doing pretty well as is.” I laugh wetly.

“Aww.” Imelda sniffs, her lower lip wobbling. “You’re going to make me cry.”

“Don’t you dare, this shit is already way too much.” Yelana gripes. “If you start bawling, I’m leaving. I mean it! I can’t take it.”

Everyone laughs at her, but it breaks up the soggy emotion clouding the air.

“Here.” Tomashi grunts, carefully setting a plate with a huge piece of cake before me.

He even sets a fork next to it, all gentle-like, before standing back and fidgeting.

I stare at him for a moment, my gaze hopping over to Rapid.

He’s smiling like a complete idiot, his eyes soft.

Lips twitching, I pick up the fork and stab a piece of the offered cake, understanding this is a very big moment.

“Thank you, Tomashi.”

He nods and moves away to fiddle with some of the empty platters, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

Examining the cake, I find it’s three tiered, with chocolate icing, and cream with jam filling.

Eating the bite, moaning at how good it is, I glance up and catch Fade’s eye.

He winks, taking a bite of his own piece.

The way he licks the fork is downright pornographic.

“Happy Birthday, Mon Magnifique.” He murmurs.

“Thank you.”

Sidling up to my side, Elijah sits on the stool next to me, setting his cake down before him.

“Happy Birthday, baby.” He says. “Is it a good one?”

“The best.” I beam.

Leaning forward to press a kiss to my lips, he smiles against them. “I’m glad.”

Imelda squeals, catching our attention, and tries to run from Yelana, who smears icing on the Princess’s face.

Gathering more on her fingers, grinning evilly, Yelana looks for her next victim.

Natalie just so happens to be the closest to her.

Blanching, shaking her head frantically, she backs away with her hands up.

“Better run.” Yelana croons.

Nat sprints away with surprising speed, escaping the icing attack. But that just means Yelana has to choose someone else.

Slowly spinning, smearing the icing on both of her hands, she grins at us like a demented clown.

“Run.” Elijah orders.

I bolt for the stairs. And I take my cake with me.