It was ten minutes to twelve and I was surrounded by people. Six people to be exact. We were huddled up under the warm comforter watching some random horror movie which to be honest, sucked. The only person flinching was Leah, who had a fear of sudden noises.

The pale ghost was coming out of the television, bending in ways which were considered to be creepy, a classic move in horror movies and I was bored out of my mind.

Raven had shown up for dinner, my mom setting out a plate for him as well, no questions asked. They laughed about the recent football game and I was stunned at how easily Raven fit in with the family. He also helped with cleaning up the table and wasn't stopped when he tried. Guests were not allowed to work in my household but him being let to do so indicated that he had become more than a guest. And it made me happy.

Leah, Mark and Liam had arrived by around nine, hugging me at every opportunity they got. They had found out about my birthday through Raven and when they did, they turned up immediately. They were a little annoyed that I had not told them in advance but that vanished when they spent time at my place. Mom instantly took a liking to them which was seen by they way she started to pamper them. She was happy that I was finally branching out and making friends. I didn't have the guts to tell her that it was them who adopted me into their tight circle.

Liam and Mark went to the swimming club with me. They had pushed me into the swimming pool when they were brawling over some inappropriate comment that Mark had made. Sputtering for air, I poked my head out of the freezing water only to be dunked back in by a heavy Mark who fell right on me. Leah was shouting in the background at the dumbness of the two boys. After they took the time to apologize, we had become pretty tight as friends with the same interest that we shared.

"The movie can't be that bad. You're yawning." I was startled by Raven's voice. He was smiling at me, the television casting a slight glow on him in the darkness.

"Just thinking. I've never had friends over, especially for birthdays. This is different for me."

"Good different then. This is how it's going to be from now on. They like you a lot. Your group of friends."

I smiled, hoping that was true. Sometimes my head got the better of me, making me feel like I was the weak link and having Raven say that reassured me to some extent.

My phone chimed in the midst of all this and I looked at the ID. It was Laurie. I did not know how to let her down easy and figured that a face to face conversation would bode better than a text. I was already partly an asshole for considering going out with someone that I could never fall for and I did not want to make it worse by cancelling the date by a text.

Laurie: Hey Sebastian. I was wondering if we could meet at the cafe downtown tomorrow after school. Is that okay with you?

Sebastian: Sure. I need to talk to you about something.

Laurie: Is it serious? It doesn't seem a like a normal talk.

Sebastian: It kinda is.

I dropped my phone when I received a kick on my shin. Raven was still looking at the screen but judging from his expression, he knew who the text was from. I kicked back, harder. He did it again, this time with more force and next thing we knew, we were having a footsie fight. A more painful version though. I was going to return a kick when was I bear hugged by Leah.

"Happy birthday youngling! I love you so so much!" She was bounding like an excited puppy, choking me as she did. Liam pulled her off of me and then proceeded to follow Leah's footsteps in attempted murder. Mark joined in as well. As for Raven, he waited in the corner, laughing at my pitiful self being tossed around like a puppet. He noticed me looking at him and his wide-toothed smile was back.

He mouthed a 'happy birthday' and pointed a finger towards my room. After giving me another signal that it was supposed to be a secret, he walked away.

"I'll be right back. Need to use the washroom." And I followed him.