Page 234 of Pixie Problems

"Out of the bathroom and into Rain's room," Torian said. "I know it'll be open, and not in use."

"Gotcha."

But one of the courtiers was gaping at Torian. "You just fucking made agate?"

"Mhm," Torian agreed. "One of my many talents."

"Fuck yeah!" the guy said. "Open mine next, Aspen?"

His gift was a stuffed dragon. It wasn't the only plush thing she got, and quite a few of the guys smiled at her a little too nicely when she got to their gifts. I had to work hard not to laugh, but I let her have it. This was Aspen's big day, not mine, and I couldn't blame the guys for thinking she was beautiful. I did too!

But Keir caught my eye and jerked his head, inviting me over. Reaching him, I moved to lean against one of the trees, not surprised at all when he picked a spot beside me, both of us facing slightly different directions, but our eyes still on Aspen.

"Did you finish your present?" he asked.

"Mhm," I agreed. "Tag helped me with the resin today."

"The chain doesn't burn at all, so she can wear it."

"So titanium goes on the good list," I told him. "Who knew?"

He chuckled. "Better than the leather and plastics we used to be limited to." Then he leaned in. "So Torian's ok?"

"We made peace."

"Good." He reached over to gently trail the backs of his knuckles down my arm. "I'm proud of you for standing up to him, though."

I laughed once. "I didn't. I apologized."

"Rain..."

"Keir, it's ok. Sometimes the little shit doesn't matter as much as the big stuff, right? And he said something that kinda stuck with me. Just because one of us is right doesn't mean the other is wrong."

Keir murmured at that. "He was still a dick."

"And not wrong," I pointed out. "I did fuck up, Keir."

"I disagree," he said just as Ms. Rhodes clapped her hands. "Ok! Aspen, I - and all the staff of Silver Oaks - wish you a very happybirthday, and I do appreciate being invited to your celebration, but we're not fools. I think it's time for the adults to head in. Curfew tonight is ten for AP students, so do not be late if you're underage, but enjoy yourselves. Good evening, students." Then she turned, caught Liam and Bracken's eyes, and gestured towards the school.

"Happy birthday, Aspen," Bracken said.

"Adulthood looks good on you," Liam told her.

Aspen grinned, then waved as the trio departed, leaving the rest of us out to celebrate. Darkness was falling, but the day's humidity had mist rising up from the ground. As the adults faded into the oncoming haze, Torian pulled out his phone, woke up the screen, and started tapping. Then music began spilling out from all around us.

"And now we can have some real fun!" he said.

Aspen turned, scanning the crowd for me. "Helping" in his own way, Keir nudged me forward. With a laugh, I jogged over, caught her hand, and then we all started bouncing to the bass-filled music. I laughed. She laughed. We spun, skipped, and just made complete fools of ourselves, but we weren't the only ones.

Maybe the gathering was smaller than the ones we held in the atrium, but that kinda made it better. These people were getting to be friends, and I might not know all of them, but I liked the ones I'd met so far. As the next song played, then the ones after that, Aspen actually enjoyed herself, and it felt like all the tension, stress, and anger of the last few weeks finally let go.

But around the fifth song, I waved her off. "I need a breather," I said, cocking my head to some trees away from the bonfire and crowd. "Come keep me company?"

"Always," she said.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and guided her into the mists and shadows. "So, you've gotten a ton of things already, but I've been working on this all week." I shoved my hand into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around my gift. "I know what it's like to finally find happiness, Aspen, and to realize it might not come the way you expect, but I want you to know thatyouare what makes me feel like it's all going to be ok."

"And Keir," she reminded me.

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