34 Lou's Birthday

November 6th 2010.

It'd been a couple of weeks since Homecoming and the craziness at school about the concert had considerably toned down.

His cumulative views on YouTube had reached 1,005,456 views, and his subscribers 35k. His Twitter account had broken through 9k also. The video from the concert had died down after a week, buried under the massive plethora of cute kittens videos, but he wasn't disappointed.

Chance had played a huge role in his soaring amount of subscribers, which he was grateful for, but it wasn't a factor that could be relied upon. There was no rush, he had plenty of time.

In the meantime, today was a special day. Jay woke up with a smile that could lit up a town. He had a lot to do but still went through his morning routine; with a minor upgrade. He had originally wanted to install a pull-up bar in his hidden room, but his father had suggested he does that in the garage, and had also thrown in a punching bag as well.

He put sweatpants and a hoodie on before going out for a quick jog first. When his body was heated up enough, he dropped down on the front lawn and started doing his reps before going back to the garage and finishing up.

He went back to his room, put on comfortable dark grey jeans, a t-shirt topped with a crimson wool sweater and a leather jacket, as well as black combat boots.

He went out the house and the taxi he had called for was waiting for him.

"Where to, sir?"

"Chestnut Street Animal Hospital." he answered before laying his head back and closing his eyes.

It was a quick ride, and less than ten minutes later, he arrived at destination.

"How much do I owe you?" he asked the driver as they came to a stop.

"15$, sir."

Jay paid up and went inside the building, but no one was there so he waited.

"I'm sorry for the wait sir, what can I-... It's you?" he heard someone exclaim and turned around.

A young... woman was standing there. Jay reckoned describing her as a girl wouldn't really be fitting.

Her black hair was held together in a messy ponytail and a few stray strands were tucked behind her ears. She had deep blue eyes and a few freckles on the tip of her nose. She was wearing a white blouse on top of her clothes and flat medical shoes but still reached up to his shoulders.

"Hi." he said before standing up.

"You're... here for the adoption?"

"That's right, my dad should've called." Jay answered with a smile.

She was about to say something but let out a sigh instead and extended her hand out. "I'm Kelsey Rogers."

"Jay Aslan." he said while shaking her hand.

"I know. I doubt there is anyone in this town that doesn't know you anymore." she smiled before turning around, "Come on, I'll bring you to him."

Jay followed her to the back room where he saw a little puppy laying down in a large cotton basket.

He squatted near the little fellow and asked Kelsey, "What happened to his family?"

"We don't know. He was found in a trash can's alleyway." she sighed and also squatted down before gently caressing the white labrador's fur.

"That's horrible." Jay commented.

"It is." Kelsey turned to him, "You saw the ad I posted at school, right? What do you think? Are you going to take him home?" she asked, her voice tinged with hope.

Jay stared at her for a second, "You're really concerned about him, huh?"

Kelsey ruefully sighed and stood up before putting her hands in the pockets of her blouse.

"Of course I do. Do you know what state he was in when they brought him in? Half dead would be an understatement. He was a newborn back then, and it took an entire month of care to bring him back to normal health."

"Why don't you take him home since you care so much?" he was merely curious, and that's probably why she humored him.

"My mother doesn't want pets of any kind roaming through her house." she answered. "Are you going to take him or not?"

Jay petted the little guy before looking up at Kelsey and smiling, "Yeah, I'll take him."

She visibly softened at that, "I'll start making the papers, will your father come and get him or are you taking him yourself?"

"I'll take him."

Kelsey went behind the desk and put her glasses on while Jay watched in silence.

She finished what she was doing, apparently unbothered by his staring, before looking up.

"Done, I mailed everything to your dad."

"Thank you. Does he have a name?" he smiled and asked.

"He's a stray." she looked at him oddly.

"He's been here for so long, are you telling me you didn't name him?"

"... We don't usually name pets. So as to not get attached."

Jay looked at her for a moment before nodding, "I see, I'll just name him after the first object that appeals to me then." he said and proceeded to look around the room, stopping on a pair of scissors.

"I guess, scisso-"

"Scamp! His name is Scamp." Kelsey blurted out.

Jay grinned before going to the back room and gently lifting the little guy up.

"I can't believe you used reverse psychology on me." Kelsey leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed and said.

Jay turned around, the little fellow asleep in his arms, and a slight smile crossed the young woman's lips.

"It wouldn't have worked if you didn't want it to." Jay said as he caressed the lab's fur.

He looked up and realized she was staring absentmindedly at the dog, so he approached her and she snapped out of her daze when he was merely a foot away from her.

"Wanna say goodbye?" he softly asked.

Kelsey opened her mouth, but nothing came out. In the end, she bit her bottom lip and nodded.

Jay handed the little guy over to her and she petted him a few times before kissing him on top of his head and giving it back to his new owner.

"Thank you." she said before leading the way out.

When they reached the exit, Jay slowed his footsteps and turned around.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Kelsey shrugged with her hands back in her blouse, "Shoot."

"Why…" he began before pausing. "Why did you leave the cheerleading team? I heard from Em that you were the former captain."

She stared at him for a second before looking down at her feet, and just when he thought she wouldn't answer, she spoke.

"Have you… ever been surrounded by a crowd of people, yet felt completely alone?"

It was almost like a whisper, and Jay guessed she had probably said it more to herself than for his ears, but he found himself unwittingly nodding.

She seemed to come to and exhaled a chuckle before turning back, "Goodbye, Jay Aslan."

He stared until her back couldn't be seen anymore, before turning to Scamp who was gently yapping in his arms.

"Let's go home, buddy."

***

All preparations were set for the princess' big day. It was a party for her friends only, and so no adults had been invited. Not even Em and Leah, who couldn't have made it anyways since they were busy. They had given Lou their gifts yesterday; two very cute dresses.

Jay and his mom had decorated the entire living room and half the kitchen. Balloons of all different sizes and shapes were either hanging on the walls or strewn on the ground.

There was a huge banderole with "Happy Birthday" written in English, Korean, Swedish and French in the middle of the room, and they had put the extensions on the table to accommodate all the pint-sized little guests they would be receiving. It was cold outside and so they would have the party indoors.

Lou was still at Anna's, and had no idea what was in store for her.

"Mom, where are the cardboard plates?" Jay yelled from the kitchen.

"In the top left-most cupboard, next to the chocolate powder." Helen replied back from the living room.

Jay looked for a while before finding them, "Yep, got them."

He brought the plates to the living room and set them up on the table. And voilà, everything was set.

He took a look at his watch, it was 2pm, about time the guests arrived. And as he was thinking that, the front door bell rang.

Helen went to open, and came back a few minutes later with a little girl. She had a head of straight and silky black hair and hazel eyes.

Jay smiled when he saw her, "Hi, Haven."

"Hi, Jay!" the little girl happily smiled at him. She really liked Lou's big brother, he was very nice. Whenever he brought Lou to school, he would give her and Anna sweets, and the other kids would eye them enviously.

"Say, do you have a sweetheart?" she asked with sparkling eyes.

"Err… no. I don't."

"Really? I have a big sister, did you know?" she looked up at him with excitement.

"No, I didn't…" Jay let out an amused laugh. The girl was playing matchmaker. He was about to ask her who her sister was, when he was interrupted by another ringing of the door's bell.

Helen went to open again, while Jay kept Haven company in the living room.

At 2:15pm, all the guests were present and the house was an octave noisier.

Jay quieted down all the rugrats before speaking, "I'm going to close the curtains, close the doors and turn off the lights. Before I do that, is there anyone scared of the dark?"

He was greeted by silence. All the little girls present just stared at him. It was important to mention that no boys was invited, which was thanks to Anna's influence. Jay thought he ought to buy the girl a thank you gift. Tim Dawson made himself scarce every time he went to Lou's school in order to pick her up, but Jay could swear the kid was sticking his tongue out whenever his back was turned.

He cleared his throat, "You don't have to be ashamed, there's no one else here and I promise I won't tell anyone."

Some of the girls hesitated, but Haven raised her hand. "Um… me." she half-whispered.

And those who had hesitated until now, seeing someone lead the way, followed right up.

"Me too…"

"And me…"

Jay smiled softly at them. He was sure none of the girls would have raised their hands if some of the boys from their class had been present.

"Alright, so here's what I propose. We all huddle up behind the couch and all of you hold hands. That way it won't be scary, okay?" he proposed and they nodded.

Everyone got into position and Jay turned off the lights. "Lou and Anna will be here soon. Remember, we only come out when the lights come on. Okay?"

He was greeted by silence and coughed. "Ehm… girls I can't see you if you nod."

"Yes!"

"Okay."

"Um."

Jay stifled a laugh, they were really cute.

They didn't have to wait long, because five or so minutes later; the door bell rang and Helen went to open.

"Mommy!" Jay heard Lou exclaim.

Then there was the sound of muffled conversations, and the lights went on.

All the little girls jumped out from behind the couch and descended on his sister like the proverbial locust plague, while yelling in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOU!"

***

Lou had been so flustered she had stood frozen in the middle of the room. Jay couldn't hold back his laughter at the scene of his sister drowning in a sea of little girls.

He had separated everyone and rescued her right away though, so he hoped she hadn't suffered any kind of trauma.

The kids had played for a while, then the cake had been served; it was a large fraisier with extra whip cream all over, and it had been damnlicious!

Now was the time to open the gifts, and each of the girl had went up to his sister with a smile and a present. Lou had gotten mostly dolls, a few puzzles, and one huge panda plush toy that had all the girls exclaiming about. It had been Haven's gift, and she appeared really proud of it.

When Lou had opened all there was to open, she turned to Jay with twinkling eyes. She didn't say anything; but the expectation in her eyes almost made him melt. He was glad he had raised the bar when he had chosen his present. He was also grateful his parents hadn't objected.

He smiled at his sister, "My gift is a little special, I'm gonna go and get it now. You all stay here, okay?"

He passed by his dad who had long since left his study to join the fun, and was currently filming the event. Jay grinned and his dad returned it back.

He rushed up the stairs and to his hidden room where he had left Scamp. The little mutt was gnawing on his couch, but hadn't done too much damage. Thank God he was still a baby.

"Hey buddy, come on, let's go meet your new owner." Jay said and swooped the little guy up.

He closed the hidden room and brought Scamp to his bedroom. There was a box with multiple openings for air that had a huge ribbon on its side, and Jay put the little fellow inside.

"Sorry bud, it's only for a minute."

He lifted the box, and consequently the puppy, from the ground and carefully made his way downstairs.

The gaggle of little girls were fixing the box in his hands and he felt himself grinning at their faces.

The cardboard box was full of holes and probably didn't look that pretty to them.

Jay put it down in the middle of the living room and waved his hand at Lou in an attempt to get her to come closer.

Lou curiously approached and squatted next to him. "This is?..."

"It's my gift to you. Happy birthday, baby." he said as he caressed her hair and kissed her cheek.

"Go on, open it. Be careful though, open it from the top and do it slowly." he added when he saw her puzzlement.

"Um." Lou nodded and did as she was told. When she saw what was inside, she froze and her eyes widened.

"Puppy!" she gasped. That got the attention of the others, who all gathered in a circle.

Jay helped his sister fish the little fellow out from the box, and placed him on the rug.

Scamp was a little startled at the number of people and hurriedly hid his head under his paws.

An action that had all the little girls gushing.

"A puppy! So cute!"

"Awww…"

"You're so lucky!"

Lou turned to her brother, her eyes still full of disbelief.

Jay smiled and gently ruffled her hair, "Like it?"

He got tackled by the little girl and never actually received a definite answer.