Monsters And Us

Chapter 4: Birthday Guest

I get on the crowded bus and sit next to a new friend I made named Elliot Hargrave, he was the same age as me, pretty tall for his age, skinny and is from the United Kingdom and was currently living with a host family while he's going to school here. He was around 6’ pale skin, curly dark brown hair where a few strands curled in front of his forehead, thick eyebrows and blueish-green eyes.

"Hey, new friend how is your first day?" he said

"Meh it's ok I guess." I said tiredly

I was exhausted for my first day of school, and I still had a birthday party to attend along with a special guest my dad is bringing but who could it be though.

"What's troubling you?" he asked

"Nothing, just tired and still have a birthday to go to."

"Whose?"

"Mine."

"It's your birthday, well happy birthday." He said with a smile on his face.

My birthdays weren't something I really enjoyed celebrating, mainly due to the fact we were always moving so really never had friends around to celebrate. Elliot and I along with other kids got off at our bus stop and Elliot decided he wanted to walk me to my door to get to know me more.

"So you've lived here before?" he asked

"Yeah, kind of my childhood hometown from when I was I think a baby to 10 or 11 then my dads job had him moved to forks and then all over and now we are back here."

"Are you happy to be back? and recognizing all your old hangouts" he said while laughing

"I mean some memories are coming back, some good and some....well not so good." I said with a slight chuckle

We continued talking until we got to my street and the driveway of my house, he smiles and looks up at my house and says,

"So I guess we are here." he says with a slight chuckle and rubs the back of his head.

I smiled awkwardly as we stand there for a moment, he looks everywhere except at me before speaking.

"So..would you want me to come in with you, in your house I mean. sorry I didn't word that right." he chuckles nervously

"Sure, I hope you don't mind the cluttered house, we are still unpacking from last night.

"It's ok, it can't be as messy as you say it is."

We walk up my driveway and I go to open the door when it swings wide open and Silas is right there acting like the protective older brother wearing a muscle shirt even though it was like 30 degrees out as well as jeans. I could feel the anxiety radiating off Elliot seeing my brother stand there as tall as he was. Silas' face went from cold to warm and smiling quickly and welcomed Elliot in our home, which was weird because Silas wasn't the type to welcome strangers anywhere. Elliot sighed with relief and stepped past him and right behind me almost grabbing my arm for protection, he let go once he saw my brother leave the house. He apologized immensely for getting too close to me, and we walked into the kitchen where my mom was at looking at her scattered notes of recipes.

"Hi mom." I said

I went to set my bag on the table when my mom quickly jumped up and grabbed my bag and rushed me and Elliot out of the kitchen.

"Mom what the--"

"Annabel Elizabeth Bowyer this is your special day and the kitchen is off limits from now until the party starts, hello to you Annabel's friend."

She closed the door to the kitchen and I rolled my eyes and walked upstairs to my room with Elliot behind me, my dad walked down the stairs as we passed him, and he stops us before we could go any further.

"Annabel? Whose this boy in my house?"

"He's a friend from school, it's not that big of a deal."

"Just don't do anything funny up there, and keep your door open 3 inches wide, got it?"

I rolled my eyes and agreed before resuming up the stairs with Elliot and walk to my door and warn him that it's a mess and to be ready for the disaster he will see, he jokingly nodded his head with a stern look and I opened the door. He looked around my room confusingly and said.

"Wait, where's this big disaster you were talking about? Hell this is cleaner than my entire house."

"Maybe it's just me since I'm a neat freak maybe my OCD."

"It's better than having a hoarder for a mum, but that's life I guess." he said jokingly

There were boxes covering some of the floor but only in their respective places, clothing boxes were in front of the dresser, books in front of the bookshelf and so on. I grabbed a box off my bed and put it in my closet and we sat on the bed and began studying for our Government class as well as our Brit Lit class.

"It's kind of funny isn't it?"

"What?" I asked

"I'm failing brit lit yet I'm British, kind of ironic isn't it?"

He bursts out laughing and I do as well and we both fall back on my bed calming down from our laughing fit, I close my eyes and feeling the bed move and suddenly lips on mine, I quickly opened my eyes and jump off the bed. Elliot looked down in shame and began to apologizing and standing up to go keeping his head down.

"Y – you don't have to go, let's just forget it and go back to study."

He kept his head down and went to sit on my desk chair with his notes and textbook, keeping his distance from me. I sat back down on my bed and we continued to study until i heard the front door open and heard the unfamiliar voices of people. Elliot closed his book and put it in his backpack and stood up and grabbed his backpack.

"You're not gonna stay?" I ask

"I mean I am kind of an unwanted guest on your special day."

"It's fine."

I grab a blank envelope and hand it to Elliot in an extravagant way before he grabbed it from my hand.

"I cordially invite you sir Elliot Hargrave to my party of birth, doth thou accept?"

Elliot let out an embarrassed chuckle before accepting my invitation, he put his backpack on the desk car and opened the door for me as he once again followed me down the hallway and down the stairs. We got to the bottom of the stairs when a tall man grabbed me and hugged me tightly before releasing me, I stand back regaining some sense of what happened when I noticed who it was.

"Uncle Jerry what are you doing here? I thought you had a job in Alaska?"

"Well I did but took some time off to visit my favorite niece, just don't tell the others." He said in his normal burly voice

My Uncle Jerry had the appearance of a lumberjack with the personality of a teddy bear, he is 6'5 210lbs of what he called "pure muscle" had a long thick beard that went to his chest and whenever I saw him would wear a plaid long sleeved shirt with dark jeans and suspenders fitting the whole "Lumberjack" feel, he was also an animal researcher who traveled around the world researching animal behaviors something I could only dream of.

"So where's your knucklehead brother at anyway, we still have to have a rematch after last time."

"Well when I came home from school he left but hasn't been back."

"Alright I'll find him." he jokingly said

He walked into the living room and I whispered to Elliot about all the people we came across.

"That's Aunt Shirley, she is well eccentric and kind of crazy. Then there is Uncle Kip and Aunt Hilda, Kip is like Shirley but more in a bad ass way and Hilda was once on American gladiator back in the day."

The door to the kitchen opened and my uncle Walt is grabbing my twin cousins Jack and David by their shirt collar and they are covered in flour he dropped them in front of their parents my aunt Crystal and her husband Tyler and began cursing at them under his breath as he returned to the kitchen.

"Whoa it's a madhouse in here." He whispered to me

"Yeah I know right."

Me and Elliot go to sit down on the couch and just listen to the chatter of my family members, my dad opened the front door with a few bags under her arms but they were discreetly bagged so I couldn't see through them as he walked past me and into their bedroom. My cousins quickly ran around everyone and trying to see what my dad brought in the house they ran around banging on their bedroom door annoying saying in unison.

"Uncle Mike what's in those bags?"

My dad came out shooing the boys away and saying if they dare open that door they won't get any sweets which they reacted how any kid would act if they were denied sweets they started having a temper tantrum, fell to the floor screaming crying kicking all that. Aunt Crystal was basically a "Karen" in which her kids were entitled to everything and anything.

"Michael let my kids see those bags now."

"Uh... no, Crystal this is my house and it's my daughters birthday, I'm not gonna let your kids in the room."

"Really Michael? Your daughter doesn't need anything I mean hell you just bought this house, let my kids in the room now."

My dad was usually calm but at this moment he was on the verge of blowing up on his own sister, the door to the kitchen opened and my mum stepped out and in between both my dad and his sister and calmed him down while turning towards Aunt Crystal and saying.

"Listen, Crystal today is all about my daughter not your children, so if you want to start something go outside and cool down before you end up getting kicked out, ok?" she said smiling,

Aunt Crystal stood there and everyone was looking at her, she huffed and with a kind smile on her face grabbed her two kids and walked outside, leaving her husband Tyler standing there with a beer in his hand just calm as ever. Everyone resumed what they were doing, dad back in their room and my mum in the kitchen with my dad's older brother aka Uncle Walt. Elliot shifted on his side of the couch and smiled at me when I noticed, I think he was uncomfortable around my family which consisted of "tough" men, it kind of made me laugh that he was afraid but I guess it is because he didn't really know them personally. The door opened and I hear my brother slick next to me and whispers to me.

"Anna is he here?"

"Who?"

"Uncle Jerry?"

"Yeah, he was looking for you, something about a rematch."

"s**t, I thought he'd forget well I'm gonna hang with you, just tell me if you see him coming, I wanna get him by surprise."

"Try going upstairs, then I'll tell when he's by the stairs and you can jump him there."

"Hmm good idea Bella"

He knew I hated being called that because he makes fun of me for liking Twilight, but I shrug it off and he quietly runs upstairs and awaits for my text.