Nine (Heather); Silver and Emerald
I'm listening to the conversations around me, although they're not really computing to me. I'm still pretty freaked out about what happened to me this morning. I mean, it wouldn't bother me so much if I just knew what caused it! But I don't, because I haven't got my period -I'm late- and I've been eating fine and everything recently... And I'm sure I wasn't that overtired... However, I've never passed out because of being overtired before. Then again, I suppose I'm getting old! This worries me...
"Uh?" I turn my head back to the rest of the group in surprise as I feel a poke on my arm. I blink at the oh-so-cutely-grinning Tim in confusion, and he smiles, chuckling softly in a tone that goes right through me and makes me smile stupidly.
"You weren't listening to anything we were saying, were you?" he teases me.
"Uh..." I try to look intelligent. Something that just doesn't happen. "No..." I admit. Just then the waitress walzes over, holding a cake with a single candle in it. "Oh no way!" I groan. Amy cackles evilly, and I shoot her a deadly look.
"Aww! Ain't she so cute?!" she claps her hands and I whack my head on the table.
"C'mon now, up on your chair!" the waitress grins at me, and I groan as I'm propelled up onto my chair. "What's your name hun?"
"Heather..." I mutter, making cut-throat actions down at my husband and my two friends. Danny just 'looks' at me, whilst Amy and Tim grin.
"Okay everyone, we've got Heather over here, and she's- how old?" she whispers the last part of her sentence to Amy and Danny.
"Forty." Danny mutters. Amy clouts him as Tim tells the waitress my age.
"-twenty eight today! So, after three lets have a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday'!! One, two, three!"
And rousing it is too. Loud, out of tune and very drunken, but - yes, rousing........ Sigh... I don't know who I'm going to kill first!
"You're all going to die very painful and slow deaths..." I mutter as I get down from my chair, the cheers and whoops of the other diners as I blew out the candle still ringing in my ears. Amy just laughs at me. I cross my arms, huffing and pouting.
"Nyaww! Ain't she c-"
"No!" I cut Amy off in midsentence. "I don't do cute!"
"Tim does!" Amy and Danny practically chorus. I catch them giving each other strange looks, but I can feel my face burning red, and I make sure I look anywhere but at my friends or my husband. Said husband slips his hand around mine, and I look up at him. He winks at me, and smiles, and my face flushes again, but for a different reason; God he looks sexy when he does that, and he doesn't even know it! I smile back, my previous embarrassment all but forgotten.
"Anyway," Amy breaks the slight silence that has fallen, and smiles sneakily at me. "We haven't given you our presents."
"Ack!" I say, tearing my gaze away from Tim's (with great difficulty!) to look at her. "Sounds cool to me!" I clap my hands in my best childlike way. "Gimme gimme gimme!"
"Brat." Danny mutters, and I poke my tongue out at him.
"It's my party and I'll act like a brat if I want to." I inform him, looking back at Amy. "Gimme!" I demand again. She laughs and hands over a small package.
"It's not much, but-"
"Shurrup and lemme open it!" I wink at her, showing that I'm not really being rude. Carefully I pull off the wrapping, and groan. "You would..." I mutter, looking up at her and shaking my head. "And even though it could only be you... I didn't think you actually would...!"
"What?" Danny and Tim both lean forward, and I'm not quite quick enough to hide the pair of handcuffs and collar with 'property of Tim Burton' inscribed on. Danny sniggers in a smutty and very annoying way, and I'm very tempted to hit him with the cuffs. Tim just goes pink and leans back in his chair, saying nothing. I catch his eye, and feel my breath catch in my throat as he smiles in a slow and very calculating way... Shit, he's plotting something! I swear even Danny hasn't looked that sneaky before!
"Uh... Yeah... Thanks Amy..." I mumble. Danny tilts his head sideways and proffers a smaller parcel, almost shyly, but not quite. I almost exclaim that he needn't have got me anything, but something in his expression says 'please just get this over with!' and I open it. It's a small silver charm, in the shape of a microphone. I look up and smile at him, and he just shrugs.
"Amy said you liked to sing, alright?" he says, almost defensively.
"If I had the energy, I'd jump up and hug you Danny." I say genuinely.
"God please don't." he grimaces, but there's something in his voice that indicates he's actually quite pleased. Bless. I ignore him and look at Tim, who smiles serenely.
"Oops." he says sweetly. "In the car. We ought to go anyway," he says, calling the waitress over and sorting out the bill. I feel marginally hurt that he forgot to get the present to give to me, but I guess it doesn't matter, because he has actually got me one!
"Tally ho!" I call as we cross the car park. And no, I am not drunk! I haven't had enough alcohol for that!
"Heather," Tim catches my arm and pulls me slightly out of the way. "Before we meet up with everyone else I - just wanted - wanted to give you this........" he pulls a small box from his inside pocket and hands it to me. I look s at him quizzically, then open it. Nestled inside, amongst the cotton-wool-like protective wrapping is a silver ring into which is the brightest, deepest green emerald I've ever seen in my life. I blink at it, the moonlight reflecting from the stone and the silver, blurring together as my eyes fill with tears.
"I-"
"If - if you don't like it I can t-"
"Tim!" Making sure I don't drop the box I fling my arms around him. "It's beautiful!" I bury my face in his upper arm (no, I can't reach his shoulder; I'm vertically challenged, okay!) and try not to start bawling. "It must've cost an arm and a leg!"
"Not quite..." By the tone of his voice I can tell he's grinning. "I've still got all my limbs in perfect working order..."
I'll have to test that later..... I smirk because I can, and because I catch the implication of his words. Nope, Mr Burton is not as innocent as some people would like to think. I release him and smile.
"You know, we should get back to the car, because Amy might end up sending out a search party to find us........... Either that or neither of them will be in a fit state for this evening...." My lips curve into another smirk and Tim groans.
"Oh don't..." he says, giving me a gentle, affectionate shove before finding my hand and linking fingers as we walk back to the car.
Chapter 8 ; Contents ; Chapter 10
