Chapter Text
Eleanor and Thomas Brown are sitting in their living room together when the front door to the house opens. Elyon steps inside as she arrives home from school.
“Hello princess! How was school today?” Asks her father. Elyon doesn’t respond and simply heads upstairs. Her parents look at eachother with concern.
“I’ll go talk to her,” says her mom before getting up and ascending the creaky stairs after her daughter.
Elyon is sitting in her room when there’s a knock on the door.
“Hey Elyon, is this about your friends again?” Asks the muffled voice of her mom in a comforting tone.
“Yeah,” moans Elyon.
“Can I come in?” Her mom asks.
“Sure,” Elyon groans.
Eleanor enters the room. Her daughter is sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. The bed creaks as Eleanor sits down beside her. Elyon begins speaking, not making eye contact with her mom as she does.
“I want Cornelia to throw me a surprise party for my birthday on Sunday like she always does, but I’m worried she won’t with everything that’s going on between us”
“We can ask her if you’d like?” Offers her mom.
“No. That would ruin the surprise. I’m just worried she’s gonna plan a party for Irma instead of me, seeming as how she clearly likes her more”
“I know it might seem that way, but it doesn’t mean it’s true. And hey, doesn’t she usually plan a party for both of you anyway?”
“Yeah. She does. *Usually*”
There’s a pause, which is eventually broken by her mom.
“From what I can tell, she still wants to be your friend. I think she’ll be more inclined than ever to prove herself to you. So I wouldn’t worry too much about it, ok?”
“I just want things to go back to the way they were. Before Will came along and took my best friend away!”
“It’s not Will’s fault and you know that”
“I know…” Elyon groans lightly, burrowing her face deeper into her knees.
“Hey, I was gonna make lasagna for dinner, would you like that?”
Elyon lifts her head out of her knees and looks at her mom beside her.
“I’d like that,” she says.
“I knew you would,” says Eleanor with a smile.
The next day, at Cornelia’s place, Will, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin are brainstorming ideas for a party.
“...ok, so as for the Irma side of things, the only thing we know for certain is snacks. Lots and lots of snacks,” says Cornelia, looking at a piece of paper.
“Oh, and don't forget the cake!” Hay Lin reminds.
“Right. Two cakes. One for Irma, one for everyone else,” notes Cornelia, writing it on the paper.
Suddenly, Alchemy runs into the room.
“Sorry I’m late,” she says, out of breath.
“Where have you been?” Will asks.
“Shovling the driveway… and the porch, and the lawn, and the backyard, and the roof”
“I’m surprised you’re not more late!” Says Hay Lin.
“Me too,” adds Alchemy, “I went through, like, 10 boxes of garbage bags. It also didn’t help that it was snowing the whole time”
Alchemy sits down and Cornelia begins to relay the plan.
“Ok, so Elyon loves camping in the winter, right?”
“Well, actually, she likes camping any time, but yeah,” says Alchemy.
Cornelia continues, “Anyway, imagine this: I tell Elyon about this beautiful trail I found in the woods, and of course, Elyon will want to go. And I’ll tell her there’ll be snacks, so naturally, Irma will come too (who will be nearby to overhear).
“So we go down this trail, and we come across a nice clearing. And then… you know what happens!! There’ll be a huge bonfire, and smores and… Oh! It’s gonna be great!”
“Sounds great! Did you come up with that yourself?” Asks Alchemy.
“I did indeed!” Says Cornelia proudly.
“All of it?”
“No,” the other three say in unison.
“That’s totally what I was gonna say,” adds Cornelia.
Alchemy gives her opinion, “Sounds like fun. But there’s one small problem: there’s supposed to be a blizzard tomorrow. Like, a big one!”
Taranee looks at the other guardians. “Did you guys seriously not check the weather before planning an outdoor party?” She asks.
“I thought you did,” says Cornelia.
“I thought you did too,” adds Hay Lin.
“That does sound like something you would know, Taranee,” says Will.
“Also, I’m not sure Irma’s dad would be so keen on her going out into the woods somewhere after the incident,” adds Alchemy.
“I guess we could have the party at Elyon’s house?” Suggests Hay Lin.
“There’s a reason I’ve only ever had one party at her house,” admits Cornelia.
“Well I guess that leaves Irma’s as the only option,” Will realizes.
“But how will we get the party set up without her knowing?” Alchemy asks.
“We’ll have the party in the garage!” Says Taranee.
“Perfect!” Exclaims Cornelia, “Ok, Alchemy, you’re in charge of music, Hay Lin - invitations and decorations, Taranee - snacks, and Will, make sure the power doesn’t go out ‘cause of, you know, the blizzard and all”
“I’m still getting used to this whole ‘blizzard in March’ thing,” says Taranee.
“Welcome to Heatherfield,” groans Cornelia.
“Did you guys not get March blizzards in Sesamo?” Asks Will.
“Were they all in April?” Adds Hay Lin.
“We rarely got snow at all! Wait, are there blizzards in April here too??”
“Not usually, but I’ve heard it’s happened before,” answers Cornelia.
“Ok, we’re getting off topic here,” says Taranee, “Now how will we stop Irma from finding out?”
“Don’t worry, her dad will be on that,” answers Cornelia.
“Actually, can I do that?” Asks Alchemy, “Will can be in charge of music. Besides, none of you would like my taste in music anyway”
“I suppose,” says Cornelia.
“Thank you! Oh, one last question, what happens if the power does go out?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t,” replies Will.
“You never know! It’s not like you have magical electricity powers!”
The others giggle.
“Why is that so funny?!”
“Don’t worry about it, just trust me, the power won’t be going out on my watch”
“How are we gonna get Elyon to Irma’s place without it looking suspicious?” Asks Hay Lin.
“We could say we’re having a sleepover?” Suggests Will.
“On her birthday?” Adds Taranee.
“Yeah, I think that’s a little telling,” Alchemy comments.
There’s a pause as they think. Then, suddenly, Cornelia gasps.
“Guys! I thought of the perfect idea!” She exclaims, “so you know how Elyon’s been thinking I’m not her best friend lately? Well, what if we invited her to the birthday, but the invitation only says it’s for Irma. And she’ll be all sad, but then, when she arrives, bam! We all yell ‘happy birthday Elyon!’”
“But what about Irma?” Asks Alchemy.
“We’ll already have surprised her by that point, of course,” Cornelia tells her.
“I dunno about this,” says Taranee.
The others don’t seem so enthusiastic about the idea either.
“Trust me, it’ll be good. And besides, this is her sweet 16, and she’s my best friend, so I get final say, and I say this is what we’re gonna do. Now then, is there anything else we missed?”
“Not that I can think of,” says Will.
“Perfect! Everyone knows what they have to do. Now let’s start getting everything ready for tomorrow!”
The next day, Elyon is sitting in her room, reading about Metamoor. She hears the doorbell ring downstairs and shortly after hears the front door open. She doesn’t think much of it, then there's a knock on her bedroom door. She quickly hides the book away as her mom walks in.
“Watcha reading?” She asks.
“Nothing,” Elyon says. She knows her mother won’t believe it’s real even if she showed her, so why bother? She doesn’t want to lie and say it’s all fiction.
“Well, this thing rang the doorbell apparently. It has your name on it”
Her mom hands her a paper airplane with a hanging tag attached that reads her name. She unfolds it. It’s an invitation. She begins reading it, then crumples it into a ball and throws it across the room. She pulls her legs up to her body, hugs them, and stuffs her face in her knees.
“They really did forget about my birthday,” she murmurs, on the brink of tears. She looks up and sees her mom has since left the room.
Irma waits by the fountain at the mall, bobbing her head and tapping her foot to music. Then she notices Alchemy. She turns off her walkman. They run up to eachother and hug.
“Lemme guess, Corny’s planning a surprise party and you wanted to meet here while she set it up?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly it. Don’t tell her though”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. So whattaya wanna do?”
“How about we go somewhere with less eyes on us?” Suggests Alchemy.
“We’re at a mall, there are eyes everywhere”
“Everywhere but one place”
“You mean the bathrooms?!?”
“No! You know that wing they closed off ‘cause of that fire?”
“You mean the one they just reopened?”
“Yeah, that one, follow me!”
They both head off, holding hands.
“Can we stop at the food court?!” Asks Irma as they walk.
“Is that even a question?!”
They both arrive at the place the guardians had fought Cedric a couple months ago. The place looks as if nothing had happened, although the store directly behind where the explosion had taken place is still closed with a metal dropdown shutter over where the storefront had been.
“I think it would really hurt if you got thrown into that pillar there by a giant snake man, don’t you think?” Comments Irma.
Alchemy chuckles, “Probably, now whattaya say we find out what’s on the other side of this thing here?”
Alchemy stands infront of the large metal shutter.
“I dunno, looks like they don’t want people going in there,” says Irma.
“I’d say that too. But if they didn’t want anyone going in here, then they would’ve locked it”
Alchemy proceeds to lift the bottom of the shutter a few inches off the ground with her foot. Irma shrugs and joins her girlfriend. They both proceed to crawl inside. Alchemy drops the shutter again, careful not to let it slam, and the place becomes pitch black. Then a light turns on. Alchemy has a flashlight. She shines it around the place. The space had been emptied out, and is now just an empty room. But there is still obvious evidence of the fire that had occurred, such as the ghostly soot outlines where shelves and other things had been against the walls.
“Aww, I thought there would be some more cool stuff in here. I wish they didn’t clean it out,” complains Alchemy.
“You can’t win ‘em all, right?” Says Irma.
“Yeah, I guess. But that actually wasn’t the reason I wanted to come in here. You see, I got you something for your birthday, but noone can know you have it, ok?”
Irma looks curious, but also slightly confused.
Alchemy puts the flashlight on the ground, standing on its end, its beam shining towards the ceiling, but there's still enough radiant light for them to see eachother. She reaches into the pouch of her jacket and pulls out a cassette tape and hands it to Irma.
“What is this?” She says, looking at the tape. It’s simply labeled ‘album 24’.
“It’s an unreleased Karmilla album, from what I know, that’s the only copy ever made,” she says. Irma is dumbfounded.
“How did you get this?!?” She exclaims, wide eyed.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember. It was years ago. I must’ve seen it was the only copy somewhere, and of course, I just had to have it. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to give it to you”
Alchemy blushes.
“I, I dunno what to say!! Thank you so much Alchemy!!”
“No, thank you! If it wasn’t for you, that thing would’ve ended up in the landfill, lost forever!”
They both look into eachother’s eyes. Then they smile.
Then they kiss.
Cornelia walks up to Elyon’s house through the storm. She grasps her long coat, keeping it wrapped tight around her body as the wind and snow blows against her violently, pulling at her hair and coat like curtains. The warm lights of the Victorian house infront of her pierce through the fog and snow as she approaches. She walks up the steps caked with snow towards the front door, crosses the porch, and rings the old brass doorbell. Elyon’s mom opens the door.
“Elyon, it’s for you!” She calls. Elyon comes to the door.
“Whattaya want, *Corny*?” She hisses. She holds up the uncrumpled invitation, “Is it about this?!”
“Yeah, are you coming?!”
“Is there something you're forgetting?” Elyon says in a rude manner.
“Not anything I can think of,” responds Cornelia.
“Maybe something to do with, I dunno, someone’s birthday today?”
“Elyon, shut the door, your friend can come inside if she wants, but you’re letting all the cold air in!” Calls her dad. Elyon slams the door in Cornelia’s face, leaving her out in the cold. Cornelia sighs, turns around, and disappears back into the wall of white beyond the porch.
Will waits in the car. A snowy Cornelia gets in the driver’s seat beside her.
“And? Is she coming?”
Cornelia doesn't answer, and just sits there looking grumpy.
“Why am I here exactly?” Adds Will.
Cornelia puts the keys in the ignition and turns it. It doesn’t start. She glares at Will, then turns the ignition again, and again, and again, her face glaring at Will the entire time, not moving a muscle.
“Oh, that’s why”
Will looks outside. She can barely see the houses across the street.
“Are you sure you can drive in this? It’s getting pretty bad”
Cornelia rolls her eyes, “I’ll be fine”