Celebration

"It's not a sin to smile."

I look at Ace who is currently looking at me tilting his head as if he has been observing me for a while. He is sitting in front of me across the table while leaning against his chair.

"Shut up."

I am glad that he is still the annoying jerk I know. After learning about that incident 14 years ago, I thought something will change with the way he interacts with me, but no - no curious stares, no sudden kindness or something, and no questions asked. He even acts as if he knows nothing new about me.

"Gosh, I still can't believe this." Andy suddenly exclaimed. "You guys are too casual!"

I shifted my attention to her, arching an eyebrow.

"So what?"

"What do you mean 'so what'? Gosh, are you guys really on good terms, like seriously, there are no more wars? But, how?"

"Since when?" Kate added frowning.

"And, why?" Said Vince.

"Is this really a big deal for you?" I asked in irritation

They do not know about what happened the other day, and I want to keep it that way. They also know nothing about how and why we became civil.

I still have nightmares, but I am trying my best not to let them get to me again. I rather act as if nothing happened than dwell with it again.

"Of course, it is! Are you two aware that you can easily catch attention in this school? It was just a few weeks ago when you publicly declared war against one another, then now, we are having an actual lunch together with both of you at the same time. This is a really big deal, and not just to us. Look, people are currently staring at our table right now to check you out." Kate pointed out while gesturing her hands around.

As she said, there were a number of students staring in our direction from time to time since we entered the cafeteria. Something that I chose to not mind.

I could not understand the stupidity among people. They were talking about us when we were not on good terms, and now that we're fine, they are still talking about us. Are they that bored to talk about other people's lives?

"Seriously, be honest to us, cuz. What good spirit entered you guys to be suddenly on good terms? Cause dude, it's almost impossible." Vince said.

"That's right! You almost cursed one another to death since we were kids, then now you are just suddenly friends? Something definitely happened between the two of you." Andy added.

I just rolled my eyes at them and shifted my attention to my lunch.

They will not let this go.

"Just to be clear, you did not decide to be on good terms because one of you is about to die, right?" Renz said in a joking manner.

"Just get over it." Ace said huskily.

"And shut up," I added irritably.

"Alright, alright. Let's just zip our mouths now. Our Kenzie here is turning to a beast again." Kate chuckled. "We were just curious because this is so sudden and almost impossible. Whatever it is, I'm happy that you guys are finally on good terms." She smiled.

"And finally, we can eat together again like we used to. It feels like forever! Just don't fight again, okay? You guys create a disaster." Andy said

"A huge disaster, hon." Vince added sharing his head with a grin.

"So, what now? Since you guys are on good terms, shouldn't we celebrate?" Renz said, changing the topic. Then he looked at Ace. "You should treat us, birthday boy."

All of us look in Ace's direction.

It is his birthday?

Ace grinned.

"You're good at sensing." Ace commended.

Renz smirked.

"Aicelle insisted on a celebration tomorrow in Ecstasy."

"Awesome! Your sister is really cool, dude" Vince said in a huge grin.

"That's great! It's been a long time since we went out to party. Huh! I suddenly missed it!" Kate beamed excitedly.

"So, are you coming, Amazon?" Ace said, looking at me.

I frowned.

"Amazon..." I repeated.

Is that a nickname that he gave me? That's what he called me when I was in his car.

"What? It suits you." He grinned.

"If my brother will, count me in." I answered.

"Of course, he will." He smirked.

***

Ecstasy is a well-known nightclub and karaoke hub in town owned by that jerk's sister – Aicelle. It is located at one of the five-star hotels owned by their family. It is a typical nightclub where people could drink, dance, and have fun, but it has karaoke rooms for private parties.

Clubbing is not my thing, but I still go to bars and clubs from time to time. Especially when I am too lazy to do anything at home, or at times like these with the gang. For tonight I wore a simple, sleeveless and tie-up back, baby blue party dress with a ruffle bodice and flowing skirt giving me a fresh yet sexy vibe. I did not do much on my hair and just let my naturally wavy dark chestnut brown hair freely flow down my shoulders, matching it with a typical party make-up and some accessories.

It's a good thing that I gave my farewell to the bandages on my foot and to the crunches today because I might choose not to come instead. That would be really inconvenient.

For that jerk's birthday, Elle reserved the biggest room even if there are just a few of us. She planned a small private party for her brother with a bunch of drinks and cocktails and a lot of food. It will just be me, Andy, Kate, Renz, Vince, Sam, and his girlfriend - Sammy, Elle, and her fiancé - Mark, and of course the celebrant, Ace Javier who seems to be aiming to get drunk tonight.

He is already drowning himself with a number of bottles of beer when Sam and I arrive with Sammy. The night is just starting but he is definitely drunk.

What is his problem this time? He seemed fine yesterday.

On the other hand, as the night gets deeper, the fun of the celebration gets wilder and noisier for the rest of us. They enjoyed themselves singing, dancing, and playing beer games, while I enjoyed myself watching them while drinking cocktails. I have no plans of getting drunk tonight because I am a little tired.

It was almost eleven in the evening when Sam excused himself for a while and went back home because of an urgent matter that dad asked him to do. After a few minutes, I saw Ace leave the room intoxicated. For the whole night, he just isolated himself with his bottles and almost did not interact with us as if he was not the reason for this party.

It turns out that I am not the only one who noticed his odd behavior because Elle asks Renz and Vince to follow him outside.

"He's not listening," Renz said as soon as they came back after a couple of minutes. The upper part of his clothes became wrinkled as if someone grabbed him from the collar.

"He's drinking at the counter. We tried to convince him to stop and go home but he threatened to hit Renz. We just left him alone to avoid a fuss." Vince said.

Here we go again, Ace Javier as he is.

"Aist, he's really a headache." Elle sighed in frustration.

"What happened? He seemed just fine earlier." Kate asked.

"Someone called him after we arrived. After that, his mood turned bad, and he started drinking. Who was it, you ask? I have no idea." Elle explained, shaking her head.

"Let me talk to him," Mark approached them and joined the conversation.

"No, babe. He's furious right now. He might not listen to you." Elle said at her fiancé's suggestion.

"Maybe, he'll listen to Sam," said Andy.

"Sam left for a while, he had to attend to some urgent matter." Sammy said, who was just listening to them.

"How about you, Kenz?"

I looked at them. How did I get involved?

"He might listen to you. Aside from Sam, his arrogance and temper do not work on you." Kate pointed out.

I just raise an eyebrow at them.

I do not want to be called intrusive and nosy by that guy. Besides, I rather not care about his problems. We were good, but I have nothing to do with his issues. We were not that close.

Elle walked and sat beside me.

"She's right Kenz. I know my brother, he might get himself in a fight sooner or later, we have to make him stop. " She said.

"He didn't listened to Renz and Vince, and you said that he won't listen to Mark. What makes you think that he will listen to me?" I retorted.

"He won't listen, but he can't make you go away. Kate is right, you and Sam never flinch or get affected by his temper and he can't do anything about that. You can use that to talk him out." She said, then she touched my arm and pleaded. "Just do this as a favor for me."

I slightly looked away from her.

Now she is doing this. She knows that I cannot refuse her because she is like an older sister to me and to all of us.

"Please."

I sigh.

"Alright, but I won't assure you anything." I stood up with my cocktail drink and walk my way out of our room, not knowing what to do or what to say to that stupid jerk.

What could I do now? I already said yes.