It's not Jak
Returning home, Emilia halts and tilts her head at her brother. "Why's it so quiet?" She asks curiously. Winston winks and opens the door without a word of explanation. Emilia, feeling confused and intrigued, follows after him.
As they enter the house Emilia jumps from shock. Streamers and shouts of congratulations surrounded her. She looks around and smiles as she sees her brother's, mother, father, friends, and her beloved boyfriend standing before her. Her smile quickly fades when she notices something off.
When she looked at Jak there was nothing. No feelings of sparks, no overpowering scent, and no urge to rush over and claim him. Jak tilts his head in confusion at her somber expression. He approaches her but Emilia turns away from him and feigns happiness as she thanks everyone.
The crowd of people spent forty-five minutes exchanging pleasantries before a loud grumble silences the room. Emilia's face turns bright pink as she blushes from embarrassment. Winston breaks the silence by shouting, "I'm starving! Anyone else ready to eat some of that yummy cake and mouth watering steak?! I know I am!"
The entire room bursts into laughter at Winston before heading into the dining room to feast. Emilia gives her brother a grateful smile and mouths 'thank you' before following the group and getting seated.
Jak sits next to Emilia and the awkward tension between the couple becomes increasingly obvious to onlookers. He tries to grab her attention by reaching under the table and gently tapping on her thigh but Emilia turns her body away from him.
"Happy birthday Emi! Here's to twenty years of having the honor of being your brother and another fifty more to come!" Toasts Cedric cheerfully as the servants bring in their dishes. A large ham and thirty juicy steaks, three bowls of salad, and a large five tier cake decorated in pink ribbons was placed on the table. Everyone's mouths water as they stare at all the scrumptious looking food.
Winston makes Emilia a plate with a little bit of everything on it and then nudges Jak. "Mind if I sit next to the birthday girl this time?" He asks. Jak nods, catching the hint, and moves to a different seat at the far end of the table.
"Thanks." Emilia whispers before digging into her plate of food. "Wanna talk about it?" Winston whispers back. She shakes her head, "now isn't the time. Let's just enjoy the party." Winston nods in understanding and goes back to eating.
"Cake time!" Timothy bursts out, making Emilia chuckle. 'You can definitely tell that he's the youngest.' She thinks to herself. "Hey mom, let's just cut the cake and serve it, don't worry about the singing part this time." Cedric suggests. Reina looks over at her daughter and Emilia nods. Given permission, Reina shrugs and begins cutting and serving cake to the table's occupants.
Emilia stands and stretches after finishing her plate. She silently moves toward the living room and turns on the TV before settling on the couch. Jak sits next to her without a word and holds her hand. She looks at him with a sad expression but refuses to speak.
Seeing the awkwardness between his sister and her boyfriend, Winston decides to hop onto the couch on Emilia's other side. "What are we going to watch? Horror? Drama? Comedy? Romance?" He asks with a goofy grin on his face. Jak and Emilia respond simultaneously, "horror, obviously." They look at each other and laugh, finally lightening the mood between them.
After the movie has ended and their parents go to bed, Winston chuckles mischievously and pulls Emilia off the couch. "It's time!" He whispers excitedly. Emilia laughs and follows suit, dragging Jak along with them as they exit through the front door.
"So where to?" Cedric asks as he leads the way stealthily past the guards. "Off the territory, I want to go to a club. Just this once." Emilia responds hopefully. Cedric's eyes grow wide at his sister's request but he shrugs it off. "As you wish sis." He says and heads toward his large pickup truck.
"All aboard! We're heading out!" Cedric shouts nonchalantly, resulting in a laugh from Emilia and a smack from Winston. "Shush! Are you trying to get us caught before we even leave?" Winston scolds his older brother. Cedric grumbles but quickly gets into the driver seat and drives them off the property and into the unknown.
Arriving at a brightly lit up building, Cedric parks the truck and ushers everyone towards the entrance. Emilia looks around excitedly as they enter the club. Loud music and neon lights, just as she had always imagined. Overcome with immense energy, she rushes off to the dance floor.
Swinging her hips back and forth to the rhythm, Emilia quickly forgets all of her anxieties. Jak watches from afar, not sure if his presence will ruin her fun. Cedric takes off after a group of women that caught his eye and Winston decides to hang back with Jak.
"What's going on dude? I was sure you two would be all over each other so why did she turn sour the moment you made eye contact?" Winston immediately presses for answers. "I'm just as lost as you are Win. It was like she's disgusted by me or something." Jak replies with sadness.
Winston sighs, "well all I can say is good luck and you guys will probably figure it out later. For now, leave it alone and let her enjoy herself. We all know that an event like this doesn't happen every day for Em." Jak nods and falls into silence as he continues watching Emilia dance.
It only takes about ten minutes before a drunken idiot decides to start grinding against Emilia, causing Winston and Jak to spring up from their seats. Jak grabs the unknown male by his collar and snarls in his face, "don't even think about it." Winston, the more rational of the two, makes Jak release his grip. "Hey now, let's calm down. And you, back off before my friend breaks your face, okay?" Winston says while giving the drunkard a sickeningly sweet smile.
Emilia turns around and rolls her eyes. "We were just dancing." She says, showing her naivety and innocence. The drunk man nods, "yeah, we were jusss dancinnn, chill ouuuu guys." He says with slurred words and a crooked grin. Winston takes a step back and looks at Jak, "he's all yours."
Jak wastes no time as he punches the drunk man square in the face. A loud CRACK rings throughout the space as the man's nose breaks and he falls to the ground. Emilia simply rolls her eyes and walks back toward the counter. Winston nudges Jak and signals for him to stay.
Winston follows his sister to the counter and orders them each a shot of tequila with a lime on the side. Emilia's eyes sparkle at the drink. "Really?" She asks with excitement. "Go ahead, just remember to be careful and pace yourself. Don't need the birthday girl blacking out on us now." He says with a snicker.
Emilia takes the shot and then grimaces. "Bleh, what is this? And why do people drink it? There's no way that anyone actually likes the taste of rubbing alcohol, right?" She asks while sucking on the lime. "Haha, well some people do. Including me, Cedric, and our parents." Winston responds with an amused chuckle.
"Are you guys sure I'm not adopted or something? There's no way I'm related to you barbarians." Emilia jokes. Winston's expression suddenly turns sour as he growls, "we're your family. The only family you have." Emilia's jaw drops at her brother's tone. Winston rarely lost his composure.
"Hey, relax Win. It was just a joke, I know we're family." She says in an attempt to ease his anger. Winston's eyes widen and he shakes his head, "my bad sis, didn't mean to scare you." He says while putting on a fake smile.
"So, wanna tell me what exactly happened between you and lover boy? Last I checked we could barely keep you two off of each other. Why the sudden distance? And on your birthday of all days too.. Never knew my little sister was so cruel." Winston casually changes the topic. Emilia sighs, "I don't know. Something is definitely missing though. I looked at him and felt… absolutely nothing. No sparks or anything."