Star

The next day I was prepared for it to be just the same as the day before. But oddly enough, there was a knock on my door when I was done getting dressed. When I walked over to answer it I saw Artem waiting there for me.

Almost instantly upon seeing him I felt something inside of me just click, like something was pulling me toward him. I could barely stop myself from reaching out and touching him for no reason at all.

"G-good morning Artem." I smiled and greeted him while feeling a little off compared to usual.

"Good morning, Star." He grinned at me.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"I want to walk you down to breakfast." He looked calm and sweet as he spoke.

"Oh. Ok."

Artem reached his hand out and offered it to me. I could tell he wanted me to hold his hand, and I knew I wasn't really ready or used to holding hands all the time, but for some reason I felt compelled to hold his hand in mine. So, for some reason beyond my control I reached out and held his hand.

Artem squeezed my hand tightly in his when I slid my smaller hand into his larger one. The smile that accompanied that squeeze of his was enough to make it all worth it, even if I was still trying to figure out why I had taken his hand in the first place.

While I contemplated what was going on with my head Artem pulled me from the room and into the hall, shutting my door for me. He then walked with me, hand in hand, all the way to the dining room.

Once Artem had pulled me into the room I heard a loud shout from several people.

"SURPRISE!" There were strange noises coming from some sort of thing in their mouths and brightly colored paper was falling on us as they threw handfuls of it into the air.

"What's this?" I asked, confused and nervous.

"It's part one of your birthday." Chay winked at me.

"My birthday." I tilted my head. "Yeah it's my birthday, but what does this have to do with anything?"

"We're celebrating your birthday Starry." Reed was grinning.

"This is one of the things that people do to celebrate for someone's birthday." Bailey added.

"Really?" I was not certain about what they were telling me.

"I remember my last birthday party." Dalton smiled. "It was before my family turned mean. But it was really fun. We got cake and my family and friends were all there." He hung his head then as he thought about what he was saying. "My family doesn't like me anymore, and all those friends aren't my friends anymore either."

"It's ok, Dalton, we're your friends." Cohen leaned over and hugged him, making him feel better.

"Have you really never had a birthday party before?" Flint asked me. I felt the tears stinging the back of my eyes then as I shook my head no. "I'm so sorry. All of us have had some, before our families knew we were Omegas."

"It's ok." I spoke through the thick emotions in my voice as I wiped the tears away.

"I'm sorry Star, I didn't mean to make you cry." Artem, still holding my right hand in his, reached over and wiped a stray tear that I had missed as it trailed down my cheek.

"No, don't be sorry." I tried to smile. "I'm happy, really I am. I have never had a party before, most of the time I never knew when it was my birthday because I didn't always know the date. But I am so happy that you all thought of me, that you did this for me."

"Star." I heard Artem's voice as it filled with sorrow.

It looked like Artem was going to reach for me and hold me then, like he wanted to wrap me in his arms and hold me close. And I was willing to let him, even though a part of me was screaming at me to stop.

'No, this isn't what you want. Stop it, don't listen to that.' But before Artem could get to me Chay had crossed over to us first.

Chay threw her arms around my neck and pulled me in close to her, holding me tight.

"Star." She seemed to wail my name, like she was crying harder than I was. "I am sorry. I am so sorry that you missed so much. Please let us be there for you while you experience everything that you missed."

"Chay?" I was shocked by her actions and her words. "You don't have to. If I didn't experience them already, then I was never meant to." I tried to smile but she was squeezing me harder as she shook her head fiercely from side to side.

"No, no, no. You deserve it, you deserve it all. We will fill all those holes for you."

While Chay was hugging me Reed and Bailey came over and hugged me too, each of them, putting their head on the side of mine. Following them Ella and Kent came to add their hug to the growing pile.

I could just barely see through the gap in them all that Artem looked sad, a little upset really. And before I knew it Morgan and Toby joined the hug as well. The last to join were the boys, and standing there watching on with jealousy was Artem.

When the hug finally broke, and they all returned to where they were or close to it, Artem looked at me with a possessive gaze.

"It's my turn now. And I will not share my hug." He smirked as he came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. I slid my arms around his chest, holding him gently as he held me firmly. I could still hear the voice in my head telling me that I was not ready for this level of intimacy. I had accepted the hug from the others because it had happened so fast, but I could have stopped Artem. However, for some reason, I didn't.

Was I just starting to like him even more? Was this because he loved me and I knew it? Was I letting him be more familiar than before because of that? And if so, why was there something telling me that I wasn't choosing this?

"Come on, let's have breakfast." Artem said when he pulled away, which he only did after Chay cleared her throat. Even adding all the others to the hug, Artem's was longer and made me feel a little strange on the inside.

We sat at the table in our usual seats. When I looked at the food that was there I saw that some of the things from yesterday were present, but the rest was different.

We once again had bacon and sausage which were some of my favorites, there was also a stack of pancakes and the jellies and syrup. The new stuff consisted of hash browns, toast, and omelettes.

I had had an omelet when we went to the diner and it was really good. I was happy that Artem had remembered that. And everyone's omelet had its own special blend. The boys, most of which had simple tastes, only had cheese in theirs. Kent, Artem, Toby, and Morgan, seemed to have a whole pig's worth of meat to go with the cheese in theirs, bacon, sausage, and ham. Chay had the meat of the guys but also some green peppers, like it was healthier with the green in it. My cousins, all three of them, had ham and cheese which seemed to be a popular favorite for most people. I seemed to be the only odd ball. I had randomly ordered my omelet at the diner with mushrooms and onions, getting weird looks from the others, but it was really good and I had eaten it all. Artem, remembering that day, made me my omelet today with mushrooms and onions in it. He is so sweet and considerate.

Breakfast was a feast that had left me stuffed when it was done. I hadn't expected the celebration for my birthday, but it had made me really happy. Now that it was over though, I was expecting to have a peaceful, quiet day.