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CHAPTER FIVE
❝ birthday dinners ❞
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THE SUN PAINTED THE PALE WALLS of Selena's bedroom a golden hue, causing the girl to pull a pillow over her head. It was no secret that Selena loathed mornings, she would rather spend her time under the stars, wondering about the secrets of the universe only they would know the answer to.

Just as she was able to relax enough for her mind to settle, her alarm went off. If it were any other morning, she would just turn it off and crawl back under her blankets, avoiding the world for an extra few minutes of sleep, but today was not just any morning.

Dinah was definitely still asleep in her room as it was still early in the morning. She had been sleeping in more and more over the two weeks since her life had been uprooted and moved across the country, which Selena understood. Part of her wondered what it would be like if she had been in Dinah's position, but she pushed the thought away.

The smell of her mother's pancakes made its way into her room, causing the brunette to stir. Knowing the tone of the day had to be set in the next few minutes, she pushed herself out of bed, fixing her hair so it was not an unkempt mess.

She walked out of her room, careful to avoid the squeaky floorboard outside of her cousin's room before tossing it open. Selena rushed toward her cousin's bed, hopping on it with a small laugh. Although it was not part of her plan, she landed on her cousin, promptly rolling off as both girls laughed at the scene. Within seconds, Selena pulled the covers over herself so she was cuddled beside her cousin.

"Mom's making you pancakes," Selena said with a smile. "She makes the best pancakes."

"Thanks." Dinah's response was brief.

"Happy birthday!" Selena exclaimed. "You're officially seventeen  which makes you the Dancing Queen, Young and Sweet, Only Seventeen."

Dinah simply repeated her response from before. "Thanks."

"Did your friends send any birthday messages?"

"Probably—" Dinah rolled to the side and grabbed her phone. "—I haven't even opened my phone yet. Don't even think I'm going to reply to them."

Selena sighed. "Why not?"

"Honestly, they just remind me of Mystic Falls, which just reminds me of my parents," Dinah admitted with a frown. "And if I can avoid having a breakdown on my birthday, that'd be great."

"Stiles and Scott send their birthday wishes," Selena said with a hopeful smile. "So does Lydia, and even Allison, all the way from France. At least that's what Lydia said."

"Tell them thanks for me, then."

"Will do, boss." Selena saluted. "I was also thinking we could go out for a movie and ice cream tonight to celebrate. You, me, Scott, Stiles and Lydia. What do you think?"

"I don't think I'm feeling up for going out today, I'd rather just stay in." Dinah replied. "Maybe tomorrow, though."

"Okay," Selena said while sitting up. "Come on, then, let's go get breakfast."

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The next few hours of the day were uneventful as Dinah chose to spend the majority of the day alone in her room. Selena hoped that the alone time would help, but part of her knew the truth, that Dinah would need more time before she would be ready to attempt to embrace her new life in Beacon Hills.

Selena spent her morning and afternoon cleaning up around the house and prepping dinner for that evening. It wasn't anything extraordinary, rather it was a family lasagna recipe that had been a staple since her mother lived in Portland. Allegedly her grandmother, Alina Barnes, used to make it for her children's birthdays when they were growing up, and Lucy had taken up the practice when she moved away.

By the time her parents had returned home from work, Selena had prepared the lasagna so that it only needed to be cooked before it would be ready to eat. Within an hour, the food was ready and Dinah emerged from her room, they sat at the table and ate dinner together.

Once the meal was over, her father went into the living room to retrieve Dinah's birthday gift. It wasn't much, but it was the sentimental value that made it priceless. Wrapped in the gold paper was a picture frame with the last complete Barnes family photo from Christmas. The two families were sitting together in Selena's living room, adorned in matching pajamas. Lucy and Thalia sat beside each other, with their husbands on their other sides and their daughters sitting beneath them, arms wrapped around each other. Everyone looked so happy in the picture.

As Dinah unwrapped the gift, Selena watched the tears well in her eyes before the floodgates opened up, allowing the birthday girl to cry. Once she calmed herself down, Dinah excused herself to her room, saying she needed a bit of time as she was not feeling the best.

This left the family of three at the dinner table, listening to Dinah's footsteps grow fainter as she ascended the stairs.

"Did Dinah have a nice time the other night with Stiles and Scott?" Lucy asked, a polite smile on her face. "I hope they boys behaved themselves."

"Of course they did mom," Selena replied. "It's Stiles and Scott."

"Do you remember what happened on New Years Eve when somebody wound up sneaking their friends the rum punch I made for the parents?"

"I am totally innocent in that," Selena defended, raising her hands to her shoulders. "Dad gave us the drinks, he's at fault, not me."

Her father shot her a look of betrayal, his hand reaching to cover his heart. "You swore you'd never tell!"

"Oh really?" Lucy turned to face her husband. "I thought you said that you hadn't seen anything that night?"

"It was one time," Steven said, moving to place a kiss on his wife's cheek. "And you know they would've stolen some anyway if I didn't give it to them."

"Likely story." Lucy rolled her eyes. "When are you going to introduce Dinah to Lydia and Allison? I feel like they'd be good influences on her."

"Allison's still in France, and Lydia's doing a lot of SAT prep since she's taking it before school starts up."

"Exactly my point," Lucy smiled. "Tell Lydia we wish her the best of luck on the SAT."

"You know, Dinah's lucky to have you here," her father said with a smile. "We know it's been a lot on you. Don't forget that we're here whenever you need to talk."

Selena forced a smile on her face. "I know, Dad."

Her phone buzzed against her thigh, the familiar rhythm making Selena's smile become genuine. She pulled the device from her pocket, revealing a picture of her and Stiles from her family's fourth of July Barbecue this past summer. It was a picture her mother had taken, with Selena sitting on Stiles' lap, her head resting against his as they watched the fireworks. They had been so happy at that moment, so carefree. She wondered if they would ever feel that way again.

"Do you need a minute?" Steven asked, noticing the familiar picture on her phone. Selena nodded, standing up from the table. "Tell Stiles we say hello."

"Of course." Selena moved around the table, quickly hugging both of her parents before running up the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time, reaching the top step as her phone rang yet again.

By the time she laid down on her bed, the phone stopped ringing, leaving a voicemail from Stiles on her phone. She listened to it, laughing at his reaction to the news about Scott wanting to get a tattoo. He even made a comment about how he would bet her five bucks that Scott would get it somewhere hidden. Selena then promptly texted him: "Game on. You owe me five bucks if he gets it on his arm."

The brunette stared up at the ceiling, mind wandering through the day's events as the house remained somewhat silent. She could faintly hear her parents chatting at the table, probably discussing their days at work or Dinah.

Her phone began to ring, the familiar tune of Wannabe by the Spice Girls making her smile. Lydia had made that her ringtone a few years ago, and she felt it fit the strawberry blonde.

"Selena's phone," she greeted.

"Hey Lena."

"What's going on?"

"Not much," Lydia replied. "I'm just sitting at home watching The Notebook and thought I'd give you a call since I didn't come to movie night."

"I watched that with Dinah the other night," Selena said with a smile. "I hadn't watched it since last summer when we watched it at your place."

"Seriously? It's like one of the best movies ever."

"Says the girl who is absolutely obsessed with it."

"That's entirely beside the point."

Selena shook her head with a smile, rolling onto her back so she was now staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh! You're booked the night before school starts for the year."

"I am?"

"Yep, we're going out for a girls night." Lydia paused for a moment. "And by we I mean you, me and Allison."

"Is this a girls night or a group date?"

"I would say group date but your boyfriend doesn't go anywhere without his boyfriend," Lydia replied, and Selena couldn't help but laugh. "You can't tell me I'm wrong. Have you ever seen the two of them without each other?"

Selena laughed again. "I absolutely have."

"Making out with Stiles doesn't count," Lydia countered. "Because I know that definitely just popped into your head."

Selena tried and failed to stop a blush forming on her cheeks, and was thankful her friend was not Skyping her as she used to do with Dinah.

"I'll have you know I've been alone with Scott before," she replied, only for Lydia to scoff on the other side of the call. "We study for Spanish class together all the time! He helps me out whenever I get confused and we know if Stiles was there we wouldn't get anything done."

"Exactly my point," Lydia countered. "Changing topics from your boyfriend to your cousin. How's Dinah doing? I remember you mentioned her birthday was today."

Selena sighed. "Dinah's doing as well as she can be given the circumstances. She's never celebrated her birthday without them, and I can't imagine what's going through her mind right now."

"I hope she knows she's got a great support system with you and your parents."

"I think she does," Selena said. "It's just hard to see her become such a shell of herself since her parents died."

"Well I hope you know I want to meet her soon," Lydia replied. "Maybe she could come to girls night if she's feeling up to it?"

"I'll definitely let her know." Selena sat up on her bed, glancing at her alarm clock, only to sigh at the time. "I've got to go, lots of books to read."

"Yeah, yeah, go have fun sneaking your boyfriend into your bedroom again," Lydia teased.

Selena laughed, a blush rising to her cheeks. "I regret telling you about that."

"No you don't. Tell Stiles I say hi and tell your cousin I can't wait to meet her."

With that, the two girls ended their phone call. Selena readied herself, unlocking her window while making sure that she looked decent and that her bedroom door was locked. Her hair was neat and she wasn't wearing anything extravagant —not that Stiles would care— but she couldn't wait to see Stiles.

Once she was ready, she laid back down on her bed, head resting against her pillow as she texted her boyfriend, telling him to come over soon, promising that her window was unlocked. She felt like a normal teenager, something she never got to experience over the past few months, and she missed the feeling.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

Chapter four is here, which means that the first part of AURORA is done! I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it was fun to write Selena interacting with Lydia (even if it was only over the phone). I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did and BE SURE to read OBLIVION by to see Dinah's perspective on the chapter because there's something VERY BIG revealed at the end of it!! Be sure to vote and comment! Love you all lots!

- Daniella

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PUBLISHED: March 26, 2021

REWRITE: December 28, 2022

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