That Last Little Spark

[Jess]

"Happy birthday!" Erica set a small cake down on the table. It had a sparkler in it.

"Nice." Chloe giggled and tried to blow it out, but it lit again.

"A trick sparkler candle? Where did you find it?" I yelled over the music to Erica.

"Remember the Christmas party? I had some left over!" she yelled back.

"PARTY!!!" I heard Bam yell from the bar. He stumbled over to us and draped his arms around the booth. Chloe managed to blow out the candle before raising her eyebrows at me. I sighed and shrugged.

"Don't I get cake?" he slurred. There were no more pieces left.

"Sorry, I didnt realize more people were coming when I bought it." Erica bit her lip uneasily.

"Alright." he took the plate of cake right out of Chloe's hand.

"HEY!" she screeched.

"Shut it, blondie!" he stuck a forkful in his mouth and then spit it back out onto the rest of the piece.

"Ew! Vanilla? You can have it back!" he shoved the plate back into her hands.

"Here, Chloe! Have my piece! I have to go settle something with Bam!" I shouted over the music. I pushed my uneaten piece of cake over to her and stood up. Bam came back over and sat down next to us.

"Eating another piece of cake, blondie? Aren't you a little pig?" he laughed. His face was bright red from drinking. Chloe's face was blotchy and her hands were curling into fists.

"Come on, don't be so uptight! Have your cake!" he pushed the uneaten cake into her lap. She yelped and stood up and tried to brush the cake off, but only succeeded in smearing the bright blue frosting across her jeans.

"Let's go!" I dragged him out of the booth by his jacket. He fell to the floor with a thud and moaned in pain. I used all of my force to drag him across the floor and out the door. The bouncer looked at me questioningly, but when I flashed my entrance bracelet he nodded and went back to the line in front of him. I dragged Bam around the corner and into the alley.

"Are you serious right now?" I pulled Bam to his feet and yelled in his face.

"They aren't your friends! We're you're friends! I-I'm Bam Margera! They're n-nothin!" he yanked away from me, but I held onto the front of his jacket.

"That's exactly what I think of you. You're probably too wasted to pay attention and remember this, so I'm going to make it short and bitter! You're nothing but a shallow celebrity! I don't want anything more to do with you! Now GO HOME!" I slapped him hard across the face and shoved him backwards into a wall.

"JJ. Get back here and help me up." he groaned after he slid to the ground.

"Only my friends can call me that. To everyone else, my name is Jessica." I spat before I straightened my clothes and stepped out onto the sidewalk. I reentered the club, leaving Bam sitting in the alley in the pile of trash. My friends were all standing up, picking up their coats and bags.

"Where's Bam?" Dunn was behind the booth, completely sober. The guys were standing behind him, concerned looks on their faces. They were sober, too. This was a first to me.

"The alley. Dunn, this was a bad idea. Please, just go back to Westchester. Being a celebrity has obviously gone to his head. Just take him home." I shook my head and picked up my bag. Chloe wiped the tears off of her face and stalked out with my friends, leaving me to follow behind like a child who had done something wrong and was awaiting punishment.

And people wonder why I hate birthdays.