Chosen

me) and gave us a big hug.
    "I told you that you needed to hurry up," Damien said, as we untangled.
    "I know, but I had to make sure it was wrapped just right," Jack said. With a flourish that only a gay boy can pull off, he reached into the man purse looped over his arm and lifted out a box wrapped in red foil with a green sparkly bow on it that was so big it practically swallowed the package. "I made the bow myself."
    "Jack's really good at crafts," Erik said. "He's just not good at cleaning up the crafts."
    "Sorry," Jack said sweetly. "I promise I'll clean up right after the party."
    Erik and Jack are roommates, further proving Erik's coolness. He's a fifth former (in normal language that's a junior) and he's also easily the most popular guy at school. Jack is a third former (a freshman), a new kid, cute but kinda dorky, and definitely gay. Erik could have made a big deal about being stuck with a queer and could have gotten out of rooming with him, and made Jack's life hell at the House of Night. Instead he totally took him under his wing and treats him like a little brother, a treatment he extends to Damien, who has been officially going out with Jack for two point five weeks as of today. (We all know because Damien is ridiculously romantic and he celebrates the half-week anniversaries as well as the weekly ones. Yes, it makes the rest of us gag. In a nice way.)
    "Hello! Speaking of presents!" Shaunee said.
    "Yeah, bring that overbowed box over here to the present table and let Zoey get to opening," Erin said.
    I heard Jack whisper to Damien, "Overbowed?" and caught Damien's help look, as he assured Jack, "No, it's perfect!"
    "I'll carry it over to the table and open it first." I snatched the package from him, hurried to the table, and started to carefully extract the ginormous green sparkly bow from the red foil saying, "I think I'm going to save this bow because it's so cool." Damien gave me a thank-you wink. I heard Erik and Shaunee snickering and managed to kick one of them, which shut both of them up. Putting the bow aside I unwrapped and opened the little box and pulled out…
    Oh, jeesh.
    "A snow globe," I said, trying to sound happy. "With a snowman inside it." Okay, a snowman snow globe is not a birthday present. It's a Christmas decoration. A cheesy Christmas decoration at that.
    "Yeah! Yeah! And listen to what it plays!" Jack said, practically hopping up and down in excitement as he took the globe from me and wound a knob in its base so that "Frosty the Snowman" started tinkling out around us in painfully cheap and off-key notes.
    "Thank you, Jack. It's really pretty," I lied.
    "Glad you like it," Jack said. "It's kinda a theme for your birthday." Then he shot his eyes over to Erik and Damien. The three of them grinned at each other like bad little boys.
    I planted a smile on my face. "Oh, well, good. Then I'd better open the next present."
    "Mine's next!" Damien handed me a long, soft box.
    Smile wedged in place, I started to open the box, though I couldn't help wishing I could turn into a cat and hiss and run from the room.

CHAPTER TWO

    "Oooh, it's beautiful!" I stroked my hand over the folded material of the scarf, thoroughly shocked that I'd actually gotten a cool gift.
    "It's cashmere," Damien said smugly.
    I lifted it from the box, thrilled that it was a chic, shimmery cream color instead of the red or green birthmas presents I usually get. Then I froze, realizing I'd been thrilled too soon.
    "See the snowmen embroidered on the ends?" Damien said. "Aren't they adorable?"
    "Yep, adorable," I said. Sure— for Christmas they're adorable. For a birthday present, uh, not so much.
    "Okay, we're next," Shaunee said, passing me a big box haphazardly wrapped in green Christmas-tree foil.
    "And we didn't follow the snowman theme," Erin said, frowning at Damien.
    "Yeah, no one told us," Shaunee frowned at Damien, too.
    "That's okay!" I said a little too quickly and enthusiastically, and then tore into their package. Inside was a pair of black leather stiletto boots that would have been utterly cool and chic and fabulous … had it not been for the Christmas trees, complete with red and gold ornaments, that were stitched in full color on the side of each boot. This. Can. Only. Be. Worn. At. Christmas. Which makes it definitely a lame birthmas present.
    "Oh, thanks." I tried to gush. "They're really cute."
    "Took us forever to find them," Erin said.
    "Yeah, plain boots would not do for Ms.