The New Elemental God

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A few hours earlier...

Loud music, high bass, yelling coming from all directions, that was the sound of a classic party by Adam Cross.

Near the DJ table the girls were piling up like flies and the dudes were just waiting to pick up the slacks.

Either way, they were blocking the narrow path between the sound stand and the fifty meters pool. Adam would have to go through them to get to his objective.

Worrying about what other people would think was never Adam's strong suit. With no time to ask politely for drunk people to get out the way, he turned his back at them and just pushed through. Girls in bikinis yelled complaints that he laughed at while passing by. 

Almost out of the hot sticky woods of people, he bumped on something tall. Adam pressed his back against it trying to make way but it didn't work. 

Carefully maneuvering in the sea of people, the boy managed to turn around to face his obstacle. A tall jerk. 

Looking over his shoulder, the guy smirked down at Adam then went back to his friends. There was no time for fun, it was an emergency, so without a second thought, Adam pushed the mountain of muscles out of the way.

Kicking and punching the water, the little bitch yelled petty insults at the Playboy, who crossed the crowd after they quickly made way for him.

Safe and dry at the other side, Adam stopped at the edge of the pool and looked down at the guy.

"Sorry, mate, cake emergency." In his hands he lifted the square decorated birthday cake. 

Having lost enough time with such unimportant people, the boy turned around and headed to the three steps under the balcony. 

At the top, he scanned the pool area, the bar, the dance floor, the catering and didn't find who he was looking for. There were so many strangers in his house he didn't even know where they all came from. 

Before leaving, he asked them to wait at the bar, and he wouldn't take long. They didn't listen, it was a habit of his friend to disappear on him. 

Balancing the cake on one hand, he picked up his phone and tried to call any of them again. Neither Finn, Rick or Bob were picking up. He also tried Jenifer, his long-term girlfriend and the love of his life, but she didn't reply to any of his texts ever since he left to pick up the package.

"The fuck are they?!" 

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he felt something sticky flow down his thumb. White frosting was staining his black leather jacket. That cake wasn't gonna last long.

Thinking clearly they wouldn't be in the pool with those random people. Knowing his friend well, they would be in a secret room smoking some of the good weed Finn carried with him.

They had to celebrate between them first, Jenifer got the job at the company. Only then, the real party would start. 

Already inside the house, at the main back entrance he reflected on possible hide-outs. He decided to start in his room, they always hang out there. He locked before leaving but Jenifer had the key. 

Adam licked the frosting and headed up stairs. He was excited to give his girl the gift he bought with the cake. Knowing she was going to be hired—since he was the one who tipped off his father about Jenifer applying for a position at the family company—Adam had a diamond ring made for her.

He knew he was young, but he loved Jenifer from the first time she slapped him in one of his parties.

 At eighteen, he didn't know better, he confused her for a girl he was dating and came from behind, and well, felt her up by mistake. Jenifer turned around and crossed his face with her hand, leaving a bright red mark that lasted for the whole night. 

After that he never got her out of his mind. The next morning he broke up whatever relationship he had and called her on a date. She laughed at him first but he used his charm and got to take her out for dinner. 

Three years passed since that slap, he was twenty one and she was twenty three. That red velvet cake was just an edible case for the ring on. Not to mention, it wasn't a party without cake. 

On the way up, he could only think about how proud he was of her. She always worked for everything and he was happy to help her get what she wanted. 

By his bedroom door he kicked it but no one answered. The lights were off so they weren't in there. 

Next he thought about his father's study. It had a great view of the woods and large windows so the smell of pot would not be trapped inside. 

Certain of their location, since they were always either in his room or in there when his parents weren't home, Adam decided to surprise them. Circling the whole first floor there was a balcony, he would get in the study through the outside door. 

On his hand the cake was melting all over. He had to hurry or there would be nothing left standing for his big announcement. 

At the top of the stairs there was a big doorway to the balcony that led to a resting area facing the lake. Adam turned left after the doors and hurried his steps while being extremely stealthy. 

First he crossed his parents room, which was locked and dark. Then came the relaxing room his mother built to -according to her- "endure the stress" of taking care of Adam and his father. She always made him laugh when talking about how yoga helped her to not strangle him every morning. 

Getting distracted by thoughts, Adam shook his head and focused on the turn ahead. The next room was the study. There was a window on the wall he was going to pass by. 

Crouching while holding a cake was actually harder than he imagined. It was even worse when the frosting had almost completely melted on his hands, making the strawberries begin to sadly decay to the sides. 

Under the window he could hear chatter. They were actually there, Adam celebrated on mute. From a distance he could only hear disconnected words. 

Before revealing himself he wanted to get closer, to cause a big reaction and be able to see their faces from up close. 

With burning tights, Adam crouched some more. The closer he got to the doors the louder the conversation got. He could perfectly hear it, they probably were sitting next to the door. 

Adam stopped, standing up with his back against the wall. He was ready to reveal himself but was detained by Finn's voice.

"It's so peaceful when he is not around."