n

n

nWe returned home together, even Jace and Naz came for dinner. Only Sara wasn't invited. The atmosphere was lively as a party was imminent.

n

"Welcome back kids!

" mother came out of the kitchen and gave me a huge hug before letting go and spudding Malia and the others. I taught her that.

nShe made sure we all washed our hands from dirt, then we sat together in the huge living room.

n

"Dayuum Zeref!

" Jace shrieked overzealously as he looked around at the huge mansion. That reminded me, this was his first time here,

"You've been living in this place without me. I thought we were friends. I heard even Malia is living with you.

" Jace joked around.

nI had never asked about Jace's financial situation. I felt like a pr*ck.

n

"You can live here too, my home is your home, what's mine is sometimes yours.

" I swung my arm around his neck playfully.

n

"Are you sure?

"

n

"Don't be a daft man. You can sleep in my room. There's enough space for even 3 more Jaces.

" I laughed.

nHe laughed too, until Naz broke us up,

"So Zeref, where'd you go off to after you left us. I'm sure we're all wondering and what is that eye patch for?

"

nWow. Straight to the point as usual.

n

"I went to train with Grandpa Zeref for a while and this eye patch, I got a scar on unfortunately during training, so I'm wearing the eye patch to cover it up.

" I lied.

nNaz scoffed at my answer before getting up and going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. A knock at the door could be heard right after and Malia got up instantly to go and open it. Both Jace and I turned our heads towards the door.

n

"Surprise!!!

" a group of people stood at the door, I recognized the familiar faces and a smile showed on my face. Miss Elena, Gramps, Johan and Ciara stood outside the door; Malia gestured for them to come in.

n

"You! Why are you here, you witch! Who invited this fiend?!

" Mr Xanxus showed up from the stairs and pointed at Miss Elena.

n

"Shut up! This time I brought the Chess Board. We're finishing what we started!

" Miss Elena said energetically. Both of them rushed towards the dining table and set up their chess game like little kids. That reminded me, I had bought a poker set during my visit to the market with Gramps; we could play that too.

nGramps greeted everybody before sitting down with us.

n

"So, who wants to play Poker?

" Gramps's eyes gleamed at the word 'poker'. That professional gambler, he knew he was going to win anyways. I had only won twice against him, the scores were 36-2. Poor gameplay from me.

n

"Poker? I'll play.

" Mike came downstairs rubbing his hair with his blue towel. He gave me a dirty look before sitting down at the table.

n

"Sure. Let's play, you guys better be ready I'm gonna make you guys go bankrupt!

" Jace laughed pulling me up from the sofa.

nNaz, Ciara and Johan all declined and decided to just watch instead, so the players were me, Jace, Gramps, Malia and Mike.

nWe all moved to a Cherrywood round table that appeared from my dimension ring. The poker set sat on top, enticing us to play.

n**

nDamn! My hand was amazing. I don't know why my luck was so good this round; I tried to hide my excitement. I looked around at everyone's faces. Jace went all in in the first round like a fool and lost all his money. Gramps was the richest right now, followed by Mike, Me and Malia. If I could win this round, I would be able to turn the tides and take the chips.

nOf course, the Poker we were playing was a baby game compared to real poker.

nI stared at my cards then stared at my opponents faces. Gramps and Mike were formidable, I couldn't tell if they had good hands or not, I couldn't read their faces. On the other hand, Malia had the worst face.

n

"I'm folding.

" Malia sighed before placing her cards on the table.

n

"Cat got your cards lil sis, quitting after betting half your chips.

" Mike mocked.

n

"That was the deadest joke I've ever heard.

" Malia laughed.

n

"Just like your useless life.

" Naz added, sneering at Mike before spudding Malia.

n

"Okay, okay kiddos quiet down. We're still in a game here.

" Gramps said seriously, eyeing Mike and I down.

n

"I'm betting two more chips.

" I said as I added 2 from my pile, the both of them reciprocated. There was a huge sum to win this round. There looked to be around a sum of 40-ish chips, with this I could take the lead.

n

"Is everyone done betting?

" Gramps, who played the dealer, asked.

nBoth Mike and I nodded; the last bet was over and we showed our cards.

n

"No way a royal flush!

" Mike exclaimed as he saw me place down my cards.

nGramps sighed,

"I win again.

"

n

"What do you me-

" Mike couldn't finish.

nWe all stared at the combinations of Gramps's cards, he had a royal flush like me, plus he had a pair. Damn!

nGramps smiled suspiciously before hugging all the chips at the centre. Something was telling me, this man was cheating.

n

"Okay! Dinner is ready! Everyone at the dinner table.

" Mother ordered. We left the poker set and table there before heading to the dining room.

n

"I win again! You bald assassin bimbo! Hahaha!

" Everyone turned their heads at Miss Elena's loud triumphant shout,

"Sorry.

" She apologised looking at us.

n

"Better luck next time Jace.

" Malia laughed looking back at Jace.

n

"I don't know why you're laughing, you folded two consecutive rounds!

" Jace argued back.

n

"I had a bad hand, at least I didn't bet all my chips in the first game like an idiot.

" Malia mocked.

n

"B-But Naz told me that's how you play the game.

" Jace tried to justify his stupid play. Naz giggled from behind.

n

"And you believed her?

" I laughed.

nMalia sighed, shaking her head at him while Naz laughed with me.

"Idiot.

" she teased, nudging Jace's arm which he shrugged off, annoyed.

nWe all sat down at the dinner table and admired the countless dishes available. The fresh aroma of roasted chicken and lamb swifted in the air, making me drool. Everything was freshly made; there were loafs of bread, succulent chicken strips and even scrambled eggs - which I had to avoid unfortunately.

nEveryone started to help themselves, passing the food around like parcels. The food was simply unfathomably amazing. The lamb stew melted on my tongue, and travelled down my oesophagus, enlightening me with a buzzing sensation. The acute combination of spices and herbs especially on the chicken wings made the flavour an intense roller coaster.

n

"Zeref, I'm never leaving this house. This food is heavenly!

" Jace said before gulping down a whole lamb chop.

n

"So Zeref, how did that training of yours go? Did you learn any new skills?

" Johan was the first to open up the conversation.

n

"Yeah it went well. Of course Gramps helped me, so my training went better than expected.

" I replied before taking in a mouthful of chicken. Gramps gave a Santa laugh in response.

n

"Zeref, me and the rest of the group were wondering since we missed your birthday, we should all go out on the weekend.

" Jace spoke with a stuffed mouth. Naz elbowed him in disgust at his poor table manners.

n

"I don't mind going.

" Mr Xanxus spoke.

nWho invited him? We didn't even decide where to go.

n

"A new amusement park opened up near the outskirts of town, the alchemy company made new rides powered by mana. What do you guys think?

" Ciara asked.

n

"That sounds alright.

" I replied.

nGramps and mother nodded in unison at my approval, showing that they agreed.

n

"So everyone can go. That's good.

" I announced.

n

"Actually I got plans on that day, so I can't come.

" Mike said quickly.

n

"One less cry baby, fine by me.

" Malia mocked her older brother.

n

"What did you say?

"

nAnother argument sparked and we all laughed as their petty sibling fight escalated into a food fight.

n

"Food Fight!!!

" Jace screamed as he threw food at Miss Elena's face.

nShe smirked and wiped her face clean with a handkerchief, before grabbing the roast turkey and smashing the plate on Mr Xanxus's face. I laughed as I looked at Mr Xanxus's 'What did I do?' face.

nThe food fight only begun and soon the whole room was becoming a mess, chicken and bits of food were all over the tables, chairs and even the walls. Johan, Ciara also joined in, even Gramps; he took it to a next level throwing dumpling rounds like a light machine gun. Dududududu! We took cover behind our chairs.

nThen a sharp mana presence enveloped the atmosphere and we all looked at the body emitting it. Mother was the only one not joining in. Her hair rose up and I swear I could see her eyes go a full shade of white. Damnn! She was scary!

n

"All of you, clean this up now!!! No one's leaving until this place is cleaned!

" she shouted. Me and Jace exchanged scared looks.

nEveryone gulped before starting the clean up of the mess.

nThis was going to be a long and fun night...

n