ZURIEL'S BIRTHDAY

"HEY, BUD!" Chad greeted Uhrel who was walking forthwith inside Bree's house.

They agreed to meet at Bree's house and spend the whole day there. It was already past ten in the morning and he still needed to go to his parents' house. Today is his older brother, Zuriel's birthday and he was forced to attend the party. He has no choice even if he doesn't want to.

He'll just go back tonight.

Uhrel nodded to Chad and turned to Bree who was busy keeping his eyes on the laptop screen in front of him.

"What's that?" Uhrel asked crookedly before reaching for the can of beer that Butch was handing him.

Bree grabbed his beer beside his laptop and took a sip without taking his glance out of his laptop's screen.

"Two weeks from now is Black Beat's anniversary and we have yet to choose a debutant to surprise," Bree replied before lowering the beer can that he was holding.

Uhrel's forehead furrowed even more at what he heard. Of course, the anniversary of their group is near and as a sign of gratitude to those who supported them from the beginning of their career up until now, they will choose a lucky debutant to give a surprise live performance. And Cold, their manager, gave them the right to choose.

Uhrel put the beer that he was holding on the table near him and looked at the forms that Bree was reading. He was startled when something hit his eyes as Bree continued to scroll down.

"Hey, stop!" He said this while patting Bree's hand that holding the mouse. He took it from Bree's hand who just shrugged his shoulders.

Uhrel scrolled down the forms and when he saw what he was looking for, he stared at the picture attached to it for a moment. And, without any second thought, he tap the enter icon on the screen.

"There!" he said softly before returning the mouse to Bree's hand who looked at him with a puzzled look but later on decided to just shake it off.

"Alright, buds!" Bree said while clapping to get the attention of Chad and Butch who were busy playing chess. "We've already chosen a debutant. Uhrel actually chose her, so let's get ready."

Chad and Butch both looked at Uhrel and smiled annoyingly.

"Is she beautiful?" Chad asked with a crack smile in the corner of his lips.

"Sexy?" Butch also asked with his eyes still twinkling that annoyed Uhrel.

"Back off, perverts!" Uhrel almost growled at the two before turning around and stepping into the kitchen to get another beer.

The three were left stunned as their eyes followed Uhrel who was taking his steps towards the kitchen.

"What?" Chad still seemed confused.

"What happened there?" Butch's raised a question while scratching his forehead.

Bree patted the two with a mysterious smile on his lips.

"Back off, he said," Bree repeated what Uhrel had said. "You know what that means, right?" He added and followed Uhrel in the kitchen.

The two were still stunned and as Chad come to realize what Bree means, he punch in the air and shouted.

"Hell, yeah!"

Butch turned his head to the laptop and stared at the picture.

"Hmm," he whispered weakly while his eyes were still on the laptop monitor. "Interesting!" he murmured.

LATER THAT NIGHT...

Uhrel was driving his car on his way to his parent's house because Zuriel's birthday would be held there. He was against his will to go to the party but he could do nothing. It was a request from Isadora Dela Torre, his mother. And, Uhrel couldn't just say no to her. He loves her mother more than anyone else and he doesn't have any guts to turn her down. Even if it means that he needs to stay at Zuriel's party.

His attention was diverted when his cellphone suddenly rang that was lying to the seat next to him. It was Thana, the only woman among them. They are four siblings, and the eldest was Zuriel, followed by Thana; next is Gabriel. And, he is the youngest.

"Hey, Thana," Uhrel greeted coldly after hitting the answer button and turning the speaker on.

He turned his attention back to driving while frowning.

"Hello, brother," he heard her reply on the other line. "I was wondering if it could be possible for you to stop by a party over Zuriel?" Thana asked after a moment of silence.

Uhrel could sense a little hesitation over Thana's voice and it was understandable. He wasn't on good terms with his eldest brother so she was hesitant to ask him now.

"As if I was really given a choice not to, eh? I'm on my way now, Thana — so you can take a breath already," he responded without any interest with his eyes fixed on the front.

Uhrel heard his sister let out a sigh of relief. It was as if a thorn had pulled out from her chest, and when she spoke again, there was already a hint of enthusiasm in his voice.

"Thank you, Uhrel!" Thana queered with joy in her voice. "See you later, okay. I wasn't able to catch up with you when you came here so maybe, we can have a little chitchat over a glass of wine later," she said merrily.

Uhrel sighed deeply before ending Thana's call. He had his own house so they do not often see each other or their parents. He decided to move out of their parent's house which was strongly opposed by his father, especially his Mom but they did nothing when he still followed what he wants. He can't live with Zuriel any longer and if he doesn't stay away from him, they will definitely kill each other sooner or later. It could be him or Zuriel.

His older brother was very disgusted with him for a reason he did not know. He was actually Zuriel's most favored brother when they were a little. It only changed when he was a teenager. It started when Zuriel reached his maturity age. He was fourteen when he felt the sudden change in his treatment to him until the moment came when they were already hurting each other that made their Mom so upset.

To avoid it to happen, he decided to leave their house, and it was also the time that Black Beat started to be noticed by the people; the band that he founded together with his friends. He was the only one who left home because Zuriel, Thana, and Geybrel remained in their house. And this is the first time that they will see each other again because he avoids even crossing paths with Zuriel when he visits his parents.

He turned his car into a diversion road where the gigantic trees are lined up on both sides of the road. One more turn and he finally saw his parents' three-story mansion and outside of it were already full of parked cars that were surely owned by his parents' close friends.

He stopped the car to one side and got out. Uhrel stood up and looked around for a moment. There were various colors of light scattered outside the mansion and he also noticed some of their family relatives walking towards the seemingly narrow staircase down their mansion.

Uhrel took a deep breath before he took his steps towards their house. He met a woman in red who politely greeted him to which he responded only with a soft nod. Instead of taking the stairs up to the inside of the mansion, he took the stairs down to the underground basement. Uhrel stopped on his track for a moment and took a deep breath. His fist clenched slightly before he continued o walk down the narrow staircase.

Everything is gonna be just fine, Uhrel. Go and kick some ass...