"Ash! Wake up!" A hushed voice spoke as I was poked lightly. "Ash!"

"Huh?" I rolled over and slowly opened my eyes, waiting as my vision focussed.

"Happy birthday." Austin smiled. "Can I get in?"

"Happy birthday." I smiled back at him, shuffling over to one side, and lifting the covers so he could get in.

"We're sixteen." He giggled. It was a strange feeling, celebrating my sixteenth birthday with my twin brother who I'd only known about for roughly a year.

"We're old."

"I agree." He laughed. "Have you relaxed since your sugar high last night?" The previous night's events started flooding back as I woke up more. We had our dessert buffet, and I couldn't have eaten any sugarier treats if I tried. Turns out, I was a picky eater when I was given the choice, but I would eat anything sweet, regardless of taste or texture. For all of us to churn through the amount of sugar we had in our systems, we ended up playing a very intense game of basketball outside, despite me being completely inexperienced at the game. Since Austin and I were the birthday twins, we each got to be a team captain and take turns in choosing team members. I chose Ryan first, then it went back and forth until my team was filled by me, Ryan and River and Austin's with him, Nick, and Jonah. Jonah and I hadn't spoken once since the incident whilst we were in the cafeteria, so he was the last person I wanted on my team.

It was a tough game and I mostly just stepped back, trying my best not to get hurt, particularly after getting accidentally knocked down by Nick in the first 5 minutes. In the end, my team lost, much to Ryan's disgust and River's disappointment. We had a pending rematch coming up, but I wasn't in too much of a hurry to participate.

"Last night was fun." I told Austin.

"It was. You wanna know something?"

"Of course."

"Our family finally feels complete now you're home." In that moment I decided hearing that was the best thing I'd ever heard. "Footsteps!" He giggled. "Pretend you're asleep."

"Aw, look at them." Mum chuckled. "Just like when they were babies."

"We should just rip the covers off, that's what my parents would do." Dad joked.

"They would not! Your mum would never."

"See, that's what she wants you to think." I felt the bed dip next to me and my hair be brushed out of my eyes.

"Happy birthday you two." Mum spoke softly. I let my eyes flutter open, again, and sat up, hugging her.

"My turn." Austin pulled me back slightly, replacing me, making everyone laugh. "Presents?" He asked.

"You've got to get everyone else up first." Dad laughed.

"Well, I finally have my partner back this year. Two people should make it a breeze." He looked at me with a genuine face and I smiled back.

"Ash, I dare you to start jumping on Nick's bed when you try waking him up." Dad smirked. "But tell me before you do so I can film it."

"You're cruel!" Mum gaped, chuckling. "But let me know too."

"River first?" We devised our plan, agreeing he would wake Jonah, since I didn't want to, whilst I'd wake Ryan, then everyone could watch from a distance whilst we woke Nick. It was a Saturday, so he was sleeping in, of course, meaning he'd be very grumpy about having lost precious hours.

"Go away. I'll come down later." River groaned.

"No, come now!" I exclaimed. "It's our birthday!"

"I know. Now, out!"

"Come on, River." Austin grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"I'd be careful if I were you." River opened his eyes and smirked devilishly. "I currently don't have any clothes on." With that, Austin and I darted out of his room, leaving him laughing behind us.

Ryan was easy to wake, but not so easy to get up. He was more than happy to just lie there, holding me next to him.

"I have to go wake Nick!"

"As much as I would like to see that, I'm not moving. It's way too early for this." He grumbled.

"Then you have to at least let go of me." I tried to pry his hands away, but it didn't work. He was much, much stronger than I was.

"Nice try."

"Ryan!" I grumbled. It continued back and forth for a while until Austin appeared, with the rest of our family, minus Nick, in tow.

"C'mon, I got out of bed to see this and I'm not waiting any longer." River mumbled.

I creeped towards Nick's room, trying not to laugh. He'd left his blinds open, and it was already bright outside so thankfully I didn't have much trouble seeing what I was doing. I gently climbed onto his bed, still struggling to keep quiet. I looked back and got the nod from everyone else standing at the door, watching.

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!" I yelled, jumping up and down on his bed. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed a hold of my ankle and yanked me down to the bed, me screaming as it happened.

"Shut. The. Hell. Up." He growled. By then, everyone who was watching was doubled over in hysterics, killing themselves laughing.

"It's my birthday." I smiled sweetly at him.

"I don't care. Get out." He rolled away from me.

"Nicholas, that's very rude." I moved and started poking and prodding him, keeping his attention. He was quick to grab my wrists and send a deadening glare before he really processed that everyone else was in fact watching the whole scene.

"You're all horrible." He announced, but still pulled me in for a hug. "Happy birthday." He whispered.

"Oh, Nick," mum laughed, "we're just having a bit of birthday fun."

"Presents now?" Austin asked again. Before mum or dad could even respond, a voice from downstairs called.

"Where are my birthday twins?"

"Nana!" I yelled, beelining out of the room and rushing to greet her.