Turning Twelve

Summary: Coraline's twelfth birthday doesn't go exactly as it was planned. Can she still make it turn out right? Summary sucks, but the story is good, I swear. R&R, please!!

A/N: Heeeeeey!

So, this story, in case you don't know, takes place during Coraline's birthday. In this fic, Coraline's birthday is February 6th. That's when Coraline came out last year. Just thought that was a fun bit of trivia :) I tried to get all the characters right and make this as Coraline-ish as possible with just a little dash of some humor. Also I added a little nod to my fic 'Happy Holidays (yeah, right)". I had SO much fun writing this and I hope you like it!! :)

Oh yeah, and as you may notice, Melanie Forrest and Savannah Witherspoon are mentioned a little bit in this fic and they should be mentioned a lot more later on. I'm kinda getting attached to them…so they may turn out as bigger characters than I'd imagined. ;)

Please review!!! I'll give you virtual cupcakes!! Thanks :)

WARNING: RATED T FOR A LITTLE BIT OF INAPPROPRIATE-NESS – NOTHING BAD, I SWEAR. JUST PRE-TEENS ACTING IN THEIR PRE-TEEN WAYS. BUT NOT A LOT. UNLESS YOU'RE A WEIRD FREAK, YOU WON'T MIND IT.

Disclaimer: I don't own Coraline. Coraline belongs to Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick. I do own Lucy Barfield, Melanie Forrest, Savannah Witherspoon, and Martha Yackman.

~*~

Coraline woke up that morning and as soon as her eyelids fluttered open a smile lit up her face. Why? Because it was the first day of February. And that meant that her birthday was only in six days. Yes! Coraline hopped out of bed and opened up her closet doors to take out her boring, drab, Gerkley school uniform, but she hardly minded today. She was already feeling the excited ness of her birthday coming up.

She and her parents hadn't talked much about her birthday, but what they had she knew she was going to be able to have a small party at her house. The next step was being able to convince them to have a sleepover. She hadn't had a sleepover since second grade when Lizzie from Michigan had thought it'd be funny to prank call their neighbors.

That was before they'd heard of a little thing called Caller ID.

But Coraline figured, since she was almost an adult now, she should be able to have one measly sleepover, right?

Although she wasn't sure she'd be able to talk her mom into letting Wybie spend the night.

But, still determined, Coraline tied on some Nike sneakers and thudded down the stairs where her mom and dad sat at the kitchen table. "Hi," Coraline said as cheery as possible.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Mel asked, pouring some milk into her coffee.

"Oh, nothing…" Coraline said as casually. "I'm just excited for my birthday, I guess."

"Uh-huh," Mel Jones said, sitting down at her place at the kitchen table. "And you're going to try and convince me to let you have a sleepover birthday party, aren't you?"

Oh well. Since she was onto her, she might as well give up the whole "nice" thing. "Please, Mom?" Coraline pleaded. "We'll be good, I swear."

Mel sighed. "You know I don't like sleepovers, Coraline. Not since that stunt you and Lizzie pulled back in second grade."

"But Mom, that was a long time ago! I'm turning twelve now! Don't you think you should have a little faith in a young adult?" Coraline asked pleadingly, making a pouty face.

Mel snorted. "A young adult, huh?"

"Okay, fine. I'm not a young adult yet. But in almost a year I'm going to officially be a teenager. I'm responsible!" Coraline swept her arms out wide, knocking over the carton of milk on the table. "Oops."

Mel raised her eyebrows. "Yep. You're responsible all right."

"That's right," Coraline said nodding. "I am. Because responsible people clean up milk spills, which is exactly what I'm going to do." She headed towards the sink, which was where they kept the paper towels.

Mel sighed. "Are you sure you'll be good?"

Forgetting about the paper towels, Coraline whirled around and nodded. "Uh-huh! Honest. You won't even know we're there."

"And who would this "we" be?" Mel wanted to know.

"I dunno…Lucy and…Wybie?" Coraline asked tentatively. Since Mel wasn't saying 'no' yet, Coraline added, "And maybe Lizzie and Jake." Lizzie and Jake were her two best friends from Michigan who she hadn't seen since over the summer.

"I think it's a little late to be inviting them," Mel said dubiously. "They'd have to catch a plane and tickets for planes should usually be bought ahead in advance. Plus you're already going to visit them in Michigan over the summer," Mel reminded her. Mel and Charlie (Coraline's father) had gotten her airplane tickets to Pontiac, Michigan for Christmas so that Coraline could visit her two best friends again.

"I know, but…they still haven't been here yet," Coraline reminded her mom.

Mel sighed again. "I dunno, honey…Charlie, what do you think?" Mel looked over at her husband.

Charlie lowered his newspaper, eyes wide. "Well…I don't know, honey. I-I think this is your decision, not mine. I'm fine for whatever you go with."

Mel rolled her eyes teasingly and turned back to her eager daughter. She sighed, closing her eyes and said in a defeated sort of voice, "I guess."

"YES!!!" Coraline screamed in excitement. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Mom!" Coraline wrapped her mom in a bear hug. "I love you!"

"Sure, now you do," Mel joked. "Go get yourself some cereal, your bus is going to be here in about fifteen minutes. And don't forget to brush your teeth," she added.

"Okay!" Coraline said, and she let out a yelp as she found herself sliding forward as she stepped into something slippery. She grabbed the counter to steady herself and looked down at the puddle of white liquid beside the empty carton of milk on the floor. Coraline giggled nervously. "I'll clean that up."

"Yes, you're ready to be a teenager alright," Mel said sarcastically, sipping her coffee.

Coraline made a face.

~*~

"So your mom seriously let you have a sleepover birthday party?" Lucy Barfield asked, leaning over her hamburger on her lunch tray.

"Yup," Coraline said, nodding and grinning.

Coraline, Wybie, and Lucy sat at their usual table in the Gerkley Elementary Private School Cafeteria for grades first through sixth. All three friends were in sixth grade and had all their classes together (except for Exploratory) but this was Coraline's first chance to tell her friends about her birthday party situation.

"So who are you gonna invite?" Wybie wanted to know.

"You guys, obviously, and maybe Lizzie and Jake, my two best friends from Michigan," Coraline said, sipping on her chocolate milk. She made a disgusted face as she set it back down. "Sour," she muttered.

"Cool. So, when is it gonna be?" Lucy wanted to know.

"The fifth," Coraline replied, pushing her chocolate milk carton away. "Not sure what time," she added as an afterthought.

"Will there be movies and snacks and stuff?" Wybie wondered.

"Yeah!" Coraline said, smacking Wybie lightly on the arm. He still winced a little and Coraline smirked. "You've gotta start working out or something, why-were-you-born."

"Yeah, yeah," Wybie muttered, rolling his eyes and blushing.

~*~

When Coraline got home she picked up the phone and carried it into her bedroom where she dialed Lizzie's number (she had it memorized). After the sixth ring the answering machine picked up. "Hey, Lizzie, it's Coraline," Coraline said into the phone after the beep. "Listen, I know it's a little early, but I was wondering if you could come to my birthday party on the fifth this weekend. Call me back, bye."

Next she called Jake (she had memorized his phone number as well). The phone was picked up after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Coraline," Coraline said to the receiver. "Is Jake there?"

"Oh, hi, Coraline," the voice replied. "This is Rachel." Rachel was Jake's seven year old little sister who could be a pain sometimes but Coraline thought she was kind of cute. Jake also had a younger brother, Michael, who was five.

"Hey, Rachel," Coraline said cheerily. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Rachel replied. Coraline could almost see her dimply smile. "I'm just watching TV."

"Oh, really?" Coraline asked, pretending to sound interested. "What are you watching?"

"SpongeBob," Rachel replied. "It's the one where –"

"Cool," Coraline interrupted, not letting her finish. "So, can you put Jake on for me?"

"He's not here," Rachel replied. "He's at band practice."

"Oh," Coraline said, disappointed. "Well, can you tell him to call me back as soon as he gets home?"

"Sure," Rachel replied. "Ooh! It's back on. Bye Coraline!"

Click.

Coraline stared at the phone, sighed, and placed it on the cradle. Oh well, Coraline thought, trying to cheer herself up. Maybe they'll call back later today. Anyway, I'll still have an awesome party, even if they don't show up.

After making a quick snack, she went to do her homework, excited again.

~*~

"I think we should buy some decorations for my party," Coraline told her mother on the ride home from school. Mel had started picking Coraline up after school every Tuesday, and on the other days she rode the bus home. Wybie usually carpooled with her, but he had a dentist appointment and had left school early.

"You certainly are excited," Mel commented, glancing at her daughter in the rearview mirror.

Coraline shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "I guess," she said.

"I don't think we need decorations," Mel said to Coraline. "We could buy some party favors at Holiday City if you want to, though."

"Okay," Coraline replied, grinning.

So Mel drove to Holiday City, which wasn't too far away from the Pink Palace Apartments. Mel and Coraline got out of the car and entered the store, where they were greeted by bunches of paper Mache hearts in honor of Valentine's Day that month. Coraline went over to the Birthday section, where she found some paper plates and napkins and other good party things. Coraline bought a package of plastic cups, plates, and napkins along with a bag of candy and some Valentine's Day Heart Candies for the goody bags. Then, after they browsed a little, they headed home.

"I wonder if Jake or Lizzie called," Coraline said as she set the bag of party favors on the kitchen table. Mel sat down at the kitchen table and opened her laptop while Coraline raced to the phone, checking the answering machine. They had three messages but none of them were from Lizzie or Jake. Sighing, Coraline headed upstairs to do her homework.

"Hey, Mom?" Coraline asked when she was done. "I'm going to go outside. Watch the phone for me," Coraline said as she pulled on her rain boots and raincoat. Luckily it was raining outside, but it had rained yesterday and it was pretty muddy.

"Okay," Mel said, not looking up from her laptop. "Don't go too far."

"I won't," Coraline called as she stepped out the door. Coraline breathed in the smell of the outdoors before skipping down the steps. She decided to head over to the garden, which was one of her favorite places to go to.

Coraline, her parents, Mr. B, and Miss Spink and Forcible had all worked together to get the Pink Palace Garden to look better, and it did. They weren't done mastering it yet, but it was almost complete – there were a few empty spots and of course some of the plants had died or been pounded by rain, but other than that it looked quite neat. Coraline did a small inspection before she decided to leave and head back inside. "Did Jake or Lizzie call?" she asked her mom.

Mel looked up from her laptop. "Actually, both of them did," Mel said. "Lizzie called almost immediately after Jake did."

"What did they say?" Coraline asked, sitting down at the kitchen table and grabbing a box of Reduced Fat Cheese Nips.

"They said they were sorry but they couldn't come. Too short notice," Mel said, frowning sympathetically. "At least you'll see them over the summer."

"Oh," Coraline said, her smile fading. "I guess," she said, shrugging. "I'm going to go upstairs and read," she said, taking the box of Cheese Nips with her.

After reading a few pages of Ruby Hollow, the book they were reading in English, Coraline decided she would not despair. Her party could still be often – even if it was two people short.

~*~

Coraline explained the Lizzie and Jake situation to Wybie and Lucy on Wednesday. Not being able to be very sympathetic, they told her that the party was still going to be awesome. Luckily, they didn't have any homework that day, so she and Lucy got to ride the bus home to Wybie's and hang out for a little while until Mel picked Coraline up. Since there wasn't much to do, she went outside before it started raining like the weatherman had predicted. She checked up on the garden again and played Pinecone Toss in the woods (a game where she gathered all the pinecones she could find and threw them into the road to watch them get run over by cars. It was more fun than it sounded) before heading back up to the Pink Palace and was about to go back inside when she saw Miss Spink walking one of her dogs. Which one is that…Jack? Coraline didn't know, and she didn't really care. "Good afternoon, Miss Spink," Coraline said as she skipped up to her. Of course the dog went berserk and started yapping at her like there was no tomorrow. Coraline inched away from it.

"Oh, stop it!" Miss Spink scolded, swatting the dog. It glared at the elderly woman but remained silent. "Hullo, Caroline," Miss Spink said in her British accent, looking up and smiling kindly at the girl.

"Coraline," Coraline corrected her politely.

Miss Spink smiled before continuing, "Sorry about him." She gestured to the dog at her feet. "He's very protective. Nice to get a break from all the rain, isn't it?"

"Yes," Coraline agreed, nodding. "It is."

"So, what have you been up to, dear?" Miss Spink wanted to know.

"Nothing, really," Coraline replied, shrugging. "My birthday is Saturday," she added as an afterthought. "I'm having a party on Friday."

"Oh! Well, happy early birthday, then," Miss Spink said.

"Thank you," Coraline replied politely.

"Well, I must get a move on. Miriam's fixing some tea. Would you like to stay for a cup, sweetie?" Miss Spink asked.

"No, thanks," Coraline replied truthfully. She didn't really like tea. "Maybe some other time, though."

"Alright then. Ta-ta," Miss Spink waved to her as she kept on walking her dogs. Coraline explored around the house a bit before going back inside.

~*~

It was Thursday when Coraline really started to get excited. She drove Lucy and Wybie nuts talking about the party. Finally, after the school day seemed to drag on, Coraline got to go home.

"We should rent some movies for the party," Coraline suggested when she got home. "And maybe buy some snacks. And we still need cake. You can't have a party without cake," she added.

Mel sighed, shutting her laptop. "Coraline, I'm kind of busy right now," she told her daughter, gesturing to the laptop.

"But Mo-o-om!" Coraline whined. "We have to! There's not going to be any time tomorrow!" she pointed out.

Mel sighed again before replying, "Oh, alright. But let me finish this page in the catalog first," she added as an afterthought.

When Mel was done, the two women loaded into the car and headed over to BlockBuster, where Coraline rented Pirates of the Caribbean, The Corpse Bride, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. They bought two packets of popcorn to be made in the microwave and Coraline convinced her mom to buy a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. After they paid for their items, Coraline dragged her mom over to Mall-Martwhere they bought two bags of Lays chips (original and barbeque), a cylinder of Pringles (sour cream and onion), a liter of orange soda, a liter of Coke, and a box of cupcakes ("No cake," Mel had said). Then they were driving home again.

"Thanks, Mom," Coraline said through two bags of groceries.

Mel sighed. "No problem."

After doing her homework, Coraline headed outside again to possibly go over to Wybie's. When she stepped out the door and began walking to Wybie's she spotted a familiar blue figure dangling from the Pink Palace fire escape. "Hi, Mr. B!" Coraline called to the blue gymnast.

Mr. Bobinsky turned around and dropped from the fire escape with ease, as light as a feather. He stood up and walked towards Coraline. Mr. B was known to be a little eccentric – no one in the Pink Palace had ever been inside his apartment, and as far as she knew, only Coraline had seen it, but it was only a glimpse. It was extremely messy, but according to Mr. B, his Jumping Mouse Circus was in there. "Hello, Caroline," Mr. B greeted her in his thick Russian accent.

"Coraline, Mr. B," the blue-haired girl reminded him.

"I was just doing some exercises before practicing with the mooshkas again," Mr. B went on like he hadn't heard her.

"Okay," Coraline said, nodding. "How are the…mooshkas, Mr. B?"

"They are getting better," Mr. B said, thinking for a minute. "However, they still need practice. They will be ready to perform soon…three or four months, say."

"That's good," said Coraline, nodding again.

"So what has little Caroline been up to?" Mr. B asked her.

"Nothing much, really," Coraline said, shrugging. "I'm having my birthday party tomorrow. I'm turning twelve Saturday."

"Ah!" Mr. B said, nodding. "The mooshkas and I will have to fix you up a present then."

"Okay," Coraline said, grinning. She did like presents.

"Well, I must go, Caroline! Das Vidania!" He jumped up, grabbing the fire escape rail, and swung out of sight.

"It's Coraline," Coraline muttered into the air, rolling her eyes and heading back inside.

~*~

It was official.

Coraline was definitely excited.

In less than thirty minutes, Coraline's birthday party was starting.

It was true school hadn't been pleasant – Melanie Forrest, the snobbiest girl Coraline knew, had called her shoes ugly (of course Coraline had kicked her in the shin when she got up to sharpen her pencil, but she hadn't done it hard enough), her pregnant music teacher had been particularly unpleasant, and after lunch Coraline's stomach felt a little queasy (it had gone away after science but it still hurt like crap) but despite all of this Coraline was still excited.

She, her mom, and her dad had spent the last hour cleaning the house and putting the snacks up on the table, and now that everything was done she was sitting outside on the steps, waiting for Wybie and Lucy to arrive.

Suddenly Coraline heard a familiar purr and turned to see Cat sitting next to her. Most would be startled, but Coraline was used to Cat appearing and disappearing all the time. Coraline grinned. "Hello, Cat," she said, stroking it behind the ears. Cat closed his eyes contentedly. "Did you know my birthday party is today? Wybie may have talked to you about it…he and Lucy are coming over." Of course, Cat didn't reply, but Coraline liked talking to Cat when no one else was around. They had a sort of special bond.

"Hey, Jonesy!"

Coraline looked up to see no other than Wybie Lovat walking up the driveway she grinned and waved as he hopped up the steps two at a time. "You're early," Coraline remarked as he slid next to her.

Wybie shrugged. "Yeah, well." He pointed to his bag. "Where do I put this?"

"C'mon," Coraline hopped up and Wybie followed her inside, where they put Wybie's bag in the living room. Then they went back outside and scratched Cat while talking about various things (like school) until they heard the crunch of tire across gravel and looked up as they saw Lucy's mom's red Honda pulling into Coraline's driveway. "Hey, guys!" Lucy called, hopping out of the car and swinging her bag over her shoulder. Her sleeping bag was tucked under her arm.

"Hey, Lu!" Coraline called back. Coraline and Wybie led Lucy inside where Lucy stored her stuff next to where Wybie's stuff was and they got some Pringles from the kitchen and went back into the living room where Coraline turned on the Wii and they played Mario Kart for about thirty minutes. Lucy was winning when Coraline's mom interrupted and greeted Coraline and Wybie, reminded them that there were snacks in the kitchen, and then left. They kept on playing for about fifteen more minutes when Lucy got bored and said, "Hey, can we go in the barn?"

Coraline shrugged. "Sure."

The Pink Palace Apartments had a barn not too far away from the apartments. A German man had lived in the apartments and had kept horses there to train them. Now it was vacant. Coraline had explored the inside her third week moving in and liked to hang out in the rafters and sit on the boxes and pretend she had a horse and was rich and lived on a large estate (but she would never admit this to anyone). Since no one was using it, Coraline, Lucy, and Wybie had declared it their secret meeting place where they liked to talk about people at school – for instance, people they liked and people they didn't. Melanie Forrest, Savannah Witherspoon, and Martha Yackman were a prime topic in this discussion. They didn't have many friends at school (except for each other) so they rarely talked about people they liked.

As the three made their way across the lawn, Coraline pulled her hood up, muttering about bad weather as it started to rain. "I like rain," Lucy had said reproachfully as she yanked the barn door open.

"Yeah, me too," Coraline grumbled. "When I'm inside and it's not really muddy."

Lucy shrugged as the three entered the barn. "So, whatchya wanna talk about?" she asked as she jumped up onto a wooden box. Coraline and Wybie slid next to her.

"Melanie and Savannah get on my last flippin' nerve," Coraline complained.

"I know!" Lucy cried, nodding in agreement. "I mean, today, they had the nerve to tell me that my outfit didn't match with my shoes." Lucy glanced down at her outfit. "Their faces don't match!"

"That didn't make any sense," Wybie pointed out.

"Whatever," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

"Can you believe we're almost halfway through the school year?" Wybie asked, looking up at the rafters above the ceiling.

"I know, it's so awesome," Coraline said. "I love summer."

"Ha," Lucy laughed dryly. "Not here. It rains all the time and you never get to go to the pool."

"There's always the indoor pool at the YMCA," Coraline reminded her.

"Yeah but that's only for people who are members," Lucy pointed out.

"Who cares if it's raining while you're swimming?" Wybie demanded. "You're gonna get wet anyway!"

"True," Coraline pointed out.

"Yeah, but if it starts thundering and lightening you have to get out or you get fried," Lucy reminded them.

"Yeah but if it's just raining you're good," Wybie countered.

"Yeah but even when it's not raining its all gray outside and you can't get a tan," Lucy said with a pout.

"Spray tan," Coraline reminded her.

"Eew, no way! I don't want a Lohan Tan!" Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"What?" Wybie demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"A Lohan Tan," Lucy repeated. "You know, Lindsey Lohan?"

"Ohhh," Coraline and Wybie said in unison.

They talked for about ten more minutes before they decided to head back inside. They found Coraline's dad in the kitchen, standing by the oven and peering in. The oven light was on. "Uh, dad?" Coraline asked, sounding confused. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking casserole," Charlie said with a grin, glancing over at them. "Why?"

"Why?" Coraline demanded.

"Well for dinner, of course!" Charlie replied.

"But we're ordering pizza from Hungry Howard's for dinner," said Coraline.

"Really? I didn't hear anything about that," Charlie shrugged, turning back to the oven.

"MOOOOOOOOM!" Coraline screamed at the top of her lungs. Charlie winced and Mel burst into the kitchen. "What?" she snapped, sounding irritated.

"Why is Dad making casserole?" Coraline wanted to know, looking miffed, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"For dinner. Why else?" Mel demanded.

"But Mo-om!" Coraline whined. "We're supposed to order pizza!"

"You never said you wanted pizza," Mel said, lifting an eyebrow.

Coraline threw up her hands in exasperation. "Mom! This is a party. You always order pizza for parties." Lucy and Wybie remained silent, glancing at each other, eyebrows raised.

"Augh," Mel sighed in exasperation. "Suck it up, Coraline." Then she walked away.

"Ugggghh!" Coraline groaned, beating her head against the cold table. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. She sighed and glanced at her friends. "Let's go to my room," she sighed glumly.

Wybie and Lucy looked at each other, shrugged, and looked back at Coraline. "Okay," they said in unison.

~*~

Not long after that Mel called them down for dinner. Coraline had groaned and they stomped down the stairs where Coraline sulkily slumped in her chair. Awkwardly, Wybie and Lucy slid into their own chairs. "This is no way to act on your birthday, Coraline," Mel said sharply. "Keep it up and you just might not be able to open your presents."

Coraline considerably brightened up after this but still didn't eat much of her food, claiming she wasn't hungry. Wybie and Lucy took a bite and immediately claimed they had eaten before they'd come.

After dinner was dismissed, Coraline grinned and said, "Can we open presents now?" Lucy and Wybie looked at her, amused. She almost looked like a preschooler, excited about opening presents.

Mel shrugged. "I guess. We'll do cupcakes after."

"Awesome," Coraline grinned harder and told Wybie and Lucy, "We're gonna go in the living room to open them."

"'Kay," Lucy said. Wybie shrugged and the two friends followed her into the newly renovated living room. It now had carpet and a cute beanbag chair and coffee table and a loveseat and plush couch. The three friends squeezed onto the loveseat. On the coffee table were some bags that were obviously birthday presents.

Mel and Charlie entered the room and Lucy gave her the first package, claiming it was from her. Coraline ripped it open to get a fuzzy scarf and Wii Sports Resort for the Wii. Coraline opened Wybie's next, which were two tickets to spend on anything at the Ashland Cinema and a Webkinz. (A/N: In case you're stupid, a cinema is a movie theater.) Next she opened the present from Jake and Lizzie, which was Wii Fit. Then she opened a bag from the Bakers, which was Mario Party 8 for Wii and a journal to draw things in. The Barrys (second cousins) had sent her a Colbie Caillat CD and a cool lunch-box with secret compartments to carry to school. Her grandparents had sent her a Vera Bradley backpack. Coraline had to admit she wasn't very fond of this brand but even she agreed the backpack was cool. "I'll use it next year," she had said. Aunt Mallory, Uncle Nick, and Sarah had sent her the first five books in the Anne of Green Gables series. The Hawkinsons' (second cousins) had given her three pairs of colorful socks, and her grandparents from her dad's side had given her some underwear and a bra, which Wybie had blanched at and quickly looked away. Last was her mom and dad's present, which was a black MP3 player. It wasn't nice, but Coraline was ecstatic because she'd always wanted one.

Then they all went to eat some cupcakes. After they were done they went into the living room again to clear way some of the wrapping paper and play Wii Fit. By then it was starting to get dark so Coraline cut off the lights and said, "Let's watch a movie." She went into the kitchen and returned with the movies from BlockBuster. "Wanna watch The Corpse Bride?"

Lucy and Wybie glanced at each other and shrugged.

Coraline popped the DVD in and the three unrolled their sleeping bags and sprawled across the floor. Coraline brought in the snacks and the three munched and chatted and watched. When the movie was over Coraline took it out and decided they watch some TV. Wizards of Waverly Place was on, so they settled on watching that. It started to rain a little, but no one really minded. After that and two episodes of Suite Life on Deck, Lucy grabbed the remote and muted the TV. "Let's play truth or dare," she said excitedly.

Wybie raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that one of those games that girls play at sleepovers?"

"No, it's fun," Lucy insisted.

"I've never played," Coraline said, sounding dubious.

"Well, now you're going to," Lucy insisted firmly. "Here's how you play. I'll say Wybie, truth or dare? If you say truth, I'll ask you a question and you have to say the complete truth, no matter what. If you say dare, I dare you to do it and you have to do it, no matter what. If you don't do the dare, you get to pull the chicken card, which can only be pulled once. The chicken card isn't a real card, it's just when you back out of a dare you HAVE to do the chicken card no matter what. If you don't, you're out of the game. The person who successfully completes the most truths and dares by the end of the game wins. Chicken cards don't count." Lucy paused, letting it sink in. "You got it?"

"Yeah," Coraline said, nodding. "A few rules have to be established though. We can't do anything that would get us in trouble with the neighbors or my parents, we can't do anything really inappropriate, and the drawing room is off-limits."

"Why?" Lucy wanted to know.

Coraline shifted uncomfortably. "It just is."

"Okay." Lucy shrugged. "Sounds fair. Who wants to go first?" Wybie and Coraline didn't move and Lucy rolled her eyes. "Fine, I will. Coraline, truth or dare?"

"Uh…truth, I guess." Coraline shrugged.

"Okay. Um…is it true that you like anyone?" Lucy shrugged, as if she couldn't think of anything.

"As in a guy?" Coraline wanted to know.

"Yeah."

"No," Coraline replied truthfully.

"Ugh. This is a girly sleepover game." Wybie groaned.

"It is not!" Lucy said, slugging him in the arm. "It would be less girly if one of you chose dare. I only asked that question 'cause I couldn't think of anything else."

"Okay then," Wybie said dubiously.

"Okay, Coraline, it's your turn to ask truth or dare," Lucy said.

"'Kay. Um…Wybie, truth or dare?" Coraline asked the boy.

"Truth," Wybie replied after a moment's thought.

"Baby," Lucy scoffed.

"What?" Wybie demanded.

"Okay. Um…is it true that…you hate Mr. Turner?" Mr. Turner was their evil Pre-Algebra teacher who always called on them when they didn't know the answers and it was very obvious.

"No, he's my favorite teacher," Wybie said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What kind of question is that?"

Coraline shrugged. "It would've been easier if you'd chosen dare."

"You didn't choose dare!" Wybie pointed out.

"So?" Coraline demanded. "Anyway, it's your turn."

"Fine. Lucy, truth or dare?" Wybie asked the blonde.

"Dare, duh," Lucy straightened up.

"Okay. Um…I dare you to go outside and sing the Alphabet Song at the top of your lungs while doing the octopus dance," Wybie declared after a moment of thought.

"It's raining," Lucy said flatly. She raised an eyebrow. "And what the heck is the octopus dance?"

"It's not raining that hard," Wybie pointed out. "Here." Wybie stood up and danced around in a circle, his arms wiggling and flailing about. "That's the octopus dance."

Coraline yanked him down. "Never do that again," she said, slugging him in the arm. "Ouch," he winced, rubbing his arm. "Okay."

Lucy looked a little dubious, but she shrugged. "Okay." Grabbing her American Eagle hoodie, she through it over herself and slipped on her Nike sneakers. Coraline and Wybie followed her outside, the two shivering friends sitting on the steps while Lucy went out into the middle of the driveway and mimicked the dance Wybie had performed in the living room, belting out the Alphabet Song at the top of her lungs. Coraline and Wybie collapsed into giggles.

"HEY!! KEEP IT QUIET OUT THERE!!"

"Holy crap!" Coraline shrieked, and the three friends rushed back inside, panting and giggling as they fell into a heap on the living room floor. "That…was…sooo…funny!" Coraline panted.

"Okay." Wybie said after he had calmed down. "It's starting to really rain, anyway, so we probably shouldn't go outside anymore. Your turn, Lu."

And the game continued on. After a while Coraline and even Wybie started saying truth instead of dare. The dares got more and more silly, like sneaking into Mel and Charlie's room or showing their "full moon" out the window, if you catch my drift. The rain pounded a little harder but they were laughing too hard to hear the quiet rumbling in the distance. The lightnening was a little scary, but not very – if you grew up in Portland, you were used to it.

"Okay, Wybie," Lucy giggled. "Truth or – HOLY CRAP!"

Suddenly the three kids let out squeals as the lamp and TV abruptly shut off. "What happened?" Lucy said in a dead whisper.

"The power must've went out," Coraline replied, sounding a tiny bit scared.

"No dip, Sherlock!!"

"Well you asked!"

Coraline got up, throwing her blanket over her shoulders, and headed into the kitchen. When she returned she had three flashlights. She tossed two to Lucy and Wybie. Shivering, she sat back down on her sleeping bag. "This sucks," she muttered, glaring out the window. "I hate thunderstorms."

"Yeah," Lucy and Wybie agreed, nodding.

They were quiet for a moment, with nothing to listen to but the pounding of rain and the thunder when Coraline spoke up and said, "You wanna play a board game or something?" She crawled over to the closet and pulled out Battleship and Monopoly. All three of them knew they were too scared to keep on playing Truth or Dare.

"Sure."

The three friends sprawled across the floor and played a round of Monopoly, being unusually quiet. The thunderstorm was still raging when Coraline spoke up, "We should play 'Would you rather?'."

"What's that?" asked Lucy, sitting up.

"It's a game me and my friends used to play back in Michigan," Coraline explained. "Sorta like 'Truth or Dare?'. For example, 'Lucy, would you rather swim in a vat of mayonnaise or ranch dressing?'. Sorta like that. Oh, and you can't say 'Neither.'"

"Sounds fun," Lucy said. Wybie nodded in agreement. "You start."

"Okay." Coraline agreed. "Uh…Wybie. Would you rather…staple your fingers together or kiss a guy?" Lucy snickered and put her hands over her mouth to cover them up.

"Eww," Wybie gagged in the dark. "Um…I guess I'd rather staple my fingers together."

Coraline shrugged. "Okay. Your turn."

The game went on for about thirty minutes until everyone ran out of ideas and got bored. That's when Wybie introduced the game 'Who do you hate more?'. "It's kinda like 'Would you rather?'," Wybie explained. "You say, "Who do you hate more – Martha Yackman or Melanie Forrest?' and then you'd choose." Wybie shrugged.

"Okay," Coraline and Lucy agreed.

They played that for about the next fifteen minutes until they ran out of people to use, so they decided to use movie stars, also.

"Who do you hate more, Melanie Forrest or the Jonas Brothers?" Lucy wanted to know, flopping onto her stomach.

"Melanie Forrest," Coraline decided. "I don't really know the Jonas Brothers."

"Same," Wybie agreed.

Eventually they added in animals, bugs, family members, foods, movies, books, TV shows, music, and even Barbie. By the end of it they were laughing their heads off, the thunderstorm had died down, and the lights were back on.

With nothing else to do, Lucy plugged in her iPod to the radio where they listened to Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift (while Wybie bluntly protested against them) while watching George Lopez, even though their parents didn't let them watch those kind of shows. They talked and snacked and laughed until finally they passed out from exhaustion, the lyrics to Miranda Cosgrove's FYI coming from the speakers.

"Girls like boys
Who never want to stay, you see
As soon as they walk away
We step in their direction

That's okay
Who wants to have some guy, not I
Sticking right by my side
We cannot take rejection
This is for your information…
FYI!"

Later, Wybie claimed he had nightmares about girly teen pop stars. Lucy had rolled her eyes and smacked him in the arm.

The first thing Coraline thought when she woke up was "I'm twelve." The next thing she thought was how her back ached, and the next was how she didn't want to get up. Finally Mel came in to shake them awake, saying it was breakfast and Coraline had a visitor. "Who would visit me nooow?" Coraline whined. But she climbed grumpily out of her sleeping bag, Wybie and Lucy on her heels. Coraline opened the door to face Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. Great. Just what I needed – my crazy neighbors. "Uh, hi," Coraline said awkwardly.

"Are those your neighbors?" Lucy mouthed at Coraline. She'd heard much about them but had never seen them.

"Yeah," Coraline mouthed back.

Lucy's eyes widened and Coraline grimaced at her. She turned back to the door. "Uh…what's up?" She yawned and rubbed the grit out of her eyes.

"Well, we just wanted to wish you a happy birthday, Caroline." Miss Spink smiled brightly. "Might we come in?"

"Uh…hang on just a sec." Coraline looked over her shoulder and shouted, "MOOOOM!! THE NEIGHBORS WANNA KNOW IF THEY CAN COME IN!!"

There was a slightly inaudible groan and then a, "Yes!"

Coraline smiled weakly at her neighbors. "Come in."

It felt strange looking at the two old, slightly odd women sitting in her living room on the red loveseat. They just didn't belong there.

Mel entered the room with a mug of coffee. "Hello," she said awkwardly, clearing her throat. Coraline knew for a fact that her mother didn't like the neighbors. She thought Miss Spink and Miss Forcible were odd dingbats. She didn't like Mr. Bobinsky either…she claimed he was drunk. "Anything I can get you?"

"No, no, no," said Miss Spink cheerily.

"We just came to wish Caroline a very happy birthday," Miss Forcible smiled.

Mel opened her mouth as if to correct her for mispronouncing her daughter's name, and then shut it again. "Well." She said. "I guess…make yourself comfortable. Um…I'll be right back. Charlie!" and then she left.

Miss Spink smiled at Coraline, her eyes crinkling around the edges. "We have a present for you, dearie," she said. "You did bring it, didn't you, Miriam?"

"Yes, I am capable of remembering things," Miss Forcible snapped, reaching into her handbag. Miss Spink rolled her eyes. "Here it is." She handed Coraline a small package. Coraline took it and glanced at Wybie and Lucy dubiously before cautiously unwrapping it. Inside was an old, dusty wooden box that almost looked like a kit. Coraline sneezed as she brushed the dust away. The label on the box read: "How to read tea leaves." "Oh, wow!" Coraline cried in excitement. She looked up at the two old ladies on the loveseat. "Thanks!"

"You're quite welcome, Caroline." Miss Spink glanced at her sister. "Now, if you don't mind, the two of us need to head back and check on the dogs…it's about time for their walking."

"'Kay. Bye!" Coraline called as they left the house. Just as the door closed Mel and Charlie entered the room. "Are you sure you don't need –" Mel blinked at the now vacant loveseat. "Where'd they go?" she asked her daughter.

"They left. But look! They gave me this!" Coraline handed her mom the box.

Mel pursed her lips. "I don't know, Coraline. I'm not very fond of the idea of you messing around with witchcraft."

Coraline rolled her eyes. "It's fortune telling, Mom. Not witchcraft." Mel looked at her dubiously but handed her back the box. "Okay then. Well, I'm going to fix your breakfast. I'll call you in when it's ready."

As soon as Coraline's parents had left, Lucy turned to Coraline with wide eyes. "Oh my gosh," she said in a hoarse whisper. "Do you think those were real?"

"What?" asked Coraline, confused.

"Her…" Lucy bit her lip, glancing at Wybie, and leaned in to whisper in Coraline's ear, "Boobs?"

Coraline smacked Lucy on the arm and Wybie stared at them, his eyebrows raised. "I don't want to know," he said finally.

~*~

After breakfast, the three friends decided to head outside to play for a while before their parents arrived. When they did, Coraline was a little sad to see them go, but they all agreed they'd had a great time. "See you at school Monday," Coraline had called.

After they were gone, Coraline played the Wii for a little bit before heading outside again. As she was walking around towards the abandoned tennis courts, she heard someone shout, "Caroline!" Looking up, she saw the tall blue man flying down towards her. She ducked as he swung over her head and landed with ease right in front of her. "I told you the mices and I would have it ready, did I not?" he handed her a package wrapped with brown paper.

"You did," Coraline said, grinning and taking the package. She untied the ribbon and ripped the brown paper off and opened the cardboard box. Inside she found what looked like an alarm clock with a cute mouse eating a small piece of cheese. "Oh my gosh," Coraline gasped. She looked up at Mr. B. "Did you make this?" she asked in awe.

"The mooshkas helped," Mr. B admitted. "They are quite smart, they are."

Coraline was baffled. All she could say was, "Thanks."

"You're very welcome, Caroline," Mr. B said in his thick Russian accent. "Now I must train the mooshkas. They have lots more work, you know." And he grabbed a hold of the fire escape above him and swung up to his apartment.

Coraline simply stared at the present in her hands. "I wonder if there really is a mouse circus," she said out loud in wonder. Then she headed inside to put the alarm clock by her bed.

One thing was for certain – this was one of the best birthdays she'd ever had.

~*~

A/N: The ending was a little sucky, I know, but I was in a rush to get this out by today. Oh yeah, and I know I changed the rules to Truth or Dare. That's just usually how my friends and I play it.

PLEASE review!! It means a lot!! :D

Later!

~ Cora ~