Ew, adulting.

[Cactus]

Happy 18th birthday, you filthy fuckin' animal. Most people would have said something along those lines. That was the classic response to seeing someone had a birthday. A wish, a joke, maybe a jibe or two, and then the insistence that plans get made.

Of course, when your birthday fell on a holiday? That changed everything.

((ROSS MILLER PREGAME START))

As a general rule, Ross Miller didn't like relying upon his friends to make his birthday plans for him, because as someone who happened to share a birthday with everyone's favourite Irish holiday, his friends tended to be wrapped up in their own plans. Everywhere was packed to the brim, and his parents were pretty constantly busy every year around this time, so for Ross? His birthday was basically a non-event.

Whatever.

This one; he supposed, as he wandered down the fairly vacant residential street he lived on, was special. Eighteen years old. Congratulations, Ross. You're now a legal adult. You can do... approximately nothing special. Sign yourself out of class? Great. He supposed he could vote, but the election had already happened pretty recently and the United States was already suffering through Canon's first term as president. Not much he could do there - though damned if he'd have voted for that overripe vegetable.

Lottery tickets? Sure. He supposed he could join the military if he so desired, which he really didn't, and if his parents were to excommunicate him, he could go find a job somewhere and find a place to live, though the odds of that were astronomical, so no worries there. Ross booted a rock down the street and watched it skitter down the sidewalk. Mirroring his own path at present, it tumbled directionlessly ahead, until it finally reached the curb and tumbled down into a sewer drain.

Well, maybe not a total mirror, he wasn't going for a jaunt down into the sewers. Not today, anyway. Or any day. Yuck.

The weather had turned, indicating that spring was well on its way to arriving. It was nearly downright balmy, the day sitting somewhere around 80, which suited him just fine. The winter had dragged on a little, and with the end of the school year approaching, Ross figured that it would be a sign for him to get his shit together a little. Study a bit, maybe actually take the SATs before it was too late, and decide what he wanted to do with his life. Go away to school? Stay here?

"Who knows..." He muttered to himself, stretching the final s out longer than required.

The whole thing was a lot of effort. He wasn't adverse to effort - not at all. It was just... when he found himself having a hard time giving a crap about mindless busy-work that he probably would never think about again once he left high school, it just... it dragged on him. Bogged him down. There were a lot of interesting subjects being taught in school, but all it took was one teacher who maybe didn't have a knack for getting the most out of the topic, and suddenly consciousness in science class was a daunting concept. Turning a corner, Ross ventured into a pathway that he knew from memory lead to an open field near to the back of his school.

It had been a nice day and his parents had been out, preparing for their annual St. Patrick's Day party, so Ross had figured that it was as good a time as any to head out and wander around. Get some air, and maybe work off a few of those extra pounds that he'd been warily noticing in the last couple of weeks. Every so often, his phone would buzz with another Facebook notification, informing him of the various people wishing him a happy birthday. That was nice. Even though it was but a small gesture, that people were aware of his existence always made him feel good. He'd have to sit down and type out a bunch of replies later on.

Pulling out his phone as he walked, Ross scrolled through and glanced at the slate of National Hockey League games for the day. An avid hockey fan, his Predators weren't playing on his birthday - shitty luck. He'd have loved to just stay in and watch the hockey game, maybe talk his parents into letting him order a pizza, and chill out. It wasn't that he didn't like celebrating, but... something about this year felt different. Maybe it was the 'turning 18' thing, or maybe it was just the constant state of fatigue that he found himself in (thanks, procrastination, thanks a lot), but Ross didn't really feel much like going out tonight.

Even if he did, it'd be the same questions.

Where's your green?!

Aren't you going to celebrate St. Patty's Day?

Oh shit, that's right, it's your birthday, right?

Exactly.

He'd been at a few eighteenth birthday parties already, and while he generally enjoyed birthday parties, the emphasis that some of his peers placed on it... didn't really make a whole lot of sense. It was the same as any other birthday. But now, with more voting.

"With any luck, we'll all have a shit-load more birthdays before our time's up."

Scrolling down the schedule as he walked, Ross took note of the coming Predators game on Thursday. His father had gotten him tickets to that particular game, and his (first place, he thought with pride) Predators were playing another young, exciting team: the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Preds should wipe the floor with 'em. At least, of that, he was sure. The Leafs were the joke of the NHL, and they had the most batshit-crazy media of almost any team that played in the league. Granted, that was how most Canadian teams rolled. Ross couldn't fathom wanting to ever go and play in a Canadian market were he a hockey player. That would be way too much pressure. Why not come to a place like Nashville, where the living was easy?

As his school came into view, Ross put his phone down and sighed. Muscle memory had taken him along the path he walked each day to school, and now that he was here, he wasn't really sure where to go next.

Go figure - that seemed to be the theme of the year. Where to go next? He didn't feel like choosing. Unfortunately, that was a luxury that was about to run out. Over the next few months, he was going to have to make some difficult and important decisions about the future.

But right now?

Fuck that.

Glancing at his phone again, Ross turned around and headed back the way he came. Maybe he'd give someone a call after all. Anything to get out of his own head. Anything to put all of those real-life decisions off for another day.

Being an adult could wait.

((Ross Miller continued in Save Tonight))