Someone tugs on the blanket that is around me and I wake up with a start. A semi familiar face peers over at me questioningly, “What the hell are you doing sleeping on the couch?”

I put my arm up over my eyes, “Do you always break into people’s houses and wake them up from their sleep?”

I hear Trace snort, “Have you not been here the past five years?”

My arm slides back down and I frown, seriously considering blurting out everything but the lingering thought in my head about being committed to a psychiatric ward keeps me from saying anything, “What do you want?”

“Uh hello? Justin’s surprise party,” he hisses.

I stare at him blankly, “What?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” he says, disappointment evident in his voice.

“Of course not, I’m just tired.”

Trace eyes me, “Alright, whatever. I’m taking him out and we’ll be back around noon. Is that enough time to get ready?”

Now I have to set up a surprise party? God help me. Literally.

“Sure,” I lie.

Justin comes down the stairs and tugs at my hair as he puts on his jacket, “A singer’s work in never done.”

Trace hands Justin something wrapped in foil which I assume must be some sort of breakfast on the run. Justin leans down, kissing my head, “When I get back we’ll just hang out. Talk a little,” he says firmly.

“What did you do now,” Trace says, receiving a smack on the head in return.

“Shit man that hurt,” he says, rubbing it.

“Be a man and don’t rub it,” Justin says as they push each other as they leave the house. The door shuts and I’m alone. I pause long enough to realize I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.  

A surprise party for what? His birthday? God I hope not. What kind of girlfriend doesn’t get a present for their boyfriend’s birthday.

“Okay, here we go.”

I jump as Harper comes in and puts a bag down on the floor in front of me filled to the top with party decorations.

“Do you and Trace ever knock?”

She looks at me like I have two heads, “You’re kidding right? You know we don’t know what we are supposed to do with the front door.”

Harper nudges me, “So the caterers are going to be here in about a half hour and Jackie will be here to set everything up with us.”

I just nod, too tired to ask questions. Harper looks me over once and puts her hand on her hip, “You should really get dressed.”

I look down at my sweats, “Yeah, I’ll go do that.”

Harper shakes her head, “You go get dressed and I’ll start setting up.”

“Okay,” I say, walking up the stairs.

I go to my closet and try to figure out what’s appropriate to wear to a surprise party. I take out a few dresses lying them on the bed and take one by one, holding them up against me and looking in the mirror.

“Morning sunshine.”

I don’t jump this time as I glare at him, “Surprise party?”

Damien just shrugs.

“You don’t think you could have told me all this last night?”

He grins, “I could have but what fun would that have been?”

“Does God know that you harass people?”

“Do you know what you’re going to wear because I don’t think you’re supposed to go out with it around your neck.”

I remove the hanger holding up the dress from my neck and put it down on the bed, “So what exactly is this party for anyway?”

“What do you think you have a surprise party for?” he responds.

“Don’t be a smart ass alright? I’m really tired and incapable of setting up a surprise party for someone I don’t even know. Anything you want to throw in would be appreciated.”

“It’s his birthday.”

I sigh, “Great. I don’t even have anything for the guy.”

Damien points to the closet, “Bag in the corner.”

I rummage through the closet and sure enough I pull out a bag neatly decorated. I look up, “What is it?”

“It’s a gift.”

“No, really smart ass?”

“Watch out, you never know when I might decide to take that attitude with you.”

“What about a card? Every gift comes with a card.”

“You are so demanding sometimes,” he says laughing, “Hold out your hands.”

I put my hands out, palms up and with a spark of light a card appears in my hands, “Could you do that for everything?”

“What do you mean?”

“Say I wanted a car or money or something, all you have to do is wave your hands and you get what you want?”

Damien scowls, “I’m not a genie. You don’t get three wishes if that’s what your asking. I’m supposed to only to what is good for the person.”

“But what if getting me money is good for me?”

“The red one.”

I frown, “What?”

“The dress. Wear the red one.”

I turn back around but he’s disappeared. Again.

I slip into the red dress and slink downstairs with the package as Harper has set up everything around the house and the caterers lay out the food. Piper smiles as she sees me, “Much better.”

I smile and pull the dress down, “You think?”

“Mmm, Justin will love it.”

I try to smile as I look around and stop at the cake. I gaze at how enormous it is and feel a shiver go down by back, “Uh Harper, how many people are going to be here?”

“About one fifty. You should know, you invited them.”

“One fifty? As in one hundred and fifty people. In this house?”

Harper looks at me surprised, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

The doorbell rings and Piper smiles, “See, some people know how to use the doorbell. I’ll get it,” she says, breezing by me.

I back myself up against as wall as steams of people start to flow through the house, most of them coming up to me and hugging me to death. I try my best not to freak out but I go stiff as each one greets me. I don’t know these people and it’s a lot to take in.

Within a few minutes the house is filled with people and there is no escape. People are casually coming up to me and trying to strike up conversations but I just excuse myself after too long because I have nothing to say. I’m cursing out Damien in my head. I’ll give him good luck. Good luck my ass.

Harper comes running into the room, “He’s coming, everybody hide!”

Someone hits the lights and we all duck. I’m tempted to stay in this position even after Justin comes in but he is the only person I really know here, if you can even call it that.

I hear the door open and my heart starts to pound. A few seconds later anyone in the room can clearly hear Justin and Trace’s footsteps getting closer until finally Harper looks over at me and smiles. I take a deep breath and the lights go on, sending the people in the room shooting up from their hiding places, “Surprise!”

Justin looks shocked as people move as one over to him in one large embrace. I’m the only one who lingers behind as they tell him how much they love him and happy birthday. He seems pleased and pleasantly surprised as he looks through the crowds of people, “I can’t believe you guys did this.”

Harper laughs, “It wasn’t us, it was your girlfriend.”

Before I can move Justin reaches out from the crowd and grabs my arm, pulling me towards him, “Of course it was.”

He stares at me contently and despite myself I feel slightly comforted. I haven’t had a guy look at me like that ever. Sure, I’ve seen elderly men walking with their wives in the park or a couple eating at a restaurant who occasionally had that look but I have never once been the recipient of it.

Justin leans in, grabbing onto my face and kissing me. I start to blush as I hear people whistling and pull away instantly, smiling a little but quickly moving away.

I see the candles on the cake as the caterers light them and Piper comes up behind me, “Great party.”

I mumble something as everyone collectively starts to sing happy birthday and watch Justin blow out the candles. Everyone cheers and the cake begins to be cut and handed out to people.

I watch in awe of the sheer number of bodies in the room. I haven’t known this many people in my whole life let alone just the people who could make it here for a party. What kind of person knows this many people?

________________________________________________________________________

The last person files out of the house, leaving a trail of garbage in their wake. I close the door and relax. As much fun as it is to see everyone it’s always nice when everyone goes home. I’m surrounded by people most of the time and while it’s fun, there is only one person I want to spend time with right about now.

I see Alana over in the corner sitting in a chair. Her legs are curled up underneath her, her hair casually falling out of her bun. I move closer to her, “You really surprised me.”

“That’s why they call it a surprise party.”

I chuckle, leaning down and rubbing her back slowly. She looks up at me for a moment before reexamining her hand.

“I didn’t open your gift yet, I wanted to wait for everyone to leave.”

Ally points over to the package hidden underneath the table, “It’s over there.”

I remove the bag and take the tissue paper out to reveal a song book. I open it to see every song I ever wrote when we were together, bound with a leather cover.

“Wow.”

Ally looks over at me and hands me an envelope. I take it from her hand and tear it open, removing the card and reading it:

To the greatest guy in the whole world. No matter how rocky these last few months have been, you’ll always be my baby.

Love,

Ally.

I close the card and glance over at her, “I love you too.”

Ally stands up, “I’m really tired, I’m just going to go to bed.”

I grab her by the waist, “I’ll come with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

I laugh, rubbing her waist, “I’ve really missed you.”

She squirms a little as I tug her closer to my chest. I lean in and kiss her neck but she pulls away, “I can’t.”

“You can’t what?”

Ally lets a blush rise in her cheeks, “I have my period.”

Damn. That’s one way to shoot it down.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” she says simply, pulling away and walking up the stairs.

"Are we going to talk?" I call after her.

"Later," she responds.

In Ally world that could be never. Not that I'm going to let that stop me it just means I'm going to have to corner her or handcuff her to me.

With my chances of having sex shot to hell, I take my leftover glass of champagne, downing it.

____________________________________________________________________

I wonder if lying is going to make God keep me here longer. Okay, so it may not be my time of the month but I sure as hell wasn’t going to have sex with him. Other than those who are in that business are so drunk they would go home with a garden tool, no woman wants to have sex with someone she doesn’t know.

I lie down on the bed and pull the covers up like a shield once again.

“Have fun at the party?”

“No.”

Damien crosses his legs, eating a piece of cake from downstairs.

“Can you gain weight?”

“No.”

“Yeah, I hate you.”

He winks, “He was trying to get closer to you.”

“No kidding.”

“You felt it.”

“Felt what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Alana. He’s charming isn’t he?”

“He’s okay.”

Damien puts his plate down, “Some things will return in time so you’ll just randomly know things. Like tonight.”

I bite my tongue, remembering the images that started to scroll through my mind while at the party. Standing behind a curtain as Justin preformed, rolling around in the grass with him, crying as we fought over something. The emotions from it caused be to suck in a breathe, having felt it crash into me at the time.

“Remember, this is a learning experience.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re not living it.”

“No, but you did.”

He blows into his hands and opens them to reveal a picture I haven’t seen since I was a teenage. I carefully take it from him, “Where did you get this?”

“Night Ally.”

And I’m left holding onto a piece of me I thought I lost a long time ago.