Birthday Surprise

“Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is Dave.” I rolled my eyes at my best friend, Dave Franco. He tugged on my brown hair gently before trying to hoist me out of bed.

“You are, finally, 21, Miss Samantha Alyssa. It’s a huge deal. Especially considering that you refused to drink until this day. So, up and at ‘em. Get dressed. I completely cleared my schedule for this day.” I couldn’t say no to his grin, so I stood on my own two feet and shooed him out of the room.

“I swear I’ll get dressed Dave! Now, get out.” I slammed the door behind him, then took two steps and opened it almost immediately. “And, David John Franco, if you ever call me Samantha Alyssa again, I’ll chop your nuts off!” He turned back and laughed, knowing I was mostly joking.

I shut the door again and spun in a circle. I was finally 21. I wasn’t really excited for the drinking, but I was excited for the new chapter in my life. I’m not sure what Dave had planned for today, but I knew it was going to be spectacular. We had only known each other for a few years, when I transferred to a California college. He found me in the Starbucks down the block from the college. I had a Dunkin Donuts cup placed next to my laptop and he brought up how I was a traitor, while smiling. We struck up conversation, while I was freaking out internally that Dave Franco was talking to me.

When I moved back home to New England, contact with Dave became scarce, until one day, he showed up on my doorstep and said he missed his best friend, even if I was seven years younger than him. He got me a couple small roles in his movies so I’d have an excuse to be on the set and even had me move into his guest house. He claimed the six months apart was torture for him.

“Sam, I don’t hear you changing! You better hurry up or I’ll barge in to help you.” I waved him off, finally going to my closet to pick out clothes. Looking at them, I had no idea what to wear. Dave never tells me where we’re going. Once, I went to a movie release in jeans and a hoodie. That had been embarrassing. Dave laughed for months.

“Dave! Come pick out my clothes so I don’t look like a common hick again.” Dave chuckled walking through the door. His button down black shirt fit him spectacularly and I forced myself to look back at my closet before he caught me staring. He only thought of me as a best friend, a little sister maybe, but not worth dating.

“Oh Sammy, you need more clothes for play and work. Maybe I’ll take you shopping today.” I slapped the back of his head.

“Dave, I shop at Walmart, always have, always will. I wear what I find comfortable unless forced otherwise.Just tell me if jeans and a tee shirt are good enough for today.” He chuckled before pulling out exactly what I requested, jeans and a band tee shirt. “Avenged Sevenfold, based out of California, its perfect. Here you go, sugar.” he handed me the clothes before kissing my cheek and walking out.

I quickly changed into what Dave picked out. Well, I grabbed a different shirt. Dave picked out a tight Avenged Sevenfold shirt, I grabbed a looser one with longer sleeves. I grabbed a pair of black and green flats, which were a gift from Dave, and walked out of my room. Dave was, not surprisingly, waiting for me outside.

“Hey! You changed your shirt.” I smiled and spun once in a circle to show him how I looked. “Okay, you’re right, it looks good. You, look good.” He grabbed my hand and spun me once more. “Off we go?” I shook my head once.

“I need to go to the bathroom quickly. You don’t want me to smell do you?” He laughed loudly and shook his head, letting go of my hand so I could run to the small guest bathroom. I slathered on deodorant and brushed my teeth before going back out to Dave. “Okay, sweets, now I’m ready to go.” He gripped my hand again and led me from the guest house.

“Are you ready beautiful? We are going for a day on the town.” He led me to his car, a black Impala, and all around us we could hear flashes. The paparazzi was out and about and, of course, Dave and I were their targets. In every tabloid out there, we were dating. I refused to acknowledge the paparazzi and Dave never once denied their accusations, so they continued to print that we were young and in love.

After I was shut in the car and buckled in, with Dave beside me in the driver’s seat, I spoke. “What is the plan for the day?” He sent me a sly smile.

“You know I’ll never tell you Sam. I will tell you, though, that you are going to need to change at least once, into a dress. Later today we are going someplace fancy.” I groaned loudly causing him to laugh. “But for now, you get to be comfy and eat as much cake as you want.” He pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse.

“Oh good, you’re taking me to die in a deserted warehouse. I thought you loved me Dave!” I shouted at him over-dramatically.

“I do love you Sammy. Just, uh, wait a second.” He turned off the car and hopped out, slamming his door behind him. His trip to my side gave me a moment to think about what he said. We had never said ‘I love you’ before. Not even meaning as best friends. I did love him, as a best friend and more, but I never once said it. Before I could even begin to wrap my head around what he might have meant, he was opening my door. “Alright birthday girl, lets get a move on.” He helped me out of the car and led me to one of the buildings. “I know this is sketchy, but don’t be scared, you’ve got me here.” He smiled once more before opening the door on the side of the building.

“Dave I swear, if you’re going to kill me...” My voice trailed off as I took in the room. There was a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner hanging as well as a table filled with cupcakes, chips, cups of soda, and a large cake. There were balloons, literally, everywhere. “Did you do all of this?” I looked back a Dave, but he had disappeared. Suddenly the lights went out. “Dave, this isn’t funny!” I spun in a circle, but it was pitch black. “I don’t know what you’re playing at Dave but I swear.” My voice was getting hysterical and I knew it. We were in an abandoned warehouse, in a bad part of town and now, Dave has left me all alone.

“Don’t be scared Sammy, I’m right here.” I spun and hit something- someone. “Its okay, its me.” I threw my arms around him in a hug, my mouth near his ear.

“If you leave me like that again,” I whispered, “I swear I’ll kill you.” I spun away from him just as the lights turned back on and everyone I knew, even the people from back East, jumped out and hollered “SURPRISE!”

Dave laughed behind me as Mariah, my best friend from out East, tackled me to the ground. “I have missed you so much. Work has not been the same without you. And here you are, out here galavanting with a boy with hardly any contact with me! I was so worried!” She was screaming in my face, sitting on my stomach.

“Okay crazy lady. Get off the birthday girl. Come on.” Her weight was pulled from me by Josh, her boyfriend-fiance-thing. Their relationship wasn’t really complicated, it was just hard to put a title to it.

“Come on birthday girl, up you go.” Dave stuck his hands under my arms and hoisted me to my feet. My mom made her way up to me, her arms outstretched.

“Happy birthday sweetie. You know, the house is so clean without you around. Its almost, too clean. Come home more often?” I smiled at her and hugged her tight.

“You know, your house may be clean, but my guest house is a mess. You can always, always, take her back.” Dave was laughing behind me and my mom was laughing in my arms. She squeezed one last time before letting me go and walking back to allow someone else the chance to hug me. Before they made it though, I turned to Dave.

“Mr. Franco. I appreciate this and want to thank you, not just for this, but for everything you’ve done in the past two years. I will have your guest house cleaned out by morning and be on my way home.” I turned from him and, with a mischievous smile on my face, walked away.

The party went on for hours. Dave brought me there at ten in the morning and we didn’t leave until well after two in the afternoon. He brought everyone from New England. All my friends, old co-workers, and my family flew over on his dime. It was amazing and thoughtful. That being said, after his comment about me being messy I avoided him like the plague. Only asking him when we were leaving so that I could get changed into the awful creation that is a dress. We left shortly after that, all my family and friends staying in a hotel near Dave’s house.

When Dave and I got back to his place, after helping me out and leading me to the guest house, he pushed me against the wall. “If you think I’m going to just let you leave, you’re sadly mistaken.” He was holding my wrists in his hands and his face was so close to mine.

“Is that so, Mr. Franco? You told my mom she could have me back.” He grinned at me. He gripped my wrists tighter, looking me in the eyes.

“Honestly, over my dead body. I took you back with my devilish good looks. You know,” He paused, tearing his eyes from mine for a moment. “I wanted to wait till later to do this. I had this big thing planned. Well... Just act surprised later, okay?” I opened my mouth to question what I was acting surprised about, when he kissed me. Full on the lips, eyes closed. His grip loosened on my wrists, allowing me to drape my arms around his neck. His hands rested on my waist as his lips massaged mine. He wasn’t being forceful, he wasn’t trying to shove his tongue down my throat. His kiss was sweet, just like him.

When he finally pulled away, I was breathless. My eyes didn’t want to open and I could still feel his lips pressed to mine. “Sammy,” he whispered. Realizing he was finished kissing me, I forced one eye open. “You have to get dressed beautiful. We have places to go and people to see.” He pecked my lips once and ushered me to my room.

Upon entering, I spotted a lavish gown. It was gorgeous. “Dave, there is no way that that,” I pointed to the dress, “Is going to look good on me.” Dave rolled his eyes and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Just get dressed Sam. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.” I groaned loudly. I hated dresses on my best days, now he expected I contort myself into one in only fifteen minutes. Sighing, knowing he absolutely wasn’t kidding, I started undressing. When I got down to my undergarments I felt to bodice of the dress, feeling boning meaning I didn’t need a bra. I did a little jig upon my discovery, but set back to getting dressed. I wasted three minutes just undressing and this dress was going to be a glorious adversary.

“Okay, you green and black sparkly nightmare. We are going to do this the easy way. If you give me any trouble, I’ll rip you to shreds.” I breathed deeply once, then set out to put on the dress. It really was gorgeous though. The top was olive green with a black flowery print, and it had a sparkling black belt around the waist. The bottom was my favorite part though. It was poofy and black with a layer of sparkle fabric over the top.

I bunched up the bottom of the dress before slipping my arms through the top. Since the top was sleeveless, it was easy to pull the dress down. I adjusted the bodice, but couldn’t seem to hold it up and zip it at the same time.

“Are you dressed yet?” I yelled back that I needed help and Dave walked through the door with his hand over his face. He had changed as well and was in an olive green shirt with a black skinny tie and black pleated pants. He looked damn good. “How much help do you need?” The arm not over his eyes flailed in the air.

“I just need you to zip the back. I’m all covered.” I giggled as he raised his index finger and saw that I was, indeed, covered. He mumbled a ‘damn’ before dropping his hand completely.

“Wow, you love, are absolutely gorgeous.” I rolled my eyes and turned around, showing him the zipper. He let out a low whistle. “No bra? Naughty.” I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. He slowly zipped the zipper. When it was completely at the top, he kissed right above it. His hands moved from my zipper to my hips. “You look beautiful, Sam.”

I pulled away from him and faced him, eyeing him up and down a couple times “Like what you see?” I nodded once and he grinned, “You really do look gorgeous. Here, look.” He shut my closet door, revealing the floor length mirror I avoided like the plague. I slammed my eyes shut the moment I figured out what he was doing so I wouldn’t have to see myself. “Sammy.” He spun me and stood directly behind me, his hands on my hips. “Look at yourself.” I pried one eye open, and gasped. I hardly recognized myself. If it wasn’t for my hair, I don’t think I would have. I can’t say I looked gorgeous, but from the neck down I did. My head has always been too big for my body. “You look gorgeous.” I met his eyes in the mirror and rolled my own.

“Whatever you say Dave. We better get going, remember?” He sighed and nodded.

“Wait, one more thing.” He made sure I was directly in front of the mirror and put his hands around my waist. He nodded to himself once before removing his hands and pulling out his phone. “Just one picture, you take it.” He handed me his phone and put his hands back on my waist. I fought with Dave’s phone to bring up the camera because I wasn’t used to it. When I finally did I raised it so our faces were in the picture. I snapped one of us smiling and went to pass the phone back but Dave refused. “Just one more.” I sighed overdramatically but let him move into the position he wanted for the picture. He didn’t move much, just enough to place his lips against my cheek. As a blush painted itself across my face I snapped the picture.

“Ready yet?” Dave smiled one last time and shook his head. “What do you mean?” I looked at him in the mirror, but he wasn’t looking at me. I decided that wasn’t good enough. I spun to face him but he still wouldn’t look up. “Dave.” I spoke quietly, hoping I could get him to look at me. It didn’t work. Dave turned around and started to walk away. I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Don’t walk away from me.” He stopped, but didn’t turn around.

“We need to go.” I didn’t release my grip on his arm.

“No, you need to look at me.” He still refused to meet my eyes. “David John. Turn your ass around right now.” He turned, like I asked, but kept his eyes downcast, not meeting mine. “Look at me.” He still kept his eyes down. I mumbled swear words under my breath. “Fine, lets just go.” I loosened my grip and dropped my arm to my side. Tears started to gather in my eyes as I pushed past him. I wasn’t going to bother if he didn’t care. It crossed my mind to kiss him or make him look up, but I’m not going to bother anymore.

Just as I reach my door, I feel his hand on my wrist. I had half a mind to pull away, but that wouldn’t solve anything. “Sammy, I’m sorry. Turn around.” I spun to him and looked him dead in the eye, tears filling mine. His mouth dropped, seeing a tear slide down my cheek. “Oh babe, why are you crying?” He pulled me to his chest and I gripped around his waist.

“I never know what you’re thinking. You’re good looks may have made me come back but I’ve been in love with you. I’m still fucking in love with you, but you are so difficult. You are happy to push me against the wall and kiss me, but you can’t even look me in the eyes. I don’t know what you have planned next but lets just go. We can talk later.” I literally ripped myself away from him and walked to my bathroom. Looking at myself, I made it so the tears, and all evidence of them, were gone. Then I put on more deodorant and walked out. Dave was outside the door and when I walked out he opened his mouth. “Don’t. Lets just go.” I pushed past him and headed out to the car.

“Sam!” Dave ran out behind me and, in front of the always present paparazzi, spun me around and kissed me. He threaded his finger through my short brown hair and wrapped his arm around my waist, effectively pulling me to his body. I tried to resist, but I simply couldn’t. I melted into him and kissed him back. The paps behind us were, essentially, freaking out.

After a few moments, Dave finally pulled away, leaving me longing for more. “Sammy.” I opened my eyes and looked at him. “Sammy, I love you too.” Before I could even respond his lips were back on mine.

I pulled away this time. “Dave.” He tried to reconnect our lips, but I blocked him, resting my forehead against his. “We need to go babes.” I pecked his lips and untangled my hands from his hair that I hadn’t realized I put there. He kissed me once more and pulled away completely.

“You’re right, lets go.” He led me to the car and opened my door. “In you go baby.” He helped me into the car, shut the door and ran to his side, waving to the paps as he went. When he was in his seat behind the wheel, he looked over at me. “I never asked, will you be my girlfriend?” My heart fluttered. Even though we had been kissing half the day, I still couldn’t believe it.

“I thought you’d never ask.” I leaned across the center console and kissed him hard on the lips. Pulling away, I saw Dave start to reach for me to keep me close. “Come on babes, we gotta go.”

He glanced at his watch and swore, loudly. “We are so late beautiful. Here,” he passed me his cell phone, “Call my brother, let him know we’ll be there in twenty minutes.” I fumbled with his complicated phone before I managed to make the voice command option come up.

“Call James Franco.” The phone began dialing on its own and I breathed a sigh of relief. After three rings, the phone was answered.

“Hey little bro! Where are you and your leading lady?” I smiled at James’ voice. I hadn’t seen him in weeks and I just adored him.

“Hi Jamie-baby, its Sam. Dave says we will be wherever in twenty minutes. He won’t tell me ANYTHING. Where is he taking me?” My best sweet voice would always work on James.

“Aww, Sammy you know Dave will shoot me if I tell you. But I’ll be there! And he planned it all. I’m not sure what else he’s done for you today, but he planned all of it. He absolutely adores you.”

“I adore him too, thats why he’s my boyfriend! Okay Jamie, he is reaching for his phone so here you goooo!” I sang the last word and passed the phone over to Dave, knowing he was probably flustered at what I told James. I giggled to myself as Dave tried to explain himself, hearing him tell James not to tell anyone else, so the surprise wasn’t totally ruined.

We drove for a bit before finally pull up in front of James’ house. I had been there once, and was quite surprised, however it was definitely big enough to hold a party. We drove up James’ long driveway and my nerves practically multiplied. I really didn’t know what to expect on the other side of that door and my nerves made me want to vomit.

Dave parked the car right in front of James’ stoop. He turned his head to me and let out a breath. “You ready beautiful?” I gulped and shook my head.

“I don’t know what to expect Dave. I’m honestly terrified to see what’s on the other side of that door.” He smiled toward at me in a way I can only describe as lovingly. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.”

The smile dropped off his face and his eyes immediately darkened. He looked away for a moment before looking back at me. “I plan to look at you everyday, for as long as you let me.” I held his gaze even as my cheeks reddened.

“I’ll let you look at me for as long as you want.” He smiled wide and pulled me in for a kiss. We parted too soon and he looked at his watch.

“Baby, we are super late. At least you look like a princess. Being fashionably late is allowed.” He opened his door and I waited for him to come to my side. If he wanted to call me a princess, I was planning to be treated like one. He walked over to her side like a gallant prince and opened her door.

“If I’m a princess, are you my prince?” Dave smiled, but shook his head.

“I am but a knight, my lady,” he bowed as low as he could. “But, you make me feel like a prince.” He reached out his hand to me after he straightened his back. “Come on, everyone is dying to see you.” He walked me up the steps to James’ front door. There were balloons tied around the handle with a note attached to the ribbon. “What the heck?” Dave looked confused and I got even more nervous. If he didn’t know what this was, I didn’t know what to expect. He reached his hand out for the note and read it to himself. “Its for you.” He passed it over to me and I opened it with shaking hands.

’Happy Birthday Sammy-Poo!’, it read, ’Dave planned everything, I swear, but this is my own little touch. Knowing my brother you are both going to be very late, so I have locked my house, and won’t let you in until you kiss him. I know its lame. Happy Birthday though, since I know you absolutely want to kiss him. I swear, you’ve told me enough. Anyways! A kiss and you are welcomed to an amazing A-list party, where you’re the guest of honor. Love, Jamie-baby.’

I giggled like a schoolgirl as I read the note and looked up, seeing James’ face in the window of his door. Dave didn’t look up, he was staring at the ground, a thoughtful look on his face. I gripped his hand, making that look turn to me. “Do you mind? A kiss gets us into the party.” He nodded, but didn’t come closer. “Whats the matter?”

“He’s being an ass.” I shrugged my shoulders and tugged on his arm, making him lose his balance and fall towards me.

“He’s your ass of a brother, I agree, but maybe I want to kiss you.” His eyes challenged me. He didn’t think I would kiss him in front of his brother and whoever else. With one last glance towards James, I sucked in a breath and placed my hands on his cheeks. “I want to see what you have in store for me, Mr. Franco.” With that I pulled his face to mine, connecting our lips. His arms almost instantly wrapped around my waist and I couldn’t help but grin into our kiss.

James opened his front door wide, but I wasn’t willing to let go of Dave. My hands were still on his cheeks, and he didn’t seem to feel the need to let go of my waist either. James coughed once, but I didn’t bother to look. I was absorbed in Dave as our lips danced.

“Well lovebirds, the door is open!” Dave and I only pulled apart when our shared air ran out. We breathed heavily for a few moments, staring into each others eyes.

“Happy birthday beautiful.” Dave pecked my lips one last time before ushering me into James’ house. The entryway was clear of people, and I was kind of glad the guests didn’t see Dave and I make out. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed of him, I just wasn’t one for excessive PDA. “Where is everyone?” Dave looked down one of the hallways, making me slightly nervous. “Come on, we’ll just go into the living room.” Dave led me to James’ large great room, clapping twice to turn on the lights, James was just that cool.

Inside the room, sitting alone on the couch, was James, in a suit. “Jamie-baby!” I tackled him sideways onto the couch.

“SURPRISE!” People jumped out from everywhere. I didn’t realize James’ living room had so many hiding spots. I was still half on top and James, who merely smiled down at my shocked face.

“Get off of me, you oaf!” James lightly shoved me, but I made a show of toppling to the floor. I heard gasps from various corners off the room and decided, on a whim, to make James feel like shit. I sniffled loudly and made myself cry. “Oh shit, Sammy.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw James reach for me and made myself pull away. I did it too fast and smashed into his wrought iron coffee table. Crying out in pain, I shuffled backwards, pulling myself to my feet. “Sammy come here.” James stood and tried to go after me, but instead of running, I pushed past him and ran to my friend, Logan Lerman. I had seen him in the corner before James shoved me to the floor.

“Get me out of here!” Logan wrapped his arms around me and led us to the kitchen. The guests had all stayed in the living room and as the swinging door shut, I heard Dave scolding his brother. That was the last straw for me and I burst out laughing, my forced tears becoming tears of laughter at the situation I made.

“Hey Sam-a-lamma,” Logan smiled and I gave him a proper hug.

“Logan Lerman, you know not to call me that!” I swatted his arm and he simply shrugged.

“So, what’s so funny? A second ago you were crying.” I rolled my eyes. I knew he had caught on. We did a scene for fun just like that situation.

“He called me an oaf. He deserves to feel bad, I just made it a little more... Public.” I started laughing again and the door to the kitchen swung open. “Dave!” I ran and hugged him, genuinely happy to see him.

“Hey babygirl, what was that in there?” I smirked mischieviously.

“Just a little birthday fun. Then I kidnapped Logan so I could properly say hi before the masses approached.” Dave nodded, then he put on his own show, pulling my body to his and kissing me forcefully. I melted into his kiss, but I knew he was pretty much warding off Logan. I pushed him off me after a minute, making his eyebrows crinkle in confusion. “Come on, lets get back to the party!” I pushed Logan out the door and pulled Dave behind me. He took that as an invite to grip my hips.

“Sam!” My friends, Hayley Williams and Cassadee Pope, tackled me in a hug. I made a lot of various celebrity friends by doing various things. I met Cassadee through Pete Wentz, who I met at a Fall Out Boy concert. Then, Cassie and I went shopping and she invited Hayley. The rest is history, so to speak. “Happy birthday!” They both shouted in my ears. An unpleasant ringing started, but I didn’t really mind. These guys were my best friends. A voice coughed and I saw James there. I smirked at him, hoping the people were slightly mean to him for ‘what he did’.

“Jamie-baby!” I tackled him again, after I shrugged Cassie and Hayley off, but he caught me this time. He kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear.

“You’re a better actress than we all thought my dear.” I grinned and he set me on my feet. “Happy birthday.” He passed me off to another party-goer and soon I stopped even paying attention. I gave hugs and said thank you, but I didn’t know who I’d seen and who I hadn’t, but soon enough I made it back to Dave.

“Hey beautiful. Here you go,” he passed me a flute of champagne, “Your first drink. Can I have everyone’s attention?” The voices slowly died down and heads turned in our direction, making me uncomfortable. “Today, July 16th, is my beautiful best friend, and girlfriends, 21st birthday.” He paused allowing the people to make sense of the fact that we were dating. As everyone began talking and saying various things, like congratulations, Dave coughed and silenced the crowd. “Samantha Alyssa is now 21 and can legally drink. To Sam!” Everyone raised their drinks towards us, so we raised ours back before taking a sip. I puckered my lips at the taste, it wasn’t very pleasing.

“Dave,” he looked over at me and seeing my disgust for champagne he chuckled. “Something... else, please.” He nodded and walked off. After he stepped away, Logan came up to me.

“How do you like your party?” I beamed at him.

“I love it. Its so nice to see everyone. Dave is so thoughtful to put all of this together.” Logan nodded and Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield joined us. Emma was Andrew’s girlfriend, and looked beautiful. “Hey Emma, I thought the rule was that the birthday was supposed to be the most beautiful!”

“Oh don’t worry, you are,” She laughed lightly, “Half the guys can’t keep their eyes off of you and it was more before Dave announced that you two were dating.” I laughed and rolled my eyes before turning my attention to Andrew.

“Hi! I don’t think I got to see you when I got shoved around the room. Its nice to finally meet you, Spiderman.” He laughed loudly and pulled me into a hug.

“It’s nice to meet you too, but you can call me Andrew, we don’t want my identity known, do we?” I shook my head wildly, giggling. Meeting actors always made me giddy. They were so fun and the majority was different than what people thought.

We stood and talked for a little while when Dave came back holding a drink. “Here baby, shirley temple for you, and yes, its sprite with five cherries.” I smiled and took the drink, sipping it quietly. It was what he said, and it was delicious.

“Thanks! Dave this party is amazing.” Dave smirk, looking around the people I surrounded myself with while he was gone.

“Its going to get better in about fifteen minutes.” Dave wrapped his arm around my waist and led me from my friends. I waved at them sadly, but I knew I’d see them again. We were soon standing in front of James. Dave talked to him quietly while keeping his grip on my waist. I merely looked around the room, uninterested in their conversation, when I spotted a table covered in boxes. I tugged on Dave’s arm, but he ignored me as James answered one of his questions, so I tugged him away. “What?!”

“What’s that?” I pointed to the table and Dave’s face broke out in a big grin.

“Presents, babe. We’re about to let you open them.” I giggled. I loved presents. Who doesn’t? He led me over to the large table. Presents were literally piled on it. James quieted the crowd as I walked around the round table. I just had to pick one...

There! A large red present, balanced precariously on various others. I gently gripped it, making sure not to topple the whole tower. ‘To Sam, from Emma R.’ I had spotted Emma Roberts earlier and it had to be from her. “Thats mine!” I looked up and, sure enough, Emma Roberts pushed her way to the front of the crowd. I smiled and said a thank you as I pulled the shiny red paper off. It revealed a white gift box, which I also opened and found a pair of the cutest jeans. I squealed and went to give her a hug.

The rest of the opening of presents went similarly. Clothes, gift cards, and various trinkets I loved. As I reached the end of the pile I was saddened to have not opened anything from Logan, Emma Stone, Hayley, Cassie, Dave, or James. Dave and James were pretty much excluded in my mind, but I kind of expected a card at least. Andrew had gotten me an awesome Spiderman hoodie and tickets to the premire to The Amazing Spiderman 2. I was really excited about those.

Suddenly, James and Dave began ushering everyone out of the house. Only Logan, Emma, Andrew, Cassie, and Hayley remained. I was seated on the couch, utterly confused. “This is the second part of your party, a sleepover!” I must have looked confused, because the girls all grabbed me.

“Guys, I don’t have sleep clothes here.” Cassie smiled.

“We brought you some! Get changed.” They had brought me upstairs and shoved me into a bathroom attached to one of James’ guest rooms. I heard them giggling on the other side of the door and assumed they were getting ready too. I turned away from the door and saw they got me penguin footie pajamas. I squealed happily and wrestled myself out of the dress and into the warm pjs. When I opened the door they were all dressed similarly, but I was the only one in footie pjs. “Come on, we’re going to watch movies.” I was pulled downstairs by three of my best friends to see that the guys had also changed. Dave also had on footie pjs, except his were polar bears. I ran up to him and kissed him.

“This has been the absolute best birthday surprise ever.”