You Are Not Alone

Lily Parker woke up to the irritating sound of her alarm clock. Without bothering to open her eyes, she reached over, searching for the snooze button. When her attempts failed, she gave up and yanked the plug from the wall. In case it wasn't obvious, Lily was not a morning person. Peeking one eye open, the bright morning sun filled her vision. Groaning, she ducked her head under her pillow. She was seriously considering sleeping the day away, until she suddenly realized where she was.

Coming out from under her fort of blankets and pillows, Lily smiled. She wasn't in New York. She was in Germany, visiting her father for the last month of summer. She always came to visit him around her birthday. HER BIRTHDAY! Lily couldn't believe she forgot her own birthday. It was August twenty-fifth. She was turning twenty-four today!

With a newfound energy, Lily shot out of bed. On her way to her ensuite bathroom, Lily grabbed her ipod. Finding her favorite artist, she pressed shuffle and play. Soon, the wonderful sounds of Michael Jackson filled the small room. Turning on the shower, she quickly got undressed. Throwing her pajamas haphazardly into the hamper, Lily stuck her hand in the shower to test the temperature of the water and got in. Lily washed and rinsed her long, blonde hair, follwed by conditioner. After she finished with her hair, she washed and rinsed her body. Her entire morning routine was accompanied by singing along to Michael at the top of her lungs, of course.

After her shower, Lily dried off and began the task of readying herself for the day. Wrapping her towel around her body, Lily combed through her hair, clipping it up out of her face. Setting her makeup bag on the counter, Lily began yet another routine. Luckily for her, she had a nice complexion. Keeping it simple, she applied a thin layer of eyeliner and mascara. Followed by a clear coat of lip gloss. After her makeup was finished, she blow-dried her hair and curled it into soft curls. By the time she was finished, You Are Not Alone had begun to play. Smiling, Lily sang along with her soft, yet strong voice. This was easily one of her favorite songs. She only wished she could have someone who felt that way about her.

Shaking the thought away, Lily walked back into her room and opened her closet. A few minutes later, she had decided on a teal summer dress with flat sandals of the same color. After she was dressed, Lily put on her favorite necklace. Her mom had given it to her on her first day of college. That was two years ago. Lily had just graduated about two months ago from the New York Film Academy. She had majored in musical theatre. It was Lily's dream to make it big on Broadway. Thinking about her mom, Lily began to miss her. It was around her graduation that they had last seen each other.

After Lily had completed the task of get ready, she looked in her full-length mirror. A small frown was on her face. She never did like the reflection that stared back at her. She thought she was too short, too fat, too pale. You name it, she hated it. People were constantly telling her how beautiful she was, but she couldn't bring herself to ever believe them. The only person who ever stood out in her mind was her ex-boyfriend, Mason Walker. However, he was a whole different story for another time. Sighing, Lily made her way downstairs. Slowly walking through the living room, Lily made her way to the kitchen door. Opening it, she froze, her jaw practically dropping to the floor.

"SURPRISE," greeted Lily's father. However, he wasn't alone. There in her father's kitchen, stood her mother AND her best friend, Carrie. Smiling, Lily ran to them, flinging her arms around them in a group hug.

"Sweetheart, I'm so happy to see you," her mother said, kissing her forehead.

"I'm so glad you're here, Mom," Lily exclaimed, happily. Giving her mother one more hug, Lily turned around. Playfully pointing her finger at her best friend, Lily said, "I can't believe you're here, Carrie! I've missed you both so much!"

"Well, I couldn't actually be half a world away from my best friend on her birthday, could I?" Carrie replied with a wink.

Turning, Lily then gave her father a hug and kiss on the cheek. Lily thanked him for the surprise. Even though her parents were divorced, they still had a good relationship. Honestly, they were the best of friends. If you ask her, Lily thought it was the most pointless divorce in the history of divorces. It was obvious they still loved each other. Stopping her train of thought, Lily followed her parents and Carrie to the table. Her favorite breakfast of pancakes, sausage, hash browns and orange juice was waiting to be devoured. After everyone had finished eating, Lily's father cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him expectantly. If Lily didn't know any better, she thought she saw a smirk on all of their faces. Hating to be the only one left out of something, she spoke up.

"What is it, Daddy? Why are you all looking like that?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrow in suspicion. When nobody seemed to want to answer her, her mother finally spoke up.

"Oh, Henry! Put the poor girl out of her misery!" chided her mother, playfully.

"Oh, all right! Must you take my fun away, Sophie?" Henry replied, sticking his tongue out at her. Lily rolled her eyes. They were flirting already. Seriously, why did they ever get divorced?! Lily thought, shaking her head with a smile. Her thoughts were interrupted when her father handed her an envelope.

"What's this?" Lily questioned, trying to hold it up to the light.

"You know, love, it might be easier if you just open it," her father said with a smirk.

"It's not as fun that way," Lily retorted. Sticking her tongue out, playfully.

"Like father, like daughter," her mother muttered affectionately. Smiling, Lily tore open the envelope, expecting to see money or a big check. However, she was left utterly confused.

"Plane tickets to Copenhagen? What's in Copenhagen?" Lily wasn't ungrateful, she was just confused at such a random gift.

"Ah, I knew I forgot something," said her father, with a cryptic smile. Reaching behind him, he handed her another envelope. Wondering what in the world was going on, Lily opened it. For the second time that morning, Lily was speechless.

"Concert tickets? You got me concert tickets? You got me concert tickets to see Michael Jackson?!" Lily was shouting by now, tears clouding her vision.

"They are from your mother and I both. Happy birthday, Petal," her father said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. If she hadn't been so excited, Lily might have had more questions about why her parents had bought her a joint gift for the first time since she was about five years old.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lily squealed happily. Hugging her mom and dad, while continuing to thank them profusely.

"We would have gotten you tickets to see him here, but your mother reminded me that he had already come and gone through Germany. Hence, the plane tickets," her father supplied.

"I suppose you're right," Lily replied with a smile. Looking down, she studied the tickets. Her eyes widened. "The concert is on his birthday!" Lily and Carrie began to giggle and talk excitedly.

Looking at the two young women, Henry shook his head. Leaning over, he whispered to Sophia. "Should it bother me that she knows his birthday?" Sophia just laughed and rolled her eyes.

"She's been obsessed with Michael Jackson since she was a child. I think it would take less time for her to list the things she DOESN'T know about him," Sophia replied.

"Petal, there's one more thing I forgot to mention," Henry said, trying to quiet the girls down. As he assumed, this got their attention and they sat down.

"What else could there possibly be, Daddy? Oh, wait, I know! No drinking, no smoking, no boys, no accepting rides from strangers. Am I on the right track?" Lily said with a smirk.

"No, well yes, but that isn't what I was going to say. Although, after that, I'm starting to wonder if I should take all of this back and give you a pony," her father said, only half joking.

"Very funny, Daddy. You know I'm not like that anyway," Lily said with a raised eyebrow.

"Thank God for that!" her father said, laughing. "Anyway, here is the final part of your gift." With that, he handed her two necklaces with a picture of the HIStory album cover on one side. Lily and Carrie both screamed and started jumping up and down when she turned them over.

"BACK-BACKSTAGE! WE'RE GOING BACKSTAGE TO MEET MICHAEL JACKSON?!" Lily could hardly believe it. In four days, Lily was going to meet her idol!