A Very Special Gift

I glanced at the clock for what felt like the fiftieth time today. It read 2:45pm and I'd been up since eleven, trying to come up with some idea for another birthday gift for Michael. I sighed in frustration and twirled my pen as I thought. I'd written and crossed off so many things, I'd circled and scribbled things out. This was hopeless.

I put the notebook down and crossed my arms, chewing on my lip in thought. I was so lost in my thoughts that when the phone suddenly rang, I jumped and fell off the couch. I reached up and pulled my cell phone off the coffee table with a frown and answered.

"Hi Sammy!" Michael's soft, cheerful voice suddenly came through the speaker. I jolted up.

"Hey Mike…" I said, before frowning more, "What did I tell you about calling me Sammy…"

"Not to. I know. But I like Sammy, so I'm going to call you that anyway!" He said, the grin clear in his tone.

"Oh fine, Mikey." I said with a smirk. I heard him chuckling softly on his end in response. "So what's up?"

"Oh not much. I was wondering if you were busy." He said

I bit my lip and glanced at the book, the cluttered paper still face up. "No, not really." I said

"Wonderful!" He said happily "Do you want to come over? We could hang out and have lunch."

I smiled at that. "Sure, that sounds fun. I have missed Brownie quite a lot…." I said
He scoffed on his end. "Oh I see how it is. You only want to come over so you can visit my dog. Fine. Forget I asked." He said with a frown in his voice.

I laughed. "Oh Michael, you know I've missed both of you!!" I said with a grin.

He laughed as well. "I know. I'll have Joseph, my driver, come get you." He said

"Sounds perfect. See you soon, Applehead." I said

I heard Michael laugh again. "Yup. See you soon, Sammy Jay." He said

I chuckled at that and hit the end button. That Michael was far too much sometimes.

Once off the phone, I got ready for a day at Michael's, being mindful to pack an extra outfit incase of any super soaker wars. Those happened quite a lot when we hung out, not that I minded all that much. I just hoped spending the day with Michael would help me think of something to get him. I only had a few weeks left before his birthday.
---

Joseph arrived after awhile, he seemed happy and well, which made me smile. I always liked Joseph, he'd worked with Michael for awhile now. We'd talked on the way to Neverland, just catching up with one another.

Currently, I was walking up the long path to the door. Michael was waiting for me at the top of the steps, he'd dressed casually. A dark blue button up with blacks sacks and those penny loafers he loved so much. His hair was partly up in a neat ponytail and a number of ebony curls covered his left eye. I smiled at him and he walked down the few steps and pulled me into a hug once I was close enough.

"You're here!" He said as he pulled back with a smile.

"I sure am!" I said, smiling back at him.

He laughed. "Well come on then." He said, leading me in. "I wanna show you something."

"Alright, alright." I said laughing "You're so pushy!!"

He giggled at that. "So?" He said with a bright grin at me.

I rolled my eyes as we headed into his sitting area. The sofa and chairs were cluttered with different things. Most of them said something or had a picture or drawing of him.

"What… is all this?" I asked him, looking through all of it.

"Gifts from my fans." He said with a smile.

"Oh…" I chuckled "Guess I should've figured that."

He laughed bit before finally calming down and holding out a piece of paper to me. "Read this." He said

"Okay…." I said, taking the paper from him and reading over it. It was a poem and a beautiful one. I read it over in awe. "A fan wrote this for you?" I asked him once I'd read it over a few times.

He nodded. "There's dozens of them, look." He said, handing me a pile. I read through each and every one of them, over and over.

"Michael… these are beautiful…" I said

"I know, Sam. And these are the ones I just got today." He said

I blinked. "You've gotten more things this beautiful?" I asked

He nodded again. "Yeah… I just don't know what to do with them all. You know? I don't want anything to happen to them." He said

I did, I knew what he could do with them. "I can imagine. Where are the others?" I asked

"I've stored them in my room." He said

"Can I… see them?" I asked

He smiled. "Sure. Follow me" He said

I nodded with a smile. I had an idea of what he could do with these. I just hoped I could make it work. Once we got to his room, Michael pulled out all the gifts and I looked through every one of them. They were so beautiful and so talented. I couldn't believe it.

Once I'd seen all of them, Michael and I spent the day together just as we'd said we would. It'd been smart to bring that extra outfit because I was soaked by the end of our super soaker fight. It was crazy though, because the rest of the day had flown by and we were currently sitting in his cinema, watching a film. Although, I wasn't paying too much mind to the movie, my thoughts had drifted back to those gifts… more specifically, the poems.

What if I were to make him a book of them all? I could go out to a craft store and pick up what I needed. Although, I'd need to take the poems with me, would he even let me? I know how special they are to him. I bit my lip. Michael must've noticed my conflicted emotions because before I knew it…

"Sam? Are you okay?" Michael asked, worry etched all over his pale face.

"Hmm?" I said "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure…?" He asked

"Positive" I said with a reassuring smile.

"Well…. Alright…" He said with a soft sigh.

I forced myself to focus on the film, deciding that I'd ask about the poems after it ended.
---

After the film I stood up. "It's getting late so… I should probably head home." I said

"Alright." He said "Thanks for spending the day with me, Sam. I had a lot of fun."

"So did I." I told him with a smile.

Just then, Brownie came running over, his tail wagging. I laughed and knelt down to pet him. He closed his eyes, enjoying that. "It was nice seeing you too, Brownie" I said, pulling back and standing back up.

Brownie whined at that and gave me the widest puppy dog eyes he could muster. I chuckled. I guess I wasn't supposed to stop. "I have to go, silly." I told him.

He looked down sadly and I bit my lip.

"Don't worry boy, she'll visit us again." Michael said, kneeling down and petting him. He leaned into Michael's hand and closed his eyes again, obviously enjoying that.

Brownie was such a sweet dog, I was so glad I brought him home to Michael. He was so happy here.

I cleared my throat softly. "Hey Michael…." I said

"Yeah?" He asked, looking up.

"You know those poems you showed me?"

"Yes. What about them?" He asked, getting more confused.

"Do you think… maybe I could take them home with me for a bit, so I can read them again?" I asked

"Oh. Hmm…." He said, a thoughtful look crossing his features.

"Please? I really like them…" I said

"Well. I suppose I can let you take them… as long as you take extra good care of every one of them…."

"I will, I promise. I know how much they mean to you." I said with a small smile.

"Yeah." He said, smiling back. "I'll go gather them up for you."

I nodded and he left to do just that. I was glad he'd let me take them. But I also knew I couldn't keep them for long. He'd want them back by the next time he saw me, I was sure, even if he wouldn't say that himself. That meant that as soon as I got up tomorrow, I'd have to head over to the craft store and gather my supplies. This was going to be a long project but a fun one that was highly worth it in the end. I thought he'd really love this.

Michael returned after awhile, a folder neatly tucked under his arm. He handed the folder to me. "Remember…. Extra special care, alright?" He said, once the folder was in my hands.

"I know." I said with a small smile. "I will. I promise."

"Okay." He said "I trust you."

"I'm glad" I said

He chuckled and hugged me tightly. "I'll see you soon."

I hugged him back for a moment before pulling back with a smile. "You sure will, Applehead. Stay out of trouble, you hear?" I said playfully.

"Don't I always?" He said with a grin.

"Well…" I said, trailing off.

"Sammy!!" He scolded gently.

"Okay, yes!" I said, giggling "Yes you do!"

"Much better!" He said

I laughed more at that."Bye, Michael" I said

"Bye, Sam." He said with a smile as I turned and headed out.

Once I got in, I set the folder down and began flipping through it, organizing what would go where when I started making the book itself. I yawned once it got late and turned in for the night. I couldn't wait to get started.
---

The sun streamed in through my bedroom windows the next morning, with a groan, I managed to roll out of bed and get ready for the day. I grabbed my keys from the table downstairs and headed out to my car. I wondered what things I'd stumble across at the craft store. I had to find the perfect stuff for Michael's book.

I wandered through the store aimlessly once I'd walked in. It was a rather large store and there was so much to look at. Finally after almost an hour, I'd found what I needed. I was excited to get started when I got home. So that's exactly what I did when I walked in. The pages were already organized, I'd done that last night, it was just a matter of pulling them together.

I turned on some music and got started, working non-stop. The finished product was beautiful. The book felt like it was sturdy. I'd included one of my own poems in the back for Michael, I thought he might like it. It described our friendship. I smiled at the thought of it, running my hand lightly over the smooth, dark purple surface. I suddenly couldn't wait to give it to him.

I picked up the book and carried it into my room, setting it somewhere safe for when his birthday came.
---

August twenty-ninth came quickly after I finished his book. I currently had it in a drawstring bag on my back all wrapped up as I made my way up to the long path of Neverland. Michael and I hadn't hung out since I'd asked for the poems and I knew he'd want them back sometime today. So I planned to give him his gift in the afternoon, right after lunch.

"Long time, no see!" Michael said, hugging me in greeting.

"Seriously!" I said, laughing, tipping his fedora "It isn't my fault you got so busy."

"Like I control that!!" He said, laughing as well and fixing his fedora.

"You could…." I said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

I grinned. "So, what are we doing today?" I asked.

"I thought you might wanna go swimming for a bit."

"Ooo, that sounds fun. No wonder you asked me to bring a bathing suit." I said

"Well yeah and then I figured we could spend time in the amusement park, once we've had lunch and everything." He said

"Alright." I said with a grin.

He grinned and we both went off to get changed. Swimming with Michael was always fun. I must've pushed him in a dozen times and he must've dunked me just as many times. I guess that was payback. We swam for awhile, stopping once we got hungry. We dried off and got changed before settling down for lunch.

It was nice to catch up with Michael after not seeing him for awhile. I wasn't joking about how busy he got, today was one of the first days he'd actually had time to unwind and just relax. I felt bad for him. Of course, he felt I shouldn't. In all honesty though, I couldn't help it.

I listened as Michael explained what he had coming up next and I shook my head.

"Like I told you, I don't really control it. It's all part of the job, I guess." He said with a shrug.

"I suppose. At least they let you relax for your birthday, which reminds me, happy birthday!!" I said with a smile.

He laughed. "Yeah and thank you." He said with his own smile.

"I made you a present" I said

He frowned playfully. "Girl, I told you that you don't have to give me anything!" He said

"I know" I told him, amused. "But I want to." I held up the present all nicely wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper.

He shook his head and accepted the gift. "Thank you, again" He said

"You're welcome" I said with a smile, waiting for him to open it.

He carefully tore the paper and looked at the book, opening it after a moment. His eyes softened as he flipped through it. "You… made this….? " He said quietly.

"Yeah… I wanted to give you something special…." I said

"Sam… this is beautiful, I love it so much." He carefully closed it and set it aside

"Thank you so much" He said, hugging me tightly.

I hugged him back. "Happy Birthday, Michael." I told him again. I was so glad he liked it.