It was November 21st, 2009- a day after Michael's birthday- and the night was still young. Michael's house was filled to the top with decorations, varying from streamers to confetti that said "Happy Birthday" on it.

Inside the living room there was a bunch of Michael's family (it was a family only party), and they were all hidden in different locations of the room. The room was quiet, dark, and filled with anticipation as everyone awaited the entrance of Michael and his great grandfather.

There was the sound of the doorknob jiggling right before the door itself swung open. Michael and his great grandfather walk through the threshold and Michael makes his way to the light switch.

"Why's it so dark in here? I thought we left this on when we left," Michael said as he flipped the switch.

The light lit up and people sprang out of their hiding spots, yelling "SURPRISE!"

Just then, the room went quiet. Michael turned around to see his great grandfather lying on the floor, holding his left arm.

"Someone call 000! He's having a heart attack!"

Michael rushed to his grandfather's side to help aid him until the ambulance arrived. Once it did, the paramedics put his grandfather on a stretcher and rolled him into the back of the emergency vehicle. Michael's eyes were filled with new tears as the old ones were cascading down his face. His mother tried her best to comfort him, but she, too, was crying.

Sadly enough, Michael's great grandfather didn't make it, and neither did Michael's hope.

***

Today was November 20th, 2014, also known as Michael's birthday. It was no surprise that his best friend, Calum, had something planned. The last couple of years Calum had planned things for Michael's birthday, most of them being small parties with Luke, Ashton, and a few friends. This year, however, Calum decided he wanted to plan a surprise party.

Currently, Michael and Calum were cuddling on the couch, watching television. Michael, whose head was on Calum's chest, lifted his head to look at Calum.

"Cal?" He asked innocently, getting his friend's attention.

"Yeah?" Calum answered, looking down at him.

"What are you planning for today?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. You always plans things for my birthday. It's, like, a tradition or something."

Calum scoffed. "No it's not. Honestly, this year, I don't feel like doing anything, so I'm not."

Michael went silent for a moment, before realizing what was going on. "You're not planing a surprise for me."

"You're right. I'm not planning anything for you."

"Calum," Michael rolled his eyes. "If there is a surprise party for me today, I swear I'm going to punch you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. I hate them with a burning passion. They're the worst."

Calum ignored what the vermillion-haired boy was saying, trying to focus on what he was thinking about. A million thoughts were running through his mind, him trying to figure out how to make Michael's party perfect. Just then Michael got a phone call, telling him he needed to go in to record some guitar and vocals. Calum purposely set that up, giving him about two hours to get the party together.

Michael left, saying good bye to his band mates, threatening Calum once again. Once he was gone, Calum found Ashton and Luke sitting in their shared bedroom, lying in bed.

"Guys," Calum said peeping his head through the door. "Mikey just left, let's get started."

"What're we doing again?" Ashton asked.

"Whilst he's gone, we're gonna decorate the house and set some food out. People should get here in an hour, to make sure they're here in time. Ya know, because Mikey might finish early."

"Michael doesn't want a surprise party, Calum," Luke pressed, looking at the kiwi in the threshold.

"Yes he does."

"No, he said he hates them. He thinks they're literally the worst thing in the world."

"What? No. He just says that because he's trying to trick us."

"How?" Ashton questioned, not understanding Calum's theory.

Calum walked in and sat at the foot of Luke and Ashton's bed. "Okay, so he told us he doesn't like surprise parties so we won't throw him one. But, I know he's only telling us that, because he knows we're pests that like doing things to make him mad. So, he told us he didn't want a surprise party, so we would throw him a surprise party, because he actually wants one."

Ashton and Luke shared a look of confusion, both cocking their eyebrows. "What?"

Calum sighed heavily. "It's reverse psychology. He tells us the opposite of what he wants to get it. Let's get started."

All three lads left the room and began picking up the house a bit, then started decorating. They put up streamers along the walls and ceiling and blew up balloons, allowing them to lay on the floor recklessly. Luke turned on some music, more specifically, a mix of Green Day, Blink-182, Mayday Parade, Fall Out Boy, and Nirvana, whilst Ashton got out some snacks. Calum strung out some lights, hanging them around the window trims, turning off the main lights of the house to showcase the party lights.

Slowly, people started trickling in, filling the up house. Calum was peeking out of the window to keep an eye out for Michael. When he saw Michael pull into the driveway, he turned to the crowd. "He's here! Everybody hide!"

Everyone present took a hiding spot, except for Luke, Calum, and Ashton, who just lounged around, trying to act casual.

"Remember," Calum whispered. "Don't come out and yell surprise until I say 'dance party'."

Michael opened the door and walked into the living room, noticing all the decorations. He stopped behind the couch, the other boys looking back at him. "What's all this? I mean, you said you weren't throwing me a birthday party."

"I'm not. We just had a little dance party," Calum spoke.

Everyone popped out of various places, yelling, "SURPRISE!" Michael jumped back a bit, startled at the yelling. He groaned and rolled his eyes, storming off to his bedroom.

"I told you he didn't want a surprise party!" Luke said loudly, hitting Calum in the arm.

Calum excused himself and followed Michael into his room. As he approached Michael's door, it got slammed in his face, causing Calum to sigh.

"Mike?" He knocked on the door.

"Go away, Calum," Michael said from in his room.

"No, let me in."

"No."

"Please, Mikey?"

Calum heard a groan right before the door was opened.

"What?" Michael pressed.

"Can I come in?"

Michael let Calum into his room and they both laid on his bed after closing the door.

"What the heck?" Michael hissed.

Calum raised his eyebrows at his harsh-sounding words. "I thought you wanted one."

"I specifically said 'Do not throw me a surprise party.' What didn't you understand?"

"I just thought that you said that because you were trying to trick us into throwing you a surprise party. You know, like reverse psychology," Calum spoke softly, looking down at his hands in his lap.

"I wasn't using reverse psychology. I really didn't want a surprise party. I really hate them."

"Why?"

"Something happened in the past with a surprise party and it kind of ruined them for me."

Suddenly, Michael's head was flooded with the painful memories from the last surprise party he had.

"I'm sorry. Honestly."

Michael pulled Calum into a hug. "I forgive you, just don't do it again. Can you make those people leave? I don't even know half of them."

Calum pulled back with a concerned look on his face. "But they came all the way over here for a party. The least we could do is supply them with one."

"Okay then. I'll just stay in here until they leave," Michael said, leaning back on his headboard.

Calum grabbed Michael's hand, looking at him with his signature puppy-dog face. "Please come out there with me. You can leave after twenty minutes, if you want."

"Fine," Michael muttered. "I hate that you know how to use that face against me."

Calum chuckled and led Michael out to the living room where the people were. "LET'S PARTY!"

***

Twenty minutes passed, but Michael was oblivious because Calum took away his phone. He was forcing the lad to mingle.

Michael sat in a chair near the corner, looking as if he was really depressed. Calum noticed his friend and the time and he walked over to him.

"What's wrong?" Calum asked sweetly.

"I don't know. I'm not feeling this party vibe," Michael sighed.

Calum leaned over next to his face, kissing him on the cheek three times, each time getting closer and closer to Michael's lips. Calum wasn't thinking about what he was doing or why he was doing it, for some reason he just couldn't help himself. He stood back up, straightening his posture and looked down at Michael.  "Your time is up, you can leave if you want."

Calum handed Michael his phone and he left for his bedroom. Ashton and Luke approached Calum asking about what they just saw. Calum explained to them about the deal they had and they nodded.

"What about you kissing him then?" Ashton asked. 

"I only kissed him on the cheek. It's no big deal."

"I think it is," Luke said, smiling ever so largely.

"Why?" Calum blushed.

"Because," Ashton chimed in. "You've had the biggest crush on him for, like, ever."

"Wait, did he say anything after you kissed him?" Luke questioned.

"No, I just told him his time was up and he took his phone and left. Should he have said something?"

"I don't know. But I do know, that if Ashton didn't say anything after I kissed him I don't know if we'd be together." Ashton looked at Luke with a face full of concern. "Well, I mean of course I'd try my hardest to get you, but I'm just saying, who knows what would've happened?"

"Ugh, I'm gonna go talk to him," Calum said, prior to exiting the room.  He knocked on Michael's door and entered when he heard a faint "Come in."

Michael was lying in his bed scrolling through Twitter on his laptop, not acknowledging who had just walked in.

"Hey," Calum said, closing the door.

"Hey." Calum got on Michael's bed, laying next to him. The two were silent for a while until Michael closed his computer and spoke up. "Can we talk?"

Calum cleared his throat. "About what?"

Michael looked at his hands, playing with the sleeves of his sweater. "About you kissing me."

"Oh." Calum went quiet, not knowing where this conversation was going. It had a 50% chance it'd end badly. "Y-yeah."

"Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know, I just, I don't know. I only kissed your cheek, I mean it's not that big of a deal, right?"

Michael let out a small, forced chuckle. "Right."

"All right. Here's the thing," Calum said, more confidently than he was speaking before. "I like you. I like you a lot, more than a friend. I never told you because I was scared that'd you freak out and hate me or something stupid like that. I saw you in the corner today and you looked really sad and out of place, so I decided to go over to you, and I don't know what possessed me to do it, but then I kissed you. I planned on only kissing you once on the cheek, but I got carried away and started moving it. But I caught myself before it led to an actual kiss."

Michael was shocked, to say the least. He had no idea that Calum liked him, no matter how obvious it was at times. Michael thought that he was the one who was going to have to go through the terrible rejection, because he liked Calum a whole lot.

"Oh boy," Michael thought. "This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for practically all my life, and now it's here. To say that I'm thrilled that Calum likes me is definitely an understatement; I'm beyond thrilled. I mean, ever since we were thirteen I've had feelings for him, but now, I know they're mutual. And that's awesome."

Michael finally obtained that small ounce of courage that he needed and turned his body to face Calum. He cupped Calum's cheek with one of his hands and brought his face closer. He leaned in to meet his lips with Calum's. It was a soft, slow kiss that didn't last very long but to the two boys, it felt like an eternity had passed.

"I like you, too," Michael whispered, looking into Calum's deep, chocolate-brown eyes.

"Awesome."