So there you have it

Disclaimer: All people and places are fictional.

Still no reviews. There's only three ways too look at it. But here's another chapter and it's short. I hope you enjoy. Please review.

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Whispering, David said, "Take the bell off the door."

I did so, "What time does she normally get up?"

"I'd say in an hour." David didn't even look back at me, "She has been up earlier though."

"Let's hope this isn't one of those times." I motioned some of the people in. "Remember to be very quiet."

They nodded as they passed. There weren't that many at this hour, but that didn't matter there were plenty of decorations so the less people at a time the better. Some of the designs were made by us, but there were a few people that had some ideas of their own. It all mixed so there wasn’t any problems. We didn’t think there would be. I mean David mostly, so I trusted his thinking. The ones that arrived early mostly had the biggest of the decorations. After they set them up, they left for a while so more people could park closer. Some of them even lived close by so they only drove by to bring the decorations.

I was surprised by how many people helped out. By the time we had it all finished, she still hadn’t woken up. Both me and David were happy about this, and this did give my friends time to get over here. There was a big debate on whether to have one huge party, or just let all the patrons come in and wish her well. Everyone wanted to have the big party, that is, all the patrons. They had a big part of this, and it wasn’t till now that I found that out.

“What time did they say they’d be here?” I asked Tom who had been here since the beginning.“They should’ve already been here.” Tom was looking out the window. “Oh I see one of them now.”

We both headed out to meet him. It ended up being Adam. “Hey guys!” He was holding up to beer bottles. “Time to get her wasted!”

Tom rushed over and really gave him a hard punch to the arm, “Hey! I was only joking.” He winced, “They’re completely empty.” Then he said mostly to himself and shook his head, “Man, there’s no joking with you about this.”

“So where’s everyone else?” I ask trying to avoid any problems.

“I was just out looking for everybody.” Adam said, “They have a few more things to do and then they’ll be here. It shouldn’t be too long.”

“That’s nice to know.” Tom sounded aggravated, “She’ll be up soon.”

“It’ll be ok Tom.” I said calmly. “Everyone’s not here yet anyways. Let’s head back in and get a good spot before they all get here.”

So we headed in and got close to the curtain. I thought it was the best place because we did get this whole thing started. David stood with us and talked quite a bit about various other parties they had for her. I could tell that he was really happy about doing this again. He seemed more alive than he normally did. Today was a good day.

Little by little, all the people came in. As Adam had said, the others weren’t far behind. Even though everyone knew about the party early, they still did have lives so they couldn’t avoid with their daily plans. They all said they were sorry. I noticed this seemed to ease whatever it was that was bothering Tom. I don’t ever remember seeing Tom this stressed out. It might be cause I never noticed it, but I don’t think so. I’ve known him for a very long time. He was my best friend after all.

“Okay.” David finally said. “Looks like everyone is here finally.” He took a gamble and spoke normally. “I’ll go get her, so everyone be ready.”

He walked behind the curtain, “This is it.” I said, “Is everyone ready?”

No one else spoke. Time stood still as everyone was waiting for her to step through those curtains. It was like everyone was holding their breath. I knew I was. I couldn’t help it. Tom’s hand was shaking. Adam was tapping his foot soundlessly. Everyone was doing something that showed just how nervous they really were without bothering anybody else. No one even paid attention to each other. They were all focusing at one point. The curtains.

Echoing in the background were footstep, and a few mutters. All came from behind the curtains. They were indistinguishable at first, but as they neared you could tell one was feminine while the other was masculine. And soon enough they were near the curtains.

“If there’s so many people here then why do I need to go up front?” Chloe asked. “I need to get all the orders ready. I don’t think they’d like it if their drink came late.”

“Oh that shouldn’t be a problem, dear” David beckoned. “Besides, how are you suppose to know what to make without going out front?” He stepped though the curtain without revealing anything.

“But...” I could hear a faint sigh, “Alright, I’ll check.”

David took his final step out to the front and gave everyone the signal. The curtains parted and in a moment Chloe had stepped out to the biggest surprise. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Confetti was thrown all over the place. As she looked around, she noticed all the decorations. There were a few banners hanging down from the ceiling reading “Happy Birthday!!!” or “Happy 18th B-day” or various other things along the same lines. Someone had made a giant panda bear poster wishing her a happy birthday. Balloons were everywhere. Most of them were animals. Birds hung from strings that almost touched some peoples head. And as the last of the confetti finally fell to the ground, Chloe laid her eyes on me.

“What is all of this?” She asked in a quiet astonished voice.

“Happy birthday Chloe.” I said with a smile. “I hope you like all of this. It took a long time to prepare for.”

“Like it!” She shouted, and pounced me. “I love it!”

“Happy birthday Chloe.” Tom said with a big smile.

“And you didn’t tell me anything about this.” She tapped her foot and Tom laughed while hugging her, “It wouldn’t be a surprise then.” They kissed. Not just a kiss on a cheek either. This was a surprise for everybody.

“Tom?” I looked between the two. “Chloe?”

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” Chloe acted all shy. “I’m kinda going out with Tom. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Mad?” I said. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“I-I don’t know.” She paused, “I... just thought... nothing never mind.”

“O-oh!” Adam spoke to himself. “That’s why you always hit me whenever I joked about her.”
David looked at the two. He didn’t say anything about it, but he looked at me. Then headed into the backroom. I told everyone that I’d be back, and followed him. He was at the cake that was prepared. It was hidden somewhere where Chloe wouldn’t find it. I stepped closer to him.

“I knew something was different about her.” David didn’t even turn around. “So she’s going out with him.”

“I didn’t know anything about it.” I said. “But, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Tom. He’s a great guy. He’s been my best friend since I was little. He always protected me.”

“That’s good to know.” He turned to face me. “But you didn’t have to say anything. I trust him.” He pointed at the cake. “Will you help me take this out front?”

“Of course.” I walked over to the cake.

Instead of just eighteen candles, there were many candles spelling out a big 18. Underneath on the actual cake, there was a lake with a sunset in the distance. Birds were flying in the sky, and the water was still. It was a masterpiece. The candles were lit in seconds, and we step out into the front where everyone was singing Happy Birthday. The look on Chloe’s face was priceless.