~ Chapter 23: Last birthday. ~

(Ok so I actually found a place where I could have wifi and I wanted to post this chapter because I really like this one, I hope you'll enjoy it too, it's a little longer. Let me know and don't forget to vote/comment! Happy holidays! Next update will probably be on Sunday :)
Songs I listened to while rereading the chapter:

Macklemore - Can't Hold Us, Thrift Shop, Same Love
Jessie J - Masterpiece
Chris Jamison - Velvet
Ed Sheeran - Runaway
One Direction - Clouds)

                                                                         *

Damon's birthday was coming up in four days, which also depressed me. Because it was the last one he would celebrate. I know, it's so awful, I can't even talk about it. But, because I was unconditionally in love with him, I wanted him to have a great birthday, to try to avoid him spending it drinking to forget it was his last. I didn't know if he'd actually do that but I think it was probably what I'd do so, better safe than sorry.

Jenny had given me the idea of organizing him a surprise birthday party but I wasn't really sure he was going to appreciate the surprise part of it. So I decided to talk to him about it. I went over to his house and brought out the subject.

"I don't feel like celebrating my birthday." He answered before getting up to get a glass of water.

"Look, Damon, I know it's kind of weird that you know it's... your last and... I think you'll regret it if you don't celebrate it. Let's just have a little party with the people you care about. Maybe we could invite Kara. But, if you really don't want to, then it's your choice."

"Can I think about it?"

"Sure."

We watched a movie and I could tell Damon wasn't really following the plot but was more spacing out so I just said I had to leave then made up some excuse and I left him alone. I was feeling so bad. I cried a lot in my bed then got myself together and started writing to take my mind off of things.

His last birthday. It would be his last birthday.

He came over at my house later and said he agreed for a little celebration like maybe over dinner or something, but he didn't want to have lots of people over. He wanted it to be, I quote, "casual". So, I thought about it and proposed to do a barbecue with his closest friends. So, we would invite Kara, Seth, Jenny (even though they hadn't spent that much time together, he liked her so whatever), Mathew and Jeremy (two of his old friends). He texted everyone and I realized that, besides Jenny and me, no one knew it was going to be his last birthday. Maybe it was better. No one was going to ask awkward questions that way. I was particularly worried about Seth, who didn't know when to shut up sometimes.

We did some things from the list during the three days before the birthday then Jenny and I prepared everything for the barbecue. We bought the meat, and then went in a store to try to find a nice present. I wanted one that would be special. I wanted an amazing thing to offer to Damon. I didn't have an idea right away so I walked around the mall to try to have some kind of inspiration. I had thought about it for the past few days but every idea was as crappy as the precedent one. Jenny bought him headphones and a head pillow special for planes. You put it around your neck and then you can sleep by just lowering your head a little. It's very practical and it fit the situation perfectly since Damon and I were traveling a lot.

We went in a coffee shop and then, finally, I had a tolerable idea. But it was basically impossible to realize.

"Jenny, do you know how I could get Macklemore to sing for us?"

She almost spilled her coffee on me.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I really don't know what to get Damon for his birthday and this would be perfect. A private concert..."

"You're out of your mind. Those things don't happen in real life. Especially since neither of us know Macklemore or someone that could lead us to him. Try to think of something else."

I sighed.

"Oh my god!" Jenny exclaimed five seconds later.

"What's going on?"

"Lacey!!" She screamed.

"What about Lacey?"

Lacey was Jenny's cousin. I met her one time at one of her birthdays. She was older than us and very pretty. I guess it ran in the family.

"She works at the record label that produced a lot of people!! Maybe she could work something out for us!!"

"No way!!"

Jenny started searching something on her phone and typing really fast, excited. Then she got a call and she went out to speak. It went on for like an hour and then she got back in the coffee shop.

"Leah..." She started, with a sly grin.

"What?"

"Tell me how much you love me, how amazing I am, how lucky you are to have a best friend like me and how much you..."

"What?" I cut her.

"Say it." She insisted.

"I love you, you're the best, I worship you etc. Now tell me."

She smiled to make the suspense last a little longer than screamed.

"Lacey knows Ryan Lewis and after many efforts she got us Macklemore!!!"

"No way!!!" I shouted.

Many people were looking at us now and a waitress asked us to be quieter. We apologized then I whispered.

"If this is a joke, I'm going to strangle you."

"I promise. Lacey has to confirm it by a text but apparently it's on."

"No way! Oh my god!!!!"

"If it works, it's going to be so perfect Damon is going to faint."

"Oh my god!!!!!" I screamed again.

"It was really expensive though. I hope you got some cash..."

"Don't worry about it. I can't believe it!!!"

"Me neither."

"Damon is going to be thrilled!!! Jenny you're the best!!"

"I know, I know."

I hugged her then we went out of the coffee shop cause the waitress was giving us a bad look. I jumped around, excited as hell and then we went home.

"Try to act normal or Damon will know something is up." Jenny told me when we parked in the alley.

"Do you really think he expects Macklemore at his birthday?"

She laughed and we went back home. I went in my room and wrote a little with music to try to calm down but I couldn't. Jenny barged into my room to tell me Lacey had confirmed that Macklemore was going to be there so we shouted and laughed again. A little later, I looked in my closet to try to find something cool to wear for Damon's birthday but it led to no result so I decided to borrow one of Jenny's dresses. With all those exciting events, I had almost forgotten that tomorrow was going to be Damon's last birthday to celebrate. I chased this idea of my mind to focus on the good things and thought to myself that this was going to be the best birthday ever.

The next morning, I woke up early and got out of bed, excited as hell. In just a few hours, we would have Macklemore in our backyard!! I dressed up and went downtown with my car. I bought a lot of stuff then went back in my house, praying for Damon to still be asleep. It was six and he usually wasn't waking up before nine or ten so I was hoping this wasn't going to change now. I prepared the best breakfast ever for Damon with a great presentation, then took the key to his house that he had given me and went inside his house as quiet as I could. He wasn't in the living room. I checked upstairs and saw him sleep. He looked so sexy I almost dropped everything to join him under the sheets. But I got myself together and went back downstairs. I installed everything and then went in his bed to wrap my arms around his back.

"Mmh..." He just said before turning.

"Happy birthday."

He smiled a little then opened his eyes to kiss me.

"Waking up with you is the best birthday present ever..." He whispered while hugging me.

Wait 'til you find out who's going to sing for you later! I thought.

"Come downstairs."

He followed me after yawning and kissing me. I led him to the living room where everything was installed.

"Leah! It's amazing! You didn't have to!" Damon exclaimed when he saw the breakfast on the table.

"Sit. I made the chocolate cake."

He pretended to be afraid while tasting it cause he knows how bad of a cook I am but then opened surprised eyes.

"It's really good!! Who made it?"

"Me. It's my mom's recipe."

"Really? Since when do you know how to cook?"

"I guess yesterday!"

"Well, you chose your timing wisely."

He ate the other stuff with appetite and I put on some music. We sang along then danced a little, laughing.

"Seriously, thank you."

"It's nothing. So, what do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. I just want to hang out with you in bed."

I smiled at the sound of this idea and hugged him. I lay my head in his shoulder and said I really wouldn't mind doing that.

"Are you sure there's nothing special you want to do? Maybe go to an amusement park or um... I don't know..."

"Leah, honestly, I really just want to stay in bed with you. And music. That's it."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely sure."

I smiled and we both went upstairs. Damon was right: staying in bed was way more fun than an amusement park or anything else.

The day went on fast and pretty soon I told Damon I had to go prepare everything for the barbecue. Jenny had texted me that Macklemore was supposed to arrive at seven but that we had to distract Damon so that he wouldn't suspect anything. So Jenny offered to take him to the mall with some pretext she would make up. In the mean time, Macklemore would arrive, go hide in my room until we would give him the green light to come down and we'd eat our barbecue after the private concert. It was going to be awesome! I was hoping Damon would like it.

At six and a half, I told Damon I had to go to my house to change my clothes so I got out of bed and kissed him before going. Everything in the garden was ready and the stage was set up with a mic and everything Macklemore would need for his concert. It was awesome.

"Jenny, you did an amazing job! Thank you so much for your help." I told her when I could catch her.

"No worries. So, how is Damon? Not too depressed?"

"No, I think he's ok."

"What did you do today?"

"We spent the day in bed."

She smiled.

"Well, you're not as prude as before little Leah."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm an awesome idiot."

"True."

She smiled again then told me she had to go in the kitchen help Seth. I should have said something about her not touching him but I realized it was late so I ran in my room to go put on Jenny's dress. It was really sexy. Too sexy for me to wear usually but this time, I really didn't care. It was Damon's birthday after all.

I went downstairs and told Jenny it was time for her to take Damon out so that he wouldn't suspect anything or see Macklemore before the concert. It wasn't a surprise birthday party but still, the private concert would be even better if he didn't expect it at all.

Jenny ran out of the house and I don't know what she invented but about two seconds later they were both in the car going away from here. Our plan was in action. The guests started arriving and I welcomed them with Seth, who had arrived earlier in the day. I was happy to see Kara again. Usually, when you tell someone you're not that close to that you'll stay in touch with him or her, it ends up never happening. You text the few first days then you just have nothing left to say anymore and you start forgetting to contact that person. But I was glad to see that it wouldn't be like that with Kara. At least not right now.

Everyone gathered in the living room and that was when I told them about the private concert, because they didn't know yet. They all started screaming like crazy, jumping in the air, and all sorts of things. We were all excited. But I didn't want Macklemore to steal the show from Damon. They all understood, but they were still very (like very) excited. And that was when the doorbell rang. They all screamed and I shouted "shut up" to try to make them calm down. I went to answer the door and saw a tall and big guy standing in front of me. At the looks of his sunglasses and all the rest that he was wearing, I guessed he was a sort of bodyguard.

"Hello. Are you Leah Clark?" He asked me coldly.

"Yup. That's me."

"Can I see an ID?"

"Um... Sure. Wait here."

When I came back in the living room they all screamed and I told them again to shut up. I took my papers and showed them to the guy. He nodded then went in the alley and opened the door or a black SUV. And guess who got out of it! Macklemore. In the flesh. There were thousands of "Oh my god" screaming in my head but I kept myself together and just said.

"Hi, I'm Leah."

"Macklemore. Nice to meet you. So, it's your boyfriend's birthday right?"

"Yup. Damon. He's not here right now, we wanted it to be a surprise..." I manage to say without stuttering.

I let him come in and told him to go wait upstairs for Damon to arrive. Jenny had texted me they were on their way. I told everyone to keep the secret about Macklemore and they all swore they would. Seth was more excited than ever and so were Damon's friends. They stayed downstairs and when Damon arrived with Jenny, they all screamed "Happy birthday!!". Damon smiled then said thank you before hugging or shaking hands with everyone. He kissed me and wrapped me in his arms.

"That's a really beautiful dress. You look amazing."

"Thank you. It's not mine, I borrowed it from Jenny."

He smiled again then whispered in my ear "I can't wait to get you out of it." I smiled too, blushing. Then I remembered I had to go get Macklemore so I told Damon I had to go upstairs take something and that I would meet him downstairs. Jenny asked him tones of things to keep him distracted and I ran upstairs to go get Macklemore. He was looking at one of the pictures with Jenny that was hung in the room. I looked ridiculous in it so I was mortified but I tried not to show it.

"Damon is downstairs. You're ready?" I asked, as if I was talking to one of my friend. Like it wasn't Macklemore, the singer that everyone loved right now. "Thank you so much, by the way, for doing this. You have no idea how much this means to me, and to Damon. And I just wanted to say that you're amazing, I love your song, and just thank you for inspiring everyone. Your song, Same Love, is just wonderful and if everyone could think like you, this would be a far better world. You contributed to the change and I just..." I stopped, blushing. "Ok, I'm talking too much, sorry."

He laughed.

"Thanks. It means a lot. So, should I go now?"

"Yup, please."

He followed me down and I asked him to go outside when I would call his name. So he stayed hidden behind the doors. I went in the garden where everyone was already talking and laughing with each other, and took the mic. Everyone shut up and turned their heads towards me. Now that I was thinking about it, I really wondered how I had managed to sing in front of the X Factor audience, it was really scary to stand alone on a stage, even if it was just to talk.

"So, as everyone knows here, tonight is Damon's birthday."

They all screamed "happy birthday" and punched him in the back nicely.

"And for that, Jenny and I, but mostly Jenny, organized a surprise for you. I hope you'll like it but I'm pretty sure you will."

Damon frowned, curious and that's when Jenny came with Macklemore, who got on stage. I heard Damon say "oh my god" and I joined him cause I really wanted to see his reaction. His mouth was dropping and he had big shocked eyes.

"Don't tell me it's..."

"Hey guys, I'm Macklemore." The singer said in the same time.

"Oh my god Leah!!" Damon said. "Oh my god!!"

I laughed and he hugged me, lifted me from the ground and made me turn in the air.

"I can't believe you got me a Macklemore's concert!!! Oh my goooood!"

Music started filling the air and the famous first notes of Can't Hold Us made us all scream with excitement. Then Macklemore started singing and we all went crazy. I don't know what the neighbors were doing but if I had been in their shoes, I would have ran in this garden. It was simply phenomenal. Ray Dalton, the guy who usually sings the chorus, wasn't there but we really didn't need him because everyone was singing on the music, especially Damon who was turning crazy. I mean, you can understand us, Macklemore was giving us a private concert!

After a few songs (notably And We Danced and Same Love) Macklemore said he needed some water so pretty much everyone ran to get him some. It was unbelievable. We were bringing water to the singer! That never happens in usual concerts!

The concert ended with the most famous song: Thrift Shop. Again, no need of the guy that sings the chorus, we sang pretty much the whole song. And guess what, Macklemore made Damon and me go on stage with him to sing Can't Hold Us one more time. We were off key but we didn't care at all. In my head, I was screaming "I'm actually singing with Macklemore. OH MY GOOOOD!!!" On and on.

Unfortunately, the concert ended, and Macklemore ended up joining us to eat the barbecue. It was, for real, the best night ever. For Damon's birthday. It was perfect. Damon talked with Mathew and Jeremy, who were both still overwhelmed by the events of the night (meaning: the concert).

The night ended at six in the morning. Macklemore's chauffeur had come at three and after many, many thanks and lots of compliments about how fucking awesome he was, he left. We took a lot of pictures, and I had a complete film of Damon and me singing with him. What more could you need?

Everyone had to leave so we said goodbye then Damon thanked Jenny for the billionth time of the night.

"My place?" He said, not really asking.

I followed him and as soon as he had closed the door, he started unzipping my dress.

"Finally! I've been dreaming of doing that all.." He stopped to kiss me. "...Night..." Another kiss. "Long."

A little later, when we were both laying in bed, he looked at the pictures in his phone that he had taken during the concert.

"Leah, seriously, I have no possible word to tell you how awesome, amazing, unbelievable, was the gift you gave me. You really didn't have to, but it was just... perfect."

"You've been thanking me all night, stop."

"I can't thank you enough. This is the best birthday I've ever had. Ever."

"Even better than the one when you had a inflatable castle in your garden and a magician?"

"Even better."

I smiled, at the memory of Damon's birthdays when we were little. I was invited of course, and it was always awesome. Once, there was a piñata, another time, there would be a clown, and on another birthday, a treasure hunt.

"This has nothing to do with Macklemore. But, Leah, I love you with all my heart. You know that right?"

It wasn't the first time Damon was telling me he loved me. But it was always warming me up with some intense thing in my stomach.

"I know. And I hope you know too that I love you. So much, Damon."

So much that it hurts. And as every time, it was filling my eyes with tears. Because of the fear of loosing him.