The Neverland Inn : One-Shot Collection

NL Birthday

In Neverland, Michael's birthday is really a huge deal to the girls. In the many days they've spent there, taking care of guests and making sure everything stayed together, nothing has really been as celebratory as Michael's birthday. ~August 29th All three woke up and remembered the plan. No one bat an eye to Michael's birthday. They're going to make him think they've completely forgotten. At around eleven am they pulled into the drive way yesterday with all of his gifts and Shan says, "Wait how can we hide all this from Michael? He's omnipotent!!" "We're gonna try!!" Faith says turning her head to the backseat. Dee laughed and that's all she could think about this morning. Shan steps out of her room down the hall and she snickers whispering, "Remember, act natural." nodding they began down the hall. They all whistled like a normal day and noticed that michael seemed very quiet. Faith sits down at the table and starts pouring a glass of milk non chalantly. Dee starts a makeshift lunch with stir fry on the stove and Shan looks out the window humming.
The chill wanders into the room and Michael appears in a red suit. "Hey everyone!" He says glowing and the girls turn to him blandly, "Hi Michael .."
He looks to them strangely and they go about their business in the kitchen. They try to contain their joy and they begin a conversation about the weather. Michael squints his eyes asking,
"What are you plotting?"
They grow increasingly on edge trying to play cool,
"Oh nothing.."
"Yeah not anything...that's crazy.."
"Are you assuming were up to something?"
Michael doesn't buy one bit of it and gloats, "It doesn't help my suspicion considering its my birthday."
The room grows silent minus Dee shakingly asking from next to the frying pan,
"Does anyone like mushrooms?..."
Michael giggles, "Mmmhmm. Its hard to keep a secret from me girls."
They look up rolling their eyes and say,
"You're omnipotent, we know..."
He giggles again and says,
"Girls its sweet you wanna do something for me..."
Faith sighs and finally breaks the silence,
"We just don't know how to pull it off..."
Shan sits down beside him and says, "Yeah, with you looming around everywhere its hard to be sneaky..."

Michael sits up saying, "I'll compromise. I can go into a total idle state where I don't float around unseen at all, and you can get me something. It might take me a while to come back though. I've only done it once.."
They all become excited and Dee lights up,
"We can have it done in an hour, at best!"
Michael grins wide and says, "Alright. An hour.. I can do that!"
He snaps his fingers and into the gray mist he dissipates.
"Let's go!" Faith says jumping up and off they race from the kitchen. Dee runs back suddenly remembering to turn the stove off and returns asking,
"We planned the attic for all this right?"
They nod and on the preparing went. The evening before, the girls made a trip to L.A.'s biggest toy store. In the attic they set up model train sets, pinball machines and plenty of toy robots from Michael's childhood. They raced around little toy cars and trotted around Michaels small porcelain horses. They made sure that everything was in place and Shan yells out,
"We've got ten minutes!"
Dee and Faith lug in a huge canvas, that lied under a white sheet. "Set it here...by the bike game!.." Dee says and Shan nods, "This thing weighs a thousand pounds!"
They set it down gentle and a knock comes to the door. They all look up and exit the attic side room. Michael stood but in amazement, it wasnt the Michael they were used to. His appearance went back thirty years or so. He looked just like he did on the cover of bad album. They all smile and grin shrieking, "You can change your appearance?!"
One yells excited and he says,
"I can! I just don't use it much. I like to be familiar with you guys. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but I was my happiest when I was this way."
They all shake their head still in awe and Dee says,
"You look so normal. The is the most alive you've looked! You look real!."

He smiles and fixes his black blazer, "It's an illusion, only an illusion. So..I take it you goons have something for me?"

They all nod and Shan steps closer to the door, "We present..." she begins and Faith finishes, "Your new and improved game room!"
Dee opens up and Michael removes the sunglasses, the ghostly glow flowing his dark eyes again. He steps in and gasps, "Oh my god..."
He begins to laugh and one of the girls kneels down flipping on a switch to the toy train tracks. It begins to zoom around and Michael laughs taking it all in,
"I love it! Girls! You shouldn't have!" He goes over giggling like a kid and he presses the button for the motorcycle game. "I loved this thing when I was alive!" He revs the bikes plastic throttle and it makes the electronic vroom noise. "Yes!"
He giggles and he goes over to the toy robots and horses, he waves his hands and on and on they galloped under his levitation. The girls watch him play and Dee points out the covered mural, "
This is also for you Mike.."
Faith and Shan go to the covered canvas and unveil it from the sheet.
Under sat the piece of 'love graffiti' from when they first opened the B&B, 'I Miss You My Angel' was written across the top and on the canvas was a colorful, vibrantly painted Michael curled into a ball with angel wings. The paint was dripped down the rest of the portrait and he gawks,
"I remember this...they broke in one night. These..these girls...and I was so angry. They began to spraypaint this onto the wall...and..I was about to scare the living hell out of them. Until they turned away and I saw the tears in their eyes. They wiped their faces and I saw the words. They mixed the paint with their hands. It was the first time i had seen anyone alive since I had died. I wanted to hug them and show myself. But I was scared. They sat in the floor out there sobbing just about all night. I felt so horrible..."
Dee, Faith and Shan look to each other shocked, they look to him sad and one asks,
"Why Michael? You couldn't have stopped your death."

He feels the ridges of the paint with his fingers and says with his eyes low, "I left alot of people behind. All my fans, all the people I loved. I didn't even get to finish my tour. Or even start it for that matter." He puts down his head and Dee rushes over, she hugs his waist tight and vulnerable from behind. He let his head drop further. The other two join in the embrace and Michael holds them back where he could.
"I wish you could've met me when I was alive....I would've loved you just the same.."
He says and one whispers, "You're still alive to us..."
He smiles and says,
"I'd give anything to still be alive. To be with you girls here. To dream, to feel pain, to feel warmth..to cry, to laugh. All of it..."
They hug him tighter and Faith reminds him, "You always said you'd be alive in our hearts. And thats what truly matters.."
Michael nods and says,
"You're right. You are. "
They let him go in a brief moment of tears and he breathes in deep taking the nerf gun from the game table.
"I bet you guys will feel pretty bad when you lose a dart war to a dead guy..."
They all giggle and Michael makes the first shot into Faith's shoulder. "Tag.... now you're it.."
They all begin to laugh getting their weapons together and Michael cheers, "Just cause its my birthday!"
"That's no excuse!" They all argue playing nerf tag the rest of the happy day.