... and it all started with a tattoo (COMPLETED)

Happy birthday to you!

The costume ideas came easily, it was just finding somewhere that sold the pieces we needed. I ended up ordering a mask and outfit from the people who made the original, so I had to fly out to LA to go and get myself custom fitted. I ended up taking the girls with me, thinking they should get the same treatment. October flew by, I'm not sure where it went.

I was called by Mikey every day and we texted all the time. It's the hardest thing I've ever done to keep this secret from him but I was sure it would be worth it to see his face. I was back in Exeter doing some coursework I'd been putting off when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered the phone anyway. It's something slightly interesting to do...

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this Ellie?" It was an Australian woman on the end of the phone who I didn't recognize the voice of, but if she's Australian, this may be a call about Mikey.

"Yeah, this is. Who's calling?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Forgot for a moment there. I'm Liz Hemmings, Luke's mum!" I felt so ashamed of myself. I didn't recognize Liz... I'm a complete failure. "Hey, Liz! I should have recognized the voice. How can I help you?"

"I hear you're a busy girl, so I'll get to the point. If we pay for you, is there any way that you'll be able to get to LA in time for Michael's birthday?" This made me feel warm inside. The mums wanted me to be there to help celebrate Mikey's birthday. "I'm flattered by the offer but I'm already going to be in LA because we were all going to surprise them at Derpcon."

"Oh, that's brilliant! He was going to invite you himself, but then he remembered that you were still studying, and honestly, he just felt down when he thought about you not being here, so decided not to mention it to you." Bless him! I wanted to do something for him, something special.

"Liz, I have an idea that would possibly make his night but I'll need you to help me out with a few... preparations."

"Name them, and I'll personally see them done."

After I relayed instructions to Liz for about twenty minutes, I said, "Goodbye!" to my new best mate.

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I arrived in LA the night before Mikey's birthday (9th of November) so that I didn't have jet lag for the party. I wasn't expecting anyone, so when I noticed a woman holding a sign with my name on it, I was surprised.

I cautiously walked up to the woman, tapped her lightly on the shoulder and asked, "Are you looking for me?" As soon as she saw me, she looked me up and down in a criticising way and asked, "What was your last hair colour?" I smiled at this confirmation of identity question and replied with, "Blue, before that it was purple." I'd dyed my hair a darkish brown colour to blend in more with the crowd and it seemed to have worked.

I took in this woman properly for the first time. She was around my height, maybe an inch or two taller, with dark brown hair. She wasn't large but she wasn't a stick figure either. She looks Asian-ish. That coupled with Australia- I mean, NEW ZEALAND accent forced me to ask, "Are you Joy, Calum's mum?"

That was the magic phrase. Joy's face broke into a massive smile. "Calum said you were a big enough fan to recognize me. I'm here to take you to the guest house. Don't worry, the boys will be writing all day and then doing interviews in the afternoon, so we will hide you until it's time for you to do whatever it is Liz is hiding from us all."

I smirked at the thought of Liz keeping my surprise from everyone, even 5SOS' mums. I looked at Joy and held out my arm, offering it to her so she could link her arm with mine. With a roll of her eyes but a small smile, Joy linked up and escorted me to the car.

At first, when we reached the house, I didn't know what was happening. We drove up to a massive remote controlled gate, the only entryway on an eight-foot wall enclosure. A man in his late forties, who was Luke's dad, opened the gate for us, instead of us having to work a dodgy placed intercom. Joy drove up to the front of a massive house, and gestured to it "This is where you'll be staying for the night."

Are you kidding? This place is fucking huge!

It was a two-storey, old-fashioned, typical Deep South house complete with a wrap-around porch and rocking chair. All the windows were large, so you could stand anywhere and get an amazing view of the fields surrounding the main house and at the back were French doors and a conservatory to watch the sunsets or something else equally corny.

But this building had nothing on the beauty of the main house. I don't pretend to know anything about houses but this mansion looked amazing. It was based on a Greek temple, surrounded by columns that were at least three times taller than me, although that's not hard. Multicoloured tea lights shone on the grass, reflecting and making the house look like it was balanced on a rainbow, giving it a godly look. It looked amazing and was the perfect place to have a brilliant birthday party.

Joy handed me the key to my home for the next few days, gave me a small smile, and quickly hugged me. "You'll get a visit from all of the mums tomorrow, the others want to meet you. To be honest, I think Karen just wants someone to hold her hand while she meets you!" I laughed out loud at the possibility of someone being nervous about me!

Come on, we're adorable!

"I'm pretty sure I'm more nervous of her than she is of me, but thanks for the heads up." I waved while Joy walked away, which encouraged her to wave back. It's only after she'd gone that I realized how late it was and how tired I was. I chose a bedroom at the back of the house so, if I turned a light on, no one would see it from the main house... who knew I would have to be a ninja again so soon?

I didn't even sort out my suitcase. I just crashed out on my bed, fully clothed, and started to d r i f t o f f...