Disclaimer: The PotC characters belong to Disney and T&T but Sammi Sparrow belongs to me!

A/N: This is written in homage to the '80s movie, Sixteen Candles. Sorry it was put up so late, but between finals ending and moving out into an apartment with friends, it's just been crazy busy over here! Also, my friend PrincessSolaria said that she's finished with the trailer for my sequel fic; all she has to do is upload it and send me the link. She'll do that in a few days and then I'll post the link in my profile so you guys can see it! Edit: Trailer is now up!

Well here it is, the last bonus chapter. AMTHGF is officially complete! Hope you guys enjoy the Wammi love in this one.

Bonus Chapter 3: Sixteen Candles

"Sammi, wake up," a silky male voice breathed into her ear. Immediately Sammi recognized the voice as her best friend's but decided that she wasn't quite ready to leave the warmth and comfort of her bed. Instead of answering William, she turned over in bed to face the opposite way, hoping he'd take the hint and let her sleep a bit longer.

"Come on, Sammi," William coaxed. "You've already slept past midday. Please get up so you can tell me how it feels to be sixteen." Her eyes flew open at that. She had been sixteen for several hours by now and she'd spent it by sleeping in bed?! Suddenly her brain registered yet another important detail.

"Will, what are you doing in here alone?" She whispered, sitting up in bed and pulling the covers up so it wouldn't reveal much of her nightclothes. "Does my father know?" Sammi of course was more than thrilled that she was receiving William as a visitor in her bedroom, but if her father ever found out about it, she knew her restrictions would be tightened even more. Jack had assigned an early curfew to Sammi on her last birthday, which had to be one of her worst presents ever, if not the worst. Her father was growing more and more over-protective by the day, and even though he liked William, Sammi was afraid that good opinion of her best friend might change if Jack ever caught him in his daughter's room while she was still asleep. William grinned at that.

"He was the one who sent me."

"Oh good!" Sammi relaxed at that, and she began to lazily slide her foot out from under the covers in preparation for getting out of bed. William's eyes widened as watched as more and more of his best friend's lovely long leg was exposed to him. He quickly whirled around, not wanting to besmirch her honor.

"Next time, warn me when you're going to do that," he muttered, still facing the other way. "It's called being polite." Sammi chuckled as she got out of bed, for she did love to embarrass her friend.

"When have I ever been concerned about politeness?" She reminded him.

"Good point," he relented. "Tell you what, I'll just wait outside until you're finished changing." William then sprinted for the door, and slipped out of her room.

Shaking her head at her friend's strange notions of propriety, Sammi began to pull on her tightest pair of breeches and her crimson cotton shirt. It didn't take long for her to run a brush through her hair and tie her black hair back with her faded olive-colored bandana. This particular bandana was very special to her, as Captain Teague had given it to her one day, saying that it had been her grandmother's and that he'd like her to have it. After finishing the rest of her morning routine, Sammi pulled on her trusty worn boots and stepped outside her room to meet William, only to be greeted by shouts of…

"Happy Birthday!"

Sammi grinned as she scanned the family room, for all of the people who were most dear to her were present. Her eyes first landed on her father, who gave her a wink. He was standing beside her mother, who was beaming at her daughter. Along with her parents, she found her brother Teague and her sister Eva, who looked unusually overjoyed to see her. Elizabeth and Will were also there, along with their three little ones, Dani, Jamie, and Char. Her elderly grandfather Teague and his love Faith were sitting down in the midst of the crowd. Sammi couldn't be certain but she thought she spied a tear in her grandfather's eye. And of course, there was William.

"Are you ready to go?" Her best friend asked, standing by the Sparrow's front door looking mighty handsome in his white cotton shirt and favorite faded pair of breeches. Sammi's mind was still boggled by the number of people who had come to wish her well, and by the number of gifts that were stacked up on the dining room table.

"Go where?" She wondered, still not understanding what was going on. But somehow, she had a feeling she was going to enjoy this particular birthday very much.

"It's a surprise," said William, with a cheeky grin.

"A surprise - why doesn't that surprise me," Sammi said, rolling her eyes, but she was smiling. "I'd love to go with you, William, but I really think I need to grab something to eat first."

"But we already have food packed!" William's eyes shone proudly as he presented the picnic basket to her, which he'd been hiding behind his back. Our mums prepared breakfast for us, and I helped." Sammi winced, for she knew that she had inconvenienced them all. They'd been waiting for her to wake up, and she chose today of all days to sleep soundly throughout the night.

"How long have all of you been waiting for me to wake up? I didn't mean to ruin what you had planned for me," she worried, biting her lip.

"You didn't ruin anything," William said meaningfully, staring at her with masked adoration. "And as for the food, we'll just call it brunch!" Sammi loved how William had the ability to suddenly make things right again. She smiled at her friend, and then at the rest of her family.

"Thank you for everything. Would you like me to open my presents now?"

"Don't worry, love, you can open them when you get back from your little excursion with William." Jack smirked at Sammi, who resisted the urge to call her father something unpleasant.

"Have fun, Samantha," said Ana, hugging her daughter and wishing her a happy birthday.

"I will, Mum," said Sammi with a wry smile. The Turners hugged her as well, and wished her much joy on her sixteen birthday.

"Just make sure you have her home before dark," Jack called after William. "Or else I'll be forced to come and look for you two."

"Father!" Sammi turned around to glare at her father, who had the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry, only joking," said Jack, who brought his hands together in an apologetic pose.

"Don't worry, I'll have her home before you know it," said William, and with that Sammi and her best friend escaped out into the bright summer day.

"So, Will, what's the surprise?" Sammi begged as soon as they had left their homes behind.

"I'm not going to tell you, so you might as well stop trying," said William as they walked along the dirt road, causing Sammi to pout. "But I can tell you this – I'm going to take you some place you've never been before."

"Maybe I have been there before and you just don't know it?" Sammi suggested, gracing William with the tiniest of smirks.

"No, no one knows about this place," William said seriously. "I'm the only one that knows it's there."

"So you've been there before without me?" Sammi asked.

"How could I be certain it's there if I've never been there before?" William answered, amused.

"Right," said Sammi, shaking her head. "Carry on, then."

333

"Will, is this really necessary?" Sammi had been told by her friend that they had almost arrived at their clandestine destination. "Why do you have to blindfold me, again?" William chuckled.

"Because I don't want you to see how to find where we're going."

"What, you don't trust me to keep it a secret?" Sammi frowned at him, but he shook his head.

"That's not it at all. I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't think I could trust you. But I know how you are when you start talking to one of your friends, and every once in a while something slips out that shouldn't." William raised his eyebrows, as she grimaced. For it was true; her mouth had gotten her in trouble in the past.

"Alright, you can blindfold me," Sammi relented, closing her eyes. "But you better not let me run in to any trees," she informed him as he carefully tied the piece of cloth over her eyes and nose.

"There," William announced after a bit once he was finished tying. "Can you see anything?"

"No – I'm completely blind." However, Sammi wasn't quite telling the whole truth. William's bandana that he'd lent to her was a light orange, so she could still see through it somewhat. Sammi was going to use this to her advantage. Without warning, William took her hands in his, and Sammi could've sworn her heart raced considerably at that moment. He's just holding my hand… he's done that millions of times! She wondered what was wrong with her that would cause her to react this way.

"Okay, now we're going to walk forward," William commanded and she did, slowly and shakily, pretending as if she were totally blind. "That's good," he praised her. "Next we're going to take a left… that's it. Now I want you to duck down and walk sideways…" Sammi followed her friend's instructions as they went deeper and deeper into the thicket. "Almost there," William reassured her as they drew closer to his secret place. It was then that Sammi acted. Purposely tripping over a large tree root, she fell in William's general direction.

"Sammi!" William's strong arms caught her just before she hit the ground. "Are you alright?" He worried.

"Yeah," she sighed with a dreamy smile, watching the concern for her on his features through the bandanna. "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, I never should've blindfolded you," William fretted. "You could've seriously injured yourself! It was a bad idea."

"No it wasn't," she muttered before she knew what she was saying. Sammi inwardly winced. "Let's just keep going."

"Okay, but I'm taking this stupid thing off of you – we're almost there anyway." Almost immediately, the orange bandanna fell from her eyes, revealing William to her. "I didn't mean to –"

"Will, don't worry about it," Sammi said firmly. "Now which direction are we going?"

"This way," he said, taking her hand as they moved off to the left. William unsheathed his sword and began to hack his way through the thick underbrush to clear a path for them.

"Are we there yet?" Sammi grumbled, nearly avoiding a prickly bush. "I thought you said you'd been here before..." William just smiled as she continued to mutter to herself much like her father did as they made their way along the path.

"Here we are." William stopped just short of a group of giant palm leaves. Sammi frowned slightly.

"This is what you wanted to show me?" He shook his head, and pulled back the largest palm leaf so that they could see what was on the other side.

"No, this is what I wanted to show you." Sammi gasped as she was greeted by a hidden cove, complete with some shade from the unforgiving Caribbean sun provided by the palm trees. She spied two large swimming pools filled with clear, aquamarine water were divided by a small sandbar, and a flat grassy area which would be the perfect spot for picnicking. The wind chose this moment to make its presence known in the soft yet comforting rustling of the palm leaves. Her mouth agape, Sammi turned to William and told him what she thought of his discovery.

"Oh Will, it's amazing," she cried, squealing and hugging him and pulling him towards their secret paradise. "It's the most perfect place in the world, and it's all ours."

"So you like it, huh?" He teased. William was looking mighty pleased with himself thanks to Sammi's enthusiastic reaction. Sammi finally let go of his hand, for she was completely entranced by this magical place. She ran over to the closest pool and dipped her toes in the sparkling water.

"Ah the perfect temperature," she affirmed. "It's not too hot, not too cold." While she'd been testing the water, William had been in the middle of unpacking their lunch. He spread their blanket out on the grass and smoothed out the bumps so they could sit comfortably.

"Here, come get something to eat," he offered. "You must be starving." Sammi considered it for a moment.

"No, I don't think I'm quite ready to eat yet," she said with a smirk. "I'd rather go for a swim." And then she began to unbutton her pants.

"What are you doing?" William asked with trepidation, not able to tear his eyes away from her as of yet.

"I'm getting rid of the clothes I don't need to go swimming," she informed him, as if it were customary that she would do so.

"Say that again – I want to make sure I heard you correctly," William said faintly.

"I'm going swimming in two pieces of clothing – your guess which ones," she said cheekily. William shook his head, looking a bit frightened as he continued to stare at her.

"Sammi you can't go swimming in your undergarments! It's indecent," he proclaimed.

"Why?" She asked. "There's no one else around to see me besides you, and I don't want to swim in my breeches, as they weigh me down in the water. You get to swim in practically nothing, so why shouldn't I?"

"Because… because…" William sputtered. He was about to say 'because you're a girl' but he knew if he did, he'd get slapped straightaway. "Because your father wouldn't like it." Sammi rolled her eyes.

"My father's not here, William. It doesn't matter what you say, I'm doing it anyway." And with that she started to unbutton her shirt and William quickly averted his eyes. He sighed, and removed his own shirt and pants in preparation for swimming. He had just tossed his clothes to the ground when he heard a loud splash. Sammi had already jumped into one of the pools, so William decided to jump into the other.

He surfaced quickly, to find Sammi's head facing him nearby, her body blocked from his view by the sandbar that separated their pools.

"Why'd you jump in that pool?" Sammi pouted. "Don't you want to swim with me?"

"Maybe," said William, hiding a smile. Sammi was momentarily speechless, as the sight of her best friend's toned chest never ceased to amaze her. "What's the matter?" William asked, mistaking her look.

"I'm not wearing any underwear." Sammi didn't know what made her say it, for the horrified look on William's face told her that she'd gone too far in joking. All she knew that whenever William's chest was dangled right in front of her just out of her reach, she tended to say things she might regret later. Sammi gulped, praying that William would let her off the hook for that last remark. She was expecting a remark of disgust, or a scolding, but nothing could've prepared her William's answer.

"Neither am I." William had anticipated that Sammi might say something of the sort, and so he had prepared a fitting rebuttal.

"What?" Sammi cried, who knew none of this. "You, you're…you're not?" Where was the blushing boy she knew? Where had he gone? Thanks to her best friend's insinuation, she was the one who was blushing. Sammi never blushed - this was quite rare indeed. William smirked at her reaction.

"You heard me. So, Sammi, do you want me to come over and swim with you?" He teased. She narrowed her eyes at him, for she knew it could be a trick.

"How do I know that you really aren't wearing anything?" He shrugged.

"How do I know that you aren't?" They stared at each other, the tension crackling in the stifling hot air between them. "I'm going to come over there on three," William breathed, "and we'll find out who is telling the truth. One… two… three!" William pushed himself up and over the sandbar, sliding into Sammi's pool.

Both teens were relieved to find that the other had lied. William started to laugh whilst treading water.

"I got you good!" He crowed. "Score one for Turner!" But he stopped celebrating when he noticed that Sammi wasn't as amused as he was. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Did I offend you?"

"No," she said, her expression still a bit shocked. "It's just that you've never done that before. You're not supposed to best me. I'm the silver-tongued Sparrow, and you're my friend who I'm able to embarrass on a regular basis." He chuckled.

"I just thought it was time to make you uncomfortable, for once. I didn't think that I would actually succeed! I won't joke like that again, if you wish." Sammi mulled it over.

"I wouldn't really mind," she said slowly. "It's going to get some taking used to, though." William smiled his charming smile and Sammi almost melted into the water.

"Good." Then he proceeded to dunk her underwater, and Sammi shrieked with delight as they played all manner of water games. Things had thankfully gone back to normal between them, and the awkwardness had quickly faded. Sammi and William enjoyed their time together but Sammi's hunger won out over staying in the water.

"William, this is fun but –"

"You're hungry," he finished. "That's good because, so am I. Why don't we take a break?" Sammi gave him a grateful smile. She was about to get out of the pool when William got out first, and then helped pull her out onto the bank. Dripping wet, she shivered in place until William brought her clothes. The fifteen year-old boy and the sixteen year-old girl dressed as quickly as they could, for they wanted to eat as soon as possible. William finished first, and threw open the picnic basket. Sammi hurried over to help him set out and unwrap the food, which consisted of various bread, cheeses, jams, fruits, and even a pie.

"What kind of pie is it?" Sammi wondered, while grabbing a croissant.

"Let's see," said William, his eyes twinkling for he knew what it was. William cut her a piece, put it on a plate, and handed it to her.

"Apple pie!" Sammi exclaimed. "My favorite!"

"And mine," William added.

"Mhm," she mumbled, her mouth full of croissant. Sammi and William had each inherited one of their parents' love for all things apple; Sammi from mother and William from his father.

"You know, there's something left in the picnic basket," said William. "What could it be?" He took out a large bottle of rum, and handed it to Sammi, whose eyes lit up.

"You brought me rum?! And look, it's a kind that I've never tried before! That is a rare find, Will. What a great birthday this is turning out to be!" William chuckled, and he finally took a bite of bread with cheese. They ate contentedly, each savoring their favorite foods. Both Sammi and William saved their apple pie until last, and they finished their dessert at roughly the same time.

"Well I'm full," William commented. "How about you?"

"Yep, I couldn't eat another bite," said Sammi, smiling as she noticed there was a bit of raspberry jam on the right corner of William's mouth. "Will, you've got something on your…" she trailed off, giggling madly. William frowned.

"How much rum did you have?" She grinned sleepily at him.

"The whole bottle! Did you know that this is the strongest rum I've ever had?" William shook his head apprehensively. He certainly hadn't thought the rum could've affected Sammi like this, as she was already a fairly seasoned rum-drinker at sixteen. But perhaps a kind of rum had been invented that she couldn't hold much of... "Do you want to lie down or something?" He asked. She shrugged in response.

"Maybe. All the sudden, everything looks a little bit fuzzy…" Her head lolled backwards and she started to lean to one side, but William was there instantly, holding her in his arms.

"Here, let me." William carefully lowered Sammi down on the blanket, and she was out within seconds. He sighed, gazing down at his beautiful friend. Worn out himself from their time in the water, William decided to lie down beside her and keep watch. He closed his eyes, just for a bit…

Sammi, however, wasn't drunk; far from it. Emboldened by William's little remark earlier, she decided to try something she'd wanted to try for a long time. Slowly, she turned over, bringing her quite close to the sleeping William, who woke as soon as Sammi's limp arm flopped onto his chest. He frowned as she began to shiver, hoping she hadn't caught a chill. The next thing Sammi knew, William had pulled her into his arms. She couldn't believe it – finally, after all these years of liking him, he was holding her. Omitting a soft sigh, she smiled as William's arms tightened slightly around her. Under the shade of the palm trees, in the shelter of their secret cove, the pair fell asleep.

Sammi was awakened much later by the touch of soft lips tenderly brushing against her forehead. William is kissing my forehead, she realized as pleasant shock coursed through her body. If this is the treatment I get from him, I think I'll turn sixteen every day.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She smiled groggily as she looked up at her friend. William's honey eyes were close enough to drown in, and Sammi found herself falling under their spell. Needless to say, it took her awhile to notice that night had fallen.

"It's dark," Sammi pointed out. William chuckled as he looked down at her from his sitting position.

"Yes, I know." Then he frowned.

"Does that mean you want to go back?" She shook her head.

"Not yet." He smiled at her.

"Me neither. I thought we could gaze at the stars for a little while longer."

"Okay," she breathed, somehow tearing her eyes away from William's to look up at the stars. It really was quite a sight, as the clear night made it easy to see almost every bright star in the sky. But she'd rather look at something else.

"Thank you for your present, Will," she said, smiling warmly as he lay down beside her once more. "You were right – you took me somewhere I'd never been before."

"This place wasn't all of your present," William said, looking nervous as he propped himself up on his elbows, and turned towards her.

"It wasn't? But you didn't have to actually get me something!" Sammi was floored. He showed her a place where only they knew about, where they could spend their time together when they could get away from their families. How could he have gotten her something else as well? "I don't see anything," she said, looking around for a package. "Did you leave it at the house?" He shook his head.

"No." William took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Happy Birthday, Samantha," said her best friend. Then he leaned towards her and suddenly Sammi was aware of his intentions. He's going to kiss me, she thought. William Turner the third is actually going to kiss me. Unbelievable. Her friend's face drew closer and she spied a quick flash of white light in the corner of her eye.

"A shooting star," William breathed, his lips inches from her own. He was so close…

"Was it?" She whispered. He nodded.

"Make a wish." Sammi sighed with happiness as she looked deep into his eyes.

"It already came true." William was about to close the distance between them when someone interrupted their perfect moment.

"Sammi?" She groaned, for it was her father's voice. What was he doing there? Oh, she was going to kill him.

"Father, go away," she muttered.

"Sammi, wake up." Someone was shaking her, causing William and their cove to disappear from view. When she re-opened her eyes, Sammi found herself back in her bedroom. She found Jack standing next to her bed, wearing an amused expression.

"Happy Birthday, love." Sammi's blissful expression turned to one of horror as she focused her eyes on her grinning father. "You mean today's my sixteenth birthday?" Jack nodded.

"It was all a dream?" She wailed. "Noooooooooo!" William didn't love her. He was still just her best friend. Everything was back to the way it had been. Why had she actually thought that he would be interested in her? Whoever said to 'always believe in your dreams' was full of crap, she decided. She'd desperately wanted to believe in that dream, and look where it got her. All that the dream accomplished was to increase her cynicism about the William situation, which didn't help things at all.

"Huh, must've been some dream," Jack mused as Sammi jumped out of bed and started to release her frustrations by whacking him with her pillow.

"Ahhhh! Father! You just had to wake me up at that part!" She cried angrily. "That was the most inopportune moment to wake me up in the history of…. History! Ugh, you're going to get it!"

"Will you stop it?" Jack said, rolling his eyes as he finally wrestled the pillow away from her. "I only woke you up to tell you that William is here to see you." Sammi sighed.

"Great," she said without much enthusiasm. Jack frowned.

"What's wrong? Did you two have a fight or something?" Sammi shook her head.

"No, I'm not holding anything against him."

"Why would you hold something against him?" Jack wondered, trying his best to figure out his daughter's cryptic hints. She shook her head, and shooed him out the door. Sammi dressed in record time, and soon finished getting ready for the day. Then she left her room to go find William, all the while reminding herself not to be cross with him, for William hadn't had anything to do with the dream. Other than the fact he was in it, and they almost kissed…

"Hey, Sammi," William greeted her with a smile when she entered the Sparrow family room. "Happy Birthday."

"Hi," she said glumly, taking a quick scan of the room. There were no other family members to greet her, no stack of presents in the dining room for her to open. Dreams were evil, she decided. They make you hope for too much.

"I'm sorry our families aren't here, but there was a shipwreck down at the dock and they went to help the survivors," William explained. Sammi felt a bit better after she heard that, but not much.

"So they didn't really forget my birthday." William shook his head no.

"Hey, I know something that will cheer you up," he said with a grin. "I don't have an actual present for you, but I stumbled upon the most amazing secret place yesterday that I just have to share with you…"

William couldn't understand for the life of him why his best friend was suddenly seized with an uncharacteristic fit of the giggles.

THE END

A/N: Thanks so much again to everyone who read and reviewed my story! The sequEl, So Close and Still So Far, is now up!