Certain things happen in my life that make me smile, thinking about the past. When you hear a certain song, it could remind you of a dance you went to in middle school. A certain shirt makes you think of being at a park when you were a kid, wearing the same kind of shirt and getting it dirty. I love those moments, and when you get to relive them, it makes the memory that much stronger.

I was going through my closet, trying to get some things out of there only to make my parents happy. We were the type of family to give to the homeless shelter anything we weren't using anymore, and they needed more clothes this year apparently. So I was trying to get rid of some of the shirts I hardly wore, along with some extra shorts.

But as I was going through my closet, I found something poking out from behind one of my boxes. It was bright red, and looked like fabric to me, and I don't ever remember having a piece of clothing like that before. I shoved my way through the boxes and other small things, suddenly seeing what it was and then feeling like I was going through a flashback. It was a bandana, a bright red bandana that looked brand new still. I instantly knew how I got this, and whom it belonged to.

I was about 9 years old, in the 4th grade and outside in the playground during recess. I was one of the many who surrounded a 9 year old Mike Chang who was dancing in front of us and the crowd. He was wearing the same bandana around his neck, apparently his cousin who lives in LA sent it to him for his birthday and Mike wore it ever since, thinking it would give him some kind of magic or some sort when he danced. He showed it to his class the instant he could, and being young we all swooned.

Mike was dancing, his bandana moving around his neck in the same manner as we all cheered him on. We had no clue how he was doing the dance, or even what he was doing, all that mattered was that he was making a show, and we were buying it. It wasn't until we were called to go back into our classes, and since Mike and I were in separate classes, we all broke off and walked back to our teachers. However, I saw something on the pavement and I looked behind me, seeing it was Mike's bandana. It fell off when he was doing some sort of move, and I grabbed it instantly.

After that I tried to find a way to give it back to him, the the bandana went to the back of my head and my closet as well. The thought of giving it to him dimmed since he went to football and I went to orchestra. So it was a mere surprise to see the bandana in the back of my closet, and pure happiness was going through me. I should give it to him, since we were now a couple and he would be so happy as to see it in his hands again, and to dance with it again.

"Do you want a present?" Mike asked me as we were at my locker, and I smiled from the thought of getting a gift from him. It was the second to last week before the holiday break, and Mr. Shue decided to have me give gifts to each other at our own little christmas party. I already had half of the club taken care of, and that day I was going to get the rest of them done, along with Mr. Shue and Miss Pilsbury.

"I don't need one." I replied back to him, seeing him tilt his head to the side in wonder.

"What do you mean you don't need one?" He asked in a joking tone, making me laugh and shrug as I moved some stuff around in my locker.

"I mean, I don't really need a present, not from you anyways." I replied back to him, seeing him smiled and ruffle his hair.

"Now that hurts. I wanna give you something for christmas and you don't want anything from me." Mike said in a fake hurt tone, and I laughed, giving him a quick kiss and grabbing a book from my locker.

"You know I don't mean it like that." I said to him in a grin, and he grabbed my hand gently in his as I leaned against my own locker. His smile, whenever I was having a good day or a bad day, made me feel so warm inside that it was a freshly baked cookie. Hooray for being so cheesy. His black eye was gone, though there was yellow and a bit of purple around it now and he can open his eye completely once again.

"I just, don't want you to spend any money on me is all." I said to him in a soft tone, but he shook his head that was against the locker.

"But I want to." He said to me in a light tone, having me smile, "You deserve to get something nice, believe me. Please?"

I shrugged not knowing what to say in order for him to get the fact that I didn't want a gift. But he smiled, falling to his knees on the school floor and clutching his hands together, a wide eyed Mike looking right up at me.

"Please please please?" He asked in the same manner as a child. I giggled, trying to hide the fact that other students were looking at us like he just broke up with me and was begging for my forgiveness. I smiled, taking both of his hands in mine and having him look directly into my eyes.

"Fine! Just get off the floor please?" I asked him in a pleading tone. He grinned, immediately wrapping his arms around my legs and hugging me like a five year old. I laughed and fell against the locker in a loud bang.

"Great, I'm dating a child. Now how will the school think of us." I said aloud in a grunt, though I tried to not laugh as Mike released me, getting up from his knees and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips.

"But I'm a pretty sexy child, don't you think?" he asked me in a grin.

"That's just wrong."

"I know, but at least I make you laugh."

I held the bag in my hands, wondering if I made the good idea or a bad idea. He would be glad to get it, but then again I would look like a idiot if I gave it to him. So I was about to step over the line. I sat in the choir room, and Mike decided for the both of us that we can exchange gift then when everyone else left.

"Hey." Mike said to me as he walked over to me with a bag that looked like the same size as mine. He sat down next to me as I looked at the bag, seeing it was gold with a white bow on the top. He looked just as nervous as I did, so I smiled and rested a hand on his knee in reassurance.

"Hey." I replied back to him and saw his natural smile again.

"I hope you like the gift I got you." I said in a light tone, Immediately handing him my bag, seeing him place the bag he was holding on the floor and taking his gift in his hands. He waited there for a moment, thinking he needed permission from me to open it. He then took out the tissue paper and unwrapped what was in it. I held my breath, hoping he would know what it was. His eyes went wide and his mouth a bit slack: I gave him back his bandana.

It was still brand new, I washed it to make it look like and ironed it too, and now he was holding it in his hands. He looked like he was witnessing something fantastic in front of his eyes as he was looking down at the fabric. I smiled, now happy from his reaction.

"You dropped this in the 4th grade, outside at recess during one of your dancing sessions." I explained to him, seeing him run his thumb over the fabric and smiling from having his prized bandana back, "You ran off when the bell rang and I grabbed it. I tried to find a good time to give it back to you, but there was never a good time. Well, not until now."

"I thought I lost this. I remember crying that day when I went home and thinking I lost this forever." Mike said aloud in a light tone, having me feel a bit of warmth from seeing his bright smile. All from getting his bandana back, and in a way it was him being reminded that he was so carefree once when he was young, all from the power of a red bandana.

I was lost in my thoughts to even feel Mike pulling me up from the chair, standing in front of me and then hugging me close. It was a fierce hug, silently telling me he was thankful I gave it back to him and that he remembered his childhood once again. I hugged him back, feeling a breath of fresh air going through and happy that he was happy.

"This is actually kind of funny." Mike said in a laugh as he pulled away and smiled widely at me. He reached down and grabbed my gift, one of his hands still holding mine and the both of us holding his bandana.

"Hopefully you'll like it." Mike said to me as I smiled at him. Gently, I reached inside and saw a small box, holding it in my hands like it was treasure. I slowly opened the box and looked inside. Everything around me was gone, and all I could see was the small bracelet that was inside the box. I know this bracelet, I had this bracelet before.

I was around 7 years old, and I got this bracelet from my older sister as a christmas gift. She made it for me herself, and I thought it was best thing in the world. It had my favorite color: yellow. The beads were all in different shapes and sizes, but none the less they were yellow and it looked so beautiful. After a couple of weeks of having the bracelet, I thought I left it at the zoo from a field trip, and I never saw it again. It devastated me, not having it anymore on my wrist.

Tears were forming in my eyes as I reached in, taking out the bracelet and feeling the beads again against my fingertips. It was one bracelet that I never took off, nor did I want to loose it.

"MIke." I could only say behind the broken tone of voice. He saved it for me, the same way I saved his bandana. All of these years of hoping we would give each other our possesions back, and now it made me really think I was glad to be with him.

"I was going to give it back to you, but your grandmother died." Mike explained to me, making me feel more tears coming down my face from the memory. My grandmother did die a week after the lost of my bracelet, and I was so sad for months after that, "I decided to wait. I didn't want to give it you when you were sad, because I don't see you as being a sad person Alice."

I sniffed, trying to hide my tears as I felt like a idiot. But I felt thumbs rubbing away my tears and I looked up at Mike, seeing him smile at me. I gave him a sweet kiss, wanting to show him that I really happy for getting my bracelet back, but mostly happy that he was the one who gave it back to me after all of these years.

HIs arm went around my waist in a protective manner as we pulled away from the kiss and we hugged again. I knew the both of us didn't have to say anything, we both said enough from our gifts to each other. As we hugged I felt a wave a of love towards him and I wouldn't want it any other way.

We both were lost souls in the past, but we saved each other. All from a bandana and a bracelet.