"Mr. Jackson, sir, Mr. Dileo is on the phone-"

"Put him on hold. I have something I need to do." Michael said, shooing away his personal assistant.

"But sir, he says it's urgent, it's about the tour-"

"Put. Him. On. Hold. Please, Alyssa."

"Y-Yes, sir."

Michael sighed silently and continued on his way to his bedroom.

Today was his twenty-eighth birthday, and he had something he needed to find. He just needed a rare moment to himself, to find this one letter that he received twenty two years ago.

Michael jogged up the stairs to his bedroom. With a quick toss of his hand, his signature black fedora left his head and sailed onto the unmade bed.

He opened his wardrobe, filled to the brim with once-worn jackets, shirts and dress pants. Michael jumped to reach a large white shoebox on the top shelf, praying to every god who was listening that what he was looking for was still there.

He sat on the bed, placed the shoebox on his lap and opened it. Michael sifted through old letters from his mother and grandmother, ex-girlfriends and his favourite fan letters.

Finally, there it was. The letter from Rose Johnson.

Suddenly, Michael's manager, Frank Dileo, came barrelling into the room. He was of that sort of size where he couldn't help but 'barrel' everywhere.

"Why did you ignore my call?" Frank said, rather loudly.

"Frank, I don't just sit on my ass waiting for you to call me all day, regardless of what you think. I have things to do." Michael quickly shoved the lid on the shoebox.

"Who even let you in here?" Michael continued.

"That new assistant of yours. Which is not the point. The point is, you have a tour to organise, and you need publicity. So you're going to Gary for two weeks, before the tour starts in Tokyo. "

"What?! When was that confirmed with me?"

"Your private jet is ready to go, so we're leaving tomorrow. Pack your bags." Frank said, ignoring Michael's question.

Michael shook his head, and rolled his tongue inside his cheek. "You're unbelievable, Frank. Unbelievable."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilac leant back in her desk chair, surveying her tiny bedroom. The whole room was almost completely white, with the exception of a large framed photo of Michael Jackson in his legendary 'Thriller' short film above her bed.

Lilac checked the time on her watch. She was due at her parents' house in ten minutes, and as it was just down the road, she had plenty of time to get ready.

Lilac changed out of her sweats and into a tight black tank top, with a yellow,  checkered dress over the top. She pulled on her black boots and let her brown ringlets fall freely over her dark shoulders.

She picked up her handbag, and walked out the door, locking it behind her.

She enjoyed the walk to her parents' house, humming her favourite songs from Michael Jackson's new album, 'Bad'.  Lilac loved Michael, because he inspired her. His story told her that no matter where you're from, no matter your background, you can make it big. You can become the greatest entertainer of all time. Lilac was so proud of him, they had played together as children, and he had often told her about band practices with the Jackson 5, called the Jackson Brothers at the time. Lilac simply adored him.

When Lilac arrived at the tiny house she grew up in. She tried the door, but it was locked. She knocked three times. "Mum, it's me!"

"Hello darling!" Rachael said, opening the door, and enveloping her daughter in a huge hug. "Happy birthday, sweetheart! Look at you, you're so old now!"

"Gee, thanks Mum."

"Come, your father and I have a surprise for you. Shut the door, you'll let the flies in."

Lilac rolled her eyes and clicked the door shut behind her.

"Mark, Lilac is here!" Rachael called out to her husband, in the direction of his bedroom.

Mark appeared in the doorway a few moments after, smiling at his daughter.

"Sweetheart! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Dad."

Mark pulled Lilac into a hug, and then held her at arms length. "You look exactly like your mother, when she was twenty two."

"Is that a compliment?" Lilac asked, grinning.

"It most certainly is. Now, sit down. I have something I need to tell you."

Lilac looked suspiciously at her father, but sat down nonetheless.

Rachael practically flew to sit down next to her daughter, she was so excited about what Mark was about to say.

"What the hell is going on?" Lilac asked.

"You remember Michael, right? Michael Jackson? He lived a few streets down from us." Mark was trying his best not to smile.

"Of course I bloody do."

"Well, he's arriving in Gary tomorrow, and as mayor of Gary, it's my job to welcome him here."

Lilac's eyes widened. "You're joking!"

"Nope. And, since there aren't really any great hotels in Gary, he'll be staying with you. Not really usual arrangements for a celebrity, but we have to make do with what we have here..."

Lilac jumped off the couch, squealing. "PLEASE TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT A JOKE."

"It's not a joke of any sort, honey. This is really happening."

+

Long chapter for you guys, hopefully you like it.