2nd of December, 1988
Michael is 30, Angela is 24

Angela: "So listen to my heart, lay your body close to mine
Let me fill you with my dreams, I can make you feel alright..."

Michael played in my ears as I wrote down another sentence for my essay.

"Lay back in my tenderness, let's make this a night we won't forget
Girl, I need your sweet caress-"

His smooth voice was interrupted by my headphones being ripped off. "Angela!"

Groaning, I looked up at Julia, "What now, Jules?"

"Blue or black eyeliner?" she held the both of them up to show me.

"Blue!" Lori yelled from the bathroom. It was Friday night, so naturally they were both getting ready for a party.

"Blue," I agreed. "Now can I please finish this essay in peace?"

"You could. But your boyfriend's on the phone. What was his name again...? Oh, yeah, Joey."

Immediately, I got up and grabbed the phone when I heard his alias. Joey for Joseph, like his middle name.

"Lori, out." I demanded, nicely.

When the bathroom was cleared, I took the phone in and shut the door.

"Angie?"

Oh, how I missed his real voice. "Hey, Michael."

"Gosh, it's good to hear your voice, baby."

I giggled, "I was just thinking the same thing. How are you?"

"Exhausted. Rehearsal kicked my butt today..."

He kept telling me about his day. The rest of his week, really. We haven't talked in almost five days because he was busy.

After our beautiful night together, he called me. We talked for hours.

It soon turned into a habit, and he called almost every other day.

No matter what he had going on, he made sure to call just to tell me how he was doing and of course I did, too.

And it seemed to be turning into something more than just innocent conversation.

He even started calling me by my nickname not too long ago, while adding 'baby' here and there.

"...And New York was great. But I need a break."

"You should take one," I bit my lip. "Maybe come see me..."

"Maybe..." he chuckled deeply.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, Angela."

I was about to tell him how much I actually needed him, because I did. More than I could comprehend.

But a knock on the door interrupted me.

"Ange, I gotta finish up!" Lori said.

"Sounds like you gotta go," Michael sighed loudly. "I'm gonna call you later, okay, baby?"

"Please. I'm gonna have a lonely night if you don't. The girls are off to a party soon." I told him.

"Oh? Then I promise to call."

I smiled, playing with the phone cord. "And you always keep your promises."

He finished the call with a simple 'Bye, baby.' before hanging up.

"You sure you don't wanna come?" Julia asked when I came out of the bathroom. "It'll be fun! We'll get drunk, talk to hot boys..."

Lori snickered, "She doesn't care about hot boys anymore. Not since Joey. Where did you meet him, again?"

"The concert," I said, a bit too quickly. "He lives in Los Olivos."

"Riiiight."

"Don't you need to get ready, Lori?"

All she did was roll her eyes at me.

Of course, they could never find out about Michael. Not in the near future, at least.

Just like they never heard anything about our night together.

Michael told me what to expect if they, or anyone else, would find out. And neither of us needed that.

30 minutes later, my roommates were out the door.

Sighing in relief, I decided I made good enough progress with my essay for today. Going into the bathroom, I drew myself a nice, hot bath.

Then, I took the book I was currently reading and sat down.

I noticed the girls forgot their keys. Figures, they never take their keys.

Another hour passed when I realized Michael never called. Weird, that's not like him.

I couldn't even reach him if I wanted to, as he was never in one place long enough for him to give me an actual number. He was the one to call me, always.

A little too in my head about it, I put my book down and tried to go back to studying. That didn't help.

Why isn't he calling me? He promised. He's probably with another girl by now. Gosh, I'm so stupid for believing him.

I almost laughed at myself. How the hell did I get myself so hung up over a guy? But then again, he's not just any guy...

All of a sudden, there was a knock on our dorm door.

Thinking it was Julia and Lori coming back for their keys, I went over to open the door for them.

Instead of the girls, it was a guy. He had a blue cap on, and a bouquet of flowers was covering his face. "Angela Brown?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Special delivery."

I almost screamed when he revealed himself. "Oh, my God!"

Michael caught me when I jumped into his arms, his laugh sounding like music to my ears.

"What are you doing here?!" I asked into his shoulder.

"You said I should come see you, so I did." he said.

I looked into his eyes, my heart filling with so much warmth.

"I'm so happy you're here. I was getting worried..." I whispered.

"That I forgot? Never, baby."

Our lips connected in the most passionate kiss, and I was suddenly levitating. God, I really did miss him.

Without hesitation, he lifted me up before closing the door and locking it.

As his lips traveled down to my neck, the flowers dropped from his hands which were quick to explore under my shirt.

I mindlessly unbuttoned his pants, then showed him to my bed.

It didn't take us long to strip each other. This was way overdue.

Before he went down, Michael made sure that I was comfortable. It was a blur from there.

~

Lighting struck outside, thunder following right after. Little raindrops tapped on the windows, the smell of rain filled the room.

With his lips on my shoulder, Michael inhaled deeply. "I love when it rains."

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because it means I don't have to be outside. I can stay in and just not worry about the outside world for a while..."

He kissed my skin, slowly making it up to my jaw and sucked.

Our sweaty bodies calmed down as we stayed like that for a while, with him leaving love marks all over my neck and chest, too.

"Mike," I blurted. "That tickles."

He stopped, looking up at me.

"What?"

"Nothin'. You're just so beautiful."

I kissed him again. And again, and again...

"Mmm," he broke our kiss. "So, this is your dorm?"

"It's not the Ritz, but it does the job." I joked. I was pretty impressed by the fact that we fit on my twin bed, to be honest.

He smirked, "Why didn't you go to the party?"

"Didn't feel like it," I shrugged. "And anyways, I was waiting for Joey to call me..."

"Right. So it's just us for the night? Are your roommates coming back?"

"Probably not. They're most likely in bed with some guy already."

"You're in bed with some guy, too."

"Some guy." I rolled my eyes.

That made him laugh again. How I love his laugh.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Michael asked.

"The usual," I twisted one of his curls around my finger. "School. But it's finals next week, then I'm done. Why?"

"I might wanna take you somewhere."

"Like, tomorrow?"

"Mmhm," he nodded. "Would you come with me?"

"Depends, will I have time to finish my paper?"

He laughed, but I was dead serious. That stupid essay is due Monday and I am not asking for an extension.

Michael cleared his throat when he realized I wasn't joking. "Uh, I don't see why not."

I placed a kiss on his nose, "So let's do it."

~

3rd of December, 1988
Michael is 30, Angela is 24

Angela: Michael woke me up early, saying I have to pack for our adventure.

He said to bring a change of clothes and my necessities, and if there's anything else I might need he would get it for me.

I barely had time to finish getting my hair ready when Bill knocked on the door.

In the car, I tried focusing on my assignment, but Michael distracted me by wanting to talk. And when I tried to ignore him, he would make faces to get my attention.

After an hour, we reached a helicopter pad. I looked at him, a bit in shock. "Where are we going?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course-"

"So come with me."

He helped me into the helicopter, while Bill situated in front of us.

I clutched onto Michael's hand for dear life when we took off and all throughout the ride. The only thing going through my mind were prayers.

Another hour passed before we landed.

"First time on an helicopter?" he rubbed the back of my hand that he still held tightly.

I rolled my eyes, "Was I that obvious?"

"No, not at all... You're very cute when you're scared, though."

He leaned down to kiss me gently. It would have turned into something more, but the bodyguard cleared his throat and said we have to keep going.

"Where are we?" I looked up at Michael as we walked to another car.

"Los Olivos." he answered simply.

Confused, I followed his actions and settled into the vehicle.

The only thing in Los Olivos would be his newly renovated home...

I gasped, "Are you taking me to Neverland?!"

He told me so much about it over our endless phone calls.

"Renovations finished a week ago."

"What- Why didn't you say anything? You were so excited about it all!"

"Because I wanted to surprise you," he explained. "You're the first person I'm actually taking there."

Once again, he managed to leave me speechless.

This time when we kissed, Bill didn't interrupt us.

I let Michael pull me as close as possible, so that I would feel his heart beating against mine.

~

Michael: Angela giggled as I walked her through the ranch.

"Seriously, can I take this off, please?" she asked, hand patting the blindfold I gave her to wear.

"Nope." I answered.

"But-"

"Baby, if you keep this up I'm taking you back to Berkeley."

She gasped jokingly, "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me..."

Pouting, she let out a frustrated huff. Then, a clear smile crept its way to her lips. "I can't watch you with this blindfold on, now can I?"

I held in my laughter. I truly adored how serious yet playful she was.

There was just something so different about her.

I couldn't quite understand why I was so attracted to her, but she was slowly becoming someone I could truly trust.

And still, I knew I was holding back, although she definitely wasn't.

"Are we close at least?" Angela squeezed my hands.

"Maybe." I teased.

We actually were there. I looked above me, to make sure we stopped at the right place. "You can take it off now, baby."

After her eyes adjusted to the bright sun, she looked around.

"Where are we?"

"This is the giving tree," I explained. "After the book... You wanna come up with me?"

"Like, climb up there?"

I nodded, making her raise her eyebrows.

"I haven't climbed a tree in a while..."

Smiling, I offered her my hand, "I got you, baby."

~

With a big blanket around the both of us, Angela and I sat quietly, just admiring the beautiful Neverland landscapes.

We were chatting up until a few minutes ago, after we had a small picnic up on The Giving Tree.

I pointed out to where everything was around the ranch, promising her a proper tour soon.

"I get it now," she suddenly said. "Why you got this massive ranch, built this entire theme park... You have everything you could ever need here. And it's so serene."

"This tree is one of my favorite places here, too. I just go up here and let my thoughts take me anywhere. Then my mind goes blank after a while, which is sometimes needed." I confessed.

"How come?" she looked into my eyes.

"Way too many things going around my head all at once. It's always been like that, you know? Thinking about what I can do to make myself better, perfect my craft. Up here, it's so quiet."

Angela cupped my face before kissing me slightly. "I'm glad you brought me here. I feel like you're freer here. You seem so much more relaxed."

"That might just be your presence. I honestly can't say that about a lot of people." I blushed.

"I feel the same about you, Michael."

We kissed again. When we pulled away, Angela's eyes showed nothing but excitement.

"So," she bit her lip. "Can I see the rest of it? You said this place is an extension of you. I'd love to see what you meant..."

"Let's go, baby."

~

Angela: I held onto Michael's arm for dear life once again.

We were heading back to the main house in a golf cart, and he was zooming through the ranch.

It was the busiest day. Our first stop was the zoo, then the theme park, and we even managed to watch a movie in the theater. When we finished, he said dinner was ready at the house.

It all felt like a dream. I was blown away by the sheer size of everything.

But I was mostly glad I finally got through to him a bit more. He really was more laid back here.

The golf cart came to a screeching halt in front of the front doors. I let out a squeal and closed my eyes.

Michael's contagious laugh was heard throughout the house while he dragged me into the foyer.

"That was... That was something else, huh?" he chuckled at my shocked expression.

"If by 'something else' you mean life threatening..." I fixed my hair.

He covered his mouth as he watched me, still laughing. "Sorry, Angie. I just haven't had this much fun in a while."

I joined his laughter, "Me too, Mike."

"Come on," he held my hand tightly. "Let's get you inside."

The house was even prettier. Michael excused himself to go to the bathroom, so I took the liberty of looking around a bit.

When I reached the living room, I was astonished by the decorations.

It was the giant portrait of Michael and the beautiful statues that made me realize that everything about him was a little too out of my league.

Gosh, what am I doing here? How did I end up in Michael Jackson's home?

I took in a deep breath. My anxieties about us were creeping their way back into my body.

It's so easy being with him, but at the same time I'm so worried. Worried about what people might say about us, about me. At the end of the day, I'm just a girl he picked up at one of his concerts, and he's THE Michael Jackson.

People would say awful things, like he warned me about, and what would his family think?! I shouldn't be here, with him. I should go back to Berkeley and just forget it ever happened-

"...Angela?" his voice interrupted my thoughts.

I rubbed my face and snapped myself out of it.

"You okay?" he came closer, looking worried. "I tried calling you, but you didn't hear me."

I only nodded. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, I got distracted."

"By what?"

I wanted to tell him. About how I suddenly felt like a fish out of water, and my doubts. But I knew it would break his trust in me.

In the short time I've gotten to know him, I realized he doesn't trust too many people.

"Just this amazing art. I love it." I closed the distance between us.

"Thank you. Should we go eat?"

I agreed, and he took me to the big dining room.

After dinner, which included a few glasses of wine, he guided me to the master bedroom.

I let him make love to again. First in the shower, then the bed.

Later, while he slept, I just stared at the ceiling.

Those same thoughts plagued my mind, and I was so lost in them that I barely slept that night.