Lilac coughed slightly. "Are you... hungry?"

Michael smiled a little. "How could I be thinking about food at a time like this? But no, I'm fine. I don't eat as often as I should, anyway."

"Well, that'll change while you're staying here. I'll just make scrambled eggs or something. Is that ok?" Lilac stood up and walked over to the kitchen.

"I'm fine-"

Lilac raised her eyebrows as she poured oil into a frying pan.

"On second thoughts, I'm ravenous. Scrambled eggs sound good. I'll be in my room, call me when they're finished." Michael stood up, smirking, and in a few long steps he was in his temporary bedroom.

He changed into his pyjamas, consisting of an old Disney t-shirt and blue-striped flannel pants, and sat delicately on the end of his bed. He grabbed the phone on his nightstand, and dialled Frank's number. Michael prepared himself to sweet-talk his manager, something he didn't do often, into letting Lilac tour with him.

"Frank Dileo." Frank answered with a grunt, as if he had just been woken up.

"It's me," Michael said. "I need to ask you a favour."

"What?" The middle-aged manager snapped.

"You know this girl I'm staying with, Lilac Williams? Yeah, well you now how you always say that I need a girlfriend? Well, I kinda have a bit of a crush on her..." truth "... and I may ask her out soon..." lie "so, if we become a couple, maybe she should join the tour?"

The was a pause on Frank's end of the line. "Isn't it a bit soon? You barely know each other, and right now isn't the best time for a girlfriend, as you're about to face millions of screaming girls who have it in their mind that they're going to marry you and make babies with you."

Michael blushed, glad that there was no one around to see. But now he had to think of an excellent whopper of a lie to get Frank to agree.

"The thing is, Frank, we have gotten quite acquainted in the bedroom, if you know what I'm saying," Michael felt his face burn, and he silently prayed that he wouldn't go to hell. "So we know each other very well. And it gets a bit lonely on tour, cooped up in a hotel room all by myself, so why not? The fans don't have to know. Neither does the media. Actually, it would be preferable if no one knew."

Having spent his whole life in the spotlight, Michael knew what it was like to have your every move followed. He didn't want this to happen to Lilac, so he decided to try his best to keep her anonymous. For now, at least.

Frank chuckled. "Well, why not. And anyway, it's not my decision to make, it's yours. Go ahead."

Michael pulled his fist in down by his side, celebrating his victory. "Ok, great. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. Thanks."

"See ya, Mike."

"Bye."

"DINNER'S READY!" Lilac yelled from the kitchen.

"Coming!" Michael yelled back. He slammed the phone back into its socket, and walked over to the kitchen.

"You look cosy." Lilac commented as she saw him. Michael conjured up his most adorable smile. "Tank oo." He said.

"Naw! You are so cute. Anyway, here's dinner. My speciality, scrambled eggs with feta cheese and chives."

"Ooh, looks delicious. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm gonna get changed, so when you're finished just put the plate in the sink and I'll wash it later."

"Okay." Michael said, nodding.

Lilac found herself growing increasingly more exhausted as she approached her bedroom. She flung herself onto her bed, and within minutes, she was asleep.

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

When Lilac woke up the next morning, she muttered a cuss under her breath when she realised that she had fallen asleep like that twice that week. Then she remembered Michael, and she felt incredibly guilty. She sat up, to find that there was a woollen blanket pulled over her, a pillow under her head, and a note on her bedside table. She grinned at how much of a gentleman Michael was. Lilac unfolded the note, to find words scrawled with a black ballpoint pen. Michael's writing was incredibly messy, like a doctor's, so it took Lilac a few moments longer to decipher it. "Lilac," he wrote.

You looked so comfortable that I didn't want to wake you! It figures that you were tired- we had an emotionally exhausting day yesterday.

Anyway, if you wake up and I'm gone, it's because I have a meeting with my manager, Frank Dileo, and then I am visiting some children at the hospital. I won't be back until about 5pm. Don't worry about dinner tonight- I'll grab something on my way back here.

By the way, I need to talk to you about something tonight. It's nothing terribly serious- so don't worry.

Michael :)

Lilac smiled to herself and carefully re-folded the note. She was kind of glad that Michael was gone- because she wanted to find Rose Johnson.

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

"Hello? Who's this?"

Lilac played with the dial on the phone as she answer her mother's question. "It's me, Lilac"

"Oh, hello darling! What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering... Do you know Rose Johnson?"

Rachael chuckled softly. "Of course I do, Lilac. Everyone knows everyone in Gary, I thought you'd know that by now. Yes, she's a very nice woman. She lives on Monroe Street, just a street away from Jackson Street. She's retired now... I don't think she has a husband. She has a daughter, though- Joh'Vonnie. I think the father was Joseph Jackson... Whoops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Lilac was stunned for a moment. "Joseph Jackson? Isn't that Michael's father? He cheated on Katherine?"

"No, no, dear. That was before Katherine. I wouldn't be surprised if he has cheated though... with all those groupies, during the Jackson 5 days. Oh, but don't tell anyone about it, will you? Not many people know."

"I won't tell. What number does Rose live at?"

"Hold on, let me get my address book... ah, here we go. Number 3."

"Thanks, Mum. Gotta go, bye."

Lilac hung up before Rachael could say another word. She quickly got changed into something simple- a woollen jumper and a denim skirt, pulled her curls back into a ponytail and rushed out of the house.

Maybe she could get some answers from Rose Johnson.

+

Short chapter, but I thought I better update.

I know that Joh'Vonnie Jackson (Michael's half-sister) was born during Joseph and Katherine's marriage, not before. But I am only using her name in this book- I couldn't be bothered to think of another name.

These new Bad Era pictures are driving me crazy:

That one is my favourite. There has to be over 40 of them- from what I've counted. The more, the merrier!

Hopefully, another chapter of 'Nothing But Pain' will be up soon :)

- Nat.