"Well, this is my place," said Cassie, carrying a fluffy white ball of fur in her arms. "This is Queen, the queen of our kingdom. I adopted her from a shelter I volunteer for. She's what we'd call, a 'foster failure' ... And there's handsome Mr Tubs over there."

Michael had called Cassie last week, and they agreed on the phone that Michael would be visiting on a weekend. Cassie privately wondered how on earth he was going to get to her house. Being well, him, Michael naturally attracted a lot of attention.

When the doorbell rang on Saturday afternoon, Cassie looked through the peep hole to see an odd-looking man standing outside. He was wearing enormous sunglasses and he had a rather thick neck.

"Hello, can I help you?" Cassie asked timidly, but the man simply giggled. That voice was familiar -?

"Cassie, it's me, Michael!" the man whispered, pulling his sunglasses down slightly.

Cassie gasped and opened the door hastily. Michael walked into her apartment while removing several layers of skin from his face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry ... I didn't recognize you," said Cassie apologetically as she closed the door behind her.

"That's okay," he chuckled. "I'm not supposed to be recognized in this disguise."

Michael looked around her apartment; from the little decorative items on the coffee table, the numerous potted plants in the kitchen and living room, to the pictures frames on the wall. It was an odd habit, but he liked observing people's houses.

Michael averted his attention away from the photo frames when he sensed that someone was staring at him. He turned, and saw the royal, pampered cat eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hey, Queebee, what's with that face?" Cassie cooed.

Michael laughed lightly and gave Queen a little bow. "Your Highness," he said, scratching the cat's ears.

Queen purred, having found the unknown human in the house acceptable. She leapt off and down to the floor.

"So ... look around, or have a seat. I'll make tea," said Cassie, and she went off to the kitchen.

Michael walked towards a large, wooden shelf of books on one side of the living room. Slotted neatly and wrapped in book plastic were Do-It-Yourself craft books, books on history and travel, classics ...

"You read classics, too?" he asked.

"Yup," Cassie said, looking up from behind the counter. "And I think you'll notice something familiar there," she added, and as she watched him scan her row of books to find the item she was implying, she couldn't help feeling that this was all surreal. Inviting Michael Jackson to her house must be one of the craziest things she'd ever done. Coming in second was definitely venturing into forests alone without telling anyone where she was going - her little adventures still remained a secret from her parents till now. And the third was taking an injured owl to an emergency vet clinic in the dead of night ...

"Woah, Thriller!" Michael was now exclaiming, as he took a music album out from the shelf.

"My mum and dad bought it for me when I was in college," said Cassie, entering the living room and placing the cups on the coffee table. "So many years have past, huh?"

Michael looked at the album cover and nodded. "I feel kinda old."

"Don't say that. You're making me feel old! Spare a thought for the lady's feelings," joked Cassie. Michael chuckled and slid Thriller back onto the shelf.

"Let me show you my albums then." Cassie pulled a thick photo album out from the bottommost row, which was solely designated for these pictures. She flipped onto a random page and placed it on the table.

"Wow," Michael mouthed in awe. He touched a photo of a rare, blooming flower. "They're beautiful," he said.

"Thanks," said Cassie warmly. She was taking an envelope out from the shelf. "I've handed Mrs Bailey her copy yesterday. Here's yours."

"Thank you. How much do you charge? I'll pay -"

"There's no need," Cassie waved her hands. "I won't charge for them. It's fine!"

"I insist."

"I insist as well," Cassie said firmly. "Don't make me feel bad."

Michael looked at her for a while, thinking of a good retort. The seconds ticked away and he was still unable to come up with one. He smiled and said finally, "Alright, if you do insist."

"Good, 'cause I stick to my decisions. Ah, right. How about, in return, you tell me what you told the girl - Heather, her name is, right? - what did you tell her?" Cassie asked eagerly.

"Hmm ..." he said. "Nah, you'll know about it."

"Hey!"

"I promised that she was the only one who would know ..." Michael explained, pouting innocently. "Well, Mrs Bailey knows about it and that's it. Sorry, girl."

Cassie rolled her eyes, giving up. "Whatever you say, then. Okay, so this -" she said, pointing at the picture of the flower and sitting down on the couch next to Michael. "I went to ..."

And she told him where each photo was taken, about her travels to various forests. Michael listened attentively, absorbing facts like a sponge. All the while, Queen snoozed away beside them, unable to understand why humans thought glossy papers were fascinating.

Time went by quickly, and the day progressed into the evening. A shade of purple stretched across the orange sky. Suddenly, an alarm went off.

"Sorry," mumbled Cassie abruptly. "I gotta get something ..." She went over to the kitchen, tapped the ringing clock and brought tomatoes out from the fridge.

Michael stood up and checked his watch. "It's already late. I should go now, or I'd be delaying your dinner! What're you cooking?" he asked, interested.

"I'm cooking - well, simple stuff - spaghetti. And er ... " Cassie's voice became very quiet. "I'm a vegetarian."

People tend to go on a rant about her protein intake and ask how she survived without eating meat. She was afraid Michael would comment the same thing ... It would hurt her if he did, he had been so sweet and kind to her. A part of her hoped he never heard her last sentence -

"You're a vegetarian?" said Michael. "I was one, too."

Cassie blinked several times. That was different; even her parents' reaction wasn't as calm when she announced her vegetarianism.

"Wow, I didn't know," said Cassie as she made her way towards the door.

"Aha - read my book," Michael said pointedly. "Just kidding," he grinned. "I was a vegetarian for several years, but later on my doctors said that it wasn't nutritious enough ... I do read a lot of books, but when it comes to scientific, biology stuff, they must know more than me."

"Hey, I've been a vegetarian since I was in college! And I'm not a skeleton. As long as you eat -"

"Soy products, beans, nuts, et cetera?" said Michael as he put his disguises back on .

"Yes!" Cassie nodded excitedly. It was a relief to finally have someone who understands! Cassie wondered how many types of books he had read ...

"Hmm ..." said Michael thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll try again someday."

Cassie gave a short laugh. "Wish you luck, then."

As her hand reached towards the doorknob, Michael said, "Oh, wait. There's something I want to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"Do any of your photographs go public?"

"Nope," said Cassie. "I always ask my clients before using them as advertising samples."

"You don't submit them anywhere?" he asked.

"Of course not!"

"Because I was wondering ... if you'd like to be my personal photographer."

Cassie paused for a few moments. 

"Wow - Oh, I mean, of course," Cassie steadied herself, she had to maintain professional when it came to work. "Is there an event or -?"

"Not really," Michael shook his head. "Just my children ... the animals, Neverland - everything. Fun, happy times. I want to capture these moments. Photos ... they live forever."

"Okay," Cassie nodded. "Ah, I'll be charging for this service. This won't be free," she waved a finger.

Michael chuckled. "Of course."

"What's the schedule, then?" Cassie asked.

"Maybe once a week? Once a fortnight?" suggested Michael.

"Alright," said Cassie. "Next Sunday morning?"

"Yeah," he smiled.

Bidding goodbye, Michael secured his disguises and left.

The door closed, and Cassie stood rooted to the spot in disbelief. She had spent an afternoon with Michael Jackson, who had now asked her to be his photographer.

- - -

A/N: Heck yeah. That's right, Michael. You should have asked her to be your photographer months ago ... *looks around and notices you staring at me talking to myself*

Err, hehe. :3

Poor Michael, having been scanned by Queen - but cats do rule the household after all, and he passed the scan anyway. xD And talking a little bit of vegetarianism and all that in this chapter ... Here's a piece of vegan cheese cake. *delicately cuts a small piece for you* Vegan cheesecake is like an out-of-the-world, genius creation.

One of the ingredients is cocoa butter. Cocoa. Butter: The best combination of two words since Michael Jackson.

Well, eat up and let's tail Cassie's car to Neverland! (*has sudden cravings for more food* Do you have oreos at Neverland, Michael?)