✴️

|Encino, California|
|Hayvenhurst|
|December 31st, 1986|
|8:00 pm|

Michael

"Michael, can you please get the brown sugar for me?" My mother asked while she was swiftly peeling the sweet potatoes, getting ready to make sweet potato pie.

As she asked the question, I took the Mac & Cheese out of the oven, trying my best not to burn myself. When I finished, I nodded my head and made my way over to the pantry, grabbing the brown sugar and walking back to give it to her.

Today was New Years Eve, since my family were strong Jehovah Witnesses we never celebrated holidays but as time progressed, New Years was the only holiday that all of my family would come together for and celebrate. Especially since we are a show business family and we are all constantly on the run, it makes moments like this even more special.

With that being said, my mother and father decided to throw a nice gathering that includes all of my family coming over from my father's side and my mother's side, which was going to start soon, so currently me and my mother were scurrying to get the last of the food done. My brother's and sister's were also here with some their children, my nieces and nephews, and my father, Joseph, was also present. Jermaine, Randy, and Tito were in the backyard putting up nice decorations. Jackie, Marlon and my father Joseph were in the living room quickly tidying up some things. Rebbie and Janet were upstairs taking care of the newest additions to the family, Rebbie's son, who's name is Austin and was born just a year ago and Jermey, who was Jermaine's son. He was born on December 26th of this year, and he was a fresh and adorable newborn baby.

Then Latoya, was currently running around like a chicken who's head was cut off after the kids who were extremely hyper.

"Stop running in the house!" She yelled, but they ignored her and kept doing it. Latoya's buttons were easily pushed, especially when it came to kids, and it was very hilarious to watch, but it was very irritating to hear her scream. She sounded like Carol Brunette. Latoya sighed, throwing her hands up into the air, "I give up."

I shook my head playfully, then turned my head to look at her, "Let them have fun, Toya."

"No, it's like I'm hearing a herd of elephants stomping in the house. If I hear it one more time, I swear I'm gonna lose it." She says.

I shrugged, "Maybe you're the elephant that they're running from."

She stayed silent for a little, appalled by the shot that I had thrown at her. Then, she faked smiled and lifted her middle finger at me.

I faked smiled back, giving her the same gesture in return, flipping her off.

"Michael.." Mother said sternly, without having to turn around fully to look at me as she continued to stare dead at the pie. Wow, this woman truly had eyes from the back of her head. Latoya chuckled a bit, sticking her tongue out at me before walking out of the kitchen. I rolled my eyes, turning back around to the stove and turned it off.

"Is your friend still coming?" Mother asked, trying to spark up a conversation, I nodded, walking over to a chair to sit down.

"Yeah.." I say. "I'm sorry for letting you know on such a short notice, Mother. I just didn't want her to spend New Years alone."

She waves me off, "She's absolutely welcome anytime. I'm looking forward to meeting her." Then she raises her eyebrow at me, "Do you like her?"

I chuckled, shaking my head, "She's just a friend." I say, not knowing if I was telling the truth or not.

Mother looked at me with an unconvinced expression, "Mhm.." Then she turned back around, continuing to cook.

When I told my Mother that Vanity was coming over, she wasn't as happy about it as she was right now. She knew exactly who she was, and at first my Mother had second thoughts about her joining us because she started to think that she was one of those girls who were only with me for my money and not because they truly love me. However, after at least ten minutes of convincing, she finally gave in. I explained that we were just friends, in all honesty, I wasn't really sure what we were. I thought Vanity was very sweet, and beautiful, and I wanted to get to know her more before things went further, but then there's another side to this too.

Vanity was still dating the guy who she had explained to be going through a heavy drug abuse. Even though I knew the relationship wasn't safe to stay in, I still didn't feel right going about it with her while she was still official with another guy. I disagree with rolling that way. I was actually going to pull her aside and talk to her about it very soon, however, I wasn't going to leave her hanging on her own. I could tell how badly the effect of their relationship weighed down on her, and if she needed help, I wouldn't hesitate to do that for her. I would do it in a heartbeat, because that's who I am. I know I've said it before, but I'll say it a million times, because it's true.

Also, the rest of my family had no idea that Vanity was going to show up. That was a bad move on my part, I know, because I had no idea how they were going to react. I just hoped they weren't going to embarrass me. This was a huge step, even for a friendship, because usually I would invite a friend over to meet my family after a couple of months of knowing them. Me and Vanity had just meet a week ago, so I knew it was going to throw them off. But it's not like we were in a relationship, so if they were to stress about it, they don't have a reason to.

Besides, I just prayed that they won't intimidate her, because my family also has a tendency to ask too much questions or be very excited whenever I brought a girl around, especially my sisters, they were notorious for that.

God, just please let this go well.

〰️

|9:00 pm|

An hour later, extended family and friends started coming in through the door and began to have a good time. Everyone was caught up in their own conversations, the kids were having a blast, running up and down the stairs with their contagious laughter, even though I was just waiting for one them to fall and bust their head after Mother told them to stop running for the fifth time. Meanwhile, I was having a pleasant conversation with a close family friend.

One second later, there was a soft knock on the door. I don't know how I was able to hear it over the music that was playing in the house, but I did. Then, I automatically thought in my mind.

It was her.

I placed the cup I was drinking on the table next to me, and I looked at the nice, elderly lady that I was having a conversation with and said, "Exuse me."

She nodded her head politely and I walked away from her, heading to the door. I took a deep breath, being prepared for anything that was about to happen within the next four hours and then finally opening the door. There she was, looking breathtaking as ever.

Why did things have to be so complicated? I thought.

"Hi, Michael." Vanity spoke in a soft voice, smiling. I smiled back, pulling her into a tight hug and giving her a short kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you made it." I say, closing the door as she made her way in, "How was the flight here?"

She sighed, shaking her head, "I hate riding planes, but I couldn't miss this for the world." She said with a smile.

"You and me both." I rolled my eyes playfully, "But thank you, really. I know it was a bit sudden."

Vanity nodded slightly, looked around the house in a fearful manner before looking back at me, "You have a whole lot of family, Mike. Are you sure I'm not intruding?"

I giggled at how she said Mike, and waved her off disregarding her comment, "Not at all, actually they were wanting to meet you, come on." I lied, well my Mother did, but she was the only one that knew she was coming.

She hesitated for a second, before she finally gave in, "Okay." She said nervously.

I helped her take off her coat, hanging it on the rack before taking her hand to go meet everyone. Even though I could tell Vanity was nervous, she did a very good job with making a good impression. My mother was very fond of her already, I could tell that she was slightly guilty by the assumptions she previously made about her, but then again, my mother likes everyone, so I wasn't really worried about that. She also had met Joseph, who happened to like her as well, which said a lot, because he wasn't easily impressed, so I was excited about that.

Then, she met all of my brothers and sisters. Since they didn't know she was coming, they were very shocked to see her. You should've seen the looks on their faces, because it was priceless, but they managed to keep it together while they introduced themselves.

I even got a pinch in the side from my sister Janet, that hurt like hell, and she gave me a look that said, "So we keeping secrets now?"

I tried my best not to jump from the pain as Vanity continued to talk to my siblings since we were all in a circle having a group conversation. I turned my head, looked down at her and gave her a stern look so she would stop. She rolled her eyes and put her attention back on Vanity. Then I started to catch on that all of my brothers were starting to playfully flirt with her.

I scrunched my eyebrows and thought, aren't they married?

I could never bring a woman around without them drooling over her. I snapped my fingers, getting all of their attention, also giving them a serious look and they immediately stopped messing around with her. Vanity looked at me confusingly, then started to laugh, easing up the tension.

When the conversation was over, Vanity met some of my other family and friends before we finally found a comfy spot at the table to talk.

"See? That wasn't so bad." I smirked at her, she shrugged and laughed.

"Easy for you to say. I was so nervous." She said.

"I could tell." I laughed, "But hey, it worked out."

There was a peaceful silence between us, with of course music and loud conversations in the background, then she raised her eyebrow at me.

"Are you sure they knew I was coming?" She asked.

My smile dropped, then I looked down, already giving the answer away. I should've just lied, damn. I was so stupid. Vanity widened her eyes, gasped then reached over the table to hit me on the shoulder.

"Michael!" She exclaimed.

I chuckled, rubbing my shoulder, feeling slightly guilty but not a whole lot since everything went okay, "What?"

"You should've told them I was coming." She sighed, slapping her hand against her head embarrassingly, "No wonder why everyone was staring at me."

"Well my Mother knew." I said, she looked at me for a second then rolled her eyes, then I shook my head, "It's fine, Vanity. They all liked you, they were just a little shocked, that's all."

"You're making it sound like that's any better." She said, I smiled softly, reaching my hand over to touch hers.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll be more clear next time, but seriously, it's nothing to worry about." I reassured her.

She gave me an unhappy look for the next ten seconds before she slowly started to lighten up, and began to hold my hand in hers. I turned around, looking outside into the backyard from the door, seeing all the kids playing in the grass while some of the guests were slow dancing on the side. I raised my eyebrow, then I turned back around to look at Vanity and asked.

"Would you like to dance?"

She smiled small, and nodded her head, "Sure."

As we both stood up from our seats, getting ready to head out of the back door, we hear a loud scream coming from the front. Everybody stopped talking, and went dead into silence. Me and Vanity stopped in our tracks, looked at each other for a second before heading to the front to see what it was before everyone followed behind us.

When we got to the front of the house, the first thing I saw was a passed out Latoya on the ground. I furrowed my eyebrows, then finally looked up at the person who was standing outside of the door that caused her to pass out.

Seriously, you've got to be fucking kidding me.

Prince stood at the door, still looking down at Latoya while slowly sliding his shades off. He let out a huge breath before chuckling, and shook his head before looking up at everyone.

"Now that." He points down at my sister, "Is a way to start a party."

Since most of the guests were outside, not a lot of people came to the door, but everyone else that was here continued to stare at Prince in silence, feeling beyond shocked that he was here. I felt the exact same way, and I had no idea what to say, so did Vanity. She had an unreadable expression on her face.

"What the hell is he doing here?" I sharply whispered at her, she looked up at me in a worried expression.

"I don't know." She said, feeling speechless.

My mother, who was also standing in the crowd, came out walking slowly to Latoya, still shocked that Prince was here. She knelt down, seeing if Latoya was okay, then shortly after she looked up at Prince and he smirked.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Jackson." Prince said in a charming manner, bending down a little to grab her hand and kissed the top of it.

She nervously smiled, trying to ease the painfully awkward moment even though I knew my mother was a bit of a Prince fan herself, which back then I didn't care about but now it made me gag.

"What a surprise.." She says, in a nervous and shocked tone, trying to find words, "I had no idea you were coming." Then after a second, she snaps her head at me, giving me a stern look, immediately thinking that his arrival had something to do with me. After that, everyone's eyes started to burn a hole through my head, thinking it was my fault. Even though I knew they weren't really mad because Prince was here, cause I know some of my family, especially my sisters, which was why one of them was passed out right now, was a fan of his. They were mainly shocked that we were in the same place, let alone breathing the same air, appearing as friends, because even they thought there was an issue between us. I rarely spoke to them about the song incident, they knew he turned it down, but they didn't know the rest that happened after it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joseph shake his head and carry on into the living room. I sighed, letting out a breath. His reaction went better than I thought.

"Oh, Michael didn't tell you?" Prince smirked, looking in my direction. I stared straight back at him, biting my lip harshly in anger, wanting to kill him at this very moment. Honestly, if I had the chance to kill him, I would.

"Damn Mike," I heard my brother Randy on the near left side of me say. "You guys are friends? But you constantly talk shit about him all the time-"

"Randall." My Mother warned him, stopping him from going any further with the poor use of language that he knew she hated, I sighed, face palming myself. Out of all my brothers, Randy never failed to say things at the wrong times

Come on, Randy. Damn. This was so embarrassing.

I didn't care that Prince knew that I talked shit about him, I mean, it was a common thing for both of us to do since our relationship was rocky. But in front of all the guests? Jesus. This was so awkward.

"Come help me get your sister up." She said to him, Randy sighed and walked over to them, assisting mother in helping her up.

"Okay everybody." Mother nervously laughed, "Continue with the party, I apologize for that." She said holding up Latoya from the left side, giving me one last look before leaving the room with Randy.

Everyone else began to leave the room, still a little starstruck by Prince but calmed down a little bit, just treating him like normal. My sister Janet stupidly waved at Prince while Rebbie still stood there in shock. Prince chuckled, and waved at her back while Vanity looked over at them, then looked over at me, clearly looking like she did not want to deal with him at the moment.

"You take care of that." Vanity said, patting my shoulder, leaving me by myself with Prince, taking Janet and Rebbie out of the room.

"Don't waste your time." Vanity whispered to them, while escorting Janet and Rebbie to the kitchen, which was easy because I thought they were going to put up a fight to not leave the room. Since Prince overheard her, he scoffed to himself and playfully rolled his eyes.

"Nice seeing you too, Denise!" He shouted out to her. As soon as everyone left the room and continued with the party, I gave Prince a death stare, feeling beyond angry.

Here we are, running into each other, again. I swear, why does this keep happening?

How did he even know where I lived? I needed answers.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Prince wiggled his eyebrows, putting his shades in his pocket. I kept staring dead at him, and walked slowly towards him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Prince!?" I shouted at him but in a whisper tone, "How do you even know where I live? Last time I checked, I remember inviting Vanity, not you."

"Exactly, so I decided to invite myself." He shrugged.

I rolled my eyes, then crossed my arms, "You still didn't answer my question. How the hell did you know where I live? And why are you here?"

"Oh." He chucked, "Well, I have some connections."

Hold the phone, connections? What the hell is he talking about. So there are random people out there that are just dropping out my family's address?

That's a hell no for me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, he shrugged again, avoiding the question.

"I shall never tell my secrets." He winked, adjusting the jacket he was wearing.

"I'm really getting tired of your games, Prince. I mean, seriously. You treat me like shit, then I go out of my damn way to help you and make sure you're okay, and after all of that, you purposely try to intrude on me and Vanity's time together, then, not only that, you show up here unannounced. What the hell do you want from me?" I stressed, slightly raising my voice, but no one noticed since the music was loud.

Prince dropped his playful expression, and his face started to soften and he looked down. Then he looked up at me and said, "Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about."

I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was bullshitting me again, "You really picked a great time to do so."

"No, Mike. Seriously." Prince started, and looked at me in a serious expression, which caught me off guard because I've never seen him act so sincere. My face also started to soften, and I stayed quiet so he continue talking.

As he opened his mouth to speak, my nieces and nephews rushed past me, screaming at the top of their lungs, and attacked Prince with hugs, catching him off guard. He looked at me for a second in a surprised expression, and then looked down at the kids, hugging them all back. They started to ask him a bunch of questions, started telling him how much they loved him, which made him smile, and cracked jokes at him being the silly kids they were, which also made him laugh. The anger and confusion that I was feeling was slowly starting to vanish as I looked at them, and I smiled to myself, admiring the sweet scene in front of me.

"Uncle Mike, I didn't know you were friends with Prince!" My oldest niece, who was 15 years old, Stacee said to me with wide eyes while hugging Prince's side very tight that I could tell he was suffocating, but he played it off, hugging her back while his arm was around her shoulder.

She was a huge fan of his also, I remember giving her the Purple Rain record a couple years ago for her birthday as a gift, which I completely forgot about until now. Let's just say, Prince had the woman in my family wrapped around his finger, cause all of them went crazy of him.

"Yeah, how could I forget?" I said sighing, then chuckled, trying to hide the eagerness that I was feeling, dying to know what Prince was wanting to tell me.

"You wanna come hangout with us?" My nephew Taj said. Prince stayed quiet for a second, then looked up at me. I looked back at him, then nodded with a small smile, knowing that we could save this conversation for later tonight.

He smiled a little back, then looked down at the kids and said, "What are you guys doing?"

"We're having a dance battle outside." My nephew Sigmund said, and I tried my best to hold my laugh, watching them.

These kids and their dance battles. They would do that every single time they all got together.

Prince's eyes widened, then he laughed, "A dance battle? Please, all of you are going down." He challenged.

All of the kids laughed and then I saw my niece, Brandi, tugged at Prince's hand, trying to get his attention. He controlled his laughs and then looked down at her.

"Can you dance with me? Please?" She said in her adorable four year old voice, giving Prince her puppy dog eyes that worked on absolutely anyone, including me.

My heart melted at the moment my niece and Prince were having, and I continued to look at them in awe, with a smile.

Prince smiled and held her hand gently, "Of course, babygirl. Come on." He said in his deep monotone voice, and then all the kids passed me, dragging Prince along with him to the backyard. Two minutes later, after marinating what just happened, I turned around, and made my way through the crowd that was in the kitchen and to the backyard door to look through the window, to see what they were doing.

I heard Don't you worry 'Bout A Thing by my friend, Stevie Wonder playing from the cassette through the window. Most of the guests were out there dancing, having a good time. I saw the kids on the side, doing all types of tricks and dance moves, and I widened my eyes and chuckled in amazement by their talent. Then, as I scanned the crowd, I spotted Brandi and Prince dancing together.

Brandi was smiling so big that it looked like she could have face cramps for days after that. Prince was twirling her around, and I could hear her squeal loudly as he dipped her, and then as she came up from the dip, he lifted her up in bridal style position and span her around three times and her laughter bounced off the entire yard, so loud I could hear her from the window. I folded my arms, leaning my head against the wall that was next to me, and smiled softly at the adorable sight in front of me.

It was surprising to see the man who never failed to get on my nerves, and the man who was dancing with my niece, making her smile, were the same person. This was probably the first time since I've known Prince, drop his guard down completely and be himself, not being an asshole for once. He was very good with children, which I adored, because I loved children myself. Not only that, it seemed like he had a change of heart. After everything that went down between us, especially involving Vanity, I was starting to wonder what he wanted to talk to me about, and maybe he really did want to apologize. Even though I feel he went about it in the wrong way showing up here out of nowhere, it really shocked me, and it was also heart warming to know, that all he wanted out of this was to most likely put us on better terms. I can't believe I'm saying this, but, maybe this was a chance for us to bury the hatchet between us and move on.

I didn't want to work my hopes up, but I was happy about that. If that's what he really wanted, then it would honestly mean a lot to me.

I never truly wanted to be enemies.

"So, do you know what he's doing here?" Vanity asked, I jumped, holding my chest, caught off guard by her presence. I let out a breath, shaking my head chuckling and folded my arms back.

"No.." I lied, trying my best to sound confused, even though I had a good idea of why he was here, "But, I guess I don't mind." I say, leaning my head back on the wall, looking through the class, watching Brandi and Prince.

"You don't?" Vanity said, and I saw her out of the corner of my eye looking shocked. I shook my head, staying silent as I continued to look out of the window.

She chuckled, and shook her head as well, "That's a shocker." Then, Vanity also looked at the window, trying to see what I was looking at until she finally found it. She smiled sweetly.

"Aww." She cooed, tilting her head, looking at them both. We looked at the window for a couple of seconds before Vanity spoke back up.

"Michael.." She said, I turned my head to look at her and then she placed her hand on my shoulder, looking at me in a guilty expression, "Do you mind if we could talk in private?"

I raised my eyebrow at her slightly, wondering why her mood suddenly changed. I looked around the room, nodding my head, and lifting my body off the wall, "Sure," I said.

I gently grabbed her hand, guiding her upstairs to my room so we could have a private conversation, then shut the door.

〰️

For the past ten minutes, we both sat on my bed in silence. Vanity looked down at her hands, unsure if she wanted to continue on with what she wanted to tell me. I stared at her in confusion, feeling a little nervous, wanting to know what was going on. Then, I finally broke the silence.

"So, what is it?" I asked patiently.

She sighed heavily, and looked up from her hands and at me, bit her lip a little before she finally spoke, "Listen, Michael. I really appreciate you for inviting me to your home. I've been having such a great time, your family was so welcoming, and you have been extremely sweet to me from now and to the time we met. Which I'm very grateful for."

I nodded, wanting her to continue with what she was saying when she stopped.

"But, I feel like it's time to stop whatever we have going on right now." She said, with a guilty look on her face.

My heart slightly broke, and I looked down at my lap, feeling so confused. Even though we were just friends, potentially wanting to be in a relationship, I felt very hurt, because I really wanted to keep this moving forward to see where this would take us. I thought that everything was going well, why did she want to stop so abruptly?

"Why?" I said quietly, sounding a bit heartbroken, even in my voice.

She reached over, and softly grabbed my hand, "I'm still dating Nikki, Michael. While I was here, I did a lot of thinking. I enjoyed the amount of time we had together, but I just don't feel right going forward with this while I'm still in a relationship. Even though it's not a healthy one, and he had done things that were unforgivable, it doesn't make me any better. I hope you understand."

I looked up at her, in huge realization. Damn, she was right. I kept forgetting that she was in a relationship still. Which sounded terrible, I know, but I was so caught up in what we could be and how happy she was being with me, that I forgot that she was still in a committed relationship. Like she said, even though it was an unhealthy one, I understand that she didn't want to do it behind his back. If she didn't want to be with him, then she would tell him, she didn't want to escape from reality. Which, I respect a lot and agree with.

I nodded, agreeing fully with what she was saying, and held her hand back, patting the top of it, "I understand completely. You're right."

"You're not mad?" She asked, surprised that I wasn't upset with her.

I shook my head, and smiled small, "Not at all. I respect what you're doing, and I support you."

Vanity tightened her grip on my hand, still looking at me with a guilty expression, "I'm really sorry, Michael.."

"Stop apologizing." I chuckled softly, returning the hand grip, "It's okay, really." I reassured her.

She sighed, then looked down at her lap, feeling even more guilty than before. Maybe the fact that I didn't give a huge reaction to it, made her worry even more, but I truly didn't mind. Was I hurt? Yes, but, I respected her decision regardless.

I leaned toward her, and kissed her cheek, trying to make her feel better. She smiled to herself, and looked up at me. I smiled at her, and we held eye contact for a minute before she stood up.

"I think I'm gonna leave." She said, picking up her purse that was next to her and putting it around her shoulder.

My face soften, not wanting her to leave, "You don't want to stay? The countdown to New Years is going to start soon."

She shook her head, walking to the door, opening it, "That's okay. I need to start heading home, I think I had about too many drinks. I'm starting to feel a little nauseous."

I nodded my head, letting it go and not wanting it to look like I was forcing her to stay, "You're not driving, are you?"

"No." She said, "I called my driver not too long before I had this conversation with you. I think he might be waiting outside."

"Oh, okay.." I trailed off, looking down at my lap, then I spoke, "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, or need help with anything, I'll be there for you. I'm just a phone call away."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vanity smile slightly, and she nod her head, "Of course."

There was a silence between us before she spoke again, "Well, Goodbye Michael.."

I looked up at her, and smiled softly, "Bye, Vanity."

She stared at me for a couple of seconds before leaving the room. I finally let out a heavy sigh, and put my head in my hands, feeling a bit upset. Then, I heard a knock on the door, even though it was wide open.

"What?" I said frustratedly, still with my head in my hands.

"Damn, should I come back later?" A voice said, that I immediately recognized, I slowly lifted my head up from my hands and saw Prince standing at the door with an amused look on his face.

I stared at him for a second before looking down at my lap, not sure what to say. I simply just didn't have the energy to put up with anything he was going to throw my way, if that's what he came up here for.

"Can I come in?" He asked nicely, I sighed, nodding my head silently.

"Wow, that was easy." He said chuckling, making his way into the room, sitting himself down in the couch across from me.

Prince raised his eyebrow, and leaned back into his chair, noticing that I was clearly upset, "You good?"

I stayed silent, nodding my head once again, not yet making eye contact with him.

"How come Denise left?" He questioned.

I shrugged, not wanting to get deep into that conversation, "She wanted some air, I guess." I lied, knowing the real reason why she left.

"Oh.." Prince said, sounding slightly confused. There was a bit of an awkward silence, and then out of nowhere, he said.

"I'm sorry."

I looked up at him instantly, finally making eye contact with him. I smirked slightly, feeling overjoyed with what he said. That's been something I've been waiting to hear for awhile, but with him being Prince, and how big his ego was, I never thought I would hear that come out of his mouth in a million years. Just to make sure he was being for real, and that I was right, I said, "What was that?"

He rolled his eyes, and slapping his hand against his forehead, "Please don't make me say it again."

My smirk got even bigger, and I rested my chin on my hand, in a waiting position.

Knowing that I wasn't going to let it go, he sighed heavily and repeated, "I'm sorry, okay?"

Am I hearing this right? Is Prince admitting that he did something wrong? I must be dreaming right now.

"Listen, Michael." He leaned foward in his seat, keeping eye contact with me, getting ready to explain himself, "When I left the hotel that night, I did a lot of thinking. Which I know it sounds hard to believe, but I did, honestly. I know that I could be very stubborn, I know I tend to hold grudges, and I shouldn't of let something that happened years ago drive me to the point to go out of my way to embarrass you. I should've realized that you calling me on stage wasn't intentional, and the incident that happened with me wasn't your fault. I should'nt of been so hostile with you when you were trying to share your song with me, I should'nt of taken the film crew away from you and humiliated you in front of everyone, I should've been more appreciative when you went out of your way to make sure I was okay after that party. I don't know many people that would've of done that for me. And even after everything that went down between us, you still cared, even for me." He paused, then gave a closed smile, "I know I had a funny way of showing it, but, you truly don't know how much that meant to me."

Who was this? Was this Prince?

I couldn't believe it.

I was so touched by his apology that I just stared at him with an unreadable expression. It was like I was shocked, and touched at the same time, so it was a lot to take in at a time. Prince raised his eyebrow a little at me, not sure how I was reacting to this situation due to my expressionless face, but he took a breath and kept talking.

"Also.." He started off, looking down at his lap, playing with his fingers, "I'm sorry for trying to ruin your date with Vanity. If you guys are going to continue with your relationship then..."

He sighed, looking like what he was about to say was painful to admit, so he struggled to find words for a bit before he finally said, "I just want you to know that I won't be a bother. I'm happy for you both."

I tried to hold in my laugh, but after a second I busted out laughing. That didn't sound convincing at all, but I thought it was
thoughtful. He gets an A for effort.

He furrowed his eyebrows confusingly at me and said, "What's so funny?"

My laughter died down and I said, "Nothing, it's just that." I sighed, calming down, "You won't have to worry about Vanity and I."

"Why?" He questioned.

"We decided to end things."

His eyes slightly widened. He looked like he was happy but he tried his best to look sad, which I expected, but it made me smile. At least he was trying.

"How come?" He asked, I shrugged, leaving the answer simple.

"It just got complicated." I said honestly, then I thought for a little bit about what I was going to say next. I smiled to myself, not regretting what I was going to say, "Besides, I wouldn't do that to a friend."

His head instantly snapped up at me, and he stared at me with a surprised expression.
Did I just say the F word?

Who knows, maybe I said it a little too soon. But I feel like a potential friendship shouldn't have a time limit on it. I could tell Prince was actually really sincere this time, and I really appreciated what he said. It was sweet, and it showed me the other side of him that I thought I would never see. I was just ready to end this fued between us, and hopefully start over.

"Also, I accept your apology." I said, with a smile. Prince's surprised expression softened, and he returned the smile. We sat there in a peaceful silence before I spoke up

"I owe you an apology too." I admitted, Prince raised his eyebrow a little.

"Why?" He said

"Well.." I started off, "I understand why you were upset all those years after the incident that happened at the concert. I apologize for calling you up. I didn't know you didn't want to come upstage. But I just want you to honestly know that it wasn't intentional or anything."

He nodded, seeming to understand what I was saying, "Don't worry about it." He reassured.

Then, we heard everyone starting to countdown from downstairs. It was getting close to midnight, and in a couple of seconds, it was going officially be the year of 1987.

"10, 9!"

"So are we good?" I asked, hoping that he would agree.

He nodded, then said, "Of course...friend." Then he winked at me playfully, I rolled my eyes in a playful way and shook my head.

"8,7!"

Prince sat up fully, and clasped his hands together, "So, is this when we hug?"

My eyes slightly lit up, and I smiled brightly. Prince? Wanting to hug? I was liking this new Prince already. I nodded, "Sure."

"6, 5!"

Prince suddenly put his hands up in defense and said, "Woah, I was just playing."

I stood up and held my arms out, ignoring his plead, I chuckled and then begged him with a grin, "Come on, please?"

"4, 3!"

Prince stared at me for a second, contemplating whether or not he should. He sighed, getting up, and slowly walked towards me. He tried keeping on this straight face, but as we kept staring at each other, we both busted out laughing. Then, while the both of us tried to control our laughter, we finally embraced.

"2, 1! Happy New Year!" Everyone shouted from downstairs, and cheered loudly, celebrating.

Then, a flash of colors started to beam from the window out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head, and saw the fireworks shooting in the sky from the window. Me and Prince gently let go of each other, and we both walked to the window to watch the fireworks.

It was over, and we ended 1986 on a good note. My New Years resolution, was complete.

Onto 1987.

✴️