The Cutting Room Studio, Manhattan, New York, 11/6/1987

Michael's point of view

I'm back in the studio again with Quincy, and things are going pretty well. I finally have all the songs I needed for the album, and I'm pretty happy about it. Now I just need to do some demos, and then the recording session can finally begin. I guess I'll begin recording when my tour's over. June's right on one point: I really need to slow down. I have tons of project in my head at the moment, and I know this album can wait. Lately, I've been working on the script of my firt movie, and I really want this project to become reality. I love acting and directing, and I think the fans would be delighted to see me in something else. In my short films, I mostly just sing playback and dance, this is what I do. But the thing is, in this movie, I could bring a lot of things together, and use my acting, singing and dancing skills in one and only project. I guess the fans would love it. It could be about me from my beginning with my brothers to nowadays, and I could do something about children, because everybody knows how much I love being around them. I'm still working on it, nothing's done yet, but I'd really like this project to become reality. June is really supportive about this, she says she'd personally love to see me doing something else. She really trusts me about everything I do, and I love her for that, really. However, I noticed she was a bit weird last night, when I asked her if she had something else to tell me, I feel like she's hiding something from me, but I don't know what. Knowing her, I know she'll hide something from me only to “protect me”, as she already said once. I trust her, I really do, but I don't like knowing that she doesn't speak to me about what's on her mind. She really should talk to me, she has no one left to talk to, and keeping things for herself isn't sane. But I don't want to pressure her, I don't want her to tell me if she doesn't want to. Like I said, I trust her, and I know she loves me, so she won't hurt me. Right?

“Well, we worked pretty fast and good on it, Smelly!” Quincy cheered, smiling from ear to ear. “Maybe we could just relax now, and have lunch somewhere, what do you think?”

“Somewhere... Like somewhere out there?” I said, pointing my thumb above my shoulder. Quincy nodded, “I can't go outside without causing a comotion, Q. Maybe we could just order something and eat here, what do you think?”

“Well, sounds like a plan. I sometimes forget that you're... you,” Quincy laughed, and picked up the phone. “Mexican?”

“You know it,” I laughed. “I'm going to call June to let her know I'm staying here for lunch.”

Quincy gave me the thumb up, and I left the room to have some privacy. Not that I don't want Quincy to hear my conversation with June, but he is already on the phone to order our lunch, so I just don't want to bother him by speaking next to him. After four tones, June finally picked up her phone. I heard a loud crash, followed by June loudly cursing.

“Hello?” I asked, worried.

“WHAT?” she shouted into the phone, which caused me to pull my ear away from my phone for a couple of seconds.

“Wow, hello to you too,” I sarcastically said.

“M-Michael?” she asked as her voice softened.

“The one and only,” I smiled. “Are you alright?”

“Oh I'm sorry honey, it's just that I was in the shower, and I heard my phone ringing so I ran to it, and I just tripped over the carpet. Now, I'm naked on the floor of my living room with shampoo in my eyes and--”

“Oh babe, are you o--” I stopped in the middle of my sentence because June was busrting into laughter. “What is it so funny?” I asked, chuckling.

“You should see me right now,” she laughed again. “God, I feel ridiculous!”

“I'm sure you're not,” I smiled through the phone. “Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”

“No babe, I'm fine. Don't worry about it,” she said once her laughter died. “So, why did you call?”

“To tell you I'm eating at the studio with Quincy, so I'll be back in the afternoon, I guess. We did some demos and I finally have all the songs I wanted in this album,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.

“That's some great news, Mikey! I'm proud of you.”

“Thanks, honey. Now what are you going to do this afternoon? Anything planed?” I gently asked her.

“Um, no. N-Nothing special, why?” she asked me. She looked confused.

“Just a random question. You seem tensed, what is it?” I asked her, worried.

“Nothing! I think I'm going to spend the afternoon with my mom. You know, since she's leaving tonight,” she sighed.

“She's going to be fine, honey. Scout's honor!”

“If you say so,” she marked a pause before she continued, “I probably should go back in the shower now, this shampoo in my eyes is killing me.”

“Yeah you do that. And be careful, klutz,” I teased, laughing.

“You know I'm clumsy, so stop teasing me!” she whined, which made me laugh even more.

“I love you, Klutzilla,” I said, laughing even more.

“Klutzilla?” She asked, laughing loud. “Seriously?”

“That's a cool nickname, don't you think, Klutzilla?” I asked her, putting emphasis on her new nickname.

“Whatever, Michael,” she said, insisting on my name. I know she's smiling through the phone right now. She likes to tease me as much as I like to tease her.

“I'll see you later, June.”

“See you, Michael. I love you, Michael. Bye, Michael,” she teased, holding her laughter.

“Bye,” I began, and added “Klutzilla,” as fast as I could, and hang up the phone, laughing.

 “What is it with you? I can hear you giggling like a five year old kid from here,” Quincy said, opening the studio's door which gave on the hallway where I was standing.

“Nothing, just messing with June,” I said, smiling. “So, did you order?”

“Yep, the deliver man should be there in a few minutes,” he smiled.

“Good, I'm starving!”

**

June's point of view

As I was ready to get back in the shower, my towel back around my body, my cellphone rang again. Thinking it was Michael again, a smile spread across my face as I answered it.

“I'm gonna kill you for that, Jackson,” I said, all smiling.

“Um, I don't know who's that Jackson is, but I'm releaved I'm not him,” said a familiar voice from the other of the phone, chuckling.

“Who's this?” I asked, frowning.

“It's me, Jer,” he joyfully said. “I just call you to tell you I'm free right now. Maybe we could have lunch together?”

“Forward much?” I teased him, slightly laughing.

“You know how I am,” he said, matter-of-factly. “So, is it a yes or a no?”

I thought about the question for a few minutes. I mean, I really need to think about it. Michael doesn't even know the guy, I never mentioned him in front of him, and he doesn't know he's gay. Damn, June! I should have told him yesterday, instead of hiding things from him. Now he's going to think I'm cheating or something else. Maybe I should let him know before going out with him? No, I shouldn't. Maybe I should keep this as a secret, it'll be better for the both of us, I think. Anyways, I need this rendezvous with Jeremy. He knows things about Anna, I know he does. And I need informations. I need to know why she ran away.

“Um, sure. Where at?” I asked, already regretting what I just said. I feel like a mythomaniac. I really don't like to lie, and certainly not lying to Michael. 

 “What about this Subway on Nostrand Avenue?”

“Yup, sounds good. I'll see you there in thrity minutes.”

“Great, see you Blondie.”

I hang up the phone, and – finally—got back in the shower, thinking about what I am going to tell Michael if he ever find out I hung out with some guy he doesn't even know. Knowing Michael, I know he won't care about the fact Jer is gay, and he will tell me that I shouldn't have lied to him. Oh Lord, please don't let him getting mad at me. I'm not a liar, it's just that I really need some informations about why the hell this crazy-bitch-ex-best-friend of mine.

**

Hopefully I wasn't followed by any paps on my way to meet with Jer, and made my way here safe. We are sat at a table in the back of the restaurant, and the place isn't that crowded. Guess I got lucky this time. We ordered a couple of minutes earlier, and we're now waiting for our food to arrive.

“So, what's up?” my friend asked me, eager to know what happened during the last couple of year where we didn't see each other.

“Still didn't watch the news or read any magazine, did you?” I asked him with a little smile.

“You keep saying that! Why should I read those shitty magazines or watch the news?”

“Because I'm dating someone everybody knows, that's why,” I said, blushing.

“Oh yeah? Who's that? The Pope?”

“Don't be silly,” I said, laughing. “But maybe someone as famous as him,” I winked at him.

“So you're basically telling me you're dating some kind of star?”

“Yes, sir,” I proudly said, thinking about the wonderful man I can call my boyfriend.

“You act like you're dating Michael Jackson,” he laughed at me. I raised my eyebrows and shrugged at him with a light smile on my face. “Naaah, you're not. I would have known it if you were dating the most popular guy on this planet. Come on, who is he?” I shrugged again and give him a “I-just-told-you” look. “I'm sorry, but I can't believe you. Do you realize the bomb you just dropped?”

“Yeah, but it's real. I'm dating Michael Jackson, and I've never been this happy in a relationship since I'm with him,” I shyly declared, playing with my fingers. “I'm happy, Jer,” I repeated, looking at him with a light smile.

“So y-you're serious?” he stuttered, looking at me in disbelief. I nodded my head again, and smiled. “Girl! You're dating the hottest piece of ass on this planet and you didn't tell me earlier? What is wrong with you! I thought we were friends!”

“Come on Jer, I didn't even know you were still living here, since my dear friend Anna didn't think it was important to tell me such a great news...”

“What happened to you guys? I thought you were like the greatest friends of all time?”

“Yeah, we were. But then, she tried to take my man away from me,” I sternly said. I could feel the anger boiling in me. That's what happens when I think about that bitch. I thought she was a real woman, not a coward who runs away and who doesn't face her problems. Yeah, I am her problem now.

“What? She tried to what? How?”

“She just went to my appartment while I was gone and tried to seduce him or something. And of course, she did it in front of the paparazzi so it was broadcast on every TV channel the same day. Oh, and another friend of mine, Matt, with whom I was having a drink while this happened, tried and succeded to kiss me in front of another bunch of paparazzi. Oh, and after that, I had a panic attack while driving – that's why the cast is here – and I was in a semi coma. Here, that was a day in June Wellington's life,” I sighed, looking down at my fingers. When I looked up at Jer, his eyes were opened wide, and his hand was covering his mouth from the bomb I just droped.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, still in shock.

“Yeah, I guess I'm feeling better now,” I half-lied, while the waitress set us our food in front of us.

“How did you do to handle that?” Jer asked me, as we finished paying the waitress. She wished us

“I guess that after my dad's passing, I just feel like I've been through worst things than this...”

“Wait, wait... Your dad's passing?”

“Um, yeah. He died like two months or so ago,” I admitted, feeling pain in my heart as I talked about him. The scar will always be here, no matter how I tried to forget about him, I can't. He's a part of mine. Julian and him are a part of me.

“Oh God, I'm sorry, girl... I didn't know about it,” he sadly said, rubing the top of my hand with his.

“It's okay, Jer. You couldn't know,” I gave him a little smile, and put my hand away from his hold. I don't want to relive the same thing I've been through with Matt. It all started with the same move, after all. “So, what about you? How have you been doing for all this time without seeing each other?”

“Well, I've been doing great, unlike you,” he said, looking at his lap.

“Tell me, I wanna know!” I said, smiling widely.

“So, I'm madly in love with David for three years, and things are wonderful. He understands me, and he knows how my job is hard but important to me. He really is a sweetheart,” he said, all blushing just by mentionning his boyfriend's name. The exact same thing I do when I talk about Michael. “Oh and I love my job so much. Saving lives, the connection with people... All of that. It really makes me feel like I'm actually important for people,” I nodded in approval, as Jer continued talking, “and I missed you. Seriously, I used to tell Anna that I missed hanging out with you, and she kept saying that you didn't even mention me or anything, so I just let it go. But now you're here... Girl, don't ever leave me again, okay?”

“She said WHAT?” I pratically yelled. “She said I didn't mention you, really? Is this bitch serious? I kept talking about you for months when we left college! That cunt didn't even tell me that she worked with you, what's her problem? I thought she was my friend all this time, but she just kept hiding things from me, what kind of friend is she?” I said, beyond pissed.

“June, calm down, ok? She's not here anymore, so just forget about her,” Jer softly told me.

“Forget about her? I can't do that! That bitch tried to ruin my life, and she's been lying to me for years, how can I forget about her without at least having an explanation before? I'm sorry, Jer. I can't do that. I really need to know what's the matter with that girl.”

“You didn't change, did you?”

“And I won't ever change, for nobody. If you want me, you have to take me the way I am,” I angrily said. “Now Jer, for my sake, you need to tell me where this bitch's hiding.”

“I already told you she was in Virginia!”

“I know you know something else, like the town or something. Virginia is a vast state, she could be everywhere!”

“No June, I don't know. Don't you think I'll tell you if I knew something?”

“I don't know, you tell me.”

“I'll tell you everything I know, Blondie. You know why? Because you're my friend, and I won't ever ruin our friendship over someone as Anna again. I promise I don't know anything more,” he sincerely said.

“But you can know, right? If you ask one of your superior, they'll tell you, right?”

“Why do you want to know where she is? So you can kill her?”

“Could be a plan,” I half-smiled.

“Come on, June. Don't do anything stupid. She doesn't deserve any attention.”

“Stupid? Nah. I just want explanations. I need explanations. For my sake, you know... I can't live another year without knowing the reasons why my friends just betrayed me. Matt claimed to love me, but I don't think he was telling the truth. The guy knew I had a crush on him before I met Michael, so he would have done something way before I officialized my relationship with him.”

“You're thinking too much, girl...”

“No, Jer, I'm not. I really need information about Anna's location. Please,” I pleaded, like my life depends on it.

“I can't... I don't even know who could tell me such a thing.”

“Well, try to find out. I really need you on this, Jer,” I pleaded again with puppy dog eyes.

He sighed heavily, and looked at me, shaking his head, “Ok, I'll try.”

“Thanks,” I simply said, trying not to be too excited about finding this bitch.

Of course, Michael can't know about all of this, and it's killing me to lie him, but I have to. I have to find that motherfucking-cunt-ass-bitch.

You can't mess with June Wellington and get out of this this easy.