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may 16th, 1979 birmingham, alabama - boutwell memorial auditorium
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
"Mike," Marlon signaled as I wiped away the collected moisture that built on my forehead with a dry cloth. It had been yet another show that had driven me to surpass my limits, enabling my body to grow numb with each step I took. "You alright?"
"Hm, yeah," I nodded. "Jus' a bit tired."
I had spent most of my night writing songs— some for my upcoming solo album and the others centered around the skater that wouldn't stop rolling around my mind. Long distance was giving me a run for my sanity and of course, the withdrawals from not basking within her tender touch felt criminal.
"I was startin' to worry out there. You weren't kickin' that leg as fast as you usually do. Hell, Joseph might even—"
"Michael!"
"Speak of the damn devil," Marlon shook his head.
"Y-Yes Joseph."
"You looked sloppy out there, what the hell is wrong with you boy? Have you done lost your mind? Playin' with my money out on that stage ain't gonna get you too far, keep it up!"
"You mean our money," I mumbled, the distant cheers and chants by fans masking my disrespect. "I'm just tired, that's all—"
"Tired? Tch, from what exactly?" Joseph stepped closer to me, my fists slowly bawling at my sides with each stride he'd take. I could tell that my sloppiness tonight wasn't the source of Joseph's anger but he needed something or rather—someone, to serve as a punching bag. "Maybe if you focused on the tour and not some fast ass girl, you wouldn't be so tired—"
"A'right now Joseph," I gritted with aggression as I made contact with him. "You've got no right to talk about my girlfriend the way you do. She's not fast or any of that mess you make her out to be so quit it, I've had enough."
"Boy," he grimaced, the wrinkling of his forehead becoming the focal point of my vision. The more his face contorted, the more I had known for this fight to be within his favor. "I'll knock you dead smack in the face, right here in front of all these people if you keep this shit up. Losin' your pride over a woman ain't somethin' you should be doin'. Focus, Mike. Focus up before you lose sight of what's important."
"And that is—"
"Family," he emphasized while raising his index finger toward my face. "That's what this band is made up of, what I've been tryin' to keep together for a minute now. All these— these marriages a-and these love quests y'all got goin' on doesn't even remotely amount to the unity this family brings. Jermaine already showed his ass, Tito, Marlon, Jackie too... and you think I'm gonna sit up here and let you make the same mistake?"
