Fate (Michael Jackson Fanfiction)

Triggering Memories

Adrianna Diaz

Mom finds me in my now typical morning despondence which is waking up with puffy red eyes from a lot of crying the night before.

"Who is Prince? And what about Paris? Do you have plans on going to Paris? I hear you cry about that every night. Is Prince a boy who dumped you?" mom asks. Her concern was growing.

Rather than answer, I suggested we hang out the mall together.

--

At the mall, mom feeds me a spoon of her meal, making me try what she had ordered. I enjoyed the motherly affection. The restaurant waitress compliments us at our close relationship.

Mom fawns over a baby in a stroller that passes by us. She recalls how cute I was as a baby and I couldn't help but say, "You'd be so happy to see my children."

She laughs at me and her smile fades as I looked down.
I stood at the side as Michael's parents and siblings cooed over the newborn baby, Prince. Two years later, they gush about Paris, who they said looked a lot like Michael. No one was there from my family since my mom had passed and I stopped talking to dad.

Alone in my hospital room, I cried as I looked at a photo of me and my mom at my wedding.

I look at mom who I didn't notice had been asking me what was wrong. All I could do was hug her tightly.

*

Michael Jackson

I meet up with Tatum to see how her talk with her parents went. She was pleased with the compromise they made that'll let her take breaks from working on movies.

I defend her parent's perspectives and she couldn't help but notice my "old man" behavior.

"You don't really like me do you, Michael?" she asks.

She definitely caught me off guard with her question but I don't argue.

"I always thought you liked me but I realized how you looked at me. It's the same way my father looked at me." she laughs. "Although, I do know how you look at Adrianna."

Tatum didn't seem hurt though and she gently teases me while I seemed to contemplate the revelation.

Later that day, Donny called and asked if I could go for drinks at his house.

I arrive seeing Merle curled up beside him at the couch and Adrianna was seated on the smaller couch. I took a seat beside Adrianna.

"What's up?" I ask as it was rather quiet.

"Their friend Stacey left a leave of absence note at school. She's going overseas." Donny answers for the two girls.

Merle hands Adrianna a handmade coaster that Stacey had made for her. "She left two of those in my mail. One for you and one for me."

I recognize the coaster from our home in Neverland.

We all discuss the disappearance of their friend before Merle eventually gets tipsy and stays at Donny's for the night. I offer Adrianna a ride home.

As we were on our way to Adrianna's house, I ask her if she knew why Merle broke up with Donny years later.

"I don't. It's really none of our business." she answers.

I stop the car 5 houses away from Adrianna's and she looks at me confused.

"Do you mind if I walk you to your house?" I know how Adie loves to take walks and how she always wanted to experience being walked to her house since Bel-Air was a neighborhood you couldn't really walk. She nods at me with a bright smile on her face as we both get out of the car.

I was so engulfed at the moment just walking side by side with Adrianna, our hands brushing each other's from time to time, I didn't notice her mom was standing in front of their house.

"Is your name Prince?" her mom asks me.

I freeze when I hear my son's name but her mom continues that Prince is the boy Adrianna has been crying over every night and it somehow had something to do with Paris.

"N-no. I'm sorry but my name isn't Prince. My name is Michael."

"Mom. This is Michael Jackson. I'm sure you've heard of him." Adrianna clarifies and her mom steps closer in front of me to see my face clearly.

"Oh how embarassing. Forgive me, son. Wait for me. I'll go get something from inside alright?" her mom apologizes and leaves Adrianna and I outside alone.

"Well that was something." Adrianna laughs. "Thanks for driving and walking me home, Michael."

I step closer to Adrianna and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear before letting my hand travel to her chin, lifting her face to mine. She swallows and my breathing was hard.

The sound of her mom's heels clacking made us jump slightly and pull away from each other. Her mom hands me a paperbag and apologized again.

"It's fine, Mrs. Diaz. Have a good night. You too, Adie." I waved at them and walked back to my car.

--

At home, I sit and stare at the peaches on my desk her mom had given me. This triggers a memory of me eating apples with Prince and Paris. Adrianna was talking to Merle on the phone who promised to visit her and bring some fruits for her. Adrianna told her to bring anything except for peaches. I was allergic to them. The memory then leads me to another memory.

I was headed back to Encino after dropping off Adrianna at Bel-Air when I pass by someone selling peaches. I bought a bag and went back to Adrianna's house.

"Did you forget something?" she emerges from the door after ringing their doorbell.

"I wanted an excuse to see you again." I hand her the bag and she looked at me shocked.

"You're allergic to this, are you crazy?" she scolds me and lifts up my jacket to see that the effects of the peaches on me has already kicked in.

I continue to stare at the fruit until Joseph barges in my room and asks what I was doing with peaches when I was allergic to them.

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" he asks me but I don't answer.

--

The next morning I wake up to find myself back in our home in Neverland. From downstairs, Adrianna calls for me to get up. I rush down the stairs and I see Adrianna in the kitchen.

"We're back, right? I'm so relieved." I embrace her with tears in my eyes.

I shut my eyes close as I let tears fall down and a flashback from when we took Paris home from the hospital and laid her down the bed with a sleeping Prince played in my head.

"You'll help me protect them always, right?" Adrianna asks me as we admire our children who were sound asleep.

"I promise. You always have me, Adie."