"you're going to regret this."
-
Lulu.
Practically screaming in frustration, I hesitantly took a glance at my completely trashed wardrobe that was not aiding me in figuring out what to wear for hanging in Encino, where the Jacksons resided. Shaking my head left and right, I told myself to stop worrying about something so little and choose an outfit quickly as possible. Scrunching up my face, I found a floral, flowing dress which reached the middle of my thighs. I speculated and contemplated all at once, believing that it might not be the best idea to wear this around them-I would probably eventually end up feeling way too uncomfortable and I certainly didn't want that. I grasped small bunches of my curled and extravagant hair, muttering to myself in complete annoyance. Unfortunately, I was worn out from the deconstructing of my wardrobe and placing them back to how they were previously would be absolutely stressful along with the intense heat. I knew I was worrying about my appearance too much-but these were the Jackson 5, I needed to make an impression. There had to be a last resort.
So I ended up placing on a white halter top, with small embellishments of silver glittery stars that barely exposed my stomach and long dark blue flared jeans. I studied my simple, though somehow chic, outfit, smoothing my palms across the top of my hair to pack it into a high puffed up bun-one of the many hairstyles I loved to do. Afterwards (I shoved all of my clothes into the cupboard, making the decision of sorting it out later when I came back), I placed on black trainers, one hundred percent sure I'd feel comfortable in them. Taking a deep breath in, I grabbed my messenger bag and made my way downstairs.
"And where are you going young lady?" my father ordered from where he sat on the sofa, causing me to groan as I knew my attempts to sneak out of this household would be no use at all. Playing with the curly ends of my hair, I exhaled quietly and prepared myself for a brief, believable answer. I chewed my lip, wondering if I should inform him on where I was headed to. I knew if I told my father of where I was going to, he'd have plenty of doubts to express. Although the Jacksons were respectable, well mannered men which was blatant through TV shows, concerts and interviews, my father didn't approve of me hanging around with too many boys. He was too protective. Maybe it'd be an exception this time as they were quite successful and were currently making a change to black music and how it was being treated but...maybe not. You never knew that to expect.
"I'm going out to the store," I fabricated, impatiently tapping my feet against the wooden floor. How long was this going to take? As much as I loved being here, I needed to get to the Jackson's home yet I was appreciating the time being taken as I was so terrified. It seemed like my confidence over the phone had disappeared-I believed it was the fact of not needing to speak face to face that contributed to the confident persona.
"Nearby? What do you need to purchase?" he continued with his interrogation, resulting in me getting a little irked. I knew he wouldn't conclude this 'investigation' until he was satisfied so I knew I had to create another lie in order to finish this quickly.
"A few resources for school. You know...notebooks and folders. I'm soon to run out of them and I figured since I didn't have anything to do today, I would buy them so I don't need to fret about it later on. Possibly with a friend. That alright?" I inhaled, exhausted just standing there watching not only my father's eyes, but my mother's too.
It seemed as if my father wanted to comment a retort on what I just said, but thankfully my mother came to the rescue.
"Dominic, it's fine," Mother laughed softly, patting his shoulder which caused his facial expression to tone down a little. A bright smile appeared on her face; I returned it, suddenly not expecting her facial expression to drop and become serious. "You must be back by five o'clock." I nodded, giving them loving farewells after they dismissed me from my position.
When I came outside, I attempted to murder all of my nerves and trembling emotions, tiring myself out as I repeated yet again Clyde's words. I had to be myself because they were just like me, they were no different at all except they were famous. If I succeeded at this at the interviews and phone conversations, surely I could in this.
And I hoped I did.
✿
Gulping down all of my fear, I left two knocks on the front door, feeling the cool breeze snake around my bare arms. I inhaled the strong aroma of currently growing flowers and plants, distractedly rubbing the beaded bracelet on my wrist. Patiently waiting, I inspected the architecture of the vast appearing home. I studied the abundance of trees and neatly trimmed hedges that surrounded the mixture of the brown and beige building. I looked to my left to see a tall water fountain, its rushing sound tranquil and angelic and oak benches under towering spread out shades. I contemplated several times if I should knock the door again or extend an acknowledging of an arrival by ringing the doorbell but I believed it would come across as too urgent and I was definitely too coy to do so. My hearing came immediately alert when scuffles towards the door were coming near-this is when I began to absolutely panick, fearing that this wouldn't go well at all. Negativity rose like a fever inside of me, not causing me to feel better in this situation. As soon as the door slowly opened, I felt my body tremble and began to beg to myself this wouldn't affect my well being. Come on, I had been directly invited to the home of the most heavenly band on earth. Who wasn't going to feel nervous and wonder about backing out?
"Thought you weren't gonna show up," Jermaine started, smirking as he crossed his arms. Right in this moment, a little boost of esteem didn't go without noticing-perhaps it was because he was there, making everything seem like it was fine and nothing would go wrong at all. I literally believed I would die standing there-his hot facial expressions and lip movements were enough to drive me crazy. Especially his sport attire too. It was quite blatant that he was playing a sport suggesting by the black vest he wore, that showcased his muscular arms, the nike tracksuit he had on and the plain trainers on his feet. I could see he was a little breathless, from the slow rising of his chest and the glistening sweat on his face. If this is what Jermaine looked like during the process of playing sport, I didn't know how I'd deal with seeing the other Jacksons.
"Well..." I turned around to face the road, scratching the back of my neck with a simpering smile on my face. "You didn't specifically tell me when to come."
When I decided to face him, he attempted to maintain a neutral expression which was obviously done to get at me and start another staring match of some sort. A few seconds later, he bursted into laughter and beckoned me into the home, leading me down the hallway. I glanced at the few framed pictures of the entire family, which made me sigh in awe at how so much magic could be given off from a single shot, and large pictures of The Jackson 5, highly predicted to be out of their achievements that left my heart fluttering rapidly. Entering the kitchen, I happened to scrutinise the spacious and summery decor, comparing myself to the lifestyle of the Jackson family. What would it be like to live a normal life in Indiana, and then in a click, you're admired and now living in a rich home? It must certainly have been a massive change to adapt to and mainly, since it was not long ago that they entered the fame industry, they were probably still learning to get used to this luxurious lifestyle-earned with continuous hard work.
"You want somethin' to drink?" he asked, rotating his head towards mine, currently leaving the grey coloured fridge ajar.
"Sure," I responded, shrugging my shoulders with a friendly attitude. Patiently waiting, I took a seat on the high breakfast stool and began to fiddle around with the faint clear polish on my nail beds. Taking in exhales to calm down my fading anxiety, I hesitantly glanced at Jermaine, questioning to myself why he was so gorgeous-why all the Jackson boys were. He closed the fridge and handed me an icy bottle of lemonade-my favourite drink of all time. Jermaine strolled around the breakfast table and sat opposite from me, chugging down an identical bottle to mine.
"Still think you're a champion?" he smirked, snickering quietly at his direct statement.
I scrunched up my face, taking small conscious sips of my drink. "Yep. Still know you're an idiot and play like a blind donkey?"
He pretended to cringe, holding a hand to his chest to emphasise how much 'pain' he was feeling. He laughed gently, wincing at my words. "Ooo...you're bad, definitely bad."
I giggled, twisting the white cap on the bottle, adjusting my position on the seat. Just about when Jermaine was to say some speech, after a long cheeky stare, that I was eager to hear as I enjoyed to conversate with him rapid steps entered into the kitchen. This caused Jermaine to lowly groan and discreetly roll his eyes at Randy's energetic arrival; I quietly laughed, remembering of the incident that occurred over the phone-absolutely hilarious.
"Lulu!" Randy exclaimed sweetly, before wrapping his arms around my shoulders. Surprised, I laughed softly and returned the warm gesture of a friendly hug. Randy was too adorable, too cute and too kind for my liking-it made butterflies flutter in the pit of my stomach.
"Randy, how are you?" I questioned, a large smile on my face. I tried to keep my attention on Randy's round face and his slightly chubby cheeks that were too cute for me to handle, ignoring and stifling my giggles at Jermaine's low mutters and stupid facial expressions. He wore black jeans along with the same coloured boots, a thick belt placed through the few loops and a red and white striped shirt which was left unbuttoned at the top-it made him look more handsome and nicely laid back. I briefly thought of what Randy would look like in a few years' time, having grown his mini, perfectly shaped afro also.
"I'm fine! Wanna play b ball with us? Please, please, please say yes!" he clasped his hands together, pleading with all of his might. As much as I wanted to accept his offer, I felt a little embarrassed to play basketball with the Jackson 5-I mean, what if I happened to fall down or hit my head-play terribly? Alright, I was overreacting but from starting with the interview to hanging around with 6 beautiful males that was a huge leap for me. I didn't want to get into something I couldn't get out of-it was great to be with my music saviours though I felt like I was moving too fast in this situation. Cursing under my breath, I terminated my thoughts, telling myself I was just speaking complete crap and looked over at Jermaine as a distraction to somehow prepare an answer and get an answer from him of perhaps why they wanted me to participate in a game with them.
"I'm guessing you're a sports fanatic since you are a table tennis champion," Jermaine sarcastically said, a smile tugging at his curved lips, raising to his feet when his four brothers, Michael, Jackie, Marlon and Tito strided into the kitchen. Closing my agape mouth, I figured whether I should raise to my feet and greet them or just sit in my position.
Kill me right now please.
Marlon was looking fly in white straight trousers, black patent shoes, a vest that had a mixture of red, white and mostly dark blue, underneath was also a dark blue coloured jumper that reached towards his neck (it suited him so well) and had a matching white jacket (to his trousers) that was slung over his shoulder. I recalled of the hot temperature but my inquiries were immediately toned down when I saw this his sleeves were rolled all the way up, showing glimpses of strong growing muscles. Next, Jackie was fine with his straight trousers, a black belt firmly shaping around his hips, vertically striped shirt of brown and white, several unbuttons undone meaning his chest was exposed-that had my heart swooning. A beautiful boy who went by the sweet name of Michael, wore heeled ebony boots, a vivid orange shirt and a tweed jumper on top that had the contrast of blue and purple. Truthfully, Michael was looking gorgeous.
But what I seriously couldn't get out of my mind was how hot and handsome Tito was in his black attire mainly in this situation. He wore a waistcoat that hung firmly around his shoulders-this material had a small parting around his slightly lower chest area which showcased the silver, thin necklace he had around his neck. The belt around his waist was a little embellished and funky but still managed to look classy along with his straight trousers. His muscles left me endeavouring to avoid my eye from anywhere apart from his face. In addition, he wore a large hat and I believed it suited him greatly.
I glanced at the boys who were clearly out of breath from playing basketball and felt myself blushing greatly. Already having acknowledged my presence, they scooted closer to the counter and decided to start some kind of conversation.
"What's up?" Tito said, a grin forming on his face, sitting on one of the stools that were opposite from where Jermaine and I sat. I smiled, giving a brief greeting of 'nothing much' and twirled my bottle between my palms.
"How's it going girl?" Jackie softly nudged my shoulder, resting against the breakfast table. Jermaine threw him a bottle, catching me a little by surprise but I concealed it perfectly, and he caught it with one hand, earning mental applause from me. Marlon gave me a nod along with a small wave and I did the same, wondering why I felt so bashful being again confronted by them.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest when Michael made the decision of taking the empty seat next to me, a friendly smile on his face. "Hi." he somewhat shyly said, glancing towards me whilst playing around with the ends of his unbuttoned sleeves.
"Hi," I responded, immediately noticing how flustered my tone came across. Disguising my humiliation with a quiet cough, I began to trace the hexagonal patterns that were designed onto the table, acting as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.
"So you gon play?" Randy questioned, eyebrows scrunched in anticipation, clasping his medium sized hands together. Suddenly, I became the centre of attention when all of the Jacksons whipped their heads to face me. I found myself chewing the inside of my mouth in utter embarrassment at these abrupt stares and couldn't help the panicking rate of my sped up heart.
"Randy man, she doesn't have to play if she doesn't want to. It's her prerogative," Jermaine cut through the silence, his words sounding strict and a little protective-I couldn't help but feel chuffed at that.
"Ayee shush 'Maine, little hypocrite. Just because Lulu's your girl, ain't mean you gotta keep her to yourself-we all know you do anyway, having those thoughts and all," Tito protested, allowing a few snickers to burst afterwards. Discreetly, my legs buckled in humiliation as the brothers laughed loudly whilst Jermaine placed his shaking head in his hands, groaning in frustration.
"Alright, alright. We just playin Jermaine, we just playin," Michael interjected with a beautiful giggle, in a sweet tone that reminded me of when he was a cute midget on 'Goin Back To Indiana' special TV show, perhaps not remembering that I was there as a more confident personality was portrayed compared to his shyness a few moments ago.
"Right, right," he sardonically said, rolling his eyes and leave light, false laughs to emit from his mouth.
This caused them to laugh even louder and I quietly laughed too-only to conclude when I felt Jermaine's leg gently nudge my shin-and I knew it was him. I raised my head, attentive to his direction. His eyes were 'dancing' around the room, a small innocent smirk playing on his lips. His playful behaviour was causing me to endure sweet, mixed emotions (I was currently figuring out) but I couldn't deny I was enjoying it.
They all raised, seeming to be telepathic with each of their thoughts. A little out of place, I felt my body become reluctant and slightly impolite by continue sitting on the stool or getting up. Jackie threw a basketball towards Jermaine, who was now at a distance from Jackie as he moved to the other side, and he caught it within the hoop of his arm, flicking his eyebrows to signal that he was ready to play. Jermaine then turned around to me and locked his eyes in mine, leaving me all tingly inside.
"You playin?" he smirked, throwing the ball towards me.
I nodded, a small bashful smile appearing on my heated face as I tried not to look to intently at any of them.
He grinned, triumphantly.
"Attagirl."
✿
"So how are we gonna play?" Randy enthusiastically asked, bouncing up and down which caused his voice to become quite vibrated. He grabbed a hold of my hand and it made me smile. "I want Lulu on my team!"
"If Randy gets to have Lulu then I'm having my main man Jackie," Jermaine announced, clasping his palm against Jackie's and pulling him for a tough hug.
"Let's do this as teams then," Michael shrugged nonchalantly, bouncing the ball repeatedly. "Randy you pick who you want; Jermaine the same goes for you too."
When Tito came onto the court, after finished work in the kitchen, Michael, Marlon, Jackie, and I were lined up in a row with Randy and Jermaine stood in front of us, ready to choose their wanted players.
"I'm picking first," Randy exclaimed, a large beam on his face. He tapped his chin in contemplation, eyes scanning across the whole horizontal line. "I pick...Lulu, Michael and Marlon."
"That's how you're picking?" Jermaine laughed heartily with Jackie and Tito. "Alright, then I'm with Tito and Jackie."
"Three against four," I stated, not intending to say it as loud as I thought it would come out. Instead, the Jackson 5 end up turning around to briefly view me but then Jermaine held his stare longer.
"You haven't seen us play," he swiftly tapped his nose, making his way briskly to the middle of the pitch with his team mates. My team lingered behind, taking in the air and mentally preparing for this match. I mean, I could play basketball but I wasn't going to tell a fib and say I was the best at it because I obviously wasn't. It took a lot of determination, fitness and skill-from the basketball matches I sometimes had with my father, I learnt all of this.
"Are you good at playing basketball?" Michael happened to ask, placing his hands into his side pockets.
"Not really," I made a face, hoping we would end up in laughter and we did-short, shy and reluctant.
"Well I guess we have something in common," he smiled widely, resulting in my stomach churning, using a finger to trim the edge of his collar as we quickly glanced at our upcoming, assigned positions. "I'm sure you'll play better than me. And I'm sure I'll enjoy playing with you better than playing the actual game."
I took his words in, knowing that a euphoric smile was growing on my face and would be difficult to remove. I loved how he was so friendly but at the same time he was shy; sweet. And now, I felt that I was actually building something with Michael through a growing, proper conversation rather than kind glances and smiles.
He's too sweet.
"Jump ball," Jackie declared, beckoning me over, me now in the spotlight of the court. "Lulu come here." I just prayed that a mishap or accident out of the blue wouldn't be quick to spring upon me. As I faced Jermaine, Jackie's arm the only thing separating us, I recalled repeatedly of how it was as if I were with boys who were actually my friends, who I could actually have fun and get along with. His eyes were completely focused on the ball, and so were mine, and I wondered how these boys played basketball.
The moment Jackie's arm dropped, we simultaneously grabbed the ball, struggling and laughing for each other's keep but fortunately, his hands slipped and I took the ball, darting towards our goal, terrified of what I should do.
"Lulu, over here!" Michael called. I sighed, relieved that someone was able to aid me in this game. He dribbled towards the goal, managing to skillfully dodge past the three towering opposing players and that literally blew my mind, and aimed upwards to the hoop. It shot straight down the net with a flourish; I clapped at his success, dying when he acknowledged this action, giving me a smile and a sharp salute.
"Well done Michael!" Randy said, giving him a high five.
"Do your thang Michael, do your thang," Marlon chuckled, parting away from the crowd in order to be prepared for the resuming of the game. I didn't understand why Michael doubted himself-he was pretty good at basketball and quite fast.
"We just let you win," Jackie scoffed, waving us off with his arm. I rolled my eyes playfully, knowing that he simply didn't want to admit to first defeat.
"Exactly. Don't get too complacent," Jermaine advised, shooting daggers at the four of us. We snickered, happy that we were currently in the lead. Afterwards, we continued to play more basketball and I had to endeavour not to present my exhausted demeanour in this situation. They were clearly more fit than I was and I needed to keep up.
"Randy over here!" I yelled, trying to race towards where his destination was headed to. I tried to ignore the rapid and loud steps that were following me but ended up laughing, feeling I was running a marathon along with them and it felt amazing. It was so cute how he played, tentatively and extremely focused on the ball, only choosing to look up when he needed to check that he would be alright dodging past his towering brothers.
He raised his head, speedily throwing his arms upwards so I could succeed in catching the ball. Having faith in myself to take control, I reached to the ball, thinking I would easily catch it but I was abruptly bumped in the shoulder and defended.
"Too bad bunny," Jermaine whispered in my ear, half of his body lingering against mine. I scoffed, the sound concealing the deep sensation of my palpitating heart. It was all a blur, though it felt like slow motion to me, and he was off.
"Maybe we should take it easy on these guys. They seem a bit slow here," Tito joked, after a few more of their team's success and our unfortunate losses.
"Yeah, Michael, Randy, Marlon are quite good but Lulu's a bit off today. I guess we thought wrong about her," Jermaine teased, causing me to slightly furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Surely they saw I was playing along, getting a few scores in even though I wasn't as good as them? The challenging smirks that were sent my way told me immediately that he was kind of urging me on, trying to see how I'd react.
You know what...
"Jermaine let's go!" Jackie called, already jogging to their end. I was already informed by the boys that we only had three minutes left until they ended the game, as a photographer was coming over.
I attempted to block him with my hands but his skillful mental tricks left me confused as he sprung on his left foot and right, cutely laughing with all of his might. He darted past me, resulting in me chasing after him, whooshing the ball straight past me and into Jackie's large hands. Jackie was then stopped by Michael, who endeavoured to grab the ball out of Jackie's teasing arms which practically laughed at his height. Despite Michael's excellent ways (which nearly gained the ball), Jackie still happened to maintain possession of the ball, spinning around Marlon and sprinting past Randy who was too quick for his liking and it ended up turning his last resort which was Jermaine.
Though suddenly, I jumped as high as I could and blocked the ball from getting to Jermaine, stopping myself from bursting in giggles when hands pounced upon my shoulders, trying to prevent me from getting to my end but my struggles allowed me to wriggle out of their hold and race away.
"Go Lulu!" I heard Michael shout at the top of his voice as I dribbled the ball, running at full speed.
In this moment, I was much more faster than Tito so he had nothing on me. And finally, I reached the line and stopped, contemplating speedily of how I should score. Thankfully, I happened to remembered how I usually played and flicked my wrist upwards, watching it drop into the netted hoop with a flourish.
"That was amazing man! You taught him a lesson!" Marlon said, a little breathless from the running. He raised his hand and gave me a high five. That made me all happy-receiving praise from a Jackson made you feel special.
"You were great Lulu!" Randy giggled, wrapping his arms around me. I loved Randy's hugs-they were meaningful and sweet.
"You did great," Michael smiled widely, pulling me in for a side hug. I couldn't express how much I adored him in this moment-hearing all of those encouraging words from him were complete motivation for me. Even though we lost 32-16, I felt like both teams had their victory. Most of all, I was grateful for what he did and his everlasting kindness would always be a part of me.
"You coming?" Jackie asked after everyone had left the court, watching me bend down to tie my lengthy laces. I nodded, informing him that I would be sure to do so when I had finished with my shoes. He jerked his head up as a brief sign of acknowledgement and placed his hands into his pockets, making his way back into the house.
Moments later, I heard a ball bouncing against the ground, instantly catching my undivided attention. I tilted my head upwards, Jermaine's tall build strolling towards me whilst he slowly played around with the sport object in his hands. Straightening my trousers, I fully got to my feet and gently cleared my throat, wondering what he wanted to do with me. I exhaled, feeling out of breath because of the intense playing along with the scorching heat and the sight of him.
"So what happened to table tennis?" I inquired, folding my arms.
"I had to test your ability first. Basketball-for your concentration and strength," he laughed, tapping my shoulder playfully. I shrugged him off, finding a tingling sensation running through my veins. "You played really well-I'm glad you came, you're fun to hang around with, I dig you," he said in a confident tone, chuckling. I gave him a meek gratitude, starting to repeatedly rub my arm as I couldn't believe he actually appreciated the fact I came over-he also liked my presence. I blushed intensely at that.
"Anyway, when you come over next time, I'm sure we'll have a table tennis match together. And I'll win," he punched his chest, his manner smug and all.
I laughed, thrilled at coming back to the Jacksons home as I was having so much fun. "Okay, but you may want to rethink about you having the victory because that won't happen. Can your brothers play table tennis too?"
"Who said my brothers would be playing?" he proclaimed, raising an eyebrow. He took a step forward and it was definite that my heartbeat was playing out loud. I was pondering, over my pounding mind, if he was throwing something that I was slowly going to catch soon-perhaps I was pretending to be oblivious, already knowing how Jermaine was. I actually couldn't speak as my breath was completely caught so I just ended up gazing at him, watching the dancing smirk that appeared on his lips and that soon was out of my sight when he decided to turn away, walking out of the court, leaving me absolutely stupefied.
✿
I sat between Jermaine and Michael, taking conscious sips of the cold water I was politely handed to in a clear glass by Randy. Tentatively touching ends of my hair, I crossed my legs and glanced around the vibrant room, taking in goals records, physical awards and frames. I never failed to feel proud at my favourite band-they were hardworking and absolutely deserved the credit and recognition they were currently receiving. It was quite humorous dreaming different fantasies of them, believing I would never get a chance to meet them and now having a band to myself, having the most greatest time. Recalling this repeatedly just made me so euphoric to the point I genuinely thought I would burst with happiness.
"Jermaine, Jim's coming soon. You better change now," Jackie advised Jermaine, resting his back on the plush, bright coloured sofa.
Jermaine groaned, clearly not prepared to get up from his seat that he was slouched on or remove the red puma jacket that hung loosely on his frame. "I'm seriously not bothered."
"Come on Jermaine," Michael nudged him with his elbow, insisting him to get up as he still remained in his sports attire.
"Fine," Jermaine huffed, hastily jumping up and stretching his arms while throwing his head back. From everything I saw in the past and now, the Jackson boys went through a lot of stress and pressure due to their increasing fame.
"Do any of you guys know the time?" I asked, placing the half empty glass onto the transparent oval table.
"It's ten past five," Tito responded, taking a glance at his ticking watch. I gasped quietly, just remembering my mother's orders on when I should be back at home. The scenery was beautiful and bright-it looked nothing like five o'clock. How on earth did time move so rapidly? In addition, how on earth was I not paying attention to the time? I sighed, realising time did fly quickly as I was having so much fun with the Jackson 5. Shifting in my seat, I certainly knew that I should dismiss myself politely and make my way home in order to divert from as much trouble as possible from my parents.
"You're still staying right?" Jermaine questioned, securing his jacket around his waist. I looked around the Jacksons, absorbing their intent and eager stares, telling myself that maybe another hour or so wouldn't hurt. But I would be disobeying my parents and I seriously didn't want to receive any punishments or have them instantly lose their trust in me. On the other hand, I was being entertained by these great boys and didn't want to leave, I was getting too much of them and I didn't want it to come to an end. So without thinking any longer, I found myself giving a brief answer, not really knowing what the subsequent consequences would be.
"Sure."