Almost human. || M.JACKSON || 🧸
synopsis: he came back different. (part 1). (part 2).
heyyyyy y'all, here's another part, I might make a series? (I will 🥴.)
You lay there against Michael thinking. What just happened between you two? A sudden sex rush? Or were those feelings already there? Probably. Maybe that explained why you'd missed him so much. Why seeing him again felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Why his smile always managed to get one out of you. Yeah.
They were probably already there.
You sat quietly with the thought, your breaths slow and even. The more you thought about it, the more certain you became that this hadn't started last night. Maybe you'd just finally stopped pretending not to notice it.
“What you thinkin’ about?” Michael asked softly near your ear. His hand rested lightly on your side, thumb brushing absentmindedly at your hip. You paused for a second before lifting your head to look at him. Seeing him this close again still didn’t feel real sometimes. A small smile slipped onto your face without you even trying.
“Nothing, just, I can’t believe your back. I missed you alot," you say quietly.
“Missed you too,” Michael smiled down at you. “There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t think about comin’ to see you.”
“Oh, just seein’ me, huh?” you teased. “That all?”
Michael looked away for a second, a small smile tugging at his mouth like he realized too late how that sounded. “Don’t start,” he muttered, trying to brush it off.
“Don’t act shy now,” You say sitting up from his chest. You lean into him, kissing the side of his face softly. “How was the University though?” you asked him
“Wasn’t too bad,” he replied easily. “Most the time I was in the studio, singing a few songs. Professor tried to keep one of my compositions.” Michael looked at you, “Told him no.” You chuckled as Michael rolled his eyes, annoyed.
“Campus food was terrible, glad I don’t really eat like that anymore” he said lightly smiling to himself.
“Did you take any meals to your dorm or you just stuck it out til later?” You asked.
“I’m a gentleman, I went to the blood bank,” Michael scoffed at you like it should’ve been obvious. He let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “What, you think I’m out here actin’ crazy or somethin’?” he asked, giving you a look.
“No I think becoming a vampire is a little new don’t you think,” you say lightly nudging him. “The transitioning, the whole blood drinker…can’t enjoy normal food. Can’t walk in the sun either”
“Yeah, but it ain’t too bad,” he said like it was nothing, shrugging a little. “I’ll go out for a bit, just chill under a tree most of the time. I’m hopin’ I’ll get a ring soon though, makes things easier.”
Your brows arch, “A ring? Like a daylight ring?”
“Smart girl,” he said lightly, giving your side a quick pat like you’d just figured out something obvious. Looks like watching Gothic films paid off.
“Where you gonna get one?” you asked him.
“The question is when I'll get one. They're a little strict” he chuckled. He lightly pulls you closer to him.
“It wasn’t weird of you asking for blood bags?” you asked a little confused.
“Not really, if you know who works there,” he said, a slight grin tugging at his mouth.
You blinked. “Vampires?” you asked, a little shocked.
He nods. “They could tell I was new to this, one came up to me. Tall guy.” he said, leaning back a little like he was remembering it. “There were a few of them around campus, mostly older vampires, just watchin’ things.”
He glanced at you. “Helped me figure out how to… not mess things up,” he added lightly. “How to move around without drawin’ attention. Where to go, what to avoid. Can’t risk messing anything up.”
“Yeah,” you said, playing with the edge of the blanket. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to you. I just got you back.” You said it a little quiet.
You had missed Michael more than you realized. He'd always been the person you could go to when a day went wrong, the one who somehow made everything feel a little lighter just by being around. No matter what was going on, being with him felt easy. Comfortable. You could talk for hours, laugh about nothing, or just sit together in silence. You loved spending time with him, and having him back felt like getting a piece of your life back too
Michael smiled when he saw the look on your face. “Look at you gettin' all soft on me,” he teased, nudging your shoulder lightly.
You immediately rolled your eyes. “Don't start.”
“Oh, I'm gonna start,” he said with a laugh. “You over here actin' like I'm disappearin' tomorrow.”
You shot him a look, glaring lightly.
Michael just smiled, a little softer this time. “I ain't goin' nowhere,” he said. “You're stuck with me, pretty girl.”
There goes those two words he’d always call you, pretty girl. Your heart still speeds up at those words. He noticed. Michael nudged your knee lightly with his own before reaching for his Mickey jacket. He pulled out one cassette tape, he turned it over in his hands for a moment, studying the cover like he was deciding whether or not to say something.
“You know,” he said finally, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I kept hearin' songs I knew you'd like at the university.” He glanced down at the tape again before holding it out toward you. “That's why I brought some back.”
A quiet laugh slipped from him. “Every time somethin' good came on, I'd think, y/n would probably steal this from me.” He handed you the tape, still smiling to himself.
“Figured I might as well save you the trouble.”
You gently took the tape from him, turning it over in your hands. Your eyes immediately landed on the cover. DeBarge. A smile spread across your face before you could stop it. Of course he'd remembered. Another one of your favorite groups.
You ran your thumb along the edge of the cassette, shaking your head a little. "Thank you, Michael,” you said, looking back up at him.
“Mm-hm,” Michael said, watching you look at the tape. “I got a couple more back at the house, I was gonna go pick ‘em up,” he said. “You can come with me if you want.”
“Course I do,” you say a little fast, smiling. You eyes then trail to the curtains, just a peak of sun came through the room. “You think today gonna be sunny?” you asked Michael a little concerned.
Michael turned toward the curtains, following your gaze. A small sliver of sunlight had managed to sneak through the gap. “Yeah,” he said after a moment. “I should probably beat it before it gets too bad out. Don't have my ring yet.”
He pushed himself up from the bed slowly, brushing his hands against his jeans as he stood. You found yourself watching him without really meaning to. He stretched lightly as he stood, working the stiffness from his shoulders after sitting around for so long. Then he reached for his jacket, tossing it on without much thought.
“You want your shirt back?” you asked him, smiling lightly.
Michael turned at the sound of your voice, a smile already forming before he even answered. His eyes flicked toward the shirt, drawing out the shape of your form, then back to you.
“Hm, no, keep it,” Michael said with a shrug. “You steal my stuff anyway.” Before you could argue, he stepped back over and lightly cupped your face in one hand, giving your face a small squish. He then leans down, giving you a slow kiss. You kiss back, smacking lips slow, your eyes lightly closing.
“I like you wearin’ my stuff” he hums against your lips. He then separates from your lips, smiling. In which you respond by licking your lips.
“I’ll come pick you up in a few, then we can go. Then I'll get us some food,” he says.
“Pancakes?” you asked him.
“Anything you want,” he chuckles. He slipped on his shoes, tying the laces. Then he walked over to the window, gently parting the curtains to check outside. The light had grown stronger, but it wasn’t full daylight yet.
“I’ll go through here.” He nodded toward the window.
“Back door?” you suggested.
Michael let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head as he finished adjusting his shoes. “If you don’t mind your family seeing me half naked with you,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he glanced at you, still smiling a little.
“C’mere” he tells you grinning. You almost instantly get up from the bed and start kissing him, again. Your arms slid up to wrap around his neck, crossing over.
“Give me maybe an hour or two?” he asked you between breaths.
“An hour? That’s so long,” you said, immediately looking at him like he was crazy.
He let out a quiet chuckle. “It’ll go by fast. I gotta take my stuff out the boxes anyway.”
“Alright,” you hummed, rolling your eyes, but the smile gave you away a second later.
Michael noticed, of course. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, already heading toward the window. “You’ll be fine.”
Michael pushed the window open and swung himself out like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Your heart immediately dropped. “Michael-”
He looked up at the sound of your voice. “What?”
You then calmed down, seeing Michael was just fine, “You're crazy.”
Michael blinked at you for a second before a laugh escaped him.
He started backing away from the house, hands shoved into his jacket pockets. “You worry too much.”
“And you don't worry enough.”
“See?” he said, pointing at you. “That's why I need you.”
You rolled your eyes, but a smile slipped through anyway. “Just hurry up and come back,” you told him, leaning against the window frame.
“I will,” he said. “One hour or two”
“Just one,” you warned. “You better.”
You opened your mouth, realized you had absolutely no answer, and narrowed your eyes instead.
Michael looked entirely too pleased with himself. “That's what I thought.”
“Oh, shut up,” you reply playfully.
Still smiling, he gave a small wave and headed off down the street, leaving you standing at the window long after he'd disappeared from view.
You smiled to yourself as you watched him head off, shaking your head a little like you still couldn’t believe the night had gone the way it did. Once he was gone, you pushed the window and gently shut it. You then draw the curtains back into place. You stood there for a second, then turned back into the space, finally noticing the small mess from last night. Blankets slightly out of place, things shifted around like the room had actually been lived in instead of just sat in. You were still on a high in your mind, you couldn’t stop smiling. You stretch lightly, raising your arms up before doing a bit of cleaning. You changed into a pair of shorts, something comfortable, just enough to get a bit of laundry done and move around easier. Plus, you couldn’t just walk around your house your draws on.
You walked out of your room with a small laundry basket, heading downstairs toward the washing room.
As you passed the kitchen, you caught your sister already at the table, eating toast with jelly, watching you a little too closely.
“Morning, sis,” she said around a slow chew, eyes still on you like she was studying something.
“Morning, nosey,” you replied with a small laugh as you walked by. “Mom and Dad up yet?” You made your way into the laundry room, dropping the clothes into the machine as you spoke.
“Ion know” she says leaning against the door still eating slow.
You closed the machine and straightened up, looking over at her. “What are you eating so slow for?” you asked, folding your arms a little.
She just kept chewing, eyes locked on you. “You gon’ tell me?” she asked after a beat.
“Tell you what?” you said, already knowing where this was going but trying to act clueless anyway.
“How it was, girl—don’t play dumb,” she said, making a face like you weren’t fooling anybody. “I knew it was gon’ happen eventually.”
You froze for half a second, then let out a short laugh, shaking your head like that would erase what she just said. “First of all,” you said, pointing at her through the doorway, “nothing happened.”
“Is that why I heard you crying his name?”
“Oh my gosh this why yo nickname is nosey, nosey” you say slightly annoyed. You grab your basket, “You better not say anything to Mom and Dad I swear”
“Now you know I don’t do all that,” she said, chewing slowly. “I just wanna know because you were definitely up late.” She gave a little smirk. “And my room is right next to yours,” she chuckled, trying to hold in a laugh. “Like give a warning so I can have excuse to leave the house”
“Oh shut up, I wasn’t that loud,” you then pause. “I was loud?” you whispered to her.
“Not that loud, but loud enough. Like I said, right next door” she chuckles.
You roll your eyes but a light smile comes creeping up, “You ain’t hear shit alright?” you say pointing at her. She puts her hands up in surrender still leaning against the door.
“He was good. Like really…really good. Like, you wouldn't think it when you see that smile of his, all cute and innocent and stuff, but he's—” You stopped.
Your sister was staring at you with the widest grin on her face. “Oh, you got it bad.”
“Okay thats enough for you,” you say walking out the room.
“No wait tell me more!” she says walking after you. “You put it on him?” she asks whispering.
“Just nosey,” you tell her again. “But no,” you added after a beat, a small smile creeping onto your face, “he actually put it on me.”
author's note, this is just a filler chapter, it's been sitting in the drafts 🥴.
