13 going on 30
𝕞𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕖𝕝 𝕛𝕒𝕔𝕜𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕩 𝕗𝕖𝕞!𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣
𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 𝟙𝟘𝟠𝟞
𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝
SUMMARY: “If we’re both not married by the age of 30, we should just marry each other!”
[part 2]
It’s September of 1971 and the Jackson’s have been living in Encino, California for about 4 months now. They’ve settled nicely into the house, but Joseph still has them working day and night. One day, though, Joseph had a meeting out of town with some new potential producers. This meant the Jackson kids finally got time to themselves.
“Hey guys, can I play, too?” Michael ran up to Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon who were all playing basketball.
“C’mon, Mike,” Jermaine started. “Can’t you find something else to do? You’ll just slow down the game.”
“Can you even reach the hoop? You’re like seven,” Jackie laughed before tossing the ball to the net, the ball bouncing off the rim.
“I’m thirteen! I can reach!” The boys laughed at Michael as his voice cracked slightly.
“Go play twister with Randy and Janet or something,” they all laughed before going back to their game.
Frustrated, Michael ran back in the house and flopped onto the couch. After a second, his mother came through the kitchen and found him face first in a pillow.
“Now what’s got you all riled up, baby?” She asked, sitting next to him and rubbing his back softly.
“I have no one to hang out with,” he started. “Jermaine and the others won’t let me play with them.”
“Well, why don’t you go try making some friends,” Katherine suggested. “There’s a house next door with a kid around your age. I’m sure they’d love to play with you.”
This perked Michael’s interest and he accepted the offer. His mother sent him off with his coat and half a dollar to spend. As he jogged over to the house next door, he took in the surroundings. The house was nice, it was big, but not nearly as big as his family’s home. There was a trail leading to the entrance of the house and lots of greenery across the front yard. There was a huge tree near the front gate with a big tire swing hanging from it and a small treehouse.
When he approached the front door, he gave the door a small knock, scared to disturb the family too much. When the door opened, he was met with the kind face of a woman.
“Oh! Hello, sweetie, how can I help you?”
“Uh— hi! I’m Michael, um,” he started, suddenly getting very nervous. “I live next door, we moved in a few months ago and I was wondering if your kid was home and if they wanted to maybe come play with me?”
“Oh, how fun!” The woman giggled. She turned her head inside the house, shouting up the stairs, “(Y/N), darling, there’s someone at the door! Our new neighbor wants to know if you wanted to hang out?”
The next thing Michael knew, running and footsteps could be heard approaching before someone bolted down the stairs. Michael didn’t have any idea who the kid would be or look like before coming here, but he assumed it would be a boy. He was pleasantly surprised when he found a girl in blue overalls, a striped red shirt, and her hair in two pigtail braids standing by the door.
“Uh, hi! I’m Mich—“
“Hi! I’m (Y/N)!!” The girl squealed in excitement. “Do you play ball?”
The next thing he knew, he was running down the neighborhood streets with (Y/N) playing catch. They were laughing their heads off and talking about whatever popped into their heads.
“Wait, how old are you?” (Y/N) tossed the ball.
“Thirteen, you?” He caught the ball in his glove.
“Thirteen!” She agreed.
He tossed the ball over to her, but he threw it too far and she had to chase after it. Once she picked it up, the conversation and game continued to flow.
“So, what’s your favorite story like of all time,” she asked.
“Peter Pan, without a doubt!” Catching the baseball and throwing it right back at her. “What about you?”
“I love the Frog Prince! My mom reads it to me every night.”
✧જ⁀ ⋆⚾️ིྀ
Michael and (Y/N) were now in her yard, sitting under her tree with some sodas. (Y/N) was swinging on the tire swing and Michael was propped up against the tree’s trunk.
“And then my mom screamed and started taking her curlers out while throwing them at my dad!” The two kids were laughing their heads off.
“No way!”
“Yes,” she laughed harder, tears streaming out of her eyes. “He just wanted to make her breakfast in bed, but it was a disaster from the start!”
The two started laughing harder and harder, reminiscing on old stories.
❀˖°
“And that’s Cassiopeia!” (Y/N) pointed up at the stars. The two kids were lying in her treehouse looking at the stars and she was pointing out constellations to Michael. “It was named after the Queen Cassiopeia from Greek Mythology!”
“It’s so cool that you know all this stuff,” Michael looked to the sky, admiring the stars.
“That’s what happens when you grow up on a street with no one your age,” she started. “You get really into reading.”
There was a small comfortable silence before she sat up. “You’re actually the first real friend I’ve made.”
“You’re my first real friend, too,” Michael admitted, sitting up with her.
“Right here, right now, we should make a promise.”
“What promise?”
“To stay best friends, forever!” She hopped down from the tree and grabbed a sharp rock, Michael hopping down with her. She carved her name into the trunk of the tree and handed the rock to Michael. He took the rock and cried his name next to hers, putting a plus between them.
They were giggling and smiling, “Do you, Michael, um- what’s your middle name?”
“Joseph.”
“Do you, Michael Joseph Jackson, promise to be best friends forever and ever, until the end of time?” She extended her pinky to the boy.
“I do,” he smiles brightly, locking pinkies with her.
⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
Michael waved as he walked down the path, leaving her house to head home. A little after their promise to each other, Michael’s mom called (Y/N)’s mom to send him home for dinner. They said their goodbye’s and planned to meet up again tomorrow.
When Michael walked in and sat at the dinner table, the whole family knew something changed.
“How was your day, Mikey?” Tito questioned.
“I made a new friend!” Michael beamed with more excitement and happiness than the family had ever seen.
Best friends forever and ever, until the end of time.
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥! 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁!
ᴀɪ ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏɴ ᴍʏ ʙʟᴏɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴜꜱᴇ ᴀɪ ꜰᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱ ᴇᴠᴇʀ.
Series inspired by THIS post made from @inbred-eater