November Dreams (M.C.)

Chapter Thirty-Six

When Michael walked off the stage, I panicked. I needed to go after him, but the last thing I needed was to get arrested or look like some crazed fangirl. This was something that I needed, though. This had to happen and if it was going to, tonight was the only night to do it. To hell with it; I was probably going to look like a total psycho, but it was a risk I was more than willing to take.

//

I snuck around the back of the venue, carefully hiding in bushes, scraping up my knees on the dirt without a second thought. There were a few close calls, but I was small enough that the bushes covered me, at least enough the get to the buses. When I got there, the lights were on inside, illuminating their figures magnificently. His especially; he radiated a certain light at all times as if he were his own solar system. He was breathtaking to behold. And I could feel his gravitational pull from here. There was one more person on the bus, though, and I would recognize those glasses and crazy arm movements anywhere: Czara.

I knew she was going to be with Luke, but for some reason I forgot that there was a possibility she would be here. But if she saw me, she would never allow this to happen. And then, I would be more than screwed.

I was hidden behind a pillar when suddenly I could hear the thundering of hundreds of pairs of feet. Cue the ravenous hordes of fans. Security rushed to clear them as they made a break for the bus. I eventually got wedged between two very loud fans, one of which was sobbing uncontrollably, when security backed us all into a corner and away from the boys.

Being this far from him now was giving me anxiety; he was right there, if only I could just get past the guards. He had been within reach all night and I'll be damned if I was going to let him slip past me this time. Not again. Never again.

I began shoving my way towards the front of the pack, ignoring the booing and screams from the other fans as I threw elbows to get past them. Now I looked like one of the crazy ones, but no part of me cared. I finally reached the front, but was blocked by a rather large man in a red polo, his arms stretched wide, fencing us all in like animals.

"Sir? Sir, I need to talk to Michael."

He rolled his eyes like this was the millionth time he'd heard that tonight.

"No, really sir. It's important—"

"No one goes near the bus, end of story."

There was no way I was going to let this self-entitled boulder tell me no. I began shoving and screaming his name, growing more wild and agitated by the second. As I peered inside the bus, I could see them all watching us, Luke and Czara's eyes explicitly resting on me. Luke looked as though he were going to puke and Czara, well, Czara looked mortified. I had expected these looks from them. But when Michael looked at us, missing me completely, I snapped.

"MICHAEL!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my throat burning as the name poured out of me in pure angst and desperation.

I screamed it over and over and over again, not caring that I was screaming rather loudly in the security guard's ear. What the fuck ever. He could be deaf and still do his job; who knows, it might make it more enjoyable for him.

Michael was still looking out at us, his lips moving as Luke watched him, seeming to go paler and paler with each motion of his mouth.

This was killing me and I was done being dead inside. I had let this sadness rule my life for what felt like an eternity. I had been stuck in hell and now I was trapped in purgatory, heaven just beyond my reach. But I could see my angel, his light illuminating everyone around him even in his despair. I needed him to wrap me in his wings and fly me away with him to our place in the clouds.

Just then, I had an idea.

"Sir? Yep, me again. Hey did you hear the song Michael sang tonight?"

He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye as he scoffed mildly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I know that girl. You know, the girl he wrote it for?"

He turned his eyes straight at me, his expression softened a bit for my "loss".

"The one who...died?"

I laughed a bit to myself.

"Yeah, that one. Only—" I leaned closer to him, motioning for him to come a little closer, "—only she's not really gone. But he doesn't know that."

He just stared at me blankly, his mouth open slightly with confusion clear in his mud-brown eyes.

"H-how do you know that?"

"Because I am her. And I'd like to see him, please. I can't wait anymore."

I swear, the man looked like he might fall over.

"You-you-you—"

"Yes."

He let out a quick sigh before opening his arms to let me pass. As I slipped past him, I could see Michael walking towards the front of the bus. I started running.

He walked down the steps. I began sprinting.

Luke followed him. Faster.

He was outside, facing me on the pavement, the shadow of the bus masking both of our faces. Luke watched me approaching as he begged Michael to come back inside. But it was too late. I was standing a few feet in front of him, so close I could see the twinkle in his eyes. He just stared through the darkness, having no idea. It was time for him to know, time for him to feel again. Feel my presence, my love. My stomach knotted as the word swelled up my throat and pushed past my lips.

"Michael?"

As my voice reached his ears, Michael buckled.

"November?"

I nodded, hoping he could see me in the shadows. I could see the flicks of light reflecting off his face, eventually sliding lower and lower until they disappeared on the ground. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, both of us knowing that things were different now. We were different, and all the pain we had been feeling could be washed away.

"November..." he whispered as his body went limp without warning. Luke stumbled to catch him, but wasn't fast enough. Michael's body crashed against the tough concrete, the smile still stuck to his lips as he laid there, his body gradually being released from the purgatorial void.

And as I knelt next to him, his lead in my hands, I could feel myself slipping too. I was out of the flames, finally.

I was out of the flames and on my way to the light. Because here, in my hands, was my savior, my angel.

My love.

Michael.