I'm Going Back To Indiana (MJ Fanfic)

I Wish Tonight

"Do you like any specific music?" Dee asked as she sorted through their vynl records.

Michael shrugged from his spot on the floor across from her. "No, ma'am." He said quietly.

"What about James Brown?" Shan asked, sitting next to him.

Finally a small smile graced his face. "I love James Brown. I watch him everytime he comes on our TV."

"What do you like the most about him?" Shan quizzed, knowing that this would lift his mood.

"Um..." He pursed his lips. "Probably his dancing. He does all these different things at once and it's like magic." His eyes sparkled.

"I'm not sure if I'm familiar with James Brown..." Dee lied.

Shan giggled, playing along. "You're not?"

"You don't know James Brown?" Michael gaped. Shan held back her laughter. He reacted like a Moonwalker would if someone said they didn't know Michael Jackson.

"Not really." She shrugged.

"He's the greatest performer of all time!" Michael got more excited.

"Could you show me his moves?" She asked slyly.

Michael stood up from his spot and began singing a James Brown song that neither Shan or Dee was familiar with. But boy, did Michael sell it.

He put his arms up and started moving his feet in all different directions on the old wooden floor. Soon he was turning and spinning and all sorts of things. It was hard to believe that it was just a seven year old giving them such a performance. And this was only the beginning of what he would be like later on in the years. When he danced you could see his insecurities and shyness disperse, replaced by a God given talent.

When he was done he bowed once and sat back down like nothing even happened.

"That's basically it." He said shyly.

Dee and Shan gaped at the young boy infront of them. Never would anyone think that such a little kid could put on a performance like that. No wonder they called him a middle aged midget.

"Michael, that was wonderful!" Shan was the first one to break the silence.

"You're amazing!" Dee praised, clapping for him as Shan joined.

"Thank you." He gave a shy smile, and there was no trace of the boy who was singing and dancing just moments ago. Suddenly his smile dropped and he played with his fingers. "My Father doesn't think so."

The atmosphere in the room changed from a happy energy​ to a dark gray cloud in seconds.

And there it was. The heart of his problems.

"Your Father?" Shan asked quietly.

"Well, I mean Joseph. He doesn't like us calling him Dad..." He trailed off.

"What does he say to you?" Dee wrapped her arms around her knees.

Michael shrugged one shoulder. "He tells us how we can improve our singing and dancing... Well, mostly how I can. He says that sometimes I don't dance to good."

"How?" Shan made a face. How was that even possible?

"I stray from the moves sometimes. My feet tell me to do something else and before I know it I'm doing a completely different move. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it. Joseph says it's annoying." He said the last part quietly.

Of course they knew what he was talking about. He had once said that his body went with the beat of the music, and that basically, you become the physical embodiment of the music." Thinking is the biggest mistake a dancer could make. You need to feel. You become the bass, you become the fanfare, you become the clarinet and the flute and the strings and the drums."It was written in his DNA as a performer to go with the rhythm of his music, you couldn't stop that. He was just doing what came natural to him, and he shouldn't had been feeling bad because of that.