I'm Going Back To Indiana (MJ Fanfic)

And If This Wish

"That's it!" Dee smiled, clapping her hands to the beat of the music as Michael practiced the steps. 

He stood in the middle of the living room turning on cue and nailing the dance routine to a science. There was no way that Joseph was going to grumble about his performance on stage ever again, or that Michael was "dancing out of turn". For the past two weeks Dee and Shan had acted as his secondary coaches, getting the songs and choreography from Katherine and making sure that Michael did everything correctly, but without making the kid miserable in the process -like his Father was.  

Every day Michael had come to their house at 5 o'clock on the dot, and each time he did, Dee and Shan made sure he practiced the material, but also had fun doing it. The sessions never got too serious and often times they would create some type of game out of it so it didn't feel like work to him.  And each day Michael had come in to their house with higher spirits than he did the last. He was working hard and it sure showed with his performances that he did. 

But even with doing so, the girls both knew he wouldn't get off the hook that easily with his Father. They had come to the conclusion that Joseph was hell bent on thinking "If you're having fun, then you're not learning anything". In fact, they believed it to be his own personal motto. Sometimes Michael left at 9 o'clock just to practice more at home that same night - they knew because they heard the music play from their rickety house. It wasn't fair to the small child who was already working his butt off, but they knew they couldn't do anything. It was the sixties. The only thing they could do was make sure he had fun at their house whenever he got the chance. 

"That was awesome, Michael!" Dee grinned. She was out of breath for him. "I swear, you're like the energizer bunny."

"What?" He tilted his head.

"Oh, nothing..." Dee said quickly, realizing her slip up. "I just meant you're full of energy and you never quit." She laughed. 

Michael giggled, wiping his forehead off. "You and Shan say the weirdest things. Sometimes I feel like it's a whole other language in Nebraska. You know, Shan still hasn't told me what a... fidget spinner?... is." 

"Oh, trust me, you don't wanna know, Michael." She shook her head, handing him his glass of water.

He took a big drink and wiped off his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "You know..." He began, "My Momma says that she'd still like to pay you for these sessions..." 

"No, no, no." She shook her head before he could finish. "Shan and I already told her that we wouldn't be taking her money. And really, this is as much for us as it is for you. We really enjoy having you around here, Michael. It's a blast!" She said honestly.

He smiled, looking down. "I really like coming here too." He confessed quietly, as if his Father could hear him. "I look forward to it every day. Besides my brothers, you're the closet friends I have... You're my best friends." He said the last part with sincerity. 

"Mike..." Dee breathed, at a loss for words. It was the sweetest thing she had ever heard in her entire life, but also the saddest. No matter who it is, a 7 year old little boy shouldn't had been so deprived of friends. It was unfair in so many ways to him... but it would be like this entire life, and she knew it. "You're our best friend too, Michael." She finally said.

Suddenly, a loud thwap against the living room bay window pulled them out of their moment and they both turned their heads towards the sound. Another came, and another until it was constant against the glass. They both ran to the window and looked out the curtains to find a bunch of little boys on bikes tossing rocks at their house. 

"Um, do you know them, Michael?"

"Yes," he nodded slightly. "Some of them go to my school, but we're not friends." He said as he peeked through the slit of the old curtains. "They do this at our house too, until Joseph sprays them with the hoes... when he catches them, that is."