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Chapter 6

Song: {Billie Jean- Michael Jackson}

When Blanket and I walk into my house, I look around for my mother. "Mom!" I yell, then wait for a response.

"In the bathroom, hon!" she yells back. Blanket and I simultaneously turn to each other and laugh as quietly as possible.

"Hey, mom, I have a friend over," I begin and wait for her response.

"Oh, this is embarrassing... is it Shey?" I roll my eyes and smile. "No." I call and she stays silent.

"We're gonna go upstairs and work on our English project, okay?" I say between giggles.

"I'll be out in a moment!" she yells. I grab Blanket's arm and head toward the stairs. "Do you want anything? Like to eat or drink?" I ask and Blanket shakes his head. We finish making our way up the stairs and into my room. I shut the door behind us and he gives me a concerned look.

"Why'd you close the door?" he asks and I shrug. "Force of habit," I say, opening it again. "sorry."

I take a seat on my bed while Blanket looks around my room. "Wow." is all he says and I smile. "I know. I can't imagine what it's like to go to someone's house and find that they have pictures of my dad all over the place." I say and look around as well.

"It's not as weird as you think it is," he says and walks over to the Billie Jean poster hanging above my stereo set. He traces his finger over the words and looks up at the star standing on his tip toes with one arm in the air and the other holding a microphone to his lips. "I have some in my room, too." 

"You know, posters aren't the only thing I have of his." I say and Blanket turns around and looks at me. I gesture to my nightstand drawer and he walks over to me. I pull the drawer open and his eyes widen.

"Are those-"

"Yup."

"Dang!"

"I know, right?"

"You have more than I do." Blanket says and I look up at him confusedly.

"Really?" I ask. He nods and I look down at the many albums sitting in my drawer. "Wow. I figured you'd have them all, you know, considering-"

"You'd be surprised." Blanket interrupts.

"Well, the only one that I don't have is Xscape because it's not out yet."

Silence falls between the two of us and surprisingly, it isn't awkward. It feels as though I have known Blanket my whole life- though I had just met him yesterday, but there is some kind of connection. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. 

"Can we listen to them?" he asks and I jump out of my thoughts and into reality. "Of course!" I say and smile. "Pick an album." he does as I say and I stand, walking over to my stereo. I open the lid that holds the CD's down and pull my Bruno Mars CD out. I place it back in its case and set it on the shelf underneath my stereo. I turn around and look at Blanket who is still scanning through the CD's. He uses two fingers to flip through the albums until he finds the one he was looking for. He pulls "Thriller" from the drawer and smiles down at it.

"This one's always been my favorite." he says softly and my eyes widen. "Mine too!" I say excitedly and he smiles up at me. He holds the CD in the air and I lean over to take it from him.

"Billie Jean." we say simultaneously. We stare at each other and smile even wider. I walk over to my stereo and place the CD in it. I flip to Billie Jean and we both bob our heads to the beat.

I start dancing, then singing when the lyrics begin and Blanket watches me with a big smile. I gesture for him to stand and join me, but he shakes his head. "C'mon!" I say and dance some more. He begins to sing along then finally stands up. We begin dancing and find that we can both moonwalk.

"Did he teach you how to do that?" I ask, surprised. "No." Blanket says with an embarrassed smile and I get a feeling that he's lying. "That's amazing." I compliment. "Perks of having a famous dad. Get to watch him dance. Even pick some stuff up." he looks away, blushing. "I think it's in the genes." I say and Blanket shrugs.

"Don't be shy! You look just like him too. I wonder if you sound like him..."

"No, I can't sing." he widens his eyes and we both laugh. I begin to sing and nudge him and he shakes his head.

"Wow, you can though." he says and I blush.

"Nat?" my mother says and knocks on my door before opening it. "What friend do you have-" she cuts her sentence short just as she meets eyes with Blanket. Everyone's smiles disappear simultaneously. My mother gapes and Blanket's eyes widen. I look between the two of them confusedly as they stare at each other.

"Blanket?" my mother whispers and tears threaten her eyes.

"I'm gonna, um... go start dinner." she says softly, turning around without any further words. Blanket and I watch her shuffle down the hallway and I wait until she is down stairs to speak. I flip the stereo off and turn to Blanket, whose eyes are still widened and watery now.

"What the hell was that?" I ask sternly.

"Natalie..." he says softly, still staring down the hallway.

"What?"

"I know your mom." he speaks slower and slower with every sentence.

"What? How?"

"Because," he finally looks at me and swallows hard. 

"She's my mom, too."