The next morning, Michael was awake bright and early at nine o'clock. It wasn't really unusual for him to be up that early, but the household was in New York... Which was a busy place.
Michael was usually up around that time anyway to rehearse and take a nice hot bath, as well as to fix his hair.
He dug his hands through his hair a bit before he ran into Norman's room.
"Wake up, Norman!" he shouted. Even though Michael wasn't a morning person, he tried to keep a smile on his face. After all, the cookout at the McCallister house was today.
Norman made a few groggy and tired noises before he lurched himself out of bed. His eyes were dark and there was a visible five o'clock shadow on his face.
"You never wake me up... Why today?" Norman asked, rolling his eyes and clutching his head as Michael dragged him into the hall.
"Get ready for today," Michael ordered, ignoring Norman's comment. "The cookout is at one. We can't miss it. We have cleaning to do around the house before we do anything else. I gotta run to the store, too. We're almost outta food."
"Can't you get Billy to do this?" Norman growled, raising his brow in frustration.
Michael grinned. "He's helping me. The whole household is helping. Come on, just put on some reasonable clothes and get to cleaning this place. I'll run to the store with Billy if you'd just help out a little."
Norman made a noise of distress before he stomped back to his room.
----
"So, Billy," Michael said as he got in his car. "We have a surprise for you today."
"Surprise?!" Billy asked, his robotic voice seemed surprised. His screen lit up a little.
"Yeah. We gotta go to 7/11 first," Michael nodded as he buckled up and started to drive.
"Are we getting the cereal?" Billy asked, his voice somewhat distorted. He gripped the sides of his robotic face and gazed out the window.
"Yeah, sure. We'll get a couple different kinds if you want," Michael chuckled generously. "It's not that expensive, you know."
"Yeeeeeeahhhhh..."
Michael just kept driving and kept his hands on the wheel. He turned on the radio and focused on the road. "What do you think about that Timmy boy, Billy?"
"Why?" Billy asked, pulling an action figure out of his pocket.
"We got a call from him yesterday. That's part of the surprise," Michael stated. "I think you'll like it."
"Yeah!" Billy laughed.
Two hours had passed.
Michael and Billy ran through the front door of their large apartment, their arms full of grocery bags.
Michael panted as he raced to the kitchen table. He set down every bag quickly. "Billy, put the drinks in the freezer! Put the fruits in the bowl, ice in the cooler and fix the rug... Also, close the door, will you?"
Billy's screen short-circuited and he fell backwards onto the floor.
Michael switched on his record player and glanced out of the kitchen window, above the counter. He sighed before he shoved ice cream in the freezer and put the cereal on top of the fridge. He felt rushed. His hair was screwed up due to some fans nearly mauling him once he drove to 7/11.
Norman woke up in a hurry, only to run downstairs to look at Michael. "Hey, dude... The party starts soon. We better get going."
Michael turned and returned the look. "I know, Norman. I was just thinking about things."
"Like what, Michael?" Norman asked, biting into a slice of bread with a curious expression.
"I was thinking about how strange our lives are. Like, I can hardly drive to the store without getting attacked. Billy is basically a robot maid-child, and you stay here at home when you aren't going out to get a drink. It's weird."
"Good point," Norman replied as he nibbled yet another slice of bread. "New York is a crazy place. I don't regret comin' here, though... I sure have met some interesting people." He laughed.
"Yeah, ladies," Michael grinned and kept in a giggle. "I know what you mean, though. Even though Manhattan is crowded, I like it. The tall buildings, the fashion, the streets, the breeze that comes in the window at night..."
"Exactly. It's just the people we gotta worry about. Walking around at night isn't a good idea, neither is driving most of the time," Norman sighed. "I got scammed last week and I also nearly got mugged yesterday, right smack in the middle of the street."
"Billy also goes to preschool, and think about how unsafe of an environment it is..." Michael's voice trailed off.
"Oh, come on. He's a robot. I wouldn't take it too seriously. If we lose 'em, we can get that Aero guy to assemble another or whatever magic monkey business he did last time. Don't worry about it."
"You're quite the parent, Norman."
----
"Billy, do you have the tote bags?" Michael asked, glancing down at his notepad. He twiddled his pencil between his fingers.
"Check!" Billy said, chewing his hand as he looked down into one of the bags.
"Chips? Drinks? Ice cream? Napkins, towels, silverware?"
"Check, check, check..." Billy giggled.
"Uh, Mike," Norman exclaimed. "You don't have to take the whole house, y'know. I'm sure they got food over there."
"Yeah, but, it's not right to just go to a cookout and not bring anything. That's like going to a birthday party without bringing gifts," Michael replied, his hands on his hips.
Norman snickered and looked over at Michael with squinted eyes. He put a spoon filled with ice cream in his mouth. "I do it all the time."
Soon enough, they all were walking down the road. Michael was wearing his Ray Bans, a pair of black jeans, a dark blue dress shirt and some Air Jordans. Norman decided to put on a cap, some shorts and a graphic tee. Billy wasn't wearing anything special.
They all approached the door and Norman knocked three times.
"Gah, they're takin' forever..." Norman said, directly after he knocked.
Michael giggled.
The door slowly came to an open. It was Mr. McCallister.
"You must be the Crockets!"
Michael smiled brightly. "Yeah, it's a pleasure to meet you in person! So sorry we couldn't talk previously, we've been busy, you know."
"It's no problem! Come in, come in!"
Norman elbowed Michael in the side. "There you go again, mister social butterfly."
"Shhh, I'm trying to make a good impression."
Peter McCallister spoke again. "Come over here, guys! Come sit with me at the table. Gotta introduce the families."
Michael, Norman and Billy all sat on the same side. Billy hardly could see over the table, and his legs dangled off the chair. Norman kept scanning the place, raising his brow as he was looking for food.
Michael kept a smile on his face, but he felt nervous inside. He was really a shy person, but it was times like these that Norman wanted Michael to do the talking. Norman just came for the food, so that meant that Michael would have to keep the family company. Michael wasn't exactly fond of putting himself out there in such a way, and he was surprised that Peter didn't recognize him... Yet.
"Kevin, Timmy, get down here!" Peter yelled, but was nearly cut off as his son named Kevin shouted from the staircase.
"Michael Jackson?!" the small blond boy yelled, running downstairs in a hurry with a huge smile on his tiny face.
Michael gulped. Here we go.
Norman grinned to his side at Michael, nudging him with his shoulder to poke fun at him. "Have fun," he whispered.
"Ahem..." Michael coughed, swallowing whatever amount of saliva was left in his mouth. He grinned nervously as he interlocked his fingers with both hands. "Y-yeah, my name's Michael..."
Then, the mother, Kate McCallister, made herself visible.
"Oh, my goodness! Peter, look!" she squawked as she ran towards the table to look at Michael. "Boys, sit down! Look!"
"H-heh, nice to meet you, too," Michael smiled nervously. His palms started to sweat as the three others sat down across from him.
"Can you take off your glasses? Is it really you?" Kevin asked, curiously, more quiet than his own mother. "Please, Mr. Jackson?"
"Sure, sure..." Michael sighed and shivered but tried not to make it noticeable as he took the Ray Bans off.
Kate McCallister gasped. "It is you! Oh, goodness.. What am I doing? I'm so, so sorry Michael... My name's Kate, it's... It's amazing to meet you!"
"It's my pleasure," Michael smiled and tugged one of his curls nervously. "And that's Billy-"
He looked to his other side, and Billy was gone. So was the Timmy boy.
"Ah," Michael gulped. He looked at Norman with panicked eyes.
"Oh, oh, hey. I'm Norman," Norman said, chewing away at some gum. I brought the bread, if you want any. Michael brought the other stuff."
Michael sighed.
Peter laughed a little. "Hey, Norman, since you seem to be a foodie... Come take a look at this brand new grill, man."
"Sure," Norman grinned and brushed his shoe teasingly at Michael as he left him.
He left me. He just... Left me. THEY left me.
Conversation was prone to erupt, and Kate didn't seem to be a bad woman at all. She was actually sensible when she wasn't overreacting.
"So, Michael..." Kate said, quietly. "Can I ask you a kind of private question?"
"Go for it," Michael nodded. Oh, great. What now?
"Um... What do you see in... Him?" she asked, giving a nervous chuckle.
"Who? Uh, Norman? No, no!" Michael laughed, his eyes panicked again. "We're not together. We're just best friends, and we live together in our apartment. Billy isn't our kid or anything, we're just like caretakers, I guess... I'm not, under any circumstance, with Norman, alright? I'm so sorry you misinterpreted it..."
"Sounds confusing," Kate smiled and tugged at the tablecloth. "Now, how about some food? Peter's calling for us."
Michael walked out to their backyard and his eyes widened. It was a large, grassy area and Norman was laying down on a lawn chair, newspapers resting on his chest.
"Oh, boy, it's amazing out here!" Michael gasped as he admired the view. "How can only four people have this much room?"
Peter laughed. "Our other kids are at summer camp. Kevin got kicked out and Timmy was too young to go. It's basically something our kids do every summer."
Norman awoke suddenly. Summer camp? Oh, man. Wait till I get hold of Billy...
"Where even is Billy?" Michael said as he sat down at the bar near the grill.
"Timmy and Kevin are gone, too," Kate replied. "They're probably playing around somewhere... Hopefully."
Peter chuckled and attempted to change the subject. "Burgers are up, come and get 'em..."
Norman sat next to Michael, who was across from Kate, who was next to Peter.
"But yeah, you guys are welcome in our home anytime!" Peter smiled and raised his glass for a toast. They all did the same. "We hardly ever have folks anymore, after what happened last winter. Two crazy dudes came in and tried to rob us, but Kevin saved the day. I won't talk much about it, since it's a lot to take in..."
Kate sighed and looked to her husband. "Not now. They probably already know about it."
"No, continue," Norman ordered. "I'd like to know. We haven't been in Manhattan for too long."
"Well, we moved here from Chicago in spring due to what happened, but... Kevin was left home alone in winter because we screwed up the head count for our trip to France..."
"Jeez!" Norman gasped, pretending to be alarmed but he pulled it off.
Michael held back a disgusted look. Who just leaves their kids like that? Oh, my goodness.
In the middle of their meal, a scream could be heard. "FIRE!"
Kate's eyes widened as big as the moon. "Kevin?!"
Michael, Norman and the McCallisters ran towards the door. A red substance was dripping from the staircase and smoke was emerging from the windows.
"I spilled the cranberry sauce, mom, I'm sorry!" Timmy cried out as he ran to the woman and held onto her apron.
"What's that smoke?!" she asked the boy.
"Billy... The sauce... Upstairs..."
"Hold on!" she yelled as she ran upstairs. "Billy, where are you!?"
Billy was laying in the hallway upstairs, covered in cranberry sauce as smoke fizzed out of his helmet.
"BILLY!" Michael screamed and ran to the bot. "What on earth happened here?! Norman, we have to leave. Right now!"
"But Michael---" Norman protested, in the middle of chewing a chicken leg.
"Now!" Michael hissed as he picked up the robot. "I'm sorry, Kate, but I have to leave. I don't know what happened, but we must do this another time..."
The Crockets ran home.
That night...
Kate glared at Peter. "Why does this always happen? We have to call them tomorrow. I'm sure Kevin had something to do with this. Surely this isn't a prank."
"Surely..." Peter said. "I haven't seen Kevin all afternoon."
"Are you kidding?"
"Yeah. He said they were playing around too hard, and..."
"Oh, whatever... Let's talk about this with the kids tomorrow."
----
"We aren't going back," Michael growled at Norman. "Not only is it hazardous, but usually if something terrible happens the first time, something's bound to happen again. I have to call Aero in the morning so that he'll bring some new bolts over here, and that may take more than a week. It's too much stress."
"Yeah, yeah. Okay. The only thing I liked about our trip was the food, anyway.
----
Billy tossed and turned in his bed.
"The spaceman... I saw it..."
