In the summer of 2026, the world is buzzing with the release of the Michael Jackson biopic. For twenty-two-year-old Xiomara Vega, the theater is a sanctuary, a place to lose herself in the music of the man she's spent her whole life admiring from afar. But as the silver screen fades to black and the hum of the theater lulls her into an exhausted sleep, the world shifts. Xiomara doesn't wake up in a plush cinema seat. She wakes up on a cold park bench in 1984, greeted by the sound of a police officer's baton and a world without smartphones, Uber, or the internet. Trapped in the neon-soaked peak of the Thriller era, Xiomara is a ghost from a future that hasn't happened yet. To survive, she secures a job at the periphery of the King of Pop's whirlwind life. She knows every headline before it breaks, every secret before it's whispered, and every heartache before it strikes. She's determined to keep her head down and find a way home, until she meets him. Michael is lonely, shielded by fame, and searching for someone who sees the man behind the sequined glove. In Xiomara's "futuristic" spirit and mysterious origins, he finds a soul he can't explain. But as the timeline begins to blur and the pull of 2026 grows stronger, Xiomara must decide: do you save the man you love from the future you already know? Or do you risk disappearing forever? The studio was quiet, the smell of old mahogany and expensive cologne hanging in the air as he reached out, his fingers barely brushing her wrist, his voice a soft, desperate anchor in the dark. "Mara, stay... with me... stay here."

[Completed] [18+] It's summer, 1979 when Michael Jackson turns 21, releases "Off the Wall," and meets his first love. ~*~*~ Nicole: You're in hotels a lot, huh? Michael: Yes. Most would pause to wonder how often is "a lot," but Michael didn't. He answered very matter-of-factly. Nicole could relate to the feeling of loneliness, being the only child of two hard-working parents. She watched his hands continue to play on the table, now reaching for the dish of sugar packets. He pulled out two, tipping them together like a tippee. Then mirrored the motion with two more. Nicole: You seem like a lonely person... I am too. She wasn't sure what propelled the words. Instantly Nicole felt the urge to apologize. Still pinching the sugar, Michael's eyes drifted up to hers, meeting for a second before looking away again. There was something about this stranger, maybe the softness in his bashful smile, that Nicole felt like she could trust. And if not, oh well, she'd never see him again anyway. Michael: Then we should be friends. We can be lonely together. ~*~*~ 🌻 This is a love story with a slow build. I promise, it's worth the wait! ⭐ Winner of the 2022 Michael Jackson FanFiction Awards for "Best Off the Wall Era FanFic" Highest Ranking: #5 in michaeljackson; #1 in michaeljacksonfanfiction; #1 in kingofpop, #1 in icon, #9 in fandom 🎤Inspired by true events in the life of Michael Jackson... but largely fictional.

Before the tours. Before the headlines. Before everything changed. There was a girl backstage Michael Jackson couldn't stop thinking about.