The Conspiracy Next Door - Part 4a
Pardon the long delay, but I kept hitting writer's block while working on this. Thankfully, I was able to tinker away at this, so here it is, the next part of my little side project, in which 'Dave'/Michael and Julie have a long talk, her parents get their chance to talk personally with Michael, a trip to the mall leads to a wakeup call.
Title: The Conspiracy Next Door
Author: shinigami518
Rating: PG-13 (but will go into the R territory at times)
Warnings: Swearing, violence, some racism, alcohol drinking, it all depends on what happens with what I'm writing.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything in this story except Julie, her family and her friends. All music used is owned by their respective owners, writers, and singers. This is also, in no way, a slam against Michael Jackson in any way. I respect him and really like him, his music, and his kindness. This is also somewhat based on the rumors and conspiracies over his death. There is evidence of something weird going on. It may just be crap, but you’ll never know…
Summary: Late 2009, a young woman named Julie Shields, a late bloomer Michael Jackson fan, meets her new neighbor, a enigma of a man named Dave Michaels. What starts off as innocent friendship and a moment of kindness suddenly takes a very strange turn as Julie finds herself involved in a very big conspiracy... one that involves drugs, rock and roll, Michael Jackson, and haters.
Links to past parts (at my journal)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4 - Breaking the ice and thawing out some cold thoughts.
November 15th
Julie was not in a good mood. It had been three days since the shocking reveal that her next door neighbor, Dave Michaels, was actually the not-really-dead-just-in-hiding King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and there was deep tension in the air at the Shields residence. Her parents had practically drilled her for information about Michael as both Dave and his real self, ranging from what he talked about to all the rumors and allegations. The ensuing verbal battles left her physically and emotionally drained afterwards, not to mention quite irritable.
Along with that, she hadn’t seen or heard from Michael since the reveal. This she could understand since he did have to work, but even during his breaks, she still didn’t see him.
She let out a sigh as she left the house with Tug on his leash, taking him out for a walk. As she went on her usual path, she shot one small glance at Michael’s house… or was it “Dave’s” house, she thought to herself. She still had some doubt that everything that happened days ago really did happen and wasn’t a weird dream she had. It all seemed surreal that he was still alive, but it did make some sense when she really thought about it.
The sound of a door opening broke her out of her train of thought as Michael, umbrella in hand and in his ‘Dave’ makeup, exited the house with a gray zip-up hooded jacket over his red button up shirt and black slacks, along with his usual footwear of white socks and black loafers. Julie stopped in her tracks as she stared at Michael, a look of shock on her face mixed with fear and apprehension. Michael looked up as he started to open a zebra print umbrella and saw Julie. He gave a large smile and waved at the young woman.
“Hi, Julie!” Michael shouted in his Dave voice, waving at her. He then noticed the look on her face and grimaced, realizing this would happen. He opened the umbrella fully and stepped off the porch, starting to approach her. Julie then turned and began walking away from Michael, not saying a thing. Tug, however, kept jerking back, trying to jump on Michael and say ‘hi’ to him. Michael sprinted after her until he was right next to her.
“Julie, why don’t you say something? Do you…,” Michael started to ask, walking up next to her, “…Do you hate me now?” He asked softly, hoping that was not the reason she was ignoring him. Julie finally stopped walking, turning to face him.
“First, I don’t hate you. I’m confused and upset about dozens of things, mostly about what happened to you and you in general. I mean, what do I call you right now? Am I talking to my mysterious, but kind next door neighbor Dave Michaels, or is it the ‘dead’ King of Pop, Rock, and Soul Michael Jackson?” Julie replied, staring up at Michael. Michael lowered his head slightly, shoving his free hand into the pocket of his jacket.
“If it’s alright, call me Dave when I’m outside.” Michael told her in his normal voice, not as Dave. Julie nodded, then began to walk again, Tug sniffing around the grass and sidewalk. Michael followed along, keeping up with her with long strides.
“Why are you still following me, Dave?” Julie asked bluntly, making Michael cringe.
“Because I want to know what is wrong and why are you angry at me?” Michael replied, walking next to her.
“I’m not exactly angry at you; I’m angrier over what happened to you. You got fucked over and nearly killed, a friend of yours - a fricking body double - ends up dying, you go into rehab, and now you’re in hiding as someone else all because some ignorant pricks are after you?! It just pisses me off that the guy who was treating you did this there hasn’t been anything legally done yet like prosecuting the bastard or something.” Julie vented loudly in response.
“The justice system doesn’t work that fast, Julie.” Michael told her, some bitterness in his voice.
“I’m aware of that!!” Julie snapped loudly, startling Michael. She then stopped walking and let out a sigh, glancing over as Tug started to pace in one spot in the grass. “Hold on a sec, Tug’s going to do his… business.” Julie groaned, walking over to Tug, who was now squatting in the grass.
“I noticed.” Michael noted as he adverted his eyes as Tug did his business on the grass. Looking away, he spoke up again. “And you should also understand why I didn’t tell you who I was when I first met. You weren’t supposed to know who I was; no one was, but… I guess either I’m not good at disguises anymore or you’re pretty damn smart enough to pick up my traits or something.” Michael remarked, looking around at the falling leaves that were swept up by the wind dance by him. Julie looked back up at him, picking up Tug’s excrement with the Pooper Scooper.
“It’s a little bit of both, actually.” Julie replied, leading Tug back to their home. Michael spun on his heals and quickly joined her side as they walked. “I knew there was something about you that seemed familiar, like I knew you from somewhere, but I didn’t really think about it until a few days ago when I saw that “This Is It” thing in theaters. That’s when I started really thinking about the similarities. Then, of course, you end up revealing to me, mom, dad, and Will that I wasn’t crazy in thinking you were somebody else.” Julie explained more.
“Yeah, I did kinda blow my cover, didn’t I?” Michael laughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. Julie smiled and nodded.
“And, yeah, I sorta understand why you didn’t say anything. But really, who is going to believe me if I told them that Michael Jackson is alive and living next door to me? They’d think I was…,” Julie laughed gently as she talked, then stopped walking, noticing that she was now walking alone with Tug. “…crazy?” Julie finished softly. She looked around and noticed that not only was she now a few feet from her house, but Michael was now standing several feet away on the sidewalk path that led to his house.
“Uh, do you want to continue this later?” Michael hesitantly asked, sounding a bit disappointed while fidgeting with the strap attached to the handle of his umbrella. Julie frowned; she did want to talk more with Michael, but she wasn’t sure if they should wait until later. She had some things to ask him, but she was afraid she’d forget them if she waited to talk later.
“I dunno, I do have a lot of things to ask you... and tell you. A-are you on break from your job right now?” Julie replied, then asked, also speaking nervously in her questioning. Michael checked his watch quickly before replying.
“Well, I am on my lunch break and I’ve got about 30 or so minutes to kill, so... I guess we can talk a little more. Where do you want to talk, though? It’s getting a bit chilly out here…” Michael remarked, shivering slightly from the cold and from pent up nerves.
“Perhaps my house would be best. I need to bring Tug inside anyway.” Julie suggested. Michael then started to look really nervous, remembering the last time he was there, especially remembering the looks Janet and Robert were giving him as he left. Julie saw this and smiled kindly. “Don’t worry, only dad and I are home. You don’t have to worry about mom, but I’m sure dad’ll probably be asking the same questions I have. It’ll be fine.” Julie assured. Michael finally gave a short nod in response, still looking nervous. The two then made their way to the young brunettes’ home and stepped onto the front porch, Julie making a small stop to empty the object in her hand and placing it against the wall. Michael closed his umbrella as Julie opened the door to the small screened in area, stopping in front of the door. She unhooked Tug’s leash and Tug immediately ran to the door, his tiny tail wagging quickly. Julie then looked back at Michael, who was holding the screen porch door open, still looking nervous.
“You coming in or not?” Julie asked, giving a ‘come on’ nod with her head.
“Y-yeah.” Michael nodded, continuing to feel very nervous. The two then entered the house, Julie removing her jacket and tossing the dog leash onto the side table by the couch the second she was inside. Michael looked around as Tug ran into the other room, his tiny tail still wagging like crazy as he went to find Robert.
“You can take your coat off and just hang it and your umbrella over here. You can also take your shoes off, too, if you want.” Julie stated, hanging her jacket on the built in coat hanger on the wall by the door.
“N-no, I’m fine.” Michael replied, removing his jacket. He hung it up on the coat rack and placed his umbrella against the side table. Julie plopped down on the couch and began to remove her sneakers. Tug came back into the living room and began to nuzzle up against Michael’s leg, prompting Michael to scratch the top of the dog’s head.
“Don’t be so jumpy. Like I said, the only other person here aside from me is dad, and I told him that I might bump into you when I walked Tug. So he’s aware that I might bring you here to ask you a few things.” Julie commented, assuring Michael as she took of her sneakers and stood up, holding the objects in her hands. Michael nodded slightly, petting Tug. She then walked pass him and placed her shoes on the pile of shoes near Robert’s chair. “But don’t worry, I won’t be like Bashit- I mean, Bashir when I ask you stuff.” Julie went on, shaking her head as she corrected her little flub.
“A-Alright.” Michael nodded, still nervous, but amused by Julie’s flub of Bashir’s name. Julie turned back to face Michael and walked up to him.
“We can talk in the dinning room. My computer’s in there and I wanna be near it in case I want to pull something up on it.” Julie pointed into the other room. Michael nodded and began to walk into that room with Julie following him, Tug opting to lay in the middle of the living room. “Make yourself comfy, I need to give Tug some biscuits and wash my hands. You want something to eat or drink?” Julie went on, walking into the kitchen. Tug perked up the second Julie said the word ‘biscuits’ and instinctively followed her into the kitchen, eagerly awaiting his treats.
“I’ve already eaten something, but I’m a little thirsty. What kinds of drinks do you have?” Michael replied politely, looking at the three chairs by Julie’s computer desk. One was right by the keyboard and had a black cat lying on it, cleaning its paws, another was filled with books, and the third was empty. He took the third seat and sat down while Julie opened the refrigerator door.
“Let’s see… We got water, milk, beer, 7-up, Sprite, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, and Orange juice.” Julie read off, scanning what was inside the refrigerator.
“Orange juice or water is fine.” Michael replied. Julie nodded and grabbed a Sprite can and the carton of Orange Juice out of the fridge. Michael then glanced back over at the chair filled with books, and saw that some of them were sketch books. There were also some Michael Jackson Tribute magazines mixed in the pile, one open to a picture of him from the late 90’s. One of the sketch books was open, showing an unfinished sketch of that same picture, which looked pretty good considering it wasn’t done and was a rough sketch.
“You’re quite an artist.” Michael remarked, looking back over at Julie, who had set the drinks aside and was now grabbing a box of dog biscuits and was about to open it. Julie nearly dropped the box in her hand when she heard what Michael said and felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.
“Oh, yo-you shouldn’t have seen t-that. I-It’s not finished.” Julie said, embarrassed and nervous over Michael finding one of her drawings of him. She looked away, digging out a few small dog biscuits for Tug, who was sitting at her feet, patiently awaiting his treats.
“Why? I think it looks good so far. You don’t have to hide your talents.” Michael stated kindly. Julie kept on blushing and tossed a few biscuits to Tug, which he promptly chased after to eat them.
“Some of my art and stories are kinda stupid or… not for some people.., but I’m glad you like my drawing.” Julie answered, putting away the box of biscuits back on top of the fridge.
“Julie, who are you talking to out-?” the voice of Robert asked from the laundry room, which was attached to the kitchen. Robert’s words trailed off when he exited the room, still walking with one crutch, and saw Michael sitting in the dinning room. Michael paled slightly and waved timidly at Robert.
“Hi.” Michael said meekly. Robert turned to his daughter, who was now checking one of the cabinets above the sink.
“What’s he doing here?” Robert asked, pointing to Michael. Michael bit his lip as he winced at the tone of Robert’s voice.
“He wanted to know how I felt after that reveal thing and I brought him back here ‘cause I have some questions I wanted to ask him… and I’m sure you have some things you’d like to know too, dad.” Julie replied, placing a plastic glass on the counter. She then began to pour the orange juice while Michael let out a sigh.
“I think I know what you’re going to ask me. My skin changing colors, my face changing, the allegations, and all those rumors, correct?” Michael asked, mentally preparing himself to give those answers, something he had to do plenty of time before, especially when meeting people who had believed the many lies about him.
“Just want to confirm some things I want to make sure were true. I’m not sure what dad wants to know, but I’m sure it’s probably what you mentioned.” Julie answered, carefully pouring orange juice into the glass.
“Yes, those were some of the things I want to know.” Robert replied, eyeing Michael carefully. Julie shook her head and placed the carton of orange juice aside.
“Well, where do you want to start?” Michael rubbed the back of his head, bracing himself mentally for the questions and for the ignorance the media and tabloids had fed the two.
“How about those allegations? That you had sex with little boys?” Robert went straight to the big question, the one that caused Michael a lot of grief, pain, and sadness over the years. Julie let out a groan, opening her can of soda.
“Dad, both of those kids lied about that!” Julie exclaimed, catching both older men by surprise. Julie blushed softly. “Sorry, Michael, but this I really want to say something in your defense. Dad, their parents wanted money and went after Michael. The one that was sick apparently faked the whole thing and the other kid was given some truth drug or serum that turned out to, according to what I’ve read, be proven unreliable. Also, where was that first kid when the trial for the second allegations came up, huh? Never showed up at all!” Julie apologized to Michael, then explained to Robert.
“Then why did he pay off the first kid and his family, huh?” Robert asked back. Julie groaned, holding the Orange Juice carton in her hands. She was sure she gave an answer to that sometime ago, but at that moment, she didn’t have a solid answer.
“Because I didn’t want it to become like the OJ Simpson trial and have it dragged out for a long time.” Michael spoke up in place of Julie, causing the father and daughter to turn and look at him. Julie smiled slightly in relief while Robert frowned. Michael sighed, glancing down at his now clasped hands that rested on his lap. “Plus, I was still recovering from a medical addiction and I just wanted the lies and accusations to stop. But I swear to you, Robert, on the lives of my children, I never had sex with or hurt a child. Ever!” Michael went on, stating the last word firmly as he looked back up and stared straight at Robert.
“Proof enough for you, dad?” Julie asked, placing the Orange juice back in the fridge. Robert said nothing but nod, letting what he heard sink in. Julie then grabbed the two drinks and left the kitchen, walking over to Michael. She gave Michael the glass of Orange juice and sat down by the computer, her can of Sprite still in one of her hands while using her free hand to nudge the black cat off the chair.
“Next, I believe you want to know, is about my skin condition, correct?” Michael asked, taking a sip of juice before speaking. Julie took a drink of her soda and nodded yes.
“I know you have Vitiligo and you’re not lying about it. I’ve seen plenty of images and read about it.” Julie stated in reply, placing the can on the table.
“You really believe he has that?” Robert questioned his daughter, resting his arms on the kitchen counter and leaning against it. Julie turned to her computer and began to look up something.
“It’s a real disease, Mr. Shields.” Michael replied definitely.
“And I have some pretty solid proof too, dad. Just give me a minute.” Julie added, focusing on her computer screen. Michael looked over to see what Julie was doing and saw that she was going through a folder on her computer labeled “Michael Jackson”, which clearly had many images of him. At first he felt a little creped out by this, but after noticing that she wasn’t cringing or making fun of them nor were any of them of him in unflattering circumstances - from what he could see of them from the thumbnail images that she scrolled past - he started to relax.
“Ah, here it is!” Julie exclaimed, double clicking on an image and pulling it up on her computer screen. Robert made his way over to Julie’s computer to get a better look and Michael stood up and peered over Julie’s shoulder to see what image she had used.
It was a behind the scenes shot from the filming of “They Don’t Care About Us”, the version shot in Brazil. Michael in the image was wearing a ripped white t-shirt and blue jeans. His exposed chest and forearms had dark looking spots and splotches on them, an obvious sign that 1. He had no makeup on those parts, and 2. He really did have the skin disease Vitiligo.
“He wasn’t painting or bleaching himself, dad. That’s a real disease; the proof is there in black and white.” Julie stated, pointing to picture-Michael’s chest. Michael gave a small smile while Robert frowned, looking at the picture closer. “Trust me, dad, he has a skin disease. He’s not bleaching himself or painting himself.” Julie added.
“The only thing I do to it is put a skin cream to even out the color of my skin and hide the splotches, which made my skin get lighter.” Michael put in. Robert nodded, acknowledging that answer.
“Alright, then, what about your-?” Robert started to ask.
“My face? Surgeries and how many I supposedly had?” Michael sighed, cutting Robert off. Julie slumped in her chair, realizing what she had unleashed. Her dad was doing what he and her mom had done to her the nights before, but this time it wasn’t her being drilled for info, it was Michael.
That was what happened for next several minutes: Robert asking for confirmation to many of the tabloid rumors he had heard and Michael answering each question honestly, with Julie popping in with footage or a picture or two to back up Michael’s claim. Julie fought back the urges to yell at her father for some of the questions and almost did when Robert asked about Michael’s children. Michael got very defensive as well when that subject came up, even getting a bit teary-eyed as he talked about them, especially when he said that he still loves them and hoped one day, once this insanity was over, he could be reunited with them.
After that emotional explosion and defensive action, things calmed down a bit and pretty soon, the three were talking casually with Julie asking normal questions ranging from “What’s your favorite Disney movies?” to “What was one of your best pranks you ever pulled on someone?”. Robert also started to relax a bit around Michael, seeing the rock star in a different light. He saw that Michael wasn’t a freak like the news and the tabloids claimed he was, but a normal man with some different interests and likes. In the middle of the talk, the same cat Julie moved from her chair decided to make himself comfortable on Michael’s lap. Robert started to move in order to remove the cat, but Michael said he didn’t mind having Scooter - the name of the cat - on his lap and thought the black cat was adorable.
Soon enough, Michael had to leave to return to work. As he was leaving, Robert stopped him and walked over to him. Michael was a little worried when he turned to see Robert, wondering what he was going to say.
“I... I want you to know… I was wrong about a lot of things about you. You’re a little odd, but you’re not a freak or a pervert. And… I’m sorry you have to go through all this crap. I don’t know how I’d be if I had to be in your shoes, being separated from the people I love.” Robert told Michael sincerely. Michael stared at the slightly older man in surprise, then smiled warmly.
“Thank you, Robert.” Michael spoke kindly.
“Call me Bob.” Robert corrected.
“Alright… Bob.” Michael restated, continuing to smile kindly, then left the house with a slight bounce in his step. Robert turned to Julie, who was staring in a mixture of amazement and surprise at the door from her spot in front of her computer.
“What?” Robert asked his daughter.
“Nothing. Just a bit surprised… You really believe everything he said? That wasn’t all B.S. you said?” Julie replied, then asked back.
“No, not B.S., it was real.” Robert answered honestly.
“Really?” Julie raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Robert made his way over to Julie and sat down in the chair Michael had been sitting in.
“He’s not like how I imagined at all. He is childish, but… also mature. He loves classic movies and literature along with cartoons, pranks, and video games. And please tell me I heard him swear when you were talking about that Simpsons episode when Homer was taking medical marijuana and quoting that episode?” Robert remarked, then asked curiously. Julie let out a loud giggle.
“Yes, dad, he did say ‘God damn’ and apologized profusely after doing so.” Julie replied, grinning in amusement. The lead up to the incident was, by accident, Julie’s fault for going on about a Simpsons episode that made Michael crack up and actually say ‘God Damn, girl, you sure know your shows’, much to Robert’s surprise. Michael then blushed and began apologizing profusely to Robert and Julie for his language, much to both Robert and Julie’s amusement and to the formers’ surprise.
“So… you think he’s still a freak?” Julie asked cautiously.
“Not really. He’s weird, but not… well, I’m surprised by how smart he is and… I do admit, he is childish, but he also seems mature as well.” Robert explained honestly. Julie smiled slightly, grabbing her soda.
“He’s a very unique, caring, and generous person, dad.” Julie stated, leaning back in her chair before taking a sip of her soda. She couldn’t help but be proud. She managed to somewhat convince her father that Michael wasn’t a perverted freak who slept with little boys and, with Michael providing the most help, showed that he was a normal man.
She then frowned slightly to herself. Explaining those things to the other two members of her family wouldn’t be as easy. Will was often a skeptic, but he was willing to listen to her. Janet, however, was very stubborn and would be harder to convince.
Second half will deal with Janet, plus a mall trip that leads to some seriously needed talking.