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Months Later...

"New York?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Nicole shouted frantically, as she eyeballed Michael with the utmost disdain.

"Nicole please keep your voice down! I understand that you're upset, but please try your best to keep it down," Michael pleaded, as he ran over to his bedroom door and closed it shut.

Nicole was making a big scene, and he was sure that everyone who was present in the home had heard her loud and clear, but she didn't care, "keep it down?! How can you possibly expect me to keep quiet after you just told me, that you're moving to New York?! I mean really Michael, how long have you known this?" she quizzed, while resting both of her hands on her hips angrily.

Michael sighed deeply before replying, "I just found all of this out, honestly Nicole. Believe me, there's nothing more that I want to do, than to stay in here L.A. with you, but I can't. I don't have a choice!" he argued.

"Yeah, you have a choice! You have a choice to either stay here with me in Los Angeles or move to New York! It's not that difficult of a decision to make Michael," Nicole argued back.

"You're right baby, it's not a difficult decision. But I can't stay here, I have to go to New York to finish filming for The Wiz, and that's it! I promise, I'll be back as soon as it's all done." Michael tried assuring Nicole, but she wasn't buying it.

"Ok, that's all well and good Michael, but you have no idea how long that's going to be! You're telling me, you could be gone for months maybe longer than that and I won't be able to see you at all! And I'm supposed to be ok with that?" Nicole retorted.

Michael shifted his eyes from one side to the other as he pondered her question, "uh-uhh w-well, I wasn't expecting you to be."

"Of course you don't," Nicole scoffed, throwing both of her hands up in a dramatic fashion.

"But listen! That's why I'm telling you this now, is because I want you to come along with me," Michael said softly, as he grabbed ahold of Nicole's hands and squeezed them tightly.

Nicole lowered her eyebrows, "come with you?" she had to repeat, to make sure that she wasn't just hearing things.

"Yeah! Toya and I already found an apartment out there. It's fully furnished and everything! We just have to head down there and get settled in," Michael replied. Nicole knew that he was completely serious, just from the big boyish smile he had plastered on his face.

"I-I don't know Michael, I'm going to have to think about this," Nicole removed her hands from Michael's and folded her arms across her chest.

"But what else is there to think about Nicole? I don't want to leave you just as much as you don't want me to, which is why I'm asking you to come with me, what else is there?"

"Well Michael, that's a lot easier said than done! Do you have any idea who my parents are?! I can't just move away to New York and expect for them to let me move back here at home, it doesn't work that way," Nicole spat, her parents weren't as lenient or understanding as Michael's, they were beyond old school and believed that once Nicole got out on her own, there would be no returning home.

"Well Nicole, what else do you want me to do, I'm trying the best I can."

"No, the problem is you're not trying hard enough," Nicole replied, with much attitude.

Michael decided to let her little comment fly, he knew it was just her anger talking, "you know what? I already know where this conversation is headed, so I'm just going to end it now ok?" he was never good at confontation, especially when it came to someone like Nicole.

"No, you know what Michael? I don't think we're ever going to come to a solution on this, so maybe we should just end this whole thing." Nicole said somberly.

Michael just blinked his eyes at Nicole, "what are you trying to say Nicole?"

"I said it Michael, I can't do this anymore. You've just gotten too busy for me! I used to believe that I was your number one priorit-"

"You are!" Michael cut in, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, was Nicole actually breaking up with him?

"No I'm not, but it's ok I understand. You have too much going on in your life right now, and you don't need somebody like me getting in the way."

Michael's eyes grew big as saucers and he shook his head furiously, "no, it doesn't have to b-"

"I'm sorry Michael, I-I have to go," Nicole said lastly, before opening his bedroom door, and running off.

"N-No! Nicole please wait!" Michael tried running after her, but it was too late she was already gone.

Hours later, when Nicole had returned home she managed to lock herself up in her room and cried for what seemed like an eternity. It pained her on the inside to let Michael go, but she knew deep down that she didn't have much of a choice.

Michael was no longer the same young teenage boy, she'd met back when she was just fifteen and him sixteen. His career had indeed taken off and pretty soon he would be moving onto much bigger and better things, things that did not include her.

Although deep in her heart she felt there was no other man in this world for her, his career overpowered their relationship and she was certain that nothing, not even their love could surpass that.

So she just had to suck it up and move on from him, she knew he would anyway.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Nicole honey are you alright? Can I come in?" Denise's soft voice called out from the other side of the door.

Nicole quickly shot up in her bed and rapidly wiped all of her tears away, she didn't want her mother to know, that she'd been crying.

She made sure to clear her throat before speaking, "umm yeah mother! You can come in!"

Denise twisted the doorknob and walked in, it didn't take long for her to realize that her daughter had been crying, she could just tell from her body language and red puffy eyes. However, she knew that Nicole would not admit to this openly so she decided to tread the situation lightly.

"Nicole, are you alright sweetie? I was a little worried when you didn't come down for dinner," Denise asked, as she took a seat on Nicole's bed.

Nicole looked up at her mother and nodded, "yeah mama I'm fine, I just don't really have much of an appetite tonight."

Denise clasped her hands together and placed them into her lap, "now, while I would like to believe that what you're telling me is true, I cannot, because I prepared your favorite meal tonight and any other night you would be down there asking me for seconds," she joked, earning a small grin from Nicole.

"But, your being locked up in this room has led me to believe, that something is definitely wrong, and I'm willing to wait for you to tell me what that is." Denise said, getting straight to the point.

Nicole looked up at her mother with big doe eyes and sighed, "I'm doing fine mama really."

"Uh huh, that's what your mouth says, but you're my daughter Nicole, I know when something's wrong with you, so just talk to me dear and tell me what happened."

Nicole rolled her eyes, "nothing happened mama," she started, but Denise gave her a knowing look, letting her know that she wasn't having it.

"W-Well not exactly, i-it's really difficult to explain and I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about it right now."

"Is it Michael?" Denise probed.

Nicole nodded her head in response, she suddenly couldn't find room to speak, because of the big lump that managed to form in her throat. She was sure that another mention of Michael's name would bring her to tears yet again.

"Ok, now I see that we're getting somewhere! Did you two get into a fight?" Denise continued to question.

Nicole paused to pick at the linen on her comforter, before opening her mouth to speak, "well, I wouldn't necessarlily say w-we got into a fight. However, we did have a bit of a disagreement and now we're broken up," she was able to get out, before she could start crying.

"Broken up? Well why is that?"

"It's a long story mother and isn't open for discussion," Nicole said firmly.

"Well, if you can't talk to your mother Nicole, who on Earth can you talk to?" Denise asked, with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Right about now, I wish I can talk to Michael," Nicole admitted.

"So why don't you go try and talk to him."

Nicole made a face, "are you kidding? Michael will never want to talk to me after what I did to him!"

"And what did you do to him?"

"I broke up with him," Nicole whined, as she let her head fall to the floor.

"Why?"

"Because, he's leaving for New York to finish filming for The Wiz and I was upset, because he isn't going to be around anymore."

"Ok now I understand, but honey Michael isn't like us, his career is a lot more demanding than most. You knew the moment you two started dating, that it wasn't going to be easy." Denise explained, but Nicole didn't want to hear the truth right now.

"Yeah mama I know, but it doesn't matter what you or I say, because it won't change anything. So, I'd feel a lot better if we would just stop talking about this right now."

"Fine Nicole, I'll leave the situation alone, but whenever you're ready to talk, you know that I'm always here for you sweetheart," Denise leaned over to kiss Nicole on the forehead, before exiting her room.

"Yeah I know," Nicole mumbled to herself somberly, before falling backward onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, back at the Jackson home, Michael sat on the living room couch in a complete daze. He still hadn't quite grasped on what happened today, but he couldn't seem to get Nicole's harsh words out of his head.

He didn't know why or how they ended up here, but he knew one thing's for sure, Nicole was gone and she wasn't coming back. The very thought of her walking out of his life tore him to pieces, in fact he hadn't stopped crying since she left.

Even though he tried busying himself with little activities to get her off the brain, like dancing or taking little walks down the neighborhood, only to be brought back with thoughts of her. It would be the most littlest things about her to come to his mind, like the way she laugh or her smile, which in his mind, could light up a room.

Every place he went reminded him of her, so finally he decided he couldn't take it anymore and just went straight home, where he sulked.

"Michael? Michael? Michael, is that you in there?" Latoya's high pitched voice called out, as she stepped into the living room. She reached to turn the lamp on and instantly frowned up when she caught wind of Michael's tear stained cheeks.

"Michael? What's the matter with you? Are you crying?" her questions were coming out on top of each other, and quite frankly Michael wasn't trying to listen to it right now.

Latoya took a seat on the couch and moved closer to him, "Michael what happened? Why were you crying?"

"Nicole and I broke up...today," Michael hesitated, his chest slightly heaving up and down.

Latoya put her hand to her chest and gasped dramatically, "oh no! Why is that?" she asked, as she eyed Michael.

"I don't want to talk about it," Michael sighed. Although he wasn't trying to be rude, he hoped that his short answers would make her go away quicker.

However, Latoya didn't quite catch the memo, "well, have you tried talking to her?"

"Already tried that," Michael commented.

"No, but see you haven't tried hard en-"

"Look Toya, there's nothing left to be said! As a matter of fact? J-Just leave me alone!" Michael shouted angrily, before hopping off of the couch and exiting the room.

All Latoya could do was sit there completely dumbfounded, and unsure of what to say next.

 

***

 

Weeks later, when the time finally came for Michael to leave for New York, Nicole was completely devastated.

So much so, that all she wanted to do was be locked up in her room and lay in bed all day. Needless to say, she wasn't over their break up just yet, and couldn't bare even the slightest sight of Michael.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Nicole sweetie, are you awake?" Denise lightly knocked on the door, before voluntarily letting herself in the room.

"No mom, you know you're always welcome to come in," Nicole said, with a drip of sarcasm.

Denise ignored her sly comment and sat down on the bed, "thank you sweetie," she cooed, as she raised her hands to pinch Nicole's cheeks.

"But anyway, what are you doing locked up in your room? Aren't you going to at least say goodbye to Michael, before he leaves?" Denise questioned, as she leaned up to rub the back of Nicole's head softly.

"For what? I haven't even spoken to him since we broke up, we have absolutely nothing to talk about," Nicole spat, bitterly.

"Look baby, I understand that you're still upset about what happened, but you have to remember that you and Michael were friends first. So why not just be a good friend and see him off?" Denise asked sweetly.

"Y-Yeah alright mama, I'm not guaranteeing anything, but if I can I'll stop by there and say goodbye to Michael," Nicole sighed.

"That's all I'm asking baby, besides you never know, you might end up feeling a whole lot better afterwards," Denise pat Nicole gently on the shoulder, before exiting the room.

"Yeah I'm so sure about that," Nicole whispered to herself.

Saying goodbye to Michael was the last thing on her mind, but since they were once friends like Denise mentioned, then it couldn't hurt to give it a try right?

"Then again, if I go over there I might just look desperate, and I damn sure don't want to give off that impression," Nicole heard herself say.

She spent a few more minutes mentally going back and forth with herself, before deciding that making amends with Michael, was probably the best decision.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Nicole, how are you doing today?" Katherine greeted, with the sweetest smile.

Nicole smiled faintly and crossed her arms, "hi Katherine, umm is Michael in? Can I speak with him?"

Katherine's smile slowly faded at the mention of Michael's name, "oh honey I'm sorry, but you just missed him, he and Latoya just left for the airport less than an hour ago," she replied, much to Nicole's dismay.

"O-Oh umm well, in that case I'm sorry for dropping in like this, I was hoping to catch him before he left," Nicole replied, sadly.

Katherine looked up at Nicole with sad eyes and nodded, "I know sweetheart, I'm so sorry you didn't get a chance to catch him. But I tell you what, once Michael is in New York and gets settled in, I'll be sure to tell him to call you first thing, how about that?"

As good as that sounded, Nicole knew that it was much too late for that now. Her chances of making things better with Michael were good as over, far as she was concerned.

"No that's alright Katherine, thanks anyway and I'm sorry for barging in on such short notice."

"Oh Nicole it's no bother at all. Listen, even though Michael isn't here you're still welcome over anytime you'd like alright?"

"I know, thanks Katherine, I'll see you later," Nicole leaned up to give Katherine a gentle hug, before walking off.

After Nicole took the long walk to her house, she was surprised to find Denise sitting on the living room couch, awaiting her arrival.

"Hey sweetie, how did everything go?" Denise asked, with a sweet smile plastered on her face.

However, the question alone made her all the more upset, as the reality of Michael leaving finally began to set in.

"I didn't catch him in time, he and Latoya already left for the airport."

"Oh honey I'm sorry," Denise replied, with the utmost sympathy.

"Yeah, me too," Nicole said lastly, before running down the hallway to her bedroom, and slamming the door shut behind her.

She jumped atop her bed and, buried her face into her pillow, where she damn near cried herself to sleep.

Now that Michael was gone, she knew that she'd blown any chances she had left with him, and was slowly beginning to regret all she'd said to him the very last time they talked.

Chapter End Notes:

OK so another update for you loves!

While I don't really know when exactly did Michael move to New York back in the 70's, I tried my very best to wing it, so if I got the date wrong please forgive me!

Anyway I really appreciate those who do leave reviews cause your opinion means the most to me. I take all kinds of criticism so if there's something that you feel I need to improve just let me know.

On the other hand, Nicole is highly upset that Michael has left, do you think it was right for her to break up with him, without hearing him out first?

Please remember to leave a review.Enjoy!

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