Bad Era Michael’s POV

I hadn’t slept that great last night; thoughts kept racing in my head, mostly about the current situation. If I was here, was I missing in the present time? Or was it the past? Either way, that thought alone had kept me awake. Were people searching for me? Had the press heard about my sudden disappearance? Did my family know? I was hoping none of that was the case. I didn’t need to get back and try and explain my reasoning for my sudden disappearance. I sighed, it wasn’t like I could exactly call them. I hoped I could return soon.

I got up and got ready my thoughts reverting to just how I’d gotten in this situation. That part still confused me. I made my way to the kitchen, trying to figure it out. I sighed, it wasn’t really any use.

“I guess he left already?” Destiny asked, yawning as she made her way over to the fridge.

“Um, yeah. I believe he left early this morning.”  I said

She sighed in response. “He’s always busy anymore…” She said softly.

I bit my lip. Here was a small piece of needing he missed by being at work and if my work schedule was the same now as it always had been… I sighed. “His work is… very demanding…” I said quietly.

“Yes I know. I just miss him when he’s gone for long periods like this.” She said

“Right, I understand. Doesn’t he take you with him to the studio?” I asked

“He does sometimes and I like going but… it can be boring when they don’t talk about anything I understand.” She said.

I nodded. “Right. I understand.” He said

She smiled at me. “At least I’m not completely alone right now.” She said, pushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

I smiled back. “True. How about I make you something to eat and then we go have a day of fun together.” I suggested.

“I’d like that.” She said with another smile.

“Great!” I said happily “What would you like?”

“Hmm… pancakes?”

“Pancakes it is.” I told her, getting started. Mother always made homemade pancakes when we were younger. They always tasted wonderfully and while she cooked, I would watch her and ask questions. When we were all home of course. I loved remembering moments like that with my mother.

Destiny came over to watch. “You’re making them homemade?” She asked

I nodded. “They’re the best like this.” I said

She nodded with a warm smile, watching as I sifted the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.

“Do you make them homemade a lot?” She asked

“Whenever I have time, yes.” I said with a smile as I made a well in the center to add the eggs and melted butter.

“That’s pretty neat.” She said

I chuckled. “Thank you. Doesn’t um… Michael make them for you too?” I asked. It still felt weird to pretty much refer to myself by name. In all honesty, he felt like a whole different person. Even if I knew that wasn’t the case.

“I’ve never asked him. I didn’t think he knew how to cook.” She said teasingly.

I started laughing as I took out the milk and poured it in with the cracked eggs and melted butter, mixing all of the ingredients together. “Oh? And why’s that?” I asked

“I just figured big-name celebrities didn’t know how to cook and that’s why they hired personal chefs.” She said, keeping the teasing tone.

I laughed more at that. “More like they don’t have as much time or can’t cook as many good dishes as their chefs can. It’s nice to have variety.” I said

“Or maybe you’re all just too lazy.” She said with a grin.

“Maybe!” I said, laughing harder at that. This girl was so entertaining!

Destiny laughed with me as I turned on the stove. I cooked each pancake just enough to where they were their nice golden brown color. Destiny pulled out two plates and set them beside each other. I set a few pancakes on each, sealing up the remaining batter and storing it.

Once I put that away, I cleaned up with Destiny’s help and we talked about different little things. I learned she loved to read, so I asked her what kind of books she liked to read. I found out we had quite a bit in common when it came to books. A number of her favorite authors matched mine and we talked about the books we liked most by those authors.

Destiny was incredibly bright. Truly, she was. I learned she was just thirteen and that for as long as she could remember she’d been reading. This caused me to chuckle.

“What?” She’d asked when hearing my chuckle.

“It’s just… I find it hard to believe you’re thirteen!” I said, putting the dishes away.

“Well, believe it, Applehead. Want my birth certificate to prove it?” She asked with a smirk

I couldn’t help but giggle at that. “No, no, it’s fine. I believe you!” I told her

“Good!!” She said. She had a very spunky personality, which I liked. She was so passionate in all she did.

We made our way to the library and sat in the two large chairs sitting by the fire place. I felt like I wanted to know more about this interesting girl.

“Okay, so besides reading, what else do you like to do?” I asked her, leaning into the chair.

“Well… I really like to draw.” She said “Oh! And I love to write!”

“Really?” I said. “May I see any of this work?”

“Oh… um… I don’t know…” She said shyly, her face blushing in embarrassment. I chuckled softly. She could be so lively but when you focused on her talents, she got quiet. It was sweet.

“Please? I’m curious…”

“Um… well… I suppose it wouldn’t do any harm…” She said “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and watched as she ran off to grab her stuff, awaiting her return. It was a small bit before she came back with a folder stuffed under her left arm. She plopped back down in the chair beside me and rested the folder on her lap. I blinked at just how packed the folder was.

She stared at the folder for a moment before opening it carefully and pulling out a few drawings and what looked to be poems and held them out to me. I smiled and took them, looking through the drawings and reading through the poems in awe. They were each very good. Very detailed and interesting.

“Destiny… these are… wonderful….” I said

“Thank you.” She said softly. I handed the small pile back to her and she gave me another one. I looked through them a bit in silence. I loved a decent number of the pieces. “I haven’t shown these to, too many people….” She said again after a long bit of silence.

I nodded. “I understand. What did Michael say…?” I asked.

“He… never saw…” She said.

I blinked at that. It seemed odd that she’d shown me but not my older self. “Really?”

She nodded in response.

“May I ask why…?”

“I guess a lot of it is always being self conscious of my work. I feel weird showing it all to him… yet I’m not sure why I’m so comfortable sharing it all with you.” She said

“I’m not sure. I do know for a fact though, that he’d like this as much as me.” I said

She laughed. “I don’t think anyone would know that better then you.” She said

I laughed as well. “Maybe not.” I told her.

She just smiled back at me.

Dangerous Era Michael’s POV

Polishing up singles shouldn’t be taking this long. I thought this would go a lot shorter then it was. I guess I’d thought wrong. I sighed, taking a small break from everything. While I did this, I let my mind wander.

Was Destiny okay? I hoped she was. I wanted to spend more time with her but things were just so crazy right now. Normally I’d bring her along but since I’d assumed wrong here, I hadn’t done so this time. I wondered if she might be spending time with my younger self though.

I shook my head at my last thought. It felt odd to refer to someone that way but it was true. I was still trying to get used to seeing myself from three years ago, in something other than pictures. I hoped he was okay too. I didn’t really know what would be the consequence of all this but I hoped we’d get it straightened out soon enough.

On the brighter side, it seemed Destiny could spend a whole day with me despite me having to work. I giggled at the thought. And they say you can’t be in two places at once. Seems like someone lied when they said that.

On a serious note though, I prayed they were getting along well. I remembered how freaked out Destiny had been when seeing the two of us talking. It was definitely enough to make you question your sanity.

“Michael?” I heard someone say.

“Hmm?” I asked looking up.

Bruce Swedien, my audio engineer, started laughing at my distracted nature. “I called your name four times. You’d asked for a five-minute break and well…” He trailed off.

“OH!” I let out a nervous chuckle. “Right, I’m sorry, Bruce.” I said

He laughed more. “It’s okay. You seem like you’ve got a lot on your mind, do you wanna talk about it?” He asked

“Oh, no. No, I’m fine. But thank you, I appreciate the concern.” I said

“You’re welcome. If you don’t wanna talk, do you wanna finish up the last little touches on this song?”

“Yes. That’d be great. But um, after this, I wanna head home.”

“Miss your little girl?” He asked with a grin.

I laughed. “Yes.” I told him

He laughed more. “I understand” He said

I smiled at him.

“Alright then, shall we?”

I nodded. Back to work it seemed.