Chapter 2

Jermaine looked around.

He realized he was in the back of a limo, with 2 bodyguards in front of him. Full of confusion, he could hear loud screaming fans outside, pounding on the black tented windows. It sounded like chaos outside. He knew wherever there were screaming fans, there was Michael. So he wondered, where IS Michael?

Jermaine took his shades off and yelled towards the driver, "Hey where's Michael?"

The driver laughed loudly. "Who cares about Michael Jackson?"

Jermaine's eyes got wide. "Well, I do, I'm his brother...."

"Oh...NOW you care about him, now that you're on top." the driver laughed again.

"What the hell is going on?" Jermaine whispered somewhat to himself.

He looked outside and past the screaming fans, he saw a man walking on the sidewalk. He was walking hunched over, hugging himself, trying to keep himself warm. It didn't take long for Jermaine to know that that was Michael.

"Your success," the driver said. "Had beaten up Michael's already tarnished reputation completely. Soon,everyone forgot about him. He had some kind of mental breakdown."

Out of guilt, Jermaine said, "Stop the car."

The driver did so.

"Get him in here." Jermaine commanded. The bodyguards got out of the car. The crowd of fans made a pathway from them to walk past. Jermaine watched the guards talk to Michael. Michael shook his head. He could see Michael mouthing the words "No, no no" over and over again. After a few minutes, they had bribed him into the car. Michael sat next to Jermaine. He seemed to lean as far away from Jermaine as he could. He was shaking, maybe because he was cold and maybe because he was crying so hard. His hair was curly but messy. His eyes remained wide, and teary. Jermaine took his jacket off and gently put it over Michael's shoulders. Then, Jermaine took his hat off. When He looked at it, he saw it was a fedora.

"Hey, Mike?" Jermaine said cautiously.

Michael shook his head. "No,"

"No? No what?"

Michael held the jacket around him. Gazing outside at the screaming fans he said, "No, I'm not...." He paused, and cried. After a moment, he brought himself to speak again. "I'm not Michael Jackson anymore..."

Michael softly touched the window, and ran his fingertips down the glass.

Jermaine was speechless for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"If I was Michael, I'd be singing and dancing. And I'd be loved by someone. I don't even love myself anymore. If I were Michael, all those people out there would love what I do. But...you're Michael now."

"If I'm Michael..." Jermaine said cautiously. "Then, who are you?"

Michael broke into tears again. "I don't know WHO I am anymore. Why should I? Who would care? No one cares."

"But I love you." Jermaine said. He touched Michael's shoulder. "And I care about you."

Michael looked at Jermaine for the first time. "How can you when I've lost the love I had for myself?"

There was a silence.

"Let me out of the car, Jermaine, please." Michael whispered.

"Michael, I'm sorry." Jermaine said.

Suddenly, Michael took something out of his pocket. "It's too late..."

Jermaine gasped when he saw the gun pistol pointed at him. He suddenly realized the bodyguards were gone.

"No, Michael, no. It doesn't have to be this way. If you do this, it'll make things worse..."

Michael shook his head. "No, after I kill you...I'll kill myself. It'll be fine..."

"This is crazy, don't do this!" Jermaine cried.

Michael shrugged. "See you soon"

Jermaine woke up to the sound of a gunshot. He looked up and saw Michael. The features of his pale face were accented with shadows from his dark room. His large eyes looked down at him. Jermaine screamed.

"Shh! Shh! Calm down! "As Michael said this, he began laughing.� "Calm down, it's only a dream. It's only me."

Jermaine quickly sat up. He glared at Michael for a long moment. Michael gave a broad, almost threatening, smile.

" I heard you talking in your sleep. So I came in here." Michael said. " You got to learn the lines between dreams and reality. "He paused. "If there is a line."