You Are Not Alone

Lily's POV

Lily was in a daze as Michael pulled her along with him. Her mind was still back in the kitchen. She couldn't believe Michael had kissed her. Sure, it was just a peck, but it was on the lips! She couldn't allow herself to hope though. After all, it was probably just a friendly show of affection. Figuring that he probably acted like that with most of his close, female friends, she shook away her thoughts. When her mind returned to the present, she realized they were standing outside of a small shed close to the pool.
"So, what are we doing?" Lily asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"We are going to have a Super Soaker fight!" Michael grinned, excitedly. Lily giggled at his childlike excitement.
"A water gun fight, Michael? You're such a kid", Lily replied, grinning as well.
"It's kind of a rule at Neverland. During your stay, you have to get wet at least once", Michael said, winking mischieviously.
Been there, done that already, Lily blushed at her inappropriate thoughts. Slamming the door on those thoughts, she cleared her throat.
"Oh yeah? Prepare to get soaked, Mr. Jackson!" Lily exclaimed, feigning confidence. She had heard how good he was at these things. She knew she'd already lost.
"Oh, girl, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into! You are going down, Miss Lily", Michael smirked confidently. "And don't think that just because it's your birthday, that I'll go easy on you", Michael added, sticking his tongue out at her.
"Yeah, yeah! We'll just see about that", Lily said, returning his smirk. Michael just shook his head and laughed.
Opening the door to the shed, Michael gestured for her to go in. The shed held all the tools for maintaining the pool as well as a ton of pool toys. There was an entire bin filled to the brim with nothing but Super Soakers.
"You really like your Super Soakers, dontcha?" Lily said, giggling. Michael grinned.
"Heck yeah! I love Super Soakers, water balloons...they're so much fun!" Lily couldn't help but think his excitement was ridiculously adorable. Soon, they had both filled their water guns and were standing in the middle of an open expanse of his giant backyard. A few trees and boulders were scattered throughout the grounds. After wishing each other good luck, they were about to run off to take cover.
Suddenly, the back door opened. Michael and Lily turned in the direction of the house to see a woman standing outside of the house. From where they were standing, Lily couldn't tell who she was. Looking over at Michael, he turned to her and smiled. Holding his hand out to her, she took it and he walked her towards the stranger. As they got closer, Lily recognized the woman immediately. Her eyes widened as she realized she was about to meet Janet Jackson!
"Hey, Dunk", Michael said happily, hugging his sister.
"Hey, Applehead", Janet said grinning and returning the hug.
"I wasn't expecting you today. What's up?" Michael asked, still smiling.
"No reason. I just thought I'd come visit my favorite brother today. Randy's around here somewhere", she replied. Janet noticed Lily standing next to Michael and looked at Michael expectantly.
"Oh, sorry! Dunk, this is my friend Lily. Lily, my sister Janet", Michael introduced them. Lily held out her hand to shake, but was caught off guard when Janet stepped forward, hugging her.
"It's so nice to finally meet you, Lily", Janet said, smiling her beautiful smile.
"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm a big fan of your music", Lily said nervously. Janet grinned even wider.
"Aww, thanks, girl! I wasn't expecting to meet you today. I've heard so much about you!" Janet gushed.
"Uh, y-you have?" Lily asked confused. She looked over at Michael, who was shuffling his feet and looking rather embarrassed.
"Yeah, Michael talks about you all the time!" Janet continued, not noticing the deep blush that was forming on Lily's cheeks.
"So, anyway! We were just about to have a Super Soaker fight. Wanna join in?" Michael asked suddenly. He was clearly trying to get his sister to shut up.
"Of course! Do I ever turn down a chance to whoop your behind", Janet said, punching his arm playfully.
"Oh, please, Dunk! You've never beaten me and you know it", Michael scoffed. The back door opened once again, this time revealing Randy.
"What's up, Mike?" Randy said, coming to give his brother a quick hug.
"Hey, Randy", Michael greeted. "We were getting ready to have a Super Soaker fight. Oh, by the way", Michael turned to me. "Randy, this is Lily. Lily, my brother Randy." Lily was once again taken by surprise when he gave her a quick hug.
"Nice to meet ya, Lily", Randy said, smiling.
"You, too", she replied, returning a shy smile. Randy went off to get a water gun, when he came back, Michael clapped his hands.
"Alright, boys against girls?" Michael asked. Everyone agreed. "I'm comin' after you, girl", he said, pointing at Lily while walking backwards.
"Bring it on, Jackson", Lily said, holding her arms out confidently. Michael raised his eyebrow while Randy and Janet laughed at their trash talking. With that, the two teams ran off in opposite directions.
"Oh, did I forget to mention? NO RULES!" Michael yelled. Janet gave Lily a look that told her she should be worried about that.
The four of them had been at it now for about twenty minutes. Randy and Janet had managed to get each other pretty soaked. Lily and Michael were both dry. They were running and dodging each other while Janet and Randy cheered for their teammates from the sidelines. Realizing Lily was better at this than he expected, Michael made a suggestion.
"Okay, this is going to take forever. How about this? I'll close my eyes and count to a minute while you hide. It's only fair that I give you a little advantage", he said cockily. Lily's mouth dropped open and she scoffed.
"Well, aren't you just full of yourself, Mr. Jackson?" Lily scoffed.
"I dunno, girl. I think you better take that deal", Janet spoke up. She knew that Michael NEVER lost.
"Fine, but you'll regret it, Applehead", Lily sighed. Michael couldn't help but smile and blush when she used his nickname. Randy and Janet must have noticed, because they were smirking at each other.
"Alright, you better get a move on girl", Michael said. With that, he closed his eyes and counted slowly. Lily shot off like a rocket, looking for a good hiding spot. Coming across a tall tree, she began to climb. As she ascended the tree, she saw that the branches seemed to form a seat. Lily wondered if Michael ever came up here.
"Oh, Lily! Come out, come out, wherever you are", Michael's voice sounded in the distance. She had to cover her mouth, so as not to give away her position. After a couple of minutes, she heard footsteps coming closer. Looking down below, she saw Michael passing right under the tree. Grinning, she aimed her gun square at the middle of his back and fired. Surprised, Michael spun around. Realizing where the water was coming from, he looked up and spotted her.
"Hey, Applehead! Surprised?" Lily asked, waving and flashing a cheeky smile.
"You sneaky girl. You're gonna get it!" Michael warned, playfully. Lily climbed down a ways, then jumped onto the ground below.
"Is that right? Looks like I already got you", she replied.
"Yeah, but my gun isn't empty", Michael smirked, waving his Super Soaker. Lily suddenly, wasn't so cocky.
"Uh oh", was all she could say. Her eyes darted around, seeing if she could make a run for it.
"Don't bother. I've got you now, girl. HAHAHAHA!" Michael laughed, sounding like a cheesy movie villain. Lily smiled and shrugged.
"I gotta try", she replied. With that, she was off like a rocket. Michael was quick to follow. She laughed when she turned around, finding him running at her heels.
"Damn, girl! I didn't know you could run so fast", Michael yelled after her. Lily laughed but didn't slow down.
"Track, all four years of high school", she answered breathlessly, still running. Lily yelped when she suddenly felt two hands grab her around the waist. The two of them fell to the ground in a heap, laughing like little kids.
"Well, it looks like I won", Lily panted, sticking her tongue out.
"Oh, really? Is that the way it looks?" Michael questioned. Lily's brow wrinkled as she frowned. She squealed as he raised his water gun and got on his knees beside her. Mercilessly, he emptied all of his water into her face.
"AHHH", Lily shrieked, holding her arms in front of her face. "Michael, stop! Hahaha, no, quit it!" She sputtered and laughed. She went to sit up, but Michael climbed on top of her, straddling her hips. Lily would have taken the time to be embarrassed, but something caught her eye. Michael threw his now empty Super Soaker on the ground, then pulled a smaller water pistol from the back of the waist of his pants.
"You little cheater!" Lily gasped.
"Uh uh uh, no rules. Remember?" Michael corrected her. With no remorse, once again, he opened fire on her face. As Lily tried to shield herself, she was laughing uncontrollably. Suddenly, she froze, and smiled up at Michael. He cocked his head at her.
"What?" Michael asked, looking suspicious.
"No rules, huh?" With that, Lily raised her hands, attacking his sides with her fingers. Michael was caught off guard. He fell to the ground next to her, rolling around and giggling as she tickled him. Taking the opportunity, Lily grabbed his little water pistol and got on top of him. He yelped as she shot him in the face, like he had done to her.
"Girl", *cough*, "you play", *cough cough*, "dirty", Michael sputtered between coughs and giggles. Lily froze when he grabbed her hips. Trying not to sound nervous, she kept on with her trash talk.
"Says the guy who hid an extra gun in the back of his pants!" Lily said with mock indignance.
"Touché", Michael conceded with a smile. Suddenly, his smile was replaced by a serious expression. Slowly, he raised a hand, smoothing her damp hair behind her ear. "You're so beautiful, Lily", his voice was just above a whisper.
Shocked at this turn of events, Lily's breath caught in her throat. His fingers softly skimmed along her cheek. Involuntarily, her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned into his touch. She opened her eyes to see Michael staring at her with a look of adoration. His gaze was so intense that she felt like he could see straight into her soul. Placing his hand on the back of her head, Michael bit his lip. He looked at her as if asking for permission. Even though her head was screaming at her to stop this, her heart took over. Nodding, she let him pull her down towards him. They were so close that Lily could feel his breath on her lips. Closing her eyes, she waited for his lips to touch hers.
"MICHAEL?" "LILY!" They pulled apart and quickly stood up as Randy and Janet came walking towards them in the distance. Catching each other's eye, they both blushed and looked away awkwardly.
"Dammit", Michael muttered under his breath. At least that's what Lily thought he said...