2 Hours Later
Ricky and Eric came home from basketball practice. Well, Eric was practicing, Ricky watched and played a little, but wound up losing in a one-on-one match. They were heading to the kitchen to see what Alex was cooking until they saw me and Michael on the couch, sleeping and cuddled up to each other. Ricky had a shocked face and Eric was chuckling.
"Who's that with our sister?" Ricky asked.
Eric turned to Ricky. "Ricky, that's Michael Jackson. You should know that." He said.
"Nu-uh. That isn't Michael Jackson."
Alex came out of the kitchen when Ricky said that and went up to them.
"Guys, let Beck and Michael sleep. They're tired." Alex said in a whisper.
Alex led Eric and Ricky to the kitchen and talked with them.
"I refuse to let her be near someone like him. He's not the same!"
"Ricky, listen! She's not a baby anymore. This is her choice, not ours. Besides, I was aware that they like each other. Let them be, especially Becky, okay?"
Ricky sighed. "Fine, but still..."
"Ricky, we understand we can be protective of her since she is our baby sister, but we got to let her make her own decisions. We were taught that, remember?"
Ricky nodded. "Yeah...I remember..."
"And I heard from Brandon that Michael got hit on the back of his head. I can tell Becky's taken good care of him."
"We have no other rooms. Where is he gonna sleep?" Eric asked.
Alex turned to him. "Not sure. That's up to our little sister and/or Michael. But I'm sure she'd keep him in her room."
Ricky cut in. "What if he tries something on her, though?"
"He won't. He's, well..."
"He's what?"
Alex whispered. "He's a Jehovah's Witness. He knows not to try anything."
Ricky's eyes went wide. "A JW in OUR house?!" He whispered rather loudly.
"Yeah, but keep it down, okay?" I'm sure she's told him about our religion, too. By the looks of it, he didn't seem to mind."
They sighed and helped Alex cook and set the table for dinner.
A Few Minutes Later
I woke up to the smell of curry. I knew it was Alex's cooking. I looked at Michael and tapped his shoulder.
"Michael? Michael, wake up." I said.
He moved a little, but didn't wake up. I sighed, got up, got one of my little squirt guns filled with water and pointed it to his face, smirking.
"Time to wake up!"
I squirted the water at him and he opened his eyes.
"Ack! Okay, okay! I'm up!" He said, giggling.
I giggled and put my squirt gun up and dried his face. "Sorry, you didn't respond earlier, so I tried this alternative."
"Well it got me awake. Man, now my shirt is wet."
"I'll dry it for you. Come with me."
Before we went up to my room, Alex came out of the kitchen.
"Beck, dinner's almost ready. You staying with us, Michael?" Alex asked. "Like for the night?"
Michael turned to Alex. "Well, um...I don't wanna intrude."
"You're not intruding, Michael. Besides, she's been taking care of you, hasn't she? Feel free to stay over."
Michael smiled a little and nodded. "Alright. Thank you so much, um...what's your name?"
Alex chuckled. "The name's Alex. I'm her oldest brother. Make yourself at home, Michael."
Michael giggled a little. "Okay."
I smiled and took Michael's hand and took him to my room. I let his hand go and went to my drawers.
"You can wear one of my shirts. My dad always got me men's shirts anyway. Would you like to wear long sleeves or short sleeves?"
"Long sleeves is fine, thanks Rebecca."
"Okay." I pulled out a white shirt and a black shirt. "Black or white?"
"Black is fine with me."
I handed him the black long-sleeve shirt and turned while he changed out of his shirt and into the black long-sleeve shirt. Once he got the long-sleeve shirt on, I turned back to him, only to not find him there.
I was confused. "Michael? Where are you?"
Suddenly, I felt arms go around me from behind and I was lifted up.
"Ah!!!"
Michael giggled and I turned my head to see Michael with a smile on his face.
I rolled my eyes. "Michael, really?"
He nodded and put me down.
"I'm gonna get you back for that, Michael."
Soon, we heard our names being called. "Becky! Michael! Come on, dinner time!" I knew it was Alex and Eric calling to us.
Michael looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "Becky?"
I rolled my eyes and giggled a little. "My nickname. Come on. Time to eat."
I took his hand and led him into the dining room.
At The Dining Room
Once we got to the dining room, Michael looked at Eric and Ricky and got really shy and a bit nervous. I let go of his hand and put my hand on his back, patting him.
"There's no need to be nervous, Michael. Since you already know Alex, that is Eric..." I pointed to Eric, who was still in his basketball gear. "And that is Ricky, my other two brothers." I said, pointing to Ricky.
He nodded to them. "Pleasure to meet you." He said.
Eric nodded back, but Ricky was eyeing him. Michael got nervous again. I noticed Ricky eyeing him and glared at him as if saying 'Don't you dare...' Alex saw it and hit Ricky on the back of the head. Ricky looked at him with a 'What did I do' face. Alex replied with his 'knock it off' face. Ricky sighed and finally nodded to Michael, still being cautious. Soon, we sat down and started eating.
Alex brought up an interesting topic of religion. "Michael, we had read that you were raised as a Jehovah's Witness."
Michael nodded. "That is correct, but recently I...I denounced myself from being a JW, mainly because of Thriller and Smooth Criminal."
Alex and Eric were shocked. He had told me that before when we were getting to know each other and such, so it was nothing new to me. Ricky shook his head like he couldn't believe it. They continued talking while they ate, just bringing up random topics and such about life and about the rehearsals.
After Dinner
We cleaned our bowls (well, I cleaned mine and Michael's) and headed upstairs and entered our rooms. Michael and I only stayed in the hallway.
"Where should I sleep? I know it's kinda weird asking that." He said.
"No trouble." I thought about it. "Since you still have a bump on your head, you can stay in my room with me. I'll let you sleep on my bed. I'll sleep on the floor." I said.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Positively sure. Besides, that bump needs a soft place to heal."
Michael smiled a little and gave me a hug and I hugged him back. "How can I ever repay you, Rebecca? You've taken such good care of me."
I told him, "All you need to do is make sure you don't get hit on the back of the head again."
He giggled. "I'll be sure not to."
I then got him into my room and got him a pair of slacks to wear and handed it to him. "Here. You'll need this so you don't have to sleep in your pants."
He took the slacks and nodded. "Thanks."
I smiled and turned so he could change. Once he changed into the slacks, I got my pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. Once I changed, I came out of the bathroom and saw that Michael was being cautious of my bed. I shook my head and giggled.
"What are you being cautious of, Michael?"
"There aren't any dogs in there, are there?"
I giggled. "No, there aren't any dogs in or under my bed. Get in the bed, silly."
He got under the covers of the bed and I fluffed up the pillows a bit for his head.
"Your brother, Ricky...he seems cautious of me. Did I do something wrong? To make him look at me like that, I mean."
I shook my head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Michael. He's just protective. All of my brothers are. Alex and Eric are okay with you, but it'll take a while for Ricky to get use to you. I'll be sure about him, though."
"Alright. I hope he approves as well."
"I'm sure he will. Now you get some sleep." I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, Michael."
He leaned up and kissed me softly and looked at me after putting his head back on the pillows. "Goodnight, Rebecca."
Soon, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. I grabbed a blanket and a couple pillows and set them on the ground. I laid down on the floor, putting my head on the pillows and covered myself with the blanket and hummed Over The Rainbow and soon fell asleep.