🌴🐚 bambi's bookshop 🐚🌴

pepper had been talking about meeting michael for two whole week straight.

not because he was famous, not because he was the michael jackson, no. it was because, in her words, ‘he sang the zombie song’.

y/n smiled as she adjusted the pink bow set neatly on top of pepper’s braid, her daughter’s favourite hairstyle that she’d woken up extra early to have done.

“you remember what we practised, peps?”

pepper nodded very seriously.

“hello michael,”

“and?”

“oh, and thank you,” she said, her sweet voice filled with determination to remember all her lines.

y/n smiled proudly, smoothing one of the creases on the front of pepper’s favourite little dress, and giving her bow one more fix before she leaned back, admiring her own handiwork.

“that’s my girl,” she nodded approvingly as pepper beamed up at her.

the line to meet michael was long, no doubt filled with hundreds of fans as pepper held her mother’s hand, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

for once in her life, pepper was unusually quiet.

the room was packed full of people squeezed together, barely any room to breathe.

every now and then, pepper would step on her tip-toes as high as she could go, huffing in annoyance when she still couldn’t see past the people in front of them.

“mama?”

y/n looked down.

“is michael behind all those people?” she asked, her eyes full of wonder.

y/n smiled, looking up, a sea of people blocking her view of the small table at the back of the room.

“he is,” she whispered, lifting the girl into her arms, “and he’s waiting especially for you,”

“really?” pepper gasped, one of her little hands coming to her mouth, “just for me?”

“just for you,” y/n echoed her words as the girl turned her head, her eyes still wide, to look at the sea of people in front of them.

pepper was silent for a second, her head resting on her mother’s shoulder as she took a small stop forward whenever the queue moved on.

“i hope he likes me,” the girl spoke after a few minutes, fiddling with the friendship bracelet on her wrist.

y/n brushed a loose curl out of pepper’s face.

“how could he not?”

pepper shrugged, her little legs swinging as y/n took another step forwards.

“i’m going to use my best manners,”

“i know you are,”

the queue shuffled forwards again.

people were laughing, cameras flashed every few seconds, security guards quietly directing the line along until, finally-

there he was.

michael was dressed in black and gold, his long, black hair framing his face, smiling up at whoever stepped to the table next.

a few people, and finally, y/n set pepper down, letting her walk to the front shyly.

“hello,” michael leaned down, his voice softer than usual as pepper blinked, star struck for a second.

“it’s okay, peps,” y/n said, crouching so she was the same height, “remember what we practised,”

the little girl stared for another few seconds before remembering everything she'd practised all week.

"hello, michael,” her voice came our barely louder than a whisper.

“hello,” he leaned forwards over the table, “what’s your name?”

pepper froze again, looking up at y/n for help, her eyes wide.

“it’s okay, tell him your name,”

“it’s-it’s pepper,”

"pepper," he repeated, as though it were the prettiest name he'd ever heard, “that’s a beautiful name."

pepper hid back behind y/n’s leg.

“thank you,” she mumbled, fiddling with the material of y/n’s jeans as michael smiled.

“she’s shy,” he noted, his gaze meeting hers for a second.

"which is funny," y/n laughed softly, “because she hasn't stopped talking about meeting you for two weeks,”

"really?"

pepper gave the tiniest nod.

"that's very sweet,” he said, signing a photo laid out on the table, before his gaze returned to the little girl again.

"can i ask you something?" he lowered his voice playfully, like he was telling a secret.

pepper nodded again.

"what's your favourite song?"

“the zombie one,” she said, her voice still quiet, but y/n could tell she was becoming more comfortable.

“the zombie one?”

“thriller,” y/n explained, “she calls it that because she likes the dance bit with all the other zombies,”

“i like when you dance with all your friends,” pepper said, stepping out from behind y/n.

“my friends?”

”the zombies,” y/n said.

michael laughed, nodding as he leaned back down to pepper.

“have you told them about me?” she asked, her voice full of curiosity as y/n watched silently.

“not yet, but i will,” michael promised, watching the little girl’s face light up.

pepper looked completely satisfied with that answer, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

“they can all come to my birthday party if they want,”

“that’s very kind of you,” michael said, pressing his lips together to stop himself from laughing at the thought of zombies at a little girl’s birthday party.

“but not the scary one who does the voice,”

“the scary one?” michael echoed.

“she loved thriller,” y/n stepped forwards to explain, “but she makes me stop it before the monologue at the end,” .

“don’t tell anyone,” pepper said seriously, dropping her voice to a whisper as michael played along, leaning forwards, “but i hide behind the sofa when it comes on,”

“do you?” michael whispered back, as pepper nodded seriously.

“you know, i get scared a lot too,” he sat back properly to sign the poster that pepper had laid out.

“actually?”

“all the time,” he spoke back, “but you know what i do?”

pepper leaned in closer.

“i make sure all the things hiding in the dark know that they should be scared of me too!” he said the last word a little louder as pepper squealed, jumping back in excitement.

y/n watched proudly, taking her lower lip between her teeth to hide the laugh as michael slid the poster back across the table.

“it was nice meeting you pepper,” michael smile as y/n took the poster into her hand, “i’ll tell my friends about you,”

“bye michael!”

pepper waved over y/n’s shoulder as they were ushered out by the security guards, another fan stepping up to meet michael.

michael signed the poster with well-practised ease, something he’d gotten used to doing as he beckoned another security guard over.

“hey,” michael said, leaning forwards to whisper, “that woman, the one with the little girl with the pink bow, could you find out a bit about her?”

the security guard nodded, whispering to his colleague.

❀❀❀❀

“mama where’s my socks?!” pepper called from upstairs as y/n sleepily picked up the milk from outside, her gaze pausing at the cream envelope on the step.

"in your drawer!" y/n called back automatically as she bent down to assess the envelope.

it felt expensive, stamped with an elaborate wax seal.

closing the front door with her foot, she turned the envelope over.

curiosity getting the better of her, she carefully opened it, a sleek black casette tape sliding out, with a white label stuck to the front.

THRILLER (PEPPER'S VERSION)

“no…” y/n gasped to herself, full of disbelief as she took out the folded piece of paper beneath the tape.

dear y/n, it was very nice meeting you and your little girl! i couldn’t help but think about pepper hiding behind the sofa whenever the monologue happened, so i dug this out the old tapes. now she can dance with all my zombie friends without worrying about the monster at the end please tell her they're still hoping for an invitation to that birthday party. and thank you for bringing someone who reminded me that the smallest conversations are often the most important ones, i hope this makes her smile as wide as she did that day. and perhaps you can forgive me for arranging an unofficial home delivery. with love, michael

at the bottom of the page, squeezed beneath his signature as though he'd thought of it at the last second, was one more line:

p.s i think pepper gets her lovely smile from her pretty mama :)

y/n stared at the final line for a few extra seconds, her cheeks beating up as she red it.

“…cheeky,”

“what?” pepper called from upstairs, still digging round for her socks as y/n folded the letter quickly, unable to stop smiling.

"nothing!”