Venus

When Michael hung up, you felt a huge smile plant itself on your face. After you placed the phone back on the hook, You cheered and jumped around like you just won the lottery. You had felt like breaking up with Mark was going to make you feel bad for cheating, but after that entire ordeal you just had with Mark, you wished you had broken it off sooner. You were happy with how Michael did it. Although it was extremely sudden, it was effective in rubbing it in Marks face that he lost you to a rising global pop star. He was gonna have to hear Michael’s songs on all of his favorite radio stations, see Michael plastered everywhere, hear people around him singing his songs and talking about him 24/7, you were content with how Michael’s way of telling Mark was going to haunt him.

Michael, on the other hand, was petrified. The entire drive to your apartment, Michael’s mind was racing as Bill drove, unaware of how much trouble he thought he was in. Quincy had tried to reason with Michael and tell him to consider an easier, less semi-public way of telling Mark when he first brought the idea up, but Michael was persistent. Although Michael was happy with the outcome of the song, he was worried that you hated it, or wanted to be in on the creation of the song, or wanted to have a conversation before telling mark, or- “We’re here, Mike.” Bill said, snapping Michael out of his thoughts. “Will you be staying the night, or do I need to plan on picking you up?” Michael tried to compose himself, trying to not show that he was nervous. “Uh, I’ll stay the night, this time. See you, Bill!” Michael said as he shut the door after stepping out. After watching Bill drive away, he took a deep breath as we walked towards the apartment entrance.

As soon as Michael got to your apartment, he nervously knocked on the door. His heart started pounding as he heard your feet stepping towards the door. “There you are, baby.” You say after opening the door. You wrapped your arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. He chuckled nervously and in relief as he returned the affection. “I’m surprised you’re not mad that I didn’t ask you before doing anything…” Michael trailed off while he kissed your neck. You put one of your hands in Michael’s hair before pulling his head back to look you in the eyes. “I could never be mad at you Michael, not for too long.” You smile before kissing him. The kiss was almost immediately passionate and heated. You could feel Michael start to push you towards your bedroom.

When you got to your room, Michael pushed you onto the bed without breaking the kiss. You could feel him grinding his hardening bulge into you. Michael broke the kiss to remove his shirt and you followed suit, revealing your braless form. Michael leaned down and kissed your jaw and trailed down to your neck before stopping to take your left nipple into your mouth. You arched your back at the sensation as you whined. You felt Michael’s hand slide down your stomach and slide into your panties. You moaned as you felt his slender fingers start to rub your clit. You lifted yourself onto elbows, and laughed between moans at a thought you had. “You..ah…you must’ve had a lot of practice with other girls before we, mm.. reunited, huh?” Michael stopped his movements, much to your annoyance, and looked up at you with a surprisingly disappointed look. “No..this is actually my first time. I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, is this ok?” Your jaw dropped in shock. The way Michael touched you felt like it was second nature to him. He was a young, successful, and famous man, so you assumed he had sex with other girls before coming to you.

“This is more than ok, Mike, please, if you don’t continue right now, I might explode.” You and Michael laughed at your desperation as he slid one finger down your slit before inserting it inside you. Michael gently pulled and pushed his finger in and out of you as you threw your head back. “An…Another, Michael, Please.” As soon as you asked, you felt Michael pull his finger out to return with another. As his fingers worked your cunt, you could feel a pressure building up inside you. You grabbed Michael’s wrist to stop him. “What’s wrong, baby? Did I do something wrong?” Michael immediately pulled his fingers out and caressed your cheek with the hand that wasn’t just about to bring you to the edge. You laughed and leaned into Michael’s touch. “No, Mikey, You were about to make me cum, and the only place i’m cumming tonight is on your-“ You cut yourself off by laughing at the way Michael suddenly got shy and covered his face with one of his hand. You put your hand on Michael’s shoulder, causing him to peak through two of his fingers. Even just one of his eyes looking at you was enough to make you melt a little. “Mikey, if you don’t wanna do this, that’s fine, you know? We can do this whenever you’re ready.” Michael finally uncovered his face and leaned in to kiss you. When he pulled away he leaned his forehead against yours. “I..I wanna do this. I’m just shy, you know?” You laughed together as you pulled your pants off and got under the covers.

As you laid back and spread your legs, you felt Michale hesitate after he aligned with your entrance and placed his hands on yours hips. You caressed Michael’s arm with your hand and looked into his eyes, smiling. That was clearly enough to calm his nerves, because he finally took a deep breath and pushed himself into you. As he filled you, you shuddered at the sudden fullness. After you adjusted, Michael started a slow and steady pace. Michael leaned down and kissed your neck while whining at the new feeling of being inside you. You heard him mumble something, but you couldn’t quite understand what he said. “Wha..What was that, Mikey?”Michael moved so that his mouth was right next to your ear. “I..ngh..I said ‘I’m better than that Mark guy, right?’ Your eyes shot open, it hadn’t be too much more than an hour since you and Mark had broken up, and you had already forgotten about him. You hadn’t realized you hadn’t said anything until Michael spoke up again. “Please, girl,” Michael said shakily. “Tell me I’m better.” You place both your hands on the either side of Michael’s head and made him raise his head to look you in the eyes. “You’re so much better, baby, you’re worlds better than him.” Michael whimpered loudly at your words. “I’m close, Angel” Michael cried “Are you close?” You nodded frantically as Michael took your lips into a kiss again. You both whimpered and moaned into the kiss as you finished together. Michael collapsed onto you as you both tried to catch your breath. Michael’s head suddenly shot up in realization. “Oh! I should get you water and a towel to clean you up with, right? I’ll go do that right no-“ You pulled him back down, smiling at his thoughtfulness. “It’s fine Michael, I just wanna lay like this for a while. You kissed his cheek and felt him melt into your touch as you both fell asleep in eachothers arms.

-Act i: Jackson 5; Chapter IV: Closed distance-

As you stepped out of your car at Michael’s home, you felt your heart start to beat faster. Every step made your heart race more and more until you finally reached the door. You hesitated, but eventually knocked. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal “LaToya! It’s been so long!” You exclaimed as you stepped inside. “(Reader)! I’ve missed you these past few months!” LaToya pulled you into a tight hug. “What brings you here?” You smile shyly “Uh..I came by to see Michael.” Latoya put on a sly smile “Oh, well then, I’m sure you remember where his room is.”

You walk up to Michael’s door and as soon as you knock on the door it swings open and you’re enveloped in a hug. “(Reader)! You have no idea how much i’ve missed you!” Michael picked you up and spun you around. “Are tight hugs a common welcome among you Jacksons?” You laughed “I suppose so!” Michael said after finally puts you down.

You and Michael started with playing games. You played a multitude of rounds of twister and uno before settling and catching up on what’s happened in the past 2 months since you had last seen each other. “And then a spider crawled on Stephanie! You should’ve seen the look on her face!” Michael laughed while reminiscing. The smile on your face faltered a little. Until just now, you hadn’t realized that wound had never really healed. You just kinda put a bunch of band aids on it and hoped for the best. “Oh yeah, Stephanie is your girlfriend right?” Michael looked at you with a playfully bewildered face. “What? (Reader), no!” He laughed. Him saying that probably made you feel the most relief and joy you’ve ever felt in your life. “If i’d want anyone to be my girl, it’d be you..” “What?” “(Reader), I like you. I love you. I have since 1971, I just didn’t realize until 4 years later.” Michael said looking you in the eyes. “Michael, you’ve got to be kidding me.” Michael’s heart and face dropped before you finished your statement. “I’ve been in the exact same situation. The only reason I distanced myself was because I thought you were taken.” Michael was visibly relieved as he smiled and laughed. Michael took your hands in his. “(Reader), these past months have excruciating without you. I never want to be apart for that long ever again. Let’s spend the rest of our lives together, okay?” and suddenly you were back in 1971. You in the exact same position as when you were going to kiss Michael, but were interrupted by Randy. The only difference is that this time you actually kissed.

It was soft and innocent. You would’ve kissed him with more aggression passion if it wasn’t obvious you were his first kiss. You could feel his lip trembling as you deepened the kiss. You had taken the lead, pushing him down and crawling on top of him. You could hear him whine into the kiss as he bucked his hips into you slightly. You smiled as you realized that Michael had his hands gripping the bed, shaking. You took his hands and placed them on your waist. As soon as you did that, you felt Michael relax. You felt that life had meaning again when kissing him because you hadn’t felt any of the emotions you were feeling since you got with Mar-oh my god what are you doing?? You immediately pulled away after snapping back into reality. You had gotten so caught up in lust that you forgot about Mark and here you are cheating on him. “(Reader)? Did..I do something wrong?” Michael was a little disheveled from the kiss, his lips wet and pouting slightly. And worst of all he was looking up at you through his lashes with those eyes you could never get out of your head. You were overwhelmed with guilt and ran out of his room and out of the house.

You started avoiding Michael. You refused to answer the phone, avoided the places you knew he hung out at in disguise, you even made sure you kept at least a five block distance from his house. You barely even wanted to talk to Mark. You had no idea how long you were gonna keep this up, but you know you couldn’t face Michael, not right now. you were walking back to your apartment and saw a man standing at your door. He was wearing a hoodie, sweatpants, glasses and a mask, so you couldn’t see his face or anything else about him that would be a defining feature. You were too tired to turn around and you had no friends on your floor, so you just cautiously walked up to the mysterious figure with your hand in your purse, ready to pull out your pepper spray. “Hello, sir. Is there something I can help you with?” The man didn’t say anything. He looked around before pulling his mask down and taking his glasses off. “Michael?” Michael’s eyes were red and puffy as if he’d been crying. His face held an expression of absolute sorrow and pain. “(Reader)..please. Let’s talk.”

You let Michael in and told him to sit on the couch as you got him a glass of water. You sighed as you sat down. “Michael, I-“ “Mike.” Michael corrected. “Call me Mike, not Michael. Anything but Michael. It feels too serious, too distant.” He explained before sipping his water. “Well, Mike, I’m sorry about a week ago at your house. I’m sorry that I kissed you. I was just so overwhelmed with these old emotions coming back that I let myself lead you on.” Michael chuckled “(Reader), you don’t have to be sorry you kissed me! You said you loved me, so how are you leading me on?” “No, Mike. You don’t get it. I’m..ugh..I’m taken.” “Oh.” Michael looked heartbroken, and that only made you feel more guilt. “I planned on telling you, I promise. I just.. forgot about him with you. I was getting a high off of what I was feeling with you.” Michael sighed “Do you love him?” You nodded. Michael paused. “Do you… love him more than me?” Your eyes widened. You opened your mouth for a second before closing it. “(Reader), please. I need you. More than anything.” Michael whispers as he pulls you into his lap, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck. “You don’t even need to break up with him. Please, baby..” The nickname was what made you give in.

You and Michael had a friends with benefits relationship, but the benefits were having someone to kiss and cuddle with who you actually liked, not sex. You kept this up for over a year. Since Michael asked you to help him produce his upcoming album, you had a valid excuse to tell Mark about why you were hanging out with him so much.

It was August 10, 1979 and Off the Wall was finally released. All those months of hard work paid off. Mark had offered to buy the vinyl on release day. You had a record player at your apartment that your parents got for you as a birthday gift, so you and Mark were at your place. As Mark put the needle the record, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough filled the room. Track after track played, all familiar and songs you knew by heart because of how much you worked on them. That was until the 6th track played. Your face scrunched in confusion. You were present for every recording session for the album, so how could this song fly under your radar? You picked up the record sleeve and looked at the back for the tracklist and saw a song called Girlfriend. You were trying to see if you remembered working on this song until Michael started singing.

Girlfriend

I’m gonna tell your boyfriend

“This motherfucker..”You muttered. Michael had talked about telling Mark himself. He was very adamant about it being him, not you. You were never really against him doing it, you just never knew how he would do it. You definitely didn’t think it would be like this.

Mark hadn’t noticed anything until the chorus

We’re gonna have to tell him

You’ll only be a girlfriend of mine

Mark looked over and saw the confused and shocked look on your face. “Babe what’s wrong? You look worried. Is..something wrong with the song?” You looked up at him, but didn’t say anything. You could see the gears turning in his head, connecting the dots. “You fucking whore. I knew it.” Mark yelled while standing up. “I knew you were cheating on me with that guy.” He spat as he walked to you. “Mark, I’m sorry, really I..I meant to tell you-“ Mark slapped you before grabbing you by the jaw tightly. “I don’t care about any apology or excuse you have. You’re never seeing Michael again.” As tears brimmed in your eyes, you looked into Mark’s eyes with hatred and anger. “Get out, Mark. We’re done.” Mark let your jaw go, stepping back slowly while shaking his head. “Fine. I don’t wanna date a slutty groupie anyway.” Mark stormed out of your apartment, slamming the door behind him. Fittingly, She’s Out of My Life was playing as you got up to turn the record player off. You absentmindedly walked over to your home phone and dialed Michael’s number. He picked up almost immediately. “Hello, Michael speaking.” As soon as you heard his voice, you laughed. “That stunt you pulled with that song on your album was clever, Michael.” Michael chucked “Really? It was hard for me and Q to make the song behind your back. I’m glad it worked.” You smiled to yourself. Despite a relationship you had for over a year was now over, you felt happier than ever. “Come over, Michael.”

-Act i: Jackson 5; Chapter iii; Rekindled Emotions-

-April, 1975-

It’s been almost four years since you first met michael, and the past four years have been full of memories. Memories of reading with him, playing games and laughing with him, being a bit too worried for each other when sick, and comforting him whenever Joseph was particularly harsh on him. Speaking of Joseph, he was never fond of you and Michael’s friendship. He always said that you were a distraction for Michael from his work, but that never stopped Michael from wanting to see you.

You and Michael were at your house playing your umpteenth round of Uno. “I win!” You exclaimed proudly while you placed your last card on the deck as Michael threw his head back with his hands on his face, groaning in defeat. “How are you doing this? this is the 7th time you’ve won in a row!” You smiled and shrugged your shoulders. “I don’t know Mike, maybe you’re just bad?” “Oh I’ll show you bad..” Michael lunged at you from across the small coffee table you were playing on and pinned you down, searching you. “Where’s the cards you’re hiding, huh? huh??” He said through laughs as you were laughing and pushing him away. You made the mistake of opening your eyes and looking at Michael. He looked beautiful, in a way you never noticed. His afro was perfectly haloed by the light from the celling fan in your living room. His smile and laugh sent butterflies to your stomach. You were utterly star struck by the sight in front of you until you and Michael turned your heads towards the ringing home phone on the wall. “I’ll get it!” Michael said getting off of you, leaving you on the floor of your living room to process what just happened.

It turned out the person calling him was Janet, telling Michael he had to come back home to rehearse for All I Do Is Think of You, leaving you alone with the weight of a looming question. Do you have feelings for Michael? You did have a sort of tension with Michael after a year of your friendship, but the possibility of you liking Michael never really crossed your mind. You did always like his hair, and his smile, and his big eyes, and voice, and his laugh, and his- Ok, So you definitely do like him. Now you had to consider if you’d just let the feelings sizzle out or if you’d actually pursue him.

Naturally, you chose to try and date him, but to no avail. Michael seemed to be completely oblivious to every single move you made on him for two years. From you always flirting with him, to you constantly touching him more than usual. He’d always just laugh it off or not act fazed by it. You felt like he knew you liked him and was just playing hard to get at some point. You both were eating ice cream cones together at his house when some of the ice cream melted down your hand. When Michael noticed, instead of getting napkins, he grabbed your wrist, pulled your hand to his mouth, and licked your hand clean like it was nothing. you were getting tired of this game you were playing and decided you needed to tell him.

It was April 8th, 1977: the day you finally worked up the courage to tell michael how you felt. You decided to come to his house to confess. You didn’t have to worry about having to travel long because you went to school at UCLA, majoring in Music Theory with hopes of becoming a producer. You got to the door and knocked. A few seconds later Michael’s mother answered the door. “(Reader)! How have you been sweetheart?” Kathrine took you into a tight hug, rocking you side to side. Thankfully, Kathrine loved you, unlike her husband. “Hello, Mrs. Kathrine! I was just stopping by to hang out with Mike!” You smiled at her after she pulled away. “Sorry, (reader), he’s a bit busy right now.” You looked inside the house and saw Michael with Stephanie Mills, the girl who will be playing Dorothy in The Wiz, the movie Michael would be playing the scarecrow in. They were laughing and obviously having a good time. “Oh, I understand! I’ll get going then, see you later!”

Once you got in your car, you pulled out of their property, and pulled over on the side of a road about a block away. You couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of jealousy overcoming you. Your heart was so full of different swirling emotions that you started to cry. You didn’t own Michael and you knew that, but seeing the boy you had known for 6 years, and had been pursuing so persistently for the past two years laughing and smiling so much with a girl he hadn’t met too long ago felt agonizing. You decided you couldn’t let this affect you too much, so to move on from Michael you started throwing yourself into your college work. You eventually met a guy named Mark Porter in the library. He became a study partner and you eventually started dating.

You and Michael were still friends, you just didn’t hang out as much. You were busy with your new position as manager at a local cafe, getting through college, and building up your relationship with your boyfriend. Michael was busy with The Wiz and everything else that came with being a musical superstar. So you naturally grew apart.

You were hanging out in your apartment and Mark was staying the night. The AC and multiple fans on max, since it was July. Suddenly, the phone began to ring. “You’ve got it.” Mark said while lazily sprawling himself across the couch. You rolled your eyes as you got up to answer the phone. His idleness was always something you didn’t like about him. “Hello, this is (Reader) speaking.” “(Reader)!” The familiar voice on the other side of the line exclaimed. “It’s been a while, how have you been?” You froze for a second. “Mike? Is that really you?” You held the phone close to your ear with two hands “Yes, it’s really me.” He said between laughs. “Like I said, it’s been a while, do you wanna hang out tomorrow?” You felt ecstatic at the thought of hanging out with Michael, so ecstatic you forgot about your own boyfriend and how, as far as you’re aware, Michael was taken as well. “Yes! We can hang out at your house and catch up like the old days.” Michael’s laughter at your enthusiasm sent those familiar butterflies to your stomach. Butterflies you haven’t felt in months. “Well, (Reader), I’ll see you tomorrow. Come whenever. I’m always ready for you.” Then he hung up. You were stuck there with a familiar heat rising up your face. His tone was so, sensual? Flirtatious? You couldn’t help but start to feel those buried feelings come back. You checked the clock and saw that it was 10:00 pm and decided to go ahead and go to sleep, not bothering to tell Mark anything.

The next day, you woke up at around 4 AM to get ready. You spent hours getting ready. Lathering yourself in a good brand of lotion to make sure you shined just right, cleaning your face with more care than usual, making sure your hair was perfect, and putting on makeup with precision you didn’t know you even possessed. You hadn’t seen Michael in months and you wanted to make sure you looked like you had your life together. It was about 8:30 AM by the time you were done getting ready. You looked in the mirror one last time to make sure everything was good when you heard the terrible and sadly familiar sound of your boyfriend clearing his throat to get your attention. Something he only does when something is bothering him. “You’re quite dressed up, more than you ever have been for me. What’s the occasion?” He says with sarcastic interest, while still lying in bed. “I’m going to hang out with a friend, Mark. I hope that’s fine with you.” You say still fixing yourself in the mirror. “Oh really? Is it safe to assume this friend is a guy?” You roll your eyes and turn to face Mark reluctantly. “Mark. You always get like this when I go out without you.” “Well, (Reader), I don’t know. Maybe if my girlfriend put in this much effort for me and not some guy I’ve never met I’d be less jealous.” “Controlling is what you’re being, Mark.” You scoff as you walk towards the door. Mark gets up and follows you to the door. “(Reader), come on, babe. Can’t I at least know the name of your second boyfriend?” He jokes as he grabs your wrist and pulls you in. “He’s not my boyfriend, and it’s Michael. We’re childhood friends who are reconnecting after a couple months. Nothing more, nothing less.” You say after laughing. “Fine, I trust you.” Mark leans in to kiss you, but you lean back to avoid it. Something that’s been going on between you two for weeks.

You had been meaning to break up with Mark for a while, but it seemed that every time you built up the courage to, he was particularly sweet to you that day, or he would come to you to about something that he was struggling with. You’d feel too bad leaving him, so you’d stay for another couple weeks and the cycle continued. You still had feeling for Michael, that was something you couldn’t deny. Whenever you and Mark got intimate, you tried imagining it was Michael instead at first but it never worked. Your relationship with Mark had been emotionally dead for a month, but you couldn’t be alone because you knew it would make you think of Michael more than you already did and affect your mental health. You meeting up with Michael was definitely a bad idea, but you needed to indulge yourself for once. As you walked out the door, you knew that the last of any emotion that you had for your relationship with Mark left with it.

After making it through R U Next, You and the other winners, Yunah, Minju, Moka, Youngseo, Wonhee, and Iroha finally debuted as Illit! Your debut EP Super Real Me was a huge success and got international recognition. This recognition led to Illit being invited to New York for an interview and to perform on the Good Morning America show.

Naturally, you and the girls were excited to be able to get such an opportunity so early into your career, not being able to stop talking about it in the weeks leading up to the trip. You guys were going to be in New York for 2 weeks, which meant one day to work, and 1 week and 6 days to do whatever you wanted.

The day finally came for you to take your trip to New York. After a long day of travel, you finally got to your hotel room, which you were sharing with Youngseo. “Finally! We can rest!” Youngseo sighed as she flopped onto the mattress of one of the beds. “You can rest, I’m gonna go explore the city!” You say as you place your luggage on your bed. “Oh I get why,” Youngseo smugly said while rolling over on her stomach, hand holding face. “You heard that your precious Michael Jackson was going to be in town today, so you wanna take your chances of running into him, huh?” Your eyes widened as you became embarrassed. “No!? Can’t a girl explore the place she’s taking a vacation at?” Youngseo sat up on the bed. “Yeah, but considering the fact that you talked Moka’s ear off the whole plane ride over here about Michael, and how much you look up to him, and how you wanna meet him, and how you wish you could ki-“ “Ok ok, I get it!” You say growing more flustered than before. “I’m..gonna go freshen up, then I’ll leave.” You say, walking to the bathroom.

After you left the hotel in sunglasses, a low sitting hat, and baggy casual clothes to conceal your identity, you headed to the music store to get the Off the Wall vinyl and CD. You hadn’t had any free time to get it, so you decided to take the opportunity. As you were flipping through the new release vinyl records, you felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned around to see a man with a trucker hat, sunglasses, and a flannel shirt with buck teeth standing in front of you. “Hey there, you’re into Michael Jackson too?” He says softly. “Oh, uh, yeah! I’ve been following him since the early Jackson 5 days!” The man laughed at your sudden excitement at the topic at hand. “Yeah me too.” He replied “Hey, I think I recognize your voice.. are you (name) from Illit?” Your jaw dropped. This man didn’t seem like the type of person to be a fan of you, especially not to the extent of being able to recognize you from just your voice alone. “Yeah, I am! Are..you a fan?” The man laughed as if you asked the most ridiculous question in the world. “Am I a fan? Of course I am! That’s why i’m holding your album i just bought right now!” The man held up super me version of your album. “Oh wow! You don’t seem like the type of person to be listening to us! Do you want my autograph?” He nodded quickly and as he handed you the album and you grabbed a sharpie you kept in your purse for situations like this. “So, who am I making this out to?” You say while taking the plastic off the album and opening the sharpie. “Michael, please.” You signed the album with your signature and under it you wrote “To Michael, my most unexpected fan <3”. You waved goodbye to Michael after showing more gratitude for his support.

The next day came and before you knew it you were on set for GMA, having your interview before your performance. You and the other girls were asked various questions like “How was the preparation process for your album?” and “What do you see for the future of Illit?” among other things. Finally, the interview was coming to a close and you were asked the final question. “What is your biggest inspiration?” All the girls gave their answers one by one before it was your turn. “Oh, I think we all know what she’s gonna say.” Yunah teases as everyone laughs “My biggest inspiration has to be Michael Jackson! I’ve loved him ever since the Jackson 5 started!” You smile widely “I just bought the CD and vinyl for Off the Wall yesterday!” The interviewer had a shocked look on her face. “Really? Who’d expect an artist to be such a big fan of a completely different genre?” “Yeah she really is such a huge fan!” Moka started “I’d set her up with him if it meant I could get a break from her constantly bringing him up to me!” The crowd laughed again before the interviewer decided to leave it at that and you got ready to perform your song Lucky Girl

Syndrome. Once your part of the song came around you looked into the crowd and noticed Michael from yesterday. You laughed after you saw him get visibly flustered from you waving before continuing performing like normal.

You had just gotten out of the shower and put your pajamas on and we’re putting lotion on when you heard your phone begin to ring. The number wasn’t saved so you let it ring. But when your phone rang again you decided to answer the phone. “Hello, is this (name)?” The strange voice said on the other side of the phone. “Uh…who is this?” You hesitantly asked, getting worried. This mystery man chuckled before revealing himself. “It’s me, Michael” “Michael from the music store?” “No-Well..I guess in a way..” You scoffed at the absurdity of the situation. “Listen. Tell me exactly who the hell I’m talking to.” “Like i told you, it’s Michael, Michael Jackson!” You froze. “You met me while I was in disguise at the music store? I have the album you signed, I even got you for both sets of photocards.” Michael laughed. “But anyways, I wanted to know if you’d like to me-“ You cut him off by hanging up. You felt your knees get weak so you sat down on the bathroom floor. Was Michael Jackson really calling you? And he’s a fan? He even sounded excited that he pulled your photocards! The concept of such a huge star liking your music group, and biasing you was such a bizarre thing to think about. Just as you began to calm down, you realized you hung up on THE Michael Jackson. You immediately picked your phone back up, opened up your call history and hurriedly clicked the most recent number. “Hello? Michael?” you said as you held your phone to your ear with both hands like it was the most precious thing on the planet. “Hello again, (name)! What happened that you got disconnected?” “Oh, uh..I just acted out of shock, I’m such a big fan!” You exclaimed as you rose back to your feet. “Same for me to you, (name)” The tone of his voice gave you chills, it was flirtatious, sweet, and a bit lower than the tone he usually had in public. “I wanna meet you and possibly hang out for the remainder of your trip over here?” You were frozen where you stood. The man you looked up to so much and was basically the reason you wanted to start music wanted to hang out with you? “Yes i’d absolutely love-“ You cleared your throat after realizing you were making a complete fool of yourself with how excited you sounded. “I mean uh..yeah Michael that sounds fine.” the laugh Michael let out made your head spin. “I’ll see you there, (name). Save my number, I’ll text you more details in the morning.” Michael said before hanging up

After Michael hung up, you felt a big smile spread across your face as you laughed happily while basically skipping out of the bathroom. “What has you so happy?” Youngseo said without looking your way as she had a face mask on. “I’m hanging out with Michael Jackson tomorrow! “ You say before screaming and jumping onto your bed. “(name)! Be quiet or else we’ll get complaints! Now go to sleep so you can be up bright and early to get ready for your date tomorrow” Youngseo said before laughing at your groan of embarrassment. “Whatever, Goodnight, Youngseo.” You said before turning the light off. “Goodnight, lovergirl” Youngseo responded with a singsong tone.

As you woke up, you checked your phone and saw a text from Michael.

Hey, (name)! We’re staying at the same hotel, so meet me at room 317 <3

The feeling of getting such a casual text from such a huge star felt so surreal, but you tried your best to seem casual as well.

hi Michael! I’ll be over asap!! don’t think about me too much in the meantime🩷

Immediately after you sent the message, you groaned from the embarrassment of how cringe you felt. What if Michael thought you were weird now? You were questioning why you were being so awkward when you felt your phone buzz in your hand.

Don’t think about that pretty face of yours? Might be impossible for even the most strong willed..I’ll see you soon

“oh my god that actually worked.” you muttered to yourself in disbelief. You got up and put your best outfit on that looked good but didn’t seem like you were trying too hard, your best smelling perfume, left a note for Youngseo, and headed to his room.

After getting off the elevator and walking Michael’s room, you suddenly felt extremely nervous. Yeah, you were a popular celebrity of your own, but this was Michael Jackson. No amount of fame could let you just casually meet the celebrity of all celebrities! After taking a few deep breaths, you knocked on the door. After a few seconds of shuffling sounds and muffled mumbles, the door finally opened to reveal Michael. “(name), sweetheart! How are you?” Michael pulled you into a tight hug that, along with the nickname, made your heart race. “I’ve been wonderful, Michael, did you enjoy the performance yesterday?” Michael pulled away and took your hand, leading you into his hotel suite. “It was amazing, and please, call me Mike or Mikey.”

When you got inside, Michael led you to the couch and sat you down before going to the kitchen area and gave you your favorite drink and snack. “Mikey, how’d you know I like these so much?” Michael laughed as he sat down beside you. “You said you liked them yesterday in your interview, and I always see you have them in your livestreams.” You were internally shocked at the fact that Michael was so invested in you like a regular fan. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” You laugh awkwardly. “Are you really that much of a fan?” Michael took a sip of his orange juice before holding up his phone, showing the back to you. He had a photocard of yours in the back, kept snuggly in the center by his clear phone case. “I even have a fan page of you, has a pretty decent following.” He said casually. “You follow me on it.” Your jaw dropped. You only followed one fan page. The one that had been loyally supporting you ever since R U Next even started. “No way, Mike! You’re (name)mania?” Michael laughed as he nodded his head. “I was charmed by you from the first time I saw you. And then I figured out you were a fan of mine.” You shyly looked away before turning back to Michael to reveal your own secret. “I have a fan page of you too! Mine also has a pretty good amount of followers.” “Are you mikeypan?”You nodded “I love that fan page! Especially for its captions. What was the caption on the most recent post? ‘I want him to press me into the ma-‘“ “Uhhhhh, I don’t know what you mean!” You nervously interrupted. “Let’s move on shall we?” You said sheepishly grinning as Michael laughed.

for the next 8 days, you and Michael spent every minute together. You went shopping, explored the must-see things that gave New York its unique charm, and hung out, just talking and getting to know each other more. You were watching TV with Youngseo when there was a knock on your door. You got up to see who it was and saw Yunah and Moka standing there through the peephole. As soon as you opened the door you started getting bombared with questions from the both of them at the same time as they pushed their way through the doorway. “Please! Can you talk one at a time? I can’t understand what you’re saying.” You say while closing the door, getting overwhelmed. “(name)!” Yunah yells while shoving her phone in your face. “What is this?” After getting over the sudden bright light in your face, you saw an article with the headline “Rising global stars Michael Jackson of The Jacksons and (name) of Illit caught together frequently”. You blinked a few times before moving your head to the side to see Yunah and Moka’s faces in full. “What’s the matter?” you say as Moka scoffs and Yunah rolls her eyes. “‘what’s the matter’? Moka says as she gets closer. “(name)! you know the rules. You can date, just don’t get caught.” You laugh while shaking your head and waving your hands in defense. “No, you guys’ve got it all wrong! Mikey— I mean, Michael and I are just friends!” “Mikey?” Moka and Yunah girls repeat in shock. “That might be what you and Michael tell yourselves, but literally everyone else knows that you guys like each other.” Youngseo chimed in from her bed, not looking up from her phone. “You and your boyfriend are blowing up online.” Youngseo showed you her phone to reveal videos with compilations of you and Michael walking around and laughing in what you both thought were disguises good enough to conceal your identities. “Nobody would’ve known who you guys were if you weren’t being so loudly in love with each other.” A voice you recognized as Wonhee’s startled you from behind. You turned around to see Minju, Wonhee, and Iroha. Yunah had let them in without you noticing. “We’re not dating, and we’re not in love. We’re just friends. That’s all.” “Keep telling yourself that, maybe one day you’ll believe it!” Iroha says as everyone else, but you, burst out laughing. “Fine, fine. whatever” you roll your eyes and cross your arms while shaking your head.

The next day, Youngseo was out of the hotel that morning, so you decided to go live. As the live started, you immediately saw the numbers skyrocket. You were used to higher numbers, but this time it was a new high. 30k viewers. You tried to stay calm and just read the chat, but when all you saw was questions about Michael, you began to panic a little.

Is it true you’re dating Michael?

Talk about your relationship with Michael please!

Are you really dating Michael Jackson? I really thought we had something..

Can you address the rumors??

The majority of chat was just about the rumors, and you couldn’t see the regular questions on screen for long enough to actually read them and respond. After about five minutes, you got annoyed and got off live. You instinctively went to Michael’s room and let yourself in with the key he got for you. “(name)!” Michael sang out. “Is that you baby?” baby. Even though you and Michael hadn’t put a label on your relationship, you still had nicknames for each other like a couple. “I saw your live earlier. And saw the chat.” Michael said walking over to you. “Im worried, not about people thinking we’re dating, but about not being able to see you again.” You said as Michael pulled you in and caressed your hair. “What if my company says I can’t see you anymore?” You look into Michael’s eyes as he smiles at you. “That doesn’t matter. You’re human and deserve to love publicly.” Michael says before pulling away after realizing the implications of what he said. “Love platonically, of course.” Michael looked away while fiddling with his fingers. You suddenly felt cold without Michael holding you. You called his name to get him to look at you and lean in to kiss him. The kiss was slow and passionate as his hand rested on your hips as your hands ran through your hair. As you both pulled back, you smiled at each other. “If the media wants to speculate, let them. We’ll give them something to speculate about.” Michael said as he grabbed his phone.

Once again, you and Michael hung out almost the entire day, it was your last day in NYC and you had to make the most of it. You both took pictures that included the both of you, and also strategically taken photos that would lead someone to believe that michael took the picture of you and vice versa. Taking photos of eachother at a local café, publicly holding hand and taking faceless pictures of you hand in hand, anything the two of you could think of. You even made sure to post the photos at the same time. Almost immediately, both of your notification inboxes went crazy with likes and comments.

I knew they were dating!

This basically confirms it right?

They’re such an unlikely couple

You and Michael were cuddled up in the bed in his suite when you were both laughing at the chaos that your posts created. “Look, Mike! This person is speculating that we’ve been dating since 2020!” You point at your screen while laughing. Michael leans in to kiss your forehead. “We should’ve been, but i’m just happy we’re together now.” Michael whispered in your ear as you fell asleep in his arms.

-next day at the airport-

You were sitting in your seat on the airplane, deep in thought when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned to see Minju looking at you with a worried face.“(name)? Are you ok? You seem distant.” You nodded and smiled. You were particularly worried about you and your relationship with Michael. Your mind began to race with thoughts of ruining your relationship with distance when you felt your phone buzz. It was a voice note from Michael. You quickly put your ear bud in and pressed play

-Act i: Jackson 5; Chapter ii: Michael’s House-

-Michael POV-

As soon as he hung up the phone, his brothers Marlon and Jackie came through the door.

"Oh (reader)! You should come over to my house and hang out so we can plan our entire lives together!" Jackie started, making his voice higher to sound like Michael's(and failing miserably). "Mikey!" Marlon gasped with an annoyingly high pitched voice, "That's an amazing idea! Let's spend the rest of time together!" Marlon and Jackie burst out laughing while Michael rolls his eyes. "Get out of my room if this is all you're going to do, guys." Marlon wipes the tears from his eyes "Oh, come on Mike! don't be like that, we're just teasing!" Marlon says walking over and leaning on the desk Michael was sitting at "Now, who is this "(reader)", huh?" Jackie says after he finally stopped laughing "Is she the reason you've been out of the house so much?" Michael smiles and play with the cord on his house phone "Yeah, she's lots of fun to be around, I met her in June!" "That's great, Mike." Jackie says while ruffling Michael's hair "Anyways, Mother said it's time to go to bed, that's why we came in here." A little disappointed, but too tired to protest, Michael gets up and head to his bed.

“Good night Jackie, Good night Marlon!” “Good Night” They both say in unison. Right as Michael got comfortable in bed and Jackie is about to close the door, He calls Michael’s name to get his attention. “I’ll tell mother to prepare for a special guest tomorrow morning, ok?” Michael smiles and nod happily as Jackie chuckles and shuts the door.

-Reader’s POV-

You were woken up the alarm you set for 8:30, upset that your sleep was ruined so much earlier than usual for a weekend until you realized why you set that alarm the day before.

You were suddenly energized by excitement, jumping out of bed and going to the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing your teeth and hurriedly doing your hair so you could be done by 9:30 and spend as long as your needed to deciding what to wear. You were going to the house of the Jackson 5! You needed to wear something nice. After you eventually decided on an outfit, you checked the time and realized it was 10:00. You immediately ran out your room to get to the door before your mom stopped you right as you were in front of it. “(reader)? where are you off to in such a rush?” She inquired putting her plate of breakfast on the table to join your dad. “Let me guess,” Your dad says before wiping his mouth with a napkin “Off to see your little superstar friend, huh?” Your dad said as your mom laughed. You stood there shocked. You weren’t surprised they at least had the intelligence to recognize Michael, but shocked they never mentioned it to you until now. “Uh, yeah! He invited me to breakfast and he said someone was going to pick me up to take me!” You look out the window and see a fancy black car pull up in front of your house. “Oh, I’ve gotta go! Bye, love you both!” You say as you hurry out the door.

As you open the backseat door, you’re greeted by a man who seems to be in his 40s. “Hello, (reader).” He says kindly “My name is Bill Bray, but you can just call me Bill.” You smile and nod as you get comfortable in the backseat. “Ok Bill!” On the way to Michael home, you both chatted and got to know each other a little.

As you arrived at the Jackson family home, you were in awe. You knew he was rich, but the house was big and beautiful! As soon as Bill parked the car Michael ran out the front door and met you as you stepped out of the car. “(Reader)! You’re here!” Michael hugged you but then quickly pulled away, looking embarrassed, clearing his throat as you heard who you assume were his brothers laughing from the house. “I mean, hey (reader)! Ready to come in?” You nodded and followed him inside as Bill went to go park the car where it belongs. The inside of the home was arguably even more beautiful than the outside. “Hey! You must be (Reader)!” You look towards the direction you heard the voice from and saw a girl who only seemed a couple years older than you. “I’m LaToya! Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes. In the meantime, you can hang with me!” As soon as you nodded in agreement, she took your arm and dragged you up to her room, while poor Michaels brothers teased him about something you couldn’t catch on to.

Once you get to her room, LaToya takes out a nail painting set, and sits on her bed with it. “This is your favorite color, right?” She said, pulling out a nail polish bottle that indeed your favorite color. “Yeah! How’d you know?” You asked while sitting down and putting your hands on the box she has her nail polish in “Oh, Michael of course!” She says matter of factly. “He can’t stop talking about you! And he doesn’t really talk to anybody else about you but me, so I know quite a bit about you.” Your eyes widen in shock “Really?” You whisper, leaning in slightly as Latoya eagerly nods “I’m surprised he got a girl like you, you can do better, you know?” She jokes as she laughs “Oh, no! You’ve got it wrong. Michael and I are just friends.” You say as LaToya gives you a look like she doesn’t believe me. After a moment of silence you both bursted out laughing. Right after LaToya’s nails had finished drying, Janet had came to tell you and LaToya breakfast was ready. When she saw that you painted each other’s nails, she upset at you two while you laughed, walking out of their shared room.

Breakfast with Michael and his family was fun but a bit peculiar. The food was amazing, waffles with hashbrowns, bacon, various fruits, and Orange juice to drink. The conversations were fun and the stories they told you were funny, like how when Marlon and Michael got so scared watching a horror movie one time, they had to sleep together with the lights on. Or when Tito and Jackie pranked Jermaine by pouring water on his face to wake him up and how hilarious his reaction was. But the weird thing was how every time Michael’s father, Joseph, spoke, there would be this awkward feeling. You couldn’t help but be a little afraid of him, and his eyes didn’t help much.

After breakfast ended, you and Michael went up to his room to finally talk. His room was lined with books and plushies and things you’d find in a young boys room, but there was one thing you couldn’t ignore: A huge Boa Constrictor in a terrarium with a name tag that read “Rosie the Crusher”. “Woah, Michael! You never told me you had a snake?” “You know, you don’t have to keep calling me Michael..” He said sitting on his bed. “Call me Mike, like everyone else!” You were a bit taken aback by the forwardness of his words, but nodded while walking to sit on his bed. “Well, Mike.. what exactly did you want to discuss?” Michael sighed while messing with his fingers, looking down. “I.. wanted to apologize. For lying to you. I know I should’ve been more open to you about..everything. But after I told you my name and you didn’t freak out, It felt reliving to be normal around a kid my age who wasn’t my family. I just assumed you knew who I was and didn’t care!” Michael paused for a second, and sighed looking back up at you. “I really meant what I said on the phone yesterday, about not wanting you to leave me.” You were shocked by his honesty, You weren’t even expecting him to say anything like this. “Mike, you don’t have to apologize. Anyone in your shoes would do the same. Honestly i’m surprised you even told me your name!” Michael laughed at what you said before you took his hands into yours. “And Michael, I would never stop being friends with you. You’re like a second me! there’s no way anyone’s replacing you.” Michael looked into your eyes. “Really..?” You nodded, smiling warmly. There was a moment of silence. Not like the one you had with LaToya earlier though, because there was tension in this one. A sort of magnetic force. A force so strong you both slowly leaned into each other when Randy bursted through the door. “Miiichael! Joseph said it’s time to Reher-“ Randy paused after looking up, seeing he had clearly interrupted something. He stood there for a second staring at you and Michael as you both stared back frozen in the position you had gotten caught in before Michael broke the silence. “GET OUT RANDY!” Michael yelled as Randy ran out giggling, obviously about to tell his other siblings about what he walked in on. Michael turn towards you sighing “Sorry (reader), I swear nobody knows how to knock around here..” You laughed as you got off the bed. “Well, I guess you should get going, huh?”

You and Michael walked to door together, but not without Michael and his brothers teasing him as he walked by. When you and Michael reached the door, Bill was waiting there for you. “Well, I’ll see you later!” You said turning to Michael. “Yeah…I’ll see you later.” There was another awkward moment before you hugged Michael. “I’ll always be here.” Michael was startled by this, but settled into the embrace, hugging you back. When you opened your eyes, you saw Joseph’s eyes piercing you from a distance. His gaze startled you so deeply you broke the hug. “Well, Goodbye Michael!” you said as you waved while walking out the door. Michael waved back to you begrudgingly as Joseph closed the door.

Michael finally had an off day, and you had been wanting to go to a local petting zoo with him for a while. So when you finally got the chance to, Michael immediately rented out the entire zoo so you could have peace and quiet alone.

You walked through all the exhibits, seeing the llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, and many more while Michael told you random facts about them until you finally got to the back. You and Michael checked the pamphlet you got at the front of the zoo to see what was there. The deer exhibit was up next and as soon as you got to it, Michael ran towards them before slowing down when he got closer. The main reason you wanted to come was because you knew Michael loved animals, and you could see him smile and take his mind off the stress of his life.

“Aren’t the deer here so cute, baby?” Michael’s voice rang out as you caught up to him. He was petting one of the fawns and they were both looking up at you, and something crossed your mind. “Michael,” you said while crouching on the opposite side of the fawn and petting its back. “Has anyone ever told you how much you resemble a deer?” Michael’s eyes widened as his cheeks flushed. “No, do I really?” You laughed at the expression on his face. “Yeah really! Maybe I should start calling you Bambi..” You mumbled that last part half joking. “Bambi..?” Michael repeated as he blushed more. “What? Do you like the nickname, Bambi?” You dragged out the nickname while leaning in as Michael got even more flustered and covered his face with his hands. “It’s getting late, let’s go now.” Michael said quickly as he grabbed your wrist and pulled you to the entrance like something suddenly started to bother him.

-at home-

You walked out of the bathroom in your pajama set into your bedroom to see Michael fidgeting with the cover while deep in thought. “Hey Mike, is everything ok?” You ask worriedly as you crawl into bed. Michael looked up towards you and smiled. “Yeah, angel.” You smiled back as you leaned in and kissed him. It started slow but got more heated as Michael pulled you onto his lap. You got the memo and ground down onto him as he whimpered. “Is this why you were in such a rush to leave the Zoo, honey?” You whispered in his ear, sending shivers through his body. You heard Michael let out a sound of slight disappointment. “Michael? Did I do something wrong?” Michael shook his head. “No! No, never. I was just..you know, wondering if you could call me that nickname you made for me earlier?” He asked shyly as he looked up at you. You knew exactly what he was talking about, but you decided to play naive. “Nickname? Do you mean Mikey?” Michael whined as you laughed “Come on, Mike. You know i’ll give you what you want, you just gotta say it.”

Michael nervously played with the hem of his shirt before shakily asking “Can..you call me bambi again?” You smiled down at him, caressing his face. “Of course, my sweet bambi..such a good boy..” You cooed as you pulled your shirt off. As soon as it was off, Michaels eyes were stuck on the newly exposed skin. You weren’t wearing a bra so you were an even bigger distraction. “What a gentleman you are” You teased as you grasp Michael’s jaw and shake his head lightly before taking his shirt off. You lean down to kiss his neck as Michael sighs softly. You kiss down his neck, to his chest, then down his stomach.

“Lift your hips for me, bambi.” You murmured barely above a whisper. After Michael obeyed, you pulled his pants and briefs down. Once his already hard dick was freed, you licked from the bottom of his shaft to his tip, making him cry out as he bucked his hips. You sucked on his tip lightly while holding his hips down before taking his entire length down your throat. His whimpers and moans made you clinch around nothing. “Oh yes, oh god, just like that!” Michael whimpered, throwing his head back. “ I’m so close, I’m..I’m-“ Just as you felt Michael begin to twitch in your mouth, you pulled off of him, making Michael desperately whine and buck his hips, trying to chase the feeling. “Oh, angel, why’d you stop? I was..I was right there!” You got up and off the bed and took your bottoms off before leaning in to kiss Michael’s forehead. “Be patient for me, ok? You’ll cum sweetie.” You mutter sweetly as you begin to cradle Michael’s face with your thighs. “Just be good for me.”

You lowered yourself on Michael’s face and threw your head back at the feeling of his nose rubbing your clit. Michael pulled you down closer to his face as he desperately lapped at you. When you reached behind you to jerk Michael off, the whines and moans Michael let out sent vibrations to your cunt, making you let out cries of your own. You quickly felt your climax arriving and when it did, you felt Michael buck at the feeling of your essence covering the lower part of his face. It was muffled, but you heard Michael begin to whimper about getting close to cumming. Just as that familiar twitch began, you let go of him. Michael started sobbing as you got on your knees to move down his torso. When you looked at his face, you saw that it was wet with not only you, but his tears as well. “Oh, poor baby..” You said with sweet condescendence as you leaned in to kiss him. “I’m so mean, aren’t I?” He surprisingly shook his head “No! The sweetest..” He says between sobs “So good to me, I love you angel” The words made your heart melt. You smiled as you finally lined Michael up with your entrance and sat down on him.

You and Michael moaned as you started moving with a steady rhythm. You leaned down to pepper kisses on Michael’s face as he whimpered and cried. “I’m sorry! I’m..I’m close!” Michael whined, burying his face in your neck. “Already? you’re acting like I just edged you twice or something.” You teased as Michael glared up at you. “It’s ok, sweet boy, I’m..close too.” You whimpered shakily. You sped your pace up, making the frequency and pitch of Michael’s moans go up. The orgasm washed over the both of you like a tsunami. You twitched as you rode your orgasm out before you crashed onto the bed beside Michael. You were both out of breath, chests heaving and sweating before you looked over at each other and laughed.

You reached over to the right edge of the bed and into bedside drawer and pulled out some towels, and then into the cooler beside the drawer to get water. You and Michael started keeping these things beside the bed for aftercare after your first time together left the both of you too tired to get up. “You know baby,” You started as you wiped the sweat off of Michael’s forehead and handed him a water bottle. “I was thinking about calling you bambi for a while. but I was to embarrassed to bring it up. I thought you’d thing it was weird.” Michael took a sip from his water bottle before laughing. “Oh angel, I could never even imagine calling you weird.” You smiled warmly before leaning down and kissing him “I love you bambi” “I love you too”

Finally, it was May. Your freshman year of college was done and you were back at your parent’s house for the summer. You were on the phone with your friend, Ciara, looking at the newspaper for job openings.

“Oh, (Reader)! The fair is coming to town!” The loudness of Ciara’s voice startled you due to the silence of concentration you both had going for about five minutes. “That sounds very fun, Ciara, but that has nothing to do with jobs.” “The fair coming to town means jobs for young adults who wanna make easy money while still having fun, dumbass.” You couldn’t see her, but you could tell by the tone of her voice that Ciara rolled her eyes. You scanned the newspaper to find the section that had what positions the fair was looking for and saw they were looking for a face painter. You took an art class the earlier school year because you had an extra slot to fill on your schedule, and decided it would be fun. You applied to the position while Ciara applied to be a ticket handler. The interviews were extremely easy and short due to the fact that the interviewer was an old man who just wanted to retire, so naturally you both got the job.

The first day of your job eventually came around the first week of June, and you were actually a little excited. You would get to meet new people and make young children happy, what’s not to love? Your uniform was a loose red shirt that had “Lake county fair” in small print that rested on the left side of your chest with khaki shorts, a black or brown belt and comfortable tennis shoes. Not something you’d usually wear, but that’s how it is with all uniform isn’t it? You had to take about a 22 minute drive south to Crown Point, Indiana. The route was relatively straight, so it wasn’t too bad of a drive.

You and Ciara had gotten to the fairgrounds about 30 minutes before the fair to set up and hang out before you have to work. After you and Ciara had finished setting up your face paint booth, you were hanging out in the ticketing booth chatting when someone caught your eye. A boy in a clown outfit and makeup. You’d never seen anyone look so strikingly beautiful while being dressed in such a manner. His big doe eyes met yours and you held eye contact as he walked by until Ciara snapped you back into reality. “Hello? (Reader) what the hell are you looking at?” Ciara questioned before looking out the window of the booth and seeing the mystery clown boy still looking in your direction while walking away. “Ouuuu, (Reader)! Looks like you’re getting a boyfriend this summerrr!” you rolled your eyes as Ciara poked at your shoulder. “Come on, Ciara. Just because I made eye contact with a guy doesn’t mean we’re bound to be soulmates.” “Well that wasn’t just regular eye contact, (Reader).” Ciara said getting up to get the tickets out of drawer behind her. “You were basically drooling looking at him!” You scowl playfully as she laughs at your expression. “Ok, ok (Reader), maybe I was being a little dramatic. But your jaw definitely did drop a little.” You stood up from your seat, shocked at the accusation. “Did not!” “Did too! But it’s fine. He almost bumped into someone craning his neck to look at you.” You suddenly seemed really interested to hear more details, leaning in and whispering “Really?” with a hopeful look on your face. “Yes, Really! Now get out, the fair is opening in five minutes.”

Face painting was just as fun as you thought it would be. Being able to apply what you learned to a real life situation and seeing the smile on each little kids face after showing them the results made you feel joy and relieved from a little stress. You had finished painting a pink and purple butterfly on a little girl and placed the mirror in front of her. The girl’s face lit up immediately as she went to hug you chanting thank yous. Before you got the chance to respond to anything she just did or said she ran off with her mom running after her. You laughed at her excitement, your eyes following her to see where she ran off to she that she was headed for the balloon animals.

The issue was that the person making the balloon animals was the clown boy from earlier. And he was looking right at you. You immediately looked away to see a little boy sitting in your chair and looking at the choices before pointing at the spider-man and looking at you intently. You got the bigger sponge out of your kit, dipped it into the red paint, and started lightly dabbing the paint on the upper part of his face. You usually were very focused while doing this, but the clown boy had become a distraction for you, and you had become a distraction for him too. You looked over to see him already looking at you. You watched him almost drop the red balloon he was making into a dog. You were laughing softly when you suddenly heard a small voice bring your attention back to your job. “Uh, miss? You’ve been painting my forehead for a while now..” The little boy said. You realized you had basically trying to give the boy a concussion with how persistently and harshly you were painting his forehead. You looked up and saw his mother glaring at you, sending shivers down your spine. You quickly finished his face paint and just like every other kid, he loved it. As he and his mom walked away you heard his mom mumble something about kids these days and how they’re always distracted and never focused at the task at hand. If it weren’t for the fact that you needed the money and the fact that she was kind of right in applying her stereotype to you, you would’ve started and argument with her right then and there.

The shifts were from 12:30 PM to 5:30 PM, after that someone else would take the places of people in the earlier shifts from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. As soon as the clock strikes 5:30, you started to shut down your booth. Consistent with what had been going on for the past five hours, you got caught up in watching the clown boy walk away to the changing area for employees. He had taken his hat off, letting his breathtaking hair finally be free. Despite him being so tired, and his make up being smeared from already starting to wipe it off, he was so attractive you just couldn’t take your eyes off him. “His name is Michael Jackson, by the way!” You heard a familiar voice say. You turned around to see that it was Ciara standing behind you with a proud look on her face. “What?” You were still recovering from your daze of admiring a guy like you were a preteen. “I said, his name is Michael Jackson. The clown guy you couldn’t and still can’t take your eyes off of? You’re welcome.” You stood there with your eyes widened in shock. “What?” Ciara said as if she didn’t just give you probably the most important information you’d get all summer. “ It’s not like you were gonna get it yourself” “Ciara, I’m just confused how you got it.” You said in disbelief as you started walking towards the changing area with Ciara following you. “His brothers came and said they were looking for him.” That explained the group of 5 boys you saw who were laughing with and teasing Michael.

For 5 whole weeks, you’d just been having prolonged eye contact with Michael. Neither of you even started to walk towards each other or start a conversation. Ciara had been consistently trying to push you to talk to him, and so had Michael’s friends, but their efforts were in vain, until one fateful day.

Once again, you were setting up your booth when you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. “Ciara, what is it no-“ You said as you turn around only to cut yourself off when you saw Michael looking at you. As soon as you turned around he looked down and started rubbing his left arm with his right hand, showing he was nervous. “Hey, (Reader)?” You were internally shocked that he even knew your name. The way it rolled off his tongue gave you butterflies. “I…forgot my face paint at my house and was wondering if you could do my face paint for me please?” When he raised his head and looked at you, he looked almost like a deer. “Yeah, of course!” You move out of the way of the chair while Michael sits down. You turned around to get the sponge and dip it in white paint and when you turned back around to sit you noticed your heart started beating faster. You hesitated before you started painting his forehead. “My name is Michael, by the way.” You paused for a second and smiled before continuing. “Hello, you already know my name.” you said as you both started to laugh. You laughed and conversed for the five minutes it took you to finish his face paint. “You know,” You started after finishing applying red lipstick. “You’re lucky I had eyeshadow in my bag or else you would’ve just had to have an incomplete look.” Michael laughed as you put the mirror in front of him. “Wow, (Reader)! This is the best it’s looked! Thank you!” You became a little flustered at the praise. “Oh, stop.” “No really! I’ve been admiring you for a while now…” Michael said before noticing what just came out of his mouth. “Your work! I’ve been admiring your work!” You smiled at Michael’s sudden urgency to cover up what he saw as a mistake. “I’ve been admiring you and your work for a while now.” Michael rubbed the back of his neck while chuckling and looking away. “Well, (Reader), in that case, would you want to go around the fair with me? After our shift, of course.” You thought your heart was already beating as much as it could, but was quickly disproven when Michael asked you that question. “Yeah, yeah that sounds fantastic Michael!” Michael stood up from his seat. “Well, it’s a..” Michael trails off “Date. It’s a date.” You confirm. Michael nods back smiling while walking away to his booth before turning around one more time. “A romantic one right?” “Yes, a romantic one, Michael.”

As you get through possibly the longest 5 hours of your life, you and Michael share glances, smiles and laughs from a distance with each other the entire way through. When the clock finally struck 5:30, you almost immediately got up and started hurriedly shutting the booth down. “Woah (Reader)! What’s got you in such a rush?” Ciara came up behind you just as you finished your task. “Michael and I are gonna have a date here later!” You say happily, jumping up and down in excitement. Ciara has a look that expressed relief, excitement, and joy all in one. “Oh (Reader)! That’s amazing!”

You talked to Ciara about how you and Michael finally started talking on the way to the changing area. As soon as you got done changing and walked out the door, you and Michael locked eyes. Ciara sensed that she should leave you alone and teased you before walking away. “Hey, (Reader).” Michael said shyly, putting his hands in his jean pockets. “Hello,” You put your hands behind your back while leaning forward before asking Michael a question. “What do you wanna do for 20 minutes before the fair opens back up?” Michael thought for a moment, cutely furrowing his brows in deep thought. “Well, the most contact we’ve had is…about 7 minutes of talking and 5 weeks of eye contact.” Michael said making you laugh softly. “We could talk in my car?” Michael suggests, causing you to nod eagerly. You talked about your college lives, families, days in high school, etc. Those twenty minutes felt extremely short and packed with chatter that you barely realized what time it was.

“Oh shit, Michael it’s 6:00.” You said looking at your watch. “Ready to go on our first date?” You said looking up at him, smiling playfully. “First?” He repeated. “Yeah, first! unless you don’t wanna talk to me again after this.” You teased as he fervently shook his head no.

The fair was extremely fun. You went on the bumper cars, used the photo booth, ate the delicious food who’s concepts were so outrageous, you wouldn’t hear about them again till next year, and various games where Michael won you multiple prizes. 5, to be exact. Towards to end of your date, you and Michael decided to go on the ferris wheel. At the top, the wheel stopped moving for a minute. “Before you freak out, the guy in charge of the ferris wheel is my friend, so I asked him to stop when we were at the top.” Michael said to comfort you before you expressed panic. It was like he could read your mind after only talking to you for a day. “Aw, Michael, isn’t that romantic?” You teased as you looked out the window at the view. “Yeah, it is..” Michael said coming up behind you, rubbing your arm. “I’ve had a lot of fun today, (Reader).” He says, lowering his voice. “Me too.” You said as you turned to face him. You both slowly leaned in closer to each other when the ferris wheel suddenly started moving again, making the both of you stumble and fall. Although you were both disheartened by the sudden ruined moment, you broke into laughter.

After a date full of memories and laughter to hold onto for eternity, you were in the car with Michael on the way back home since you got to work with Ciara that day. You had fallen asleep on the ride home. You were woken up by Michael pressing a kiss to your forehead and caressing your cheek. When you realized where you were, you were a bit disappointed that your date had come to an end. “(Reader)? You’re awake! I let you sleep for about 10 minutes while we sat in the driveway.” Hearing that made you feel so guilty, but before you could give an apology Michael said “I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but you being so comfortable to sleep around me, especially in my car in the middle of the night means a lot to me, really.” You paused in the middle of gathering your stuff and looked at Michael before leaning in and kissing his cheek. Once you pulled away and made eye contact with Michael, you both leaned in and kissed with passion that burned so earnestly it rivaled the Sun. You kissed as if you had been waiting for this moment all your lives, which you basically had. Those five excruciatingly long weeks did nothing but build up more and more bottled up emotions that would’ve bursted with the slightest shake. As you pulled apart, chests heaving as your lungs begged for air, Michael smiled and shyly asked, “Does…does this mean we’re dating now?” You laughed at the slight feeling of déjà vu from earlier the question gave you. “Yes, Michael.” You caressed his cheek as he leaned into your touch. “This means we’re dating.”

As you finally got yourself and all your things out of the car, including Michael’s number, you waved to him as he drove off. As you ran inside the house, not being able to contain your excitement to tell Ciara about the amazing night you had.

Act i: Jackson 5; Chapter i: Blossoming Friendship

- June, 1971, Los Angeles, California-

You were walking down Braymeadow Avenue on your way to the convenience store when you saw a new face walking in your direction. The boy looked sad and around your age, so you decided to talk to him. “Hey you! What’s your name?” you said to the boy with an afro in bell bottom jeans and an orange short sleeved shirt. He raised his head and looked around before meeting your eyes and asking “Who me?” “Yeah you!” You laughed “you’re the only one out here right now.” “Oh yeah, I suppose so,” he looks averts his gaze to the side,feeling awkward before looking at you again. He looked hesitant, as if he was unsure if he should even tell you his name. “Michael, Michael… Jackson is my name. How about you?” “(reader)! I was heading to the convenience store and saw that you seemed pretty sad, so I decided to come talk to you!” you smiled “Do you wanna come with me?”

After he accepted, you both walked to the convenience store, bought a snack and a drink, sat on the curb and talked. You figured out Michael was a 12 year old, turning 13, like you, and had recently moved here with his family all the way from a city in Indiana called Gary. When you asked why they moved so far he seemed strangely dismissive of the question and just vaguely said it was for better job opportunities. Despite having 8 siblings, he told you he was sad because he felt a little lonely and felt homesick. When you told him you’d be his friend, his face lit up like you told him he won the lottery.

You and Michael became close fast. Even though you couldn’t hang out very much because of how much he had to help his dad with his work, you clicked extremely well and bonded easily. Talking on the phone, sitting on the curbside talking for hours, hanging out at your house, playing board games and card games, you guys did it all whenever he had the time.

One day in September, you were sitting around in your house on the floor in the living room doing homework when you decided you deserved a break and wanted to watch TV. You turn the TV on and started flipping through the channels until one caught your eye. It was the Jackson 5 performing a song off their album Maybe Tommorow. You were humming along and happily watching. This was the first time you had actually watched them perform a song of theirs and weren’t just listening to the sound of their voices come through the radio. Hell, you didn’t even know their names. you were taking in what they looked like because who knew the next time you’d want to watch them perform again? You studied each of their faces until your eyes landed on the lead singer. He looked..strangely familiar? You couldn’t tell if the screen was distorting his face or if the Jackson 5’s lead singer looked exactly like Michael? Well, it would make sense. The vagueness of his explanation why his family moved to LA, him constantly being too busy to hang out, his avoidance of you hanging out at his house. All the pieces started to fall into place, but you couldn’t quite fathom the concept of you being friends with a member of THE Jackson 5, let alone the lead singer.

You got up and walked over to your mom who was working on cooking dinner. “Hey mom?” You say shakily while sitting down at the kitchen table. “Hey sweetheart, I’m almost done with dinner, shouldn’t be too much longer.” She said while continuing to prepare collard greens. “Thanks mom,” You say, not really caring about dinner at the moment. “uh, I have a question?” You say, pausing to see her indicate that she was listening. “You know the Jackson 5 of course, do you, uh, know their names?” “Oh of course honey! There’s Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and..” She paused and it felt like the air was thickening with suspense. she was mumbling different names before shutting them down for about a minute. You slowly started to zone out before getting snapped back into reality by your mom slamming her hand on the table in realization. “MICHAEL! Michael Jackson is his name.” Your mom said relieved that she finally was freed of the annoyance of being unable to remember something. “Why’d you ask?” After getting over getting startled, you were left with processing the fact that you were friends? With one of the Jackson 5 brothers? You felt stupid for taking so long to notice. To be honest,now that you’d thought about it, they did always sound really simil- “Hello? Earth to (name)?” Your mom said snapping her fingers in your face. “Oh..sorry mom! I was just randomly wondering..” You were still a little dazed at this new discovery “Can you make me a plate and put it in the fridge for me to eat later? I feel a little..too tired to eat” “Sure thing! Now you go get some rest” Your mom says while leaning in to kiss your cheek.

You stared at the ceiling for about two hours once you got in your room. Your friend? Michael? Apart of the Jackson 5?? No way. You felt so stupid for not making the connection sooner. Admittedly, you had only gotten into them a couple weeks before meeting Michael. But still, You never were like “Hey Michael! Isn’t it crazy you’re from the same city the Jackson 5 is from? and you share the same last name with them!” You were internally scrutinizing everything that ever happened between you and Michael that would’ve revealed who he was when your home phone began to ring. Oh goodness please don’t be Michael, not now..

You tried to calm yourself down so you could answer the phone without sounding like a fool. You slowly pick the phone, and wearily answer. “Hello! Who..is this?” “Hey, (Reader)! It’s Michael! How’re you doing? Hopefully not struggling with math homework!” Perfect timing. Right when you’re having a crisis over the secret identity of your best friend. You had to play it cool, what if he stops being friends with you? “Hey! what’s, uh..what’s up Michael! Haha! You know me! Just can’t get math! heh..” That was terrible. you just hoped he didn’t pick up on how nervous you we- “You..watched my performance earlier..didnt you?” Damn it. “Yes,” You sigh, finally relieved of some nerves. “I’ve been stuck in a state of shock for the past 2 hours!” You exclaimed as you heard that familiar laugh from the other side of the line. “How about this (reader)? Let’s talk about this tomorrow morning at my house?” And right when you thought you couldn’t be anymore shocked than you already were, Michael invited you to his house? “Your house? Are you sure?” “Of course I am! You’re the only person I can talk to outside of my family and feel like a normal person. The only thing making me hesitate to bring you to my house was you finding out who I am and leaving me…” Michael trailed off, sounding sad towards the end of the sentence “Well, anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow? 10:30 AM? You can eat breakfast with me and my family, and then we’ll discuss!” Michael said happily at the thought of finally having his best friend over. “Sure thing! See you tomorrow!” “See you tomorrow, (reader)! There’ll be someone there to give you a ride!”