COME OVER AND CHECK UP ON IT

The bright studio lights were hot against your skin.

Not unbearable, just annoying enough to make you shift slightly in your seat beside Michael while the host continued talking.

The interview had been fine at first.

Questions about the tour. The music. The charity work.

Normal things.

Then, somewhere along the way, the interviewer got comfortable.

Too comfortable.

“So,” he said, leaning back in his chair with a grin that immediately annoyed you, “the public is fascinated by this relationship.”

Beside you, Michael smiled politely.

You already knew that smile.

The media smile. The please don’t make this difficult smile.

“That’s understandable,” Michael answered softly.

“But people are especially curious,” the interviewer continued, “because Michael has always been considered… private.”

Your eyes squinted slightly.

“And now suddenly there’s this beautiful young woman attached to his hip everywhere he goes.”

Attached to his hip?

You blinked slowly.

“But what people really wanna know is...”

Oh brother.

“...what exactly is it about Michael that keeps you so attached to him?”

Your face flattened instantly.

Michael noticed immediately.

You didn’t even have to look at him to know he did.

The interviewer kept talking.

“He’s one of the busiest men in the world, constantly traveling, constantly surrounded by fans

“So tell me,” he said, turning toward you now, “what exactly happens behind closed doors that has this man so obsessed with you?”

Your eyes slowly lifted toward the ceiling.

Your face went completely blank.

Absolutely blank.

You looked back at the interviewer with the exact same expression people give toddlers after they said something ridiculous in public.

Michael let out a tiny laugh beside you.

Small.

Barely there.

Encouraged, the interviewer continued.

“I mean, people talk,” he shrugged dramatically. “You’re young, attractive… Michael’s clearly very taken with you…”

Your eyebrows lifted higher and higher the longer he spoke.

Michael’s shoulders started shaking beside you.

“You spend all this time together,” the interviewer continued. “Surely the chemistry isn’t just emotional.”

“Michael?” the interviewer asked. “Would you say the relationship is passionate sexually?”

Your jaw physically dropped.

Not dramatically.

Just in pure disbelief.

Michael folded immediately.

A loud laugh burst out of him before he covered his mouth with one hand, shoulders shaking hard enough to make the microphone pick it up.

The audience exploded into laughter and applause.

“Oh my God,” you muttered under your breath, staring at the interviewer like he had personally murdered your cat.

Michael leaned forward in his chair, laughing harder now.

Actually laughing.

Not the polite little giggles he gave reporters sometimes.

Real laughter.

The kind that made his eyes squeeze shut.

The interviewer looked mildly flustered. “I’m just asking what everyone wants to know.”

You turned toward Michael slowly.

Your expression somehow got worse.

Complete horror.

Michael made the mistake of looking at you again.

That was it.

He bent over laughing again, one hand gripping your arm while the other covered his face.

“You are terrible,” he whispered toward you, voice shaking.

“I haven’t even said anything,” you whispered back.

That only made him laugh harder.

Even the cameraman was shaking.

The interviewer cleared his throat.

“So who made the first move?”

You stared at him.

“Seriously?” you asked flatly.

“What?” he defended. “People are curious.”

“About our tax bracket, too, or just our business?”

A loud laugh burst out of him as he bent forward completely, one hand gripping your arm while the other covered his face.

The interview didn’t feel invasive anymore.

It didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Everyone in the room was witnessing a version of Michael they rarely got to see.

The interviewer cleared his throat awkwardly.

“So I’m assuming we’re not getting details about the bedroom anytime soon?”

Before Michael can even stop you, you shrug casually

“I mean… he’s good, really good.” "Michael, is that true?" “No comment,” he said immediately through a grin. This clip was definitely gonna follow him for the rest of his life.