˚⟡˖ ࣪ 𝒪𝒻𝒻 𝒮𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓉 ˚⟡˖ ࣪ (𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 2)
˚.⋆꒰১ ໒꒱⋆.˚. 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒶𝑒𝓁 𝒥𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓈𝑜𝓃 𝓍 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒸𝓀!𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇
˚.⋆꒰১ ໒꒱⋆.˚. 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 : 𝒜𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓊𝓃𝑒𝓍𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒶𝑒𝓁, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝓎 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝒲𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒶𝑒𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝓂𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈, 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒾𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉. 𝒜𝓈 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓃 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒲𝒾𝓏 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝒾𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝓊𝓁𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝑀𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒶𝑒𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝑜𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀, 𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒶 𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓈 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑒 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑒𝓇.
˚.⋆꒰১ ໒꒱⋆.˚. 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.6𝓀
Three days had passed since Michael had ran into you.
He hadn’t really thought much of it.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
Michael walked through the busy set beside Bill, quietly listening as his bodyguard talked about the day’s schedule. His hands were tucked loosely near his sides, his fingers occasionally brushing against the rings he wore.
Then he saw you.
Michael’s steps slowed.
You stood across the room beside Mr. Holder, carefully sorting through pieces of fabric. Your white blouse was tucked into a pair of dark bell bottoms, and your boots peeked out from under the wide legs whenever you moved.
Michael blinked.
For some reason, he couldn’t look away.
You pushed your glasses back up your nose before leaning over the table, completely focused on your work.
A small smile appeared on Michael’s face.
He didn’t even realize he was smiling.
His heart began beating a little faster.
Oh.
He quickly looked down.
His thumb started turning one of his rings around his finger.
Then another.
Then back to the first.
Bill glanced over.
“Joker?”
Michael looked up.
“Hm?”
“You listening?”
“Yeah.”
Bill continued talking.
Michael nodded along, even though his attention had already wandered back across the room.
You laughed at something Mr. Holder said.
Michael smiled again.
Bill stopped walking.
Michael took another few steps before realizing he was alone.
He turned around.
“What?”
Bill raised an eyebrow.
“You tell me.”
Michael looked confused.
“What?”
Bill nodded toward you.
Michael followed his gaze.
“Oh.”
He looked away almost immediately.
“I was just looking.”
Bill smiled.
“Sure.”
Michael’s cheeks grew warmer.
“I wasn’t doing anything.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
Michael looked down at his hands again, nervously twisting the ring around his finger.
“I just remember her from the other day.”
“Mhm.”
“She was nice.”
Bill nodded.
“I’m sure she was.”
Michael glanced toward you again.
This time, you happened to look up.
Ya’ll eyes met.
Michael froze.
You smiled.
It was a small smile, nothing dramatic.
But Michael’s stomach flipped anyway.
He smiled back, almost shyly, before quickly looking down at his shoes.
His cheeks had turned faintly pink.
Bill noticed.
He said nothing.
Michael took a quiet breath, trying to calm himself down.
Why was he acting like this?
He barely knew you.
And yet, there was something about her that made him want to know more.
Not because of how you looked.
Not only because of that.
There was just something about you.
Something warm.
Something easy.
Something he couldn’t put a name to yet.
After some time, when Mr Holder wasn’t looking, you walked over there. You tucked your hair behind your ear. You fixed your blouse as you walked over there.
Just go over there and say hey. Yeah, that’s it nothing more. You thought.
You stopped in front of him, immediately looking down, only looking occasionally.
“Hi.”
Michael looked up too quickly.
She smiled. “ You remember me .”
He gave you a small laugh.
“Yeah. You ran into me .”
You Laughed. “Technically, you were standing in my way.”
Michael’s eyes widened.
“ I was?”
“I’m kidding.”
He laughed softly, relieved.
“Oh.”
You looked down at his hands.
“ You still playing with rings?”
Michael instantly looked down. He hadn’t even realized he was doing it.
“ I guess I am.”
Later that day.
Across the room, you looked up.
Your eyes landed on Michael.
You smiled.
Michael immediately smiled back.
Then, almost as quickly, he looked down at his hands.
His cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink.
Bill noticed.
Of course he did.
Before he could say anything, another voice interrupted them.
“Michael.”
Michael turned.
Diana stood nearby.
Her eyes briefly moved from Michael to you.
Then back to Michael.
“Come on. They’re waiting for you.”
“Oh.” Michael nodded. “Okay.”
Diana walked beside him, but her eyes remained on you for another moment.
There was something about the way Michael had looked at you.
Diana didn’t like it.
Later that afternoon, you were helping Holder organize the costumes when Diana approached the table.
“You.”
You looked up.
“Yes?”
“I need that costume finished.”
You glanced down at the garment.
“I thought Mr. Holder wanted me to finish these first.”
Diana folded your arms.
“I said I need that one finished.”
You looked toward Holder, who was across the room speaking with another member of the crew.
You could feel an argument forming on the tip of her tongue.
But you swallowed it.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Diana placed the costume down harder than necessary.
“And try not to make mistakes this time.”
Your eyebrows lifted.
You knew exactly what Diana was doing.
But you nodded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Diana walked away.
You stared after her.
Her jaw tightened.
You weren’t scared of Diana.
Not even close.
But you weren’t stupid either.
Diana was above you.
You needed this job.
So you picked up the costume and got back to work.
The next morning, You was called into the costume department.
Diana was already there.
A damaged costume sat on the table.
Diana pointed toward it.
“You were responsible for this.”
You stared at the garment.
“No, ma’am. I wasn’t.”
Diana’s expression hardened.
“Excuse me?”
“I said I didn’t work on that one.”
“I distinctly remember giving it to you.”
You took a breath.
You knew you hadn’t touched it.
But you also knew arguing with Diana could cost her more than simply taking the blame.
So you lowered her eyes.
“Alright. I’ll fix it.”
Diana smiled.
“Good.”
You picked up the costume.
Her fingers tightened around the fabric.
You were irritated.
Very irritated.
But you kept quiet, just simply laughing it off.
Michael happened to walk past the doorway with Bill.
He stopped when he saw you.
You looked different.
Usually you smiled when you saw him.
Today, you didn’t.
Michael frowned.
“Is she alright?”
Bill looked through the doorway.
“Looks like she’s working.”
Michael watched you for another second.
There was something about the room that didn’t feel right.
Diana stood nearby, watching you closely.
Michael couldn’t explain why, but something in his stomach felt uneasy.
He looked at Bill.
“Should I—”
“Michael.”
Diana’s voice interrupted him.
He turned.
“Come on. We have to go.”
Michael hesitated.
His eyes went back to you.
You looked up.
Their eyes met.
You gave him the smallest smile.
Almost as if you were telling him:
I’m okay.
Michael nodded slowly.
But he didn’t feel convinced.
As he walked away, his fingers began playing with his rings again.
Bill noticed.
“You don’t look convinced.”
Michael shook his head.
“Something feels strange.”
Bill looked back toward the costume room.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Michael frowned.
He didn’t know what was happening.
He only knew that every time Diana was around you, the room felt different.
And for the first time, Michael was starting to notice.
Diana stared at you for another moment before giving you a tight smile.
“You seem to have made quite an impression on Michael.”
You slowly looked up from the costume in her hands.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t play dumb.”
You pressed her lips together.
You had about ten different responses ready.
But you weren’t about to risk her job.
So instead, you nodded.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Diana’s expression softened into a satisfied smile.
“Good.”
She turned on her heel and walked away, her heels clicking against the floor.
You waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
You watched Diana disappear around the corner.
Then her entire face changed.
You rolled your eyes dramatically.
“Bitch, bye.”
You crossed her eyes and pinched her lips together, mimicking Diana’s stern expression.
“Don’t play dumb.”
You shook her head.
“Who does she think she is?”
You picked up the costume again, still wearing an exaggerated imitation of Diana’s expression.
“I’ve known Michael for years.”
You sucked your teeth.
“Okay… and?”
A quiet laugh came from behind you.
You froze.
Slowly, you turned around.
Michael stood in the doorway, his hand covering his mouth as he tried to hide his smile.
Your eyes widened.
“Oh, shit.”
“I didn’t see anything,” he said, still smiling.
“You absolutely did.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
He laughed softly.
You pointed at him.
“Don’t you dare tell her.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“You better not.”
“I promise.”
He stepped closer, his smile still lingering.
You turned back toward the table, shaking your head.
“I can’t believe you saw that.”
“I thought it was funny.”
You glanced at him.
“You did?”
Michael nodded.
“You’re funny.”
You smiled despite yourself.
“Thank you.”
Michael looked at her for a moment.
Really looked at her.
His eyes moved over your face as though he was quietly taking in every detail: the shape of her glasses, the little smile still sitting at the corner of your mouth.
You noticed.
“What?”
Michael blinked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
His cheeks immediately warmed.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
He looked down, smiling shyly.
“Maybe a little.”
You laughed.
Michael’s eyes returned to yours.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then he reached for your hand.
His fingers gently slipped around yours.
You looked down.
Michael seemed to realize what he’d done only after he was already holding it.
His thumb brushed lightly over yourknuckles.
“You have cold hands,” he murmured.
You smiled.
“And yours are warm.”
Michael looked at their hands, then back at you.
He didn’t let go right away.
Instead, he gave your hand a small, gentle squeeze.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
You nodded.
“Yeah. Tomorrow.”
Michael finally released your hand, but his fingers lingered for half a second before slipping away.
He took a step backward.
“Goodnight, y/n .”
“Goodnight, Michael.”
He walked away, glancing back once before disappearing down the hallway.
You looked down at her hand.
Then toward the hallway.
A tiny smile crept across your face.
“Hmm.”
And somewhere down the hall, Michael was probably doing the same thing.
I seriously can’t stand Diana Ross. But I wanted to add some type of jealously into the story. Let me know how ya’ll feel and if I should make part 3.
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