╰┈☆ the Wiz ☆┈╯
Off the wall era
Young Michael x Young fem!reader
Summary: Michael was shooting the later famous movie The Wiz, except Diana Ross didn't get her role as Dorothy.. instead the famous Broadway star Y/N. They both looked up on each other, both secret fan of each other finally getting to work together.. possibly building a future friendship.
Content: cute, shy, bunch of giggles and laughs, furious Diana Ross, first time meeting
The wiz, a musical produced by Jerry Wexler…. He had a vision for the film, that was until Diana Ross came to claim a role that was never promised to her.. Trying to steal the role from Y/N, a young prodige, her singing was unlike any other for her age, she's been on Broadway countless times making people gasp and cry for her talent, her singing, her dancing, her dancing.. And here was Diana Ross.. sure she knew how to sing, and dance a bit.. but she was no actor. And worse of all, she was nowhere near the teenage baby face the audience was looking for when seeing Dorothy on screen.. no she was much older than the age intended for the role. But here she was, begging, whining, trying to pay the producer big money to have the role until he finally gave in when she promised she'd bring Michael Jackson on set to play the scarecrow. He couldn't resist having such a talented young star on the movie.. even if that meant letting go of Y/N, which was simply unfair.. but Diana Ross' threats became unbearable.
Today was the first day filming the first scenes. Michael was sitting down looking around the set in awe, he's never played in the big screen so even though the guilt was aching his heart.. he knew the young actress Y/N was supposed to play the role, and he also knew she was much more fitted for this old than Diana. But he couldn't confront Diana with it.. I mean , she did get him a role in this film, she did so much stuff for him that it felt even more wrong to do so. But his eyes kept drifting down to the scrip in his hands, where in the first page Y/N''s name was scribbled out to be replaced by Diana Ross.
After a few moments, Diana's first scene was shot.. and it was.. a disaster.. The producer Jerry felt tears pool in his eyes as his dream of making such a big movie with a lot of budget was crumbling in pieces, here was Diana completely ruining his movie with her bad acting and her face.. not at all matching the cute face Dorothy was supposed to have.. This just didn't work.. no makeup or editing could fix it. The kept re-shooting the scene but it simply didn't work.
Weeks have passed, unbearable weeks for the producer, the other actors, the makeup artists.. so bad that the producer decided to quit on the project, letting another producer take over : Sidney Lumet. He knew the script, all the actors.. and he also knew that they absolutely couldn't keep Diana in the movie. He immediately walked up to her, who was sitting down on the makeup artist's chair, next to Michael who was getting ready to be the scare crow.
"Miss Ross ?" He called, the makeup artist stopping in her work as Diana looked back at him with a smile.. completely oblivious to the news that was about to fall upon her. Michael also looked ack at them through the mirror, not daring to move to mess up the artist's work.
"We've come to the unfortunate decision that we couldn't keep you in the movie anymore. We've seen the scenes so far and it's not at all the vision we had for this movie." he said in a low serious voice, Diana's eyes widen as she shot up from her seat, her lips parting to retaliate before the producer raised a hand to stop her in her track
"We've spent too much budget on the movie.. and we decided we'd re shoot the scenes instead of keeping on this track. So, we apologize for the wasted time and we're going to call back Y/N."
Diana scoffed, a frown on her face as she grabbed her stuff
"Michael. Let's go, we're leaving !" She said, furious. Michael's eyes widen, the makeup artist stopping her work on his face to let him look back at Diana.. he stayed silent.. he didn't want to leave at all.. this was the most fun he's had in a while.. but he didn't want to say no to Diana. Thankfully the producer shook his head in disapproval.
"No no.. Michael can stay, in fact we've love to have him in the movie." He said, Diana shot Michael a death stare.. he looked down at the ground immediately, swallowing hard
"i-i.." he mumbled, not daring to look up at her. "w-well.. the makeup artists has been working for hours.. it'll take a long time to take off.. and the costumes.." he said, trying to drag it
Diana simply scoffed and stormed off
"Fine ! Stay with them, abandon the one who's always been here for you !" she shouted as she left.. her screams fading in the hallway. Michael's heart ached, guilt creeping up his spine as he left out a deep sigh.. The makeup artist put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The producer smiled up at Michael
"We'll be very happy to have you here.. you're very welcome to stay." he said, trying to convince him to stay.. Michael only looked away.. hesitating. Diana was right after all.. she did do a lot for him.. it felt so wrong to abandon her, but after she did do all that she did.. she snatched away a role that was promised for someone else.. It was all unfair. And he's always been dreaming about having a role in cinema.. could he really let such a chance slip away from him ? The occasion might never occur again.. It all felt so much.. the makeup artists worked on his face to undo his makeup so he could leave the set for today, he spoke with her.. ranting.. waiting for her opinion on it all, and so she did. She gave him advices.. listened to him.
And so he finally made a decision. He'll stay. He wanted to work with that famous Y/N.
A few weeks passed… the time to entirely re shoot the scenes, replacing Diana with Y/N. It all went much smoother, her acting on point, she was easy to work with, her bright and youthful energy filling the set and being so perfectly caught on camera. It was just what they all were working for.
After all that time.. Michael had fought with Diana about going back to the set.. she was strongly against, entirely out of anger and jealousy.. But Michael decided to go. He was today sitting down In the same makeup artist's chair, the one that had adviced him to come back. She happily did his makeup, both of them chatting.
The door of the makeup studio opened, a fresh smell of a flowery fragrance cutting through the hues of hairspray and powder. Michael looked in front of him at the mirror, to check who was that person. His eyes met hers, he felt his heart slightly jump.. And so did hers. She walked up to sit down next to him, a bright smile on her face as she looked back at Michael for a few seconds before introducing herself.
"Hi ! I'm Y/N, it's incredible to see you in real life ! I'm such a big fan !" She said excitedly. Michael glanced back at her shyly and let out a nervous chuckle
"H-hey, it's nice to meet you too" he said
Y/N was sitting next to him.. the girl he'd seen on TV, singing beautifully on Broadway about sad songs.. She was just around his age, 17 when he was 19. He felt nervous.. shy. Just like he was usually next to people he didn't know but this one was different, they didn't know each other directly but they'd both seen each other countless of times on TV.. She watched him perform with his brothers on MTV, meanwhile at the same time he was watching her cry on screen.. they were both talented in different categories yet so similar.
A makeup artist walked up to Y/N to start on her light makeup, just enough to look pretty for the camera.. opposite to Michael's crazy makeup that took hours
"Alright baby" the much older makeup artist said as she started applying fondation on Y/N's face, she sat there completely still like she was used to having this being done to her everyday. The two teenagers stayed completely still and silent while the makeup artists glanced at each other, sharing a knowing smirk
"You kids are awfully quiet" one said with a chuckle
"Why are you two acting shy ? You're going to be acting together in just a few minutes.. you should get comfortable with each other already" the second said, moving on to Y/N's blush.
Michael cleared his throat, a soft blush creeping up his cheeks being covered by the layers of makeup
"It's my first time on a movie.." he mumbled in his usual ysweet soft voice. Y/N looked back at him with a chuckle
"Feeling nervous ?"
""y-yeah.."
"Don't worry, it's super fun ! Plus this movie if goofy, no need to stress it out" she says, giving him a comforting smile, which he returned shyly.
When their makeup was finally done, they both stood up, Y/N looked at Michael up and down for a few second before she laughed
"Looking good" she said teasingly. Michael blushed and shook his head
"shut it.." he mumbled, a gentle chuckle escaping his own lips
When they finally arrived on set, they reviewed the script one last time before Michael got in position to shoot his first scene.. he felt nervous, but completely thrilled. They shot his first scene, among the crows that made fun of him for wanting to explore the world as a scarecrow.
It went just perfectly, no needing to re shoot the scene because one of the actors lost their lines, because they stuttered.. Y/N stood in the background as intended for the scene, watching them doing her best to stay perfectly in character and not smile as she watched literally her favorite singer in front of her. Was this man bad at anything ? When he started singing You can't win, she couldn't help but think.. It looked so natural for him. And it was ! He truly was as good as he looked on TV, no way around it.
When it was finally the time to come out of the background, to help the scarecrow down and scare the crows away.. Michael couldn't help but feel the shyness rise in him.. but he stayed focused as best as he could. Falling down like the script told him to, Y/N kneeling beside him to comfort him, gently rubbing his back.. It was perfect, just perfect ! The producer finally shouted cut, everyone on set easing up, Y/N chuckling as she helped up Michael
"You're a natural !" She said, Michael shaking his head and giggling nervously
"I've been rehearsing for weeks in front of my mirror.." he admitted, making Y/N laugh
"Well it definitely paid off !" she said, gently dragging Michael out the set and towards the small food buffet set for everyone to grab a snack during breaks.
She looked around the table, grabbing some chips and eating them before she looked back at Michael, not taking anything..
"You're not hungry ? Even after all those hours in the makeup artist's chair, filming.." she asked curiously. Michael looked up at her and shook his head
"i'm scared to ruin the makeup or something.." he mumbled
"aww don't worry, it's their jobs they can easily fix it ! Just eat" she said, grabbing a grape and holding it in front of Michael's mouth. He hesitated for a few seconds before leaning forward and eating the grape, making Y/N giggle.
A few minutes later, they were back on set to shoot the very famous song, Ease on down the road. Where Michael and Y/N would sing together.. And both of them were equally as nervous.. Michael, the rising super star, who's been singing ever since he started walking, his dance moves making everyone crazy for him.. and Y/N the young Broadway celebrity, who learned crazy riffs, followed intense classical training to work her voice and attitude.. two legends working together, yet they were still young nervous shy teenagers..
But it was perfect. Exactly what the producer and the audience wanted. They both shot the scene together.. the scarecrow finding the golden road, struggling to get up as Dorothy helped him walk. Then both starting to run towards the golden bridge, singing and dancing.
That's where Y/N and Michael felt most comfortable in. He grabbed her hand, like the script wanted but more out of his own deciding as they both started singing, their voice blending in each other so smoothly creating such an intoxicating melody that could make anyone smile and nod their head.
Michael started dancing, his feet moving instinctively as they both sang, Y/N glancing down at his feet, quickly picking up on him and matching him. They both made eye contact for a split second before letting go of their hand to dance on their own to their only separated lines
"Pick your left foot up, when your right foot's down !" She sang, a wide smile on her face as she looked at Michael dance on the side
"Come on legs keep movin', don't you lose no ground" he responded, his nose slightly crunching in happiness.
Then they both went back to singing together, their legs mangling beautifully.. not like how it was apparently going to sound with Diana..
"You just keep on keepin', on the road that you choose !"
Their dancing separate as they slowly walked together, their smile on each other's faces only widening as this moment right here felt simply magical
"Don't you give up on walkin', cause' you gave up shoes !"
Not once stuttering their lines or singing, their acting immaculate. They were both trained to be perfect, and both their perfectionist behavior getting the best of them when ever they took part in anything !
Their hands tangled together as they both spun, dancing together as if their brainwaves synced together. So lost in the moment until suddenly, Y/N accidently stepped on Michael's foot
She tripped and fell over against Michael's back.. The cameraman stopping the recording. Y/N stood up, looking back at Michael, gently biting her lip nervous.. as if waiting for him to snap at her for making such mistake..
But none of that. He looked up at her, bursting into laughter as he stood up as well. His laugh triggering her own
"I'm so sorry guys !" she said, glancing back at the staff crew.
"You made a mistake before I did. Me a newbie to acting.." he said teasingly. Y/N looked back at him, playfully nudging his shoulder
"Shut up ! It's your fault for dancing like this.." she said, matching his playfull smirk as they both got back in place to shoot the scene again
"Right right.." he said with a giggle.
It's been ages he had such fun while working.. He secretly knew that he wouldn't laugh as much if Diana kept her role as Dorothy.. he hated himself for thinking that but, he secretly loved working with Y/N.
Y/N had always looked up to Michael, always dreamed of even just grazing his hand while he was on tour and she was in the crowd.. But here they were, both laughing together, working together. It was more than she ever could hope for..
And maybe.. just maybe they could become friends after this. Maybe more.. She silently hoped she'd get to work with him again, and without her knowing..
He silently hoped just as much.
