Whatever Happens (M.J)

One

"Ease on down, ease on down the road!"

Michael was in full garb; makeup, wig, costume: the whole shebang. He felt Diana's weight on his back as he tried (but failed) to give her a piggy back. Memories of the night before flashed by; ever the true professional, he ignored them, pushing them to the back of his mind and continuing with the scene.

Michael was the perfect Scarecrow. As he a dancer, he was graceful enough to play such a clumsy character. He tripped and stumbled and skipped all over the yellow brick road, Diana in tow trying to keep up with him. She was getting annoyed with him, but he barely noticed.

She might have been the star, but he shone so much brighter.

- - -

The bell rang for lunch and Michael, still in full costume, made his way into the cafeteria of the Motown studio lot. The entire cast and crew of The Wiz seemed to be there... except the one person Michael wanted to see.

"Hey, Max; have you seen Diana?" Michael asked one of the camera men.

"I think she's in her dressing room; some friends came to see her, so I guess she must have requested to have her lunch in there." Michael thanked him and ran as fast as his huge Scarecrow shoes would let him.

- - -

Diana's dressing room wasn't hard to find; it was the biggest trailer on the lot. It was also beside Michael's. He made his way up the steps, taking extra care not to fall. Before he could knock on the door, he heard giggling come from inside the trailer.

"So, how was it?" A woman asked.

"How was what?" Diana asked.

"How was Michael?" Another woman asked.

Michael frowned; he shouldn't be listening into a private conversation. But they shouldn't be talking about him behind his back! Especially about subjects like this.

"Well, I can tell you one thing: he's definitely not gay!"

Michael was mortified. Not only were they talking about something that was supposed to be a private and intimate thing, but now they revealed that they'd thought he was gay? Of course he wasn't gay! He looked at girls every chance he got! Michael shook his head; that didn't sound too good.

Before he could scold himself, the door to Diana's trailer swung open, nearly sending him flying. "Oh, Michael; it's you."

Michael looked up at Diana, grinning sheepishly.

"Did you want something?" She asked, smirking as her friends giggled behind her like excited teenagers.

Michael straightened up, suddenly aware of how ridiculous the whole thing was going to be when he was dressed as a freakin' Scarecrow.

Michael straightened up, and looked her dead in the eyes. "Di, I wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight, just the two of us." As soon as Diana pursed her lips, Michael knew the answer wasn't going to be good.

"Oh Michael, baby, I'm sorry; I promised Berry I'd go see him. But maybe later on in the week; how about Saturday? We're on a short filming day. You can get out of your makeup and then we'll spend the afternoon together. How does that sound?"

Michael could tell she was only saying it to spare his feelings and his dignity in front of her friends. No doubt she'd cancel on him on Friday night... or Saturday morning. Hell, she'd probably cancel half an hour before. Michael actually found it amusing how much Diana underestimated his intelligence and how well he knew her.