Oblige or Obey

Oblige & Obey

June 13th
After weeks and months of stress and strain. Michael was officially done dealing with his court cases. It had affected his mental health  drastically, and he has not been the same from the start. He was exhausted.
You had been dating Michael for a couple years. You had been by his side through hell and back. He had done so much for you, despite all the bullshit he had went through. You had something special planned for him.

You and Michael were leaving the courthouse, rushing towards the van, as the crowd of fans  holding signs were cheering for Michael. While the press and paparazzi were trying to bombard, attempting to invade y'all's personal space. His body guards protecting you both as his family walked beside. Michael stayed paced ahead of you. You knew he was feeling off, he usually holds your hand from behind, to keep him from losing you in the crowd. This time he didn't, he was obviously in a hurry to get away from the mics and camera flashes. He was probably just overwhelmed.

As you guys approached the vehicle, he stopped to look back to take a moment to wave at his fans. He opened the door and let you climb in first, then he followed. You placed your purse in the middle between y'all as he slid into his seat beside you. Everyone else climbed in and got settled into their seats. As the van pulled off, he took a deep sigh, then leaned back and looked out the window. You glared over at him, despite him being acquitted, he was still drained and overwhelmed from months of torture.

"Michael....how are you feeling?" you hesitantly ask. He adjust himself in the seat and leans back more. "I could be better." He says softly as he runs his hands across his thighs, still looking out the window. You look away and look down  at your feet, staring at the shiny black, red bottom heels Michael got you for your birthday.

A few minutes later, Michael takes a quick glance at you. It was a minor gesture he always does to check on you. As he looks away, his eyes stops at your purse. He notices a pink note sticking out the side pocket. He looks back up at you, you were staring out your window. He looks back down at your purse once more; then looks away and pretends he is glancing out his window. His right hand sneakily slides over and slips the note out your purse.

He leans over and hovers towards the window trying to be discreet, then secretly reads the note. It read "Matt 805-221-3487" with a heart underneath. Michael clinched his left hand in anger, balling the note up with it. He rubbed his nose like he always does when he's upset or embarrassed.

You two were quiet the whole ride, there were a few moments you wanted to speak, but you didn't want to bother him anymore than the world already had. Michael made sure his family got dropped off at home first before anything. As the van began approaching Neverland, Michael started getting jittery. He started shaking his right leg and tapping his large fingers on his thighs.

You knew what was going on. (Or so you thought, this was just part of it.) He was always nervous to go home. He still had PTSD from when Neverland was raided the past couple years. You wanted to speak, but couldn't. You reached over and held his right hand to comfort him. As the van approached the gates, there were already fans screaming and running towards the van. Michael shyly waved then looked down at his lap.

Y'all finally made it through the chaos and pulled up in front of the house. As the vehicle came to a stop, Michael sat there quietly for a few moments before for breaking the silence. "Bill, can you make sure she gets inside for me please?" Michael asks soft but sternly. You look over at him confused. "Sure thing." Bill replies. Michael steps out of the vehicle. "Michael where are y...." Your question was cut off from him shutting the door. You watched from inside the vehicle as he began to walk away towards the back of Neverland. At that point Bill was already getting out as well. He comes around and opens the door for you. He takes your hand to help you out the car, then shuts the door behind you. "What's wrong with joker?" He asks with a frown on his face, as he begins walking you up the front steps towards the house. "I don't know." You say with a tone of concern in your voice. "Maybe he's still worked up about today." You say softly but unsure. You look around and at that point Michael was gone. Unknown to where he went. You two finally made it up the stairs and approached the front door. You take out your keys and unlock it. "Thanks Bill." You say as you open the door to step inside. "Yep." He replies as he waits for you to close the door before heading back to the van.