All I Didn't Say ✧ Michael Jackson

Chapter 10 | The Arrival

"Jack must be outside," Michael says as Tatiana approaches him. "Oh, I forgot," he turns around and goes back to the counter. "Here, for all of you." Michael leaves a very generous tip to all the staff members and meets Tatiana again.

Once they get outside the night seems to be gone. It's not dark anymore and all they see is cameras and flash. Michael's eyes hurt like hell, he forgot to bring his sunglasses. Jack comes by and holds both of their arms.

"Tatiana, are you hooking up with wacko jacko?" Tatiana keeps walking forward.

"Ignore them," Michael says. "Get in." He opens the door for her and Jack leads Michael to the other side. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she puts a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thank you for tonight. Seriously." Michael nods and looks away feeling embarrassed. 

"Tatiana," Michael speaks. "Would you accept to perform on stage with me, during the tour?"

Michael knows this is a hasty decision and, deep down, he knows why he's taking it. He's afraid of loneliness.

"What?" Tatiana almost jumps up from her seat. "Are you serious?" Michael nods. "Oh my god! Of course!"

********

While Michael lays on his hotel bed thinking about what he feels about the charming model, Aria is inside a taxi, driving around italian streets. She can tell the difference already. The air is cleaner and lighter, Europe itself doesn't seem to be dominated by the smog like America is. It's cold though, Michael told her to dress something warm and comfortable. As always she didn't listen to him and didn't wear a jacket.

"We're here," the taxi driver announces. Aria pays, gets out of the car and faces not just the huge mansion in front of her but one of the biggest challenges of her life.

"Aria?" A male voice echoes behind her and she smoothly turns around. "My name is Filippo," the man approaches her and Aria smiles, hugging herself to stay warm. "I'm Gianni Versace's assistant. He is not in Milan right now so it's my job to take care of you for today."

Aria is exhausted. There was a delay with the flight so she left Chicago at 2 am and landed in Italy at 8 am. All she wants is to sleep and call Michael to let him know she's okay but Filippo seems to have a full schedule for the rest of the day.

"You don't need to feel nervous." Filippo leads her through the golden gates and they reach the front door. "This is the place where the magic happens." He opens the door and all she sees is a good amount of chaos and luxury. "We have models here on Sundays for fittings, that's the reason of the stress." There's at least thirty people running around.

Filippo smiles and walks forward. Aria gets out of her one minute trance and follows him. "You'll meet everyone at dinner, I'll show you your room now." Filippo grabs her bags and goes up the stairs.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Aria gets speechless when she enters the major bedroom. The walls are covered in Renaissance paintings and the room itself was full of extravagant decor, just like the rest of the mansion.

"I know, ragazza." Filippo looks at Aria who's smiling at him. Actually she's trying not to laugh. "What?" He asks.

"What does that mean?" Aria questions while examining the room.

"Ragazza?" She nods. "It means girl." 

Aria thinks that Filippo is very funny. His accent is cute, it's a mixture of italian and english all in one. Also, his physical appearance is something that caught her attention: he's very tall and his legs are too thin; he has black long hair and a sharped and perfectly shaved jaw line.

"When will I meet Gianni?" Aria sits on the most comfortable bed ever.

"Tomorrow morning," he sits next to her. "Things are not easy here."

"I already calculated that. The chaos downstairs," Filippo nods. "But I'm looking forward to this." 

"Well," he gets up. "I planned an amazing afternoon for you but I'm going to let you rest for a couple of hours." Aria smiles.

"You read my mind Filippo. I would really enjoy a good nap right now." Filippo nods, smiles and leaves the room. When he closes the door, Aria gets up to unpack. She also takes the time to have a quick shower and jump into her pajamas. Actually, Michael made her bring his pajamas, the Superman one is her favorite.

While she lays on the bed, covered in a very warm duvet, she remembers that her brother is almost going on tour and she's not going with him for the first time in 19 years. She'll miss it, the stress of touring, the pranks Michael and her did on everyone. It's weird for her to think that she's going to sleep in the same bed for six months and not in a different hotel room every two days.

"It's only for six months." Aria murmurs to herself before falling asleep.

A/N

I'm so sorry for taking so long (again). School just started and I'm drowning in tests and work to do. But I'll try my best to, at least, update every week! Thank you so much for sticking up with me! <3