- no comments about that fire ass edit last chapter? I — okay 💀
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Los Olivos, California
Annalisa Green -- July 31st, 1994
Location: 5225 Figueroa Mountain Rd.
A fake smile adorned my face as I shook hands with the reporter standing before Michael and I. He didn't want to travel to Quincy's office to do the photoshoot, so he insisted to open up the gates for today. Kidada was head operator for this magazine shoot this time. She's been wanting to see Michael in what most people may call 'hip wear' for the longest. And now that it's happening, I also want to see for myself. He created his own style in clothing and looks good in it effortlessly. Now, let's see how he looks in jeans, sneakers, and a big baggy shirt.
Of course, every event needs it publicity and Quincy didn't miss a beat in getting Michael to agree on it. His magazine team was here in a heartbeat to get the 'scoop' on today's event. We hadn't even started yet and I was already annoyed just from them being here.
"It's very nice to meet you two," Shani said nicely, shaking our hands with a warm smile on her face. She was hand picked by Quincy from his building, to come down and give a mini interview. The actual idea — from what I've been told — was to document bits and pieces of today and report back to the news about what was witnessed.
"Likewise." I nodded.
After she shook Michael's hand, we went and took our seats back on the grass. A small group of paparazzi was present to take some pictures today. Nate had warned them about the do's and don'ts before handing off several copies of a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Those little sheets of papers were the only reasons why I felt a small piece of relief. That alone had the power of keeping their mouths shut.
I crossed my legs and leaned back on my hands with a small frown on my face. I still didn't like this, overall. But there's no time to pout. Put a smile on your face for the camera, Ana.
"You actually look adorable in this big ass jacket, Smelly." Kidada cooed, playfully squeezing at Michael's cheeks.
He giggled and swatted her hands away. "Adorable? I'm a grown man, Kid. Address me as such."
"Ooou, okay then." She held up her hands.
Quincy and the others nearby laughed. Nothing but the sounds of cameras shuttering, small talk, and soft chatters was heard for at least thirty more minutes. After that they were done and we were able to get up and head to the set.
Michael helped me up from the ground, immediately pulling me into his arms for a kiss. That was enough to make me smile and put a pep in my step.
"I can tell you're feeling tense, Ana," he mumbled into my ear. "They'll all be gone in an hour tops, I promise."
"Okay." I smiled, reaching up for a longer kiss.
Once I pulled away, he grabbed my hand and we followed Quincy and Kidada across the fields toward the main house. Nate and the others lined up the large carts to drive everyone to the lounge, where the photoshoot was to take place. We didn't want them in the main house tainting everything with their... tabloid junkie disease.
I laughed at my thoughts and squeezed his hand gently.
Another thirty minutes passed and we were in the middle of the shoot. Michael sported a cute little white hat, a yellow sweater, jeans, and white new balance sneakers. He was a bit nervous wearing something out of his ordinary, but I could tell that he was having a good time exploring the style.
"He's like a kid in a candy store," Quincy said to one of the reporters. I'm guessing that they decided to start the interview. "Me and Kidada, we been tryin' to convince Michael that it'd be cool if he did this shoot since last year after his tour was over. He's created his own sense of style over the years, but the question that always floats in the air between us is: Have we ever seen Michael in jeans? And Kidada wanted to explore that with this shoot. I think she doin' good so far."
"And what do you think is most misunderstood about Michael?"
"Everything. While he's the most successful, the most innovative, talented, and creative entertainer in the world, he's still aware.. if that makes sense. He still has feelings, he has a brain, he knows what he's doin', and he knows what he says. We as fans, we forget that behind the voice and the sound, that he's still human. And I feel that people should start takin' that into consideration before they do shit."
I decided to chime in with a smile. "Preach the word Pastor."
Quincy laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "And another thing, what people forget about Michael, is that for the first time — in probably the history of music itself — a black artist, is embraced on a global level by everyone from eight to eighty years old" I nodded again in agreement. "People all over the world, especially young people, have a black man as an idol."
"And that definitely scares a lot of people," I said. "It's not Elvis, it's Michael Jackson, who we think about. Who we sing all the time. Who we cheer for. And I think that he deserves more respect in the business. Especially now in the times we livin' in. 'Cause when it's too late, it's too late, and people will continue living in regret thinking of all the stupid things they did or said to him," I glanced at Michael, who was sharing a laugh with Maddy. "Yeah, basically what I'm saying is: leave him alone." And I laughed to lighten the tensed air.
Quincy gently squeezed my shoulder. "That's what we're all sayin'. Right?"
The reporter nodded and tried not to show how awkward she was feeling. It made me laugh a bit harder.
"Sorry for interview-bombing" I shrugged smiling. "I'll leave you guys to it."
I started to walk away, but she called after me. "Wait, we wanted you to say something as well."
"Oh, just take everything I just said and slide it in the papers." I continued my walk, but ended up turning back around to speak again. "Everything. Don't leave anything out or sugar coat it. I want to see every word that just came out of my mouth on that paper."
She nodded speechlessly and watched me walk across the room to Michael and Maddy. Only Maddy was about to walk away until she saw me.
"Hey, where are you going, Maddy?" I asked.
"Oh, I'm going to go grab us some drinks and call Raye." I frowned, now realizing that I haven't seen Raye around the house at all. "Michael said that she's sick and that I should check on her and stuff."
".... Okay."
She shuffled away towards the bar, leaving me to turn and look at Michael, who was too busy eating a glazed donut to notice me standing here. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, feeling a bit frustrated. Raye's my friend, and there's things that I should be informed about sometimes. This is one of those things. Now, she's probably mad that I haven't called and checked on her yet. I don't know how I missed the fact that she hasn't been here since we came back.
I cleared my throat. "Michael."
"Hmm?" He stuffed the rest of the donut into his mouth and cleaned his fingers with a wet wipe afterwards. It wasn't until he saw my facial expression that he giggled embarrassedly, and grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth with. "What's wrong baby?"
"So Raye is sick?"
"Pardon?"
"Pardon," I mocked purposefully. "She's been sick this whole damn time, and you didn't think to tell me? Really?"
He tossed the napkin and the wipe into the trash. "First, lower your tone. You're goin' to cause a scene" I looked around, seeing some eyes on us. "Second, this is something that can be discussed privately and later on. Not in front of them, where it can easily be put on the news, Ana."
"I don't give a damn about these people, or what they put in the news about me" I almost yelled. "We're talkin' about this now, or I can walk out of that door and that's it. Pick your poison."
We stood there for a while watching and waiting for each other to make a sudden move... to speak a word or make a sound. But of course nothing happened. I wasn't backing down. I don't care how minor this was, this was going to be addressed now. He's been acting way to weird when someone even whisper Raye's name and it makes me suspicious. What the fuck did they do for him to act this way? Why wasn't she here? Why hasn't she been here?
Michael rubbed the bridge of his nose gently. ".... I guess you're gonna be walking out of that door, and waiting until I'm ready to discuss the situation."
I glared at him as he leaned down to kiss my face. "Please don't do this right now, Ana. I don't need you pickin' fights with me today."
"I wouldn't pick fights if you'd stop beating around the bush about certain things," I grumbled, wiping my face.
To my dismay, he ignored me and went in for another kiss. Once he pulled away he said, "Later, I mean it." Then he walked away.
For some odd reason, I felt my eyes burning with incoming tears. Why the fuck was I getting ready to cry? It wasn't that serious, but he pisses me off sometimes. That still isn't a reason for me to be crying but —
"Calm down, Ana. Walk away," I told myself. "Hold it in."
I needed a drink.
———
Los Olivos, California
Michael Jackson -- July 31st, 1994
Location: 5225 Figueroa Mountain Rd.
"You're doin' good so far, Smelly," Kidada grinned. "We'll be done after a few more."
"Okay," I fixed my glasses over my face, panning my eyes over to Ana. She sat in the chair a few feet away from me, clearly avoiding me as much as she could.
I know that she's upset, and she has every right to be, but I no longer wanted her to keep in touch with Raye. Yes she was a good friend to her, but what she did was unforgiveable. And Ana will soon see that when I tell her what happened.
I'm still holding off on it, because I'm still wanting to figure this out on my own. No I wasn't doing it on purpose. I truly wanted to solve this by myself. Nate has been the only one helping me because from what I was told, he was here that night as well. Mysteriously though, no one was on camera duty at the time I was in the hot tub. We still haven't obtained the footage from when Raye was in the kitchen, nor have we gotten any footage from outside of my room. There was never any camera's in my room for obvious reasons, but now, I feel like I should have them installed.
Kidada took her time picking out the next set of clothes for me, while Karen fixed my makeup. For some odd reason I was sweating bullets and it wasn't hot in here at all. I hope I'm not getting sick.
"Loafers or sneakers?" She asked me.
"Sneakers."
"Oh? You're getting use to these, huh?"
I laughed and nodded my head. "I guess so."
"I'm glad you're enjoyin' this though. I was hoping that you would" she handed me my pair of clothing, then leaned down to whisper. "and I'm also hoping that you'd add this flavor into ya' wardrobe."
"Wishful thinking."
Kidada laughed. "Well I tried!"
A few minutes later, Karen finished with my makeup so the shoot could continue. Quincy was still making his rounds and 'secretly' advertising and teasing my next album to everyone. They wanted the scoop on the process and I was glad that they finally wanted to know the things that are important to me, instead of trying to figure out whether Ana's pregnant or not.
They sat me down on a barstool in front of the white backdrop for the next set. I'm guessing these were close up photos. I was now sporting a red flat cap, a yellow sweater, and black baggy slacks. Of course the sneakers were on as well. I'm getting use to wearing them. Not only that, but they're actually comfortable.
"Say cheese!" Kidada teased while holding up her thumbs. It made me laugh loudly.
For nearly an hour, I posed for the last set of photos. When i was finished, everyone cheered and voiced how good the magazine was going to look. Now, all that was left was the mini interview that was going to be featured in the next issue.
I went to grab a bottle of water, and a small bag of potato chips, before I went and met Shani by the sitting area. Ana was sitting there as well eating a bowl of black olives.
I smiled as I sat down and kissed Ana's cheek. "Is it okay if I combined you guys' interview?"
"Oh, I'm not speaking again, sorry," Ana refused.
"Oh, okay —"
"C'mon baby, please? Just two words." I gave her the puppy eyes. She never seemed to deny any longer whenever I did.
I thought it'd work this time like all the others, but she shocked me when she shook her head. "No."
"Pleaseeee?" I poked my bottom lip out a little more.
To my dismay, she shook her head again. Only then I realized just how bothered she seemed about the situation. I decided to stop for now.
For the whole twenty minutes, she sat silently looking around at everything. Not once did her eyes meet mind. Instead she avoided me. I could tell that Shani was feeling quite uncomfortable. The air couldn't get tense enough.
As soon as the interview was over, Ana got up and walked away silently. I thanked Shani again before quickly scrambling to catch up to her. She was stepping out of the door when I grabbed her arm gently.
"Let me go."
"No." I pulled her back.
"Michael." Her tone was daring.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Ana. I just didn't want you to worry," I sighed tiredly. "You have a lot of things to do, and think about nowadays. I don't want that to pile up."
She looked me in the eyes and immediately her eyes softened. "I'm sorry, baby, I am," I repeated.
"... okay."
I smiled and eagerly kissed her lips. I did it multiple times, earning a sweet laugh from her. She grabbed my face and gave in to my kisses, kissing back just as eagerly as I. When she pulled away, she gently nipped at my chin with her fingers.
"It's hard to stay mad at you," she said, shaking her head gently.
"That's what love does." I shrugged, kissing her face. I pulled her into a hug. "I love you."
"And I love you. Too much for my own good."
I chuckled holding her tight in my arms. After a while, they died down and we stood in a loving embrace silently. The smile was long gone from my face, and instead was replaced with what I'm sure was, a guilty frown.
I needed to hurry up and tell her soon, before it's too late.
———
Yeaah, it's about to go down 😴
- nae 💋