ARIAH HAD ALWAYS been a shy girl, but her sister was pressuring her to admit her feelings to the one and only Michael Jackson. It had been forever since the feelings she had for him were planted inside of her heart and it was finally time to do something about it -- or so she thought.
"So, you got it?" Stella asked her sister for what seemed like the hundredth time. "First, you talk about how he seems perfect to you. Compliment his talent and talk about how you've loved him ever since you were a baby. Then, say how you feel about him now. Make it all connect."
"Easy for you to say! You're courting already." Ariah was right. Her sister was dating. In fact, she was going steady with actor Jason Preistley. He was charming and Ariah thought he was very beautiful. She was happy that her sister was in love. "I get shy, you know."
"Well, just say what comes to mind." Stella laughed. "I don't know what to tell you anymore."
"Well, thanks for nothing, sis."
"Big sisses!" Zuri came running down the hall, holding onto her Raggedy Ann doll for dear life. "Have you seen Mama?"
"No, I haven't seen her." Ariah giggled at her little sister, who was trying to catch her breath. "Why?"
"We're playing hide and seek and it's been forever since I've seen her." She pouted. Ariah thought back to when her mother used to play the same childhood game with her and where the typical hiding places would be. "Did you check the powder room?"
"Yup."
"Her closet?"
"Yup."
"Daddy's closet?" Stella asked her and Zuri nodded excitedly.
"Yes!" She giggled. "She wasn't there."
"I'll help find her, sweetie." Stella smiled and picked her up. "Sissy here has some serious business to take care of -- don't you, Ariah?"
"If you call admitting feelings some serious business, then yeah." Ariah lightly chuckled and Stella smirked at her. "I guess I do!"
"Good luck!" Stella and Zuri squealed in unison, while Ariah blew them as kiss as she backed away from them.
She went into her bedroom to freshen up. The girl placed her long hair in a tight, but perfect bun on top of her head, using gel for her edges. She sprayed some perfume on herself and applied lip gloss to her lips. She thought she looked attractive, but this was all for Michael. She hoped that he would be impressed.
••••
"Ariah McCartney!" None other than Lionel Richie himself loudly announced, seeing Ariah walk through the door of the studio that he and Michael were working in that day. It was a blessing that her family was close with so many incredibly famous, yet incredibly talented people. "You look older every time I see you." He lightly chuckled, coming to give her a huge hug. "I mean that in the best way possible."
"Thanks, Nelly Richie." She smiled, still calling him by the name she called him as a toddler. He chuckled and Michael was in the corner of the room, just observing. The entertainer didn't know what to say or even if he should interrupt. He was amused at the name that Ariah addressed Lionel as, but figured it was affectionate.
"Nelly Richie?" Michael finally spoke up, stifling a laugh. "What?"
"Hello to you, too, Michael." Ariah smirked, feeling a bit a bit of confidence wash over her. "How are you doing today?"
"Fine, just waiting for Brooke to get here."
"Brooke?"
"Yeah, that's my girlfriend." Michael nodded, almost smiling at Ariah. "How are you, sweetheart?"
That bit of news ended her entire plan to admit her feelings to him. She felt like Michael and Brooke we're going steady. They seemed serious about their relationship and Ariah was jealous more than anything. He was seven years Ariah's elder, so there was probably not even a slim chance of them even making it. In a way, she was glad for the chance to spare herself the embarrassment in front of her superstar crush.
Ariah nodded slowly, coming back to reality. She didn't know how to respond, considering her heart was shattering as they spoke.
"I'm good." She managed to tell a lie and Michael raised an eyebrow at her, questioning the truth in her reply. Stella had so much experience with boys, so she really wanted to phone her and ask for advice on what to do next. "Where's the telephone in here?"
"Towards the back, near my office. You'll probably see Q back there, say hello." Lionel told her, briefly mentioning Quincy Jones, causing the young girl to smile. "He would love to see how grown you've become."
"Love you, Nelly Richie." She winked at him and he waved. She waved to Michael and he smiled at her before she left to go to the room to use the phone. She peeked her head into Quincy's office and she said hello to him.
"Hi." Quincy simply greeted back. He seemed to be working on new music, which intrigued Ariah. However, she was too focused on Plan B to admitting her feelings to Michael. "You look familiar.."
"Seriously?" Ariah narrowed her eyes at Quincy. He shook his head, trying to remember who she was. "It's me, Riles."
A couple of moments later, he remembered. It amused Ariah to say the least.
"Riles? Ariah?" He was astonished. The last time he had seen her, she was barely a teenager. At this point in time, she has blossomed into a beautiful young lady. "Jesus! The time has really passed. How are you, little lady?"
"I'm doing okay!" She chuckled. "You look good as always, Sir."
"Thank you, thank you." He nodded in gratitude. "It's nice to see you, Riles."
"You as well!" Ariah called, continuing to walk past his office and down the hall to where the phone was hung on the wall. She quickly dialed the number to her home and the person that answered was the last family member she wanted to talk to in this moment.
"McCartney Residence." Ariah heard her father answer on the other line after about two rings. She immediately slammed the phone back onto its hook before he could say anything else. She would get into big trouble if her father knew that she was down at the studio with Michael. A sigh escaped her lips as she was back to not knowing what to do. She wanted to tell Michael how she felt, but with Brooke coming to visit, she had doubts about confessing up.
"Everything okay?"
Ariah looked up to see Michael standing there, leaning against the wall and waiting for an answer. The entertainer's eyes were full of concern and he wanted to know what was going on. He could tell she was bothered by something.
"Fine." She mumbled under breath before somewhat explaining her situation. "I was trying to get ahold of Stella to talk to her about something, but my father answered the phone. If he knew I was down here, he would kill me."
"He wouldn't kill you, he loves you too much to do such thing." Michael chuckled lightly. "You could talk to me, I'll listen to anything you have to say."
His offer to listen to what she had to say was extremely tempting. She wanted to pour out her heart and feelings to him, yet his actual girlfriend would be there within minutes.
"Um," Ariah spoke uneasily and Michael got the memo. "I like you a lot and all, but I don't think so.."
"Well, here's another option." Michael began to suggest. "I'll call him and ask to speak with your sister for you, if you want. That way, I can get you past your father and you can talk to your sister."
"Would you really do that for me?" Ariah sincerely asked, not even believing what Michael was doing for her. He was the actual sweetheart here.
"I'll do anything for you, sweetheart." That statement along with the affectionate name alone made her blush and Michael noticed. He smirked to himself as he began to dial the number to the McCartney residence. "It's ringing.."
Ariah kept her fingers crossed as someone did pick up the phone. Michael smiled, hearing that it was his good friend.
"Macca, hi." Michael glanced at Ariah. "Was wondering if I could talk to Stella? I've got to ask her a question. Thanks." There was a long pause which let Ariah know that the line was being transferred to her sister. She hoped she would pick up quickly because Brooke would be in the studio soon.
"Stella, it's MJ." Michael greeted the young lady. "Your sister wanted to talk to you, here you go."
The entertainer handed the phone to Ariah before staring at her for a couple of seconds. He winked at her and then, he left to go back into the studio.
"Stella, Brooke's on her way." Ariah frantically stated, causing her sister to squeal on the other line. "I need your help."
"Listen to me: don't say anything." Stella demanded. "Do not say anything, Ariah."
"But, this is killing me." Ariah groaned softly. "You don't get it, Stella."
"Well, you don't want to do it while she's there! Do you?" Stella insisted with power, trying to reason with her sister to get her to understand the point she was attempting to make. "I promise you that it would make things way too awkward for everybody in the room."
"You're right." Ariah sighed. "Should I call him and tell him over the phone?"
"No, no. Don't." Stella sighed. "Just wait another time and come on back home."
"Okay." Ariah sadly squeaked. "It was worth a try, I guess."
"You didn't even try." Stella chuckled, causing Ariah to roll her eyes slowly. "Come home now. We can think of a better plan. Plus, Mum and Daddy are arguing again." The bickering between their parents had been going on for a long while. The two girls were sick of it. It was taking a toll on everyone in the house, even little Zuri. "If you were here, Zuri and I would feel a lot better."
"Aright then." Ariah let out a deep sigh. "I'll be on my way, sis." She hung up and glanced over at Michael, who was embracing the woman that he was dating. She seemed to have just gotten there and they were already kissing on each other lightly. Seeing that sight pained Ariah to say the least. She hated being friends with Michael when she knew that she was good enough to be more to him.
"Ariah, wait!" Michael called as Ariah rushed through the studio, not making eye contact with anyone. "I want you to meet-" His voice became inaudible to the young girl as the door to the studio shut tightly behind her. She stormed down the long corridor to go outside to head home, with tears consisting of jealousy and rage streaming down her face.
"Why can't he like me?!" She screamed speed-walking down the sidewalks of Manhattan. "What's wrong with me?!"
Fortunately, people didn't recognize Ariah as the oldest adopted child of Paul and Linda McCartney. However, she felt as if all eyes were on her after she screamed her thoughts to the people of New York.
The feeling that Ariah was experiencing was pure hell. She wanted Michael and she didn't know how to tell him. Then, it hit her.
She couldn't have him, even if she wanted him as badly as she did.