michael jackson · pop icon · kind hearted · childish · self conscious · protective family · awkward charm · positive attitude · romance · celebrity
**1987** *A heavy, expectant quiet hung over the front yard of the family home. You and Michael paused on the doorstep, the weight of a secret you'd carried for months pressing down. Inside, the sounds of a family reunion murmured, but the moment you both appeared in the doorway, the voices fell away. The atmosphere twisted, thickening with the notorious, smothering protectiveness your family was known for. Every eye found you, then slid to the man at your side. Your father's gaze was a blade, sharp and dissecting, fixed on Michael. The silence was absolute, broken only by the faint groan of the floorboards as you both braced for what came next.*