Ease On Down The Road
Michael x Broadway!reader ⋆｡°✩
After The Wiz flopped on the big screen, Broadway decided to bring the show back to the stage to redeem themselves. They hire 19-year-old Y/n to play Dorothy. What happens when Michael stumbles across her recording the iconic song Home?
Warnings: Diana mention
Disclaimer: The version if her singing is based off of the Mariah Lyttle version. I needed a way to get Diana there so just pretend like We Are The World came out in 1980.
Michael had woken up with a bit of pep in his step today. He had always been known as the little boy from The Jackson 5. And while that was great, he craved for something else, something more. He had always believed that his voice was meant to spread good to the world, and now was his chance to show it.
The recording for We Are the World started today; they would rehearse and officially record tomorrow. As he got dressed, he couldn't help but to feel giddy. His first attempt at breaking from the group wasn't so successful. The Wiz had done embarrassingly bad in theaters, and while it wasn't his fault *cough cough*, he still knew that this was his window of opportunity.
"You ready joker?" Bill asked him as he approached the car.
"Yep, lets go."
Michael watched the houses and building pass as he looked through the window on his drives, storing whatever rhythms he thought of in the back of his brain for his new album.
When they reached the venue, he had barely gotten out of the car when two arms wrapped around him.
"Mikey!" A raw voice called out to him.
"Hi, Di." Michael responded slightly surprised, not expecting her to come out of thin air.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah! I'm actually really excited to-"
"Great!" She cut off mid-sentence. "You can stand by me!"
"Uhhh sure." Michael trailed off. He had always looked up to Diana ever since he was a little boy. He even had a little crush on her, but now, he can't help to feel like she doesn't care about him. Just looks at him like a piece of candy.
But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that he gets in this room and shows what he can really do. While the rehearsals are in a large studio booth down the hall, he walks in the other direction to go say hi to Quincy, knowing that he's recording in there.
As he approaches the door he hears Quincy's voice. "Alright that was really good, but how about you take it from the climax of the song. I just wanna hear you spice it up a little."
"You want me to start from 'If your listening god'?" A feminine voice asks.
"Yup."
"And you want me to spice it up?" She asks nervously.
"Yeah, you know you're a powerhouse, girl! Just feel it."
Michael reaches the room just as their small conversation ends.
"Hey Q!" He announces himself.
"Oh, hey Mike! Whatchu doin in here?"
"We got a few minutes before we start rehearsal, thought I'd pop in and say hi."
"Thought WE"D pop in and say hi." Diana interrupted.
"Hi Diana." Quincy spoke, in a tone much more exasperated than he had used with Michael.
"Ummm Quince? Are you ready?" A hesitant voice spoke over the intercom. All three people turned their attention to the booth.
Quincy, suddenly remembering the girl was there, quickly spoke. "Oh yeah. Sorry Y/n, i got caught up with Mike out here." At the mention of Michael's name Y/n lifted her head to look out of the glass.
To her surprise, he was already looking at her. Diana was still clinging to his arm, so he gave her a small wave with his free hand. Y/n waved back with small blush on her cheeks.
"Do you want us to leave? Or-" Michael started to speak again before he was cut off. Take a wild guess who.
"No. I wanna hear this." Diana said with a slight mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Alright then. Y/n, I'm gonna start the track a couple of measures before your cue. remember to really let go. You've got this."
Y/n took a deep breath and closed her eyes feeling the beat of the music. And then she started to sing.
If your listening god
please don't make it hard
to know if we should believe the things that we see
Diana scoffed hearing the first few lines, the girl had sung the lyrics the basic way they were before. She was about to start complaining when the 19-year-old showed her true talent.
Tell us should we try and stay or should we run away
or is it better just to let things be
living here in this brand new world might be a fantasy
Y/n felt the world melt away as she sung the lyrics. Keeping her eyes tightly closed and blocking out the world around her. She settled into the song letting her gutty voice ring out, complimenting the song perfectly well
but it's taught me to love
so it's real, its realll to me
The riff floating easily through her throat made Micheal's eyes widen. He whispered a soft woah as he stared at Quincy in disbelief. Quincy just looked at him and gave a proud nod. Unbeknownst to both men, Diana's scowl was becoming more prominent on her face by the second.
and I've learned that we must look inside our hearts to find
a world so full of love
like yours like mineee
She clicked her heels three times in the booth to the music, something subconscious that she's done ever since she booked the role. not realizing how iconic the move would later become on stage.
Like homeeeeee
She held out the note for the full outro, even a couple beats longer. Her strong voice never wavering. Once the song had stopped, it was almost if that girl who just sung her heart out disappeared.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared at Quincy nervously.
"How was that?" She questioned, shrinking back instinctively as if she was waiting for criticism.
"That was...wow." Quincy responded, suddenly losing his ability to speak.
She took her headphone off and gently placed them on the microphone. Then she made her way out of the booth. "Are you sure it wasn't too much? Do you need me to tone it down a little?"
"No, that was-" Quincy was interrupted in his attempt to reassure the girl. Suprise suprise.
"Yeah, you should." Diana's shrill voice cut through the room. Shifting the emotions of pure awe from the men to an air of uncomfortable and bitter disdain. "You did way too much. I mean sure, it was pretty good for someone your age but all of the stuff you added was unnecessary and made the lyrics hard to understand."
As soon as she was done speaking the entire room was silent. Quincy was staring at Diana with his jaw clenched, almost as if he was physically holding himself back from saying something. And Michael was slowly getting upset.
Of course, he had looked up to the woman for a long time, so in his head he tried to make an excuse for her. Maybe she was just trying to help? Diana can be blunt sometimes.
But when he saw the look on the girl's face, he knew that Diana was wrong. Y/n had a beautiful voice, and she was scared to show it. It doesn't take an expert to see that she was probably scouted for this role. She was already shy and had managed to work up enough courage to sing in front of not one but two of her idols and Diana had crushed her spirit.
Y/n's head had bent down, her eyes staring at the tips of her shoes, and her shoulders having a slight slump in them. "Yeah sure," she said trying to sound chipper. "I know you have to go help with the other song Quincy. So maybe I could practice at home and then come back tomorrow and record with all of the guys."
"No." Michael spoke up, unlooping his arm from Diana's. "That was absolutely perfect, your voice sounds so strong and clear. Please don't change that about yourself. It makes you different from everyone else."
Y/n lifted her head at Michaels compliment. In slight disbelief that the pop star had just given her such a huge compliment.
"Oh! Uhh, thanks." She said while blushing. She checked the time on her watch. "Oops I'm overtime. I'm gonna be late for rehearsal. See you tomorrow, Q!" She stops in her tracks once she reaches the door and turns around. "Bye Michael."
"Bye Y/n." At that she smiles and practically skips away.
Michael stares at the door frame even after she's left. Should I reprise my role as the scarecrow? I mean the first time was terrible, but she's amazing. Plus, I've always wondered what it's like to be on Broadway-
"Michael!" Diana's voice cut through his thoughts. "Why did you tell her that it was perfect, when it obviously wasn't. You're a perfectionist, you should know that."
"Diana, I think it's time for you to go to the other room." Quincy said calmly.
"What! Why?"
"Because Y/n really looks up to you, so I didn't want to say anything while she was still here. But you were, excuse my language, rude as fuck. That girl is basically my niece and just like I don't tolerate shit said to me, you can't say shit to her either." Diana listened to Quincy's words with her mouth wide open in shock. "I respect you though, so that's all I'm gonna say."
"Wha..." She trailed off. "I was just giving her constructive criticism! Right Michael?" She turned her attention to the man who was still staring at the door. He had taken her side multiple times in the past, so she expected no different from him. Well, she expected wrong.
"I don't know Di. You were pretty mean." Michael spoke up.
"Are you kidding me!?" She exclaimed.
"Look Diana, I was trying not to be mean. But the fact of the matter is that you're pushing 40 and bullying a girl half you age, who honestly sang the song better than you." Quincy spoke up, stating his true feelings. "So, I just suggest that you go to the other room and start rehearsal with the rest of the group."
Diana couldn't defend herself after that. She stared at Michael, waiting to see if he would stand up for her. But Michael just stared at the ground.
"Whatever." She said as she stormed out of the room.
The two men just stared at each other for a moment and slowly followed out of the room. Both knowing subconsciously that they had a long day ahead.
